Boris Johnson – live: Ex-PM in ‘desperate’ last-ditch attack on Partygate committee

Boris Johnson has been accused of launching a “desperate’ last-ditch attack on the Partygate committee hours before it publishes its damning verdict on whether the former prime minister lied to parliament.

The former PM called on senior Tory Sir Bernard Jenkin to “explain his actions and resign” from the privileges committee, after the pro-Boris website Guido Fawkes claimed he had also broken lockdown rules by attending a drinks reception for his wife’s birthday in December 2020.

A source close to the committee said it was “desperate stuff” from the Boris camp, and noted that the committee was ruling on Mr Johnson’s claims in the Commons rather than the gatherings themselves.

The attempt to undermine the report due on Thursday came after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of being “too weak” to block his predecessor’s resignation honours list in a fiery Prime Minister’s Questions dominated by peerages.

“If he’s so tough, why didn’t he block it?” Sir Keir asked – before saying honours should be for “public service, not Tory cronies”.

Key points

• Boris Johnson accused of ‘desperate’ attack on Partygate committee

• Privileges Committee finds Johnson deliberately misled parliament – report

• ‘Johnson was warned against claiming social guidelines were followed’

• Boris Johnson pledges: “I’ll be back”

• Nadine Dorries claims she was ‘bullied’ by No 10

Mid-Bedfordshire by-election: Key numbers

Monday 12 June 2023 13:25 , Eleanor Noyce

Meanwhile, Labour would need a much larger swing in Mid-Bedfordshire to win the seat from the Conservatives.

Nadine Dorries notched up a huge majority of 24,664 at the 2019 general election, along with 60% of the vote.

The constituency has been held by the Tories without a break since 1931, with Ms Dorries becoming its MP in 2005.

Labour finished in second place in 2019 on 22% of the vote, 38 percentage points behind the Conservatives.

The Lib Dems were further behind on 13%, while the Greens were fourth on 4%.

To win the seat at the by-election, Labour would need a swing in the share of the vote of 19.1 percentage points - that is, 20 in every 100 people who voted Conservative in 2019 would have to switch.

Labour has not achieved this size of swing in a by-election since winning South East Staffordshire from the Tories in April 1996.

The Liberal Democrats would need an even bigger swing to leap from third to first place in Mid-Bedfordshire: 23.6 points, the equivalent of 24 in every 100 people who voted Tory in 2019 switching directly to the Lib Dems.

The party has pulled off this kind of swing in recent by-elections, however.

In June 2022 the Lib Dems won Tiverton & Honiton from the Conservatives on a swing of 29.9 points, while in December 2021 they won North Shropshire from the Tories on an even bigger swing of 34.1 points.

Selby & Ainsty by-election: Key numbers

Monday 12 June 2023 13:40 , Eleanor Noyce

Elsewhere, the seat of Selby & Ainsty was created at the 2010 general election and has always been held by the Conservatives.

Nigel Adams took 49% of the vote in 2010 and pushed up his share at every subsequent election, winning 53% in 2015, 59% in 2017 and 60% in 2019, when he won a majority of 20,137.

Labour came second in 2019 with 25% of the vote, 35 percentage points behind the Tories.

The Liberal Democrats finished third with 9%, while the Greens came fifth - behind the Yorkshire Party - on 3%.

For Labour to win this North Yorkshire seat at a by-election, it would need a swing in the share of the vote of 17.9 points, or 18 in every 100 people who voted Tory in 2019 to switch to them.

The last time Labour achieved a swing at a by-election of at least 17 points was in February 1997, when the party won Wirral South from the Conservatives.

The Lib Dems would need a swing of 25.9 points, or 26 in every 100 former Tory voters to switch to them.

Blow for British businesses as EU rules out renegotiating Brexit trade deal for years

Monday 12 June 2023 14:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The EU‘s Brexit chief has ruled out renegotiating Britain’s trade deal until 2026, dashing hopes it could be improved and prevent businesses fleeing the UK.

Maroš Šefčovič said the trade and cooperation agreement had only been in force for two years and was not yet being used to its full potential.

The deal, signed by Boris Johnson on 30 December 2020, has been criticised by business groups for increasing costs and bureaucracy compared to membership of the EU single market and customs union.

“We have received quite a lot of questions and I’ve seen that there is increased interest in the TCA review. As far as our calendar goes, I think that it’s more for 2026,” Mr Šefčovič told the EU-UK forum on Monday.

He added that he did not want to put the deal “in the shredder”.

Our Policy Correspondent Jon Stone has the full story:

Blow for British businesses as EU rules out renegotiating Brexit trade deal for years

Boris ally claims Sunak blocked ‘eight people’ from peerages

Monday 12 June 2023 14:35 , Eleanor Noyce

Lord Marland suggested on BBC Radio 4’s World at One that Rishi Sunak is to blame for blocking some of Boris Johnson’s resignation honours. The Johnson ally said that there were “eight people who Rishi decided not to support” for peerages.

