“Suella Braverman warned yesterday that multiculturalism is a ‘recipe for communal disaster’ as she hailed Britain’s role in leading the abolition of the slave trade. The Home Secretary said the UK should not be afraid of its own ‘Britishness’ and reiterated a vow to control migration better. In a wide-ranging speech, intended to appeal to the Tory Right, Mrs Braverman also poked fun at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s bungled attempts to define a woman. Mrs Braverman received a rapturous applause from delegates at the National Conservatism Conference in London yesterday, where she spoke of her desire for migrants to integrate into British society.” – Daily Mail
Analysis:
Sketches:
More:
>Yesterday: Sir John Hayes in Comment: How National Conservatism can help the Government deliver on the promises of 2019
“Woke culture in schools is driving kids to self-harm and suicide, a Tory MP blasted today. At the National Conservatism Conference in Westminster, Miriam Cates claimed “hope is diminishing for young people” because they’re being taught Britain is racist and humanity is killing earth. There is no evidence to suggest this is the case. The Penistone and Stocksbridge MP also risked a major row as she argued “cultural Marxism” is “destroying children’s souls”. The far-right conspiracy theory has been criticised for having anti-Jewish connotations. It argues intellectuals are trying to indoctrinate the public with communist views to destroy free speech and democracy.” – The Sun
>Today:
>Yesterday: David Goodhart in Comment: Reducing the demand for government. 1) Families. Time to invest in a real policy.
“Rishi Sunak must reject “socialist solutions” and an economic status quo that supports greater state intervention to solve Britain’s problems, former Cabinet minister Lord Frost will say on Wednesday. Lord Frost, who helped negotiate Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and is hoping to become an MP at the next general election, will say that more government involvement in the lives of Britons makes it harder to prioritise cutting taxes and spending. The peer will say that the Prime Minister and his team should resist the drift in Western societies towards “socialist and collectivist solutions”, as ministers seek ways to tackle the challenges presented by the war in Ukraine, the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.” – Daily Telegraph
Editorial:
>Today: Dr Gerard Lyons’ column: Public sector net wealth. This new way of looking at the public finances could transform economic policy.
>Yesterday:
“Rishi Sunak is facing mounting Tory unrest as he imposes the biggest tax rise since the 1970s, dragging millions of middle earners into the 40p rate of income tax. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says that many teachers, nurses and electricians are among the one in five taxpayers who will be paying a rate designed for the wealthy because of a six-year freeze on thresholds. Sunak’s use of fiscal drag to raise revenue should be seen as a “very large tax increase” that is super-charging a “seismic” change to the tax system that piles more of the burden on to those in normal jobs, the think tank says.” – The Times
Comment:
“Rishi Sunak pledged to protect the interests of farmers when he signs trade deals after his predecessor was accused of abandoning them. In an open letter to British farmers, the Prime Minister said that any deal he signs will consider the impacts on the UK’s domestic agricultural sector. It came after Liz Truss was accused in 2020, when she was the international trade secretary, of signing deals with Australia and New Zealand, even though experts believed they would shrink the UK’s farming and food sectors. In his letter, Mr Sunak also promised that the UK would never agree to import chlorine-washed chicken under any future deals.” – Daily Telegraph
“Michael Gove last night told Keir Starmer to answer claims that he wants to undermine Brexit by granting EU citizens the vote. In a strongly-worded letter, the Cabinet minister challenged Labour’s leader to respond to the charge that the policy would ‘rig’ future elections. He said Sir Keir was seeking to ‘downgrade the ultimate privilege of British citizenship’ by letting migrants help decide who runs the UK. Mr Gove also accused him of hypocrisy for planning to lower the voting age to 16 despite having argued only recently that adulthood should begin at 18 when it came to changing gender. And he pointed out that the last Labour government increased to 18 the legal age for everything from buying cigarettes to leaving school.” – Daily Mail
More:
“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the UK has promised to send hundreds of attack drones and other military hardware to Ukraine after face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. Ukraine’s president arrived in Britain after visiting other European capitals over the weekend as he sought to shore up support ahead of an anticipated counter-offensive by the country’s military to take back territory occupied by Russian forces. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, told journalists that the Kremlin took an “extremely negative” view of Britain providing Kyiv with weapons capable of hitting Russian targets well behind the front line.” – FT
“Watered-down plans to scrap EU laws will now remove only the most ‘trivial’ Brussels regulations, MPs warned last night. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the Commons European scrutiny committee accused ministers of failing to deal with EU red tape that is hampering economic growth. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch sparked Brexiteer anger last week when she dropped a pledge to scrap all 5,000 EU laws on the UK statute book by the end of this year. Instead, she proposed removing just 600. In a withering verdict, the committee accused the Government of targeting only the most minor Brussels regulations for removal.” – Daily Mail
“The UK’s policing minister has pushed for facial recognition to be rolled out across police forces nationally in a move that would ignore critics who claim the technology is inaccurate and some of its applications illegal. According to a report to be submitted to parliament on Tuesday, the Home Office briefed the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner during closed-door meetings on Chris Philp’s desire to expand the use of the controversial systems by law enforcement. Any such move by Philp, who was appointed minister of state for crime, policing and fire by prime minister Rishi Sunak last October, is likely to be divisive.” – FT
“A Tory underdog for London Mayor bagged a shock boost today as two ex-Cabinet Ministers endorsed his campaign. Ex-No10 adviser Samuel Kasumu won the backing of former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries… Mr Kasumu has vowed to scrap Sadiq Khan’s controversial ULEZ emissions tax if he wins the keys to City Hall. London Tories Andrew Boff, Nick Rogers and Susan Hall are all having a tilt to be the party’s candidate in next year’s election. And Minister for London Paul Scully is expected to announce his campaign this week, with ex-Education Secretary Kit Malthouse also considering a bid.” – The Sun