Sunak appoints ‘safe pair of hands’ Shapps as Defence Secretary…
“Grant Shapps has been appointed UK defence secretary, moving to his fifth cabinet job in a year, following the resignation of Ben Wallace. Prime minister Rishi Sunak promoted Shapps, 54, to run the Ministry of Defence after Wallace formally stepped down on Thursday, having first announced his intention to do so in July…The limited changes by the prime minister to his top team and his reliance on loyalists underscored a “safety first” approach, as the Conservative party trails Labour by an average of 18 percentage points in opinion polls. However, the “mini-shuffle” leaves the path open for Sunak to conduct a bigger shake up later this year as he prepares for a general election expected in 2024…” – The Financial Times
- Wallace ‘issues warning to the Prime Minister’ as he formally quits – The Sun
- Shapps warned he ‘faces battle to protect defence spending from Treasury axe’ – The I
- He says he’ll ‘fight for the military’ in his new role – The Times
- ‘Top brass’ warn ‘Sunak ally’ knows ‘very little’ about military – The Daily Mail
- Shapps is a ‘slick survivor’ with a ‘taste for party wargames’ – The Times
- Sunak’s reshuffle ‘suggests he doesn’t fully control the Tory party’ – The I
- The Conservatives must capitalise on defence – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
- The new Defence Secretary inherits the smallest army in two centuries, and a budget strained by inflation, procurement disasters, and the cost of aiding Ukraine – Editorial, The Times
- Shapps must not prioritise his loyalty to the Prime Minister over Ministry of Defence funding needs – Editorial, The Sun
- The ‘real reason’ Sunak has put his ‘Swiss Army knife’ minister in charge of defence – David Maddox, Daily Express
>Yesterday:
…as ‘loyalist’ Coutinho becomes the new Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary…
“Claire Coutinho has been appointed as Rishi Sunak’s new energy secretary, becoming the first of the 2019 intake of Tory MPs to take a seat around the cabinet table. The MP for Surrey East is a firm ally of Sunak. She was his first special adviser when he became chief secretary to the Treasury in 2019, and this year she co-hosted a summer gathering for Sunak loyalists and junior ministers. During last summer’s leadership race Coutinho, 38, who has also served as Sunak’s PPS, was constantly at his side as he made the rounds of MPs. But her appointment will be about more than just loyalty. There has long been a desire in No 10 to promote more ambitious, younger women into cabinet jobs, and Coutinho fits the bill.” – The Times
- Promotion of Coutinho ‘hints at’ a ‘more conservative approach to Net Zero’ – The Daily Telegraph
- New Energy Security Secretary is ‘one of Sunak’s closet allies’ and ‘first of 2019 intake to run a ministry’ – The Financial Times
- Who is Coutinho? – The Daily Telegraph
- What the new Energy Security Secretary ‘means for the UK’s Net Zero push’, according to campaigners – The I
- Starmer and Sunak set for battle on Net Zero – Katy Balls, The Times
- The Prime Minister had played his last, best card. Now he must pray for a miracle – Fraser Nelson, The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
…and as he faces ‘Tory revolt’ over ‘fears he could hand India thousands of student visas’ in ‘bumper trade deal’
“Rishi Sunak is facing a fresh Tory migration revolt — as MPs fear he will hand India thousands of student visas in a bumper trade deal. The two countries are on course to seal an agreement in the coming weeks, which could give the green light for thousands more arrivals — on top of the 606,000 who came last year. Insiders fear the PM has all but agreed to cave in to Narendra Modi’s demands in exchange for slashing tariffs on UK goods and giving our service industry access to India’s lucrative markets. Mr Sunak is due to fly to India for G20 meetings in a fortnight and hopes to seal a trade deal with the country’s prime minister ahead of UK elections next year. But Tory Red Wall and New Conservative Group MPs are furious with another increase in migrant numbers…” – The Sun
- Sunak facing ‘ultimate car crash election’ as new poll puts Tories at historic low – Daily Express
Claiming sickness benefits ‘to be made harder’ by Stride
“Claiming benefits because of being deemed too sick to work is going to be made significantly harder under plans set to be announced by the Government next week. Ministers will reveal that they want to reform work capability assessments, which determine whether someone is fit enough for employment. The plans will attempt to cut the 2.4 million people who receive sickness benefits but are given no support to get them back into work because of their health. The figure has grown by 40 per cent over the last decade…Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has championed the changes, with Rishi Sunak having called for reforms to help more people to move from welfare support into work.” – The Daily Telegraph
Junior doctors in England to join consultants in NHS strike in “callous and calculated disruption” according to Barclay
