“Rishi Sunak is aiming to cut benefits to fund his plans to scrap national insurance contributions. The Prime Minister has said that his Government’s “long-term ambition” by the end of the next Parliament is to continue cutting National Insurance contributions (NICs) “until it’s gone”. To fund his tax-cutting goals “sustainably”, he said that he would consult on plans to reduce working-age benefits, describing the current system as one that did not work properly. His comments come amid speculation that there will be another fiscal event before the election, with senior Treasury sources claiming it could be as early as September. Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, used last week’s Budget to announce that workers would see another cut to NI of 2p from April…” – The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
“Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are facing a growing Cabinet rebellion about the lack of spending on defence, i understands. The Prime Minister and Chancellor have been warned by a number of ministers that the UK armed forces are under serious strain due to years of under-funding and shortages of equipment and personnel amid growing fears about conflict in Europe spreading beyond Ukraine and other global threats. Two ministers broke cover at the weekend to call for “much greater pace” of investment in defence after the Chancellor failed to announce more spending in last week’s Budget. Security minister Tom Tugendhat…and foreign office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the UK needs to “lead the way” in reaching the government’s target of 2.5 per cent of GDP.” – The I
“Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton has said the UK needs to deliver a “tough message” to Israel over the lack of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. The foreign secretary batted away criticism from a group of Tory MPs who accused him of being insufficiently supportive of the war, which has left more than 30,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The UK has announced its support for a United States-led initiative to ship aid directly to Gaza by constructing a temporary pier. At least a quarter of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million are on the verge of famine, according to the UN. But three backbench MPs who are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel campaign group have gone public with their frustrations about Cameron’s perceived lack of support for Israel.” – The Times
“James Cleverly is launching a major review of graduate visas amid fears they are being abused by foreign nationals. The Home Secretary will ask independent body the Migration Advisory Committee to revisit the graduate route. Writing exclusively in today’s Mail, he says this will ensure the visa – which currently allows foreign students to stay in the UK for up to two years after their courses end – is ‘not being driven by a desire for immigration over education’. This comes after numbers staying in Britain under the scheme surged by 57 per cent last year to more than 114,000. There are also fears that courses with the lowest UCAS entry requirements are being targeted as a way into the UK.” – The Daily Mail
“The adviser said to have been chosen by Michael Gove to tackle Islamophobia has questioned the government’s commitment to the issue, after quitting the role before it had even begun. Fiyaz Mughal, 52, said he had been approved by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to spearhead a crackdown on extremism as the first anti-Muslim hatred tsar. But he alleged that his name was leaked by the government last week, days before he was due to start, resulting in a “torrent of abuse” which triggered previous mental health trauma… Mughal quit on Friday and questioned the government’s motives, revealing that his role was for only two days a month… He also alleged some officials in Whitehall are sympathetic to Islamists, which…was part of the problem.” – The Times
“The justice secretary has warned Rishi Sunak that his delay in passing laws to scrap short sentences risks prisons running out of space by Easter and sparking riots. Alex Chalk has told the prime minister that the Sentencing Bill is urgently needed in order to free up space in Britain’s overcrowded prisons. He has urged No 10 to speed up passage of the landmark piece of legislation, which was announced in the autumn in response to the crisis in prison capacity and would effectively scrap prison sentences of less than 12 months. Criminals would be given suspended and community sentences, although there would be provisions for judges to impose immediate custodial punishments in exceptional circumstances.” – The Times
“Plans to cut radically household water usage in England are based on unrealistic projections that installing water meters will substantially drive down demand, former environment secretary George Eustice has warned. Ministers have set legally binding targets to cut household water consumption per head by 20 per cent by 2038 in an effort to reduce shortages, which are holding up business and housing development. However Eustice, who spent nearly a decade…in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, including two years as secretary of state, said a fundamentally different approach was needed…“Current plans place far too much reliance on metering and behaviour change to meet that challenge,” Eustice told the Financial Times.” – The Financial Times
