“Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland Brexit deal was yesterday facing further delay, as Downing Street refused to commit itself to giving MPs a vote on the plan. Government sources said the agreement was now unlikely to be made public until next week at the earliest as talks continued with the Democratic Unionist Party. However, in what would be a significant win for the government, Whitehall sources yesterday confirmed reports that the outline agreement would allow Westminster to set Northern Ireland’s VAT and state aid policy. The move, first reported by Sky News, would address a key concern of unionists about the current protocol that stops the government making some tax changes in Northern Ireland.” – The Times
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Liz Truss will not support Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal if it falls short of the changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol that she championed while in office, figures close to her have said. She has become the second former prime minister, after Boris Johnson, to fire a warning that will dampen Downing Street’s hopes of averting a Tory rebellion. On Thursday, Mr Sunak was forced to pledge that Parliament will get to “express its view” on any agreement amid backbench fears that he could try and force it through without a vote. Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, turned up the heat on Number 10 by warning she will not accept any compromise that “sells out” Northern Ireland.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Boris Johnson has increased pressure on Rishi Sunak to boost nuclear capacity with funding for two more large-scale projects before the next election. In a new intervention since leaving No 10, Johnson, accompanied by Priti Patel, the former home secretary, warned that the country had a “damaging gap in our nuclear capabilities and a weakness in our energy supply”. In a letter seen by The Times signed by 57 Tory MPs, Sunak was urged to fund the development of two more projects before the end of this parliament. It is the most recent issue Johnson has spoken out about since stepping down as prime minister. He has also told his former chancellor to send jets to Ukraine and to stick with his plan over the Northern Ireland protocol.” – The Times
“Rishi Sunak’s plan to remove scores of EU laws from the statute book by the end of the year is at risk from a Labour-Liberal Democrat push to give Parliament a say over changes. The opposition parties have teamed up behind an amendment that would allow the Commons and the Lords to debate every EU law singled out for deletion. The Labour peer leading on the Bill told The Telegraph the Government’s approach was “reckless”, while the Lib Dem warned of a “desperate power grab”… Tory Brexiteers such as Jacob Rees-Mogg are pressing Downing Street to stick to the deadline, but a growing Tory rebellion has led to predictions of defeat in the Lords. The [bill] focuses on around 4,000 laws that came into force because of the UK’s membership of the EU…” – The Daily Telegraph
“English football is to take a new direction after the government confirmed plans for an independent regulator of the game…On Thursday the government will present its white paper on football governance in the men’s elite game… Its plan is to create a regulator “established in law to oversee the financial sustainability of the game and put fans back at the heart of how football is run”. Following a period of consultation, those plans will be the turned into legislation “as soon as parliamentary time allows”… Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, said: “We know there are real challenges which threaten the stability of clubs both big and small. These bold new plans … will safeguard the beautiful game for future generations.” – The Guardian
“Medical school places will double and thousands of apprentice doctors will be trained on the job under NHS plans to deal with chronic staff shortages. An NHS workforce plan due to be published next month warns the health service will be short of more than half a million staff without the biggest boost in training for a generation and radical changes to how it recruits frontline professionals. However, a battle with the Treasury looms as health chiefs prepare a plan requiring “significant investment” in training while Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, insists there is no extra cash for new medical schools. Chronic staff shortages have become the biggest problem facing the NHS, with a current vacancy rate of 10 per cent or 133,000 posts.” – The Times
>Today:
“Ministers have been given the freedom to talk to unions about pay settlements that could include backdated or one-off payments as ways to end the escalating series of public sector strikes. But Downing Street said it was critical unions agreed to call off planned industrial action before talks could begin, as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) did on Tuesday. It is understood that the Cabinet Office has given guidance to secretaries of state about the new parameters within which they can negotiate. They underline the expectation that new efficiency reforms will be announced in return for pay deals and the pre-condition that planned strike action must be cancelled for intensive negotiations to commence.” – The Guardian
“Britain could supply replacement tanks if the ones sent to Ukraine are destroyed in battle, the Defence Secretary suggested yesterday. Fourteen Challenger 2s will be despatched to the warzone to take part in the spring offensive against Russian occupiers. They will take their place on the frontline next month and will be joined by hundreds of tanks from Nato allies. Ukrainian troops are currently being trained in Britain to operate and make essential repairs to the Challenger 2s. But should any be destroyed by the Russians, the UK could provide replacements… The Ukrainians will spend six weeks practising on Challenger 2 main battle tanks before their return to the warzone. One soldier…said the difference between the Challengers and Russian-made tanks was ‘like sea and land’.” – The Daily Mail
