UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA senior minister directly responsible for the space launch industry is needed to help businesses in the sector, MPs have been told.On Monday, Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee heard from companies involved in spaceports which are being built in Scotland.Scott Hammond, deputy CEO of SaxaVord Spaceport, said they are aiming for their first rocket launches this summer.The spaceport, located on the island of Unst at the northernmost point of the UK, was recently granted its licence by the Civil Aviation Authority.While UK Science Minister Andrew Griffith has the space sector within his portfolio, Mr Hammond said a cabinet-level role is needed.Mr Hammond told the committee he welcomed the space strategies published by the Scottish and UK Governments but felt more resources should be made available.He said: “For me, there’s almost too many cooks involved.“I think what we need to look at is having a senior politician directly responsible for space and space launch and I would suggest that at cabinet level.”Despite the UK Government space portfolio, he said it is still “difficult to know who’s actually running launch in the UK”.He gave the example of seeking permissions from Scottish Government’s marine directorate, something he said was taking six months rather than 14 weeks as promised.He was on a panel of witnesses that also included Martin Coates, chief executive of rocket company Orbex, which plans to launch from Sutherland Spaceport on the Scottish mainland, and David Oxley of the regional development agency Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE).Committee member Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, asked the panel if HIE had “put all your eggs into one basket” by investing heavily in the Sutherland spaceport.Those involved in SaxaVord have previously complained that HIE is unfairly supporting their competitor.Mr Oxley said Sutherland Spaceport had appeared to be in a “better place” in 2018 but acknowledged circumstances had changed since then.He said it is “great” that two sites are coming close to their first launches and talks are ongoing about support for SaxaVord.Mr Coates said he did not believe his company is in competition with SaxaVord as Sutherland will only be hosting launches by Orbex.However, Mr Hammond said he saw no need for a “dissipation of resources” in having more than one spaceport in Scotland. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSenior Tory MP Chris Skidmore has submitted his resignation in protest over Rishi Sunak’s oil and gas drilling plans – triggering yet another by-election headache for the PM.The ex-energy minister said Mr Sunak’s climate change stance would “destroy the reputation of the UK as a climate leader”, having announced on Friday that he planned to stand down.The MP for Kingswood in Gloucestershire formally quit the Tory whip and his seat on Monday, arguing that his constituents “deserve the right” to elect someone new if he could no longer back the government.It comes as fellow former Tory cabinet minister Sir Alok Sharma said Mr Sunak’s plans to maximise North Sea oil and gas production give the impression he is “not being serious” about tackling climate change.The president of the Cop26 climate summit hosted by the UK said he could not support the PM’s Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill – which sanctions fresh drilling in the North Sea – when MPs vote on it later on Monday.Sir Alok said the legislation is a “smoke and mirrors” exercise which reinforces the perception that the UK is “rowing back from climate action”.A group of 30 politicians, including Mr Skidmore and Lord Zac Goldsmith, have also written to energy secretary Claire Coutinho urging the government to drop the bill – saying that it is “diametrically opposed” to the global drive away from fossil fuels.Chris Skidmore quit the Tory whip and formally resigned his seat Mr Skidmore – who said the PM’s move was the “wrong decision at the wrong time” – said he could not vote for a bill that promotes new oil and gas production or condone a government which pushed it.In his formal resignation letter to the chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Mr Skidmore said the PM and his ministers should be looking to the long-term – not “playing short-term politics” with legislation that does “so much to destroy the reputation of the UK as a climate leader”.He added: “No-one has ever denied that we will not need the oil and gas we are using today, but to seek to open up future new sources of fossil fuels, that will be sold on international markets and owned by foreign companies, will do nothing for our energy security.”His exit sets up a contest in the blue wall seat in February or March. Labour came second in the seat in 2019 – so it would seem to provide Sir Keir Starmer’s party with an ideal opportunity to deliver a fresh blow to Mr Sunak.The battle for Mr Skidmore’s seat is one of three by-elections the Tory party could lose in the early months of 2024. Peter Bone’s Wellingborough seat will soon see a contest after the Tory MP was removed