UK Politics

Rishi Sunak has been accused of costing taxpayers £6bn by dithering over his windfall tax U-turn, after he announced a levy on oil and gas companies to help pay for a £15bn cost-of-living support package.The announcement also sparked fears that the sudden injection of cash would drive up inflation and interest rates.And environmentalists accused the chancellor of offering state subsidies for climate change, after he announced new tax breaks to ensure the £5bn levy does not deter investment in North Sea oil and gas extraction.Mr Sunak finally bowed to months of pressure on Thursday to impose a 25 per cent tax on the “extraordinary profits” of energy giants, part-funding assistance worth £1,200 a year for around 8 million of the country’s poorest households.The move was welcomed as a “breathing space” for families faced with a choice between heating and eating, as prices for energy and food soar.But the levy applies only from 26 May, meaning that the Treasury will receive no extra income from the additional earnings resulting from recent price spikes, with BP and Shell reporting combined “super-profits” of £11.5bn in the last quarter of 2021 and the first three months of 2022 alone.The Treasury confirmed that borrowing would be increased to cover the remaining £10bn of the cost of the package.Mr Sunak’s package of help will provide one-off payments of £650 to 8.3 million households in receipt of means-tested benefits, £300 to 8 million pensioner households, and £150 each to 6 million individuals receiving disability benefits. In some cases the total will reach £1,650.Cost of living: how to get helpThe cost of living crisis has touched every corner of the UK, pushing families to the brink with rising food and fuel prices. The Independent has asked experts to explain small ways you can stretch your money, including managing debt and obtaining items for free. – If you need to access a food bank, find your local council’s website and then use the local authority’s site to locate your nearest centre. – The Trussell Trust, which runs many foodbanks, has a similar tool. – Citizens Advice provides free help to people in need. The organisation can help you find grants or benefits, or advise on rent, debt and budgeting. – If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.In what was effectively an emergency Budget, delivered a day after the publication of Sue Gray’s Partygate report, he also doubled the planned rebate on fuel bills from £200 to £400, and converted the payment from a loan to a grant.The cash will be deducted from the energy bills of every household for six months from October, meaning wealthy households will benefit as well as poorer ones – and those with more than one home will receive multiple payments.The Household Support Fund, which allows local councils to offer discretionary help, was boosted by £500m to £1.5bn and extended from October until March 2023.Mr Sunak said the money was targeted at “those who are paying the highest price for the high inflation we face”, adding: “I said we would stand by people, and that is what this support does today.”But shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Mr Sunak had spent five months dismissing Labour’s calls for a windfall tax, with Boris Johnson ordering Tory MPs to vote it down as recently as last week.Mr Sunak’s “dither and delay” had cost consumers £53m for every day the chancellor refused to act, she said.“For months, it has been clear that more was necessary to get people’s bills down,” Ms Reeves told the Commons. “So what took this government so long?”And Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine branded the move a “levy lite”, pointing out that it would have raised £11bn if it had been introduced when her party first proposed it last October.Meanwhile, it emerged that the energy profits levy – a temporary measure that raises tax on North Sea profits from 40 to 65 per cent – could remain in place until the start of 2026. The Treasury said it would be phased out earlier only “if oil and gas prices return to historically more normal levels”.And ministers are to consult with the electricity generation industry on a similar scheme, in an effort to bring consumer prices more in line with the true cost of production.The chief economist at the Confederation of British Industry, Rain Newton-Smith, warned that the levy would damage investment as well as the government’s net zero ambitions.“It sends the wrong signal to the whole sector, at the wrong time, against a backdrop of rising business taxation elsewhere,” she said.And there was discontent on the Tory back benches, with John Baron calling for a hike in the minimum wage to provide longer-term assistance, and Richard Drax and Edward Leigh saying the chancellor should have given a boost to people’s wallets by cutting tax.But the Resolution Foundation, a think tank that seeks to improve living standards for those on low and middle incomes, said that Mr Sunak’s package was “a good attempt to target those with higher energy bills”, while warning that it was less generous to larger families with many children.The chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, Alison Garnham, said it was “a relief that government is finally waking up to the fact that families need more support”.But she said: “With almost 4 million children living in poverty, the chancellor is kidding himself if he thinks that the problem is temporary, or that the package he offered today will stop people finding themselves so far back that they never recover.”And there was anger that unpaid carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance were excluded from the additional support, as well as fears that the one-off payments will have to be repeated within months unless inflationary pressures abate.The head of the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank’s Centre for Economic Justice, Dr George Dibb, said Mr Sunak’s unwillingness to provide long-term solutions to households’ financial pressures could force him to return with another package as early as January.