Put to him that the House of Lords appointments commission [Holac] had removed the names, he said: “No, they didn’t. They had the names removed on the suggestion of elements of the civil service, the Cabinet Office or the Inland Revenue [as is] often the case, and then Holac don’t have to adjudicate.”

He added: “It is in the remit of the prime minister that, if he really wants someone to become a prime minister, he can push hard for Holac to do with, as various prime ministers have done in the past.”

No 10 has rejected the claims from the Boris campaign. “The prime minister then accepted Holac’s approved list and forwarded it unamended to the sovereign for their approval.”

Establishment ‘has seen Boris out the door’, says Jake Berry

Monday 12 June 2023 14:39 , Eleanor Noyce

Former Tory chairman Jake Berry, a friend of Boris Johnson, told reporters: “The establishment has seen Boris out the door.”

Berry said he had “no idea” about private conversations between Johnson and Sunak, and whether the former PM had been promised his honours list.

Asked if he would like to see Boris back in the Commons one day, Berry said: “He appeals to the great British public more than I’ve seen an British politician do. There is something special about him. He’s an extraordinary character.”

But the senior Tory MP added: “I look forward to campaigning with my friend Rishi – not just in three byelections but in a general election.”

Johnson ‘a partial architect of his own demise’, says Conservative peer

Monday 12 June 2023 14:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Conservative peer Lord Marland offered a staunch defence of Boris Johnson, as he questioned the work of the Privileges Committee.

“Boris resigned because he was offended by the fact they didn’t believe him,” Lord Marland told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme.

He rejected the point that it was a Conservative-majority committee that was investigating the former prime minister.

“There is a lot of difference of views and personal jealousy within the Conservative Party, as there is within the Labour Party.

“In some ways, you’re better coming up in front of an entirely Labour group than a mixture.”

Lord Marland added: “Who would be prime minister? There has not been a prime minister since Margaret Thatcher who has not left office vilified.”

He admitted that Mr Johnson was “a partial architect of his own demise”, but added: “Other people have conspired to help that.”

Sunak ‘talking rubbish’, says Johnson

Monday 12 June 2023 14:53 , Eleanor Noyce

Boris Johnson has accused Rishi Sunak of “talking rubbish” after the prime minister said his predecessor asked him to overrule the vetting committee for appointments to the House of Lords.

In a statement, Boris Johnson said: “Rishi Sunak is talking rubbish. To honour these peerages it was not necessary to overrule Holac - but simply to ask them to renew their vetting, which was a mere formality.”

It comes after Downing Street said it is “entirely untrue” that Mr Sunak or members of his No 10 team removed names from the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) list.

Boris hits back after Sunak comes out swinging in honours row

Monday 12 June 2023 14:59 , Eleanor Noyce

The row between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak intensified today as the former PM accused his successor of “talking rubbish” over a claim he was asked to bend the rules on peerages.

Mr Johnson lashed out after Mr Sunak said he had been asked to “do something I was not prepared to” by bending the rules for his resignation honours list.

The prime minister claimed Mr Johnson asked him to either overrule the committee which vets peerages - known as Holac - or “make promises to people” on the issue.

But a furious Mr Johnson hit back, saying: “Rishi Sunak is talking rubbish.

He added: “To honour these peerages it was not necessary to overrule Holac - but simply to ask them to renew their vetting, which was a mere formality.”

My colleague Archie Mitchell has the full story:

Boris hits back after Sunak comes out swinging in honours row

Reform UK and Reclaim parties announce deal to boost chances in by-elections

Monday 12 June 2023 15:05 , Eleanor Noyce

The Reform UK and Reclaim parties have announced a deal to boost each other’s chances in the by-elections triggered by the resignations of Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries.

Actor Laurence Fox, who leads Reclaim, will stand in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat vacated by the former prime minister while Reform UK will not stand a candidate there.

Dave Holland of Reform, which was founded with Nigel Farage’s backing, will stand in former culture secretary Ms Dorries’ Mid Bedfordshire’s constituency.

Mr Fox said: “The Reclaim Party and Reform UK offer the only genuine conservative alternative to the electorate, seeking for a smaller state, lower taxes, control of our borders and a full debate over net zero and the contentious ideologies being forced onto our children in schools.”

Reform leader Richard Tice added that “this co-operation enables us to have extra focus on specific by-elections”.

Reclaim has one MP after recently welcoming Andrew Bridgen following his expulsion from the Tories for comparing vaccines to the Holocaust.

