“Rishi Sunak is to launch ‘Operation Action Man’ and go on a policy blitz as he tries to close the gap on Labour. The PM has been holding a series of crunch meetings with his closest advisers and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to thrash out bold new ideas to woo voters back. Sir Keir Starmer branded Rishi “Inaction Man” in an angry PMQs clash earlier this week. But Downing Street is determined to hit back at the claim as they draw up plans to announce new initiatives over the coming weeks. Improving law and order and giving Brits “pride in their local areas” are both expected to play centre stage. A No10 insider said: “The PM is a man of action.” But most Tory MPs are still gloomy about their prospects of winning the election as they languish around 20 points behind in the polls.” – Sun on Sunday
“Downing Street has backed away from plans to scrap inheritance tax, after Tory MPs in the Red Wall seats argued that it would benefit too small a proportion of voters. The idea was discussed in No 10 at the start of the summer as a potential ‘game-changer’ to overturn Labour’s 20-point lead in the opinion polls. But it is now unlikely to form part of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement after MPs in key battleground seats argued that the £7 billion cost would be better spent on other tax cuts. The threshold for inheritance tax is £325,000, with 40 per cent paid on everything above that. There is an extra £175,000 allowance for a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren. No tax is paid on an estate left to a spouse or civil partner.” – Mail on Sunday
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>Today: ToryDiary: HS2. The project may have been a mistake. But cancelling it now would be a sign of our limited ambitions.
“A senior Conservative has called on his party to ensure welfare claimants are not handed a real-terms cut next year, after Rishi Sunak refused to commit to increasing benefits in line with inflation. Andy Street, the West Midlands mayor and the most senior Tory outside London, said the party’s previous commitment to increasing benefits such as universal credit in line with inflation had become a “real symbol” of the party’s commitment to helping the low-paid. Concerns over the policy have emerged since it was claimed that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, was considering a below-inflation increase in benefits as he struggles with tight public finances and Tory demands for tax cuts before the next general election. Sunak then refused to rule out a below-inflation rise during his recent trip to India.” – The Observer
“Liz Truss has launched a broadside against Rishi Sunak, claiming he has spent £35 billion more than she would have as prime minister. In her first major intervention on the economy since she was ousted from office, the former prime minister will suggest on Monday that Mr Sunak was wrong to throw extra money at areas of the public sector like the NHS and schools. The comments are likely to reopen wounds within the Conservative Party and reignite debate about whether the Government should pursue immediate spending reductions. Two Cabinet sources told The Telegraph they thought Mr Sunak would have to find savings to deliver pre-election tax cuts… In a speech at the Institute for Government on Monday, almost one year on from her ill-fated mini-budget, Ms Truss will claim that spending would have been £35.5 billion lower over two years if her plans had been carried through.” – Sunday Telegraph
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“A “flat tax” that would have seen all workers pay just 20 per cent of their income to the Treasury was considered for Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget. In the summer before Truss became prime minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who later became her business secretary, submitted a 600-word memo setting out the proposals. His suggestion was referred to as going “full Estonia” by other senior Tories involved in discussions during the summer of 2022… A single 20 per cent income tax band would have meant getting rid of not just the top 45 per cent rate, as Truss tried to do, but also the 40 per cent higher rate, currently paid on income between £50,271 and £125,140. Under Rees-Mogg’s proposal, corporation tax and capital gains tax would also have become 20 per cent. This would have been paid for by abolishing tax relief on pension schemes and national insurance contributions.” – Sunday Times
“New Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho today promises families she will not “punish” them with higher bills just to hit green targets. The PM is conducting an audit of his net zero policies to see if any can be softened or ditched ahead of the election. In her first big intervention since her Cabinet promotion, Ms Coutinho says it is wrong to expect people to “change their lives” and give up treats such as foreign holidays. And she warns Labour’s eco plans would kill off jobs, destroy the economy and cause nationwide blackouts… Setting out her stall for the first time, the Tory rising star says she is committed to creating new green jobs and cleaning up the environment. But this must not be done on the backs of hard-working families, she writes.” – Sun on Sunday
