UK Politics

Dominic Raab has criticised Angela Rayner for attending the Glyndebourne opera festival – calling it proof that “champagne socialism is back in the Labour party”.Standing in for Boris Johnson, the deputy prime minister hit out at Labour’s deputy leader after pictures emerged of her in the Sussex countryside during the rail strikes last week.“Where was she when the comrades were on the picket line last Thursday?” Mr Raab asked, adding: “She was at the Glyndebourne music festival, sipping champagne.”Mr Raab smiled and winked at his opposite number across the Commons despatch box as the pair clashed over tax rises and the government’s crackdown on noisy protests.Ms Rayner hit back, saying Tory ministers spent an evening last week “at the banqueting table getting hundreds of thousands squeezed out of their donors”.She also criticised Mr Raab for relaxing “on a sunlounger” while people fled Afghanistan last summer – a mistake that led to his sacking as foreign secretary.Later, a No 10 spokesman denied Mr Raab’s criticism was an attack on a working-class woman, such as Ms Rayner, enjoying champagne and opera.“The prime minister is clear that everybody should be able to enjoy arts and culture and other such things across the UK,” he said.With the prime minister away at the Nato summit, Ms Rayner taunted his deputy about last week’s disastrous byelection thumpings that have renewed Tory calls for a change at the top.“The government lost two by-elections in one day, the first in three decades. It’s no wonder that the prime minister has fled the country and left the honourable member to carry the can,” she alleged.“The people of Wakefield and Tiverton held their own vote of no confidence. The prime minister isn’t just losing the room, he is losing their country.“But instead of showing some humility, he intends to limp on until the 2030s. So, does he think the cabinet will prop him up for this long?”Mr Raab raised Ms Rayner’s own leadership ambitions, saying: “I gently point out to her that we want this prime minister going a lot longer than she wants the leader of Labour Party…”, before being cut off.He argued the Conservatives still have “a working majority of 75” and that “we are focusing on delivering for the British people”.The deputy prime minister added: “We will protect the public from these damaging rail strikes, when we have got the scene of Labour frontbenchers joining the picket lines.”Mr Raab also taunted Labour over Keir Starmer confirming he has ripped up Labour’s defeated 2019 election manifesto, arguing that meant he has “no plan” after two years as leader.“Tony Blair – he has actually got some experience of winning elections – says there is a gaping hole in Labour’s policy offer and all the while she is revelling in it.” More

Boris Johnson has ruled out a British boycott of the upcoming G20 summit, indicating that he would go even if Russian president Vladimir Putin chooses to turn up.The prospect of an extraordinary showdown between western leaders and the Russian president was raised after the Kremlin said Putin would go to November’s conference in Indonesia.Mr Johnson told reporters that it was “highly unlikely” that Putin would attend – but insisted that he would not “vacate” his own seat at the summit because he wanted to persuade world leaders to offer more support to Ukraine.“I would be absolutely amazed if Putin goes in person. He’s a pariah figure. He hasn’t been outside Russia for more than two years. I think he’s highly unlikely to go for all sorts of reasons,” the prime minister said.“There is a very difficult question about the G20. Yes, he’s been formally invited, I don’t think he will go,” he added. “The question is do we do we as the Western countries vacate our seats at the G20 and leave the whole argument to China, to Russia?”Though Mr Putin has a formal invitation to the summit, since Russia remains a member of the G20, it is not clear whether he will attend or join discussions by video link.Several countries in the group of major global economies – including China, South Africa and Brazil – have made clear they will support Russia’s membership. Despite the Ukraine invasion.Mr Johnson said he wanted to be there to win over G20 nations still wavering over support for Ukraine following Russia’s brutal invasion.“What can we do with the middle of the congregation – the people who look at Ukraine and have mixed feelings? We need to be doing more to win them over, we need to be making our case and you know who those countries are,” he said.The PM added: “I think if you if you vacate something like the G20 you risk just handing the propaganda opportunity to others.”A senior aide to the Russian president said on Monday that Putin still planned on joining leaders at the summit. His participation is “envisaged”, said Kremlin official Yury Ushakov.“They are still inviting in person. There is still a lot of time. I hope that the pandemic will allow this event to be held in person,” he added.German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday he was yet to decide whether to attend the summit if Putin goes to Indonesia. “In the end, we will have to make the decision shortly before the departure,” said Mr Scholz said.European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen suggested she shared Mr Johnson’s view that the G20 was “too important” to boycott. “We have to consider very carefully whether we paralyze the entire G20,” she said earlier thie week.It comes as Mr Johnson told a German broadcaster that Putin would not have launched his “crazy, macho” attack on Ukraine if he were a woman – describing him as the “perfect example of toxic masculinity”. More