Letters to the editor: Rishi Sunak needs to put an end to the Tory turmoil

Monday 12 June 2023 15:15 , Eleanor Noyce

“The Conservative Party is now in more turmoil and chaos than ever before, with no chance of winning the next general election. Rishi Sunak should take this as an opportunity to retrench and consolidate, to expel the far-right fringe and anyone else who refuses to toe his pragmatic and sensible line.

The party would, of course, be smaller, but it would be more cohesive and manageable, and would gradually rebuild in strength by welcoming back those disillusioned by the David Cameron, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss years of lunacy.

I shall never vote Tory, but democracy needs a realistic and robust opposition, which I regret we shall not have after the next (hopefully imminent) general election.”

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk.

Rishi Sunak needs to put an end to the Tory turmoil

We’re being softened up for more interest rate rises

Monday 12 June 2023 15:30 , Eleanor Noyce

You could bet your mortgage on another interest rate rise at the next meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) next Thursday.

Consider the latest intervention by external member Jonathan Haskell, via a column for The Scotsman. He stuck to the script, allowing only that more rate rises “may be necessary”. But take note of his conclusion, which could easily be regarded as a softening-up exercise: “As difficult as our current circumstances are, embedded inflation would be worse.”

Haskell’s message is that ‘we know this is hard medicine but the alternative is much worse.’

The inflation dragon must be slain, says James Moore:

We’re being softened up for more interest rate rises

Penny Mordaunt criticises people attacking Parliament ‘for carrying out its work'

Monday 12 June 2023 15:42 , Eleanor Noyce

Penny Mordaunt has criticised people attacking Parliament “for carrying out its work”.

The cabinet minister told the Centre for Policy Studies’ Margaret Thatcher conference: “We have to be really strong about people who are attacking institutions, people who are attacking the House for carrying out its work, people who are attacking the media.”

She added: “The price of not doing so is going to be very great indeed.”

Her comments come after Boris Johnson and several other Conservatives attacked the Privileges Committee investigation into whether the former prime minister misled Parliament over the partygate scandal.

Tax cuts without lower inflation is ‘betrayal’ of Thatcher, says minister

Monday 12 June 2023 15:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Tax cuts must wait until inflation has come down, a Cabinet minister has said amid renewed calls by backbenchers for lower taxes.

In a speech to a conference in London, Gillian Keegan said cutting taxes without ensuring “sound money” and “fiscal discipline” was “fairytale economics”.

She said: “Whilst lower taxes are at the heart of Conservative economic thinking – Margaret Thatcher never thought that the way to achieve a low-tax economy was by dramatically increasing public sector debt and borrowing.

“She knew that you had to deal with inflation first otherwise every tax cut or spending pledge would simply be eaten by inflation.”

Christopher McKeon reports:

Tax cuts without lower inflation is ‘betrayal’ of Thatcher, says minister

What to know as the falls of Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon roil UK politics

Monday 12 June 2023 15:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Two very different British politicians who often clashed, Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon both led their parties to great heights — and both have had sudden and dramatic falls.

Former U.K. prime minister Johnson quit as a lawmaker rather than face being ousted for lying to Parliament. Sturgeon, the ex-leader of Scotland, was arrested and questioned by police investigating her party’s finances.

Here’s what to know about dramatic developments in U.K. politics:

What to know as the falls of Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon roil UK politics

Johnson and Sunak feud descends into warfare as they trade blows over resignation honours

Monday 12 June 2023 16:00 , Eleanor Noyce

The row between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak today descended into a open warfare as the former PM accused his successor of “talking rubbish” about the resignation honours list saga.

Mr Johnson hit back at the prime minister after Mr Sunak accused his one-time ally of asking him to “do something I wasn’t prepared to do” by bending the rules on peerages.

In his first public comments since Mr Johnson quit as MP, a defiant Mr Sunak claimed Mr Johnson asked him to either overrule the committee which vets peerages - known as Holac - or “make promises to people” on the issue.

Mr Sunak claimed he was “not prepared to do that” because he didn’t think it was “right”. Ramping up his message, he added: “If people don’t like that, then tough.”

Archie Mitchell reports:

Boris hits back after Sunak comes out swinging in honours row

‘He gave a clear answer’, says Downing Street on Sunak statement

Monday 12 June 2023 16:14 , Eleanor Noyce

Rishi Sunak does not regret accusing Boris Johnson of asking him to overrule the vetting committee to push through his House of Lords nominations, Downing Street said.

Asked whether the prime minister regrets his comments and getting into a public row with his predecessor, his spokesman told reporters: “No. As I say, he was asked a direct question. He gave a clear answer.”

Sunak ‘forwarded the list unaltered’ - Downing Street

Monday 12 June 2023 16:17 , Eleanor Noyce

Downing Street refused to be drawn on Boris Johnson‘s accusation that Rishi Sunak was “talking rubbish” after the Prime Minister accused his predecessor of asking him to overrule the House of Lords Appointments Commission over his nominations for peerages.

