UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email A fresh civil war has erupted within the Conservatives after a top ally of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson called for Rishi Sunak to be sacked and replaced.Former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke said the Tories would be “massacred” at the coming election unless the party had a new leader.But senior Tories lashed out at his “foolish” and “facile” move, while former defence secretary Ben Wallace warned it was “division and another PM [that] would lead to the certain loss of power”.As his attempted coup fizzled to a halt even his allies turned on him. Organisers made clear he would not now speak at a Popular Conservativism conference next month, even though the posters for the event feature his picture. A source told The Independent that they had “dumped” him.Supporters of Mr Sunak suspect the intervention by Sir Simon, who was levelling up secretary in Ms Truss’s cabinet and awarded a knighthood by Mr Johnson, is the latest evidence of a carefully planned right-wing plot against the PM.Sir Simon Clarke is leading calls for a new leader of the Conservative Party Tory loyalists said the orchestrated campaign to remove Mr Sunak included the following:A controversial poll last week organised by ex-Brexit minister Lord Frost which claimed the Conservatives faced a landslide election defeatLord Frost has refused to name shadowy Tory donors who paid for the survey in right-wing newspaper The Daily TelegraphSir Simon and fellow Sunak critic Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg have joined the new Popular Conservatism group, set up by Ms TrussThe moves follow a right-wing Tory revolt, in which Sir Simon played a key role, against the PM’s Rwanda billJohnson cheerleader Nadine Dorries greeted news of a possible leadership challenge to Sunak with a three-word post on Twitter/X: ‘And we’re off’Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Simon dubbed Mr Sunak’s leadership “uninspiring” and said he was “the main obstacle to our recovery”.He wrote: “The unvarnished truth is that Rishi Sunak is leading the Conservatives into an election where we will be massacred.”His piece prompted fury from MPs loyal to Mr Sunak but little support from those on the right of the party, including MPs worried the prime minister will lead them to electoral defeat. A leading member of one of the right-wing groups in the party said: “We did not know it was coming. There was no co-ordination with us.” He added he was not surprised MPs were not openly backing Sir Simon. “In politics you have to have a defined destination. But nobody knows where this would lead to. So why would you come out and say anything?” he said. Alongside Mr Clarke’s op-ed was a YouGov opinion poll, the second in as many weeks, this time suggesting a Tory leader with core Conservative policies could beat Labour. Former minister Lord Frost has commissioned a series of polls that have predicted crushing defeats for the Tories Critics were quick to point out both surveys was commissioned by the same group of shadowy Tory donors – known as the Conservative Britain Alliance – led by long-standing Sunak critic Lord Frost.Home secretary James Cleverly said it was “foolish” for Sir Simon to indulge in infighting, warning “all it would do is open the door” for Labour.Former minister Stephen Hammond also told him to shut up unless he wanted the “extinction” of the Tory party.Business minister Kevin Hollinrake admitted that “panic” in the Tory ranks was behind the move, telling Times Radio: “Of course, some people panic at a difficult time. [But] this is not the overwhelming view of the party.”There was very limited support for Sir Simon’s call. Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, who has previously called for Mr Sunak to go, predicted more letters calling for a leadership challenge would be submitted. Boris-backers the Conservative Democratic Organisation also said “urgent change” was needed. With his attempted rebellion effectively over Sir Simon took to the airwaves to cast himself as a soothsayer. He likened himself to a disliked man shouting “iceberg”, as he appeared to compare the Tories to the Titanic. Simon Clarke was a big backer of Liz Truss Amid the backlash against Sir Simon, Tory MPs also rounded on his allies. Conor Burns, a minister in Ms Truss’s short-lived government, said the former PM and her supporters should “shut up”. One senior Tory MP told The Independent that Sir Simon was “flying a kite that’s already broken” – and they did not expect many of his fellow right-wing Rwanda rebels to join him in his call.Other loyal Conservative MPs largely rallied around the PM. Senior Conservatives said Sir Simon had “lost his senses”. According to one report, one called Sir Simon a “self-indulgent tosser”.Former Tory minister Sir David Davis called his intervention “silly”. And Priti Patel, the right-wing former home secretary, said: “Engaging in facile and divisive self-indulgence only serves our opponents.”Former trade secretary Sir Liam Fox said those attempting to “destabilise the government in an election year should understand the consequences”.Tory minister Andrew Bowie used more choice language when he used a WhatsApp group to tell fellow Tory MPs to “get a f***ing grip”, according to The Times.Senior Tories also lampooned Sir Simon’s attempts. Former minister Tobias Ellwood accused the Truss loyalist of “throwing his teddies in the corner” because “his choice of prime minister is no longer in No 10”.With many MPs unhappy at the party’s ratings in the polls, there is still a risk more MPs will submit no-confidence letters in Mr Sunak to the 1922 committee of backbench MPs.One of the few who backed Sir Simon, Nadine Dorries, suggested that the foreign secretary Lord Cameron should return to Downing Street.Sir Simon with Rishi Sunak during visit to the University of LeedsBut The Independent understands former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, himself thought to be eyeing a leadership bid, does not intend to back Sir Simon. The row follows the most testing week of Mr Sunak’s premiership, in which he managed to stave off a right-wing rebellion on his flagship Rwanda legislation.Sixty conservative MPs signed rebel amendments to Mr Sunak’s legislation, dealing a serious blow to the prime minister’s authority. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe UK is “really unsafe” from future pandemic threats, a leading academic has told MPs.Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said he was concerned that not enough work was being done to research different viruses and bacteria which pose a threat.Sir Andrew, whose team created the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab during the pandemic, said there had already been “decades” of work into coronavirus vaccines before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.But “we are nowhere near the beginning of that starting gun” for other microbes, he told the Science and Technology Committee.We are really unsafe at this moment for future pandemic threats, because we just don’t have that knowledge base that you need to even start the gun as we did in 2020Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Oxford Vaccine Group“We already knew a lot about coronaviruses and how to make vaccines for them – there had been decades of research on coronavirus vaccines,” Sir Andrew said.“One of the problems that we have is most of those other microbes which are out there which could threaten us, we haven’t done any of that work.“If it were to take 10 or 20 years to do the research and development… we are nowhere near the beginning of that starting gun.“I think that’s one of the areas I see the most concern about… are we doing enough to look at the different families of viruses and bacteria which we already know are a threat but we don’t have enough understanding about?“And that work needs years of investment to try and move it forwards.”He added: “If you think about the defence against something unknown, which is clearly a really important way to think about pandemics, we don’t know when they’re going to happen – we’re pretty sure they will happen again, it might be in a year or it might be in 50 years.“Then you think about other types of defence we have such as military defence… I think the Government’s figures (are) about £45 billion investment in a year into defence – we recognise that we need to do stuff for peacetime, even though hopefully we don’t have to deploy that.“But for pandemics we’re putting a fraction of that, tiny fraction of that into preparedness.What we’ve seen is a whole list of incompetent decisions being madeDr Clive Dix, former UK Vaccine Taskforce chairman“And so for me, we are really unsafe at this moment for future pandemic threats, because we just don’t have that knowledge base that you need to even start the gun as we did in 2020 – and even then it took 11 months to have a vaccine.”Meanwhile the former chairman of the UK Vaccine Taskforce launched a scathing attack on the Government, telling MPs that ministers had “destroyed” almost all the work of the group of experts.Dr Clive Dix, former deputy chair of the taskforce who took over as chair in late 2020, said the UK had not built upon the successes of the taskforce, adding: “The reason the taskforce was formed was because there was no infrastructure to work across industry, academia and government to actually pull together what we did… What I’ve seen since April 2021 is a complete demise of all the activities that made that thing work, literally gone.“What we’ve seen is a whole list of incompetent decisions being made.”He said the Government trumpeted the success of the taskforce and then “destroyed almost everything that was going on”.Dr Dix, who is now chief executive at C4X Discovery, added: “We have less resilience now because a lot of the manufacturers have walked away from the UK because of how badly they were treated in the tail end of the Vaccine Taskforce.”He highlighted how the vaccine deal with French firm Valneva was terminated before the clinical trial results were even published, saying that the decision “nearly put the company on its knees”.Meanwhile Dr Dix criticised the UK for not having a “strong relationship” with British vaccine manufacturer GSK.UK experts in the field of pathogen genomics made a vital contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic response and pathogen genomics remains central to the national and international effort to keep the public safe from many other types of infectious disease threatsDame Jenny Harries, UKHSA Asked whether the right lessons have been learned by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Government, he said: “The lessons were learned by a small group of us that were running the Vaccine Taskforce, and it never really got transported into the current thinking of the Government.”Dr Dix also criticised ministers for putting key recommendations from the Vaccine Taskforce “on the shelf”.The committee also heard from experts behind the Lighthouse Laboratories – set up to aid diagnostics during the Covid-19 pandemic.Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, chief scientist at Health Scotland who was seconded to the Department of Health and Social Care to take on responsibilities for the Lighthouse Laboratories in 2020, said that putting the Rosalind Franklin Covid Laboratory in Leamington Spa up for sale was a “missed opportunity”.Professor Chris Molloy, chief executive of Medicines Discovery Catapult, who was director of the UK Lighthouse Labs network during the pandemic, said the UK needed to keep potential lab space to “fight the next war”.It comes as the UKHSA published its new Pathogen Genomics Strategy.The five-year plan outlines how the UKHSA intends to “integrate genomics into every aspect of infectious disease control”.UKHSA chief executive Dame Jenny Harries said: “UK experts in the field of pathogen genomics made a vital contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic response and pathogen genomics remains central to the national and international effort to keep the public safe from many other types of infectious disease threats, from tuberculosis to mpox and avian influenza.“We know it will become even more important in the years to come, and our new strategy will ensure that UKHSA continues to be at the forefront of implementing this technology to keep our communities safe, save lives and protect livelihoods.” More

Britain under Tories is ‘longest episode of Eastenders ever,’ says Keir Starmer Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour leader Sir Keir Starmer has claimed Rishi Sunak is being “bullied” by his own MPs and he used PMQs to mock the prime minister after a fresh Tory civil war erupted.Sir Keir said that Mr Sunak was “endlessly” fighting with his own party and that the more “they slag him off behind his back, the louder they cheer in here”.It comes after Liz Truss ally Sir Simon Clarke claimed that the Conservative Party could face “extinction” unless the prime minister resigns.Sir Simon, who served in the Treasury under Mr Sunak, made the intervention in the Daily Telegraph to urge his colleagues to sack the PM ahead of the looming general election, arguing that he “has sadly gone from asset to anchor”.Tory MPs have rounded on Sir Simon’s attempted coup, branding his move against Mr Sunak as “foolish” and “facile” – while another called him a “self-indulgent tosser”. A senior Conservative MP told The Independent that Sir Simon was “flying a kite that’s already broken” and that they did not expect fellow right-wingers to join his rebellion.Show latest update 1706107143Simon Clarke ‘wasting everyone’s time’, says Sunak allySenior Sunak allies said Sir Simon Clarke’s push against the PM had already fizzled out, with no-one new on the right calling for Sunak to be replaced, reports Political Correspondent Adam Forrest.One senior figure told The Independent: “Clarke is wasting everyone’s time. It’s going nowhere.” Another called Sir Simon was an “outlier”, saying they were confident he was not be followed by other MPs on the right.Adam Forrest, Political Correspondent24 January 2024 14:391706106023No 10: Simon Clarke is ‘one MP’No 10 described Sir Simon as “one MP” who was “in a different place to some other MPs”, reports Politics and Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin.However, Downing Street would not be drawn on whether or not they thought he was a ‘lone wolf’.But they said his intervention would not “distract us” Mr Sunak from getting on with “what matters to people”.Kate Devlin, Politics and Whitehall Editor24 January 2024 14:201706104823Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer trade personal insults during bruising PMQsRishi Sunak is being “bullied” by Tory MPs as they take part in the “longest episode of EastEnders ever put to film”, according to Sir Keir Starmer.The Prime Minister countered by branding Labour leader Sir Keir a “human weathervane” and attacked his work as a lawyer as the pair traded personal insults in the House of Commons.Mr Sunak arrived in the chamber to loud cheers from his MPs, just hours after former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke called for him to be replaced as leader to avoid a Conservative “massacre” at the general election.Richard Wheeler reports:Tara Cobham24 January 2024 14:001706103623Sir Simon is ‘in a different place to other MPs and won’t distract us’, says Downing StSir Simon Clarke is “in a different place to some other MPs” and his intervention “won’t distract us from getting on with what matters to people”, Downing Street said.The Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “The PM is just focused on the job, getting on with the key priorities that he’s set out for the country and that’s where he’s spending his time at the moment.”Asked whether Rishi Sunak would be talking with Sir Simon in the wake of his Telegraph op-ed, she said she would “never get into conversations between the Prime Minister and colleagues.”Number 10 insisted the Conservatives are united on the “big issues” such as lowering tax where it is responsible to do so, describing Sir Simon as a “known critic.”Asked whether Mr Sunak was worried about a wider revolt, she said: This is one MP. All I would say is Simon Clarke has set out his view in a paper today.“We recognise that he’s in a different place to some other MPs that have come out today. He’s entitled to his view but that won’t distract us from getting on with what matters to people.”Tara Cobham24 January 2024 13:401706102316No 10 refuses to deny Sunak has plans to bring back Anderson as Tory deputy chairDowning Street has refused to deny Rishi Sunak has plans to bring Lee Anderson back as Tory deputy chairman, saying Number 10 has a “lot of time” for him despite his resignation over the Rwanda Bill.Asked whether the prime minister would consider giving Mr Anderson his job back after he reportedly voiced regret over his abstention, Mr Sunak’s press secretary said it was “the PM’s prerogative to choose and when” who gets which jobs.