UK Politics

The top advisor of a major review of the country’s food system has criticised the plan set out by government – saying it is “not a strategy” and devoid of “clear vision”.Boris Johnson has pledged the blueprint, being launched in a white paper on Monday, will “back” British farmers, after a leaked draft of the document was condemned by critics as “half-baked”.Ministers say the plan will help strengthen the resilience of the nation’s supply chains and increase domestic production, so “we will grow and eat more of our own food”.But the government’s own food tsar Henry Dimbleby said the response to his wide-ranging review of the system fell short of what was needed.The Leon restaurant co-founder told The Guardian the document was “not a strategy”, saying: “It doesn’t set out a clear vision as to why we have the problems we have now and it doesn’t set out what needs to be done.”It comes after ministers were accused of a blueprint “bordering on the preposterous”, as it apparently failed to implement key recommendations from the review – such as tackling obesity or extending free school meals.But Eustice rejected Mr Mr Dimbleby’s criticism on BBC Breakfast – and denied that the adviser’s recommendations had been “kicked down the road”.He said: “I don’t accept that – I spoke to Henry Dimbleby over the weekend and he welcomes the vast majority of this, not least because it’s what he proposed.”A leaked draft of the strategy published on Friday caused a stir when it appeared to reveal calls for a sugar and salt reformulation tax had been snubbed.The newspaper said Mr Dimbleby had been shown the final document, and said “there was nothing really there on health”.The National Farmers Union (NFU) also said ministers had “stripped to the bone” proposals from the Dimbleby review, while Labour said the document was “nothing more than a statement of vague intentions”.Launching the strategy on Monday, the government said it had accepted “the majority of recommendations” from the food tsar’s report, with policy initiatives to boost health, sustainability and accessibility of diets, and to secure food supply”.One clear priority for ministers is to reduce the distance between farm and fork, with a vision for 50 per cent of public sector food spend to go on food produced locally or certified to higher standards.The strategy also sets out plans to create a new professional body for the farming and growing industry, to boost training and develop clear career pathways, equipping people and businesses with the skills needed to run sustainable and profitable businesses.Mr Johnson said: “Our food strategy sets out a blueprint for how we will back farmers, boost British industry and help protect people against the impacts of future economic shocks by safeguarding our food security.”But Jim McMahon, Labour’s shadow secretary for environment, food and rural affairs, accused the Government of failing to deliver “much more than a new slogan”.He added: “This is nothing more than a statement of vague intentions, not a concrete proposal to tackle the major issues facing our country. To call it a food strategy is bordering on the preposterous.”Kath Dalmeny, chief executive of farming group Sustain, said: “In the face of multiple crises in the cost of living, rocketing obesity, climate change and nature loss, the government food strategy looks shamefully weak … This isn’t a strategy, it’s a feeble to-do list, that may or may not get ticked.”The Food Foundation called the paper “disappointing” and “feeble” – saying it “misses this mark” as many of its commitments will “flounder without new legislation to make them stick”.The charity’s executive director, Anna Taylor, said: “Despite its name, the whole document is lacking a strategy to transition the food system towards delivering good food which is accessible to everyone.” More

Boris Johnson admits he signed Northern Ireland Protocol hoping EU would not ‘apply it’Keir Starmer said on Monday that the government’s plan to override elements of the Northern Ireland protocol will reduce the chances of an agreement with the EU.The Labour leader said that issues with Brussels could be resolved “around the negotiating table with statecraft” and not with legislation that “breaches international law” and will impede negotiations.Meanwhile, Boris Johnson insisted the plan to effectively override parts of the Brexit deal with the EU was “not a big deal”.The legislation to amend the protocol unilaterally will be introduced in Parliament on Monday amid controversy over whether the legislation will break international law.“What it does is create unnecessary barriers on east-west trade – what we can do is fix that. It’s not a big deal,” the prime minister said on a visit to Cornwall.Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the plan would “ratchet up” tension and breach the UK’s international commitments and that the charges marked a particular “low point” in Brexit talks. But Mr Johnson insisted the legislation would introduce “relatively simple” bureaucratic changes and warned it would be a “gross overreaction” if Brussels sought to retaliate by triggering a trade war.Show latest update

