“Rishi Sunak would be willing to press ahead with a Brexit deal even if it did not get the support of the Democratic Unionist Party. In a challenge to the Conservative right, which believes any agreement with Brussels to change the Northern Ireland protocol must gain the approval of the DUP, the prime minister is prepared to decide for himself whether the deal works for the province. British and European negotiators remain in intensive dialogue amid optimism that the long dispute over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit arrangements is coming to an end. The government is increasingly positive about keeping the DUP on board — but would not necessarily see its objections as a fatal blow to the negotiations.” – The Times
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“Rishi Sunak must put Britain on a war footing and boost defence spending, a senior Whitehall source has said. The Ministry of Defence is currently embroiled in a row over defence spending in the upcoming budget, with Ben Wallace said to have asked the Chancellor for £10 billion for his department. However, a top Whitehall source told The Telegraph there was “deep concern” among the upper echelons of the military and that the problem to getting more money was not Jeremy Hunt, but the Prime Minister. “I cannot think of any Prime Minister that would behave this way,” they said… They cited Mr Sunak’s background in investment banking as his reason for having “no instinctive feel for statecraft”.” – The Daily Telegraph
“The Prime Minister and Chancellor have rejected calls by senior Tory MPs to scrap plans to raise corporation tax. Rishi Sunak faces a coordinated rebellion over the planned rise in the tax from 19 to 25 per cent, which is at the heart of his government’s plans to reduce inflation and keep control of the public finances. Leaders of five Conservative backbench groups and business chiefs signed a letter calling for a U-turn, warning that it would damage plans to level up, inhibit investment in the UK and damage economic growth. It is the first coordinated rebellion against Mr Sunak on the economy since he entered Downing Street in October…Corporation tax at 25 per cent would still be the lowest among the G7 leading economies, government sources said.” – The I
“Domestic abusers will have their names added to the sex offenders’ register in a major crackdown on violence against women and girls. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, writing exclusively in the Daily Mail today, vows that ‘wicked’ abusers will be ‘watched more closely’ as a result of a new package of measures. Rishi Sunak said the moves will make it ‘a priority’ for police to tackle attacks on women and girls, and outlined his determination to ‘stamp out these appalling crimes’. Domestic abusers jailed for more than 12 months will be placed on the sex offenders’ register, making it easier for police to monitor them. The move will be introduced immediately. The Home Secretary will also tell police forces to treat violence against women as seriously as terrorism…” – The Daily Mail
“Parliament could be given powers to set an annual cap on refugee numbers in plans being considered by ministers. Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said MPs would have to have “an honest debate” every year about how many asylum seekers should be admitted to Britain. He said the government would continue to devise specific resettlement schemes for refugees where the UK had “the strongest geographical, historical, moral obligation”, such as Ukrainians, Afghans and Hongkongers… The cap would form part of Rishi Sunak’s plan to tackle the small boats crisis by establishing a safe and legal route for asylum seekers. Jenrick, a longstanding ally of Sunak, attends cabinet, although the migration strategy is ultimately overseen by Suella Braverman…” – The Times
“Boris Johnson’s warning over Brexit is “not completely unhelpful”, Penny Mordaunt has said. The former prime minister intervened on Saturday night to urge Rishi Sunak not to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill in favour of a new deal with the European Union. The Bill allows the Government to tear up parts of the Protocol, including the powers of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Northern Ireland, although Mr Sunak is understood to consider the Bill unnecessary if he can strike a fresh agreement with Brussels…Mordaunt.. told Sky News: “Well, Boris is being Boris…”… The legislation, which was voted through the Commons and tabled while Mr Johnson was still in power, is now in its report stage in the House of Lords.” – The Daily Telegraph
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“Boris Johnson wants to use the Northern Ireland Brexit talks as a way to “bring down” Rishi Sunak and return to Downing Street, George Osborne has claimed. The former chancellor said that Johnson’s warning to Sunak not to ditch the Northern Ireland protocol bill was a sign that he would never “do the sort of grown-up, sensible thing”. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that a friend of Johnson had said that he believed Sunak was not getting “as good a deal as we would have” from Brussels because he did not use the protocol bill, which would in effect give the UK the right to ignore EU rules, as leverage… Johnson was backed by Lord Frost, his former Brexit negotiator, who urged the government not to drop the bill.” – The Times
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“Boris Johnson could face suspension from the…Commons if he refused to appear before the partygate probe, sources close to the investigation have said. The cross-party privileges committee of MPs is investigating allegations the former prime minister deliberately misled Parliament when he insisted there were no lockdown parties in Downing Street. Mr Johnson, who was fined last year over a “birthday party” event during the first lockdown and [denies] any wrongdoing, has promised to cooperate with the inquiry and said he had “absolutely nothing, frankly, to hide”. He will be called in to face oral questions, a process that is expected to be televised, as soon as the committee…has analysed all written evidence after a deadline for submissions passed…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Senior Tory Damian Green has been rejected as the party’s candidate for the newly created Weald of Kent constituency at the next election. Mr Green, who was effectively deputy prime minister under Theresa May, said he was ‘disappointed’ not to have been selected. The MP for Ashford since 1997 chairs the One Nation caucus of centrist Conservative MPs. He tweeted: ‘I am disappointed not to have been adopted as the Conservative candidate for the new Weald of Kent seat. I am now thinking about what to do next and how I can best continue to work for the people of Ashford and support the Government.’ His deselection fuelled speculation that Tory grassroots campaigners are targeting parliamentarians seen as responsible for Boris Johnson’s departure from No 10.” – The Daily Mail
“Social media bosses should be forced to open up children’s accounts to their bereaved parents so they can understand why they died, says Sajid Javid…Mr Javid, a former Chancellor, Culture and Home Secretary, has backed amendments to the online safety bill, to be tabled on Monday, aimed at ending the blocking tactics by tech firms that have denied parents like Molly Russell’s access to their dead children’s accounts. In statements to The Telegraph, the call has been backed by three more ex-culture secretaries Baroness Morgan, Jeremy Wright and Maria Miller, Damian Collins, chair of the committee that drafted the bill, and Molly’s father Ian who spent five years fighting tech firms to unlock posts to secure answers about her death.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Puffin the publisher has carried out a sensitivity audit of Roald Dahl’s books, to make them more palatable, I guess, to snobs, bores and maiden aunts. It is a crime against good taste – by which I mean bad taste, which is infinitely more fun… The chief crime of PC censorship is that it is artless. Dahl spent weeks arguing with editors, insisting on exactly the right words because he understood his audience… This is what really irritates me about culture war nonsense: the hypocrisy. Our culture is obsessed with policing language, to ensure we’re saying the right things, but this superficial concern for politeness ignores the obscenities of everyday life, its cruelty, greed and moral ugliness. Popular entertainment remains stuffed with sex and violence…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Sir Keir Starmer has told Labour not to assume that voters will automatically return to the party from the SNP after Nicola Sturgeon’s departure. A jubilant mood accompanied the Scottish Labour Party’s conference in Edinburgh…following the first minister’s resignation and a poll showing the party almost neck and neck with the SNP. Scars remain from previous assumptions by senior figures that voters who switched to the nationalists would naturally “come home” and there are worries about complacency creeping into a party that has the third most MSPs in the Scottish parliament… Senior Labour figures were privately ecstatic after Sturgeon quit… After Sturgeon’s resignation…people at the top of Labour believe that Scotland has opened up for the party…”- The Times
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