“Ben Wallace has been accused of failing to make “credible” claims about the state of the Armed Forces. Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, has reignited a dispute with the Defence Secretary by questioning comments he made to the Commons last month, where he said that the military had been “hollowed out and underfunded”. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is currently embroiled in a row over defence spending in the upcoming Budget, with Mr Wallace said to have asked the Chancellor for £10 billion for his department… It came as Mr Wallace announced, during a visit to the Bovington Camp Army base in Dorset, that Britain has started to “warm up” its production lines to replace weapons sent to Ukraine and increase production of artillery shells.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Britain will be in a new hot or cold war within seven years and needs to spend to prepare, Ben Wallace chillingly predicted last night. A year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Defence Secretary warned the world is “definitely more dangerous, more unstable and more insecure”.“Conflict is coming by the end of this decade,” he told The Sun, “whether it is a cold war or hot, war is coming. We just have to recognise that in order to deter you just have to be ready, you have to be equipped and you have to stand with your friends and your allies.” On the eve of Friday’s anniversary of the start of Putin’s barbaric incursion, Wallace is fighting his own battle back home to secure a multi-billion defence spending uplift at March’s Budget.” – The Sun
“The number of migrants arriving in British communities is causing ‘unsustainable’ pressures and ‘saying so does not make you racist or bigoted’, Suella Braverman said last night. But the Home Secretary forcefully condemned violent protests outside hotels being used to house Channel migrants. Mrs Braverman said in an interview with GB News: ‘It is clear and undeniable that there are really serious pressures on communities, and saying so does not make you racist or bigoted.’… Mrs Braverman added that people had a right to express their anxiety over how the arrivals were affecting their neighbourhoods and putting pressure on local services. Her remarks came after violent scenes as anti-migrant protesters gathered outside hotels in Knowsley in Merseyside…” – The Daily Mail
“Thousands of asylum seekers will be granted refugee status without an interview under government plans to clear the backlog of cases within months. Rishi Sunak has pledged to deal with more than 90,000 claims that were submitted before last June by the end of this year. Under the latest step in that plan, being announced today, all asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen and Libya who made a claim before that date will be subject to a new interview-free system. The group of about 12,000 claimants will be sent a ten-page questionnaire asking them to provide evidence supporting their asylum application. If immigration caseworkers then believe that they have submitted sufficient evidence they will be granted asylum without an interview.” – The Times
“The Environment Secretary has responded to fruit and vegetable shortages in supermarkets by telling farmers “we can’t control the weather in Spain”. Thérèse Coffey did not take questions from the press during an appearance at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference and attendees described her as “clueless”. On Tuesday, Asda and Morrisons put limits on the purchases of some fruit and vegetables following extreme weather, including floods, in Spain and north Africa which has affected food harvests. On Wednesday Aldi and Tesco also announced rationing of certain items. Minette Batters, NFU president, said…the government could do more to encourage people to produce food in the UK.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Sir Keir Starmer will set out his vision for a decade as prime minister as he unveils five “long-term” missions for a Labour government. In a speech in Manchester today, the Labour leader will herald “five bold missions for a better Britain”, asking voters to judge his government against them should he win the next election. The “missions” will form the basis of Labour’s election manifesto before becoming the “five key pillars” of a Starmer government. Each will be comprised of a set of “clear and measurable” goals. Together, Starmer will say, they add up to a vision for a “decade of national renewal”. Ten years, or two full terms, in Downing Street would make Starmer, 60, the longest serving prime minister since Sir Tony Blair.” – The Times
“Blair and Hague’s mission is to “reimagine the state and public services”, not to question their size or to ask whether their functions should be taken on by the private sector. They explain that their contribution isn’t “about traditional Left and Right debates”, and warn against “conducting a 20th-century fight at the margins of tax and spending policy” – in other words, don’t dare question high taxes. They believe in a “more strategic state”, a concept inspired by the fashionable economist Mariana Mazzucato, and in using technology, data and targeted expenditure and tax incentives to bolster the UK’s science base. Here are two politicians who fought over the euro and so much else, but who now espouse a management consultant approach to governing.” – The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
“Scotland’s finance secretary Kate Forbes suffered a fresh blow to her bid to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish National party leader and first minister after a senior SNP politician said he strongly disagreed with her views on same-sex marriage. John Swinney, deputy first minister, said it was legitimate for SNP party members who will choose the next leader to make a judgment on Forbes’s stance on gay marriage. Bookmakers initially made Forbes the favourite to replace Sturgeon, but her campaign suffered a big setback when she said in media interviews she would have voted against a 2014 law that legalised same-sex marriage in Scotland. Several supporters of Forbes…have withdrawn their backing because of her comments.” – The Financial Times