Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailUnions and charities have accused the government of “rattling off of a tick list of culture-war talking points” over its plans to axe equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) jobs in the Civil Service. Esther McVey, the government’s “common sense” minister, claimed public money was being wasted “on woke hobby horses”, in a speech at the Centre for Policy Studies on Monday morning. Ms Mcvey said there will be no more spending on external EDI contracts, such as those with LGBT+ charity Stonewall, without an explicit sign-off from a minister, and no more EDI-focused Whitehall jobs outside human resources.However, the FDA Union, which represents professionals and managers in public services, hit back warning the changes could lead to more problems in the future. Lucille Thirlby, Assistant General Secretary of the FDA union, said: “Yet again the government is attacking the equality, diversity and inclusion spend in the civil service. It’s become a convenient punch-bag for when it wants to demonstrate that it’s taking a tough stance, when in reality these changes could actually lead to more problems in the future. “Public servants need to ensure that the services they provide reflect the needs of the public at large. How does this happen if you have reduced – or in some cases, no – specialist knowledge of how equality legislation operates?“Equality outcomes matter, and employers need specialist knowledge as do organisations providing public services. Otherwise, the Government could find itself spending a lot more money defending employment tribunals for discrimination or judicial reviews on the lack of public service provision.”Conservative minister without portfolio Esther McVey (Jeff Moore/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned of a dangerous future for the U.K. in a pitch to voters Monday as he fights to hang on to power ahead of a future national election that could see Conservatives ousted after 14 years.Sunak’s speech swung from ominous warning to optimistic projections as he repeatedly attacked Labour leader Keir Starmer, saying he lacked a plan for dealing with rogue states and harnessing a period of a great opportunity. Sunak said his pledge to increase military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2030 better positions his party to confront an “axis of authoritarian states” that he named as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. The war in Ukraine, Iranian proxies attacking ships in the Red Sea and Chinese cyberattacks aimed at members of Parliament are some of those threats, he said. “Over the next few years, from our democracy to our society to our economy to the hardest questions of war and peace, almost every aspect of our lives is going to change,” Sunak said. “How we act in the face of those changes, not only to keep people safe and secure but to realize the opportunities too, will determine whether or not Britain will succeed in the years to come.”His speech at Policy Exchange, a conservative think tank, came just over a week after his party was rocked in local elections and ahead of a general election at which Labour is widely seen as likely to win control of Parliament.Sunak has until Dec. 17 to call an election that will take place 25 working days later. He has said he would do so in the second half of the year but has refused say when, as opponents repeated calls for him to do so.“This Conservative government is out of touch and out of time and Rishi Sunak must do the right thing and give the people a general election,” Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said.Sunak said Labour was trying to “depress their way to victory” with “talk of doom loops” and “scaremongering about pensions.”“They have just one thing: a calculation that they can make you feel so bad about your country, that you won’t have the energy to ask what they might do with the incredible power that they seek to yield,” Sunak said.Jonathan Ashworth, a Labour member of Parliament, called the speech a “desperate attempt to hide from the appalling record of this failed Tory government.”“After 14 years of leaving the country less secure at home and abroad, the Tories have forfeited the right to talk about security,” Ashworth said. “Millions of people are paying more on their mortgages, crime is going unsolved, dangerous prisoners are being let out early, the armed forces have been hollowed out and the (National Health Service) is on its knees.”Sunak acknowledged public uncertainty and anxiety but said some of that was due to global upheavals such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that despite “storms ahead,” Britain could feel proud and confident again as “transformational technologies,” such as artificial intelligence, could bring progress. “The paradox of our age is that for all the profound dangers that we face, right now we also hold in our hands an opportunity for human progress that could surpass the industrial revolution in speed and breadth,” he said. “Technologies like AI will do for the 21st century what the steam engine and electricity did for the 19th.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailEsther McVey has announced a ban on rainbow-coloured and other “random” lanyards in the civil service as part of a new series of measures for a Tory “war on woke”.Rishi Sunak’s common sense minister has indicated a new set of measures related to the so-called “culture wars”, including ending contracts with organisations like Stonewall.While she did not specifically mention rainbow lanyards, the preferred colourway used by those supporting LGBT+ issues or the NHS has annoyed many Tory MPs and become symbolic of “left-wing bias” in the civil service.Ms McVey told an audience with the Tory Centre for Policy Studies (CPS): “I want a very simple but visible change to occur to the lanyards we use to carry our security passes [which] shouldn’t be a random pick and mix. They should be a standard design reflecting that we are all members of the government delivering for the citizens of the UK. “Working in the civil service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance. Trying to introduce them by the back door via lanyards should not happen. The focus should be on a happy and inclusive working environment and increased productivity.”In a speech, Ms McVey made it clear that the government is going to war with “backdoor politicisation”.She told her audience: “Given the crucial role [civil servants] play in delivering the services, we need to stop the inappropriate backdoor politicisation of the civil service which diverts time and resources from that focus on the public. Esther McVey: ‘I’m not prepared to see pointless job creation schemes for the politically correct’ More

