Boris Johnson is at odds with his chancellor Rishi Sunak over Treasury plans to suspend the “triple lock” on pensions for a year, with frustration over the prime minister’s desire to make expensive policy pledges, according to reports.
The Sunday Times claimed that officials were said to be examining plans to prevent a rise in average wages over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic leading to a 6 per cent increase in the state pension – costing the government £4bn.
It added that there was “growing consternation” over Mr Johnson’s habit of announcing plans that would cost billions of pounds “when there is no means to pay for them”.
It came as Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said he believed his party could win a large number of Tory constituencies in the south of England, where the Conservatives had taken voters “for granted”.
Meanwhile, former speaker and Tory MP John Bercow revealed he had defected to Labour due to his former party becoming “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic” under Mr Johnson’s leadership.
Also on Sunday morning, Andy Burnham was asked about whether he still held ambitions to be Labour leader, and even prime minister, one day…
His reply skirted around the issue, but suggested that the Greater Manchester mayor is not looking to return to Westminster any time soon.
You can find his comments below:
ICYMI: Earlier today, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham demanded “compensation” for his area from the Scottish government after Nicola Sturgeon announced Covid-19 guidance banning travel to the North West of England.
Mr Burnham said on Sunday that the restrictions had been imposed without consultation with his administration and that they would hurt people in his area.
You can find the full story below:
Labour’s deputy leader condemns official’s ‘Islamophobic’ comments
Labour’s deputy leader has condemned comments attributed to a “senior Labour official” who apparently claimed that the party was “hemorrhaging” votes from Muslims because they do not like Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to tackle antisemitism.
Angela Rayner said on Sunday that the quotes, published in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, were “not condoned or sanctioned in any way” by Labour.
The comments had earlier been condemed by the Labour Muslim Network, which said it was a “patently vile, Islamophobic briefing” and must be urgently challenged.
“As Deputy Leader I want to make clear publicly that these comments that are being attributed to a member of Labour Party staff in a newspaper today are not a Labour Party response or statement, are completely unacceptable & are not condoned or sanctioned in any way by the Party,” Ms Rayner wrote on Twitter.
Irish government willing to go ‘extra mile’ to help Northern Ireland, Varadkar says
The Irish government is prepared to “go the extra mile” to find a solution for the Northern Ireland Protocol, the country’s deputy premier has said, amid tensions between the UK and EU over post-Brexit trade.
Leo Varadkar said on Sunday that he was willing to engage with the next leader of the DUP to find solutions – although he criticised the party’s unwillingness to compromise.
However, Mr Varadkar ruled out abandoning the protocol altogether as all of the “realistic alternatives” had been rejected by unionists.
“We are willing to engage through the European Union, with the British government, in consultation with all of the parties in Northern Ireland,” he said.
“We’re willing to go the extra mile to provide any kind of practical fixes that we can within the terms of the agreement.”
He added: “The protocol stays, unless somebody can come up with an alternative that means that, somehow, you can protect the single market.”
Labour Muslims urge Starmer to take action over party official’s ‘vile Islamophobia’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to take action after a senior party official suggested Muslim voters were abandoning his party over the leadership’s fight against anti-Jewish racism.
An anonymous party strategist was quoted by the Mail on Sunday newspaper as claiming that Labour was “haemorrhaging” Muslim voters because of “what Keir has been doing on antisemitism” ahead of the Batley and Spen by-election.
Our reporter, Jon Stone, has the full story below:
Labour demands clarity over justice secretary’s plan for rape convictions
Labour is demanding clarity from justice secretary Robert Buckland on how the government is planning to tackle record-low rape conviction and prosecution rates following “a series of contradictory remarks” on the issue this morning.
Mr Buckland said on Sunday that Labour’s call for new targets to be met within a year was “constitutionally illiterate”, suggesting he did not have the power to increase the rate of convictions.
“After a decade of Conservative incompetence and cuts has led to record-low conviction and prosecution rates for rape, the last thing victims need from the Justice Secretary is a U-turn,” David Lammy said in a statement.
“The Conservatives must urgently clarify whether or not they intend to stick to the target of increasing the number of rapists who are charged and end up in court.”
Lib Dems could win ‘dozens’ of Blue Wall seats from Tories, party leader says
The Liberal Democrats could win in “dozens” of constituencies across southern England where voters’ needs are being ignored by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, party leader Sir Ed Davey has said.
Sir Ed insisted on Sunday that national polling had not yet picked up on a rise in Lib Dem support after the party pulled off a shock victory in the Amersham and Chesham by-election this week.
Our reporter, Jon Stone, has the full story below:
Unvaccinated young people can travel abroad this summer, Irish deputy PM says
Unvaccinated young people can travel abroad this summer, Irish deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar has said in an apparent contradiction of advice given by his chief medical officer.
People under the age of 30 are unlikely to have both vaccine doses until September at the earliest and the CMO, Dr Tony Holohan has advised people not to travel if they are not fully vaccinated.
But Mr Varadkar said it would be “unfair” to ask them not to travel, when the EU’s digital travel cert, set to be introduced on July 19, allows for travel for people who take PCR tests or who have previously had Covid.
He added: “The advice from the chief medical officer is very clear.
“He’s saying that people who aren’t fully vaccinated shouldn’t travel, people who are fully vaccinated can.
“Because if you’re fully vaccinated, it’s very unlikely you will pick up the virus, it’s very unlikely you’ll bring it back to Ireland.
“And if I was the CMO, that’s the advice that I would give.
“Because we are the Government, we have to take wider considerations into account, and that’s why the Government advice, the law we’re putting in place is actually different than the CMO’s advice.
“We are saying that people who aren’t fully vaccinated, including all those young people can travel abroad, but they will need to get a PCR test before they return and that is the protection that we’re looking for.”
Becoming my baby grandson’s carer was a wake-up call on the urgent need to better support fathers
As a society we need to be better at talking about fatherhood, masculinity, mental health, and the roles that we imagine men taking on in the household, writes Labour MP Andrew Gwynne.
Read his full piece here:
Peter Capaldi: Cummings’s claims go ‘beyond’ anything seen in The Thick Of It
Actor Peter Capaldi has said claims by Dominic Cummings about the government go “beyond” anything in The Thick Of It.
He said the foul-mouthed spin doctor, Malcolm Tucker, from the political satire would be “too good” to exist in the current political world.
Speaking to the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, he said: “I can’t really say what Malcolm would say because the language would be unusable.
“But I think in many ways what we are seeing… is like The Thick of It because of the levels of vitriol and absurdity and ego that are going on.
“At the same time it is beyond that. It is a kind of tragicomic situation without the comic bit and I think it is beyond a joke.
“These are the people who are supposed to look after us and they are behaving in a way that is not funny.
“So I don’t even think Malcolm would exist in this world. He is too good for this world.”
