“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have issued a joint pledge to cut tax on business this autumn in a bid to get Britain on the road to recovery. The PM and his Chancellor put on a united front today to show they are in total agreement on economic policy. Writing exclusively for The Sun on Sunday, the two most powerful men in government insist they are entirely focused on steering Britain out of economic crisis. In their joint article, they outline how they will fix the problems in the energy and housing markets, make the country more productive — and create better jobs and higher wages. They admit: “The coming months will not be easy, and we should not pretend otherwise. “But together we will steer our way through these global economic headwinds…” – The Sun on Sunday
“A Cabinet battle is underway with Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak urged to cut taxes now rather than wait for the next election. Champions of tax cuts within the Government warn that people struggling with the cost of living crisis need more help right away and will be angry if action is delayed until the country goes to the polls. A Government source said: “The British people aren’t stupid, they’ll remember if we help them out with tax cuts now when they desperately need it, or if we let people suffer for a few years so we can trot them out as a pre-election gimmick.” Leading figures…of the Tory party are pressing the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to ease the tax burden as prices rise at the fastest rate for 40 years.” – Daily Express
“Boris Johnson knew of lurid allegations about disgraced MP Chris Pincher two years before appointing him to a senior Government job, it was claimed last night. When Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip on Thursday following reports he drunkenly groped two men in a private members’ club, No 10 said the Prime Minister had not been aware of any allegations before giving him the role. However, The Mail on Sunday has been told that in 2020, Mr Johnson told aides: ‘He’s handsy, that’s a problem. Pincher by name, pincher by nature.’ It is also understood that two months ago the Prime Minister was told of claims Mr Pincher had made unwanted advances towards a fellow Tory MP.” – Mail on Sunday
“Home Secretary Priti Patel praised the National Crime Agency last night after more than a dozen suspected people smugglers were arrested over the deaths of 27 migrants in the Channel. The victims drowned in November when their boat sank off the coast of Calais as they attempted to cross to Britain. The tragedy caused widespread outrage and sparked a diplomatic row between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron. It was believed to be the deadliest incident in the Channel since records began to be collected almost a decade ago. Victims on the boat included a child aged seven, 17 men aged under 26, seven women between the ages of 22 and 46 as well as a 16-year-old.” – Mail on Sunday
“Health Secretary Sajid Javid is scrapping a top NHS post with an ‘inflated’ £230,000 salary as part of a new salvo in his war on waste. The Mail on Sunday revealed last September how NHS England was paying former Unilever executive Prerana Issar £230,000 a year to be its Chief People Officer. That was £35,000 more than former NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens, who helped recruit her to the NHS position in April 2019. Her salary was also half as much again as the Prime Minister’s. At the time, Sir Simon said the newly created NHS post was vital in ‘promoting flexibility, well-being and career development, and redoubling our efforts to address discrimination, violence, bullying and harassment’.” – Mail on Sunday
“Boris Johnson is set to investigated over his election pledge to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 is facing a review by the Government’s official spending watchdog. The National Audit Office (NAO) is planning a “value for money review” into the entire scheme, which formed part of Conservative party’s 2019 general election manifesto. The NAO is concerned that despite the Prime Minister’s pledge to build 40 new hospitals, so far there has just been alterations or refurbishments to existing hospitals. The investigation was revealed in a letter to shadow health secretary Wes Streeting from NAO comptroller Gareth Davies after the Labour MP warned of a waste of taxpayers’ money.” – The I
“Employers should move away from advertising ‘graduate only’ jobs in a bid to diversify the workforce, the Education Secretary will say this week. Nadhim Zahawi is set to urge bosses to look at bringing on more apprentices or people with T levels – new technical-based qualifications – rather than just those with degrees amid his push for a more skills-based economy. Unless a role requires a specific degree, Mr Zahawi wants companies to look outside the usual talent pool to help fill the UK’s 1.3 million job vacancies. Ahead of a speech at the Royal Institute of Arts, Commerce and Manufacturing, Mr Zahawi has written an open letter to employers calling time on graduate-only job adverts.” – Mail on Sunday