Asked whether Mr Sunak was talking rubbish, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “You’ve got the words from the PM this morning.

“I’m not going to get into more detail. He was very clear he was not prepared to deviate from established convention or do anything unprecedented, which is why, in line with a long-standing custom, he forwarded the list unaltered.”

Comment: I went to university with Charlotte Owen. If she’s a worthy lifetime peer, I’m a baroness

Monday 12 June 2023 16:30 , Eleanor Noyce

To say that Lady Charlotte Owen’s rise to power has been meteoric would be something of an understatement. The 29-year-old, who was awarded Britain’s highest honour in Boris Johnson’s resignation list, has gone from parliamentary intern to baroness in a matter of just six years.

She is currently the youngest person ever to sit in the House of Lords, but of course there is no expiration date on her new privilege. As a life peer, she will be scrutinising our legislation until she chooses to retire – and judging by the current House of Lords demographic, that’s not likely to be any time in the next half century.

I’ve monitored Lady Owen’s career with interest, and increasing bafflement. If we’re in the business of enobling 29-year-old York grads with short – and not particularly distinguished – careers in parliament behind them, where’s mine, asks Olivia Utley:

If Charlotte Owen is a worthy lifetime peer, I’m a baroness

Humza Yousaf rejects calls to suspend Nicola Sturgeon from SNP following her arrest

Monday 12 June 2023 16:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Meanwhile, Humza Yousaf has said he “sees no reason” to suspend Nicola Sturgeon from the SNP following her arrest on Sunday.

The former first minister was interviewed as a suspect for almost seven hours by detectives investigating allegations of financial misconduct at the Scottish National Party.

After questioning she was released without charge pending further investigation – but a number of figures both within and outside the party have called for her to be suspended.

Ms Sturgeon, who stepped down from her role as party and government leader in April, said in a statement on Sunday night that she was “innocent of any wrongdoing”.

Asked about the calls to suspend his predecessor, SNP leader Mr Yousaf said he would do “what I believe is right to the values of natural justice”.

Jon Stone writes:

Humza Yousaf rejects calls to suspend Nicola Sturgeon from SNP following her arrest

Boris Johnson formally resigns as MP

Monday 12 June 2023 16:54 , Joe Middleton

Boris Johnson has written to the chancellor to formally resign as the MP for Uxbridge and Ruislip, a source close to the former PM has said. He has just changed his Twitter bio.

His ally Nigel Adams has also thought to have formally declared intention to step down as an MP to kick start a by-election process, though no word yet on fellow Nadine Dorries.

The quitting MPs will be appointed to Steward and Bailiffs of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Manor of Northstead as part of a Commons tradition while waiting for byelections to be held.

The fall of Boris Johnson: How we got here and what comes next

Monday 12 June 2023 17:00 , Eleanor Noyce

In the fog of the Tory civil war, it’s not always clear who’s winning or even exactly who’s on the field of battle.

Sometimes there’s a surprising consensus on the course of events, but also a perplexing conflict over who said what to whom.

In particular, the way the nominations for Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list were handled (especially peerages for Nadine Dorries and others), is particularly opaque.

But, as they say, we are where we are and it’s good to know how we got here.

Sean O’Grady maps out a timeline:

The fall of Boris Johnson: How we got here and what comes next

Boris Johnson: Sunak’s ‘talking rubbish’ – I didn’t ask PM to bend honours rules

Monday 12 June 2023 17:56 , Joe Middleton

Boris Johnson has accused Rishi Sunak of “talking rubbish” over his House of Lords nominations as the increasingly bitter feud between the prime minister and his predecessor descended into open warfare.

The astonishing clash came as the former Tory leader faces the final reckoning of his political career after a Commons committee finalised its Partygate report – expected to find that the former PM deliberately lied to parliament about lockdown parties.

Senior Tories expect the damning privileges committee findings to finish off Mr Johnson’s hopes of a comeback, telling The Independent that it would mark “the end of the circus”.

Adam Forrest and Archie Mitchell report.

Boris Johnson: Sunak’s ‘talking rubbish’ – I didn’t ask PM to bend honours rules

Labour jokes Tories are ‘too busy seriously disrupting themselves’ as Braverman announces protester legislation

Monday 12 June 2023 18:17 , Joe Middleton

Suella Braverman’s announcement of legislation she says will crack down on “serious disruption” by protesters has been seized by Labour as the butt of jokes about the row over Boris Johnson’s resignation, our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden writes.

The home secretary spoke in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon to announce a controversial statutory instrument that would further lower the threshold for police intervention in demonstrations.