1655131834ICYMI: Rwanda scheme: George Eustice says deporting migrants is ‘right thing to do’Rwanda scheme: George Eustice says deporting migrants is ‘right thing to do’Joe Middleton13 June 2022 15:501655130139Majority of MLAs oppose amendment to NI protocolA majority of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in Stormont have signed a joint letter to Boris Johnson stating their opposition to proposed legislation to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol.The letter has been signed by 52 of the 90 MLAs. They represent Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Alliance Party.The letter to Mr Johnson states that the signatories “reject in the strongest possible terms your Government’s reckless new protocol legislation, which flies in the face of the expressed wishes of not just most businesses, but most people in Northern Ireland”.It continues that “whilst not ideal, the protocol currently represents the only available”.Joe Middleton13 June 2022 15:221655128665Economy shrinking in April was due to end of mass Covid-19 testing, says No 10Downing Street said the latest figures showing the economy shrinking in April were “significantly impacted” by the end of mass Covid-19 testing and “when we exclude the falling numbers of Covid tests, the rest of the economy saw positive growth of 0.1% in April”.“So we are focused on growing the economy to reduce the cost of living and we will continue to work to create the conditions for economic growth,” the spokesman said.“We think we have strong foundations within our economy which will help it to grow. We recognise there are strong headwinds as we emerge from this pandemic and with war in Europe. That is challenging not just for the UK but for countries across the world.”The spokesman said it was “too early to pass judgment” on the impact of Brexit, particularly given the effects of the pandemic,But “we are confident that the opportunities Brexit provides will be a boon to the UK economy in the long term”.Joe Middleton13 June 2022 14:571655127922Labour leader is ‘confident’ he has done nothing wrong amid parliamentary investigationLabour leader is ‘confident’ he has done nothing wrong amid parliamentary investigationJoe Middleton13 June 2022 14:451655127310Changes to NI protocol will be ‘damaging to mutual trust & a formula for uncertainty’, says ŠefčovičMaroš Šefčovič, the European Commission vice president, said he spoke to Liz Truss this morning about the government’s planned changes to the NI protocol. He said it will be “damaging to mutual trust & a formula for uncertainty.”Joe Middleton13 June 2022 14:351655126667Fuel prices investigated by watchdog as petrol hits new record highFuel prices are to be investigated by Britain’s competition watchdog as pump prices hit another record high despite Rishi Sunak’s 5p per litre tax cut.The average cost of a litre of petrol at forecourts climbed to 185p on Sunday, according to the AA – an increase of 7.1p in just one week.The RAC described the “speed and scale” of the rises as “staggering.”The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Monday it will conduct a “short and focused review” of prices at the request of Kwasi Kwarteng.Joe Middleton13 June 2022 14:241655125240NI protocol bill will make agreement with EU harder, says StarmerKeir Starmer said that the NI protocol bill being published today will reduce the chances of an agreement with the EU and the government is “going down the wrong track here”The Labour leader said: “I think the answer to this is to accept there are some problems in the way the protocol works but they can be resolved around the negotiating table with statecraft, with guile, with trust. “Unfortunately, we don’t have those in the current Prime Minister.“They won’t be resolved with legislation that breaches international law and that, frankly, will impede the negotiations that, in the end, will be needed to settle this.“So the Government is going down the wrong track here.”Joe Middleton13 June 2022 14:001655124271Boris Johnson says plan to break Brexit treaty is ‘not a big deal’Boris Johnson has insisted a plan to break parts of the Northern Ireland Brexit deal is “not a big deal”.The prime minister was warned by Dublin this morning that the move would “deeply damage” relations between Britain and Europe if it went ahead.But the prime minister insisted that the legislation amounted to “a relatively trivial set of adjustments” to deal with problems caused by the agreement he negotiated.Jon Stone reports.Joe Middleton13 June 2022 13:441655123598‘No plans’ to cut fuel duty, say No 10Downing Street said there were “no plans” for a further cut in fuel duty despite prices at the pumps continuing to rise.“We know this is challenging for families up and down the country and indeed in other countries which are all suffering from high oil and gas prices globally,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.But there were no plans for a further cut in duty, with the spokesman pointing to a £37 billion package of measures already announced to address the cost-of-living crisis, including the 5p duty cut introduced in March.Downing Street also denied that the Exchequer was benefiting from a VAT windfall as a result of high pump prices.“There is no VAT windfall, in fact the OBR forecast lower VAT receipts for this year than they did in the autumn,” the spokesman said.“Increases in VAT from fuel are likely to be largely offset by reductions from VAT from other areas.”Joe Middleton13 June 2022 13:331655121624Boris Johnson has ‘nothing but respect and admiration’ for Prince Charles amid Rwanda criticismBoris Johnson has “nothing but respect and admiration” for the Prince of Wales after he reportedly criticised the Rwanda policy, Downing Street said on Monday.The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has nothing but respect and admiration for the Prince of Wales, who’s spoken out on a number of issues, not least the environment.”Mr Johnson’s response comes after reports that the heir to the throne said the policy was “appalling” and that he was uncomfortable with the scheme as he believed it would overshadow his upcoming visit to the country.Joe Middleton13 June 2022 13:00 More

