“Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans to slash inheritance tax, which his officials have called “the most hated tax in Britain”. Cutting the levy before eventually abolishing it entirely is one of a raft of crowd-pleasing announcements being considered before next month’s Conservative Party conference. As part of his pledge to announce a series of long-term decisions designed to change Britain, Sunak would frame the policy as an “aspirational offer to voters” ahead of the general election.” – Sunday Times
“Rishi Sunak could axe the second half of HS2 after an £8 billion expected increase in costs threatened to wipe out the budget for other transport projects. Mr Sunak and Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, are expected to meet early this week to finalise plans to scrap phase two of the troubled railway line, from Birmingham to the North. A Whitehall source said: “There is a reluctance to throw good money after bad.” The Telegraph understands that officials expect the upper estimate of building the initial London to Birmingham stretch of the line to increase by at least a fifth – or more than £8 billion – from the £45 billion figure published in June 2022.” – Sunday Telegraph
“Rishi Sunak is set to fight the next election pledging to keep the pension ‘triple lock’ – despite its spiralling cost – after being told it would be ‘political suicide’ to abandon it. The Prime Minister had declined to commit to the policy beyond next year’s 8.5 per cent rise in state pensions, after experts said it could add up to £45 billion a year to the welfare bill by 2050. Treasury officials had been discussing taking a one-off break from the triple lock – which increases pensions each April by whatever is highest out of average earnings rises, inflation or 2.5 per cent – and there had been debate about ditching the guarantee in the next manifesto.” – Mail on Sunday
Braverman to warn international conventions no longer “fit for purpose” on immigration and asylum
“Suella Braverman is to question whether key international conventions governing the movement of people are “fit for purpose” on a trip to America this week to discuss immigration. During the visit, the Home Secretary will warn that governments failing to tackle illegal migration “risk losing their democratic legitimacy”. Ms Braverman will travel to Washington DC tomorrow as part of a three-day visit in which she will hold talks with a range of lawmakers and officials including US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland.” – Sunday Telegraph
Conversion therapy ban likely to be shelved
“A ban on conversion therapy is expected to be shelved by Rishi Sunak, five years after the Conservatives vowed to legislate against the practice. The government is expected to announce that the legislation will no longer be brought forward, with ministers concluding it has proven problematic or ineffective in other countries. Officials are working on draft guidance as an alternative solution. If signed off, it would highlight existing laws that the government believes already criminalise several aspects of conversion therapy, which aims to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.” – Sunday Times
Lib Dems propose doubling shared parental pay
“The Liberal Democrats have said they would double statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) and extend the amount of leave new parents can take if the party form the next government. Speaking at the party’s autumn conference in Bournemouth, education spokesperson, Munira Wilson, said not enough men were taking leave, while many “simply can’t afford” to spend time with their babies. ShPP is paid at a rate of £172.48 a week or 90% of the claimant’s average weekly earnings.” – The Observer
>Today: ToryDiary: The point of the Lib Dems is to be anti-Conservative, but that does not mean they can afford to be exciting
Net Zero 1) Cauldwell to stop donations to Conservatives due to policy change
“The biggest donor to the Conservative Party before the last election has said there is “no chance whatsoever” of him backing Rishi Sunak after the prime minister’s green policy U-turn. The billionaire John Caudwell said he is now considering whether to switch allegiance to Labour after being left “beyond shocked” at the “madness” of Sunak’s reversal on reforms brought in by Boris Johnson.” – Sunday Times
Net Zero 2) Colvile: If we don’t increase our electricity supply we will never get there
“The most energy-hungry sector is transport. Which is dominated by road transport — ie, cars. Next comes residential — ie, houses. Roughly 85 per cent of household energy usage goes towards heating the air and heating the water. So a transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps means taking arguably the two biggest chunks of energy demand in the UK and hooking them up to the grid, at the same time. In short, when we talk about net zero, we are actually talking about electrification — either directly, by plugging things into sockets, or indirectly, for example via the use of green hydrogen (an emission-free fuel generated by electrolysis, which has applications in both transport and heating). And the most important limiting factor is not the government’s deadlines, or whether the technology is ready. It’s whether we have the power.” – Robert Colvile, Sunday Times
Net Zero 3) Hands: Labour is out of touch
“In the real world, people up and down the country were breathing a sigh of relief that the Prime Minister had recognised the importance of giving them more time and space to prepare for the future. Especially given the fact we’re already doing much more than our fair share to reach net zero by 2050. If you had knocked on doors in Tamworth, Staffordshire — as I did on Thursday — you would have spoken to people of all ages and backgrounds who welcomed the news that the Government had taken a bold decision with their best interests at heart. Compare that with Labour, who responded with criticism and no answers.” – Greg Hands, The Sun on Sunday
Website to publicise candidate views on trans issues
“MPs who believe women have a penis will be named and shamed ahead of the general election, The Telegraph can reveal. An “army” of volunteers in an apolitical new grassroots campaign is gearing up to meet all MPs and parliamentary candidates at hustings events and on their doorsteps to ask each one the question: “What is a woman?” Their answers will be video recorded and uploaded individually to a website which is being launched in the coming months. It will allow voters to find out instantly whether their next MP thinks women must be born female and that binary biological sex cannot be changed, or whether they believe that male-born transgender women are women too.” – Sunday Telegraph
A million NHS operations and appointments cancelled because of doctors strikes
“Grim figures out this week are expected to reveal 1 million NHS operations and appointments have been cancelled because of strikes. The nation is heading for the stark milestone after the junior doctors and consultants walked out in the biggest health strike in British history. Senior MPs tore into the militant medics for harming patients with their crippling strikes.” – The Sun on Sunday
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News in brief