The law faces a rare “fatal motion” in the House of Lords on Tuesday, backed by peers outraged by the government’s use of a parliamentary bypass to bring in powers they previously voted down.

But Monday’s debate in the Commons quickly verged into wider matters, with Labour shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper saying the Conservatives were “too busy seriously disrupting themselves” to govern.

“You can see why Conservative ministers might be worried about an organised minority of people causing disruption, protesting against decisions made by the prime minister with no respect for the rules,” she added.

“Yes, the public are sick of them and it’s why we want to get rid of all of them in a general election.”

Ms Cooper said the new legislation, which can come into effect without parliamentary scrutiny, was “making the same claims” as two wide-ranging protest laws brought in over the last two years.

“You’ve got to wonder how chaotic and incompetent this home secretary is that she has to keep legislating for the same things again and again,” she added.

“The government is making it possible to go after peaceful protesters and passers-by. That is not the British tradition.”

Several opposition politicians questioned the vague wording of the law, which states that police can impose conditions on protests that cause disruption that “may be more than minor”, to the “community” - within and outside the “vicinity of the procession”.

SNP MP Alison Thewliss asked: “What is minor? Is it a couple of minutes late? What does ‘affected’ mean? It’s really unclear in this legislation, which will give police a huge amount of discretion.”

Boris ‘not telling truth’, says ex-Tory leader

Monday 12 June 2023 18:40 , Joe Middleton

Former Tory leader Michael Howard – also a former Holac member – suggested Mr Johnson was lying about his recent conversation with Mr Sunak.

“Not only was he not telling the truth this afternoon he must have known he wasn’t telling the truth,” he told LBC. Lord Howard ruled out any possibility of a Boris comeback.

“I think the Conservative party has learned that it can do without Boris Johnson and that the time has come to move on ... the time has come to draw a line under this psychodrama that has gone on for too long.”

Foreign officials express ‘discomfort’ with discussion over Scottish independence, says Alister Jack

Monday 12 June 2023 19:02 , Joe Middleton

Foreign officials have expressed “discomfort” when Scottish ministers discuss independence during international visits, Alister Jack has said.

The Scottish Secretary appeared before Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee on Monday to discuss how the UK Government promotes Scotland abroad.

He told the committee that the foreign representative had personally told him they were not comfortable with Holyrood ministers raising the issue of separation or Scotland’s re-entry to the European Union.

He said: “Consuls of foreign countries have made this point to me directly that they find it uncomfortable when the Scottish Government raise separation, independence or other constitutional foreign affairs issues with them because they would no more want, if the French or the Spanish consul or ambassador would no more want to have to organise a meeting, or expect to organise a meeting with, say, the separatists in Catalonia or Corsica with UK Government ministers, nor would they expect us to meet with separatists from other countries.

“They understand that we are one state - the United Kingdom - and it puts them in an invidious position and it is not appreciated”.

He told Scottish Tory leader and Moray MP Douglas Ross that he had been trying to “de-escalate” the tension with the Scottish Government, however, had received “a lot of push back on it and no acknowledgement of these blatant breaches”.

PA

EXCLUSIVE: Starmer vows not to let AI lead to job losses of Thatcher era

Monday 12 June 2023 19:19 , Joe Middleton

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed not to allow Artificial Intelligence (AI) cause a repeat of widespread job losses seen during Margaret Thatcher’s deindustrialisation of the 1980s.

Writing for The Independent, the Labour leader insisted that AI “must work for working people” – pledging a revolution in skills and training so Britain to avoid a major spike in employment.

“We must also learn from the deindustrialisation of the 80s and tech revolution of the 90s, a time when manual and clerical jobs were being automated or sent abroad to be done in other countries,” said Sir Keir.

Adam Forrest reports.

Starmer vows not to let AI lead to job losses of Thatcher era

Farage invited Boris to join forces with him

Monday 12 June 2023 19:36 , Joe Middleton

Nigel Farage has invited Boris Johnson to join forces with him and the Reform Party and claimed they would have to re-fight the battle for Brexit if a Labour government wins the next election.

Speaking on GB News he said: “There’s an open civil war now going on between Sunak and Johnson. I thought the Sunak comment, about the honours list and why some of them weren’t accepted, was Sunak saying, ‘he didn’t think it was right’. He’s kind of saying, Johnson’s dodgy. This is turning very, very nasty now.”

He added: “If Johnson wants a future involved in active politics, and wants to try and fight for the Brexit legacy, which if there is a big Labour majority, could be game on again as far as Brexit is concerned, he’s got to consider doing something outside of the Conservative Party and that was why I talked about Reform.”

Boris ‘pulling out the bricks’ as he leaves, says William Hague

Monday 12 June 2023 19:42 , Joe Middleton

Fellow Tory leader William Hague also condemned Boris Johnson and his camp in his latest Times column – saying cries of “witch-hunt” against the privileges committee were “highly inaccurate and insulting”.

