UK Politics

Penny Mordaunt has sparked a row over her plan to slash fuel tax by denying it would blow a £13bn black hole in the Treasury’s finances – because people will drive more.The claim that the cut would be “self-funding” was rubbished by a key supporter of Rishi Sunak, who has accused his rivals of “fairytale” economics in the Tory leadership race.Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister and a Sunak backer, urged Ms Mordaunt to produce a “serious analysis of self-funding tax cuts” to back up her argument.He said the claim was not “particularly credible”, adding: “And, of course, the big question is, what impact would it have on inflation?”The row over a policy based on people driving far more comes amid criticism of the campaign for undermining the UK’s legal commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.RecommendedMs Mordaunt, the race favourite among Tory party members who will pick the winner, has pledged “immediate, targeted support to help with the cost of living” by halving VAT on fuel.The levy will bring in around £26.2bn in taxes for the Treasury this year, which means the cut would potentially cost a whopping £13bn – when other tax cuts are also being promised.The Mordaunt camp told The Sunday Times that the move would be self-funding because drivers would buy more fuel.The issue of tax has dominated the leadership contest, although the clash is a narrow one between reductions immediately – or in the near future, under Mr Sunak, the former chancellor.Ms Mordaunt has also pledged to raise income tax thresholds at an immediate cost of around £3bn and has not ruled out reversing the planned hike in corporation tax at an annual cost of £17bn.Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, has gone even further, with a £30bn uncosted promise to halt the corporation tax rise, suspend green energy levies and reverse the rise in National Insurance to fund the NHS.Mr Raab told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “You can’t borrow your way out of an inflation crisis.Recommended“If people are suggesting we should make cuts to the NHS, at a time not just of Covid, but all the other non-Covid NHS challenges, they have got to spell out where they are coming from.“We want to all leave people with more money in their pocket. But if you cut taxes and inflation robs people of that money because it is worthless or sees interest rates go up so their mortgage is more expensive, then frankly it is a false economy.” More

Tory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt has hit back at fresh claims that she supported gender self-identification when she was a government equalities minister.In the first televised debate on Friday, former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and foreign secretary Liz Truss, who also has responsibility for equality issues, claimed Ms Mordaunt had backed a push for self-ID for those who wish to transition.They said that together they had reversed the policy.Ms Mordaunt strongly challenged the claims. She said that while she had ordered a review of the Gender Recognition Act, she was not in favour of self-identification and would “not have divorced it from healthcare”.However, The Sunday Times said it had seen leaked government papers which appeared to suggest she was in favour of removing at least one element of the medical process required for transgender people to legally transition.It said another paper from February 2020 confirmed that the government’s support for self-identification ended after she was replaced as the minister in charge.RecommendedIn response, a spokesman for her campaign said the papers seen by The Sunday Times made clear that all the ministers involved at the time had been in favour of maintaining medical involvement in the process.“The fact that so much of this contest has been distracted by side issues instead of the cost-of-living crisis impacting millions of people, is a major disappointment,” the spokesman said.“Arguing about policy is one thing, but questioning Penny’s values and integrity must be challenged. To be clear, on the issue of self-ID, leaked documents prove that all ministers in the department wanted to maintain medical involvement, including Penny. Other ministers can back this up.”Ms Mordaunt was backed by Baroness Williams, who was junior equalities minister at the time, and said the accounts of events given at the hustings and in the media were “completely incorrect”.“As minister for equalities in the department under both Penny Mordaunt and Amber Rudd I saw first hand that the position stated was absolutely not Penny Mordaunt’s and completely refute the allegations made by other candidates about the self ID debate,” she said in a statement.“Having sat in the Equalities Office for many years, I am shocked to see such incorrect reporting and briefings by our colleagues and would question the motives of those seeking to do so.”The Sunday Times published details of a note from a senior civil servant sent in July 2019 to Ms Mordaunt and other senior officials in the government equalities office (GEO).At the time, Ms Mordaunt was defence secretary but also had responsibility for women’s and equalities issues.The note stated: “Currently, applicants are required to provide two medical reports: a diagnosis of gender dysphoria (which we are now intending to remove) and a report detailing any medical treatment received.“There is no requirement to have undergone any medical treatment as part of transitioning, nor does the report’s contents have any bearing on the panel’s decision, so it is unclear what practical value this current report has in the process.“However, this element of the process goes to the heart of whether we have a system that is essentially self-identification, or whether there are external checks in place.”RecommendedThe note went on to state that “you have all indicated you would like some form of medical requirement to remain part of the process — particularly some form of assessment that the applicant is of ‘sound mind’ as they make their application to change their gender.“This could be from a GP, a registered counsellor or a therapist. This would help safeguard vulnerable individuals, and would also provide a defence against potential vexatious applications.” More

