Related: Chancellor will use ‘Brexit freedoms’ to turn Britain into ‘next Silicon Valley’
The UK is facing the worst downturn of major economies next year and is set for a recession which much of the rest of the world will avoid, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The global economic think tank sharply downgraded its forecasts for the UK economy, predicting it will shrink by 0.4 per cent in 2023 and grow by just 0.2 per cent in 2024. As recently as September, it was expecting GDP to flatline next year.
And it warned of the risk of a deeper downturn if consumers respond to spiralling energy and housing costs by reining in spending, taking demand out of the economy, while strikes and labour shortages could push prices up further by fuelling wage inflation.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of “archiving Britain’s growth” amid forecasts the UK is to face the worst downturn of major economies next year.
Justice department will have to make cuts, admits Raab
Justice secretary Dominic Raab has said his department will have to make “efficiency savings” in the years ahead because of “inflationary pressures”.
He said spending for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) would rise by 3.7 per cent over the spending review period until 2024-25 – but then would increase by only 1 per cent until 2027-28. Inflation is currently 11 per cent.
“I’m confident we can do it in a way that will protect our core priorities,” he told MPs on the justice select committee on the cuts ahead.”
Tory thinktank chief quits over party’s betrayal of millennials
The head of an influential Conservative thinktank is quitting, accusing his party of betraying millennials left with little hope of a “good life”.
Ryan Shorthouse, who founded Bright Blue in 2014, said the Tories had “failed my generation” on housing and childcare costs – despite having “12 years to fix these things”.
He pointed to a botched Brexit and Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget as factors behind the return to austerity, which he predicted would put the Conservatives out of power for two terms.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports:
Manston migrant centre ‘completely empty’
The Manston migrant processing centre is now completely empty after concerns it had become dangerously overcrowded.
The holding site in Kent for people who have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel has been cleared, with everyone who was there now moved into hotels, Home Office sources confirmed to PA.
It is understood the facility remains open and will continue to be used as needed to carry out initial checks on migrants as more arrive.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Manston by design is meant to be a temporary holding facility, where people are processed before moving on – normally, fairly quickly.
“Obviously there were immediate challenges, particularly after the attack at the other centre, which caused numbers to spike. So you would expect numbers to be relatively low on a daily basis as people are moved through quickly.”
Raab investigation could go beyond two formal complaints
The scope of an investigation into Dominic Raab’s conduct could go beyond the two formal complaints lodged against him.
The prime minister’s official spokesman indicated the inquiry could examine reports in The Guardian that Mr Raab behaved so badly in a meeting with the Home Office during his first stint as justice secretary that his department’s top official had to personally apologise to counterparts.
An independent investigation has been promised, although No 10 said the person who will lead that inquiry has not yet been appointed.
Asked for Rishi Sunak’s response to the latest allegations about his behaviour, the PM’s official spokesman said: “The prime minister has asked for an independent investigator to establish the facts and provide their findings. In the first instance, we will appoint an investigator and then there will be the process.”
The spokesman said “it will be for the investigator to decide what they do or do not choose to look at”.
No 10 ‘preparing for all eventualities on energy supplies’
No 10 has said it is preparing for “all eventualities” on energy supply, but the cabinet did not discuss the potential for blackouts during its meeting today.
“We do have quite a diverse energy provision. Offshore wind continues to provide a huge amount of our energy, particularly during the winter months,” the PM’s official spokesman said.
“While we are preparing for all eventualities, we are confident that we will continue to have good provision throughout the winter months.”
‘Challenging’ winter ahead, Sunak warns
Prime minsiter Rishi Sunak has warned of a “challenging” winter ahead due to high energy bills, strikes and long NHS waiting lists.
Giving an account of the Cabinet meeting, the Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said: “Looking ahead to winter, the prime minister said this would be a challenging period for the country caused by the aftershocks of the global pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.”
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden discussed some of the work “to mitigate some of the challenges expected this winter, including further strike action”.
Health secretary Steve Barclay “set out some of the issues facing the health system where the pandemic had significantly exacerbated pressures”.
The spokesman said 16,000 people had been waiting for more than 52 weeks for an operation before the pandemic compared to 400,000 now.
Asked about whether the PM was concerned about inflation, strikes, medical appointments, the official said: “You’ve highlighted some of the issues the public will face and those are some of the areas the government are trying to mitigate.”
Rishi Sunak warns MPs over Christmas party expenses
Downing Street has warned MPs that they will have to justify their expenses to voters, after the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority said politicians could charge taxpayers for Christmas parties.
Rishi Sunak “certainly doesn’t intend” to put food, refreshments and decorations on expenses, No 10 told reporters.
“The prime minister certainly doesn’t intend to use this and his view is that MPs will want to justify all spending to their constituents,” said his official spokesperson.
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John Curtice: What does the autumn Budget mean for the next election?
The principal aim of Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement was to assure the financial markets that it was safe to lend its money to the UK government, writes John Curtice. But a crucial secondary objective was to regain the trust of voters, and thereby reduce Labour’s large lead in the polls.
While the chancellor may have been happy to see the financial markets take his statement in their stride, he will be disappointed that it has failed to persuade voters to return to the Tory fold. Rather, it appears that the modest bounce that the Conservatives enjoyed when Rishi Sunak replaced the ill-fated Liz Truss as their leader has now juddered to a halt.
Ipsa ‘throwing petrol on fire’ with new MP Christmas party guidance
A Labour MP has accused the expenses watchdog of throwing “petrol on the fire for the craic” after it introduced new guidance allowing parliamentarians to claim their staff Christmas parties on expenses.
Posting to Twitter, Labour MP Charlotte Nichols said: “Sometimes I think IPSA comes out with stuff like this because they don’t think MPs get enough abuse.
“No-one asked for this, but what we DO want is a bigger staffing budget & the staff sickness/maternity policies updated.”
Starmer says he has turned Corbyn’s Labour ‘inside out’
The Labour leader has said he has turned the Labour Party “inside out” since Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Asked by an attendee at the CBI conference if the rest of his party are behind him on his plans, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The Labour Party has changed, we’ve turned the Labour Party inside out and that’s particularly significant when it comes to the way we’re working with business.
“I say to you loud and clear, this Labour Party has changed, there is no going back and it is united behind what we’re trying to achieve.”
He described his last party conference as “the best conference we’ve had, frankly, since 1996”, which came ahead of Sir Tony Blair’s landslide victory in the general election.