Lord Hague attacked Mr Johnson’s “sadly irredeemable flaws”, saying: “The most serious of those has been a tendency to damage the institutions around him. Even as he bolts out of the door, Boris pulls out a few bricks from the wall of another vital institution, parliament.”

We mustn’t let AI cause a repeat of 1980s job losses - Starmer

Monday 12 June 2023 20:08 , Joe Middleton

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed not to allow Artificial Intelligence (AI) cause a repeat of widespread job losses seen during Margaret Thatcher’s deindustrialisation of the 1980s.

Writing for The Independent, the Labour leader insisted that AI “must work for working people” – pledging a revolution in skills and training so Britain to avoid a major spike in employment.

“We must also learn from the deindustrialisation of the 80s and tech revolution of the 90s, a time when manual and clerical jobs were being automated or sent abroad to be done in other countries,” said Sir Keir.

Starmer vows not to let AI lead to job losses of Thatcher era

Sunak ‘set to block Boris Johnson from standing again as Tory MP’

Monday 12 June 2023 20:22 , Joe Middleton

Rishi Sunak will block any attempts that Boris Johnson makes to stand again to become a Tory MP, according to reports.

The prime minister and Mr Johnson engaged in an escalating war of words today over the former prime minister’s failure to get a number of close allies elected to the House of Lords.

A Tory source told The Guardian: “It’s the leader who is in charge of the party. Why would Rishi let Boris on to the candidate list?

“It’s pretty obvious to me that he won’t. The party needs to move forward from this clown show. The vast majority of MPs agree.”

Rishi Sunak: Boris Johnson 'asked me to do something I wasn't prepared to do'

Monday 12 June 2023 21:00 , Joe Middleton

Nadine Dorries claims she was ‘bullied’ by No 10

Monday 12 June 2023 21:22 , Joe Middleton

Nadine Dorries said she has been “bullied” by No 10 and decided she “can’t allow that to happen”.

She denied “knifing the party” by triggering a by-election in her constituency,” telling TalkTV: “I think you come to a point in life when you have to stop, when you can’t just be pushed around, when you can’t allow people to bully you, as I’ve just been bullied by No 10. You can’t allow that to happen, you have to stand up for yourself, and that’s what I did.”

The former culture secretary added: “It was a painful decision ... I didn’t want to cause a by-election.”

Dorries resigned due to ‘sheer audacity’ of Chief Whip

Monday 12 June 2023 21:23 , Joe Middleton

Nadine Dorries said the “significant thing” that made her resign was the “sheer audacity” of Chief Whip Simon Hart when he contacted her about the honours list.

“It was the sheer audacity of the Chief Whip thinking that at my age having worked in Parliament for 21 years, serving 18 years on the back benches, having been a minister during Covid... having been a secretary of state, that he can dangle out to me some kind of stick and carrot, like ‘be a good girl and we’ll make sure something’s sorted for you in the future’, which is basically what he was saying to me. That for me, and that moment, was what made me change my mind,” she told TalkTV.

She said she was “broken-hearted” that a woman from her background had had the appointment taken away from her “by two privileged posh boys who went to Winchester and Oxford, duplicitously and cruelly.”

Boris Johnson pledges: “I’ll be back”

Monday 12 June 2023 21:42 , Joe Middleton

Boris Johnson has pledged that he will return to frontline politics and vowed: “I’ll be back.”

Speaking to the Daily Express, Mr Johnson said he intends to push the Tory party “to fully deliver on Brexit and on the 2019 manifesto”.

He added: “We must smash Labour at the next election. Nothing less than absolute victory and total Brexit will do – and as the great Arnold Schwarzenegger said, I’ll be back.”

It comes after an escalating war of words between the ex-PM and Rishi Sunak. Mr Johnson accused the prime minister of “talking rubbish” after Mr Sunak said his predecessor asked him to overrule the vetting committee for appointments to the House of Lords.

The fall of Boris Johnson: How we got here and what comes next

Monday 12 June 2023 22:15 , Joe Middleton

In the fog of the Tory civil war it’s good to know how we got here, writes Sean O’Grady

The fall of Boris Johnson: How we got here and what comes next

Drop culture war battles, Penny Mordaunt tells Tories

Monday 12 June 2023 23:00 , Joe Middleton

Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt admitted the Conservative party had not been true to itself or the UK’s values in “recent history” as she urged the Tories to drop its culture war obsession.

The former leadership contender urged her party to spend less time on divisive issues and focus on “building more and taxing less” during an appearance at a Margaret Thatcher conference in London on Monday.

