“Rishi Sunak has appointed two close allies to the senior positions vacated by the resignation of Dominic Raab. Oliver Dowden becomes deputy prime minister and Alex Chalk gets his first cabinet job as justice secretary. Mr Dowden, as cabinet office secretary, already played a key role at the heart of the prime minister’s administration. But both men have long been close to Mr Sunak and it was no surprise when they re-entered government following the short-lived tenure of Liz Truss. Like the prime minister, both were first elected to Parliament in 2015 and are firm friends with him – though, unlike Mr Sunak, both voted to remain in the EU in the Brexit referendum. Mr Dowden, 44, ran Mr Sunak’s leadership campaign last summer and Mr Chalk, 46, was one of his most enthusiastic supporters.” – BBC News
“Radical plans to bring in more “politicisation” of Whitehall by allowing ministers greater powers to appoint their own civil servants – including some with overt political affiliations – are being considered by the government’s own adviser on the civil service. Writing in today’s Observer, the Conservative peer and former Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who is expected to report shortly to Rishi Sunak, says that in order for ministers to get the best advice possible, we need “to be more robust and less mealy mouthed about ‘politicisation’”. Maude’s ideas, which also include external auditing of advice given by civil servants to reward those who perform best, will cause deep alarm across Whitehall following the resignation of former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab on Friday after accusations were upheld that he had bullied officials whom he believed had underperformed.” – The Observer
“When Dominic Raab told his eight-year-old son on Friday morning that he was resigning from the Government, he couched it in characteristically motivational language. ‘I told him that the setbacks you have are the motivation for the next success,’ adding that his son replied: ‘Your success, Daddy, is going to be spending more time with us.’ The former Deputy Prime Minister was relaxing – to the extent that he ever relaxes – on Friday evening in a buzzing pub in his Esher constituency, just hours after he had been forced to quit Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet. Mr Sunak agonised over Mr Raab’s fate for 24 hours, reluctant to hand a victory to the ‘snowflakes’ in the Civil Service who had accused the Minister of bullying, but bound by Mr Raab’s promise to resign if any of their complaints were upheld by investigator Adam Tolley KC. In the end, they agreed between them that Mr Raab had no choice but to go.” – Mail on Sunday
“For George Osborne, it was Cornish pasties. For Dominic Raab, it is Pret A Manger. Back in 2018, the then housing minister’s diary secretary was caught advertising on a website for “sugar daddies”. But what transfixed Westminster was her revelation that her boss always ordered the same lunch: a chicken and bacon baguette, superfruit pot and vitamin volcano smoothie. More recently, it was Pret tomatoes that the justice secretary was accused of hurling in a “fit of rage”. Now, the man some of his colleagues duly nicknamed “The Vitamin Volcano” is out, but not without one last eruption. The deputy prime minister’s resignation letter made it clear that he was going with the most intense reluctance.” – Sunday Times
“Suella Braverman has signalled that she is prepared to ignore European judges to start deportation flights to Rwanda, as she readies to face down her critics this week. The Home Secretary said proposed new powers for ministers to disregard temporary injunctions by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) were “crucial” to delivering Rishi Sunak’s pledge to stop migrant boats from crossing the Channel. A so-called Rule 39 order – dubbed “pyjama injunctions” by Tory MPs – was used by a single ECHR judge late at night to block the first deportation flight to Rwanda at the eleventh hour last June. Mrs Braverman’s remarks come ahead of a showdown in the Commons this week as the Illegal Migration Bill returns for its final report stage, with Tory rebels expected to pressure her to make concessions on modern slavery laws.” – Sunday Telegraph
“Three Conservative MPs who have criticised aspects of the Government’s asylum policy have received services from a pro-migration policy group, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. The trio are among half a dozen MPs who received more than £160,000 in services and research support from the Refugee, Asylum and Migration Policy (RAMP) project over the past 18 months. RAMP was set up by an organisation called the Good Faith Partnership with a remit to promote a “world-class migration system, which helps to create a successful and integrated society” that is “fair to all”. – Sunday Telegraph
“Boris Johnson fell out with his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings after growing tired of being treated like a “young and inexperienced king” who needed to be kept in order, Michael Gove has revealed. The levelling up secretary, who is close to Cummings and was a figurehead of the Vote Leave campaign beside Johnson, said the pair fell out soon after the 2019 election because Johnson no longer wanted to be treated “as a tempestuous thoroughbred, with a strong whip and bridle to keep him in order”. Gove offered the account in a new book, Johnson at 10, by Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell, which documents the chaos and downfall of the Johnson premiership. It argues that Johnson blamed Cummings and his wife, Carrie Johnson, to disguise his own reluctance to take difficult decisions in Downing Street. Seldon’s book states that Johnson described his then fiancee Carrie as “mad and crazy” as he used her as an excuse to avoid confrontations.” – The Observer
“Health secretary Steve Barclay has been accused by the Royal College of Nursing of trying to “bully and silence” nurses after the government issued legal papers in an attempt to block a planned May Day strike, describing it as unlawful. A “pre-claim” letter was issued in Barclay’s name on Friday, demanding the RCN cancel industrial action planned for 30 April to 2 May. In the five-page legal letter, seen by the Guardian, the government’s lawyers say they will seek “declaratory relief” – a legal term for asking the courts to step in – unless the union’s leadership advise its members that the two-day strike is unlawful and that they should stay at work.” – The Observer
“Police forces have been alerted to the risk of a spike in disputes and confrontations at the forthcoming local elections, amid concern that new voter ID rules will provoke rows in polling booths across England. Polling station staff are being trained to de-escalate heated situations expected to arise next month, when many more people than usual are likely to be turned away as a result of new identity checks. It is understood that government officials and councils have warned police forces about possible problems created by rule changes implemented for May’s local elections. All eligible adults will need to show photo identification at polling stations. Those without photo ID can apply for a special voter certificate until Tuesday, but fears remain that thousands of people who wish to vote may be turned away.” – The Observer
“Since I am, apparently, to be executed for my offences against the climate, there’s nothing to lose by saying a few more words on the matter, while enjoying one last cigarette. The man who put out a film on YouTube under the headline “Dominic Lawson will be hanged for climate crimes” is Roger Hallam, the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, now engaged in one of its periodic spasms of public disruption. Hallam sensibly added the proviso that he was only predicting my execution, not proposing it. The money to finance the activities and legal costs — and also those of the related group Just Stop Oil — comes in part from the Climate Emergency Fund, which in turn is founded and funded by the American philanthropist Aileen Getty.” – Sunday Times
“In terms of the issues dominating the campaign trail, there is nothing unusual about the battle taking place to win seats on Berkshire’s Bracknell Forest council in May’s local elections. Potholes, council tax and sewage are among the hot topics on the doorstep. Yet a closer inspection of the candidate list in the Tory stronghold reveals an odd quirk that some political pundits believe is unprecedented – and has also led to furious accusations from party leaderships that the local parties involved have “gone rogue” in their quest for electoral success. You won’t hear any local party figures broadcasting it – in fact, none are prepared to talk about it publicly – but Bracknell Forest has emerged as the unlikely scene of a de facto progressive alliance between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, attempting to make gains on a council where the Conservatives hold 37 of 42 seats.” – The Observer