World closest to nuclear armageddon since Cuban missile crisis, Sunak claimsSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak is delivering a pre-election speech in a move to pitch to voters after this month’s local election blow.The Prime Minister has told voters the world is closest to nuclear war since the Cuban missile crisis. Speaking from London, he has pledged that “more will change in the next five years than in the last thirty” if the Conservatives get re-elected.Mr Sunak, who has branded Sir Keir Starmer “unprincipled” over Elphicke’s defection, has told voters they face a stark choice between the future and the past as he warned the country would be “less safer” under a Labour government. Touting his leadership in areas such as security, he is seeking to draw a dividing line with Labour over defence spending following his commitment to hike it to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2030.It comes as his Conservative Party dropped behind Labour in the polls suffering a mauling in local and regional elections earlier this month.Mr Sunak’s worries worsened with the astonishing defection of MP Natalie Elphicke in protest against his record on housing and stopping small boat Channel crossings.Show latest update 1715598572In full: ‘War has returned to Europe,’ Rishi Sunak warns of nuclear escalationIn his long-waited speech, Rishi Sunak has highlighted the UK’s threats from authoritarian states including Russia, Iran, North Korea and China. He added they are working to “undermine” the UK’s values. Specifically focusing on Vladimir Putin, he said the Russian president’s “recklessness has taken us closer to a dangerous nuclear escalation than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis”. World closest to nuclear armageddon since Cuban missile crisis, Sunak claimsSalma Ouaguira13 May 2024 12:091715611666Voting Intention: Labour widens the gap The Labour Party keeps leading the way over the Tories, according to a survey by Deltapoll.Today’s poll, conducted in the last three days, shows Labour at a 45 per cent of the voting intention. Sir Keir Starmer’s party has gone up by two points since the last polling. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are behind at 27%. The Lib Dems have gone down by two points with only eight per cent. Salma Ouaguira13 May 2024 15:471715611125DUP urges government to avoid fractures between regions with Rwanda policy DUP interim leader Gavin Robinson has urged the government to prevent a fracture in immigration policy between UK regions.He is accusing the Prime Minister of ignoring the fact his Rwanda plan was incompatible with the Windsor Framework. It comes after the Belfast High Court has today ruled parts of the Illegal Migration Act cannot be enforced in Northern Ireland. Welcoming the ruling, Mr Robinson said it serves to “blow the government’s irrational claims that the Rwanda scheme could extend equally to Northern Ireland completely out of the water”.He added: “For ministers to ignore what the courts have said would not be merely a case of sleepwalking into the creation of immigration border in the Irish Sea, but rather embarking on such a path with eyes wide open.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWes Streeting has hit out at the treatment of Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner over a probe into her housing arrangements, as it was revealed that the police are to interview her under caution.Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Mr Streeting said that the whole saga “makes my blood boil” and he accused his colleague’s critics of attacking her because “she is a working-class success story”.The shadow health secretary was speaking to The Independent about his autobiographical book – One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up – which tracks his own rise from being born into severe poverty on an east London council estate to being one of the leading MPs in Westminster and talked up as a future leader.Greater Manchester Police are to question Ms Rayner over whether she broke electoral law by claiming to live in a property while actually living in one a few miles away in a different constituency with her partner. There have also been questions over whether she avoided paying capital gains tax when she sold the house.The allegations have been pursued by Tory critics and right-wing elements in the media after they emerged in an unauthorised biography of her by billionaire former Tory treasurer Lord Ashcroft.Angela Rayner is to be interviewed under caution by police More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour MP Chris Bryant has revealed he is undergoing treatment after discovering his skin cancer has returned in his lungs.The Rhondda MP took to social media to share the latest update five years after he was first diagnosed with melanoma five years ago after his husband discovered a mole on his neck following a haircut.Doctors gave him just a 40 per cent chance of surviving the year in 2019 but after targeted therapy and skin grafts the stage three cancer was removed.For the past five years, the 62-year-old has had scans every six months and everyone has come back clean. However in February, he received the news that a type of skin cancer had been found on his right lung.“I was helping in the Kingswood by-election when the doctor rang me – on my birthday actually – to tell me I’m really sorry to say that the latest scan has shown up something in your right lung.”Mr Bryant (right) at the Kingswood by-election in February when he received his diagnosis More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Rishi Sunak delivers a pre-election pitch to voters on Monday 13 May.The prime minister portrayed himself as the best leader to take the UK through “some of the most dangerous yet most transformational” years ever.Mr Sunak said he has “bold ideas” that can “create a more secure future” for Britons and restore their “confidence and pride in our country” if he wins the general election expected later this year.In a speech in central London, he added voters face a stark choice in whom they choose to govern the nation at a time of unprecedented global volatility and technological advancements.It comes as his Conservative Party languishes behind Labour in the polls and suffered a mauling in local and regional elections earlier this month.Mr Sunak’s woes deepened with the defection of MP Natalie Elphicke in protest against his record on housing and stopping small boat Channel crossings – the second defection to Labour in as many weeks.But he was buoyed by official figures showing the economy grew by 0.6 per cent over the first quarter, ending a technical recession recorded in the final half of last year. More