Boris Johnson faces a potential backbench rebellion on Monday as MPs prepare to vote on changes made to the controversial health and care bill, including leaving poorer pensioners to pick up the rocketing cost of care.
Concerns were raised last week when the government quietly slipped out changes to its initial proposals – first published in September – which revealed that the means-tested support provided to some pensioners by local authorities would not count towards the £86,000 lifetime cap.
It came after the PM pledged that his social care reforms would mean nobody had to sell their home to pay for care.
Pressed on whether this remained the case today, though, business minister Paul Scully said only he hoped nobody would have to resort to selling their house but that the number of people having to would certainly be “fewer” than now.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth, accusing the Tories of “daylight robbery”, called on cross-party MPs to “reject” the plans and force ministers to “come up with something fairer”.
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Watch: Zahawi says anti-vaxx protests near schools won’t be ‘tolerated’
ICYMI: PM’s speech does little to sooth Tories’ leadership concerns – report
The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg says Boris Johnson’s disorganised performance at the CBI will have done little to assuage Tory MPs’s worries about the PM not being at the top of his game.
Opinion: ‘Mark my words, Johnson will be gone by Christmas’
Our associate editor Sean O’Grady writes about the PM’s future after weeks of infighting and controversy in the Conservative Party.
Every year I write a column saying that Boris Johnson will be gone by Christmas. In 2019, I thought he’d have been forced out of Downing Street because of his mishandling of Brexit. Wrong. In 2020, I thought it would be because of his mishandling of Covid. Wrong. In 2021? I wonder if the coming social care debacle might not prove a bit of a tipping point.
The launch of the social care plan was sort of a marketing miracle. What we now know to be a barely practical plan that will make little difference was sold as a revolution. What we now understand will be deeply regressive was painted as a fairer system, a fine example of “levelling up”. It is the opposite.
The Johnson promise that no one would have to sell their home to pay for their care was airbrushed from history. They will – especially poorer people who fall victim to dementia rather than meet a swift end from cardiac arrest. The lottery of death remains virtually intact.
Read Sean’s thinking in full here:
Labour announce new council of skills advisors
Hammering home Britain’s need for skills, Stamrer says he is announcing a new council of skills advisors, featuring the former home secretary David Blunkett, the tech entrepreneur Praful Nargund and the skills expert Rachel Sandby Thomas.
He also restates Labour’s commitment to replace business rates.
That’s his speech done. Starmer is now taking questions from the press.
Government creating ‘false economy,’ Starmer says
Sir Keir is accusing the government of creating a “false economy” by putting a cap on investment.
Turning to Brexit, he says the challenge now is to make Brexit work – borrowing a line from his party conference speech earlier this year.
The government thinks that all it has to do is say the words “Get Brexit Done”, Starmer says, referring to the Tory slogan. But “it has absolutely no plan to make Brexit work,” he quips. Just to be clear, Labour is not planning a re-match, but it is obvious that a poorly thought-through Brexit is holding Britain back.
He also accuses Johnson of staging “pantomime disputes” with the EU as he sets out Labour’s plan to make post-Brexit policies work.
Starmer gives his speech to the CBI
Keir Starmer says the Labour party and the CBI have always been bound together. He says the CBI’s own book says it was set up at a time when business had radically different views on how to respond to the Wilson government’s policies.
The Labour leader goes on to say that if we are serious about productivity, “we need to invest in skills”.
He reminds the CBI that Boris Johnson has not always been “complimentary” about business. He says the only f-words he would use as leader and to do with business are foreign investment, fair trade, fiscal policy, a fiduciary duty.
Starmer spoke from Birmingham
” height=”726″ width=”982″ srcset=”https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/11/22/13/newFile-12.jpg?width=640&auto=webp&quality=75&crop=982:726,smart 640w” layout=”responsive” class=”i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Starmer spoke from Birmingham
Sir David Amess’s family to thank people for ‘wonderful’ tributes at private service
Sir David Amess’s coffin, draped in a union flag, was brought to the St Mary’s churchyard entrance in a hearse driven at walking pace.
Pall bearers from Southend Fire Service carried the coffin the short distance to the church as they were saluted by members of 3rd Chalkwell Sea Scouts.
Members of the public who lined the streets outside the church broke into spontaneous applause as the pall bearers made their way along the path.
The veteran MP’s friend Ann Widdecombe is to read a statement from his family at the private funeral service thanking people for the “wonderful, wonderful tributes paid to David following his cruel and violent death”.
The family will say in the statement: “It truly has brought us so much comfort. The support shown by friends, constituents and the general public alike has been so overwhelming. As a family, it has given us strength.
“We have realised from tributes paid that there was far, far more to David than even we, those closest to him, knew. We are enormously proud of him.”
Boris Johnson says he thought CBI speech ‘went over well’
Following a bizarre speech at the CBI’s annual conference in which the prime minister asked executives whether they had ever visited Peppa Pig World, made “vroom, vroom” car noises and compared himself to Moses, Boris Johnson has said he thought it “went over well”.
After being questioned by ITV after the speech on whether “everything was OK”, Mr Johnson said: “I think that people got the vast majority of the points that I wanted to make and I thought it went over well.”
No 10 counters minister’s claim Article 16 will ‘absolutely not’ be triggered by Christmas
Downing Street has rejected a suggestion from the international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan that Article 16 will not be triggered before Christmas.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman insisted there was no timetable over the potential use of the power, which would suspend parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol and risk a major escalation in tensions with the EU.
“Our preference remains to agree a negotiated solution if we can,” the spokesman said. “Of course, we will use Article 16, the safety mechanism, if solutions can’t be found.”
Asked whether the UK would be willing to use it before Christmas, the spokesman added: “I’m not going to put a timetable on it. We continue to believe that the conditions for triggering that safety mechanism of Article 16 have been met, that remains the government position but we will continue to look for a consensual negotiated solution.”
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Ms Trevelyan had said: “I don’t think anyone’s calling Article 16 before Christmas, absolutely not.”
Steve Barclay drafted in to tackle Channel crossings, No 10 confirms
Cabinet minister Steve Barclay has been drafted in to help efforts to stem crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has confirmed – but said that Priti Patel will continue to take lead responsibility.
The comments from No 10 fit with reports last week that an “exasperated” Boris Johnson had set up a new committee to organise a coordinated approach to tackling the issue, with initial efforts reportedly being focused on identifying what has been going wrong. Two former ministers were among those to tell The Independent that Ms Patel is “making it up as she goes along”.
“Steve Barclay, in his role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (CDL), is supporting that work,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said of the government’s current efforts to reduce crossings.
“He will be using his sort of convening power of his role to bring together all government departments as they work to step up efforts to prevent those crossings. Of course, the home secretary will continue to be the lead Cabinet minister responsible for this and she will be working very closely with the CDL on this issue.”
The spokesman added: “We will keep all options on the table as to how we go further to cut off this criminal trade.”
