Boris Johnson has refused to rule out raising taxes again following a controversial increase in National Insurance to pay for changes to social care.
At the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the prime minister dodged a question on whether his party would rise again.
He said that there was “no fiercer and more zealous opponent of unnecessary tax rises” than him, but stopped short at pledging not to break his 2019 manifesto promise not to raise taxes again as the UK recovers from the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden criticised what he termed the “woke aggression” of the Labour Party, which he claimed had led to many voters switching to the Tories.
Mr Dowden said that Labour had “woke running through it like a stick of Brighton rock”.
“Previous generations of Labour leaders, activists and voters would look in dismay at what Labour has become,” he said.
Mr Dowden added: “If you want to know why Labour lost the last general election so badly, it’s because so many of the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of people like [my grandfather] in communities up and down the country believe that Labour has turned its back on them.”
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Sarah Everard: All police officers should be ‘re-vetted’ says former Met chief superintendent
A former senior Metropolitan Police official has called for the urgent re-vetting of all serving police officers across the country in order to rebuild public trust and confidence in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder.
The remarks come after serving police officer Wayne Couzens – described as a “monster” by the home secretary Priti Patel – was handed a whole life sentence earlier this week for the kidnap, rape and murder of 33-year-old Ms Everard.
Parm Sandhu, ex-chief superintendent at the Met, said she had “real, serious concerns” about the vetting procedures and suggested there were other individuals with “questionable backgrounds” who should be looked at.
The former official at the Met said “everybody” who now works in policing should be re-vetted. “Those people who got through the vetting procedure 20 years ago, 30 years ago, all of them,” she told Sky News.
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Boris Johnson tells business leaders it is their responsibility to prevent Christmas food shortages
Boris Johnson has told business leaders that avoiding Christmas food shortages is their responsibility, claiming it is not the government’s job to “fix” supply problems.
As the Conservative party conference opened, the prime minister admitted to having known for months that the haulage industry was in trouble – and, strikingly, admitted that may continue into the festive season.
But, asked if more emergency visas will be issued to step up supplies, he turned the tables on industry, arguing it is “fundamentally up to them to work out the way ahead”.
“In the end, those businesses, those industries, are the best solvers of their own supply chain issues – government can’t step in and fix every bit of the supply chain,” Mr Johnson told broadcasters.
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Tories promise to ‘Build Back Safer’ after pandemic
The Conservative party has promised to “Build Back Safer” from the pandemic by tackling violence against women and girls.
“The tragic cases of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman touched us all,” the party said in a statement after their annual conference.
“As we Build Back Safer from the pandemic, tackling violence against women and girls is our priority.”
The party pointed to its safer street fund for which £25 million has been allocated as evidence they are trying to tackle violence which is “increasingly … taking place in public spaces”.
Police forces across England and Wales are among those who will receive a share of the fund.
Conservatives are ‘open and decent’, chairman says
The Conservative party is “fundamentally decent”, its chairman has said.
Oliver Dowden said that Tories are “moderate, pragmatic and open” after his first speech as party chairman.
The former Culture Secretary assumed the role after September’s reshuffle which made him a minister without portfolio.
During his speech, Mr Dowden strongly criticised the Labour party and accused them of what he called “woke aggression”.
Boris Johnson refuses public inquiry into Everard case
Prime minister Boris Johnson has dodged calls for a public inquiry into the policing of violence against women in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard.
Mr Johnson said he would “stop at nothing” to drive up the rate of successful prosecutions for rape.
But he refused to promise to restore the 25 per cent cut from Ministry of Justice budgets under Conservative-led governments.
Instead, he blamed the Crown Prosecution Service and police for failing to work well enough together on preparing cases for court.
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Keir Starmer under fire for writing for The Sun
Labour leader Keir Starmer has come under fire for writing an article in The Sun newspaper after he promised not to give interviews to the publication while campaigning in January last year.
Sir Keir told a hustings in Liverpool that he “certainly won’t be giving any interviews to The Sun” which he said had “hurt” the city, in reference to its coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster.
Labour MPs across Merseyside have criticised their leader for writing for the publication.
Paula Barker, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, said on Twitter: “I do not subscribe to the view that we need to have a relationship with the rag in order to win an election – this is 2021 not 1997. He does not do this in my name.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region said: “The piece published today has unsurprisingly upset a lot of people across my region. The S*n is not and never will be welcome here.
“I have been in touch with Keir to reiterate my position and express the disappointment that I and many others feel.”
Johnson pledges more ‘Safer Street Zones’
Boris Johnson has said that the Conservative party will invest in 300 ‘Safer Street Zones’ across the UK.
This entails putting more police on the streets and investing in education and youth clubs like the HideOut Centre, which the prime minister visited during his trip to Manchester for the Tory party conference, he says.
Tories pledge six-month prison sentences for climate activists blocking roads
Boris Johnson’s government is set to crack down on climate change protests by bringing in six-month prison sentences for activists who block Britain’s motorways.
Home secretary Priti Patel will use her Tory Party conference speech to warn that those who use “guerrilla tactics” to block highways could face unlimited fines as well as up to six months in jail.
The move follows days of protests by the Insulate Britain group, which has staged sit-down demonstrations on a series of key arteries around London, including on the M25, M1 and M4.
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Collapsing Northern Ireland Protocol would be ‘bizarre’, Alliance MP says
Triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which allows either the UK or the EU to radically intervene if “economic, societal or environmental difficulties that are liable to persist” arise because of it, would be “bizarre”, an Alliance Party MP has said.
Stephen Farry said: “Its triggering is not the magic bullet that its advocates think it is. It doesn’t scrap or remove the Protocol. Only after a period of further structured negotiations can any element of the Protocol even be suspended.”
His comments come as the government warns the EU that it will not shy away from triggering Article 16 as grace periods come to a close.
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