“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out calling a general election in May, dashing the hopes of opposition MPs who believed there could be a new UK government by the summer. Sunak told ITV News “there won’t be an election” on May 2, the same day as local and mayoral elections, drawing a line under months of speculation that the prime minister had a spring poll in his sights. Some Tory MPs argued Sunak would be better off going to the polls…fearing that he could face a…leadership challenge if the party does badly in the local elections. But the prime minister’s allies said Sunak stood by his earlier assertion that his “working assumption” was that a general election would be held in the second half of the year. October or November are seen as the most likely months.” – The Financial Times
>Yesterday:
“Rishi Sunak is preparing to announce the first summit of European leaders on British soil since Brexit after a diplomatic spat with France. In a clear sign that Sunak has ruled out a May election, the prime minister will host a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) expected in July. It is to be held in the northwest of the country, near Manchester. The date of the summit, which brings together the leaders of the EU’s 27 member states alongside neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Norway and Switzerland, was meant to be determined months ago but had been continually put off by Downing Street. European diplomatic sources said Sunak told some European leaders that he didn’t intend to hold the event at all at the start of the year before changing his mind last month.” – The Times
“Michael Gove has named and shamed five groups likely to fall foul of a new government definition of extremism but faced criticism from his own adviser that his efforts did not go far enough. The communities secretary used parliamentary privilege to name three Muslim and two far-right organisations that could face a ban on having any links to central government over concerns about their conduct. However, Sara Khan, the government’s social cohesion adviser, urged ministers to go further by introducing a law of “hateful extremism” as she criticised successive governments for being “behind the curve” on the issue. In an interview with The Times, Khan said extremism was “polluting” society and called for a legal definition that goes beyond Gove’s non-statutory approach…” – The Times
“Just 10 per cent of the money intended to regenerate local areas in the UK under the government’s levelling up programme has been spent so far, a parliamentary spending watchdog has warned. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities could not provide “any compelling examples of what had been delivered so far”, according to a report published by the House of Commons public accounts committee on Friday. By December 2023, Whitehall had provided a little over a third of the available £10.47bn to councils, it concluded…The committee scrutinised the progress of the Levelling Up Fund, Towns Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund since 2020. The pots comprise £10.47bn for economic development projects…” – The Financial Times
“Ministers have shelved plans to introduce a “boiler tax” until after the next election following a backlash from Tory MPs. On Thursday, Claire Coutinho, the Energy Secretary, announced that quotas for sales of heat pumps will be pushed back a year until April 2025. The delay came after boiler manufacturers raised their prices by £120 in anticipation of having to pay millions in fines under the new regime. Tory MPs welcomed the move as “great news”, but said Downing Street must now go on and “do the right thing” by scrapping the policy altogether. Under the proposals, initially slated to come into force next month, boiler-makers are set to be handed binding targets for heat pump installations.” – The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
“Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an RAF aircraft carrying Grant Shapps back from Poland, in a “wildly irresponsible” act of electronic warfare. The GPS signal was interfered with for about 30 minutes while the jet flew close to the Russian territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. Mobile phones could no longer connect to the internet and the aircraft was forced to use alternative methods to determine its location. The defence secretary, who was on the Dassault 900LX Falcon jet with journalists from organisations including The Times, was assured the electronic attack did not threaten the aircraft’s safety. Experts said it was unclear whether Shapps himself would have been deliberately targeted, although the flight path was visible to aircraft tracking websites.” – The Times
“Funding social care should not be taken out of the hands of cash-strapped councils and there is no quick fix for the struggling sector, a Government minister has said…Helen Whately said she did not think social care funding should be centralised to mirror the NHS – arguing that local authorities know best what care people need. She acknowledged there was a “lot of pressure” on councils, but said there “are no easy answers on the funding of social care”. And Ms Whately, who has been responsible for social care intermittently since 2020, said large-scale reforms “take time to make a difference”. It comes as the Government announced it was allocating £20m of a social care reform fund to boost a scheme that helps adults in the care system to live in the community.” – The I
“MPs will discuss assisted dying next month amid a major push for a change in the law. The House of Commons will hold a debate on April 29 after more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for new legislation. However, there will be no vote at the end as no legislation has yet been put forward. Earlier this week Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pledged to make parliamentary time available for a change in the law if he wins the next general election. By convention, such legislation would not be introduced by ministers but by backbench MPs, and would only have a chance of passing if enough time was granted for it to be discussed. The issue has gained a renewed focus since Dame Esther Rantzen…revealed she had joined Dignitas…” – The Daily Telegraph
“George Osborne’s reputation as a global dealmaker has suffered a blow after ministers promised new laws that appeared to scupper a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed deal to take over The Telegraph, insiders said. The former Chancellor is a partner at Robey Warshaw, the boutique investment fund hired by RedBird IMI to help secure the deal. RedBird is an investment fund that is majority-backed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president of the UAE and owner of Manchester City Football Club. With political pressure mounting against the takeover, Mr Osborne appeared well-placed to use his clout with the Conservative party to help RedBird navigate a path through Westminster and UK regulators.” – The I
“Labour is drawing up plans for a new UK-EU defence body but faces a battle with France over its hopes for deeper military ties with Europe. Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has made sealing a security pact with Brussels a top priority and will seek rapid progress towards one if he wins the next election. But he has been warned that Emmanuel Macron is set to “push back” over fears that the deal would open up French arms companies to British competition. Sir Keir wants to strike a swift defence agreement with the EU to kick off a new era of closer relations between the UK and the bloc. Senior party figures hope that doing so will open the door to more cooperation in other areas, including lower trade barriers to British food exports.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Angela Rayner has said she wants to see Diane Abbott let back into the parliamentary Labour party and that she does not know why the party leadership has not apologised to the MP over racist abuse she faced internally. The party’s deputy leader said she sometimes shared “frustrations” with how long Labour investigations took, while noting they had to follow procedures. Abbott, who was first elected as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in 1987, has sat as an independent MP since April. The Labour whip was withdrawn after her letter to the Observer suggesting Jewish, Irish and all Traveller people were not subject to racism “all their lives”. She swiftly apologised, but faced disciplinary action from the party.” – The Guardian
>Today:
“Michael Matheson, the disgraced former health secretary, faces suspension from Holyrood after he was found to have broken parliamentary rules over an £11,000 iPad roaming bill. A long-awaited investigation by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) ruled that he had twice breached the Scottish parliament’s code of conduct and upheld the three complaints that were made against him. Holyrood’s standards committee will now investigate the issue further and recommend a punishment, which includes his “rights and privileges be withdrawn” as an MSP for as long as the group deems appropriate. Once the standards committee makes a sanction recommendation it will be put to the whole parliament, meaning a majority of MSPs has to agree for it to be passed.” – The Times