UK Politics

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told MPs he drives an ageing Volkswagen hatchback, as he defended his controversial mini-budget.The chancellor – a former investment banker whose wife is a multi-millionaire – faced ridicule at last week’s spring statement after he posed for photos filling a Kia Rio car at the petrol pump to publicise his 5p-a-litre cut in fuel duties.It later emerged that the modest family hatchback, which retails from around £13,000, did not belong to the chancellor but was borrowed from an employee at the London branch of Sainsbury’s where the photo-shoot took place.Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh challenged the chancellor over the stunt at a hearing of the House of Commons Treasury Committee on Monday, only to be told that Mr Sunak in fact drives a VW Golf, which sells from about £23,000 depending on the model.“I just wanted to let the chancellor know that the cost of filling up my Kia Picanto has gone up from £30 to £54 pounds in the time I’ve owned it,” said Ms McDonagh. “Mr Sunak, did you face a similar fuel hike in the time you’ve owned your Rio?”The chancellor responded by asking how long the Labour MP had owned her car. Told that Ms McDonagh had bought her Picanto three years ago, he responded: “Mine, I think, is probably older than that… We have a Golf.”Mr Sunak confirmed that the Kia Rio featured in his publicity photos belonged to a Sainsbury’s employee, adding that he was “very grateful” to the supermarket chain for passing on his fuel duty cut swiftly to customers.“I’m very grateful to Sainsbury’s for passing on the fuel duty cut very quickly, as did a couple of other retailers straight away, which is great because people’s petrol bills are rising… because energy prices globally are going up,” said the chancellor. More

P&O Ferries must be stripped of its licence to operate in the UK and its boss struck off as a company director after its wilful sacking of 800 staff, senior MPs are demanding.Two committee chairs who have investigated the scandal are telling the government it must get tougher with the rogue ferry firm – amid fears its response so far will fall short.The call came as the transport secretary gave P&O “one further opportunity” to reverse the sackings, before changing the law to stop it undercutting the minimum wage as it recruits new staff.However, although Grant Shapps said he intended to “block” the redundancies, he appeared to be only applying political pressure on the operator to rethink.A “package of measures” later this week will, he said, stop firms flouting rules meant to require prior consultation with workers – as P&O did – but is unlikely to apply retrospectively.Such an outcome will leave Boris Johnson exposed after he promised MPs that the firm will be prosecuted and vowed the firm would not “get away with it”.Now the Conservative Huw Merriman, chair of the Transport Committee, and Labour’s Darren Jones, the Business Committee chair, have demanded harsher action to:Prosecute P&O Ferries and “remove its licence to operate in the UK”.Give ministers the power to take out an injunction against any firm copying P&O and refusing to consult staff on redundancies.Remove chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite – who admitted the firm deliberately broke the law – as a director because he is “not a fit and proper person to run a company that operates critical national infrastructure”.The committee chairs set Mr Shapps and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng a deadline of next Monday to act on the firm’s “appalling” behaviour.In the Commons, the transport minister Robert Courts declined to reveal the specific crackdown planned, refusing to say whether it would see Mr Hebblethwaite removed.He also dodged a call to stop parent company DP World receiving tens of millions of pounds as a freeport operator, or remove it from a government trade advisory body.In his letter to P&O, Mr Shapps vowed his measures would “ensure that seafarers are protected in the way that parliament and this government already intended”.“I intend to block the outcome that P&O Ferries has pursued, including paying workers less than the minimum wage.“You have one further opportunity to reverse this decision by immediately offering all 800 workers their jobs back on their previous terms, conditions and wages – should they indeed want them back at this stage.”Mr Shapps added: “Given that we intend to ensure such outcomes are prevented by laws – which we will ensure that you cannot simply choose to ignore – I believe you will be left with little choice but to reverse your decision in any case.”However, the Department for Transport privately acknowledged the action could not be applied retrospectively.And chancellor Rishi Sunak said it would not be possible to remove DP World as operator of freeport sites.“We are, across government, reviewing the relationship with DP World and all the various contracts that we have,” Mr Sunak told the Commons Treasury Committee. “But there is no contractual route to change the terms of the various things in the freeports programme.“I can’t stop a company that owns a site from owning the site.” More