London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the party to push for a return to the EU single market, describing Brexit as “the biggest piece of self-inflicted harm ever done to a country”.Mr Khan’s comments put him at odds with party leader Sir Kier Starmer, who has said he wants to “make Brexit work”, but is not advocating rejoining the single market, which the UK left in 2021.It comes after frontbencher Anna McMorrin was reprimanded for telling a private meeting that she hoped the UK could re-enter the single market if Labour won office.During a State of London debate on Tuesday, Mr Khan was asked whether Labour policy on the issue should change to supporting re-entry.He replied: “I don’t speak for the national Labour Party, but I believe we should… spot on.”The mayor, who campaigned for Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, added: “The biggest piece of self-inflicted harm ever done to a country – leaving the European Union.”His comments are likely to be seized on by Conservatives eager to portray Labour and the Liberal Democrats as plotting secretly to reverse Brexit.But a Labour spokesperson said: “Labour Party policy is clear. We need a strong collaborative relationship with EU partners but that does not involve membership of the customs union or the single market.” More

Boris Johnson’s international trade secretary has pulled out of a parliamentary scrutiny session at the last minute after the committee she was due to appear at criticised her.Anne-Marie Trevelyan was due to answer questions from MPs on the International Trade Committee at 10am this morning – but the committee was told hours before that she would not be attending.The MPs had on Wednesday morning published a new report criticising the government for apparently dodging parliamentary scrutiny on one of its planned trade deals – including failure to give evidence to them. The report was circulated under embargo the night before the appearance.In its damning report, the committee complained that its scrutiny work of the deal so far had been “hindered by government delays” including “failure to provide timely responses to Committee request”, “failure of a Minister to give timely evidence to the Committee”, and “failure to honour previous commitments”.The “brief” period of scrutiny of the proposed agreement with Australia was started before the committee had even had time to publish its own analysis, they said – calling for it to be extended.The MPs said the government’s delay tactics meant they had been “unable to conclude our report before the statutory period under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRaG) was commenced” – a key deadline.The Department for International Trade said its secretary of state was busy with policy matters and had offered an alternative time slot on another occasion.Speaking on Wednesday afternoon at prime minister’s questions, Angus Brendan MacNeil, chair of the International trade committee said the situation was “a serious question on the conduct of the government”.”I cannot understate the fury of the international trade committee this morning that led us the unanimously empty-chair, the Secretary of State for International Trade,” he said.”The government has broken its word to the committee, to the house, and you Mr. Speaker on scrutiny of the Australian trade deal.”The government has been repeatedly criticised for the limited parliamentary scrutiny it is giving its trade deals.The agreements themselves have raised concerns that they could be used to run down standards in the UK market and do not include adequate safeguards to stop British producers being unfairly undercut.Asked about the no-show, a Department for International Trade spokesperson said: “The International Trade Secretary is in the process of finalising a finely balanced decision on the steel safeguard by 30 June. This is an issue of national strategic importance, and she has had to ensure she is able to review the final advice from the Department before updating Parliament today.“She informed the chair of the International Trade Committee last night, apologised for having to cancel and immediately offered an alternative two-hour slot next week. We await the response from the Committee.“We have made enhanced commitments to scrutiny and transparency at every stage of UK-Australia FTA negotiations. This includes ministers appearing in front of the ITC and giving Parliament over six months to scrutinise the legal text, in addition to the 21-day period provided by us triggering the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.” More

