Sunak 1) The Prime Minister ‘wins no credit from voters’ for lower inflation
“Voters do not think Rishi Sunak is responsible for reducing inflation even though he said last week that his plan was behind the rate falling to its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine. A YouGov poll…found that only 8 per cent of voters credited government policy for the fall in inflation, which dropped to 6.8 per cent last month, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics last week. More people, 17 per cent, believe the Bank of England is responsible despite criticism of its response to high inflation. In June Jeremy Hunt…blamed flaws in the Bank’s economic forecasting after it failed to get a grip on runaway inflation. The polling suggests that the most commonly believed reason for the fall in inflation is external factors such as global oil and gas prices.” – The Times
- Earned income taxed twice as heavily as capital gains for some in UK, study finds – The Guardian
- A short-term approach from government is harming the economy – Andrew Sentence, The Times
- The real reason for the Banks’s counterproductive rate rise – Liam Halligan, The Daily Telegraph
Sunak 2) He ‘fumbles’ Lionesses commiserations message
“Rishi Sunak fumbled his message to England’s Lionesses after their World Cup final defeat on Sunday when he told them: “You left nothing out there.” The Prime Minister was mocked for the tweet he sent to the England team after they lost 1-0 to Spain. While attempting to say that Sarina Wiegman’s team had made every possible effort to win, Mr Sunak appeared to suggest the opposite by writing: “You left absolutely nothing out there, @Lionesses.”… The gaffe was quickly seized upon by opposition politicians, with Angela Eagle, a senior Labour backbencher, tweeting in response: “I think the phrase is ‘absolutely everything’, Prime Minister.”… Mr Sunak had sent an open letter to the Lionesses before kick-off on Sunday, saying he would be “watching and cheering” the team on.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Frazer defends the Prince of Wales over non-attendance – The Daily Mail
- The story of England’s 2023 World Cup, from heartache to glory and back again – The I
- Football is a woman’s game – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
- Even in defeat, take pride in our Lionesses – Editorial, The Daily Mail
- Still a triumph – Editorial, The Sun
- The magnificent Lionesses just came up short against a superb Spain team – Editorial, The Times
- This wasn’t about the score – it was about a future forged by women. The fact our Lionesses lost wasn’t as important as they way they played the game – Julie Burchill, The Daily Mail
- The Lionesses have done something momentous – and Prince William should have taken his daughter to see it – Bryony Gordon, The Daily Telegraph
- Earps’ howl of defiance after her World Cup final penalty save spoke for every woman who’s been sidelined in man’s world – Sarah Vine, The Daily Mail
- Sunak and Starmer’s condescending messages to the Lionesses quickly looked ridiculous – Ian Dunt, The I
- Lionesses have inspired a new generation and made a mockery of past prejudices – Leo McKinstry, Daily Express
Sunak 3) Poll suggests leaving ECHR would ‘cost the Tories votes’
“Less than a quarter of the public think Britain should leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), according to a new poll. It also found that pledging to leave the ECHR at the election would lose twice as many votes for the Conservatives as they would gain from the promise. The polling, carried out last week by More in Common, a think tank, found that 49 per cent want Britain to remain a member of the convention, which Winston Churchill helped to create…Leaving the ECHR was only supported by 23 per cent of people. The same proportion said they did not know. Forty-one per cent said that a Conservative pledge to leave the ECHR would make them less likely to vote Conservative. Only a quarter — 26 per cent — said it would make them more likely to do so.” – The Times
- ‘Anti-woke’ policies not a priority for Tory voters, poll shows as Sunak urged to focus on economy – The I
>Today:
Coutinho calls on landlords to let tenants use homes to run childminding businesses
“Landlords have been urged to allow tenants to run childminding businesses from home to ease the childcare crisis. Claire Coutinho, the children’s minister, has written to developers, social landlords and housing associations, calling on them to allow childminders to work from their rented properties. She has warned that too often, prospective childminders face restrictive clauses in contracts which stop them from working in their homes. The Government wants private landlords to participate in welcoming childminders as well as social landlords. However, a Department for Education spokesman said it was recognised that private landlords may be restricted by mortgage conditions and insurance policies.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Aviva chief calls for extension of cap on fire-safety costs to England’s low-rises – The Financial Times
