UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak refused to rule out putting disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson back in the cabinet as he played down the plots against his leadership as “minuscule”. The two men fell out after Mr Sunak’s resignation from the cabinet hastened Mr Johnson’s exit from office.But, in a new ITV documentary, the Tory leader said he still talks to his predecessor “on occasion”, the last time late last year. He remained tight-lipped about whether he might bring back Mr Johnson, who resigned as an MP after he was found to have lied and lied again over the Partygate scandal, saying that he would “never talk about these personnel things”.David Cameron became foreign secretary last year in a move that also saw him installed in the House of Lords. Mr Sunak said they “worked well together for a long time” although “in the end there (were…) well-documented differences”, in the documentary. But he added that his new team in No 10 were “honest”. A beleaguered Mr Sunak is the focus of a plot by MPs, donors and former aides, some of them linked to Mr Johnson, to force him out of Downing Street. But he attempted to play down the threats to his position, saying they were “minuscule”. An explosive poll, paid for by shadowy donors, predicted a devastating Labour landslide unless Mr Sunak was removed as leader.Tory peer Lord Frost, who organised the poll, has since been warned he risks losing the party whip unless he comes clean and names the anonymous moneymen.A senior Tory linked to both Liz Truss and Mr Johnson, Sir Simon Clarke, also recently went public with calls for his party leader to go.The group are thought to be planning a war of attrition against the prime minister. But hitting back at his internal critics, Mr Sunak said: “I don’t think the country votes for divided parties.” He added: “Actually the debates within our party are minuscule compared to the chasm on this issue between us and Keir Starmer.”The prime minister also insisted his wealth is not an issue for voters and accused those who attack him over it of having a “lack of ambition for our country”.Mr Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are worth an estimated £529m, according to 2023’s Sunday Times Rich List. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMore female pupils lack confidence when studying mathematics and science than their male peers, a survey has suggested.The gender confidence gap poses a “threat” to the UK’s future science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) workforce, education charity Teach First has warned.A poll, commissioned by Teach First, found two in five (40%) pupils said they did not enjoy learning maths in school and 30% said they did not enjoy learning science.Among the pupils who reported not enjoying maths in school, more than half of female pupils (54%) said they did not feel confident in learning maths, compared to two-fifths (41%) of male pupils.The gap was even wider among pupils who said they did not enjoy science in school – with more than four in ten girls (43%) not confident compared with just about a quarter of boys (26%).It’s deeply troubling that too few children feel confident studying science and maths, with too many girls in particular left behindAmy Mitchell, chief impact officer at Teach FirstThe findings come ahead of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Sunday.More than 1,000 young people – aged between 11 and 16 – from across the UK took part in the YouGov poll between November 3 and November 10.Teach First has warned the imbalance in learning confidence is a concern for the future of Stem as they say poor gender diversity will exacerbate the skills shortage facing the sector.The charity is calling for more high-quality Stem teachers to be recruited and trained to inspire the next generation to work in the Stem sector.Amy Mitchell, chief impact officer at Teach First, said: “It’s deeply troubling that too few children feel confident studying science and maths, with too many girls in particular left behind.“Girls are just as capable as boys when it comes to maths and science, but this confidence gap poses a huge threat to the UK’s future, with Stem skills desperately needed to boost economic growth and to help tackle the major problems we face such as climate change.”She added: “We urgently need an uplift in pay for trainee teachers to incentivise more people to become Stem teachers to empower the next generation, particularly in low-income areas.”A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: “We are continuing to promote Stem subjects and drive up participation, especially among girls.“This includes investing £100 million to improve computing teaching and participation at GCSE and A-level, alongside targeted initiatives to boost uptake of maths, physics, digital and technical education by girls and among underrepresented groups.“On top of this, we’re introducing the new Advanced British Standard (ABS) which will see every student in England study some form of maths and English to age 18.“To attract the brightest and the best teachers, we offer bursaries and scholarships up to £30,000 for chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics teachers, alongside £3,000 tax-free for those in disadvantaged schools in the first five years of their career which will double to £6,000 tax-free over the next two years.“This comes on top of the largest teacher pay rise in three decades and a minimum starting salary of £30,000.” More

