UK Politics

Rishi Sunak has launched his bid to become the new Tory leader with a slick PR-led campaign confirming plans that were first reported by The Independent in January. Mr Sunak is the most-prominent MP to join the race since Boris Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday, with Liz Truss and Jeremy Hunt expected to follow him over the weekend. He threw his hat into the ring at 4:16pm on Friday, posting a glossy video titled “Ready for Rishi” on his social media channels and linking to a website of the same name. Recommended More

Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner did not break Covid laws and will not be fined over Beergate, Durham Police have announced.A spokesperson added: “There is no case to answer for a contravention of the regulations, due to the application of an exception, namely reasonably necessary work.”Police said the gathering at the Miners’ Hall in Durham on 30 April 2020, which was linked to part of Labour campaigning for theHartlepool by-election and local elections, had been fully investigated.Evidence and witness statements identified that 17 people participated, including the Labour leader and deputy leader.“Durham Constabulary will not be issuing any fixed penalty notices in respect of the gathering and no further action will be taken,” a statement said.Recommended“The investigation has been thorough, detailed and proportionate.”Sir Keir, the former director of public prosecutions, had vowed to resign if he was found to have broken Covid laws – having urged Boris Johnson to leave his post after being fined over an illegal Downing Street gathering.In a statement posted on Twitter, the Labour leader said: “I’ve always said no rules were broken when I was in Durham.“The police have completed their investigation and agreed: there is no case to answer.“For me, this was always a matter of principle. Honesty and integrity matter. You will always get that from me.”Ms Rayner tweeted: “Integrity matters in politics. The contrast with the behaviour of this disgraced prime minister couldn’t be clearer.” Durham Constabulary previously investigated Dominic Cummings, then the prime minister’s chief adviser, for taking his family from London to the north-east while infected with coronavirus during the first national lockdown.Officers concluded that he might have committed a “minor breach” of the law by driving to Barnard Castle, but that issuing a fine months later “would amount to treating Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public”.The force initially decided to take no action over images of Sir Keir drinking a beer inside the constituency office of Labour MP Mary Foy, which resurfaced while being widely shared by Conservatives during the Partygate scandal. More

Who could replace Boris Johnson in the role of prime minister?
Sir Keir Starmer has called for a general election as Labour grew its lead over the Tories during a chaotic week of rebellions in Westminser. The opposition leader said his party was “ready” for an election as he made a speech after escaping a fine over the “Beergate” row. “Let’s get on with it,” he said, adding: “If there’s a general election this government will fall.”Both Sir Keir and Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, had pledged to resign had they been given fixed-penalty notices. But Durham Constabulary said there was no case to answer after they were photographed mixing with others during Covid restrictions.Meanwhile, Boris Johnson is facing mounting calls to leave office straight away after vowing to remain in Downing Street until his successor is chosen. He said earlier this week he would be stepping down as leader after more than 50 MPs quit government in protest at his leadership, while others withdrew support. RecommendedShow latest update

1657290650Brexit and Northern Ireland: free eventChief political commentator John Rentoul hosts an expert panel for a virtual event on the Northern Ireland protocol: More

As the Conservative Party searches for a new leader following Boris Johnson’s resignation, one issue above all that will be left unresolved is the Northern Ireland protocol.More than six years since the referendum and two and a half years since the UK left the European Union, the issue remains one of the main items of unfinished business left over from the Johnson government.As Mr Johnson’s Bill to rip up parts of the protocol, which he signed himself as part of the Brexit deal, makes its way through parliament, join our expert panel to ask the question – will the UK and EU ever come to a deal? And will a new prime minister taking on the biggest job in the country be able to solve the problem?Get your free ticket hereThe Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which plans to unilaterally scrap GB-NI border checks, will receive scrutiny in the coming weeks, after MPs voted to give it a second reading. It is expected to reach the House of Lords before October, according to Baroness Smith.Labour’s House of Lords leader said anger is building at the Bill, and accused the Government of “taking its eye off the ball” over Northern Ireland.RecommendedSome have contended that the Bill breaks international law by seeking to override sections of the protocol.The move has sparked a fierce backlash from the bloc, with fresh legal action launched against Britain.Will a new prime minister succeed in going back on Boris Johnson’s deal? What does this mean for the Good Friday Agreement? How will the bill affect the stability of Northern Ireland if it goes through, as Mr Johnson said at the G7 Summit, he hoped by the end of the year?Join host The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul and a panel of experts on Wednesday 27 July for our next virtual event at 6.30pm.For more information and to get your free ticket, visit our Eventbrite page. More