“Tory MPs have privately criticised the government’s decision to build a memorial for Muslims who died fighting for Britain in the two world wars. In messages to a Conservative MPs’ WhatsApp group seen by the Guardian, two Tory MPs elected in 2019 – Marco Longhi and Jill Mortimer – questioned why a memorial for Muslims was needed. The disclosure raises questions about the attitude towards Muslims in some sections of the Conservative party. Both Mortimer and Longhi are allies of Lee Anderson, the former deputy Tory chairman who had the whip suspended last month following remarks about Sadiq Khan… Jeremy Hunt announced a £1m war memorial to honour Muslims who died “in the service of freedom and democracy” during the two world wars.” – The Guardian
“In the decade to 2019 alone, the survival rate in the UK for extremely premature babies born at 23 weeks doubled, prompting new guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) that enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks gestation… a feat of medical progress that has transformed countless lives. And yet, it leaves a contradiction in how we in the UK regard babies at this gestation. Unlike our closest European neighbours, the UK’s upper time limit for abortion of 24 weeks remains beyond the gestational age at which many babies now survive…The result is that, in the UK, babies of the same gestational age may meet contrasting fates even in the same hospital: one team of medics working to save life and another to end life.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Boris Johnson was debriefed by the Foreign Office after his secret meeting last month with President Maduro, the autocratic leader of Venezuela. The former prime minister reported back to Colin Dick, the most senior British diplomat in Venezuela, after his 24-hour visit to Caracas, which was revealed by the Sunday Times. The Foreign Office denied that Johnson was acting as an intermediary for the British government and insisted the former prime minister’s meeting with Maduro was a purely private matter. “He was acting entirely in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the UK government,” a government source said. Johnson was holidaying in the Dominican Republic, when he flew by private jet to Caracas last month. He received advice from Dick before the talks.” – The Times
“A young British man who took his own life after fighting in Ukraine went to the country after Liz Truss, the former prime minister, claimed anyone who did so would be joining a “battle for democracy”, his family said. Harry Gregg was 23 and had no formal military training other than a spell in the Army Cadets when he decided to fly to the country after it was invaded by Russia in 2022. He ended up fighting in the trenches, where he witnessed the deaths of fellow soldiers and reported seeing the aftermath of Russian atrocities against civilians. He was found hanged after returning to his home…, the day after his 25th birthday. Conservative colleagues criticised her, saying it would be reckless and illegal to go and fight, and Downing Street distanced itself from her remarks.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Sir Keir Starmer will overhaul the way Britain is governed by upending the traditional system of cabinet government if Labour wins the next election. Under plans being developed by Starmer’s team, a series of new “mission boards” will be created to focus on the party’s pledges to grow the economy and reform public services. Starmer is looking at creating a powerful new executive cabinet that would make key decisions in advance of them being presented to the cabinet, which is seen as too unwieldy to have proper policy debates… Starmer also intends to create a powerful new policy delivery unit, reporting directly to him, which would concentrate on his priorities across Whitehall. He is considering appointing a senior business figure to run it.” – The Times
“The UK prime minister should break up the Cabinet Office and make big decisions with only a handful of key colleagues, according to a report set to be unveiled on Monday by former premiers Sir John Major and Gordon Brown. The report from the Institute for Government think-tank said the machinery of state around the prime minister was “weak” and “not capable” of fulfilling its role and holding Whitehall accountable for delivery. The IfG said the “centre” of government — Downing Street, the Cabinet Office and the Treasury — needed radical reform, including a new executive committee of ministers and splitting up the Cabinet Office…The review…is the result of a year-long “commission on the centre of government” convened by the IfG.” – The Financial Times
“The MSP who questioned Humza Yousaf’s “motivations” in a row over Gaza funding has denied Islamophobia and insisted the First Minister still has questions to answer. Stephen Kerr, the Scottish Conservative backbencher, stood by claims that Mr Yousaf had a “clear conflict of interest” when he overrode officials to direct where aid was sent while members of his family were trapped in the warzone. The First Minister has reacted furiously to the accusation, first reported in The Telegraph, saying it amounts to an “Islamophobic” slur and a “far-Right conspiracy”. An MSP from the Scottish Greens, who are in coalition with the SNP, accused Mr Kerr of “fuelling this smear” and suggested he should be removed from his position on Holyrood’s standards committee.” – The Daily Telegraph