“Junior doctors in England will join consultants in the first co-ordinated strike action by both groups of medics in the NHS’s 75-year history, a dramatic escalation of their dispute with the government over pay. The first of the mass walkouts, which were branded “callous and calculated” by health secretary Stephen Barclay, will take place on September 20, followed by a three-day strike…during the ruling Conservative party’s annual conference. The BMA, the doctors’ union, said its members would only offer an emergency “Christmas Day” service over the four days, while both groups of clinicians also planned further separate industrial action. The union announced the co-ordinated move after junior doctors voted 98 per cent in favour of continuing their strike…” – The Financial Times
‘Dozens’ of schools ordered to turn pupils away due to ‘crumbling concrete’
“Dozens of schools have been ordered to close because they face a risk of collapse from crumbling concrete, leaving thousands of pupils unable to return. The decision was made after the Department for Education (DfE) was told that several buildings, including in schools, had given way recently “without warning”. The government said any schools confirmed to have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a weak form implicated in a school roof collapse in 2018, could not open without mitigations and may have to teach online or in alternative buildings. It first started surveying schools about the possible presence of RAAC in 2021, and last year began assessing 600 where it was suspected to have been used.” – The Times
- Gibb ‘unsure’ how many schools will be forced to shut – Daily Express
- ‘At least 700,000 pupils’ are already affected – The Daily Mail
- Patel ‘slams’ the Government for ‘information vacuum’ – The I
Dorries’ book on Johnson’s downfall ‘delayed due to legal issues’
“Nadine Dorries’ book on the downfall of Boris Johnson will be delayed until November because of “the required legal process”, the publisher has said. The former culture secretary, who resigned as an MP last weekend, has been writing a book on her staunch ally, which had been scheduled for release on 28 September, just before the Conservative party conference in Manchester. It will now be released on 9 November, HarperCollins said. The publisher said a “small delay is necessary to allow for the huge volume of material the author has consulted, the number of high-level sources spoken to and the required legal process needed to share her story”… She has previously accused Rishi Sunak of “duplicitously and cruelly” blocking her from getting a peerage.” – The Guardian
- The former Cabinet minister reveals ‘it makes House of Cards look tame’ – The Daily Mail
- The Liberal Democrats ‘aim to force’ earliest available by-election to replace Dorries – Daily Express
Sandbach ‘threatens legal action’ after being names as slave owner’s descendant
“A former Tory MP has threatened the University of Cambridge with legal action after a historian named her as the descendant of a merchant who enslaved his ancestors, The Times understands.Malik al Nasir, a third-year PhD student at St Catharine’s College, linked Antoinette Sandbach, the former Conservative MP for Eddisbury, to Samuel Sandbach, who had a stake in plantations in the West Indies during the 19th century, in a TED talk in 2021.While Sandbach expressed support for Nasir’s research, she said that there is no public interest in identifying her as his descendant and accused him of singling her out among other living relatives of slave owners. The Times understands that she has threatened to take legal action against the university…” – The Times
RSPB trustees turn on charity over tweet branding Sunak a ‘liar’
“Trustees of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have condemned a tweet that branded Rishi Sunak a “liar”. The charity has been embroiled in an escalating row since it launched a furious social media attack on the Prime Minister and his Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Therese Coffey on Wednesday night. In a series of Twitter posts, the RSPB pictured the trio alongside “LIARS!” in bold red capital letters, and told them: “You lie, and you lie, and you lie again. And we’ve had enough.” The thread took aim at the Government for trying to remove anti-pollution EU laws on nutrient neutrality that prevent developers polluting rivers, to allow more than 100,000 new homes to be built. Senior sources at the charity claimed a junior staff member went rogue…” – The Daily Telegraph
Labour plots ‘purge of troublesome MPs’ before next election
“Labour is preparing a purge of troublesome MPs by blocking them from standing at the next election. Up to a dozen MPs could be in the crosshairs as Sir Keir Starmer draws up plans for a standards crackdown to make the party fit for government. A Labour spokesman said: “The public rightly expect the highest standards from their MPs. With Keir’s changed Labour Party, that’s what they’ll get.” Labour has overhauled their selection process for new candidates with stricter due diligence checks to try to ensure the party is not humiliated in choosing unsuitable future MPs. This has been extended to whether current MPs should be allowed to stand again if they have been found to have fallen short.” – The Times
- Hackney mayor suspended by Labour after ‘a photo emerged of him partying with paedophile councillor’ – The Daily Mail
News in Brief:
- I watched society collapse at Stanstead airport – James Innes-Smith, The Spectator
- Shapps inherits an army in decay – Henry Hill, UnHerd
- One cheer for Wallace – William Atkinson, The Critic
- If healthcare ‘privatisation’ killed people, most of Europe would be dead – Kristian Niemietz, CapX
- Kruger: “The moral condition of England is worse” – Will Lloyd, The New Statesman
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