A fresh attempt to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is likely in the coming weeks despite Boris Johnson’s promise to make no “major” decisions.The outgoing prime minister’s spokesman said the move would fall under “existing policy” – which is allowed, despite his resignation and “caretaker” status.Asked if a flight is possible even before this month’s judicial review into the legality of the controversial policy”, he told The Independent: “It is.”“Operation preparations for future flights have begun,” he said, after the European Court of Human Rights thwarted the government’s first bid to begin deportations.“Convention does not prevent or preclude the government from seeking to pursue existing policy and that would include defending cases in court.”RecommendedAfter Mr Johnson faced down Tory demands to leave No 10 immediately, he appeared to have his wings clipped by his new cabinet, which some members joined only on “conditions”.Downing Street stated he had “made clear the government would not seek to implement new policies or make major changes of direction”, at the cabinet’s first meeting.Plans for a big economy speech on Monday – to announce tax cuts – have been abandoned, as has the intention to bring back regular Downing Street press conferences.But the spokesman reserved the need to “react to emerging issues”, when asked about the volatile economic picture and the threat of supply shocks or rising energy prices.But he cautioned: “We do have significant support already in place for the global cost of living pressures that we are seeing, including measures which have not yet been introduced.”Ministers condemned the ECHR for preventing the first Rwanda flight last month, insisting they have the domestic legal powers they need to deport asylum seekers.But they have acknowledged a full High Court judicial review, later this month, could thwart the policy – after the government declined to pass fresh legislation to authorise it.The biggest decision in the two weeks before MPs leave Westminster for their summer recess is likely to be on public sector pay – where recommendations from independent review bodies are being considered.The bill to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol, in breach of international law legal experts say, will continue its Commons progress next week.The spokesman also confirmed Mr Johnson has rejected calls, including from John Major, to step aside to allow his deputy Dominic Raab to be the caretaker.Recommended“The prime minister is acting in line with convention,” he said. “He remains prime minister until a new party leader is in place and the work of government will continue while that takes place.”More ministerial appointments will be made on Friday and are expected to “broadly” fill all of about 20 vacancies left by the mass exodus of ministers this week. More

Ben Wallace has declined to say whether he will run for the Conservative Party leadership, insisting that he will continue to focus on his job as defence secretary.Mr Wallace, coming top among poll of Tory members to succeed Boris Johnson as leader after his resignation on Thursday, spoke during a visit to a training centre for Ukrainian troops in north of England.The defence secretary said he was convinced that the political turmoil in the Britain would not lead to any lessening of support for Ukraine, stressing that he had built up a cross-party consensus on the issue.“I don’t think there is a risk of that at all. I have strived throughout this process to build a cross-party consensus on Ukraine. I’ve been very lucky that I’ve been supported by everyone from the SNP [Scottish National Party] and the Labour leader, the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats in our policy towards Ukraine.“Not a week goes by when I don’t reach out to them or talk to those parties. Also we have agreed that it is important to continue the efforts for Ukraine as it strives to defend itself from its awful illegal invasion”, he said.RecommendedAn ally of Mr Wallace pointed out that while the defence decretary was visiting Ukrainian troops being trained, Liz Truss, viewed as one of his main rivals from the Tory leadership, failed to take a chance to confront Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, about the invasion at a G20 meeting. More

Tory leadership hopefuls are jockeying for position as they bid to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.Mr Johnson announced he would quit on Thursday following an avalanche of ministerial resignations and cabinet walkouts. However, he has said he will remain in office until the Conservative Party are able to elect his successor. This could take several weeks and some within the party are calling for the process to start as soon as possible, rather than the autumn – Mr Johnson has vowed to stay until then.Here are the latest odds from BetFair Exchange on who is the favourite to take the Tory crown.RecommendedPenny Mordaunt, Portsmouth North MP and international trade minister: 5/1Rishi Sunak, Richmond (Yorkshire) MP and former chancellor: 6/1Ben Wallace, Wyre & Preston North MP and defence secretary: 13/2 Liz Truss, South West Norfolk MP and foreign secretary: 8/1Sajid Javid, Bromsgrove MP and former health secretary: 9/1Nadhim Zahawi, Stratford-on-Avon MP and chancellor: 10/1Jeremy Hunt, South West Surrey MP and former foreign secretary: 13/1Tom Tugendhat, Tonbridge and Malling MP : 15/1Michael Gove, Surrey Heath MP and former levelling up secretary : 21/1Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, has overall responsibility for organising leadership contests.The timetable for a contest is agreed by the committee and Tory Party HQ, with a new Tory leader expected to be in place by the party conference in October.Both Tory MPs and Conservative Party members play a decisive role in electing the next leader.Tory MPs will whittle down the candidates to a final two through a balloting process, with party members then voting on which of the two candidates they would prefer.The first stage sees the number of candidates whittled down, with a series of ballots.If necessary, across multiple ballots, the candidates with the lowest number of votes are eliminated and MPs are re-balloted until only two candidates are left.For example, during the 2019 leadership contest to replace Theresa May, which saw Boris Johnson elected leader, there were initially 10 candidates in the first ballot, with several rounds of balloting taking place until only Mr Johnson and Jeremy Hunt were left.RecommendedAt this stage, the two MPs left will face a vote of Conservative Party members.It means that members of the party will get their say on who should be the leader of the Conservative Party, as well as the next prime minister. More