“Everything announced today is a sticking plaster,” said Dr Dibb. “With a government that lurches from crisis to crisis, and energy prices remaining high into 2023, vulnerable families and businesses will be looking to the chancellor to come back to the Commons in the new year. A better solution would be supporting long-term confidence in the British economy with a more permanent fix.” More

Rory Stewart has said the entire Downing Street operation is now focused solely on trying to keep “monstrous ego” Boris Johnson in power, as he warned about the erosion of trust in British politics and compared the current leadership to that of convicted fraudster and former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. The former Conservative cabinet minister joined a chorus of voices criticising the prime minister and his No 10 team after the damning Sue Gray report laid bare the extent of the lockdown-breaking behaviour at the heart of government. Mr Stewart – who was defeated by Mr Johnson in the 2019 Tory party leadership race – said: “They won’t make basic decisions, they won’t cut, for example, VAT on fuel, which is crucial to people’s lives. And the reason they can’t make decisions is they are fighting, day by day, these headlines. “The whole of Downing Street is just about one thing, which is the survival of the prime minister. They are sacrificing everything, the country, the party, their careers, to try to keep this monstrous ego floating around in Downing Street.”Ms Gray’s report detailed events at which officials sang karaoke, drank so much they were sick, became involved in altercations and abused security and cleaning staff.Mr Stewart said that the slow drip of embarrassing stories for the prime minister and his administration had the cumulative effect of eroding trust in politics. “You end up feeling like an aggrieved partner or wife,” he said. “Everytime he is like ‘it’s just one small thing, it’s just one party, it’s one cake, one leaving party, one prorogation of parliament, one lobbying scandal, one wallpaper problem, but they mount up to make our country feels like Berlusconi’s Italy.”Mr Stewart is no ally of the prime minister. The former cabinet minister – who was expelled from the Conservative parliamentary party – previously said that Mr Johnson was an “amoral character” and “the most accomplished liar in public life”.He said in January, when allegations of No 10 parties were swirling, that the prime minister “lies … he’s disorganised … he betrays almost every personal commitment that he has”.He added: “He was manifestly unsuited to be prime minister from the beginning, so it’s very, very disturbing that a great country like Britain should have chosen somebody so unsuitable for the role.” More

Finance expert Martin Lewis has welcomed the government’s new package of support measures to tackle the cost of living crisis.Rishi Sunak laid bare a £15 billion deal which specifically targeted those in the lowest income households, pensioners and people with disabilities.Mr Lewis has been critical of the government’s fiscal response throughout the Covid pandemic and cost of living crisis, yet admitted he was “breathing a sigh of relief” after the announcement in the House of Commons.He said it was “very close” to what he’s asked the chancellor for in a conversation on Monday in which he called for those who “have to choose between freezing and starving” be prioritised.“I have to say this looks to be a relatively generous package from the government. I think they have listened, I would have liked to see it earlier but better late than never,” Mr Lewis said.The long-awaited and much-needed package will see eight millions of the lowest-income households – those on Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Pension Credits and legacy tax – receive a payment of £650 that they will not need to repay.In addition to this, separate one-off payments of £300 will go to pensioners, and £150 to those receiving disability benefits – a move Mr Lewis was “very pleased” to see after pushing for extra support for those with disabilities.Rishi Sunak announces £15bn package for cost of living crisisThe government has also decided to revise the energy bills discount – a £200 loan to ease pressure of energy bills yet needed to be repaid – for a grant double the value.All households, no matter the income, will receive a £400 discount in October which will not be required to pay back – a decision that Mr Lewis welcomed.The moneysupermarket.com founder said: “When I spoke to [Mr Sunak], I said we had to prioritise those who had to choose between freezing and starving – and I think that’s absolutely right.“When you’re talking about £1500-a-year bill increase, for those people, it’s an impact on lives, but for others it’s substantial impact on lifestyle.