“Rishi Sunak has invited trade union leaders to talks on Monday in an attempt to curtail Britain’s wave of industrial action, as ministers look at a key concession to end protracted strikes on the railways. Ministers are discussing dropping a demand for train drivers rather than guards to operate carriage doors, in a move that could help pave the way to a deal with unions to halt six months of rail strikes, according to people briefed on the proposal. The UK prime minister is grappling with the biggest wave of industrial action in decades as workers including nurses, postal staff and train drivers walk out over demands for higher pay amid the cost-of-living crisis…Sunak’s latest initiative puts him at the centre of efforts to bring the industrial action to an end.” – The Financial Times
“Rishi Sunak considered banning thousands of workers from joining a union, according to leaked government emails detailing proposals described as potentially the “biggest attack on workers’ rights and freedoms” for decades. The messages, shared between senior civil servants and seen by the Observer, reveal that the prime minister contemplated banning Border Force (BF) staff from trade union membership under its anti-strike legislation announced last Thursday. Union leaders fear the extreme measures – not even known to be under consideration until now – could have also been considered for other sectors, theoretically leading to more than a million workers banned from joining unions.” – The Observer
“New laws to police the internet face being delayed yet again as Rishi Sunak looks to prioritise fresh legislation to tackle continuing strikes across the public services. Critics have warned the decision to push back the Online Safety Bill could risk putting the entire piece of legislation at risk, due to an increasingly tight parliamentary timetable this year. The Bill was due to return to the Commons for its report stage on Monday 16 January, but i understands the Government is considering delaying the Bill as Mr Sunak seeks to force through new laws to impose minimum service levels on rail, schools and the NHS. The decision comes after the new online laws, which will regulate the internet in the UK for the first time, were twice delayed last year…” – The I
“Rishi Sunak will next week unveil new government subsidies for companies’ energy bills, with all UK businesses given a limited discount on electricity and gas, and energy intensive industries handed additional support. The new package will cost about £5bn and the subsidies are due to last for one year, according to people briefed on the plan. It will therefore be far less expensive for taxpayers than the government’s current subsidies for companies’ energy bills, which are set to cost £18bn when the six-month scheme expires at the end of March. Business groups are expected to be disappointed at the reduced level of future support, after warning thousands of companies could collapse due to surging gas and electricity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” – The Financial Times
“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged health chiefs to take “bold and radical” action yesterday to end the winter crisis in the NHS. At an emergency Downing Street summit he told medics they had to abandon a “business-as-usual mindset” as the health service creaks under the pressure of flu and Covid. The PM was at the Saturday meeting alongside NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard and Health Secretary Steve Barclay. Senior doctors again warned the NHS is on a knife-edge, with many A&E units struggling. Upcoming strikes by nurses, ambulance staff and, potentially, junior doctors will only make matters worse, they said. Mr Sunak discussed how to get hospital bed blockers into community care faster, slash A&E waiting times and make GP services more effective.” – The Sun on Sunday
“Striking health workers could get a significant pay boost from April – if staff will accept radical reforms to improve productivity, Steve Barclay has suggested in an olive branch to the unions. Writing in The Telegraph, the Health Secretary has pledged a “constructive approach” to pay negotiations, with increases on the table if the unions will agree to efficiency savings to make higher salaries more “affordable”. These could include better use of technology or revisions to outdated working practices. Although he has insisted he will not revisit this year’s pay award, Mr Barclay will offer better working conditions in future… A government source said other striking sectors such as railway workers could also be offered higher pay in return for modernising the way they work.” – The Sunday Telegraph
“It should be no surprise to anyone that the thing the Labour Party fears most is the return of Boris Johnson. Enough of their MPs let that slip at the time he was being removed as Prime Minister and were unable to contain their delight. And not just Labour MPs – the Remain media, too…He is the most impactful, charismatic, progressive and productive leader the Conservative Party has known since…Margaret Thatcher. The future of Conservative MPs rests in their own hands… do they want to remain as MPs or not? It is an undeniable fact that with Boris at the helm, more would return to Westminster following a General Election than with any other individual leading the party.” – The Mail on Sunday
“An MP has called a plan to house more than 100 male asylum seekers in a town where the Real Housewives of Cheshire is filmed and Premier League stars live ‘obviously inappropriate’. Sir Graham Brady, local MP of Altrincham, Cheshire, has spoken out against the proposal to lodge 112 male immigrants who arrived by a small boat in France in Ashley Hotel in Hale. The village is home to Premier League footballers and showbiz celebrities, with Italian supercars and Rolls Royces a common sight within the area, which was rated among the best places to live by The Sunday Times. The hotel is also only 300 metres away from where Cristiano Ronaldo and the Manchester United squad had lunch last year.” – The Mail on Sunday