Arguing that the electorate had not yet “sealed the deal” with Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour, Ms Mordaunt said: “I think there’s all to play for and I think that historic fifth term is within our grasp.

Drop culture war battles, Penny Mordaunt tells Tories

Where does Nicola Sturgeon live? Former SNP leader arrested over financial scandal

Monday 12 June 2023 23:59 , Joe Middleton

Nicola Sturgeon has been released without charge pending further investigation after she was arrested as part of a probe into the SNP’s finances.

The former party leader has said she was “shocked and distressed” by the arrest on Sunday, stressing that “I know beyond doubt that I am in fact innocent of any wrongdoing’’.

It is the latest development in Police Scotland’s ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities within the party, known as Operation Branchform.

All we know about arrested Nicola Sturgeon’s home searched during fraud probe

UK should be 'grateful' for what Boris Johnson did as PM, says Michael Gove

Tuesday 13 June 2023 01:00 , Joe Middleton

Labour and Lib Dem cooperation key to defeating Tories at by-elections, top polling guru says

Tuesday 13 June 2023 02:00 , Joe Middleton

Cooperation between Labour and the Liberal Democrats could be key to defeating Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives in a slate of upcoming by-elections, a top political scientist has said.

Sir John Curtice said tactical voting would be crucial in the seats up for grabs after Boris Johnson and two other Tory MPs quit the Commons.

Mr Sunak is facing three difficult electoral tests in Mr Johnson’s former West London seat of Uxbridge and West Ruislip, as well as in the constituencies of Mid-Bedfordshire and Selby and Ainsty.

Labour and Lib Dem cooperation key to beating Tories at by-elections, poll guru says

Privileges Committee finds Johnson deliberately misled parliament – report

Tuesday 13 June 2023 05:00 , Namita Singh

Boris Johnson will reportedly be found on Wednesday to have deliberately misled MPs over parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.

The Privileges Committee has rejected the former prime minister’s defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance had been followed in No 10, according to the Times.

But Mr Johnson – who resigned on Friday after receiving the group’s report – struck a defiant tone, quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger as he told the Daily Express: “I’ll be back.”

Report:

Privileges Committee finds Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament – report

‘Johnson was warned against claiming social guidelines were followed’

Tuesday 13 June 2023 05:30 , Namita Singh

Boris Johnson accused the Privileges Committee of “bias” and likened it to a “kangaroo court” in a furious 1,000-word exit statement after receiving a draft of its findings.

The panel, chaired by Labour MP Harriet Harman but with a Conservative majority, found that one of his most senior officials in fact warned him against claiming social distancing guidelines were followed at the gatherings, the Times reported.

According to the paper, Martin Reynolds, Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary at the time, advised him in December 2021 that he should remove a claim from a statement to the Commons that “all guidance had been followed at all times”.

The aide reportedly questioned “whether it was realistic to argue that all guidance had been followed at all times”.

Mr Johnson is said to have removed the line from his opening statement, but repeated the assertion during a debate later – which the committee reportedly views as evidence MPs were deliberately misled.

Voices of those who suffered most to be heard as Covid inquiry begins

Tuesday 13 June 2023 06:00 , Namita Singh

The voices of some of those who suffered most in the pandemic will be heard as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry officially begins its first day of evidence.

Two years after then-prime minister Boris Johnson announced a public inquiry would be set up, chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett will formally open the first substantive hearing on Tuesday.

Following her statement, a video featuring people from across the UK sharing their experiences of loss will be played to those gathered at the hearing centre in west London.

A statement from the inquiry team ahead of the opening warned the film of “some of those who suffered most during the pandemic” may be “difficult to watch”.

More here:

Voices of those who suffered most to be heard as Covid inquiry begins

Boris Johnson ‘bullied’ prime minister over peerages

Tuesday 13 June 2023 07:00 , Namita Singh

Boris Johnson “bullied” the prime minister into accepting his appointment of allies to the House of Lords, parliament has been told.

Former London mayoral candidate Sean Bailey, who was photographed with Tory aides at a mid-lockdown social gathering, was among seven nominees put forward for a peerage as part of the former PM’s resignation honours list.

Others joining the unelected chamber are high-profile Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and former No 10 chief of staff Dan Rosenfield.

However, former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and ex-minister Nigel Adams were not among them.

Mr Johnson’s camp accused Rishi Sunak of having “secretly blocked” their peerages, amid a public spat between the current and former prime ministers.

In response, Ms Dorries and Mr Adams both announced they were immediately standing down as MPs - triggering by-elections.

Pointing to the prospect of the new intake to the upper chamber, Labour former minister Lord Foulkes of Cumnock told parliament: “We will have an influx of new talent into this House - all of whom, sadly, appallingly and disgracefully, will be Conservative members, with no new opposition peers at all.