“The loan-not-loan is gone, it’s exactly what I suggested, so I’m quite happy with that. It’s gone and it’s been replaced with a straight grant.”The timing of Mr Sunak’s announcement had raised eyebrows with many accusing the chancellor of attempting to detract attention from the damning Sue Gray report into alleged parties in Downing Street throughout the Covid pandemic.Yet Mr Lewis argued the publication of the findings actually brought the package forward as, per previous conversations, the announcements were likely to have come in July.“It’s not a case the Sue Gray report has delayed this, if anything the Sue Gray report has brought this earlier,” he said.Mr Lewis is set to interview the chancellor on Thursday evening  following his announcement, where he will put forward questions to the chancellor live on Twitter.It will be live-streamed on MoneySavingExpert.com from 5.15pm, and will also be available live via @MartinSLewis and @MoneySavingExp on Twitter, Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert on Facebook, and MoneySavingExpert on YouTube. More

Just over 24 hours after Sue Gray’s long-awaited Partygate report dropped in full, chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled plans for millions of households to receive a £400 discount on their energy bills.While the government’s plan to tackle the cost of living crisis might dominate the headlines for a moment and move the focus away from lockdown law-breaking in Downing Street, the fallout from Partygate continues. The inquiry by the committee of privileges is bound to keep the issue alive, according to John Rentoul, The Independent’s chief political commentator, who held an ‘Ask Me Anything’ on Sue Gray’s report and what happens next on Thursday. He writes: “The committee has a Conservative majority, but all its members will want to demonstrate their independence and rigour – and they will no doubt make the most of their chance to question Johnson himself.“Its deliberations are likely to continue into the autumn, so although it may seem that the prime minister “has got away with it” (in the words of his former principal private secretary about the “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden), the scandal still has some distance to run.”Here are eight questions that came from Independent readers during an ‘Ask Me Anything’ – and the answers from John.Everyone knows Johnson is guilty of misleading parliament, but at what point can final judgement be officially concluded in order for the head of state to dismiss the rogue PM?That’s a red flag phrase, “everyone knows”! The PM admits he misled parliament, by saying the rules were followed at all times, but protests that he believed that to be true at the time. A lot of people are of the opinion that he knowingly misled the Commons, but proving that is hard, and Sue Gray’s report didn’t do it. What it does not contain is any evidence that he was warned at the time that an event might be against the rules. There is evidence that some staff were worried that some of the events might look bad (“somewhat of a comms risk” – communications meaning public relations), but those discussions were also fitfully worried about abiding by the rules on social distancing. But I don’t think what seems obvious in hindsight was as obvious to people at the time.When will Boris Johnson actually go? Surely we don’t have to wait for the next general election.It would be foolish to predict, but it is kind of my job, so I would say he has a 50-50 chance of making it to the election. I don’t think Conservative MPs are ready to get rid of him yet, mainly because it is so unclear who would succeed him. A lot of damage has been done, and there are enough MPs ready to send letters demanding a vote of confidence, but I think it will take another big mistake by the PM to trigger it.Why did we only get to see nine of the photos submitted to Sue Gray? Will we see the others?That is a good question. I assume that it is because they do not feature the PM or other members of what Sue Gray calls the “senior management” – if everyone in a photo has to be blurred out, there’s not much point to it. I doubt if there is a more sinister explanation – if photos were suppressed for no good reason, they would be likely to be leaked.Is the main reason more Tory MP’s not called for Boris’s resignation because there is no obvious candidate for them to get behind to replace him? Is this because the Brexit split with the Tory party is still a very significant factor in who they decide to associate themselves with?I think that is right. The candidate favoured by the most vocal rebels is Jeremy Hunt, who ran a good campaign against Boris Johnson last time, but he is a Remainer. I think the party members would only accept a Leaver (they are still resentful of not being consulted over Theresa May’s election). I don’t think Tory MPs could manipulate their votes to present two Remainers to the party members for the final ballot, so whichever candidate voted Leave would be likely to win. At the moment that means Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt or Nadhim Zahawi, which is why you can see Tory MPs hesitating.Do you think the report helps the parliamentary committee inquiry focus on specific issues or will it distract them?I think it helps the Conservatives on the committee