“Rishi Sunak is facing questions about his judgment after Sir Gavin Williamson quit the government over allegations of bullying just two weeks after the prime minister took office. The cabinet office minister said that he had become a “distraction” for the government as he faced two formal investigations. Williamson’s departure — the third time he has left government in three years — will raise questions about Sunak’s decision to appoint him in the first place. Sunak, who had repeatedly said he had “full confidence” in Williamson, said last night that he had accepted his resignation “with great sadness”. Labour said that Sunak had shown “poor judgment and weak leadership”, a charge that will be repeated by Sir Keir Starmer…at prime minister’s questions…” – The Times
>Yesterday:
“Rishi Sunak is considering expanding the top rate of income tax next week after the Treasury warned that more money was needed to protect pensions and benefits. The Telegraph understands that raising the 45 per cent top rate, or lowering the £150,000 annual income threshold at which it kicks in are options now being discussed. Such a move would be a dramatic reversal in position from September, when Liz Truss abolished the 45 per cent rate, before later reinstating it when the markets baulked at her plans. The Telegraph can also reveal that the Treasury is looking at increasing the National Insurance rate paid by employers by 1.25 percentage points, despite a similar move being reversed by Ms Truss.” – The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are weighing up plans that would increase council tax and pull more people into the top rate of income tax as they “think the unthinkable” to balance the books. The prime minister and his chancellor are expected in next week’s budget to prioritise increasing benefits and pensions in line with inflation, which will cost £11 billion next year. The Times has been told that they have returned to discussions about allowing local authorities to raise more in council tax by removing a requirement to hold a referendum if they are increasing it by more than 2.99 per cent. The plan was…rejected over concerns that it would hit the poorest hardest…The council tax referendum requirement is also a manifesto commitment.” – The Times
“Liz Truss’s plans for low-tax investment zones to boost UK economic growth are due to be axed by chancellor Jeremy Hunt in next week’s Autumn Statement. Two Whitehall insiders said levelling-up secretary Michael Gove had lobbied hard for the zones to be ditched in favour of a revamped urban regeneration policy. Although no final decisions have been made, and the zones might alternatively be scaled back dramatically by Hunt, government officials said the chancellor was expected to kill off what was a pet Truss project. The former prime minister wanted as many as 200 investment zones as part of her promise to turbocharge growth by incentivising companies to set up operations in the low-tax areas.” – The Financial Times
“A fresh UK-France migration deal to try and stop small boat crossings could cost taxpayers another £70million. After The Sun revealed the deal was iced under Liz Truss, the UK and France are now ironing out the details of a more expensive deal than originally planned. A fresh deal to curb channel crossings is now in its “final stages”…It’s set to include more cash for surveillance, drones and other tech on beaches to stop more crossings. Previous agreements have cost up to £54million – but the total for this one could be as high as £70million. And for the first time since World War Two, it’s expected to include British personnel in France… No10 said today the “discussions are ongoing”, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman hammering out the details.” – The Sun
>Today:
“The Transport Secretary wants to ensure the way the police deal with Just Stop Oil protesters is “tweaked” following days of chaos on the M25. Mark Harper wants to see operations “fine tuned” so it is much harder for activists to force the closure of Britain’s motorways. But there are currently no plans to allow roads to open even if protestors climb gantries, because of the danger to the public. Activists from Just Stop Oil have vowed to continue bringing chaos to Britain’s motorway network every day until the Government caves into its demands. Hundreds of arrests have been made and some of the ringleaders have even been remanded into custody. But critics have accused the police and courts in this country of treating protesters too softly…” – The Daily Telegraph
“He officially begins his controversial bid to become king of the jungle in Australia, telling viewers that people will get to “see the real me” and not the man behind the podium. But back home Matt Hancock has already lost a far more important vote that has nothing to do with being chosen to eat a kangaroo’s testicles. After accusing him of abandoning his constituents, the council in the biggest town in Mr Hancock’s constituency has held a show of hands on his future – and decided that he should “do the honourable thing and resign”. The former health secretary has prompted ridicule in Westminster after absenting himself from Parliament to take part in the ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! He had the whip withdrawn by the Conservative Party as punishment.” – The Daily Telegraph
“The next phase of a high-stakes inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled parliament over Partygate faces being delayed as a result of government failures to provide crucial evidence to MPs, sources have told the Guardian. Despite a range of documents – including the former prime minister’s diaries, event email invites, No 10 entry logs, briefing papers and WhatsApp messages – being requested more than three months ago, some have not been handed over yet. No 10 and the Cabinet Office have been blamed for the delay and MPs on the privileges committee are still waiting to sift through all the evidence before beginning their oral evidence sessions. Johnson is expected to be called to give evidence…” – The Guardian
“Sir David Butler, the father of modern election science whose career spanned more than 70 years, has died at the aged of 98. Butler’s friend and biographer, the journalist Michael Crick, paid tribute to him as the “father of psephology” – a word that Butler promoted early in his career to describe “the new study of election science based on the Greek word psephos for pebble which the ancient Greeks used to vote in elections”. “For decades Butler was the foremost psephologist in Britain and around the world,” Crick said. Butler himself once described the term as an “awful, silly, academic joke” that “hangs like an albatross around my neck”. Born on 17 October 1924, Butler studied philosophy, politics and economics at New College, Oxford.” – The Guardian
“In February, I left my job as head of the prime minister’s policy unit and found myself with time and space to reflect on something that troubled me throughout my time in Downing Street: why are so many politicians and public servants ill prepared for the challenge of running the country — and is there anything we can do to improve the situation?… It is for this reason I am launching Civic Future: a new initiative to encourage outstanding young people to enter public life and help prepare them for the challenges they will face. With a cross-party team of advisers and staff, we will offer fellowship programmes, training and the opportunity to think deeply about the core ideas of liberal democracy that have inspired both left and right since the Enlightenment.” – The Times
“A predicted Republican “red wave” appeared to have become a ripple as Democrats clung on in key races in the US midterm elections. Democrats flipped a key senate seat while a number of Trump-backed candidates appeared to be heading for defeat. Republicans still looked set to overturn a narrow Democrat majority in the House of Representatives, but projections of a big win appeared not to have materialised. The fate of the US Senate, which is currently split 50-50 still hung in the balance with several races too close to call. There had been predictions that the vote would be a wholesale rejection of Joe Biden’s presidency by the American people, and that Republicans would easily win back control of both chambers in Congress.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Sir Tony Blair ally and TV mogul Lord Waheed Alli to head up Labour’s fundraising efforts for the next election, i has learnt. The multimillionaire, who became the youngest and first openly gay appointed peer in history when elevated to the Lords by Sir Tony at the age of 34 in 1998, will be Labour’s new Chair of General Election Fundraising. He has been hired partly to help deal with a surge in interest from donors as the party raced to a 30-point lead over the Conservatives, according i’s latest poll tracker, in recent weeks. Lord Alli is known as the brains behind Channel 4’s Big Breakfast and worldwide hit reality series Survivor and has been described as the person Sir Tony would call on his mobile phone when he wanted to know what young people thought.” – The I
“A senior Labour frontbencher was slapped down by Downing Street and his own party boss today after suggesting compulsory ID cards for all Britons as a way of tackling the migrant crisis. Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said today that Labour was ‘reviewing’ the idea of a ‘basic’ identity system akin to that first mooted when Tony Blair was prime minister. He told Times Radio the system should ‘be on the table’ because it would be ‘helpful in terms of giving people the reassurance that they’re looking for, that we have control of our borders’. But he was slapped down by shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper – his immediate superior – who told the BBC it was not happening. No10 also said there were no plans to bring in such cards.” – The Daily Mail
“A Scottish nationalist MSP has been blasted for wearing a home-made a pro-independence ‘peace’ poppy at Holyrood…SNP backbencher Michelle Thomson is facing a backlash after attending a finance committee hearing at Holyrood today wearing the white poppy with a ‘yes’ logo at its centre. The move comes less than 72 hours before Armistice Day, marking the end of the First World War and honouring Britain’s military personnel who died defending the nation. Ms Thomson has insisted she never meant to cause offence and said she only attached the ‘yes’ badge to keep her poppy on as she didn’t have a safety pin. But her actions have outraged veterans, with former troops claiming her decision to use the political symbol was…distasteful” – The Daily Mail