“Right-wing Tory MPs are using Penny Mordaunt as a “stalking horse” to oust Rishi Sunak, allies of the Prime Minister have claimed. Tory loyalists claimed an apparent move by a group of Right-wing Conservatives to support Ms Mordaunt was a ploy to bolster support among centrist MPs for a leadership contest in which they could enter their own candidate. In a sign of the growing rifts within the Conservative Party, multiple allies of Mr Sunak also suggested that Ms Mordaunt, the Leader of the Commons, lacked a clear set of political beliefs and was seen as an “empty vessel” even by genuine supporters.” – Sunday Telegraph
“Grant Shapps was forced to abandon a trip to Ukraine’s southern city of Odessa following a missile threat. The Defence Secretary had to abort the visit after he was warned by British intelligence that the Russians had become aware of his travel plans, according to a Sunday Times report. As he flew to Poland from RAF Northolt last week, he was notified that an armoured convoy carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis narrowly avoided a Russian missile strike while visiting the port city on March 6.” – Mail on Sunday
“Vaughan Gething has been announced as the next First Minister of Wales, becoming the first black politician to lead a European country. His victory in the Welsh Labour leadership election means that, for the first time since devolution began in the late 1990s, none of the UK nations will be led by a white male. Humza Yousaf, the Scottish First Minister, is the son of first-generation immigrants from Pakistan, while Northern Ireland is led by a female first minister and deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly. Mr Gething, currently minister for the economy, beat Jeremy Miles, the education minister, winning 51.7 per cent of the vote.” – Sunday Telegraph
“The Conservatives are preparing to revive Rishi Sunak’s leadership pledge to overhaul New Labour’s equality laws, in an effort to protect single-sex spaces and women’s sports. Senior government figures are considering a manifesto commitment to amend the Equality Act, which the Prime Minister previously said had become a “trojan horse” for “woke nonsense”. The commitment would include an amendment to the 2010 Equality Act, passed while Gordon Brown was prime minister, “to make it unambiguously clear that sex means biological sex,” said a source familiar with the discussions.” – Sunday Telegraph
“Boris Johnson is a paid consultant to a hedge fund that organised his secret visit to Venezuela’s autocratic leader, President Maduro, and that stands to gain from improved relations between the West and the Latin American republic. The former prime minister was accompanied on his trip by the founder of the firm, who sat in on discussions with the president. His public position is that he used a 45-minute encounter to spell out conditions for resuming full diplomatic relations with the UK, which does not recognise Maduro’s administration and has frozen $2 billion of its gold reserves in a long-running dispute.” – Sunday Times
“Sadiq Khan has called on Liberal Democrat and Green supporters to “lend him their votes” in the May mayoral election, saying changes in the voting system mean he could lose to the Conservatives’ Susan Hall. This year’s election on 2 May will be held under the first-past-the-post system, meaning voters will only get one vote each. In previous contests, Londoners have been able to have a first and second preference. In an open letter targeting Liberal Democrat and Green supporters, Khan, who is seeking a third term as London mayor, said the new system brought in by the Conservative government meant the election was “on a knife-edge”, the Evening Standard reported.” – Observer
“Jeremy Corbyn has in effect confirmed that he will stand as an independent candidate at the general election, declaring he would “continue” to serve his constituents as he has done since 1983. He lost the Labour whip three years ago over his response to an Equality and Human Rights Commission report into antisemitism under his leadership. He sits as an independent MP for Islington North, where he has a majority of 26,188. However, he decided to end the speculation after The Sunday Times was leaked emails in which a friend asked a printing company about the cost of producing election leaflets for him.” – Sunday Times
“Sir Ed Davey will urge Liberal Democrats to “make this a once-in-a-generation election” in his speech at the party’s spring conference. He will argue his is the only party to offer “transformational change” at the general election, calling on members to “bring the blue wall tumbling down”. The party leader will focus on the NHS in his speech in York on Sunday setting out reforms so people can see a GP, dentist or pharmacist. But Sir Ed is urging Mr Sunak to “go to the palace” immediately and call for a general election, saying: “The country can’t wait a moment longer to see the back of this terrible Conservative government.” – BBC News
“Reform UK has struck its first election pact with Northern Ireland’s Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), a hardline party that opposes Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal. The TUV is led by Jim Allister, who got to know Nigel Farage, the honorary president of Reform, when the two were members of the European Parliament. Announcing the deal, at the TUV party conference in Co Antrim on Saturday, Mr Allister said: “Like TUV, Reform UK speaks its mind, takes on the establishment and is driven by principle, not power. “We will formally endorse a joint platform by publicly signing a memorandum of understanding, and going forward we will announce agreed candidates from both parties across constituencies.” – Sunday Telegraph