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“The “box office” inquisitions that will bring Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings before the Covid-19 inquiry have been shunted back a month until November to prevent them clashing with the political conference season. The eagerly awaited appearances of those in charge of the pandemic response will lay bare tensions and disagreements at the heart of government, including over the severity and timing of lockdowns, the rushed contracts awarded for huge amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE), school closures and policies such as Sunak’s “eat out to help out” scheme. The inquiry also wants to understand the culture that was allowed to develop in Downing Street and Whitehall at the time, which ultimately led to the Partygate scandal.” – The Observer
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“Human rights campaigners have expressed alarm that an alleged Chinese spy “met a minister” to discuss a China-related Bill before the Government defeated a key amendment to prevent organ harvesting. The suspected agent, a man in his 20s who worked with senior Conservative MPs, reportedly attended a meeting with a Cabinet Office minister to discuss amendments to the Procurement Bill before he was arrested in March. The man said: “I am completely innocent. I have spent my career to date trying to educate others about the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist Party.” The legislation will impose new rules for government contracts and strengthens ministers’ powers to exclude companies deemed a security risk.” – Sunday Telegraph
“Senior Tories warn the flagship policy to deter people crossing the Channel in small boats must not be derailed again. A landmark Supreme Court verdict on the legality of the scheme is now not expected until at least December, and Conservatives are demanding radical action to ensure the flights go ahead even if judges rule against the Government. They want Britain to work with other European countries battling people smuggling to secure changes to the European Convention on Human Rights so states are not blocked from protecting their borders. Rishi Sunak will also come under intense pressure to change UK law so Britain can press ahead with the Rwanda programme. Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, writing in the Sunday Express, insists the Rwanda scheme will “remove the incentive for illegal migrants to leave the safety of France in the first place”.” – Sunday Express
“Shoplifting is not a ‘minor’ or ‘low-level’ crime. That’s why I want to see a zero-tolerance approach from police. Theft from shops – whether large chains or independent retailers – is against the law and perpetrators could face a maximum sentence of seven years. And for good reason. The consequences are devastating. The British Retail Consortium found nearly £1 billion was lost to theft between April 2021 and March 2022. For smaller shops, even a modest loss can ruin livelihoods. But this is not just a question of financial losses. If shoplifting is left unchecked, the problem will escalate as perpetrators are emboldened to commit more crimes. As with many types of criminality, offending can escalate – for example, to violence and abuse. Attacks against staff are unacceptable. I say that not just as Minister for Crime and Policing but also as someone who worked in a supermarket in South London as a teenager.” – Mail on Sunday
“Labour and the Conservatives are neck and neck in the battle for the previously safe Tory seat of Mid Bedfordshire, according to a poll that suggests a split “progressive” vote could allow Rishi Sunak’s party to retain the constituency. Labour and the Liberal Democrats are making a full-tilt effort to win the seat from the Conservatives after the resignation of Nadine Dorries, a close ally of Boris Johnson, who eventually quit after being denied a place on the former prime minister’s resignation honours list. A new constituency poll seen by the Observer suggests that the Tory vote share in the seat has collapsed, halving from the near 60% that Dorries enjoyed at the last election. However, the Survation poll commissioned by the Labour Together group, which is close to Keir Starmer, has Labour and the Tories on level pegging.” – The Observer
“Sir Keir Starmer faced a backlash from his own party last night after Labour’s controversial plans to let 16-year-olds vote in General Elections was set in stone. One former Minister branded the idea ‘gerrymandering, pure and simple’, while an MP said that it ‘smacked of self-interest’ as people that young were more likely to vote Labour than Tory. The row erupted after Labour confirmed yesterday that cutting the voting age from 18 to 16 was included in a revised policy blueprint for its General Election manifesto… Mr Harris, 59, who quit the party in 2018, agreed with Mr Stringer that ‘at 16, most people just aren’t mature enough to have the vote’. He said: ‘That’s no criticism of them – it’s just a fact of life. If Starmer has any sense, he will quietly park any plans to extend it for UK-wide elections.'” – Mail on Sunday
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“David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, has proposed forging stronger ties between Britain and the EU through a reset of foreign policy under a future Labour government. Mr Lammy underlined that he felt it was time the UK regained its place as a key player in world affairs. In an interview with The Observer, he made the comments during a gathering of centre-left leaders in Montreal in Canada… He echoed the views made by Sir Keir Starmer during a meeting staged by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau that Labour would aim to rebuild “the smouldering cinders of the bridges the Tories have burnt” in building links with other countries. Mr Lammy said for Labour, developing closer links with the EU was key.” – Sunday Telegraph