No 10 has insisted “striking someone is never the answer” after the actor Will Smith hit comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars.The incident came after Mr Rock made a joke during the ceremony about Mr Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, who has been open about suffering from alopecia, for having a shaved head.The 53-year-old Mr Smith — named best actor at the 94th Academy Awards — stormed on stage and slapped comic in the face, before returning to his seat and shouting: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.”Asked whether Boris Johnson would condemn the Hollywood star for striking the comedian at the Oscars, a No 10 spokesperson said they had not discussed the subject with the prime minister.But they added: “You’ll appreciate he’s been in a day of speaking to world leaders on Ukraine. On this the education secretary was entirely right this morning — obviously striking someone is never the answer”.Earlier, Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, told LBC: “Violence is never the answer to any problem-solving, as Will Smith admitted himself in that tearful, heart-wrenching apology”.Mr Zahawi also told BBC Breakfast: “It is heartbreaking when you lose control of your emotions in that way, but I think it’s important not to allow yourself to cross that line, and he apologised immediately, which is good to see”.However, the Conservative MP Simon Hoare said Mr Rock’s joke at the Oscars was “tasteless” and that he hoped he would have stepped up to physically confront him.“Regarding the Will Smith incident at The Oscars, I’d just hope if someone thought it in good taste to make a joke at the expense of a medical condition of my wife then I’d get up and lamp him,” the MP for North Dorset said, adding: “The joke was tasteless.”Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, was also among politicians to weigh into the incident, saying on Monday he was “pretty shocked” by the incident that overshadowed the Oscars event in Los Angeles.While he said insults of family members “excites something quite emotional in all of us”, he insisted: “To go up and hit someone in the way is wrong”.The Conservative MP Dehenna Davison also said she had written to Mr Smith inviting him to speak to a parliamentary group dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of one-punch assaults.Ms Davison, whose father Dominic was killed by a punch when she was 13 in 2007, told Mr Smith she was a “huge fan” of his work but said: “I was very disappointed to see you use your substantial platform not for good, but for the promotion of violence.”She said her life was “turned upside down” by her father’s death and so when she became an MP she set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on One-Punch Assaults “to raise awareness about single-punch assaults, and to reinforce the message that one punch can kill”. More

Up to £17bn of spending cuts are hidden in Rishi Sunak’s mini-budget because of soaring inflation, the Treasury watchdog is warning – casting doubt on claims that austerity is over.The chancellor’s spring statement contains a poison pill for Whitehall departments because allocations were made in cash terms and will now be severely “eroded”, MPs were told.The squeeze threatens to hit schools struggling to deliver catch-up support to pupils who missed lessons because of Covid and hospitals hit by a record patient backlog.And it also spells bad news for public-sector workers, whose pay is likely to be cut sharply in real terms, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said.Richard Hughes, the OBR’s chair, agreed “the spending power of departments” would be hit by the chancellor’s decision to make allocations in cash terms – as inflation is set to reach close to 9 per cent.“It does erode the real value of those other budgets compared to what was anticipated when set back in October,” he told the Commons Treasury committee.That “erosion is anywhere between £5bn and £17bn”, Mr Hughes added, depending on which measure of inflation is used to make the comparison.He said the Treasury had yet to reveal its full hand for public sector workers, but they should expect the “lowest-based pay rises”, far short of protection against inflation.During the evidence session, the OBR also:* Said the real-terms cuts to benefits from failing to uprate with inflation are worth £12bn – while Mr Sunak is handing back only £0.5m to a bigger help fund for local councils.* Agreed the 5 per cent fall in the value of benefits is likely to be “a record” – telling MPs it “can’t recall” one on the same scale.* Acknowledged pensioners and other benefit claimants will be see their living standards fall further than earners.* Warned it could take 18 months for benefits to catch up with rising inflation – because they are going up in line with just a 3.1 per cent rise in prices, from last September.* Said Mr Sunak had “headroom” of £15bn – of which he has allocated around £10bn for the income tax cut in 2024, with the rest set aside.Mr Sunak has faced a storm of criticism for failing to help households facing the biggest squeeze in living standards since records began in 1956-57, according to the OBR.A further 1.5 million people will be plunged into absolute poverty, including half a million children, the Resolution Foundation think-tank warned.The hidden spending cuts threaten a fresh bust-up between the chancellor and Boris Johnson – who has promised voters that austerity is over. More

