Category Archives: POLITICS

Grant Shapps Says Liz Truss’s Economic Approach ‘Clearly Wasn’t Right’

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Business secretary Grant Shapps has said Liz Truss’s approach to tackling low economic growth “clearly wasn’t” the right one.

Shapps said that while he agreed with the former prime minister that the UK should have a lower-tax economy, that could not happen without “laying out the groundwork” first by tackling inflation and controlling debt.

The Cabinet minister, who served as Truss’s home secretary for just six days, was speaking in response to a 4,000-word article penned by Truss in the Telegraph on Saturday.

In the article, Truss claimed she was not given a “realistic chance” to enact her policies to cut taxes and boost growth, which she argued were correct.

Truss’s 49 days in office ended following the market turmoil caused by her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget, which unveiled £45 billion-worth of unfunded tax cuts.

It caused the value of the pound to plunge, interest rates to soar and led to the Bank of England having to bail out the UK’s pensions industry.

Truss said that while she was not “blameless” about the market turmoil that ensued, she was nevertheless held back by a “very powerful economic establishment” and a “lack of political support”.

Taking aim at her own party, she said she had “underestimated the resistance… to move to a lower-tax, less-regulated economy”.

Her intervention — her first since standing down in October — has reignited a debate in the Conservative Party about how it grapples with high taxes and sluggish economic growth.

A recent bleak forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the UK economy will perform worse than every other major country in 2023 — including sanctions-hit Russia.

Asked whether he thought Truss’s approach to the economy was right, Shapps replied: “Clearly it wasn’t.”

Shapps also defended the Conservative Party from Truss’s criticisms, saying: “No-one wants to pay higher levels of taxes but I think you have to set this in an international context.

“Every Western government has been hit by Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and experienced through-the-roof energy costs, and has then experienced high levels of inflation.

“People might mistakenly think this is something happening in Britain and Britain alone. In fact if you look at the international comparisons, it is happening around the world. Every government is struggling with this.”

Truss has kept a low profile ever since she was ousted from the top job after just 49 days in office —until now.

Her intervention represents another headache for Rishi Sunak, who is already battling with the resurgence of Boris Johnson.

The former prime minister has also put pressure on Sunak over the economy, calling on him to cut taxes before the next election.

The prime minister has repeatedly said that inflation must be brought under control but the government can contemplate slashing taxes.

Johnson also criticised Sunak’s decision not to send British fighter jets to Ukraine following a plea from Kyiv to Western allies.

Downing Street has said it would not be “practical” to send jets to Ukraine. The UK has, however, sent 14 Challenger 2 tanks to assist with the war effort against Russia.

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Just 7% Of Voters Believe That Rishi Sunak Can Tackle Tory Sleaze

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Just 7% of voters have confidence that Rishi Sunak will tackle sleaze in British politics.

The shock findings follow the sacking of Nadhim Zahawi as Tory chairman after he was found guilty of multiple breaches of the ministerial code over a probe into his tax affairs.

Sunak is also coming under mounting pressure to sack his deputy, Dominic Raab, over bullying claims made against him by dozens of civil servants.

The poll by People Polling for GB News, also shows little public appetite for Boris Johnson to return to government.

And it confirms that the Conservatives continue to trail more than 20 points behind Labour.

Those taking part in the poll were asked how confident they were that Sunak – who marks 100 days as PM today – could eradicate sleaze from British politics.

Only 1% said they were “completely confident”, with a further 6% saying they were “confident”.

By contrast, 55% said they were “not confident at all”.

Sunak’s ratings were barely any better among Conservative voters, with just 3% of them “completely confident” in his ability to tackle sleaze. Meanwhile, 82% of Labour voters said they were “not confident at all”.

At prime minister’s questions yesterday, Keir Starmer said: “The Tory Party’s addiction to sleaze and scandal has done huge damage to this country and the cost to the public keeps adding up.”

Politics expert Professor Matt Goodwin said: “Amid the fallout from Nadhim Zahawi’s resignation and ongoing stories about sleaze and bad behaviour around the Conservative Party, we find that very few voters are confident Rishi Sunak can clean up politics and remove sleaze.

“On the contrary, more than half the electorate say they are ‘not confident at all’ he will be able to take care of sleaze.”

Amid calls for Boris Johnson to replace Zahawi as Tory chairman, the poll found that 56% of voters either “strongly opposed” or “opposed” his return to cabinet, with only 21% supporting it.

Even among Tory voters, just 47% said they support him returning, with 30% opposing it.

Overall, the poll puts Labour on 46%, with the Conservatives on 22% and the Lib Dems on 9%.