in a recall petition following his suspension for upheld sexual misconduct claims.And Scott Benton’s Blackpool South seat could also be up for grabs after his 35-day suspension over a sting which exposed him offering to lobby for gambling investors.Senior Tory Sir Alok Sharma has said he cannot back the oil and gas drilling bill Mr Sunak’s bill will require the industry regulator to run annual rounds for new oil and gas licences. Currently licensing rounds are run when the North Sea Transition Authority (NTSA) decides it is necessary.The government claims the introduction of regular licensing for exploration will increase certainty, investor confidence and make the UK more energy-independent amid ongoing turmoil from Russia’s war with Ukraine.The former climate minister and Cop president spoke out on Monday ahead of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill having its first Commons test on Monday night.“It’s actually the opposite of what we agreed to do internationally, so I won’t be supporting it,” Sir Alok told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, calling it a “total distraction which frankly changes nothing”. And Mr Sharma, standing down at the election, accused the Tory leader of “chopping and changing” climate policies, reinforcing “the unfortunate perception about the UK rolling back from climate action”.Mr Sunak defended his decisions and insisted the UK was still a world leader in its net zero commitments when asked about the criticism ahead of the vote.Challenged about “flip flopping” on the issue at a PM Connect event in Lancashire he said: “We’ve got more ambitious targets than any other advanced economy in the world. Fact.“And we can still meet those targets without having to impose these costs on you prematurely, telling you to switch your car, rip out your boiler, upgrade the efficiency in your home.”Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the offshore oil and gas Bill was a “waste of time” designed to create a dividing line.“It isn’t going to make any difference at all – zero impact – on energy bills,” Sir Keir told reporters as he pointed to comments from former ministers.Sir Keir said: “What you’ve got is a government that’s wasting its time trying to pass legislation to create a dividing line with the Labour party rather than to solve the problem.”No 10 declined to say whether the aim of the bill is to increase the number of licences granted. An energy department spokesperson said Britain still needed oil and gas “for decades to come”.They added: “These new licenses will not increase carbon emissions above our legally binding carbon budgets, but will provide certainty for industry, support 200,000 jobs and bring in tens of billions of tax that we can invest in the green transition and support people with cost of living.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAlok Sharma has said he will not support Rishi Sunak’s “smoke and mirrors” oil and gas bill.The former cabinet member and Cop26 president said the legislation is a “total distraction, which frankly changes nothing”.And he accused the prime minister of “chopping and changing” climate policies, reinforcing “the unfortunate perception about the UK rolling back from climate action”.On Monday, Mr Sunak’s government will try to pass legislation requiring the North Sea regulator to invite applications for new oil and gas licences on an annual basis instead of the five-year average currently in place.Sharma said he will not support the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill when MPs vote on it laterCritics have accused the government of backing new production as a way to create a dividing line with Labour ahead of this year’s general election.Just 1 per cent of the oil from new licences granted in the North Sea would be used in the UK in 2030, according to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).The ECIU said the bill will therefore have little impact on Britain’s energy security and do nothing to bring down household bills – which have soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Former energy secretary Mr Sharma told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I will not be voting for this bill.“As it is currently drafted, this bill is a total distraction… it is a smoke and mirrors bill which, frankly, changes nothing.”The MP said the North Sea Transition Authority can already grant licences when it deems necessary and “that will not change”.He added: “What this bill does do is reinforce that unfortunate perception about the UK rolling back from climate action. We saw this last autumn with the chopping and changing of some policies and actually not being serious about meeting our international commitments.“Just a few weeks ago at COP 28, the 28th UN climate conference, the UK government signed up to transition away from fossil fuels.“This bill is about doubling down on granting more oil and gas production licences. It’s actually the opposite of what we agreed to do… so I won’t be supporting it.”Meanwhile former Tory environment secretary Zac Goldsmith, who quit over Mr Sunak’s “apathy” toward climate change, urged Conservative MPs to reject the bill.