Sunak ‘making economy worse’, says senior Tory in cost of living rowRishi Sunak today suggested there will be no extra support for people facing soaring energy bills until the Autumn, as he faced his first Commons grilling since delivering his widely criticised spring statement to MPs last week.He told MPs at the Treasury select committee : “It clearly is very difficult today to speculate on energy prices in the autumn. Let’s wait until we get there”.It has been reported there are currently major disagreements between Mr Sunak and Boris Johnson about how to tackle rising energy bills, with the prime minister saying the government needs to “do more” to help people with increasing bills.Mr Sunak is being questioned on whether his mini-budget did enough to help Britons with the cost of living crisis.Mr Sunak slashed fuel duty by 5p and raised the threshold at which people pay national insurance by £3,000.But MPs on all sides of the Commons – as well as several think tanks – said the moves would not be enough to help Britain’s poorest families.Show latest update

1648479076Sunak hints at no extra support on soaring energy bills until at least autumn Rishi Sunak today suggested there will be no extra support for people facing soaring energy bills until the Autumn, as he faced his first Commons grilling since delivering his widely criticised spring statement to MPs last week.He told MPs at the Treasury select committee : “It clearly is very difficult today to speculate on energy prices in the autumn. Let’s wait until we get there”.It has been reported there are currently major disagreements between Mr Sunak and prime minister Boris Johnson about how to tackle rising energy bills.Joe Middleton28 March 2022 15:511648478732Labour MP says Sunak ‘not a tax cutting chancellor’Labour MP Angela Eagle said that Mr Sunak “styles himself as a tax cutting chancellor” but that he isn’t one.Mr Sunak said he has never said that, but has always said that he is a chancellor “who has had to deal with a pandemic”. He said the choice he had after Covid was to cut public spending or to deliver on plans to “improve people’s quality of life”.Joe Middleton28 March 2022 15:451648478322Labour MP says tax burden ‘still going up’Labour MP Angela Eagle has told Mr Sunak the tax burden is “still going up”, which the chancellor accepts. He says the reason is that the government is continuing to invest in public services and is recovering from the shock of the Covid pandemic.Joe Middleton28 March 2022 15:381648477946Labour MP says Sunak has made ‘political choice to plunge 1.3 million into poverty’Labour MP Angela Eagle says the chancellor has made a “political choice to plunge 1.3 million people into absolute poverty”.Mr Sunak disagrees and says that he has reduced the impact on prices which are “global in nature” and adds that his package is “progressive” in the way it has been designed.He adds that his package will not add to inflation and has put in “specific support” to help people. He says he is “very mindful” of people on low incomes and “difficult circumstances”.Joe Middleton28 March 2022 15:321648477209Watch: Starmer asked if a woman can have a penis’So a woman can have a penis?’ Nick Ferrari puts Sir Keir Starmer on the spotMatt Mathers28 March 2022 15:201648476390Watch: Sunak grilled at Treasury select committeeWatch live as Rishi Sunak is questioned about his 2022 Spring StatementMatt Mathers28 March 2022 15:061648476267Good to give people a ‘sense of direction’, Sunak says when asked about promise to cut income tax by 2024Stride now asks Sunak why he chose to outline an income tax cut of 1p by 2024, given that the financial outlook is uncertain and could quickly change.”Because in the autumn I said very clearly that the direction of travel on tax would be for reductions going forward”, the chancellor responds.He says he set this out in the autumn budget and “fleshed it out” in his spring statement.”It’s good to give people a sense of direction and a plan for where we’re trying to head,” he adds.Matt Mathers28 March 2022 15:041648475306Right for government to maintain ‘prudent buffer against fiscal rules’Mel Stride, the committee chair, kicks off the session by asking Sunak why he didn’t make full use of the fiscal “headroom” outlined in the OBR’s spring statement forecast.He asks the chancellor if he is concerned about the “uncertainty” families face amid rising fuel, food and energy bills.Responding, the chancellor said it is right for the government to maintain a “prudent buffer against our fiscal rules, which is what we have done”.Matt Mathers28 March 2022 14:481648474721Sunak to appear before MPs at Treasury select committeeRishi Sunak faces his first Commons grilling since delivering his widely criticised spring statement to MPs last week.The chancellor is up at the Treasury select committee where he is being questioned on whether his mini-budget did enough to help Britons with the cost of living crisis.We’ll bring you updates from the session once it gets underway at 2.40pm.Matt Mathers28 March 2022 14:381648473130Laura Kuenssberg named new host of BBC’s Sunday morning politics showLaura Kuenssberg has been announced as the new permanent presenter of the BBC’s Sunday morning politics show.In December, she announced she was stepping down as the broadcaster’s political editor after seven years.Kuenssberg will start her role when the show relaunches this September with a new set, title, format and title music.She said: “I couldn’t be more delighted. For decades Sunday morning has been the moment to explore the events that shape us and to challenge and listen to our politicians.“It’s an honour to take the chair for that conversation in the 2020s.”Matt Mathers28 March 2022 14:12 More