Boris Johnson is under pressure to reveal the secret sources behind advice given to his government that its controversial plans to tear up the Northern Ireland protocol are legal.Tory MPs are already braced for the legislation, due to be published on Monday, to breach international law, despite protestations from cabinet ministers that it will be lawful.Last week, Sir Jonathan Jones, the government’s former top lawyer, said the process of gathering legal advice felt like a “stitch-up” and “like lawyer-shopping”.Now Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Northern Ireland’s Alliance Party have called on ministers to set aside usual practice and reveal who they consulted.Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle said the government should release the legal advice it received with “transparency about its origins”.Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael, who served a cabinet minister in the coalition government, said the process of obtaining independent legal advice “should not be tainted by politics”. “It looks to me like they have gone out looking for a political judgement,” he added. “The rule about not disclosing legal advice depends on the government acting in good faith and getting the best independent advice. It is not apparent that they have done that here, and as a result they should not be allowed to hide behind a rule that they themselves have already broken.” Sir Jonathan’s criticism followed reports that first Treasury counsel Sir James Eadie, the government’s independent barrister on national legal issues, was not consulted specifically on whether or not the planned bill would break international law. A former cabinet minister told The Independent that not asking the opinion of the first Treasury counsel was “unprecedented”.Meanwhile, leaked correspondence showed that a senior legal adviser had warned that it could not be “credibly” argued that there was no alternative to unilaterally overriding the Brexit agreement with Brussels.Stephen Farry, the deputy leader of the Alliance Party in Northern Ireland, said ministers should be transparent about which lawyers had been consulted. “In light of the government moving outside the normal process of legal advice, they need to be fully transparent,” he said. Irish prime minister Micheal Martin has warned that publishing plans to act unilaterally in regard to the protocol would mark a “historic low point”.Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said the government intended to set out the “legal basis” for its belief that the legislation would not breach international law. More