“Conservatives are facing almost certain defeat at the election and now is not the time for colleagues to be slavishly obedient to a leadership that will not be there in a matter of months,” he said.Lord Goldsmith urged MPs to be on “the right side of history” and reject the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.The Conservative Environment Network, a group representing around 150 Tories, said the benefits of the new bill “should not be overstated”. Director Sam Hall said oil and gas will still be needed during the transition to net zero, “albeit in shrinking amounts”. He said priority for energy security and tackling climate change should be to “rapidly reduce our demand for oil and gas” by building more renewables, improving energy efficiency and electrifying more of the economy.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the offshore oil and gas bill was a “waste of time” designed to create a dividing line with his party.“It isn’t going to make any difference at all – zero impact – on energy bills,” Sir Keir told reporters as he pointed to comments from former ministers.Sir Keir said: “What you’ve got is a government that’s wasting its time trying to pass legislation to create a dividing line with the Labour party rather than to solve the problem.”The latest row came just days after the government’s former net zero tsar Chris Skidmore quit as an MP in opposition to the bill.In a scathing exit statement he said he could no longer continue as a Tory or “condone” the government because the PM’s environmental stance is “wrong and will cause future harm”.In a statement posted on Twitter/X, Mr Skidmore said: “As the former energy minister who signed the UK’s net zero commitment by 2050 into law, I cannot vote for a bill that clearly promotes the production of new oil and gas.“To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate a status quo that cannot be sustained. I am therefore resigning my party whip and instead intend to be free from any party-political allegiance.”Downing Street declined to say whether the aim of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill is to increase the number of licences granted.“I’m not going to speculate on whether more licences will be granted, that’s a decision partly for the companies themselves,” Mr Sunak’s spokesman told journalists.Challenged over the fact the oil will be sold abroad rather than reserved for the domestic market, the official argued is is “preferable to have an international market which has more oil and gas from the UK and other countries which are stable, which are not authoritarian regimes”. More

Rishi Sunak says Post Office horizon scandal an ‘appalling miscarriage of justice’Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak would “strongly support” the body which reviews honours if it decided to look at revoking former Post Office boss Paula Vennells’ CBE in the wake of the Horizon scandal.There have been growing calls grow for the former Post Office chief executive to hand back her CBE after an ITV drama returned the widespread miscarriage of justice to the spotlight.The prime minister’s official spokesman said that Mr Sunak would “strongly support” the forfeiture committee “if they were to choose to investigate”.Earlier, a former Conservative cabinet minister said all workers wrongly convicted in the scandal should be exonerated because each of their cases is linked to “one single lie”.Sir David Davis, a senior Tory MP, is planning to raise the issue in the Commons as MPs return from the Christmas holidays and has called for an emergency debate. “All of the cases depend on one single lie, and that is nobody but the postmasters and mistresses could access their computers,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme earlier.Show latest update
1704725159Ed Davey being made ‘scapegoat’ for Post Office scandal – former Lib Dem leaderEd Davey is being made a “scapegoat” for the Post Office scandal, his former colleague and party leader Vince Cable has claimed.Mr Davey has been accused by Conservatives of not asking the “right questions” during his stint as Post Office minister in the early years of the coalition government. He has denied any wrongdoing, saying Post Office bosses lied to him on an “industrial scale”.“This is election year and it’s quite good for somebody to try to make a scapegoat of a Lib Dem,” Mr Cable told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.Matt Mathers8 January 2024 14:451704724427Watch: Moment Sunak met with laughter as he tells Burnley factory workers they are getting tax cutThe prime minister visited workers at the VEKA factory, a PVC window system manufacturer, in Burnley on Monday 8 January, to tell them about the tax cuts.Mr Sunak explained how the new cut to the rate of national insurance, means that someone on an average salary of £35,000 a year will get a £450 tax cut.One worker responded by saying “Lovely”, which was met with a round of laughter by other workers.Watch the clip here: More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak would “strongly support” the body which reviews