Professor Goodwin said: “The Conservative Party’s share of the national vote remains as flat as a pancake, at a historic low level of support.

“There is little evidence Rishi Sunak, whose own ratings were also down last week, is turning the boat around. The party is still headed for a heavy wipeout at the general election unless things change and, before then, a bruising set of local elections in the spring.”

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Nick Ferrari Slaps Down Minister For Citing Covid-19 Vaccine As A Brexit ‘Achievement’

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Nick Ferrari slapped down a minister today after he cited the Covid-19 vaccine as a Brexit “achievement”.

Transport minister Richard Holden was asked to name the three “best achievements” of Brexit on the third anniversary of the UK’s departure from the European Union.

But when he named the Covid vaccine roll-out as his first example, veteran presenter Ferrari told him that was “not true”.

Holden told LBC: “Well, I’d say from the start the biggest impact we’ve seen over the last couple of years is probably Britain’s ability to fulfil its own vaccine programme…”

Ferrari interrupted: “Well, you will be aware of course the independent website Full Fact say that’s not true. And even the boss of our own MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) Dr June Raine has also said that’s not true. So can we strike that one out?”

Holden conceded that he was “absolutely right” and the country could have done it “within the EU”.

But he added: “I think the pressure, if we’d been in the EU to be part of an EU scheme, would have been quite unbelievable.”

For his second example he cited the UK’s procurement rules and for his third he outlined Solvency II reforms that have enabled Britain’s financial services sector to “remain head and shoulders above the rest of Europe”.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has forecast that the UK economy will perform worse than every other major country in 2023 – including Russia.

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Rishi Sunak To Resist Calls For Nadhim Zahawi To Lose Tory Whip

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Rishi Sunak will resist calls to strip Nadhim Zahawi of the Tory whip over the tax scandal that brought him down, HuffPost UK understands.

The former party chairman was sacked by the PM yesterday after being found to have broken the ministerial code on several occasions.

In a damning report, Sir Laurie Magnus, Sunak’s ethics adviser, said Zahawi had failed “to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour”.

Although he was booted out of the government, he remains the Conservative MP for Stratford-in-Avon.

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper has written to the prime minister urging him to remove the Tory whip from Zahawi if he refuses to quit the Commons.

She said: “Nadhim Zahawi failed to pay the taxes he owed, refused to come clean, and then threatened campaigners and journalists with legal action simply for trying to uncover the truth.

“It shows that Zahawi is simply not fit to represent his constituents in Parliament. If he refuses to stand down as an MP, Rishi Sunak surely has no choice but to withdraw the Conservative whip.

“Sunak dragged his feet for weeks over this scandal. He must now act swiftly if he’s serious about restoring integrity to this sleaze-ridden Conservative government.”

But a source in the Tory whips office pointed to the final paragraph of Sunak’s letter to Zahawi yesterday as proof that the PM plans to stand by his party colleague.

In it, the prime minister said: “I know I will be able to count on your support from the backbenches as you continue to passionately and determinedly serve your constituents of Stratford-on-Avon and represent the many issues and campaigns you are dedicated to.

“Thank you for your service to this and previous governments.”

In his reply, Zahawi also pledged his support to the government.

He said: “You can be assured of my support from the backbenches in the coming years. Your five priorities are the right priorities, and I will do whatever I can to help you deliver them.”

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Russia Preventing Migrant Workers Leaving The Country So They Can Be Enlisted, UK Claims

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Migrant workers are being prevented from leaving Russia so they can be enlisted in the army according to British officials.

The Ministry of Defence suggested the move was part of efforts by Moscow to ensure there is a “high number of personnel” available to be enlisted.

In their latest intelligence update on the war in Ukraine – which reaches its first anniversary next month – the MoD also said the Kremlin policy of “partial mobilisation” remains in place.

That was set up last September and saw 300,000 reservists called up to the Russian army.

According to the MoD, media reported on January 22 that migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan with dual passports were prevented from leaving Russia because “their names were on mobilisation lists”.

“Separately, on January 23, 2023, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the decree on ‘partial mobilisation’ continues to remain in force, claiming the decree remained necessary for supporting the work of the armed forces,” the MoD update said.

“Observers had questioned why the measure had not been formally rescinded.

“The Russian leadership highly likely continues to search for ways to meet the high number of personnel required to resource any future major offensive in Ukraine, while minimising domestic dissent.”

It was revealed over the weekend that mandatory military training will be introduced in Russian secondary schools from September.