Truss was ‘refused bank account’ for Tory leadership campaign…
“Liz Truss was refused a Monzo account for her Conservative leadership campaign because of her status as a politically exposed person (PEP), it has been claimed. Sources close to the former prime minister confirmed that she was “de-banked” during last summer’s contest, which eventually saw her raise £500,000. It is alleged that Monzo refused a request from the Truss campaign team to host its account but declined to give a reason for the decision, meaning the team went elsewhere… Under regulations covering payment accounts that date back to British membership of the European Union, banks must consider whether PEPs are more susceptible to involvement in bribery or corruption because of their positions.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Monzo denies refusing Truss an account over politics – The Times
…as she joins Patel in pressuring Number 10 over ‘cancel culture’ campaign
“Rishi Sunak has been urged to intervene after the culture department backed a campaign that has been linked to a boycott of right-wing media outlets. A group of 46 Conservative MPs have written to the prime minister after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport suggested that the Conscious Advertising Network helped to protect “brand safety”. Britain’s five biggest advertising agencies are among the network’s members and together make up 60 per cent of UK advertising revenue. In the letter the MPs, which include Liz Truss, the former prime minister, and Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary, said that the five advertising agencies had boycotted GB News. The network’s co-founders were members of Stop Funding Hate, a left-wing campaign group…” – The Times
Ministers are ‘under pressure’ to rip up ‘soft’ Home Office rules on staff dealing with asylum seekers’ claims
“Ministers are under pressure to rip up soft Home Office rules ordering staff not to be sceptical about asylum seekers’ claims. Assessors are also told that a lie by a claimant should not mean their application is booted out. Some Tory MPs rounded on the Government over guidance stating migrants are not obliged to answer questions they find “upsetting”. There is also concern over the use of video call interviews rather than face-to-face grillings by assessors. Ex-Cabinet Minister David Davis said: “The case workers should be deeply sceptical and be on the look-out for fraud and abuse.” An extra 700 case workers are being recruited — bringing the total to 2,500 — in a bid to clear the backlog of 170,000 claims.” – The Sun
- More than £300 million to be spent on new detention centres for 1,000 Channel migrants – Daily Express
- Braverman must urgently review her department as it is tying both hands behind its own back – Editorial, The Sun
- The Home Office is gripped by turmoil and woke ideology – Leo McKinstry, Daily Express
Calls for ‘investigation into Dorries’ over failure to quit as MP
“A campaign group has written to the standards watchdog asking for an investigation into Nadine Dorries after its poll suggested more than half of people believe her absence as an MP and failure to quit has significantly damaged parliament’s reputation. Tom Brake, the director of Unlock Democracy, called for an inquiry after the group commissioned an Opinium survey that found 55% of people thought Dorries had caused significant damage by failing to speak in parliament and delaying her decision to quit. The survey, which involved 2,000 people, said Dorries announced she was stepping down with immediate effect in early June but has yet to officially quit. It mentioned that she has not spoken in parliament in more than a year despite being paid her full salary as an MP…” – The Guardian
Lisa Haseldine: Putin is breeding a new generation of Russian militants
“The Kremlin wants compliance not only from its adult citizens. In two weeks, Russian children will start the new school year with a revamped curriculum designed to give them a “patriotic” education. They will be issued with new textbooks teaching them about the “special military operation” and be taught how to handle Kalashnikovs, grenades and drones. Anecdotal reports suggest there are plenty of teachers more than happy to facilitate this dissemination of the Kremlin’s world view, indoctrinating a new generation of cannon fodder in an isolationist, jingoistic mindset. Undoubtedly, this brainwashing will make it all the more difficult to “de-Putinise” Russians once the president and his regime are gone from power – whenever that may be.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Russian probe destroyed in lunar crash – The Times