Michael Gove is facing calls to tear up his flagship planning reforms after a former adviser to Boris Johnson warned homeowners will not be able to object to nearby developments under the proposals.Ministers announced the legislation in a flurry of publicity over new “street votes” on loft conversions and conservatories last month.But a new legal opinion, which has been seen by The Independent and will be published by the Commons levelling-up committee next week, warns that the bill will actually “substantially erode” the rights of local people.Campaigners accused levelling up secretary Mr Gove of a “power grab” and warned poor quality developments would be built against the will of those forced to live beside them.The Town and Country Planning Association said that, in the wake of the legal advice, the government should amend the bill.Paul Brown QC, who advised the prime minister on planning when Mr Johnson was the mayor of London, wrote: “The bill introduces a new mechanism to allow the secretary of state to grant planning permission for controversial developments, bypassing the planning system entirely. There is no right for the public to be consulted as part of this process.” He adds: “Overall… the bill radically centralises planning decision-making and substantially erodes public participation in the planning system.”Naomi Luhde-Thompson, director of climate change organisation Rights Community Action, which commissioned the legal advice, said: “This advice is devastating about the impact these proposed laws have on people’s voice in the decisions that matter to their communities. It’s cutting people out of decisions, when we need all hands on deck to deal with crises we face.  Involving people and communities in the development and change of places is a foundation for building places for everyone.”Fiona Howie, chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association, said the plans go against the government’s levelling-up agenda “which has emphasised the importance of empowering local leaders and communities”. She added: “We hope, therefore, that the government will take the legal opinion on board and seek to amend the bill as it passes through parliament.”Under the government’s “street votes” plan, people could be given the right to vote on proposed property extensions as well as new homes.But Crispin Truman, chief executive of countryside charity the CPRE, said that far from strengthening local democracy, the levelling-up bill “is a cleverly disguised power grab by the government”. He added: “As written currently, ministers would have unprecedented power to overrule local plans and, based on the government’s track record, it could mean more poor quality and inappropriate developments being imposed on people against their will.”  He also warned the bill would leave local councils less able to “deliver affordable homes on small sites, new nature reserves or on renewable energy generation in new housing developments”.  Rebecca Murray, from Friends of the Earth, said the government’s levelling-up agenda “was meant to give communities the power to regenerate their local areas and ensure that planning decisions are made democratically – yet this bill is set to do the exact opposite”.Dr Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said public participation in planning was important as it gave people a voice in protecting nature and responding to climate change. “If ministers are allowed to drown out these voices then significant environmental concerns could go unheard,” he said.A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “The levelling-up bill will put power back in the hands of communities and local leaders, simplify the planning system and end outdated, bureaucratic practices that slow down regeneration.“Under our reforms, local people will be in charge of planning, not big developers or national diktats, and communities will have greater say in local plans, giving them more opportunity to shape what happens in their area and stronger grounds to resist unwanted development.” More

Business leaders have warned Boris Johnson that the crisis engulfing his government risks undermining business confidence and potentially tipping the UK into recession.Tony Danker, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said he thought the UK could still avoid entering a recession in the coming months.But he warned: “There’s a very simple chain of events, which is when business confidence is high, businesses invest and grow, recession is avoided.“When business confidence falls, investment falls, and it is the only thing at the moment stopping us from recession. So anything that can be done to boost business confidence, to demonstrate that actually the government is incredibly serious and purposeful about growth will work. But if we have a summer of politics like we’ve had in the last week, that will undermine confidence.”The prime minister declared that economic growth was his top priority as he sought to relaunch his government after four in 10 of his own MPs voted to oust him from Downing Street last week. Mr Johnson is also facing a growing clamour from Conservative MPs to announce large-scale tax cuts, following complaints his administration is not conservative enough.But Mr Danker also warned that “massive” tax cuts, or huge pay settlements, would “overheat” the economy. Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said he would support bringing forward the chancellor’s planned income tax cut “when we can afford to do it”.The 1p cut has been pledged in 2024 but many Tory MPs fear the party cannot afford to leave it that long.The CBI has downgraded its outlook for economic growth and called on the prime minister and chancellor to take the “vital” steps to avoid a recession, including holding a Cobra meeting of the kind usually reserved for things like terrorist incidents.The group also believes inflation will remain high into the autumn, leading to a “historic squeeze” in household incomes and hitting consumer spending.Labour would scrap the recent national insurance rise “right now” if it were in government rather than focusing on income tax cuts, the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said.“The thing that we should be doing right now is reversing that national insurance increase,” she told the BBC’s Sunday Morning show. “That would be my priority if I was chancellor today because it is taking money out of people’s pockets.”She added: “The government have got this sort of hokey-cokey where they are increasing national insurance but say they are going to reduce income tax.“National insurance is a tax only on the income that you get through going out to work, that is why it is such a damaging tax increase right in the middle of a cost of living crisis.” More