Starmer and Sunak clash over transgender rights and NHS waiting lists during PMQsSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe father of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey has demanded an apology from Rishi Sunak, saying he was “disgusted” with the prime minister’s comments.Peter Spooner told Sky News Mr Sunak’s remarks during PMQs had been “degrading” and “absolutely dehumanising”. He said: “Identities of people should not be used in that manner, and I personally feel shocked by his comments.”Mr Spooner added that Mr Sunak “should apologise for his remarks”.Earlier Keir Starmer met with Brianna Ghey’s mother in a parliament after Rishi Sunak made a “crass” joke about trans people at PMQs.In an ill-tempered exchange, Mr Sunak accused Labour leader Keir Starmer of U-turning on his definition of a woman, saying it was “a bit rich” to hear about promises from someone who had broken every single promise he was elected on.Mr Sunak listed “pensions, planning, peerages”, among others, before adding that that the Labour leader had u-turned on “defining a woman, although, in fairness, that was only 99 per cent of a U-turn.”Mr Starmer replied: “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.”Show latest update 1707350460ICYMI: Not the first time Sunak has attacked Labour on trans issuesThis is not the first time the prime minister has attacked Labour over the issue of gender identity policies, which have been a frequent subject of debate in Westminster in recent years.LGBT+ campaigners have condemned some of the language used by politicians to discuss trans people, with the issue often drawn into the so-called “culture war” by right-wingers.In his Tory conference speech last year, Mr Sunak told Conservative delegates in Manchester: “We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be.“They can’t – a man is a man and a woman is a woman.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism Wednesday after seeking to mock the position of the Labour Party’s leader on the definition of a woman, less than two minutes after lawmakers heard that the mother of a murdered transgender teenager was in Parliament.In response to a question from Keir Starmer, Sunak listed a series of issues that he said showed the Labour leader making about-turns, ending with a quip about his stance on “defining a woman, although in fairness, that was only 99% of a U-turn.” His remark was intended to embarrass Starmer, who Sunak’s Conservatives have accused of vacillating on the issue of self-identification, and who have pounced on his comment last year that “99.9% of women haven’t got a penis.”Starmer, who had welcomed the mother of Brianna Ghey, Esther Ghey, was visibly furious in response. He said the comments were inappropriate, and Sunak later acknowledged Ghey. “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame,” Starmer said. “Parading as a man of integrity when he’s got absolutely no responsibility.”Last Friday, the two 16-year-old convicted murderers of Brianna a year ago were handed life sentences with minimum prison terms of 20 and 22 years.The horrific murder shocked the nation. Brianna, who was 16, was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington in northwest England on Feb. 11, 2023.Brianna’s mother has been widely praised for her dignified response, calling for the families of the convicted pair to be shown some empathy and compassion. In an interview Sunday with the BBC, she said she would be open to meeting the mother of Scarlett Jenkinson, one of Brianna’s two killers who according to the judge in the case was the ringleader.Esther Ghey is campaigning for restrictions on what under-16s can access on their cell phones and for the wider use of mindfulness in schools, as a way to help teachers and children to look after their mental health.At the end of Sunak’s weekly — and often rowdy — questioning in Parliament, he acknowledged the presence of Brianna’s mother in the chamber.“If I could just say also to Brianna Ghey’s mother who is here, as I said earlier this week, what happened was an unspeakable and shocking tragedy,” he said. “As I said earlier this week, in the face of that, for her mother to demonstrate the compassion and empathy that she did last weekend, I thought demonstrated the very best of humanity in the face of seeing the very worst of humanity.“She deserves all our admiration and praise for that,” he added.Stonewall, a group that stands for LGBTQ+ rights, urged Sunak to apologize for his “cheap, callous and crass” use of trans people as a “punchline.” The exchange has stoked concerns about the level of debate in the run-up to a general election later this year. With his Conservative Party trailing the main opposition Labour Party heavily in the opinion polls, Sunak has come under pressure from some of his own lawmakers to put so-called “culture war” issues on the agenda, in an attempt to create dividing lines that could begin to dominate the public debate. More