“Henry Kissinger, the grand old man of Realpolitik, points out that the war has rendered moot the question of Ukraine’s relationship with Nato: the country is now, in effect, a full Western ally. He therefore suggests recognising that fact, and returning to the front lines of February 2022, with internationally supervised referendums to determine the future of disputed territories. In reality, though, neither side could contemplate such an outcome. Volodymyr Zelensky, who was elected on a platform of re-establishing good relations with Russia, and at one point toyed with the idea of referendums in Donbas, cannot now make such a concession. Russian atrocities, especially the massacre at Bucha, changed everything.” – The Sunday Telegraph
“The Labour leader and his shadow chancellor are preparing to rub shoulders with the global elite in the Swiss ski resort of Davos as they seek to win over the biggest companies in the world. Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will be jetting off next week to the World Economic Forum, where they will meet business chiefs, foreign leaders and other international figures. Their attendance at the exclusive event in the Swiss Alps will be used to send a message to the super-rich that Labour is the party of business. It is also part of their campaign to focus “relentlessly” on the economy and growth in the run-up to the next election. Rishi Sunak is not expected to go. The government will be represented by Grant Shapps…and Kemi Badenoch…” – The Sunday Times
“Sir Keir Starmer is being urged to cement his huge poll lead by demoting Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper as part of a radical shake-up of his top team. The Labour leader is being told that Ms Cooper has ‘hardly laid a glove’ on Home Secretary Suella Braverman, despite the deepening migrant crisis. Senior party figures suggest that Ms Cooper should be switched to another brief and replaced by Steve Reed, the party’s justice spokesman. He won praise from Labour modernisers ten days ago with a Blair-style pledge that Labour was now the party of law and order…But last night, allies of Ms Cooper dismissed calls to move her as ridiculous – not least because she is the only senior Labour frontbencher (apart from Ed Miliband) who’s served in Cabinet.” – The Mail on Sunday
“More than 200,000 extra patients on waiting lists could get treatment each year if private capacity was used effectively, Sir Keir Starmer said on Saturday night. The Labour leader urged Rishi Sunak to match his party’s “bold” plans to tackle the waiting list crisis, as he highlighted 13 years of Tory “failure” on the NHS. He told The Telegraph that Labour will “give Britain its NHS back” by…using private sector capacity. Sir Keir said Mr Sunak should “take his lead from Labour”, adding: “People waiting for a doctor’s appointment, test results, and terrifyingly, an ambulance need urgent action. Labour has a bold plan to slash waiting times by temporarily ramping up partnerships with private providers. I’m urging the Prime Minister to use it…”” – The Sunday Telegraph
“Wes Streeting has said a Labour government would “tear up the contract” with GPs, and could make family doctors salaried NHS employees. The shadow health secretary said the way GP surgeries operate financially is a “murky, opaque business”. The proposed changes would put Streeting on course for a confrontation with the British Medical Association (BMA). He also proposed a greater role for pharmacies doing procedures such as vaccinations, and suggested people could refer themselves directly to specialists rather than going through a GP. GPs should no longer be the “sole gatekeeper” to the NHS, Streeting said. He added he wanted to replace GP surgeries with “modern health centres” with nurses and physiotherapists as well as GPs, and where scans could be taken.” – The Observer
“The Government fears Nicola Sturgeon’s trans law will undermine women’s rights in England’s schools, hospitals and prisons, The Telegraph understands. It is concerned that the controversial legislation could make it much harder for English hospitals to guarantee that patients receive intimate care from members of the same sex. Government lawyers have been commissioned to look at the issue and examine whether the new laws mean that single-sex schools could be forced to change their rules to allow people who have changed gender to attend. Under Edinburgh’s new law, which has been passed by the Scottish Parliament, people will no longer require a medical diagnosis before they can legally change their gender…” – The Sunday Telegraph
““The day Liz Truss got ousted, party membership exploded,” explained Reform UK party leader Richard Tice, referring to the end of the shortlived tenure of the former prime minister. “We had our record day in terms of new sign ups”. Previously known as the Brexit party under former leader Nigel Farage, Tice hopes that Reform can capitalise on discontent with the ruling Conservatives, as voters struggle with the cost of living crisis, widespread public sector strikes and a national health service in crisis. The latest polling by YouGov shows an uptick in support in recent months, with 7 per cent of voters backing Reform compared to 3 per cent last July. The boost has not gone unnoticed among Tory MPs and senior Downing Street officials…” – The Financial Times
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