Zelenskyy makes first visit to the UK since Russian invasion
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will arrive in the UK today, in his first visit since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Downing Street said he would be holding meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and make a speech in Parliament.” – BBC
Reshuffle 1) Shapps is the new Energy Secretary. Hands becomes the Conservative Party Chairman
“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has appointed Grant Shapps as the new energy and net zero secretary in a shake-up of government departments. The former department which covered business and energy has been broken up as part of the reorganisation. Greg Hands has replaced Nadhim Zahawi after the former Tory party chairman was sacked over his tax affairs. A promotion also comes for Lucy Frazer who will head a streamlined department of culture, media, and sport.” – BBC
- A big opportunity for Badenoch – Leader, Daily Telegraph
- We welcome the Government establishing a new department dedicated to Britain’s energy security – Leader, The Sun
- PM claims changes will help make energy cheaper – The Sun
- A shake-up made in California, but Rishi is looking long-term when quick wins are what he needs – Jason Groves, Daily Mail
>Today: Columnist Peter Franklin: There’s a void where Tory economic thinking should be, and Truss’s bad ideas are filling it
>Yesterday:
Reshuffle 2) Anderson appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
“Rishi Sunak has appointed “Red Wall Rottweiler” Lee Anderson as the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. The pro-Brexit MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire was brought in as deputy to Greg Hands, the new chairman, who backed Remain in 2016. Mr Anderson, a former miner, has attracted controversy over his criticism of England footballers for taking the knee and remarks that food bank users “cannot budget”.” – Daily Telegraph
Reshuffle 3) Critics say creating new departments will be costly and disruptive
“Government experts warned that changes to the machinery of government were often costly, disruptive and failed to improve outcomes. Alex Thomas, from the Institute for Government think tank, told Times Radio: “It is rare that a machinery of government change really makes a difference and is actually worth the cost of making that change. “It’s sometimes worth making these changes, but I would really emphasise the cost.” Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, representing senior civil servants, added: “Ask any civil servant and they’ll tell you it’s policy that makes a difference, not the letterhead on departmental notepaper.” – The Times
- A distraction that most voters couldn’t care less about – Chris Smyth, The Times
- Whitehall overhaul fraught with risk, say former ministers – Financial Times
- The government will be judged on results – Leader, The Times
Former civil servant attacks Raab in anonymous interview
“A former senior civil servant who worked closely with Dominic Raab has described his behaviour as “nasty and difficult”. In an anonymous interview with BBC Newsnight, he accuses the deputy prime minister and justice secretary of using “demeaning tactics to make himself the most powerful person in the room”. Mr Raab is being investigated by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC over claims of bullying.” – BBC
- If being demanding makes Raab a ‘bully’, our society is in trouble – Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph
Russian spies hack email account of SNP MP
“An MP has told the BBC his emails have been stolen and he fears they will be made public. The SNP’s Stewart McDonald said the hack took place in January and he wanted to pre-empt any publication sharing them. The group responsible are believed to be linked to Russia’s spy services. The UK’s cyber-defence agency has warned about targeted attacks on politicians in recent weeks. On 13 January Mr McDonald was walking down the street when he received a notification on his phone.” – BBC
Peers defeat restrictions on protestors blocking roads
“The House of Lords has overturned plans to clamp down on protest marches that cause too much disruption. The government had proposed giving police powers to stop protesters using tactics such as blocking roads and slow marching before disruption takes place. Critics had described proposals as an attack on the right to protest. Peers removed the plans from the Public Order Bill on Tuesday. Ministers cannot re-add the policy when the bill returns to the House of Commons.” – BBC
Proposal for recognition and compensation for MPs who lose seats
“MPs who lose elections should be given bigger payoffs to help them land new jobs, a parliamentary committee has suggested. In a new report, a cross-party group of MPs pointed to the more generous German system – where parliamentarians can receive a resettlement package of up to £162,000 on leaving office – as a potential model. The administration committee said the House should also consider presenting departing MPs with a “medallion of service” at a special reception with family and friends.” – Daily Telegraph
Think tank predicts Britain “will avoid recession”
“A think tank has forecast that Britain will avoid a technical recession not only in the final three months of 2022 but throughout 2023. The economy will grow by 0.2 per cent this year, according to the latest prediction by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Its expectation of mild growth in each quarter suggests the country will not meet the criteria of two consecutive three-month periods of negative growth needed to count as a recession.” – The Times
>Today: Columnist John Redwood: The Bank of England’s true role in economic policy demands much greater scrutiny
Major warns against quitting ECHR
“Quitting the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to tackle illegal migration would tarnish Britain’s global reputation, Sir John Major has warned. The former prime minister – who had once considered a partial opt-out when the court threatened to stop him from banning an erotic film – urged Rishi Sunak not to leave the Strasbourg-based court. His intervention will reignite a fractious debate within the Tory party over how to respond to the Channel migrants crisis.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: Showdown in Strasbourg – how Sunak’s big move on small boats could play out
Drop in backing for a referendum among Scottish independence supporters