Labour 1) Starmer ‘gives Gray her first task’: plot Whitehall revamp
“Sue Gray will be told to draw up plans for an overhaul of Whitehall when she starts work for Sir Keir Starmer next month. The former senior civil servant has been cleared to take over as the Labour leader’s chief of staff from early September and The Times understands that her first task will be developing a blueprint for rewiring government to deliver Starmer’s plans. Starmer is said to be sceptical of the civil service’s ability to deliver his agenda and the controversial appointment of Gray was designed to ensure his team was led by someone who knew how to get things done in government. He is expected to ask Rishi Sunak next month for permission to start formal talks with the civil service about [how] it would carry out Labour’s plans for government…” – The Times
- Voters won’t accept ‘economic destruction’ to reach Net Zero, Starmer warned – The Daily Telegraph
- Labour looks lost in plans for government without money to spend – Philip Collins, The Times
- Starmer’s Britain? Like the political wasteland known as Wales and divided London – Trevor Kavanagh, The Sun
Labour 2) Khan faces backlash after website says white family ‘doesn’t represent real Londoners’
“Sadiq Khan is facing calls to apologise after the Mayor of London’s website said a photograph of a white family “doesn’t represent real Londoners”. Mr Khan was forced to distance himself from the “inappropriate” comment, which formed part of an official guide to his and Greater London Authority (GLA) branding. The document included various pictures as examples of what should and should not be used while marketing Mr Khan’s activities and the work of City Hall. One of these depicted a young white family holding hands as they walked on the banks of the Thames in central London, with the London Eye and Parliament in the background… By contrast, a photo of Mr Khan surrounded by volunteers from a range of ethnic backgrounds was given the green light.” – The Daily Telegraph
- His deputy ‘helped scientist play down ULEZ study’ – The Times
- Khan just wants to hush up reports that don’t suit his agenda in a shameful assault on the integrity of the scientific community – Peter Fortune, The Daily Mail
‘Splits widen’ in independence ranks as MacNeil criticises SNP
“Divisions at the top of the independence movement are widening after an MP kicked out of the SNP attacked the “high and mighty” Scottish government and a Green minister branded nationalist critics unintelligent and out of touch. In a move that will further distance him from his former party, Angus MacNeil, who was expelled from the SNP after refusing to rejoin the Westminster group following a one-week suspension, will speak at a public event alongside Alex Salmond tonight. The former first minister has been rejected by his party after a bitter fallout with his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, over harassment claims. Salmond was later cleared in court of all criminal allegations. In a dig at both Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, the first minister, MacNeil criticised the SNP leadership…” – The Times
- He ‘blasts’ his ex-party’s ‘high and mighty’ approach to controversial fishing plans – Daily Express
Menstruation ‘isn’t just a women’s issue’, say Lib Dems
“Menstruation is “not just a women’s issue”, Liberal Democrat activists have said in a motion chosen to be debated at their party conference next month. Sir Ed Davey’s party will vote on a policy proposal that insists period poverty is an issue that affects “some trans and non-binary people” in addition to biological women. An agenda published by the Liberal Democrats for their annual gathering in Bournemouth includes a motion on period poverty which is to be debated on Sept 23… A motion was tabled at the party’s spring conference in March which would have amended the party’s constitution to remove all references to self-ID and non-binary people. However, this was ignored by grassroots activists who moved to ignore the motion entirely…” – The Daily Telegraph
- Gladstone’s descendants to apologise for family role in slavery – The Times
- Former Green deputy sues party after being sacked amid row over his trans views – The Daily Telegraph
- Labour is desperately backtracking from this self-ID mess – Iain Macwhirter, The Times
News in Brief:
- Young people don’t even know they’re being taken for a ride – Louise Perry, The Spectator
- The cruelty of Canadas’s euthanasia policy – Lionel Shriver, UnHerd
- What does diversity mean? – Anna Richards, The Critic
- Monstrous births – Alys Denby, CapX
- The Tory selection doom loop – William Atkinson, The New Statesman
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