“Nadine Dorries has threatened to cut funding for sports such as cricket and tennis if they fail to take action to stop male-born transgender athletes from competing against women. The Culture Secretary made the vow to colleagues after a bad-tempered meeting with the major sporting organisations on Tuesday, when she urged them to follow the example of the International Swimming Federation which has stated that transwomen who have ‘gone through male puberty’ can no longer enter female events. Ms Dorries told colleagues that she was ‘shocked’ to be told that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was prepared to ban fast bowlers such as Ben Stokes from playing against ‘B teams’ on safety grounds, yet was happy to allow biological male bowlers to take aim at women.” – Mail on Sunday
“Some civil servants are resisting post-Brexit reforms because they cannot imagine “life outside of the EU”, the Attorney General claims today. In an interview with The Telegraph, Suella Braverman says there is a “great opportunity to peel back … onerous rules and bureaucracy to actually help the consumer”, as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU. However, she says some of her “biggest battles” in government are with officials, rather than “political battles” in the House of Commons. “That was something I didn’t expect, if I’m honest,” says Mrs Braverman, who campaigned for Brexit in 2016. Elsewhere in the interview, she accuses organisations such as the Halifax of letting a “collective frenzy” over some gender rights “take hold of common sense”…” – The Daily Telegraph
“A Cabinet Minister is embroiled in a row over claims that he downplayed the seriousness of rape while discussing plans to give Irish terrorists an effective amnesty for crimes during the Troubles. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis faced accusations that he had said rape was a ‘much lesser offence’ than murder. Sources told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Lewis used the phrase in private last week to justify rejecting calls for the proposed Troubles amnesty from prosecution to exclude rape offences. They said the Northern Ireland Secretary insisted it would be wrong to offer offenders legal immunity for murders but refuse to do so for serious sexual offences.” – Mail on Sunday
“Labour MPs should drink more champagne because it “makes them more fun” Jacob Rees-Mogg declared. The tory minister welcomed Angela Rayner’s fizz swilling at an opera last week, and said necking the booze would “cheer up” members of the Opposition. Earlier this week Ms Rayner tore into “snob” Dominic Raab after he called her a “champagne socialist”. The deputy PM mocked his opposite number for enjoying champagne and opera at Glyndebourne. But Mr Rees-Mogg welcomed her venture. He revealed he had also been to the same production recently. He told The Sun: “I am absolutely delighted that Angela went to the Marriage of Figaro, to which I had been to a few weeks earlier. “It is absolutely excellent and an extremely jolly production.”” – The Sun on Sunday
“Science minister George Freeman is locked in a struggle with the Treasury over post-Brexit research funding as fears grow of a “brain drain” if Britain fails to forge new global science collaborations. Allies of Freeman say he fears that Treasury “penny-pinching” could undercut his attempt to devise a Plan B in the event that UK scientists are shut out from the EU’s flagship €95bn Horizon project. Freeman wants to launch a Plan B research plan, based on global collaboration, in September but has yet to secure cabinet approval or Treasury agreement on precise funding arrangements. Britain’s Brexit deal envisaged the UK’s continued participation in Horizon, but that has been blocked by the EU in light of prime minister Boris Johnson’s decision to rip up the Northern Ireland protocol, part of the Brexit treaty.” – The Financial Times
“Tory rebels have launched a cunning ploy to force a fresh leadership vote — without tearing up the party’s rulebook. They are rallying support for a new mechanism to topple the Prime Minister in addition to the existing one. Plotters unveiled their masterplan in a bid to win control of the powerful backbench committee which could decide Boris Johnson’s fate. Under current rules, letters are required from 54 MPs to trigger a confidence vote. If the leader survives, another attempt cannot be mounted for a full year. Rebel leaders vowed to keep the rule in place but add a new clause which allows an earlier challenge if the higher threshold of 90 letters is reached.” – The Sun on Sunday
>Today:
“Boris Johnson, the prime minister, and Nicola Sturgeon are not polar opposites — in fact, they are in a symbiotic relationship, relying on each other to maintain the political status quo that keeps them in power. The people of Scotland are facing a cost of living crisis unlike any we have seen in recent years, and our economy, still reeling from the damage of the pandemic, is lagging behind other parts of the UK. The challenges before the Scottish government could not be greater — nor could the opportunity to tackle poverty, support businesses and kick-start our economy. But instead of rising to face these challenges, the SNP is returning to the arguments of the past and sowing division to distract from the chaos and failures of their government.” – The Financial Times