A promised plan to wean the UK off foreign oil and gas is set to be delayed again, apparently because Rishi Sunak is reluctant to provide “any new money”.The hold-up is a fresh embarrassment for Boris Johnson who pledged – almost three weeks ago – that his “energy independence plan” would be unveiled in “the next few days”.The document, to pave the way for an expansion in solar and wind power, but also to approve new controversial North Sea oil and gas licenses, was due to be unveiled this week.But Treasury officials have said the chancellor has demanded more time to scrutinise the plans, one telling The Financial Times: “He doesn’t want to provide any new money.”The plan is now not expected until after MPs leave Westminster for their Easter recess on Thursday, because “policy is still being decided on,” a Treasury source told the PA news agency.It is understood that the plan could still be released next week, as the House of Lords continues to sit until 7 April before taking its Easter break. But after that, publication could be difficult because of the purdah period ahead of 5 May local elections, when public authorities are barred from making announcements which could impact on the campaign.Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, wants to accelerate onshore wind projects – by offering incentives to nearby residents to accept them – but the idea has provoked a cabinet split.Mr Sunak is believed to consider them poor value for money, as he seeks to bear down on spending and build up a war chest for pre-election tax cuts in 2024.The stance has seen the chancellor heavily criticised since last week’s mini-budget which offered little to families facing a cost of living crisis and forecast explosion in poverty.Mr Sunak will face tough questioning over the extent of the help he is offering as energy price cap leaps to as high as £2,800, when he is quizzed by the Commons Treasury committee on Monday.A key battle over the energy security strategy appears to centre on whether tough planning barriers to onshore wind projects, imposed by David Cameron’s government, will be relaxed.Campaigners say they – unlike fracking – could deliver the prize of replacing foreign gas as an energy source, but they are hated by the influential Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Tory MPs.The education secretary Nadhim Zahawi hinted at lower energy bills for people living near onshore wind farms, as well as near planned nuclear power stations.“If we are going to make sure that we carry the will of local people, whether it’s onshore wind or nuclear, we have to learn from how it’s done well in other countries,” he said on Sunday.“It’s right to look at innovation to make sure we wean ourselves off hydrocarbons – we have to do that, we have to do that well. Part of that is making sure we look after the will of the local people.”During a visit to the Gulf on 16 March, the prime minister said the strategy will include a “massive jump forward on renewables, more nuclear, using our own hydrocarbons more effectively”.Mr Johnson said it would be released “next week”, a timetable that slipped to publication before the end of the month – but which now appears to have been hit by a fresh delay.The PM’s official spokesperson told reporters: “It is important we get these things right. It’s a significant piece of work, it takes time to develop and it’s not unusual for processes like this to take the right amount of time before publication. “We will set out plans for publication as soon as possible, but it will depend entirely upon when the work is concluded and signed off.” More

