Former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt has admitted that the Conservatives “can’t rule out” the prospect of extinction.
Mr Hunt’s admission to Times Radio comes after the Tories suffered heavy losses in the local elections last week, with senior backbenchers confirming to The Indepedent that MPs are set to hold meetings this week to discuss how to remove their leader, Kemi Badenoch.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has branded attacks on his government’s newly-struck UK-India trade deal “incoherent nonsense” as he and Ms Badenoch clashed at PMQs earlier today.
Hailed as a “landmark” agreement by the prime minister, the government announced on Tuesday that it had reached a deal to boost bilateral trade with India by £25bn – in what marks Britain’s biggest post-Brexit trade agreement.
The new deal – similar to those already in place with more than a dozen other countries – will immediately cut tariffs on whisky, gin, cars and cosmetics, while reducing barriers to imports of Indian textiles, food and jewellery.
But opposition politicians criticised a provision in the agreement exempting some temporary Indian workers from national insurance payments, claiming this would undercut British staff.
The Labour and Tory leaders also clashed over Labour’s winter fuel payment cuts, which Ms Badenoch called a “disaster”, while Sir Keir repeated his accusation that the Conservatives had left a “£22bn black hole” in the country’s finances that his party is attempting to solve.
Downing St admits ‘final details’ of social security deal yet to be agreed between UK and India
Downing Street said the UK and India have not agreed the “final details” of their social security deal following opposition criticism of a temporary national insurance exemption for some Indian workers transferred to Britain.
Asked about the arrangement, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s a separate agreement as part of a trade deal. It’s called a social security agreement, so what the UK and India have agreed to is negotiate a deal.
“We have not agreed the final details with this.”
He added that there were similar reciprocal agreements with more than 50 other countries.
Sir Keir Starmer’s press secretary said opposition parties criticising the arrangement “have made their true colours known,” suggesting they would have “torn up” the agreements with 50 countries.
Badenoch warns of ‘big questions’ raised for British companies over UK-India trade deal
Kemi Badenoch’s spokesman has said that the trade deal with India leaves “big questions to answer about how this impacts British companies”.
He called on the Government to do modelling on how much the social security exemption would cost and how many people it would impact.
Addressing the fact that the programme would be intra-company, the spokesman said: “You can still bring unlimited workers on lower national insurance. And this comes just after one of their first acts was to up national insurance for British workers.”
On similar deals in place with other countries, he said: The comparative examples of where we have this (…) are with countries with relatively similar economic status. So, you know, there is clear discrepancy here.”
Hunt admits Tories ‘can’t rule out’ party extinction after disastrous local elections
Former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt has admitted that the Conservatives “can’t rule out” the prospect of extinction.
Mr Hunt’s admission comes after the Tories were hit by heavy losses in the local elections last week, while Labour also suffered defeats.
Asked by Times Radio’s Andrew Neil if extinction is a possibility, he said: “We can’t rule it out. Look at the massive earthquake in Western democratic politics in other countries and we are seeing wild swings.
“I don’t think the Conservative Party will ever be extinct, but what may be extinct is the old two-party system that’s seen parties swing between one party and the other. Certainly at the moment, voters seem to be split between five parties and that’s a very, very big change.”
However, he insisted that he believes there is a way back for the Tories.
He added: “It’s also important not to exaggerate the woes of the Conservative Party. We’re less than a year after the heaviest defeat in our history. It’s very unlikely having kicked us out, voters are going to come running back to the Conservatives within just a matter of months and we do need to have a period of reflection and it is going to take a few years before people will give us another look.
“But I think over time they will because no one speaks to the conservative values that I think most people recognise are very important for the country, a party that’s pro-business, understands wealth creation, understands aspiration and will run the economy well and I think by the time it comes to the next general election people are really going to want a party that stands for that.”
UK poised to agree post-Brexit youth visa scheme with EU after government U-turn
Britain already has similar agreements with Australia and 12 other countries, including New Zealand, South Korea, Iceland, Uruguay, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
‘Will you change course?’ Badenoch demands of PM over winter fuel payment cuts
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked the prime minister if he would “change course” on cuts to winter fuel payments.
Mrs Badenoch said: “The only black hole is the one the Prime Minister is digging.
“This issue affects some of the poorest and most vulnerable pensioners. His mayor in Doncaster says it’s wrong. His First Minister in Wales says it’s wrong. Even his own MPs are saying it’s wrong. He’s refused to listen to me on this, will he at least listen to his own party and change course?”
Sir Keir Starmer replied: “Let’s spell this out. All the parties opposite would take this country back to where it was a few years ago. Broken public finances, interest rates through the roof, NHS waiting lists at all time high, because no other party in this House is prepared to say how they would put the finances straight.
“No other party is saying how they would invest in our NHS and public services. No other party is focused on the long-term prosperity of Britain. No-one on this side is denying how big the challenge is that we face, but no-one on that side of the House is even prepared to take those challenges on.”
Watch: Starmer calls UK-India trade deal attacks ‘incoherent nonsense’ after clash with Badenoch
‘Pensioners are poorer and colder because of Starmer’s decisions,’ Badenoch tells Commons
Kemi Badenoch said the Conservatives “wouldn’t balance it on the back of pensioners” when addressing economic challenges, telling Sir Keir Starmer in the Commons: “Pensioners are poorer and colder because of his decisions.
“All the while energy has got more expensive for everyone. Why has the Prime Minister broken his promise to cut energy bills by £300?”
Sir Keir replied: “The way to bring energy bills down for good is to deliver cheap, clean, homegrown energy. And in the meantime we’ve extended the warm homes discount to six million households – one in five families, that’s £150 off the bills next winter.
“But what won’t bring energy bills down is the leader of the Opposition’s policy leaving us hooked on fossil fuels, at the mercy of dictators like Putin.”
Sir Keir accused the Conservatives of “blocking every infrastructure that’s needed in their own backyard” and said this would also not bring bills down.
Badenoch accuses Starmer of breaking promises over pledges to cut energy bills
Kemi Badenoch also accused Keir Starmer of breaking promises over pledges to cut energy bills.
The Conservative leader told the Commons today: “The prime minister talks about clean energy, we have the second highest amount of renewables on the grid in Europe and yet we still have the highest energy bills. This is not about clean energy.
“The prime minister has broken another promise, he won’t admit it, but isn’t the truth that he can’t cut energy bills because of his net zero policy?”
Sir Keir Starmer replied: “Energy bills on fossil fuel have fluctuated massively in the last three years because we’re exposed to the international market.
“The only way to get bills down is to go to renewable energy, it’s something she used to believe in.”
Tory MP accuses Starmer of ‘hating Britain’s pubs’ and ‘taxing them into extinction’
Conservative MP Matt Vickers (Stockton West) said Sir Keir Starmer “hates Britain’s pubs” and is “taxing them into extinction”.
He said: “Last week I was talking to Jason, a pub landlord, and he told me he has heard a rumour about the Prime Minister – not that one, not that one.
“He has heard that there is a reason why the Prime Minister hates Britain’s pubs. Landlords like Jason are being battered by Labour’s jobs tax and the slashing of small business rates relief, meaning that as many as half of Britain’s pubs could be closed by 2030.
“Why does he hate Britain’s pubs? And if he doesn’t, why is he taxing them into extinction?”
The prime minister replied: “Nobody likes pubs better than me, and we support them, but it’s the same old nonsense. They say they don’t want the national insurance rise, but they don’t have the courage to say if they’d reverse it because they know if they said that they wouldn’t be able to say where the money is coming from. That’s how we got into the problem in the first place.”