honours if it decided to look at revoking former Post Office boss Paula Vennells’ CBE in the wake of the Horizon IT scandal.There have been growing calls grow for the former Post Office chief executive to hand back her CBE after an ITV drama returned the miscarriage of justice to the spotlight.The PM’s official spokesman said that Mr Sunak would “strongly support” the forfeiture committee “if they were to choose to investigate”.A petition addressed to Sir Chris Wormald, the chair of the committee which re-examines honours, calling for Ms Vennells to lose her honour has already attracted more than one million signatures.Justice secretary Alex Chalk is meeting Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake on Monday to discuss how to help convicted branch managers clear their names. Mr Chalk will make a statement in the Commons later.The PM, speaking in Lancashire on Monday, defended the government’s response – but said ministers were now “on it” and wanted to speed up the compensation process for victims.“People should know that we are on it, and we want to make this right, that money has been set aside,” Mr Sunak said.Rishi Sunak during a visit to the Accrington Stanley Community Sports HubThe Tory leader added: “We will do everything we can to make this right for the people affected. It is simply wrong what happened. They shouldn’t have been treated like this.”Ms Vennells – who ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with its Horizon IT system – has said she is “truly sorry” for the “suffering” caused to sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of offences.More than 700 Post Office branch managers were convicted after faulty Fujitsu accounting softwar Horizon made it look like money was missing from their shops.Mr Hollinrake last month said calls to strip her of the CBE honour should be considered, while campaigning Labour MP Kevan Jones has long backed such a move.Labour’s shadow environment secretary Steve Reed said on Monday the honour is an “insult” and should be handed back. “I do think she should give that back,” he told TalkTV.Calls have grown for ex-Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells to lose her CBEOn Monday Sir Keir Starmer called for prosecution powers to be stripped from the Post Office and previous convictions looked at again, as well as calling on the Sunak government to “get on” with compensation.No 10 on Monday did not say whether removing prosecution powers would be among the options considered by Mr Chalk and Mr Hollinkrake – but Mr Sunak’s spokesman said ministers were “looking at what went wrong and what lessons can be learned”.Ahead of his statement in the Commons, Mr Hollinrake said interim payments of up to £168,000 had been made to known victims. The Post Office minister – who said 64 per cent of known victims have accepted full settlement – said he is “working day and night to do more”.The scandal is top of the agenda as politicians return to Westminster after the Christmas break, with senior Tory David Davis and former Labour minister Mr Jones pushing for an emergency debate on the issue.Keir Starmer, who mets residents in Loughborough, East Midlands hit by flooding, says the government must ‘get on’ with compensation The Labour leader, speaking during a visit in Loughborough, said: “I think that the prosecution should be taken out of the hands of the Post Office and given to the Crown Prosecution Service.”“And these convictions, the remaining convictions, need to be looked at en masse,” said Sir Keir, before adding: “The government could pass legislation, so obviously we’d support that if they did.”The public inquiry into the scandal has uncovered dozens of covert recordings of senior Post Office staff – including Ms Vennells – discussing the scandal, according to The Times.Around 80 recordings will be sent to participants, including former Post Office postmasters, in the days ahead. “They’re conversations with Post Office top brass including Paula Vennells. It’s very damning,” an inquiry source said.Ms Vennells has reportedly hired the top legal firm Mishcon de Reya to represent her as she prepares to give evidence at the public inquiry later this year. She said in 2022 that she was “truly sorry for the suffering caused to wrongly prosecuted sub-postmasters and their families”.Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has “serious questions to answer” over his role in the Horizon IT scandal, former Post Office branch managers have said.Sir Ed Davey says he wishes he could have done more as Post Office minister Sir Ed, who was leader was postal affairs minister from 2010 to 2012 and has been accused of “fobbing off” victims. Jo Hamilton, who led a landmark appeal for postmasters, told The Times: “He always calls for other people’s resignations, now it’s time for him to look in the mirror.”The Lib Dem leader has taken to Twitter 31 times to call for public figures to resign their positions since becoming Lib Dem leader in April 2019. A spokesman for Sir Ed said “in hindsight he wishes he could have done more to help them”.Tory Treasury minister Bim Afolami told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the