“A nurses’ strike due to start this week could be called off if the health secretary negotiates “seriously” over pay, says the head of the Royal College of Nursing. “I won’t dig in if he doesn’t,” general secretary Pat Cullen told BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said pay was a matter for non-political independent review bodies. Walkouts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due on 15 and 20 December.” – BBC
>Today: ToryDiary: Pay and strikes. What’s the Government’s core message? To shelter behind the review bodies? Or make the case for affordability?
>Yesterday: WATCH: Cleverly: The Health Secretary is happy to meet with nurses, but pay is handled by an independent body.
“Some 750 members of the armed forces will be drafted in to drive ambulances and support the NHS amid mounting concern that patients will be put at risk because of industrial action. The Department of Health and Social Care has made a formal request for military support, with personnel starting five-day ambulance training programmes this week. Today Oliver Dowden, the Cabinet Office minister, will lead the first of two Cobra emergency meetings on the strikes as he and other ministers discuss contingency plans. However, the NHS is concerned that the support of the armed forces will only have a “marginal” impact and there will still be “serious disruption” with significant risk to patients.” – The Times
“I want this dispute to end as soon as possible. We have agreed to continue our efforts to reach a deal whilst remaining fair to the taxpayer. In the first few weeks of this new Government being in office, we have demonstrated that we are willing to be reasonable – to discuss matters with union leaders face to face and to try and facilitate a resolution to this dispute by enabling a new and improved pay offer to be made by the employers. It’s precisely because we know that the public are worried about the impact of these strikes on their day to day lives that we have worked hard over the past few weeks to resolve it. The Government has played its part, I now urge the unions to do the same – by backing this deal and calling off their strikes.” – Mark Harper, Daily Telegraph
“The UK economy shrank between August and October as the country heads into an expected recession. The economy contracted by 0.3% during the three months as soaring prices hit businesses and households. A country is in recession when its economy shrinks for two three-month periods in a row…There was a brief respite in October alone when the economy grew by 0.5% compared to September when it fell because of an additional bank holiday for Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral.” – BBC
>Today: James Somerville-Meikle on Comment: As Christmas approaches, the Government needs a plan for growth in the voluntary sector – not just the wider economy
“A Labour row broke out on Sunday night as Wes Streeting, the party’s shadow health secretary, was accused of “declaring war” on NHS staff. Sam Tarry, the MP who was sacked as a front bench spokesman after giving a TV interview on an RMT picket line, said he was dismayed by comments in which Mr Streeting criticised the British Medical Association (BMA).” – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: WATCH: Streeting says he would “be willing to negotiate” in Barclay’s position
“Britain has a “problem” with Islamist extremists trying to force their views on Muslim kids, Michael Gove has warned. The Communities Secretary said radicalisation is an “ugly truth” in the country but is not spoken about enough for fear of being slammed as Islamophobic. Mr Gove hit back at left–wing critics trying to “rewrite the history” of the Trojan Horse scandal. He was Education Secretary in 2014 when several Birmingham schools were subject to hardline Islamisation. Together with former Home Office adviser Nick Timothy, he has written the foreword to a new Policy Exchange report exposing a “concerted campaign” to play down the saga.” – The Sun
“There are obvious reasons why the Trojan Horse plotters and their allies want to overturn the facts of what happened in those Birmingham schools. Aided by partisan academics, useful idiots like those at the NYT and journalists writing for publications reportedly funded by Middle Eastern governments, the same old activist groups are determined to define normative Islam in a hard-line way, paint Britain as a hostile environment for Muslims, and win support for a legally defined and enforced definition of “Islamophobia” that will protect Islam and Islamist ideology from criticism.” – Nick Timothy, Daily Telegraph
“James Cleverly, UK foreign secretary, will on Monday launch what he will call “patient diplomacy”, intended to build stronger long-term British relations with fast-growing countries such as Brazil, Kenya, South Africa and Indonesia. In his first big speech as foreign secretary, Cleverly will promise to build ties with countries which are not traditionally strong partners of the UK, hoping to counter the transactional support offered by Russia and China.” – Financial Times