Boris Johnson has claimed that Vladimir Putin would not have launched his “crazy, macho” attack on Ukraine if he were a woman.The prime minister said the Russian president was a “perfect example of toxic masculinity” as he joined Nato leaders in Madrid to discuss a radical overhaul of the western defence alliance.Mr Johnson told German broadcaster ZDF: “If Putin was a woman, which he obviously isn’t, but if he were, I really don’t think he would’ve embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has.”The PM added: “If you want a perfect example of toxic masculinity, it’s what he’s doing in Ukraine.”Mr Johnson also argued that “you need more women in positions of power” as Nato prepared to discuss an expansion of troop numbers, and membership bids by Finland and Sweden.Defence secretary Ben Wallace appeared to agree with the PM’s assesment of the Russian leader, saying: “Putin’s view of the world is a small man, macho view of the world.”The cabinet minister told LBC: “You rarely hear the phrase small woman syndrome. You always hear small man syndrome and I think he’s certainly got it in spades.”There was also a surprising endorsement for Mr Johnson’s comments from the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.She told Good Morning Britain: “I think it is important we don’t generalise. Women make mistakes as well as men make mistakes…. But I do think women tend to bring more common sense and emotional intelligence and reasoned approach.”The prime minister will ask Nato allies to step up their defence spending in the face of the threat from Moscow – despite a scathing attack from his own defence secretary Ben Wallace on the UK’s “smoke and mirrors” military budget.Mr Wallace said UK forces had for too long survived on “a diet of smoke and mirrors, hollowed-out formations and fantasy savings” – after calling for the PM to commit to a 20 per cent spending increase.The prime minister said he would “leverage” Britain’s military spending to “drive greater commitments from other people”.Figures shared by Nato show that the proportion spent by Britain on its military has declined to 2.12 per cent over the past year – falling for the second year in a row.But the UK government said its defence spending was projected to rise to 2.3 per cent of GDP this year due, partly due to £1.3bn of support committed to Ukraine.It comes as Turkey agreed to support Finland’s and Sweden’s bids for Nato membership, secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday night.“I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join Nato,” Mr Stoltenberg told reporters on the side-lines of a NATO summit in Madrid.“Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkey’s concerns, including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism,” Mr Stoltenberg added.Mr Johnson said earlier that “progress” had been easing concerns from Turkey about Sweden in particular over the Kurdish militant groups given a home there. More

Boris Johnson has revealed that he had a “frank” exchange with Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez about British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands at the G7 conference.The PM shared his displeasure that the subject was raised when the leaders met at the margins of the summit in Germany shortly after the 40th anniversary of the war over the South Atlantic islands.Asked if he was disappointed Mr Fernandez had brought up British control, Mr Johnson told reporters: “Yeah”, before saying he had offered a reminder that the matter was settled.“It had been decided decisively over many, many years, and I saw no reason for us to engage in a substantive discussion about it,” the PM said on his journey from the G7 to the Nato summit in Madrid.He added: “I made the point that we were spending a lot of our time talking about Ukraine, where the principle at stake was the right of sovereign independent people to determine their future.”The undeclared war in 1982 between Britain and Argentina, following the invasion of the islands by General Leopoldo Galtieri’s junta, claimed the lives of 255 British forces personnel.According to the Argentine delegation’s statement after the G7 meeting, Mr Fernandez said the Falklands were a “colonial enclave” and told the sovereignity issue was different to Ukraine.The president is also said to have asked the prime minister for the re-establishment of flights to the islands from Argentina.“I understand that our friends in the Argentinian delegation have presented this as being a more acrimonious conversation than it was,” Mr Johnson said on Tuesday. “I would say it was frank, free – but it seemed to me to be friendly.”Asked what he had said to Mr Fernandez, he added: “I just said it had been 40 years ago since the UK had – at the cost of sacrificing many lives – had vindicated principle that the Falkland Islanders should have the right to determine their future under basic diplomatic principles and have the right to be British.”Meanwhile it emerged that Mr Johnson and French president Emmanuel Macron drank whisky together at the G7 summit in Bavaria on Sunday night, according to a UK government source.“The PM is not a big drinker, nor a late-night party animal,” said the official, revealing that Mr Johnson was up early on Monday morning for a swim.Mr Johnson has also enjoyed “ongoing banter” with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau about the infamous photos of Vladimir Putin’s bare-chested horseback rides.“Trudeau ran around the lake as the prime minister was swimming in it,” said the source. “So the banter about riding bareback and imitating Putin and displaying their pecs got a new lease of life.” More