Lib Dem had a duty to explain why he did not “ask the right questions” while in government.But Sir Vince Cable, former Lib Dem leader, told the programme that Sir Ed was being made a “scapegoat” by the Tories because it is an election year.Nigel Farage said Sir Keir should explain why he did not intervene in the Horizon IT scandal while he was director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013. “He has serious questions to answer,” the ex-Brexit Party leader tweeted on X.There has been fresh public backlash to the scandal after ITV aired a drama about the scandal last week starring actor Toby Jones. Reports suggest since Mr Bates Vs The Post Office was broadcast, 50 new potential victims have approached lawyers.Scotland Yard said on Friday that officers are “investigating potential fraud offences arising out of these prosecutions”. The Metropolitan Police had already been looking into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice in relation to investigations carried out by the Post Office. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Rishi Sunak holds a question-and-answer session in northern England, the latest stop on a tour around the country to talk to voters before an election expected later this year.The prime minister has vowed to “continue to confront the difficult challenges” as parliament returns for 2024.A Downing Street source said Mr Sunak was determined to “not take the easy way out” in a year that is likely to see a general election.MPs returned to Westminster following their Christmas break on Monday 8 January.Mr Sunak said last week that it is his “working assumption” the UK will “have a general election in the second half of this year”.The stance opens the door for him to call a potential autumn general election.Over the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer said he suspected the prime minister was “putting vanity before country” by wanting to mark two years in power — an anniversary that falls on 25 October — before sending the country to the polls. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has been forced to defend his flagship Rwanda plan after leaked documents suggested he harboured significant doubts about the controversial scheme – and argued for it to be scaled back. The prime minister said it had been his job when chancellor to scrutinise “every proposal” that involved spending taxpayers’ money.He insisted that it would be “wrong” to infer from that that he did not back the policy to deport asylum seekers.But the prime minister repeatedly said he had not read the documents, leaked to the BBC, which have led to accusations he has been “conning” the public over the plan.Mr Sunak was unsure the plan would achieve its ultimate goal, to deter channel crossings in small boats, a month before it was unveiled by then prime minister Boris Johnson, according to the papers.He was also concerned about the cost of sending asylum seekers to the African country and wanted to limit the numbers.Labour have accused Mr Sunak of trying to con the public and called on the government to publish the papers. The row comes as the Tory leader faces a crunch battle with his own party to get new emergency legislation through the Commons, after the Supreme Court ruled his Rwanda plan unlawful.Losing the vote could place the future of the scheme and even Mr Sunak’s leadership in peril. MPs on the right of the party have warned Mr Sunak he faces electoral “oblivion” unless flights to Rwanda get airborne. His former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has also threatened to lead a parliamentary revolt to try to toughen the bill, warning if the PM did not strengthen the new laws then he would lay amendments next week to ensure they were “sufficiently robust”.Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Sunak said: “My job (was) to ask probing questions of every proposal that crossed my desk as chancellor.“Whether you have doubts about it or not, you shouldn’t come to it with a preconceived notion that everything is fine when you are spending taxpayers’ money, of course you shouldn’t.“You should always ask probing questions, you should always approach things from a position of scepticism to ensure that you get value for money for taxpayers. That is the job of the chancellor and the Treasury when things crossed their desk.“But to infer from that that I don’t believe in the scheme or the principle of deterrence is wrong. I was doing my job to get good value for money for taxpayers.“I went through that process, funded the scheme with the prime minister and, as prime minister myself, I have made sure that we have a similar deterrent working with Albania, and I have made the point that it is because Albania is working that we should have confidence that the Rwanda scheme will work too.”Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Mr Sunak had become the latest senior Conservative to indicate they “don’t believe the (Rwanda) plans will work”.Home secretary James Cleverly has not denied that he privately described the policy as “bat****”, before he was moved to the Home Office. More