Rishi Sunak is making a fresh pitch to Brexit-backing Tories in the party’s leadership race, with a vow to rip up EU rules on financial services, data and clinical trials.The former chancellor said that he would decide within 100 days of becoming prime minister which of a mountain of 2,400 outstanding laws and regulations should disappear. He is also promising a “Big Bang 2.0” for the City of London.Mr Sunak’s rejection of immediate tax cuts is a risk, given that the Conservative grassroots are to pick the party’s new leader, but he is pointing out that – unlike his Remain-backing rival Liz Truss – he campaigned for Leave despite being warned “my political career would end”.And he said: “As prime minister, I would go further and faster in using the freedoms Brexit has given us to cut the mass of EU regulations and bureaucracy holding back our growth.”The move comes as new polling by JL Partners found that Mr Sunak is the overwhelming choice of voters in the constituencies the Conservatives must retain in order to win the next general election.RecommendedThe public prefer him in 76 per cent of the 365 seats the party won in 2019, the survey suggests – leaving rivals Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt trailing badly, at 19 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.Ms Truss – who is floundering in the race after being judged to have lost the first TV debate – failed to top the table in any of the seats, as did Kemi Badenoch.The policy was unveiled after Mr Sunak scored a success with an endorsement from the figure seen as the party’s “Mr North”, the influential Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen.However, the promised assault on EU laws will trigger a fresh clash with Brussels if it leads to lower regulatory standards, flouting pledges made when the Brexit trade deal was signed.Last month, the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, Maros Sefcovic, warned of “consequences” if the promised level playing field is tilted, saying that the EU would “be watching developments closely.”In other developments in the race, ahead of a second TV clash on Sunday evening:Ms Truss floated another big tax cut, to help people take work breaks for childcare or as carers, despite Mr Sunak’s criticism that her economic plans are “a fairytale”Mr Tugendhat – the contender most likely to fall in Monday’s third ballot – insisted he would not drop out before then, saying: “I have never turned down a challenge because the odds were against me. I don’t plan to start now.”Labour demanded that the candidates come clean on the spending cuts required to deliver the promised “billions of pounds of unfunded tax cuts”The Liberal Democrats urged the candidates to rule out a cabinet role for Boris Johnson, to ensure that they can begin “mending our broken politics”Mr Sunak remains the favourite candidate among Conservative MPs, ahead of further ballots that will take place from Monday to whittle down the five survivors to a final two by Wednesday.But the winner – and the next prime minister – will then be chosen by the 180,000-odd Tory party members before Mr Johnson leaves Downing Street on 6 September.The outgoing government is already planning a bonfire of EU “retained law” in a controversial move that involves using backstage regulations instead of allowing full scrutiny and votes.The former chancellor said he would accelerate the process, pointing to “burdensome” financial services regulations and promising to “make London once again the world’s leading financial centre by 2027”.Mr Sunak would also “remove the burdens” of EU data laws that he argued are “stopping British tech companies from innovating, and public services from being able to share data to clamp down on crime”.Further, he would “speed up our clinical trials approval process” by creating a single approval service, pointing to the success of the UK’s Covid vaccine rollout.RecommendedMr Sunak said: “In 2016, I was told by my party leadership that if I backed Brexit, my political career would end before it had even begun. I backed Brexit regardless because I knew it was the right thing for the country.“We need to capitalise on these opportunities by ditching the mass of unnecessary regulations and low-growth mentality we’ve inherited from the EU.” More

A group of university students have launched a rocket 16,000ft into the air from a moor in Scotland, as they attempt to one day cross the boundary of space.On Saturday evening, a rocket named Nebula blasted off from Fairlie Moore in North Ayrshire after a “nerve-wracking” effort to prepare it as a launch deadline approached.It was a test flight for parts which will one day leave the Earth’s atmosphere and bring the rocket back down to the ground.Imperial College London’s Karman Space Programme hopes to become the first university team to launch a reusable rocket into space.RecommendedThe project is named after the Karman line, the internationally recognised boundary to space, roughly 100km above sea level.Powered by solid rocket propellant, the 2.2m long Nebula rocket was designed and built by the university team.However, they had to fight against time as they tried to assemble their rocket on the remote moor.Difficulties in preparing it for flight meant their plans to launch were delayed for several hours.With minutes to go until the officially-approved launch window closed, it finally took off from the moor to cheers of joy from dozens of students.Nebula tested avionics and telemetry systems which the team aim to use on future rockets which will go beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.The student-led team ultimately hope to build a nine metre-long rocket which will be powered by ethanol and nitrous oxide.Nebula’s nosecone separated earlier than planned and the parachutes which were meant to bring it down to ground gently did not deploy properly.The operations lead for the Nebula launch was Dyuti Chakraborty, 19, who said they still gathered important data about how the rocket functioned.