Two weeks ago it also emerged that Russia could increase the age limit for army conscripts in an attempt to boost the size of its military.

The current age limit for routine military conscription in Russia is 27.

But Andrey Kartapolov, the head of the Russian State Duma Defence Committee, proposed increasing that to 30.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has claimed Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him last year as he made a last-ditch attempt to prevent the invasion of Ukraine.

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Nadhim Zahawi Sacked From Government By Rishi Sunak Over Tax Row

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Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked as Tory Party chairman and cabinet minister without portfolio by Rishi Sunak.

The prime minister said there had been “a serious breach of the ministerial code” over Zahawi’s tax affairs.

“As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in HM government,” Sunak said in a letter to his Tory colleague.

The PM has been under pressure to sack Zahawi ever since it emerged that he had paid a £5 million settlement to HMRC over unpaid tax when he was chancellor last year.

In a statement a week ago, Zahawi said that HMRC has agreed that it had been a “careless and not deliberate” mistake.

Sunak announced that he was asking his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to investigate the affair.

In his letter to Zahawi, the prime minister said: “When I became prime minister last year, I pledged that the government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

“That is why, following new information which came to light in recent days regarding your personal financial arrangements and declarations, I asked Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, to fully investigate this matter.

“You agreed and undertook to co-operate fully with the inquiry.

“Following the completion of the independent adviser’s investigation – the findings of which he has shared with us both – it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code.

“As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in HM government.

″“As you leave, you should be extremely proud of your wide-ranging achievements in government over the last five years.

“In particular, your successful oversight of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement and deployment programme which ensured the United Kingdom was at the forefront of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.”

Shadow education secretary Bridget Philipson said: “Despite the writing on the wall, the Prime Minister showed himself to be too weak to act.

“Rishi Sunak should have sacked Nadhim Zahawi a long time ago, just as he should have acted over Dominic Raab and Suella Braverman, but in his weakness he promoted them.

“The reason this keeps happening is we have a government whose only principle is party first, country second.

“The Tories are governing in their own interests, with a prime minister who is trying to manage his MPs, rather than govern in the national interest.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper called on Zahawi to stand down as MP for Stratford-on-Avon.

She said: “Rishi Sunak has finally acted after spending days defending the indefensible on Nadhim Zahawi.

“It should never have taken him this long to act. Sunak’s first 100 days in office have been tarnished by endless Conservative sleaze and scandals.

“Serious questions remain about what Sunak knew about Zahawi’s tax affairs when he appointed him. We need a proper independent inquiry to establish the facts and hold the Prime Minister to account.

“Given this was a serious breach of the ministerial code, Nadhim Zahawi must also do the right thing and resign as an MP.”

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Journalist Sums Up Political Scandals In One Comment: ‘Very Rich People Using Law To Evade Scrutiny’

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A journalist summarised the exact problem with the recent string of Tory scandals on BBC Question Time on Thursday.

Alison Phillips, the editor of the Daily Mirror, was discussing Tory Party chair Nadhim Zahawi’s taxes, which have been in the spotlight over the last week.

Zahawi was reported to have paid a multi-million pound penalty to HMRC over his taxes last year, around the time he became chancellor under Boris Johnson.

The Tory Party chair has not disclosed the size of the settlement – believed to be an estimated £4.8 million including a 30% penalty – or confirmed whether he paid a fine.

Since the issue came to light, prime minister Rishi Sunak has ordered his independent ethics adviser to investigate it – as there are “questions” which need “answering” – but has not yet asked Zahawi to step down from his role.

Phillips began: “Surely, Rishi Sunak must have called him [Zahawi] in and said, ’Hang on a minute, how come I’ve just found out that what you said to me last week was not the whole truth?

″‘And you’ve made me look an absolute clown, you’ve caused distrust in the country’ – and this is continuing.”

She also said the idea which really “cuts” through for her, was that last July Zahawi was using “his very expensive lawyers to send out letters to get journalists and investigators to stop looking at this”.

This is a reference to when reports first started to suggest that Zahawi was the subject of an investigation by the National Crime Agency and HMRC.

The senior Tory denied knowledge of this, later saying that these stories were “inaccurate, unfair” and “clearly smears”.

Phillips said these threats of being sued is seen all over the country right now, as ″very rich people are using the law to evade proper scrutiny.”

“The idea that we’ve got someone in our government doing that, it’s just appalling, it stinks,” she added.

She mentioned that Sunak promised to introduce “integrity, professionalism and accountability” into the heart of government when he was elected as Tory leader back in October, as that’s what we as a country “deserve” and “want”.