of privileges, which is looking at the question of whether the PM knowingly misled parliament, to argue that he did not – for the reason I give below. I agree with James Forsyth of The Spectator that the worst the committee is likely to come up with for the PM is a criticism of him for not correcting the record earlier. Boris Johnson can live with that. It’ll be something else that gets him, I think.Who in Downing Street should make sure that civil servants conduct themselves correctly? That is the implied criticism in the Gray report: that the PM’s principal private secretary, his most important civil service assistant in day-to-day interactions in Downing Street, should have blocked some of the events, and should have intervened when they “developed as they did”. But the implication is really aimed at the person at the top: the PM himself knew that people were drinking at work and did nothing to set a lead. He gave speeches at a series of leaving events, for which he avoided being fined, presumably because the police accepted that this was part of his duty as a leader. But it should have been obvious that they were parties, and that they would “develop” into gatherings that were not “reasonably necessary for the purposes of work”. The cabinet secretary and the PM’s principal private secretary should have been responsible for making clear what standards were expected of civil servants and political appointees, but they would have had to be following the PM’s lead.Is the notion that he would not have known what was going on credible given he lived down the corridor?Not very. He didn’t attend the worst events, and indeed was at Chequers for some of them, but he knew enough about “Wine Time Fridays” and the rest to have a quiet word about reining it in.Is there any evidence that this booze culture in No10 predates covid or Johnson? How long has it been the norm for civil servants to “go on the lash” after work while still on the premises?”It was a dry old do in my day,” is what Anji Hunter said – she was Tony Blair’s assistant in his first term. Perhaps it has got worse gradually since then, but I suspect that there was a change of tone under the “Vote Leave” team led by Dominic Cummings, who seems to have confused team spirit with a raucous and rather laddish atmosphere.These questions and answers were part of an ‘Ask Me Anything’ hosted by John Rentoul at 1pm on Thursday 26 May. Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article.Do you have any topics you’d like to see an expert host an ‘Ask Me Anything’ on? Let us know your suggestions in the comments below. More

No 10 has apologised for wrongly telling The Independent there were no Downing Street parties, but refused to say if anyone will be disciplined.Late last year, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman was asked how he could claim no Covid rules were broken when – at the time – no investigation was taking place.The Independent was told: “It’s simply just a statement of fact,” and “I’m not going to get into internal matters. As I said, guidance has been followed at all times.”The Sue Gray report has now laid bare a catalogue of drunkenness, vomiting and damage at the illegal events, which led to 126 fines by the Metropolitan Police.Asked why journalists had been misled, in December, the official spokesman said: “I am happy to apologise for that.”He claimed there “were events we were not aware of” at the time, but – asked if any staff will be disciplined as a result – said: “I’m not going to get into disciplinary action.”The spokesman also confirmed Mr Johnson was admitting he misled the Commons over the parties when he told MPs, on Wednesday, that he was “correcting the record” – but said the misleading was not intentional.The distinction will be crucial when the Commons privileges committee begins its inquiry, within weeks, into whether the prime minister lied to parliament.Under the ministerial code, any minister who knowingly misleads the House of Commons is expected to resign.The spokesman declined to say that all 300 photos and 500 pieces of evidence gathered by the Met investigation will be released to the inquiry.He also could not confirm that Ms Gray will be allowed to give evidence to it, if called, after previous examples of senior civil servants being blocked from appearing.Mr Johnson’s defence will rest on the claim that – having not been fined for allegedly brief appearances at staff leaving drinks – he had “no knowledge” of the rule-breaking that followed.On Wednesday, the prime minister told MPs he had been “vindicated” by the Gray report, despite several more Tory MPs demanding his resignation on the back of its findings.Asked if he held that view because he received “only one fine”, the spokesman said the Met’s conclusions backed Mr Johnson’s view that he was “right to attend those events to thank staff”.The spokesman also confirmed that new restrictions on drinking alcohol in No 10 meant that “Wine Time Fridays” – joked about by staff, Ms Gray revealed – were no more.“Alcohol consumption in No 10 for staff is not permitted. The only distinction being for formal events – visits from world leaders,” he said.“The guidance makes clear that excessive consumption of alcohol, or sufficient consumption to impair judgement, is not appropriate.”He declined to say if he was at any of the lockdown-busting events, or if he received any police fines. More