“I think we can say that we have a lot of time for Lee. He made it clear that he had concerns but actually he really supports getting this deterrent up and running so it’s good to see him talking about that today,” she said.Mr Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith both quit as Conservative Party deputy chairs after siding with right-wing Tory MPs in backing the rebel amendments to Mr Sunak’s Rwanda bill. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLocal authorities in England are set to receive an emergency bailout from Rishi Sunak’s government following warnings that many councils are close to bankruptcy.A ministerial statement due to be made this afternoon will confirm upper tier councils will be handed an additional £500m for children’s and adult social care.Communities secretary Michael Gove is also expected to announce lower tier districts will receive a funding boost of approximately £30 to £40m.A senior council source said an 11th hour change to local finance settlement was unusual – but could stave off the immediate threat of bankruptcy faced in many areas.The move comes after a group of 40 Tory MPs – including Priti Patel and Robert Jenrick – put Mr Sunak under pressure to boost the £64bn funding settlement for on-the-brink councils ahead of this year’s general election.Dozens of backbenchers signed a letter to the PM warning that without emergency cash, many councils will be forced to cut crucial frontline services and hike council tax as voters go to the polls.The group – which also included leading ‘One Nation’ Tory moderate Damian Green – say they were “exceptionally concerned” about the crisis in local government and were “disappointed” it had not be addressed at chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement.Sunak and his communities secretary Michael Gove under pressure from Tory MPs Ben Bradley, the Tory MP for Mansfield and leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, had urged Mr Sunak and Mr Gove to provide extra cash. “There’s no point cutting national taxes just to see everybody’s council tax go up by the maximum,” he said.Mr Hunt could consider using some of the fiscal headroom – which predictions have put as high as £10bn – to cave to their demands for more council cash as he prepares for his 6 March Budget.While welcoming the extra cash, council chiefs believe that the new, last-minute extra £500m will only prevent a financial crisis in the short term. Finance bosses at seven councils have issued at least one section 114 notice – effectively declaring themselves bankrupt – since 2020, with three doing so last year.In December Nottingham City Council became the latest to issue a section 114 notice, saying it was set to overspend by £23m in 2023-24.But almost one in five council leaders think it is likely that they will need to issue a section 114 notice this year, according to a survey by the Local Government Association (LGA).The emergency notices are an acknowledgment that the local authority cannot balance its books as required by law and lead to a freeze on non-essential spending on services.Mr Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the £64bn pledged was a real-terms increase of 6.5 per cent for councils on average.However, the total spending power available to councils includes council tax increases, meaning residents pay more for everyday services.District council leaders also held an emergency meeting in Westminster on Tuesday to urge the government to rethink the settlement due to the rising costs of tacking homelessness.A group of local authorities said Mr Gove’s funding settlement disproportionately benefits richer areas and fail to take into account a range of growing demand pressures.Sigoma – which represents 47 urban councils in some of the most deprived areas in England – said it was set before the full emergence of severe problems such as workforce pressures and spiralling costs in a “broken” children’s social care market. 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 faces Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 24 January, after a senior Tory called for his resignation.Sir Simon Clarke, who served in the Treasury while the now-prime minister was chancellor, said that Mr Sunak “is leading the Conservatives into an election where [they] will be massacred”.“If we change the leader to a prime minister who shares the instincts of the majority and is willing to lead the country in the right direction, we will recover strongly in 2024,” the MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland wrote in the Telegraph.Other senior Tories have warned against more damaging infighting before the public go to the polls this year.Home secretary James Cleverly said it would be “foolish” to have further dissent within the party, arguing that it would leave the door open to Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour party.Former defence secretary Ben Wallace echoed Mr Cleverly in dismissing Sir Simon’s call to oust Mr Sunak.“Division and another PM would lead to the certain loss of power,” he said. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJeremy Hunt’s economic forecasts last year were based on “questionable assumptions” and beyond “a work of fiction”, the public finance watchdog has warned.Richard Hughes, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, made the scathing intervention at the House of Lords economic affairs committee yesterday, warning the chancellor had left himself a “tiny” margin for error against the UK government’s debt-reduction rules.Mr Hughes said that policymaking could be improved if chancellors gave themselves a larger margin for error, warning that the current projected headroom “is very small relative to the forecast errors inherent in any forecasting process, including ours”.He said that the £13bn budget headroom forecast in November for the autumn statement was vulnerable to changing assumptions on interest rates and data revisions.Mr Hughes also said that he was disappointed that he was asked to provide a forecast to be published alongside Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement back in November without being given any information about Whitehall departmental budgets, apart from a headline figure that showed them having fallen over five years.Office for Budget Responsibility provide a forecast to assist the Chancellor in his upcoming budget He told the Committee that the OBR’s forecasts were based on “questionable assumptions” and that some people called his projections “a work of fiction”.He said November’s estimates were “a tiny number compared to the risks you face” and that historically, UK governments have tended to go “very close to the wire” when it came to fiscal rules.The headroom figure is a measure of how much budgetary margin Hunt has to meet his target of reducing the ratio of government debt to GDP in five years’ time, and is vital for determining the extent to which the government can cut taxes or increase public spending.Fresh speculation around the prospect of tax giveaways has been high this week, as both Mr Hunt and Rishi Sunak have stoked up expectations that government may have use the expected headroom for tax cuts.Last week at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Hunt hinted heavily that more tax cuts are on the way, saying that tax cuts would be “very pro-growth”.Mr Hunt hinted at the prospect of tax cuts during his visit to Davos last week Official figures released on Friday showed that Hunt may have as much as £20bn spare in his March budget, based on higher-than-expected tax receipts and lower inflation and reductions in interest rates.The government is expected to use this windfall to commit to tax cuts rather than large increases of public spending, in order to satiate demands from the right of the Conservative party and stoke favour with the public in the run up to a general election.The Treasury said: “While we have doubled our headroom since March, from £6.5 billion to £13 billion, it remains low by historical standards and can be wiped out by changing economic conditions.” It added: “That’s why we must stick to our plan to reduce debt by growing the economy and being responsible with spending.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDavid Cameron will meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders during a visit to the Middle East in a bid to ease the “desperate” situation in Gaza. The foreign secretary will hold talks with Benjamin Netanyahu in which he will raise concerns about the high number of civilian casualties and call for more and faster action to get life-saving aid into the besieged enclave. He is also expected to press the need for water, fuel and electricity to be restored as he calls for an “urgent humanitarian pause” . And he will reiterate demands that Hamas agree to release of all hostages and give up control of Gaza, as well as hold talks with Qatar and Turkey. He will arrive in the Middle East as tensions run high, following deadliest day for Israeli forces of the Gaza war. President Netanyahu is also facing increasing pressure over his leadership and his handling of the war effort. Rishi Sunak has resisted calls to back an immediate ceasefire, arguing for ‘humanitarian pauses’ to allow politicians to build a cessation in the fighting that can last. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: “No-one wants to see this conflict go on a moment longer than necessary. An immediate pause is now necessary to get aid in and hostages out. The situation is desperate. “This week I am in the Middle East working with partners to help build a plan to move from that pause to a sustainable, permanent ceasefire without a return to hostilities. “Such a plan would require Hamas to agree to the release of all hostages, Hamas to no longer be in charge of Gaza launching rocket attacks at Israel, and an agreement in place for the Palestinian Authority to return to Gaza in order to provide governance and services and, increasingly, security.” Twenty-four people were killed on Monday in the deadliest day for Israeli forces in its three-month war against Hamas, as Palestinian casualties also continue to climb. During his visit Lord Cameron will travel to Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as Qatar and Turkey, both key players in the region. In Israel, the Foreign Secretary will also speak to the Israeli foreign minister as he calls for more crossing points for aid to be opened for longer. Foreign secretary Lord Cameron (James Manning/PA)He will also meet President Abbas from the Palestinian Authority to highlight the UK’s long-term support for a two-state solution. In Qatar, he is expected to hold talks on efforts to secure the safe release of hostages, pressing the cases of British and dual nationals. The war has displaced an estimated 85 per cent of Gaza’s population and left more than 25,000 Palestinians dead, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.The United Nations and international aid agencies also warn the fighting has caused a humanitarian disaster, with a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people facing starvation. More