A Conservative MP has backed Will Smith’s decision to slap Chris Rock – and said he would liked to have gone further and “lamped” the comedian. Simon Hoare said Mr Rock’s joke at the Oscars was “tasteless” and that he hoped he would have stepped up to physically confront him.”Regarding the Will Smith incident at The Oscars, I’d just hope if someone thought it in good taste to make a joke at the expense of a medical condition of my wife then I’d get up and lamp him,” the MP for North Dorset said, adding: “The joke was tasteless.”Labour leader Keir Starmer, among politicians to also weigh in on the incident, struck a more equivocal tone.“I was pretty shocked at it,” Sir Keir told LBC Radio when asked. “Anybody who insults family members excites something quite emotional in all of us…”But the opposition leader added: “To go up and hit someone in that way is wrong…”It comes after Mr Rock made a joke from the stage at the 2022 Oscar’s ceremony about Jada Pinkett-Smith, Mr Smith’s wife, having a shaved head.Taking to the stage to present the award for best documentary he had suggested she looked like she was appearing in “GI Jane 2”.Ms Pinkett-Smith has been open about suffering from alopecia, which causes hair loss. Following the comment Mr Smith rushed the stage to confront the comedian, and slapped him – with the footage beamed around the world. More

A plan to stop P&O Ferries undercutting the minimum wage as it recruits new staff, is not enough to “undo” its mass sackings as promised, a union is warning the government.Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is poised to change the law to shut the ferry operator out of UK ports unless it abandons “sweatshop” pay rates as low as £5.15 an hour.He is writing to Peter Hebblethwaite, the firm’s chief executive, urging him to U-turn on the decision to sack 800 workers – with the threat that it must observe the wage floor of £8.91 an hour, rising to £9.50 on 1 April.But the maritime RMT union is saying the move does not go far enough, after Mr Shapps last week, vowed to “undo” the mass sackings and close a “loophole” that allowed them.The transport secretary said: “We’ll be returning to parliament with a package of measures to make sure that situation is undone,” – but No 10 then refused to back up the claim.The Department for Transport is admitting that it is not proposing to change the law to ensure the sacked workers are rehired and merely applying political pressure.Alex Gordon, of the RMT, said P&O must be forced to go further, by ensuring the dismissed seamen’s existing employment contracts are honoured – not simply pay the minimum wage.The union is planning to step up protests, targeting the maritime agencies involved with recruiting new workers including Clyde Marine Recruitment in Glasgow.Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary, said on Sunday: “There will be more protests, more campaigning and more political pressure this week as we ratchet up the fight.”Keir Starmer has demanded tougher action, including against P&O’s parent company DP World, which is poised to receive “£50m as one of the freeports”.The Labour leader also said they are unanswered questions about the warning the government received the night before the redundancies were announced 11 days ago.Sir Keir called the “pre-recorded video” alerting staff to their sackings “absolutely shocking” – as was Mr Hebblethwaite admitting P&O had “decided it was better to break the law”.Labour had warned of the loophole in the law, Sir Keir said, adding: “Had that loophole in the law been closed two years ago, they would not have lost their jobs in the way they did.”Last week, a government official admitted it had “no powers” to take P&O to court – despite the firm admitting it broke the law by sacking the 800 workers without consulting them.However, the stakes were raised by Boris Johnson insisting the controversy will go to court and telling MPs: “P&O clearly aren’t going to get away with it.”Mr Shapps then made his promise, last Thursday, saying his law changes would “make sure that situation is undone”. More