“A pro-Israel Tory MP is quitting politics – citing fears for his safety. Justice Minister Mike Freer told PM Rishi Sunak yesterday that he would step down at the next election, after facing a torrent of threats. The 63-year-old says he feels “lucky to be alive” after a suspected arson attack on his London constituency office in December. And while he accepted that some abuse was “par for the course” for an MP, he added: “You shouldn’t really have to think, am I going to survive the day?” In 2022, it emerged that terrorist Ali Harbi Ali visited Mr Freer’s constituency office a month before he murdered Essex MP David Amess in October 2021. Last night, Mr Freer said increasing threats have made his husband Angelo nervous, particularly following the attack on his office.” – The Sun
>Yesterday: Parliament: Our list of Conservative MPs standing down at the next election. Freer the latest to announce.
“Just a fifth of goods flowing between Northern Ireland and the mainland will be subject to EU checks, ministers declared today. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton Harris unveiled a new deal to try to get power-sharing in the province back up and running. It was painstakingly negotiated with hardliners in the Democratic Unionist Party, who had walked away from the Stormont Assembly over a customs border in the Irish sea. The plan will see the end of routine post-Brexit checks on 80 per cent of goods shipped from Great Britain to final destinations in Northern Ireland. But checks will remain on goods destined for the European Union via the land border with the Republic of Ireland.” – The Sun
Analysis:
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Editorial:
>Yesterday:
“A minister has told British businesses that “some friction” when trading with the EU after Brexit is the price to pay for being a sovereign state again. On the fourth anniversary of Britain officially leaving the EU, Andrea Leadsom said UK firms should “adapt” to the change in trade rules, after new checks were brought in on food, drink and some agricultural products, suggesting they should not buy goods from Europe.
When asked what the successes of Brexit were, Leadsom, a health minister and fierce Brexiter, told Nick Ferrari on LBC: “I’m hugely delighted at Brexit. We have our sovereignty back, we’re in control of our money, laws and borders. The NHS has considerably more than £350m a week and we’ve signed up to 70 trade deals.”” – The Guardian
Ulster:
“Illegal migration is a challenge to democracy and puts ‘unacceptable pressure’ on resources in countries like the UK and US, the Justice Secretary has said. In a Washington speech yesterday, Alex Chalk argued criminal gangs were undermining trust in nations that abide by the rule of law. He also defended the Government’s Rwanda Bill, arguing that Parliament – rather than people smugglers – should decide who comes to the UK. Addressing legal professionals at Johns Hopkins University yesterday, he said: ‘It is clear that unmanaged illegal migration is putting unacceptable pressure on the resources of rules-based countries like ours. The actions of criminal gangs smuggling people across borders brings those very rules into disrepute.'” – Daily Mail
Editorial:
>Yesterday:
“Tory plotters believe that Kemi Badenoch is best placed to succeed Rishi Sunak if they can manage to oust him in the coming months. The business and trade secretary has accused the plotters of “stirring” and said that they need to “stop messing around and get behind the leader”. However, the Tory rebels believe that Badenoch is the only candidate on the right who stands a chance of uniting the party and selling their policy platform. Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, is seen as too divisive among Tory MPs but Badenoch is perceived to have star quality… They said she had the “added benefit” of being hated by the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs. Badenoch clashed with them after she was accused of watering down plans to repeal EU laws.” – The Times
>Today: ToryDiary: By-election sketch: In Wellingborough, the Conservative machine is broken
“Jeremy Hunt has publicly warned that the tax cuts set to be unveiled in the Spring Budget will not be as large as the ones announced in November. Speaking on ITV’s Peston program, the Chancellor said: “It doesn’t look like I’ll have the kind of room that I had for those very big tax cuts in the autumn.” The remark came after the Treasury was handed the first round of estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility [OBR] ahead of the Budget on March 6. While the figures are kept private, it is understood the OBR said currently the so-called “fiscal headroom” – money that the Chancellor has to spend while reducing government debt – would be around £14bn a year. That is far below the £35bn that had been available to Mr Hunt ahead of the Autumn Statement in November, which had swelled as inflation pushed up tax receipts.” – Daily Telegraph
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“James Cleverly has ordered police chiefs to present him with “hard evidence” that they are treating neighbourhood policing as a priority as the Conservative Party prepares to put a “back to basics” policy at the heart of its election campaign. The home secretary has set out his vision to “get back to core policing” as he chaired his first National Policing Board meeting. He told officers that he would continue to hold police forces to account with data on preventing and solving crime but stressed that “confidence does not come from a spreadsheet”. Cleverly said that bringing back the presence of officers in communities was a vital part of restoring the public’s trust in the police following a string of scandals and cuts.” – The Times
>Yesterday: Luke Tryl in Comment: Politicians should take their cue from the British public – and be more optimistic about our country
“Royal Navy chiefs are celebrating after ministers agreed to send an aircraft carrier to the Middle East – but the move faces huge issues. It comes after the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group said it would intensify ‘self-defence’ attacks on any US and British warships deployed in the Red Sea. The Mail has been told Admiral Sir Tony Radakin urged politicians to use one of the £3.5 billion platforms when the crisis began in October. But the Chief of the Defence Staff was overruled as ministers opted to send Cyprus-based RAF Typhoons on 3,000-mile trips. Some naval officers considered the RAF’s contribution ‘token’ and ‘not-sustainable’. The absence of a UK carrier has left the US to conduct almost the entirety of air strikes on Houthi military infrastructure.” – Daily Mail
>Today: Garvan Walshe’s column: Our Ukraine choice is between Russian victory or defeat. Any middle way has run out of time.