A unilateral decision by parliamentary authorities to rip up plans for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster could result in billions of pounds in extra costs, decades of delay and “extraordinary” health and safety risks, a spending watchdog’s report has warned. The report by the Commons public accounts committee said there was “no justification” for the decision by the Commissions which run the Houses of Commons and Lords to abolish a sponsor body set up just three years ago to oversee the massive project and instead seek to do the job themselves.The shock decision in February derailed the sponsor body’s plans finally to present a business case for the works in 2023, more than 20 years after the renovation of the crumbling Victorian landmark was first discussed.It came after criticism from MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg of the 2019 decision that both Houses should be moved out of the historic building while works take place. The commissions have called for reconsideration of alternative options, despite an earlier study saying that keeping MPs in place could add as much as 48 years and £11bn to the project, currently estimated to cost at least £7-£13bn and last a minimum of 19 years.Today’s report criticised “unacceptably slow” progress on renovation, warning that the likely start date for major works was being “pushed back by many years because of repeated attempts to revisit the basis of the programme”.Disagreements among MPs on how the work should be done were “a major cause of the delays”, the report said.“Until parliament decides what it wants, and sticks to it, it will be almost impossible for any sponsor to deliver any programme, particularly as the composition and therefore the view of parliament itself can change at least every five years.”The committee warned that delay was not cost-free, pointing to the 25 fire incidents and 13 cases of falling masonry in the Palace since 2016, during which period House authorities have spent £140m on temporary fire safety systems alone.The cross-party committee condemned an “unacceptable cloak of secrecy around the programme”, after House authorities failed to report an asbestos incident for three months.And the committee said there was “no evidence to justify” the commissions’ decision to abolish the sponsor body, which was set up to take decisions out of the hands of politicians whose focus is on the five-year electoral timetable rather than the minimum 19-28 year period of the works.Parliamentary authorities’ proposal that they should take on oversight of the work “does not seem viable”, given their previous performance with the renovation of the Elizabeth Tower – better known as Big Ben after its famous bell – which saw the original £29m budget almost triple. “The House authorities have unilaterally taken this massive, critical project of huge national, historical, cultural and political significance back to the drawing board; reversing decisions by both Houses, with no justification for wrecking the plan that was underway – if tortuously slowly – and no assurance that they can actually deliver the works they now envisage,” said committee chair Dame Meg Hillier.“This cannot be acceptable in anyone’s book.“It is inconceivable that this building at the heart of our nation’s life should be allowed to deteriorate further – or worse, that those working or visiting the Palace are put in physical danger – by the inability of the current generation of residents to come to and stick to a decision about how to proceed.”The Prospect union, which represents many parliamentary staff, backed the report’s findings.“Delays and poor decision-making are increasing the risk of disaster for the building and the thousands of people who work there,” said general secretary Mike Clancy.Ministers’ insistence on looking for an alternative to a full-scale “decant” of parliament into a different venue during works was “baffling”, he said.“Ministers need to drop the political soap opera and ensure that the safety of staff in the building is put first,” he said. “The cheapest, quickest and safest solution has been shown to be a full decant. Keeping the estate operational during the restoration will not even save money.” In a statement, the two commissions said that they had proposed a new approach to the restoration project, drawing on expert advice, because of “concerns” expressed over the costs and timescales put forward by the sponsor body.“The new approach is designed to ensure maximum value for money and will see essential safety-critical works start sooner than was originally proposed,” they said.“The commissions’ proposals have been published in full. Engagement with the parliamentary community on these proposals is currently under way. Members of both Houses will have the final say, and it is intended that they will have the chance to debate and decide on the commissions’ proposals before the summer recess.” More