Boris Johnson faces “political annihilation” if he fails to deliver on the levelling-up agenda and implement tax cuts, a Tory MP has warned.Jake Berry, chair of the Northern Research Group (NRG), said Mr Johnson could lose the support of Red Wall Tory MPs if he does not implement some of the policies that are set to be unveiled at the group’s first conference on Friday.The beleaguered prime minister is set to address the 80-strong group as he seeks to shore up support for his wavering leadership after narrowly winning a no-confidence vote last week.Mr Berry told The Daily Telegraph: “Both the chancellor and the prime minister, however it’s come about, have the opportunity for a fresh start. This week northern colleagues were hugely in support of the prime minister, with very, very few of the 80 against him.”The MP for Rossendale and Darwen added: “We’ve got to sell to the people of this country that we have a serious long term plan to change their economic prospects. “And if we can do that, I firmly believe that people will absolutely back us again. I’m sorry [but] incremental government, a little tweak here and a little tweak there, just simply isn’t going to cut it. The people voted for Boris because he was different.”Among the policies that are expected to be announced this week are a “right to devolution” for large northern areas, such as North Yorkshire, two new vocational academic institutions and a “levelling up formula” – equivalent to the Barnett formula that allocates budgets to the devolved nations.Mr Berry added that “the wind of change blows from the north” and that if the prime minister failed to follow through with the levelling-up agenda then “political annihilation lies ahead”.In an attempt to wrestle back momentum and inject much-needed impetus into his leadership, Mr Johnson has promised tax cuts, more measures to help with the cost-of-living crisis and urged ministers to cut spending and drive reforms in Whitehall.He also last week confirmed government plans to extend the Right to Buy scheme to tenants of housing association homes.However his decision to announce the policy prompted fury from Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, who accused No 10 of “bouncing” the policy before it was completely ready, the Sunday Times reports.It was pushed through by Andrew Griffith, Mr Johnson’s head of policy, despite officials not even having completed an impact assessment on the new scheme.The prime minister has further challenges in the weeks ahead if he wants to stay in No 10, including by-elections in Wakefield and also Tiverton and Honiton, that Tory insiders expect the party to lose.He also faces possible “vote strikes” from rebellious Tory MPs designed to paralyse parliament and a confrontation over a bill to override sections of the Northern Ireland protocol which is expected to be published next week. More

Boris Johnson is being urged to end the “lottery” of free school meals over the summer amid warnings Britain is “going backwards” on helping millions of hungry children.The Conservative chair of the Commons education select committee and senior clergy have called on the government to ensure some of the poorest children do not face further uncertainty accessing food during the holidays.Spiralling inflation has sent energy and food prices soaring, leaving many families struggling to make ends meet. But the Sutton Trust charity has warned of a growing postcode lottery in support for children on free school meals during the summer holidays.In response to previous criticism, ministers set up a “holiday activities and food programme” during the summer and other school closures. But critics warn that it covers only part of the holidays, can be patchy and can require money for travel that families cannot afford.Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons education select committee, said he supported the holiday activities and food programme, but added: “If it is patchy then the government has got to work with local councils to make sure the money reaches the councils, and the councils and the schools are doing a good programme.”He said he did not support the expansion of free school meals to all those whose families receive universal credit, saying he favoured a more targeted approach and called for more money to be spent on school breakfasts.The Bishop of Buckingham, the Rt Revd Dr Alan Wilson, told The Independent he thought the UK was “going backwards” on the issue, despite footballer Marcus Rashford’s high-profile free school meals campaign.Ministers are this week set to snub calls to urgently expand the number of children receiving free food at school to ease the cost of living crisis.At the moment around 1.9 million children are eligible, but the current threshold is an income below £7,400 a year – a figure that has been described as “ridiculously low”.An independent report into the issue, commissioned by Michael Gove, recommended around 1 million more children be given free school meals – an idea that has been backed by former education secretaries from both the Conservative and Labour parties, as well as unions and charities. More

Nadhim Zahawi has praised the UK’s strong ties with Europe in higher education as he met the president of Portugal.The Education Secretary visited Imperial College London alongside the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the country’s prime minister, Antonio Costa.During the visit, they explored the university’s data observatory, where they saw images of the Mars Rover, science laboratories and Imperial’s ocean wave basin – where different waves are simulated as part of research into renewable energy. More