The government’s proposed changes to England’s social care system are a form of “inheritance tax on the north,” according to deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner, who has accused ministers of making her “constituents and the poorest pensioners lose their homes to protect millionaires’ mansions”.
Changes to the health and care bill, pushed through in the Commons last night by a slim majority of 272-246, will save the government £900m a year by making a proposed cap on lifetime social care costs significantly less generous for poorer pensioners, while allowing wealthy home-owners to pass the majority of their assets on to their children.
Ms Rayner suggested in a tweet on Tuesday afternoon that the entire scheme is a “con” and, if approved by peers, it will put a disproportionate burden on the nation’s poorer families.
Meanwhile, senior Tory figures – including ex-party leader William Hague – have criticised a speech Boris Johnson gave on Monday as being “a bad incident” and “not a great moment” for the PM. Mr Hague went as far as suggesting the address to business leaders at the CBI annual conference was “excruciating”.
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PM not unwell, says No 10 after shambolic CBI speech
Downing Street has insisted Boris Johnson is well, after his stumbling delivery of a speech to the CBI prompted questions over whether he was suffering the effects of stress or ill-health.
The prime minister was asked by an ITV reporter if “everything was OK” in a TV interview following his shambolic address, to which the PM said his address “went over well”.
Meanwhile, a Tory MP told The Independent the PM’s demeanour during the speech – when he fell silent after losing his place and stumbled over words – was “very worrying” and that he “seemed to have lost the plot”.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has more:
Downing Street reiterates warning over ‘some’ Christmas gift shortages
Turkey supplies are safe this Christmas but shoppers could still face “some issues” getting all the presents on their lists, Downing Street has indicated.
Boris Johnson’s cabinet discussed the potential issues facing the country this winter, ranging from pressures on the NHS to what would be on festive dinner tables.
The PM’s official spokesman said that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Stephen Barclay, had told ministers the country faced a combination of the usual winter pressures and the pandemic.
Mr Barclay, who is leading cross-Government work on the issues, told ministers: “We face the dual challenge of managing the regular pressures the colder and wetter months can bring alongside the additional challenge of an ongoing global pandemic and the knock-on effects this is having, including on global supply chains and energy supply,” Downing Street said.
David Amess funeral: Pope hails ‘devoted’ MP to colleagues
Last bit from Sir David Amess’ funeral now, where the Pope praised the Tory MP’s “devoted years of service”.
The message from Pope Francis praised the politician for his “deep concern for the poor and disadvantaged” and called on mourners to “reject the ways of violence” and “combat evil with good” following the devout Catholic’s death.
Politicians including Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and three former PMs, paid their respects to the father-of-five at the service in central London on Tuesday morning, following a private funeral held in Southend-on-Sea, Essex a day earlier.
Read the full report by Thomas Kingsley, who was at Westminster Cathedral, and Holly Bancroft here:
Johnson thanked for proscribing Hamas as terror group
Israel’s president has thanked Boris Johnson for proscribing Hamas as a terrorist organisation as they met in Downing Street for talks touching on post-Brexit trade.
The prime minister told Isaac Herzog on Tuesday that the “difficult and controversial” decision on Hamas was “almost immediately vindicated” following a fatal attack in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Sitting next to Johnson in No 10’s Pillared Room, Mr Herzog said: “Thank you very much for your resolution on proscribing Hamas.
“It’s a very important message to tell organisations and those who are inclined to radical… and undermine the situation in the Middle East.”
Mr Johnson responded: “On Hamas, I think we took the right decision. It was a difficult and a controversial decision.
“And by the way I think it was a decision that was almost immediately vindicated by the appalling incident we saw in Israel. Absolutely, terrible thing.”
Tory councillor to pay Corbyn ‘substantial’ damages over Liverpool terror attack tweet
A Conservative councillor has agreed to pay “substantial” damages and legal costs to Jeremy Corbyn for a tweet containing a fake photograph of the former Labour leader at the scene of the Liverpool terrorist attack.
Paul Nickerson, a councillor on East Riding of Yorkshire Council, has apologised and taken “full responsibility” for the doctored tweet, which showed Mr Corbyn laying a poppy wreath at the burning taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital, and was captioned with the word “unsurprisingly”.
Mr Nickerson said the post gave the “completely untrue impression” that the Islington North MP supports terrorist violence and said the tweet was “wrong”.
Mr Corbyn said the tweet “did a disservice to all those affected by the attack and their loved ones” and said he would use the settlement to support charities close to his heart.
ICYMI: Watch Patel accuse Labour of standing up for ‘unlimited migration’
Covid stamp duty holiday cost £6.4bn and helped rich house buyers in south, analysts say
The stamp duty holiday introduced because of Covid cost the Treasury £6.4bn and mainly helped rich house buyers in the south of England, analysts say.
Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick reports:
Councils forced to take unaccompanied children from small boats
Following my earlier post (12.10pm), here’s Matt Mathers with more on councils being asked to play their part in the migrant crisis.
Councils across England will be forced to take child asylum seekers who have arrived in the country without parents or guardians, in new plans set to be announced on Tuesday by Priti Patel.
Ministers are writing to more than 200 local authorities telling them that the voluntary National Transfer Scheme (NTS) is to become compulsory – meaning young people will be moved out of hostels and into permanent accommodation.
The changes come as the home secretary faces growing pressure from No 10 and senior Tory MPs to stem the flow of people making the treacherous journey across the Channel in search of a better life.
Gove to meet PM over social care staff crisis
Michael Gove says he will meet health secretary Sajid Javid and Boris Johnson this week for “urgent” talks on the recruitment and retention of social care workers.
It comes amid warnings that shortages are leaving vulnerable people without support and compounding pressures on the NHS.
On Monday, the communities secretary told county council leaders that of “the many and formidable” challenges facing local government, adult social care is the most urgent. He also admitted that the government needs to do more to improve the system and provide adequate resources.
NHS leaders, charities and councils have warned that a shortfall of about 120,000 care workers is leading to support being scaled back and preventing people being discharged from overstretched hospitals.
“[This] urgency is shared by Sajid [Javid] and by the prime minister, and we’ll be talking this week about what it is that we can do in order to better support the sector to ensure that we have the tools available for both the retention and the recruitment of talented and committed people in the social care workforce.”
There have been repeated calls over recent months for the government to take immediate action to address the shortage of care staff. This shortage is said to have been caused by a combination of pandemic burnout, compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations and higher rates of pay being offered for unskilled jobs.
Additional reporting by PA
UK could face ‘challenge’ on supply of presents this Christmas – No 10
Let’s get an update on Christmas. Britain could face “challenges” over the availability of presents this festive season due to disruption to global supply chains, Downing Street has admitted.
But minister Steve Barclay assured Cabinet this morning that concerns over supplies over festive food like turkeys has now been “alleviated” by action on temporary visas, reports our political editor Andrew Woodcock.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet meeting at Downing Street, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster referenced assurances from the British Poultry Council that there will “definitely” be enough turkeys for Christmas.