“Rishi Sunak has named 15 company bosses as advisers on his business council in 2024, as the battle with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to strengthen relations with the corporate world in election year heats up. The UK prime minister will take advice from chief executives of companies ranging from ScottishPower, the energy supplier, and Lloyds Banking Group, to high street food store Greggs and pharma company OMass Therapeutics. Downing Street said the council would meet throughout the year so the prime minister could get “intelligence directly from the shop floor to help boost the UK economy and create jobs”. The announcement came a day before Starmer hosts his own Labour business conference in London, which is expected to be attended by more than 400 business leaders, international investors and ambassadors.” – FT
>Today: Sam Chandler in Comment: Targeted literacy support could help millions of boys struggling at school
“Sir Keir Starmer will today tell top bosses that he will “do the hard yards” to fix the economy and break the “permanent cycle of crisis” gripping Britain. In a critical pitch to win the support of businesses, the Labour leader will praise more than 400 bosses as he launches his party’s plan to reverse wage stagnation and boost growth. Starmer will unveil a new deal for how his party would work with businesses in government. In his speech in London he says: “You can’t overstate what the British people have been through in the past 14 years. It’s not just the permanent cycle of crisis, there is something much more fundamentally broken in the way this country creates wealth.” He says that the attendance of executives… is a “vindication” of his plan to make Labour the party of business.” – The Times
Comment:
Sketch:
Editorial:
>Yesterday:
“Labour will push ahead with the renationalisation of train operators, Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, said on Wednesday. She said the party plans to bring the railways into public ownership as private contracts expire, meaning operators would be in public ownership within five years. Because of the contracts expiring, the companies would not receive compensation… Ms Haigh told GB News that Britain’s railways were “broken” and that Labour’s plan to fix them would “bring significant savings”… The plan was first conceived during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of Labour, and a spokesman for the party said: “Our position remains the same – we will bring railways into public ownership as core contracts expire.”” – Daily Telegraph
“Ministers must urgently inject £4bn into English town hall budgets to head off an “out of control” financial crisis that threatens to drag well-run councils into bankruptcy and put local services at risk, a cross-party group of MPs has warned. The levelling up, housing and communities committee said government must act now to help councils stricken by shrinking resources and the costs of rising demand for adult social care, child protection, homelessness and special educational needs provision. It said the current local government funding system was broken and that the next UK government must conduct an urgent review of what councils do and how local services are paid for, including an overhaul of “outdated and regressive” council tax.” – The Guardian
More:
>Today: Alison Hernandez in Local Government: How prisoners can solve our housing crisis
“Scotland’s former first minister has pushed back at suggestions that her handling of the coronavirus pandemic was marked by secrecy, centralised decision-making and the pursuit of domestic political advantage. Nicola Sturgeon admitted to deleting WhatsApp messages during her testimony to the Covid-19 inquiry sitting in Edinburgh on Wednesday. But she said this was in line with government regulations requiring the removal of sensitive information from phones that could be mislaid while still recording substantive discussion around policy. She also rejected claims that the government prioritised political point-scoring in pursuit of the Scottish National party’s prize of independence rather than dealing with the health emergency.” – FT
Sketches:
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Editorial:
>Yesterday:
“Ministers should have to swear an oath to uphold ethical standards in public life after years of scandals and declining trust in the government, a new cross-party commission has found. The group, whose members include the former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve, the Labour MP Margaret Hodge, and Helen MacNamara, a former government ethics chief, set out 100 recommendations aimed at fixing problems with the standards system. One of its key proposals would involve a new code for ministers applied in law, which they would have to swear to uphold on taking office. The commission, funded by the Joseph Rowntree trust, said a revised ministerial code should be subject to oversight by an independent watchdog, which could initiate investigations and recommend sanctions for wrongdoing. The prime minister should retain discretion over whether to implement these, including dismissal.” – The Guardian