“Adults who cannot understand basic maths ought to be embarrassed, Rishi Sunak will say in a tough message designed to change public attitudes towards innumeracy. The prime minister will take aim at the “anti-maths mindset” that he says is damaging the economy. He will say in a speech in London on Monday that numeracy is “every bit as essential as reading” and argue that poor understanding of maths should not be “socially acceptable”. As part of an overhaul of the education system, Sunak has said every child must learn maths and English up until the age of 18…Announcing the membership of an expert group of teachers to consult on different ways to deliver his pledge, Sunak will lament Britain’s supposedly low standing in numeracy league tables.” – The Times
“Rishi Sunak appears set on trying to face down unions in a high-risk strategy to tough out a renewed wave of NHS strikes in England that health service leaders warned were unsustainable and could put patient safety at risk. With the prime minister and his health secretary, Steve Barclay, seemingly offering no fresh concessions for nurses or junior doctors, they risk the possibility of combined strike action, a scenario one NHS leader said would put the health service “into uncharted territory”. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents the doctors, has so far only ruled out combined action for the next nurses’ strike, starting on 30 April, and is holding out the possibility of joint strikes if the disputes drag on as a means to push the government into action.” – The Guardian
“Nurses have vowed to keep striking until Christmas, with the NHS braced for them to join forces with doctors in months of rolling walkouts. YouGov polling for The Times shows that the majority of voters continue to back the strikes, with nurses enjoying 67 per cent support and doctors 59 per cent. This is despite one in ten having treatment disrupted as cancellations wreck a Tory pledge to reduce record waiting lists of 7.2 million. Pat Cullen, head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), on Sunday rejected a plea from the health secretary to call off a 48-hour strike including A&E and cancer wards… Ministers are adamant that nurses will not receive an improved pay offer…Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said he was “disappointed and concerned” about the threat of further strikes.” – The Times
>Yesterday:
“Joe Biden’s flagship green energy policy risks plunge the world into the economic “dark ages”, Jeremy Hunt has warned. The Chancellor urged world leaders not to put up trade barriers after the US President passed a $369bn package of subsidies to support climate and energy businesses. Mr Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has drawn an estimated $200bn in investment since it was passed last year, according to estimates…, and both the EU and Britain have been forced to draw up responses…It has sparked fears of a new era of protectionism, where economies are closely managed through tariffs and subsidies. Mr Hunt said the British Government would provide “some” support for businesses to stop investment fleeing overseas but said it would be measured.” – The Daily Telegraph
“James Cleverly has arrived in Japan for a G7 foreign ministers’ summit to promote a “free and open” Indo-Pacific, as the UK government steps up its focus on the region after Brexit. The foreign secretary and his counterparts from countries including the US and France will hold high-level talks on closer security and defence ties in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in the Pacific. The government’s updated integrated review last month reinforced a post-Brexit “tilt” towards the region as a “permanent pillar” of British foreign policy to create a democratic counterweight to China. The visit comes after the French president, Emmanuel Macron, prompted concern last week…by suggesting that Europe should not get dragged into a US-Beijing confrontation over Taiwan.” – The Guardian
“Public services are in “great shape” after 13 years of Conservative rule, a cabinet minister has said. Greg Hands, the party chairman, was challenged about the state of the NHS after a winter of strikes by nurses, junior doctors and ambulance staff. He insisted that there were “record numbers” of nurses and doctors in the health service and defended the quality of other frontline services. “We’re dealing with the strikes at the moment but overall our public services are in great shape,” he told LBC. Voters go to the polls on May 4 for local elections in the first electoral test of Rishi Sunak’s premiership since he entered No 10 last year, and Hands sought to manage expectations by insisting that the pressure was on the Labour party to make significant gains.” – The Times
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“The Conservative Party chairman suggested Boris Johnson joining the campaign trail could boost the party’s prospects at the local elections as he admitted the party may face a wipeout. In a forthright admission of the uphill struggle his party now faces, Greg Hands agreed with projections that suggest the Conservatives could lose more than 1,000 seats…Asked if he would welcome Mr Johnson’s return, Mr Hands told The Camilla Tominey Show: “We’ll have to wait, and see but Boris is always welcome to be out campaigning for us.” It is no wonder, then, that Conservative association leaders fear their council candidates will “take a pasting” despite early signs of enthusiasm for Rishi Sunak.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Prominent Conservative critics of China have revealed their fears that Beijing is monitoring their families as part of an intimidation campaign aimed at deterring them… A Tory MP’s child allegedly had their university application jeopardised amid warnings Chinese funding would be pulled…while the child of one politician was knocked off course when they were blocked from travelling with a Chinese airline. Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative Party leader, told The Telegraph he believed Beijing was keeping tabs on his family members’ movements while Alicia Kearns…said she would not rule this out as China would “want us to feel watched”… The claims have emerged as The Telegraph spoke to five prominent China critics in Westminster…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Labour has “taken the gloves off” and will double down on attack adverts targeting Rishi Sunak personally, the shadow health secretary said. Wes Streeting said the party would release a lot more adverts containing controversial claims about the prime minister even though there is internal unease over the aggressive tactics and criticism from some MPs. One advert said the prime minister did not believe paedophiles should be jailed and another said he did not think thieves should be punished. Statistics from the Ministry of Justice showed that 4,500 adults convicted of sexually assaulting children under 16 since 2010 were not sent to prison were used to justify the former advert… Different wings of the Labour Party have called for the adverts to be withdrawn.” – The Times
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“The Labour leader routinely boasts that “as Director of Public Prosecutions, I prosecuted serious terrorists”, “I prosecuted people smugglers”, and “I prosecuted grooming gangs”. But if critics point out errors and failures in the organisation he led for five years, his allies insist that Starmer cannot be accountable for decisions made by thousands of CPS lawyers. Yet this is the standard to which Starmer seeks to hold ministers running government departments every week. So Starmer claims responsibility for the successes of the CPS, and denies responsibility for the crises… He has invited maximum scrutiny of his record…and his attitudes to law and order. He has deprived himself of all defences against attacks based on his own decisions and record in office.” – The Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
“Nicola Sturgeon is under increasing pressure to quit the SNP amid warnings that the party is facing financial ruin. On Sunday, the former first minister was dragged deeper into the scandal engulfing the nationalists as claims emerged that police were investigating attempts to shut down scrutiny of the SNP’s finances. There is a growing expectation inside the SNP that Ms Sturgeon, who planned to remain in Holyrood until at least 2026, will now quit as an MSP “sooner rather than later”. Humza Yousaf, her successor, is facing demands to suspend her party membership if she refuses to walk away. It comes as he was forced to deny that the party he inherited was “close to bankruptcy” after a stark warning was delivered to its ruling National Executive Committee…” – The Daily Telegraph