“Britain and India are on track to sign an “amazing deal within a year”, Kemi Badenoch vows today. The Trade Secretary is travelling to Delhi to “reboot” crunch talks. But she will not discuss demands for thousands more student visas for locals. Ms Badenoch will attempt to personally smooth relations with her counterpart, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.” – The Sun
“A former levelling-up minister has warned that his former department’s bill will make the country’s housing crisis even worse. Eddie Hughes MP, who was a minister for housing until September, said the Government must ensure that building affordable accommodation is helped rather than “hindered” by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill’s reforms. He has backed a report which highlights how the parts of the country most in need of affordable accommodation will in fact suffer as a result of the “infrastructure levy” that the bill proposes. The intervention by Mr Hughes, which comes ahead of the controversial Levelling Up Bill’s return to Parliament on Tuesday, will cause yet another headache for Downing Street.” – Daily Telegraph
“Britain’s election watchdog has warned of possible problems when the controversial voter ID system is introduced at next May’s local elections. Ailsa Irvine, director of electoral administration at the Electoral Commission, told the FT that the organisation was committed to supporting the implementation of voter ID. “But the timetable before next May’s elections remains tight. The requirement must be delivered in a way which is accessible, secure and workable,” she said.” – Financial Times
“One million civil service days a year are wasted on equality and diversity training, a new report has found. Research by Conservative Way Forward, a Tory think tank, says this costs the taxpayer an estimated £150 million a year. It includes 24 days a year spent by the Intellectual Property Office on the “respect at work board game” and almost 1,500 staff days spent by the London Fire Brigade on equality training. The report reveals that public sector organisations employ 10,000 members of staff to deal with issues focused on equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI).” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Gary Powell in Local Government: The Local Government Association (reluctantly) recognises that it must not discriminate against people with gender-critical beliefs.
“Voters will boot the Tories out of power if they fail to fix Britain’s broken asylum system, a senior MP has warned. David Davis said “none of us” will get elected if the small boats crisis persists as “people don’t like being taken for a ride”. He urged ministers to crack on with plans to stop Albanians claiming asylum by declaring the Balkan nation a safe country. The former Brexit Secretary told Times Radio: “I think if they do that, it won’t solve the whole problem. But it will take a third of it out. And it means the rest becomes manageable. “And if they don’t do that, they will fail. I mean, bluntly, we’ll get punished at the polls.” Since January 11,241 Albanians have arrived in the UK on small boats, more than any other nationality.” – The Sun
“More than half of Britain’s aid budget could be swallowed up by the cost of housing asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, MPs have been warned. In an extraordinary admission to Parliament, international development minister Andrew Mitchell said he had been forced to ‘pause’ all decisions on aid funding because Home Office demands on his budget were ‘effectively out of control’. Mr Mitchell said the astonishing cost of dealing with asylum seekers and refugees this year meant that conventional foreign aid might account for as little as 25 per cent of the overall £11billion aid budget.” – Daily Mail
“Nigel Farage returning to frontline politics and going “all in” at the next general election would cause the Tory vote in red wall seats to collapse, MPs fear. Reform, which grew out of the Brexit Party and Ukip, plans to stand candidates in every seat outside Northern Ireland, and is focusing its efforts on the north and Midlands. Some 17 per cent of voters who backed the Conservatives at the 2019 general election plan to vote for Reform next time, according to YouGov….Farage has refused to rule out standing for parliament and told The Times he was “actively involved” with raising money and finding candidates.” – The Times
>Today: Columnist Anthony Browne: Why the polls aren’t as good for Labour as they seem at first glance
“The European Parliament is at the centre of a spreading corruption scandal after Belgian police seized €600,000 in cash and detained an MEP as part of an international investigation into claims that football World Cup host Qatar sought to buy influence. A Belgian judge charged four unnamed people on Sunday with “participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption” following multiple arrests and house searches over the weekend, including the homes of two MEPs and a former MEP’s family in Italy. The charges against the MEPs have already triggered resignations and the suspension of a parliamentary vote on granting Qatari nationals visa-free travel to the bloc, due next week.” – Financial Times