“He’s let himself down, he’s allowed one of his closest advisers to let him down, and I think it’s a real shame for all of them,” the journalist concluded.

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Nadine Dorries Is Getting Her Own Chat Show And Her First Guest Is Entirely Predictable

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Nadine Dorries has been given her own chat show – and there are no prizes for guessing who her first guest is.

The former cabinet minister will interview her close friend and ally Boris Johnson on Talk TV’s ‘Friday Night With Nadine’ show.

Dorries has never hidden her admiration for the ex-prime minister, and recently warned her party that it would “die” unless he was made leader again.

The Mid Bedfordshire MP said: “As someone who’s never been afraid to speak their mind, I’m delighted to be joining the team at TalkTV for Friday Night With Nadine, where I’ll be putting my 23-year political career and experiences at the despatch box to good use.

“Boris Johnson continues to dominate so much of the political narrative since his departure from No10. Now’s the time to find out what he really thinks about a whole range of pressing issues.”

The show will be broadcast on February 3.

Dorries, who is tipped to receive a peerage in Johnson’s resignation honours list, will be hoping it goes better than her last attempt at being a Talk TV presenter.

Standing in for Piers Morgan, she tripped over her words as she introduced the show’s second conversation topic.

“Sorry, I’ve just completely messed that up,” she was heard muttering, as co-presenter Emily Sheffield urged her: “Keep going.”

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Russia Preparing To Send Sub-Standard Tanks Into Battle, Claims UK

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Russia is preparing to send sub-standard tanks into battle in Ukraine, UK officials believe.

A “small number” of T-14 Armata main battle tanks are set to be used in the war for the first time, according to the latest intelligence update from the Ministry of Defence.

But the MoD added: “In recent months, deployed Russian forces were reluctant to accept the first tranche of T-14 allocated to them because the vehicles were in such poor condition.

“It is unclear exactly what aspects of the vehicles prompted this reaction, but within the last three years, Russian officials have publicly described problems with the T-14’s engine and thermal imaging systems.”

In 2021, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu described the planned production run of the tanks for 2022 as an “experimental-industrial” batch.

The MoD update added: “Therefore, it is unlikely that any deployed T-14 tanks will have met the usual standards for new equipment to be deemed operational.”

The update came as it emerged that Ukraine’s pleas for tanks from its Western allies appear to have finally have been heard – with Germany and the US reportedly poised to deliver the vehicles to the under siege country.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has eventually decided to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, it has been reported, and allow other countries such as Poland to dispatch their German-made artillery too.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is expected to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to help Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The UK has already announced that it will send Challenger 2 tanks to help Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

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A Tory Peer Has Become The Latest Senior Figure To Question Nadhim Zahawi’s Position

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A Tory peer has become latest senior figure to question Nadhim Zahawi’s future as party chairman.

Lord Hayward said Zahawi “should be considering whether he stands aside” over the tax scandal which has rocked the government.

His comments echo those of Conservative backbencher Caroline Nokes, who called on Zahawi to stand down ahead of a sleaze probe into the affair.

Speaking to Sky News, Lord Hayward said: “I think he should be considering whether he stands aside for the period of the inquiry.”

He added: ”I think there’s a difficulty where you are party chairman because you’re meant to be out there motivating the campaigners in preparation for key local elections in a few months’ time, which are the main next hurdle for the party.

“In those circumstances, it is somewhat difficult.

“If you were another cabinet minister, it may be somewhat easier to continue, but I think that is the problem for him and he may have to review his position, depending on the timescales.”

The peer also called for the investigation into the scandal by Rishi Sunak’s ethics adviser needs to be wrapped up soon.

“It needs to be quick for everybody’s sake,” he said. “If it takes too long it just drags on and on and that just leaves everything up in the air and you have to take a different set of decisions, but I and other people in the party – and the public at large – would want it to be a very quick inquiry.”

Sunak faces a grilling from Labour leader Keir Starmer over the affair at prime minister’s questions today.

Many Tory MPs privately believe Zahawi will inevitably have to leave his position, with some speculating that it could even happen before PMQs.

One told HuffPost UK: “Why would Rishi want to go through a PMQs dominated by that?”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Every day that Nadhim Zahawi clings on does more damage to Rishi Sunak’s credibility.

“The Conservative Party is stuck in an endless cycle of sleaze and chaos, while the country suffers from a cost of living and NHS crisis.

“What more will it take for Sunak to finally do the right thing and sack Zahawi, or at least suspend him for the duration of this investigation?

“He promised his government would have integrity and accountability, but instead once again it’s one rule for them and another for everyone else.”

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