“Support for holding a referendum on Scottish independence in the coming months has plummeted among Yes voters, according to new polling. Research carried out by YouGov between January 23 and 26 found that backing for a referendum this year stands at 52 per cent among people who voted Yes in 2014, a fall of 13 points since December. The new research was released as senior SNP figures poured cold water on Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to hold a “de facto” constitutional contest.” – The Times
- Salmond says people ‘laughing’ at Sturgeon over her gender reform – Daily Express
Tax private schools like meal in a restaurant, says Shadow Chancellor
“Private school fees should be taxed in the same way as eating in a restaurant, the shadow chancellor has said. Rachel Reeves said “every penny” of the proceeds of Labour’s plan to levy VAT on independent school fees would be spent on state education. Rishi Sunak accused Sir Keir Starmer last year of “attacking the aspiration of millions of hard-working people” by pledging to remove the charitable status of private schools. The policy would mean they would lose their VAT exemptions and would face paying business rates.” – The Times
Hunt warned over defence spending
“Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been warned troops risk turning into “cannon fodder” unless he spends billions more on the Army. The Treasury and MoD are at loggerheads over next month’s Budget. Insiders say Mr Hunt is prepared to replenish £2.3billion of military stockpiles — including tanks and guns — handed to Ukraine last year to fight the Russian invaders. And he could find £300million to reverse plans to reduce the Army to just 73,000-strong, its smallest size for 300 years. But one Ministry of Defence source yesterday branded that a “sticking plaster PR stunt that would produce sub-par fighters”.” – The Sun
>Yesterday: Events: Join us for the ConservativeHome Defence & Security Conference
NHS waiting lists “won’t fall until next year”
“Waiting lists will start to fall only from the middle of next year because hospitals are failing to deliver on operations and appointments, a report warns. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests the number of patients waiting for care will ‘more or less flatline’ for the next 12 months. This threatens to leave patients in agony for longer than necessary and undermine government and NHS England targets, it adds.” – Daily Mail
- NHS integrated care at risk from longstanding failings, warn MPs – Financial Times
Gove’s Department “banned from capital spending”
“Michael Gove’s Whitehall department has been banned from making spending decisions on new capital projects without specific permission from the Treasury, after concerns were raised about the ministry’s ability to deliver value for money. The government’s move to regain control of the finances of the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities comes after widespread concerns over delivery of the flagship policy to reduce regional economic divides. That agenda, a central theme of the Conservative party’s 2019 election campaign, includes distributing multiple grants, worth more than £8bn, through a system that has been criticised by local authorities for its complex bidding processes and delays in allocation. John Glen, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has now stepped in to prevent DLUHC from signing off spending on any new capital projects, because of concerns about whether the department is delivering value for money.” – Financial Times
Biden’s State of the Union address indicates re-election bid
“Joe Biden touted America’s economic resurgence from the pandemic in a pitch to blue-collar workers in a State of the Union address that appeared to lay the ground for his 2024 re-election bid. The US president urged unity to “finish the job” of rebuilding the economy and celebrated bipartisan achievements over the last two years but appeared to revel in jousting with raucous Republicans who heckled him at times…Mr Biden, who is expected to announce his re-election bid within weeks, faces an uphill battle to make that case to a nation struggling against persistent inflation, a wearying war in Ukraine and growing tensions with China.” – Daily Telegraph
- A Republican-led US would not shrink from the world – Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
- Biden warns China over threats to US sovereignty – Financial Times
Mitchell: How we are helping earthquake victims
“The first thing we did when these quakes struck this week was pick up the phone – to the Turkish government. We asked how we could help and what they needed. And then we swiftly assembled a team. 77 specialists and four sniffer dogs, a plane load of state-of-the-art equipment and an emergency medical team to assess the situation on the ground.The situation in Syria is different and highly complex, after almost 12 years of brutal conflict, which has devastated this once-thriving country. The affected area is largely ungoverned and access to millions of men, women and children is extremely difficult. Fortunately, the White Helmets, a civil protection group funded by the UK for many years, have leapt into action to help there and will continue to receive our support.” – Andrew Mitchell, Daily Express
Finkelstein: The rail unions must be defeated
“An efficient and modern railway requires management to be able to use new technologies to ensure safety on the railway with fewer staff, reduce or even eliminate ticket offices and change shift patterns. There is hardly an industry in existence that hasn’t gone through similar changes — the media, most certainly, included. Without constant reform customers cannot be served well and at reasonable cost, which is already a serious problem. Whatever the merits of each proposed change, the rail unions are seeking to ensure the railways are run for the staff rather than for users. And this is not an acceptable thing for them to insist upon.” – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
- Sixty years after Beeching’s axe fell, the railways are dying all over again – Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph
- More than 100,000 civil servants to strike on Budget Day next month in row over pay – The Sun
- Labour’s plans to renationalise the railways would cost billions – Daily Mail
- UK train tickets could be priced like airline seats in rail shake-up – The Guardian
News in brief
- The Great British Workforce Mystery – James Kirkup, The House
- Raab is no bully and I should know – Kelvin MacKenzie, The Spectator
- A new Science and Tech department is good news – Jonathan Simons, CapX
- America’s job numbers are not as rosy as they seem – Philip Pilkington, Unherd
- Conservatism is not just the absence of ideology – James Vitali, The Critic
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