“Rishi Sunak is concerned that Sue Gray could use “privileged information” to benefit the Labour Party after she left one of the most senior roles in government to serve as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff. Gray, who led the investigation into the Downing Street parties scandal, has shocked Whitehall by quitting her role as a permanent secretary to take charge of the Labour Party’s preparations for government. Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, believes that her move demonstrates the parties scandal was “manufactured” by those intent on bringing him down “with the connivance of Labour”. His allies are pressing Sunak to block the appointment for two years. Officials who have worked closely with Gray expressed their concern at the move…” – The Times
>Today:
“Rishi Sunak is refusing to rush Britain back into the EU’s €95.5bn Horizon science programme in spite of his breakthrough in relations with Brussels, raising the prospect of a tough negotiation on rejoining the scheme. Senior colleagues say the UK prime minister is “sceptical” about the value of the research programme — the world’s biggest — and the cost of British participation. They add he will “take stock” of options including the country’s “Plan B” global research plan. While Britain had been expected to contribute £15bn for the full seven year Horizon programme, three years have already passed and the two sides must now agree how much the UK would have to provide. Sunak’s hesitancy comes despite calls by UK scientists for Britain to re-enter Horizon…” – The Financial Times
“Rishi Sunak has warned Tory MPs that voters will not forgive them if they “inflict more psychodrama on them” as he appealed for unity. The prime minister addressed more than 200 MPs at an awayday at a five-star hotel in Windsor — shortly before his predecessor, Boris Johnson, criticised his Brexit deal. “Voters are fed up with all the Westminster drama,” Sunak said. “They won’t forgive us if we inflict more psychodrama on them.” The awayday used the same hotel where he finalised his Brexit deal with Ursula von der Leyen…Isaac Levido, the Australian election strategist who is running the Conservative Party’s campaign, revealed that internal predictive polling had focused on “soft voters” who said they didn’t know which party they would pick.” – The Times
“Ministers have vented their fury at Argentina who are demanding fresh talks on the sovereignty of the Falklands. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was informed about the decision on the margins of a G20 summit in India that a co-operation agreement was also being ripped up. The Cabinet Minister insisted: “The Falkland Islands are British. Islanders have the right to decide their own future. They have chosen to remain a self-governing UK Overseas Territory.” His counterpart Santiago Cafiero said he was bringing the 2016 agreement to an end to improve co-operation on South Atlantic issues of mutual interest. He said he wanted discussions on the islands’ future. Argentina believes it holds sovereignty of the islands which were subject to a war in 1982.” – The Sun
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“Ministers have offered to reopen negotiations with striking ambulance unions, ending months of deadlock in the NHS pay dispute. Steve Barclay, the health secretary, wrote to unions on Thursday inviting them to hold “intensive” formal pay talks on the 2022-23 pay offer — as long as they called off strikes next week. The shift reflects mounting concern in Downing Street that industrial disputes are making it impossible to deliver Rishi Sunak’s promise of bringing down NHS waiting lists. However, unions have not yet agreed to enter into the talks, which would require them to “immediately” call off strikes involving 40,000 paramedics and emergency call handlers. Members of the GMB and Unite unions will strike on Monday. GMB and Unison will also strike on Wednesday.” – The Times
“Consumer groups and providers have expressed disappointment at the UK government’s decision to further delay the pension dashboard, four years after the service was first set to be launched. Pensions minister Laura Trott announced on Thursday that the government would undertake a “reset of the pension dashboards programme (PDP)”. She said the project had been a complex undertaking and a new chair would soon be appointed to develop a delivery plan. Ever since plans for a secure online dashboard were first set out in 2016, offering individuals access to data on their state, workplace and personal pensions in one place, the scheme has been hit by delays in collecting data from pension providers.” – The Financial Times
“Tory Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson says he sympathises with people taking part in protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers. A series of demonstrations have taken place across Britain in recent weeks, most notably in Merseyside when a police officer and two members of the public were injured in a violent clash that saw 15 people, including a 13-year-old boy, arrested. Mr Anderson – nicknamed ’30p Lee’ by critics after he claimed people could make meals for 30p a day by learning to cook and budget properly – told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast it was human nature to be concerned about sudden changes in a community…Anderson also told the BBC’s Nick Robinson how he believed people struggling with the cost of living were ‘more resourceful’ in previous decades.” – The Daily Mail
“Rishi Sunak’s hopes of ending the Tory civil war over Brexit suffered a setback after Boris Johnson launched a stinging attack on his compromise deal with the European Union. The former prime minister used his first major speech in the UK since leaving office to say he would find it “very difficult” to vote for Sunak’s deal, warning: “This is not about the UK taking back control.” He also claimed that the EU was trying to use Northern Ireland to keep the whole of the UK in the orbit of Brussels and prevent the country from taking advantage of the Brexit “freedoms” he had fought for…In a warning to his successor, Johnson said the Conservatives won a bigger majority thanks to the party’s pledge to deliver on Brexit and suggested it could be imperilled by Sunak’s deal.” – The Times
“Ministers and the country’s most senior civil servant discussed how they needed to “get heavy with the police” to crack down on the public during the Covid pandemic. WhatsApp messages in The Lockdown Files disclose how Matt Hancock and colleagues gave officers their “marching orders” to enforce lockdown measures – days before Number 10 staff held a party in Downing Street. Despite ministers claiming in public that the police are operationally independent of the Government, the leaked messages reveal that senior officers were hauled into Number 10 to be told they should be stricter with the public…The revelations about political pressure on the police come on the third day of the Lockdown Files…” – The Daily Telegraph
“A false dichotomy has formed between Tory libertarians, who care only for tax cuts and untold economic fortunes, and big state-ers who want to pump up public services with more spending and centralised control. One lot are decried as heartless zealots, the other as proto-socialists. But examining where conservatism goes next through this lens leads to pointless arguments that miss the core of the problem: our state does not work…All of these questions sit beyond the everyday priorities of those in elected office. Onward launched its Future of Conservatism project this week to refresh and renew the ideals of conservatism, a new phase of modernisation as ambitious as what the party went through under David Cameron.” – The Times
“Labour wants to see a closer trading relationship with the EU, Rachel Reeves has declared. The shadow chancellor said the fact that Rishi Sunak had been able to reach a deal with the European Commission on Northern Ireland proved that Brussels was open to negotiations. Speaking to journalists, Ms Reeves also said that the return of Luciana Berger to Labour was a sign that the party had come an “awfully long way” since the days of Jeremy Corbyn. She said: “We do want a closer trading relationship [with the EU]. All the evidence shows that the deal that the Government secured has cost us exports for British firms and has also reduced investment into the UK…We want that investment back in Britain…”” – The Daily Telegraph
“Nicola Sturgeon has praised John Swinney for his “friendship and wise counsel” during the pandemic as he announced plans to join her in stepping down from government. The deputy first minister described his almost 16 years in the cabinet — first under Alex Salmond, then Sturgeon — as the “privilege of my life”. However, he said that after taking on several “demanding” roles, including as finance secretary, education secretary, and currently as the Covid recovery secretary, he will join the back benches when the new first minister is appointed…Swinney said he will remain at Holyrood as the MSP for Perthshire North and “faithfully represent” his constituents. Sturgeon said her deputy’s contribution to “our nation” was “considerable, indeed unique”.” – The Times
News in Brief: