UK Politics

The Ministry of Defence has reportedly acquired the Government’s first quantum computer.The machines are able to rapidly make highly complex calculations that cannot be done by regular computers.The BBC said the ministry will work with London-based firm Orca Computing on applying the computers to defence applications.It marked a “milestone moment”, according to Stephen Till of the ministry’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DTSL).Most computers process data in bits, which have a binary value of either zero or one, whereas quantum computers use a two-state unit for data processing called a qubit. More

Boris Johnson says no-confidence vote win ‘decisive’ despite mass Tory rebellionBoris Johnson confirmed plans to extend the right to buy to tenants of housing association homes.He said there are 2.5 million households whose homes belong to associations, saying “they’re trapped, they can’t buy, they don’t have the security of ownership, they can’t treat their home as their own or make the improvements that they want”.Mr Johnson added that some associations have treated tenants with “scandalous indifference”.However, the government’s right to buy plan has been labelled a “dangerous gimmick,” by housing charity Shelter with the group’s chief executive calling on the prime minister to “stop wasting time” on failed policies. Shelter CEO Polly Neate said the government’s promise to replace sold social homes through Right to Buy “has flopped.”“The government needs to stop wasting time on the failed policies of the past and start building more of the secure social homes this country actually needs.”Show latest update

1654785558Boris Johnson tells workers to accept pay cuts or UK faces 1970s–style ‘stagflation’Workers will have to settle for real-terms pay cuts if Britain is to avoid 1970s–style “stagflation” and soaring interest rates, Boris Johnson has warned.The prime minister performed a startling U-turn on a promise – made just months ago – to create a high-wage economy, instead highlighting the pain to come from rising inflation.Read the full story from our deputy political editor, Rob Merrick, here: Tom Batchelor9 June 2022 15:391654783750Watch: Johnson confirms plans to extend Right to Buy schemeBoris Johnson confirms plans to extend Right to Buy scheme targeting 2.5 million householdsTom Batchelor9 June 2022 15:091654782814Johnson calls for more low-deposit mortgagesBoris Johnson has said he wants to ensure a “ready stream” of low-deposit mortgages. “Yes, we have got to help people get deposits, but we need to have many more 95% mortgages,” he said.“It is punitively difficult for so many people now in this country, it doesn’t need to be that way, that’s one of the reasons we are reforming it.”Tom Batchelor9 June 2022 14:531654781382PM quiet on tax cutsThe PM refused to give further details of his reported plans to reduce the tax burden.Asked about speculation of a 2p cut to income tax, Boris Johnson said: “On what Rishi (Sunak) and I are talking about on fiscal measures, you are just going to have to contain your impatience there.”He said the government was “strongly inclined to stimulate further growth, further productivity with tax cuts as and when they become sensible”.Mr Johnson added: “The cost of housing is a big chunk of expenditure, transport is a big chunk, childcare’s a big chunk, energy is an ever-growing chunk but tax is the biggest of all and we certainly aim to get that down.”Tom Batchelor9 June 2022 14:291654779746Government will explore discounting Lifetime ISA and Help to Buy ISA savings from Universal Credit eligibility rulesThe government will explore discounting Lifetime ISA and Help to Buy ISA savings from Universal Credit eligibility rules.Boris Johnson said that will “make it easier for hard-working people to put away a little every month until they have enough for a deposit on their first home”.The Prime Minister also said mortgage support for those who become unemployed will be available more quickly and the government was also looking at measures to “securitise” some of the £30 billion housing benefits bill in order to fund more development of homes.Mr Johnson said the overall package would “not only help us to build many more homes in the right place but will help millions of people realise what is currently an unattainable dream of home ownership”.The prime minister also added that government would explore having more 95 per cent mortgages to help aspiring homeowners get on the ladderThomas Kingsley9 June 2022 14:021654779597Boris Johnson addresses social housing availabilityBoris Johnson addresses one of the biggest criticisms of the housing policy – it’s impact on existing social housing availability. He said: “We want to see at least a replacement and we want to build hundreds of thousands more homes every year.” Mr Johnson said his government would launch a comprehensive review of the mortgage market to examine how access to low deposit mortgages could be secured.“Today, I can announce a comprehensive review of the mortgage market, reporting back this autumn it will look at how we can give our nation of aspiring homeowners better access to low deposit mortgages,” Mr Johnson said in a speech on the economy.Thomas Kingsley9 June 2022 13:591654778944Boris Johnsons confirms plans to extend Right to Buy scheme targeting 2.5 million households Boris Johnson confirmed plans to extend the right to buy to tenants of housing association homes.He said there are 2.5 million households whose homes belong to associations, saying “they’re trapped, they can’t buy, they don’t have the security of ownership, they can’t treat their home as their own or make the improvements that they want”.He said that some associations have treated tenants with “scandalous indifference”.”So, it’s time for change. Over the coming months we will work with the sector to bring forward a new right-to-buy scheme,” he said.Mr Johnson added that it would give “millions” more the chance to own their own home and would see “one-for-one replacement of each social housing property sold” while being affordable within existing spending plans.Thomas Kingsley9 June 2022 13:491654778826‘We’re on your side,’ PM insists amid falling living standardsBoris Johnson has reiterated that the government is on the side of the public amid the worst living standards in 40 years.“We’re on your side on cutting the cost of childcare, we’re on your side on cutting the cost of fuel, we’re on your side in cutting transport costs, we’re on your side in cutting the cost of home ownership,” the prime minister said in his speech.Thomas Kingsley9 June 2022 13:471654778654Boris Johnson said his administration would enact reforms to “cut the costs of government, cut costs for business and cut costs for people across the country”.“It cannot be right that the size of the central government has increased by 23 per cent since 2015,” he said.“There are 91,000 more officials than there were. I believe we have the best civil service in the world but, in view of the pressure now on families, we have got to find efficiencies, prune back Whitehall to the size it was only five or six years ago.“I think that’s something we can achieve without harming the public services they deliver.”Thomas Kingsley9 June 2022 13:441654778395Boris Johnson criticises Sadiq Khan’s rate of home building in LondonBoris Johnson takes a swipe at Sadiq Khan, criticising the London mayor’s performance on building homes. “Thanks to the planning reforms we’ve been putting in over the last decade, house building rates have reached a 20-year high – outside London,” the prime minister said.He added: “In London, the present mayor is not showing the speed or scale of his immediate predecessor.”Thomas Kingsley9 June 2022 13:39 More

Boris Johnson will reportedly allow people to use their housing benefits to buy homes, as part of a set of policy announcements aimed at easing the housing crisis and ensuring his own habitation of Downing Street continues.Seeking to regain the initiative after 41 per cent of Tory MPs voted to oust him, the prime minister is expected to use a speech in Lancashire on Thursday to announce plans to tear up rules stopping people from declaring the benefit as part of their income when applying for a mortgage and using it to make monthly payments.With the cost of housing benefits having been expected to rise to £30bn last year, Mr Johnson will reportedly argue that this money would be better spent helping people onto the property ladder than on paying their rent – in a policy dubbed “benefits to bricks” by one minister, according to The Times. While the minister reportedly claimed the plans would enable young people to pass mortgage lenders’ affordability checks, former pensions minister Steve Webb told the paper that “support would have to be substantial and sustained for low-income households to be attractive to mortgage lenders”.Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips was also among those questioning how the policy will work because individuals with more than £16,000 in savings and investments do not qualify for the benefit. “It’s almost as if Boris Johnson doesn’t do much benefits casework,” she quipped.The prime minister is also expected to confirm plans to extend the right to buy to housing association tenants, announce a review of the mortgage market to look for ways to reduce people’s deposits, and may declare plans to construct thousands of modular or “flatpack” homes, according to various reports.A No 10 official told The Sun that Mr Johnson would “confirm his ambition to unlock the opportunity of home ownership for more people through helping those in a position to buy, to access the mortgage finance they need, ensuring people are incentivised to save for a deposit no matter their financial situation, and improving the supply of housing across the country”.Labour has previously branded the right to buy scheme “desperate”, pointing out that it repeats a policy from David Cameron’s 2015 Conservative Party manifesto which failed to deliver.Shelter’s chief executive Dame Polly Neate said the “hare-brained idea” was “the opposite of what the country needs”, warning: “There could not be a worse time to sell off what remains of our last truly affordable social homes.”But speaking to ITV News on Wednesday evening, housing minister Michael Gove appeared to suggest that Mr Johnson was committed to ensuring that new homes are built to replenish the stock of properties sold under the scheme.“We both need to build more social housing and help people into ownership,” Mr Gove said. “When Conservative governments in the past were successful in extending home ownership, they were also building council and social homes as well – that’s what Winston Churchill did, that’s what Harold Macmillan did. “We’ve got to get back to that and the prime minister is determined that we have a Churchill/Macmillan-style approach, helping people into home ownership and at the same time using the money that we raise in order to build more homes so that people can live in decent circumstances, in new council and social homes, and people can also get the deposit together and aspire to own their own home in due course.”But the Times said Mr Johnson’s desire to give millions of tenants the ability to pay for housing association properties at discounts of up to 70 per cent is likely to be limited to a series of pilots for now, without additional government funding.According to a preview of Mr Johnson’s speech handed out by Downing Street, he will also pledge that in “the next few weeks, the government will be setting out reforms to help people cut costs in every area of household expenditure, from food to energy to childcare to transport and housing”.The prime minister will also promise “to cut the costs that government imposes on businesses and people up and down the country” – despite his prior tax hikes.“We have the tools we need to get on top of rising prices,” Mr Johnson is expected to say.“The global headwinds are strong, but our engines are stronger. And, while it’s not going to be quick or easy, you can be confident that things will get better, that we will emerge from this a strong country with a healthy economy.”Additional reporting by PA More

Allies of Boris Johnson have warned him not to reward rebels as he begins a policy blitz designed to overcome deep rifts in his party over his leadership.They rejected calls for Mr Johnson to widen his cabinet and woo some of the 148 MPs who tried to end his premiership on Monday night, suggesting instead that he should sack ministers yet to publicly support him.Mr Johnson will attempt to relaunch his government after pleas for MPs to move on from calls for him to resign over his role in the Partygate scandal fell on deaf ears.But a set-piece speech, in which he will announce more help for those struggling to get on the property ladder, risks being overshadowed by the continuing difficulties within his own party.MPs expressed fury amid new fears the government plans to breach international law with plans to tear up the Northern Ireland protocol.Leaked correspondence showed a senior legal adviser warned it could not be argued “credibly” that there was no alternative to unilaterally overriding Mr Johnson’s Brexit agreement.Reports also emerged that Sir James Eadie, the government’s independent barrister on national legal issues, had not been consulted on whether the planned bill will break international law. A former cabinet minister told The Independent that not asking Sir James’s opinion on such an important matter was “unprecedented”.As the row intensified, Irish prime minister Micheal Martin warned that publishing plans to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland protocol would mark a “historic low point”.A Foreign Office adviser also quit after saying Mr Johnson was “a liability” who is “in the wrong job”. Helena Morrissey, a Tory peer seen as a talisman to many Brexiteers for her early support for leaving the EU, also disputed that the prime minister had displayed “contrition” for the Partygate scandal.Her resignation is the first since Monday’s no-confidence vote, when the prime minister lost his anti-corruption tsar and a ministerial aide in quick succession as they both quit in order to try to oust him from power.Allies of Mr Johnson said the prime minister should not reward disloyalty in an expected reshuffle.One ministerial ally said: “Reach out to them? F**k off. What kind of message would that send?” “There are only so many jobs in government. You cannot afford to reward disloyalty. For a start, it does not work. You don’t pull people over to your point of view that way. People don’t become more loyal when they join the government, but they can become less loyal when they leave it.“And the message it sends would be terrible. That you reward those who are disloyal, who vote against you remaining prime minister?“He should be rewarding loyalty instead, and there are a few people who do not appear to have been particularly loyal so far, which could create space.”Another suggested there was no need to widen the cabinet because there was no alternative candidate to Mr Johnson, who could appeal to all sides of the party.“Who is there who can appeal to hardline Brexiteers and those who backed remain better than Boris? I don’t see anyone stepping forward.”Rumours are rife in Westminster of an early reshuffle to allow the PM to regain the political initiative and to make good on promises of promotion offered to those who backed him this week.Mr Johnson’s press secretary insisted there were currently “no plans” for a shake-up of his ministerial team, and flatly denied suggestions that Jeremy Hunt – who called for Johnson to go on Monday – was being lined up to replace Rishi Sunak, telling reporters: “There is no vacancy for this role.”No 10 dismissed suggestions that a witchhunt was underway for members of the government payroll who might have voted to remove Mr Johnson, after six ministers and seven parliamentary aides failed to issue public statements of support.However, there was little sign of rebel Tories being willing to heed Mr Johnson’s call to “move on”.One MP said: “A lot of people are still very unhappy with Boris, and I’m not sure offers of tax cuts or help with mortgages are going to cut it. It’s his integrity that we are worried about, more than policy.”MPs confirmed that discussions were taking place on whether and when applications could be made to the 1922 Committee to reconsider party rules that free Mr Johnson from the threat of another confidence vote for the next 12 months.But one said: “No confidence votes came from all sides of the party, from One Nation liberals to hardline Brexiteers. They are not united around a particular issue, so much as their distaste for the PM, so there isn’t much in the way of coordination.”Mr Johnson faced mockery at the weekly session of prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons, where significant numbers of Tory MPs failed to join in loud cheering by his supporters.The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford compared the PM to Monty Python’s Black Knight, loudly declaring “It’s only a flesh wound” as his limbs are successively hacked off.Senior Labour MP Angela Eagle asked the PM to explain, “if 148 of his own backbenchers don’t trust him why on earth should the country?”A defiant Mr Johnson replied: “I can assure her in a long political career so far – barely begun – I’ve of course picked up political opponents all over. And that is because this government has done some very big and very remarkable things which they didn’t necessarily approve of.“And what I want her to know is that absolutely nothing and no one, least of all her, is going to stop us with getting on delivering for the British people.” More

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said Britain’s plans to act unilaterally over the Northern Ireland Protocol would be “deeply damaging” and mark a “historic low point”.Addressing the European parliament, Mr Martin said the UK government’s proposed legislation to override key parts of the Brexit deal would be “to the benefit of absolutely no one”.The Irish leader also said during his visit to Strasbourg that he disagrees with the UK government’s handling of the protocol and accused it of failing to engage with the EU.His comments come during a stand-off between the UK and the EU over the protocol, an agreement designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland but which instead created fresh checks on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It would mark a historic low point, signalling a disregard for essential principles of laws which are the foundation of international relationsTaoiseach Micheal MartinMr Martin said: “I have said many times that there are solutions to practical problems under the protocol if there is a political will to find them.“But that requires partnership. It requires the UK government to engage with good faith, seriousness, and commitment.“Unilateral action to set aside a solemn agreement would be deeply damaging.“It would mark a historic low point, signalling a disregard for essential principles of laws which are the foundation of international relations.“And it would, quite literally, be to the benefit of absolutely no one.“Without a spirit of partnership, there would have been no peace process in Northern Ireland.“Without trust, without engagement, without a willingness to see things from the point of view of others, there would have been no Good Friday Agreement, no quarter-century of peace in Northern Ireland in which young people have been able to grow and to flourish as themselves.“All of us in positions of leadership owe it to them not to treat lightly what was so hard-won.”He added: “I disagree with the approach that the United Kingdom government has taken in respect of dealing with the protocol and its failure really to engage and to engage in a substantive way with the European Union, and particularly the commission and Maros Sefcovic.Foreign secretary Liz Truss has said the UK intends to legislate to override parts of the deal on Northern Ireland, with the details expected to be announced in the coming week.Opposition to that deal has seen the DUP block efforts to restore powersharing in the region.Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns said the legislation will be published soon.He said the protocol has led to “ridiculously excessive” checks on goods moving within the United Kingdom’s internal market.“We have been very clear with the EU that, if they can broaden the mandate, if vice president of the commission Maros Sefcovic can be given more room by president [Ursula] von der Leyen, the European Council, that we are absolutely determined and willing to engage with the EU to reach a negotiated settlement, that is absolutely in the best interest of both sides,” Mr Burns told RTE Morning Ireland.

The reality is that we have now got ridiculously excessive checks on goods that are moving within the United Kingdom’s internal market that will never go near the Irish RepublicNorthern Ireland Minister Conor Burns“But the vice president has been very clear that he cannot move beyond the mandate of the proposals that he put in place last October and we have been clear with him that those do not go anywhere near far enough in achieving the goals the United Kingdom would like to achieve.“We recognise the attractiveness of the protocol and the place that leaves Northern Ireland in, but the reality is that we have now got ridiculously excessive checks on goods that are moving within the United Kingdom’s internal market that will never go near the Irish Republic, that are absolutely no threat whatsoever to the integrity of the Single Market.”Mr Burns also rejected Mr Martin’s assertions that the EU has and will continue to be flexible in its negotiations.“That is not our lived experience from the conversations that we’ve been having with the EU over very many months,” the Conservative minister added. More

A Foreign Office adviser has quit after saying Boris Johnson should leave No 10 and is “a liability” who is “in the wrong job”.Helena Morrissey, a Tory peer, also disputed that the prime minister had displayed “contrition” for the Partygate scandal – saying he needed to show “deeds not words”.She has now resigned as director at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, a paid role to provide “strategic leadership” and “advice on performance and delivery”.It is understood that she agreed to leave having been told by Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, that her position was untenable.Baroness Morrissey was asked, on LBC Radio, whether she wanted Mr Johnson “to carry on as prime minister”, following the huge blow of 148 Tory MPs voting against him in the no-confidence vote.She replied: “In all honesty, I would rather he didn’t,” adding: “I don’t see any contrition.“He said, ‘We will bash on.’ That’s not what we want to hear. Tax cuts one minute after we’ve raised them, that’s not going to help.”Asked for the impact on the Conservative party of Mr Johnson trying to cling to power, the peer added: “I do think it will be damaging, and I think we won’t have seen the end of it.“I think there’ll be further challenges and I know there’s discussions about the practicalities of that.”Baroness Morrissey argued the booing of the prime minister during the Jubilee celebrations showed “he had actually become a liability rather than an asset in some ways”.She expressed hope that he would be able to “go with dignity”, adding: “He’s a very talented person, he’s just in the wrong job.”The resignation is the first since Monday’s no-confidence vote, despite expectations that some ministers might walk out – to try to foment the revolt against the prime minister.The immediate pressure on Mr Johnson has eased, but only until two likely defeats in crucial Westminster by-elections later this month.He then faces the ignominy of the Commons committee inquiry into whether he lied to parliament over the No 10 parties – which would be a breach of the ministerial code and viewed as a resignation offence.Baroness Morrissey hit the headlines in April, when she denied the Covid pandemic existed and blamed Chinese “fake videos” for fears about the virus.She suggested the crisis had been exaggerated by government “propaganda” because people are not “dropping dead in the street”, tweeting: “The data shows we are NOT in a pandemic.”She added: “If we were would we need constant propaganda & the biggest gov ad spend ever! If people were dropping dead in the street we would notice & not go to M&S and have all those football matches.” More

Boris Johnson says no-confidence vote win ‘decisive’ despite mass Tory rebellionIn the wake of the damaging confidence vote on his leadership, Boris Johnson is expected to attempt to turn the political tide with a raft of policy announcements aimed at easing the housing crisis.Days after 41 per cent of his own MPs voted to oust him, the prime minister will reportedly set out plans on Thursday to extend the right to buy to housing association tenants, and to allow people to use housing benefits to secure and pay a mortgage.Mr Johnson was branded a “lame duck” prime minister as he faced MPs in the Commons for the first time since the vote on Monday night, with SNP leader Ian Blackford likening him to Monty Python’s Black Knight, who claimed fatal wounds were just flesh wounds, and saying: “It’s over, it’s done.”But a defiant Mr Johnson claimed he had “picked up political opponents all over” because his government had “done some very big and very remarkable things which they didn’t necessarily approve of” – and joked that his political career had “barely begun”.Show latest update

1654742400Labour MP among those criticising PM’s reported housing benefits planShadow minister Jess Phillips is among those questioning how Boris Johnson’s reported policy to allow people to use housing benefits to pay their mortgates will work in reality, given that individuals with more than £16,000 in savings and investments do not qualify for the benefit.“It’s almost as if Boris Johnson doesn’t do much benefits casework,” the Labour MP quipped.And Resolution Foundation chief executive Torsten Bell tweeted:Andy Gregory9 June 2022 03:401654738980Failure to consult government barrister on Brexit protocol plan is ‘unprecedented’, former minister saysMPs have expressed fury amid new fears the government plans to breach international law with plans to tear up the Northern Ireland protocol, Kate Devlin and Andrew Woodcock report.Leaked correspondence today showed a senior legal adviser warned it could not be argued “credibly” that there was no alternative to unilaterally overriding Mr Johnson’s Brexit agreement.Reports also emerged that Sir James Eadie, the government’s independent barrister on national legal issues, had not been consulted on whether the planned bill will break international law. A former cabinet minister told The Independent that not asking Sir James’s opinion on such an important matter was “unprecedented”.Andy Gregory9 June 2022 02:431654735500Allies warn Boris Johnson not to reward disloyalty by placating rebelsWith rumours of a post-confidence vote reshuffle rife in Westminster, allies of Boris Johnson have warned him not to reward rebels who sought to end his premiership on Monday night.One ministerial ally said: “Reach out to them? F**k off. What kind of message would that send?”“There are only so many jobs in government. You cannot afford to reward disloyalty. For a start, it does not work. You don’t pull people over to your point of view that way. People don’t become more loyal when they join the government, but they can become less loyal when they leave it.“And the message it sends would be terrible. That you reward those who are disloyal, who vote against you remaining prime minister? He should be rewarding loyalty instead, and there are a few people who do not appear to have been particularly loyal so far, which could create space.”Another suggested there was no need to widen the cabinet because there was no alternative candidate to Mr Johnson, who could appeal to all sides of the party.“Who is there who can appeal to hardline Brexiteers and those who backed remain better than Boris? I don’t see anyone stepping forward.”Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor Andrew Woodcock have the full story here:Andy Gregory9 June 2022 01:451654731840PM to announce plans for people to use housing benefits to pay mortgages, reports suggestBoris Johnson will reportedly seek to allow people to use their housing benefits to buy homes, as part of a set of policy announcements tomorrow aimed at easing the housing crisis.The prime minister is expected to use a speech in Lancashire to announce plans to tear up rules stopping people from declaring the benefit as part of their income when applying for a mortgage and using it to make monthly payments.One minister dubbed the policy “benefits to bricks” and claimed it would enable young people to pass mortgage lenders’ affordability checks, according to The Times. Andy Gregory9 June 2022 00:441654728623Housing association homes sold under new scheme will be replaced, Michael Gove saysShelter’s chief executive Dame Polly Neate has previously said Boris Johnson’s “hare-brained idea” to extend the right to buy to housing association tenants is “the opposite of what the country needs”, warning: “There could not be a worse time to sell off what remains of our last truly affordable social homes.”Speaking to ITV News on Wednesday evening, housing minister Michael Gove appeared to suggest that Mr Johnson was committed to ensuring that new homes are built to replenish the stock of properties sold under the scheme.“We both need to build more social housing and help people into ownership,” Mr Gove said. “When Conservative governments in the past were successful in extending home ownership, they were also building council and social homes as well – that’s what Winston Churchill did, that’s what Harold Macmillan did. “We’ve got to get back to that and the prime minister is determined that we have a Churchill/Macmillan-style approach.”The Times reports that Mr Gove is said to have secured an agreement that each home sold will be replaced by a new one.Andy Gregory8 June 2022 23:501654725981Boris Johnson to confirm plans for ‘right to buy’ for housing association tenantsBoris Johnson is set to confirm plans to extend the right to buy to housing association tenants as he seeks to repair his fortunes after a Tory revolt against his leadership.The prime minister will use a major speech in Lancashire tomorrow to announce new measures to potentially help millions onto the property ladder.He will also commit to detail “reforms to help people cut costs in every area of household expenditure” over the coming weeks as he seeks to ease the impact of soaring prices.Andy Gregory8 June 2022 23:061654722376Rishi Sunak ‘tells Tory MPs he will cut taxes when it is right to do so’According to the Spectator’s deputy political editor Katy Balls, Rishi Sunak has spoken to Tory MPs this evening at a 1922 Committee meeting, which saw the chancellor receive “a decent reception” with “supportive questions”.Mr Sunak is reported to have echoed Boris Johnson’s insistence earlier today that he wanted to cut tax, but only once he believes it a “responsible” time to do so, with the chancellor quoted as saying he would “never, on an act of blind faith, do them at the expense of the fundamental soundness of our economy or public finances”, adding that “tax cuts are the reward for a government that is prepared to make difficult choices elsewhere … I promise you we are”.Giving their take on the meeting, one MP present told the magazine that the bulk of the party accepts the days of the magic money tree are over, with spending discipline and lower taxes described as vital going forward.Andy Gregory8 June 2022 22:061654719889Opinion | If Boris Johnson wants to go down in a blaze of glory, he needs to do the unthinkable and resignIn her latest Independent Voices piece, our columnist Salma Shah suggests that Boris Johnson should “try going down in a blaze of glory and do the unthinkable”. She writes: “Please don’t come at me with your tedious takes about how he’ll never do the honourable thing and leave his post. This is not a suggestion to lobotomise him in the hopes of changing the habits of a lifetime. Resigning would simply upend everyone’s assumptions and create enormous chaos, something he seems rather good at.“The lack of an alternative leader has been a strong and plausible line of defence thus far. Why not put it to the test and see whether it stacks up? Could he reinvigorate his position by wrongfooting disgruntled backbenchers and take the fight to the wannabes? Would he risk it all to gain it back again? He’s got little to lose.”You can read her thinking in full here:Andy Gregory8 June 2022 21:241654718631UK plan to tear up Northern Ireland Protocol would be ‘historic low point,’ Irish PM warnsHere is more detail on the comments by Irish premier Micheal Martin to the European Parliament today, which have been labelled “tone deaf” by the DUP (see post at 6:14pm).With Boris Johnson’s government expected to bring controversial legislation on the Northern Ireland Protocol within days, Mr Martin said: “I have said many times that there are solutions to practical problems under the protocol if there is a political will to find them.“But that requires partnership. It requires the UK government to engage with good faith, seriousness, and commitment. Unilateral action to set aside a solemn agreement would be deeply damaging.“It would mark a historic low point, signalling a disregard for essential principles of laws which are the foundation of international relations. And it would, quite literally, be to the benefit of absolutely no one.“Without a spirit of partnership, there would have been no peace process in Northern Ireland.“Without trust, without engagement, without a willingness to see things from the point of view of others, there would have been no Good Friday Agreement, no quarter-century of peace in Northern Ireland in which young people have been able to grow and to flourish as themselves.“All of us in positions of leadership owe it to them not to treat lightly what was so hard-won.”Andy Gregory8 June 2022 21:031654715543Liz Truss’s plans to override Brexit protocol are ‘agitator legislation’, unionist leader saysUK Government plans to override parts of the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland amount to “agitator legislation”, the Ulster Unionist Party leader has told a House of Lords committee.Doug Beattie told the Lords sub-committee on the Northern Ireland Protocol that while the UK government plan would have a “detrimental” impact on relations with the European Union in the short-term, it might drive both sides back to the negotiating table.Boris Johnson’s government has said it intends to use domestic law to override parts of the protocol, with a bill expected to be published in the coming days.Andy Gregory8 June 2022 20:12 More

The government’s borders inspector has expressed his “frustration” at not being able to meet home secretary Priti Patel once since his appointment more than a year ago.David Neal – appointed the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 14 months ago – told MPs that he was “disappointed” to have had five or six meetings cancelled.“I’ve not met the home secretary yet,” he told the home affairs select committee. “I’ve asked to speak to her on a number occasions, and pre-arranged meeting have been cancelled on maybe five or six occasions now.”Asked if the experience was different from his previous dealings with other departments, Mr Neal said: “It is – I’m disappointed I haven’t spoken to the home secretary, and frustrated, because I think I’ve got things to offer from the position I hold.”Mr Neal said he had been forced to “switch fire” when it came to dealing with vital issues like the migrant crossings in the English Channel – arranging meetings with junior ministers at the Home Office instead.The inspector he was “happy” with the engagement of junior ministers and senior civil servants – but repeated his frustration over the failure to speak to Ms Patel.“I think it’s really important that my views and my experience supplement the reports we put before parliament,” he told the select committee.Mr Neal added: “With the home secretary, to be honest, I’ve switched fire. I’ve written to her on a number occasions, I’ve had a number of meetings cancelled, I’m not sure I can do any more to get access … So I’ve switched fire onto speaking to ministers.”He also said No 10 chief of staff Stephen Barclay – who has a co-ordination role on the small boats crisis at the Cabinet Office – had “declined” a meeting to discuss the small boats issue.Mr Neal told the cross-bench group of MPs that had seen conditions at detention facilities in Kent, used to process initial asylum claims, that were “not acceptable”. Asked about the minority of women and children detained alongside men by immigration officials after being taken off small boats, Mr Neal said he found it “concerning”.“It’s a concern that we have because of the vulnerability issues in relation to the mass of people coming across,” he said. “I saw conditions [in the Kent Intake Unit] that, in my judgement, with a reasonable level of experience of detention, were not acceptable.”He said he had written to Ms Patel about the matter. He also told MPs that the suitability of detention facilities would be covered “in detail” in a report now sent to the home secretary, expected to be published soon.Children clutching teddy bears were seen being carried ashore at Dover on Tuesday, as the number of migrants who have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this year hit 10,000.The government last month dropped its plan to “push back” small boats carrying migrants towards France shortly before the plan was due to be challenged in court.Mr Neal said he had not been able to inspect what, if any, preparation work Border Force had carried out on the proposal to “push back” small boats. “We’ve not inspected the push-back techniques yet,” he said.Downing Street has insisted that “significant numbers” of Channel crossings are being stopped because of joint working with the French authorities.Asked whether the plan to send migrants who risk the crossing on a one-way trip to Rwanda is acting as a deterrent, the spokesman said: “The first flights are expected to take place on June 14.”Some 28,526 people made the crossing in 2021, compared with 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018, official Home Office figures show. More