I think everyone is ecstaticDyuti ChakrabortiAfter the launch, she said: “I think everyone is ecstatic and just so relieved that we could do it.“We’ve been on this rocket for a very long time and for many of us it’s our first rocket that we’ve ever designed or made.”She added: “It’s been quite a nerve-wracking couple of days really.“Travelling all the way up to Scotland from London, doing all the tests, coming down to launch today.“It’s been one of those days where every minute could change what we were going to do.“So it doesn’t surprise me that we had five minutes left of the launch window, and launched.”Ahead of the launch, the project’s deputy leader Sachin Solanki said: “There is a bit of nerves going around but there’s more a sense of confidence.“We’ve been working on this project for just under a year.“There have been a lot of hours put in, a lot of late nights. Everyone’s confident in the technology we’ve developed, confident in our rocket, confident in our engineering.“But everyone’s got the butterflies in their stomach.”Mr Solanki added: “I think if you start something you should finish it. What we’re trying to do is very ambitious.Recommended“If everyone is determined they should be able to achieve that goal.”Around 50 students are involved in the project and they plan to cross the Karman line with future versions of their rocket by 2024. More

Rishi Sunak has again insisted inflation must be brought under control before the government can cut taxes, following a bruising clash with Tory leadership contenders Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss.In a combative performance in the first televised debate of the contest on Friday night, the former chancellor rounded on his rivals saying proposals to raise borrowing to pay for tax cuts were a “fairytale”.Speaking during a visit to Teesside, where he secured the backing of regional mayor Ben Houchen, Mr Sunak doubled down on his message saying the priority had to be curbing spiralling prices.“I think the number one economic priority we face as a country is inflation. I want to get a grip of inflation because inflation is what makes everybody poorer,” he said.“If we don’t get a grip of it now it will last longer and that is not a good thing. Once we’ve done that, I will deliver tax cuts.”Recommended More

Liz Truss has floated another expensive tax cut if she wins the Tory leadership race, despite criticism that her economic plans are “a fairytale”.The foreign secretary says she would explore giving people a tax break of up to £2,500 to help them take time out of work to look after children or other family members.Rishi Sunak scored a major hit on the right-wing candidate in Friday’s live TV debate when he called for “honesty” over tax reductions until soaring inflation has been tamed. More

Boris Johnson is skipping a crisis meeting on the looming life-threatening heatwave to host a party at his luxury Chequers rural retreat.Ministers and experts are gathering in the Cabinet Office on Saturday afternoon, for a Cobra meeting to prepare for temperatures hitting an unprecedented 40oC on Monday.But the prime minister will be 30 miles away in Buckinghamshire at a party for friends and family, ahead of being kicked out of his country retreat at the start of September.It is going ahead after Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie had to abandon an earlier plan to use Chequers for a delayed wedding reception after heavy criticism.Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “Boris Johnson has gone missing in action again. He’s back to his old tricks of skipping important Cobr meetings.Recommended“The public will have no confidence in this zombie Conservative government responding swiftly and decisively to this national emergency as this disgraced prime minister prepares to party while Britain boils.”A Downing Street source told The Independent it is “not unusual” for other members of the cabinet, in this case Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse, to lead Cobr meetings.Mr Johnson’s absence mirrors the controversy at the start of his premiership when he missed a string of meetings on the Covid pandemic, as he arranged his divorce and penned a book on Shakespeare, it is believed.Chequers, a Grade one 16th Century mansion and the official country residence of British prime ministers since 1921, boasts an indoor swimming pool and hundreds of acres of gardens.Formal invitations went out earlier this week to the party, it is thought. A Tory source told Sky News: “It is their farewell bash at Chequers this weekend. Partners and children are all invited.”It is the second Cobr meeting Mr Malthouse has led on the threat posed by the heatwave in Mr Johnson’s absence, after an earlier one last Thursday.Meteorologists estimate an 80 per cent chance of the mercury topping the UK’s record temperature of 38.7C set in Cambridge in 2019, when the hot spell peaks on Tuesday.The Met Office issued its first red warning for extreme heat, covering a swathe of England from London to Manchester and York on Monday and Tuesday.Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, has hosted a special meeting to ensure the NHS, the Met Police, London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service, councils and Transport for London have a robust plan for the capital.Ms Rayner added, of Mr Johnson’s absence: “Where’s the plan for the delivery of essential services and how people will be kept safe at work, on transport, in schools, hospitals and care homes?”RecommendedThe prime minister is also believed to be preparing to miss next Wednesday’s prime minister’s questions in the Commons, which would have been his last.He is expected to attend a memorial service for the assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in the middle of the week. More

Liz Truss has announced she would scrap a planned multibillion-pound hike in corporation tax if she wins the race to succeed Boris Johnson in No 10.The foreign secretary, who has previously vowed to cut taxes from “day one” if she wins the Tory leadership contest, also said there would be a “temporary moratorium” on the green energy levy.But one rival campaign dismissed the announcement as part of a “bidding war” for voters after Ms emerged in third position in the second ballot of Tory MPs in Westminster on Thursday and is struggling to gain momentum ahead of Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt. More