“This list, put forward by Mr Boris Johnson, who bullied the prime minister into accepting it, is very interesting in many ways.”

ICYMI: Johnson says Sunak’s ‘talking rubbish’

Tuesday 13 June 2023 07:39 , Tara Cobham

Boris Johnson has accused Rishi Sunak of “talking rubbish” over his House of Lords nominations as the increasingly bitter feud between the prime minister and his predecessor descended into open warfare.

The astonishing clash came as the former Tory leader faces the final reckoning of his political career after a Commons committee finalised its Partygate report – expected to find that the former PM deliberately lied to parliament about lockdown parties.

Senior Tories expect the damning privileges committee findings to finish off any hopes of a comeback, telling The Independent that it would mark “the end of the circus”.

However, Mr Johnson threatened just that on Monday, telling The Express newspaper: “As the great Arnold Schwarzenegger said, I’ll be back.”

Adam Forrest and Archie Mitchell report:

Boris Johnson: Sunak’s ‘talking rubbish’ – I didn’t ask PM to bend honours rules

‘“Gentlemen” like Boris Johnson are over. Instead, all hail the true gent'

Tuesday 13 June 2023 08:00 , Tara Cobham

It’s sad that when most people write about the East End of London today, it’s done in relation to lattes, frappes, fancy flats and pricey olives. The reality is a bit different. For example, there’s still a really potent cockney presence in the area that scarcely gets talked about. It’s a living, breathing force of actual pride, which manifests in fabulously unsubtle ways: pearly queens getting gently mobbed, for example, or the occasional old-school cockney funeral passing by – featuring all the trimmings such as plumed horses and wooden carriages.

It was seeing one of those grand spectacles pass by a few years ago that set me off on a wild train of thought, inspired by a flower arrangement in a hearse that just read “A True Gent”. What is “a true gent”, I wondered. How is it different to just calling someone a gentleman? Why did that phrase feel so profound in the context of a lavish cockney funeral, in a way it wouldn’t in some tepid marketing spiel or tabloid headline? Bear with me, I think I’ve cracked it.

Oliver Keens writes:

‘Gentlemen’ like Boris Johnson are over. Instead, all hail the true gent

‘Posh boys’ at No 10 blocked my peerage, says Nadine Dorries

Tuesday 13 June 2023 08:22 , Tara Cobham

Nadine Dorries has claimed “posh boys” – Rishi Sunak and his adviser James Forsyth – were behind moves to “duplicitously and cruelly” block her from getting a peerage.

She used an interview with TalkTV to launch a fresh attack on the PM, claiming he used “weasel words” and “sophistry” in a meeting with Mr Johnson last week which left the outgoing MP believing she would be included.

“I’m broken-hearted, not just for me but for everyone who comes from a background like mine,” she said.

The ex-culture secretary claimed Mr Johnson’s own background is not a fair comparison because he attended Eton on a scholarship and has “no money”.

Boris Johnson ‘pushed Sunak to knight father Stanley’ in crunch meeting with PM

Tuesday 13 June 2023 08:40 , Tara Cobham

Boris Johnson is said to have pressed for his father Stanley to be given a knighthood during his crunch talks with Rishi Sunak on his honour list.

The former prime minister told his successor his dad should be honoured for his work for the Conservatives and the environment, according to The Times.

Frustrated at his father being cut from the list, Mr Johnson is said to have argued that it was customary for family members to be recognised in a PM’s resignation honours.

But No 10 is said to have worried about how handing Stanley Johnson a knighthood would be perceived. A government source told the newspaper: “It just would have looked terrible.”

Adam Forrest reports:

Boris Johnson ‘pushed Sunak to knight father Stanley’ in crunch meeting

Boris Johnson ‘will be found to have deliberately misled parliament’

Tuesday 13 June 2023 09:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Boris Johnson will reportedly be found on Wednesday to have deliberately misled MPs over parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.

The Privileges Committee has rejected the former prime minister’s defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance had been followed in No 10, according to the Times.

But Mr Johnson – who resigned on Friday after receiving the group’s report – struck a defiant tone, quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger as he told the Daily Express: “I’ll be back.”

The ex-MP accused the committee of “bias” and likened it to a “kangaroo court” in a furious 1,000-word exit statement after receiving a draft of its findings.

The panel, chaired by Labour MP Harriet Harman but with a Conservative majority, found that one of his most senior officials in fact warned him against claiming social distancing guidelines were followed at the gatherings, the Times reported.

The committee’s report is also expected to make clear that criticism of the committee should be considered contempt of parliament after Mr Johnson and his allies dismissed the inquiry as a “witch hunt”.

Downing Street defended the group for having done “exactly what parliament asked them to do” while senior Tory MP Damian Green said it was “monstrous” the committee was being attacked for their work.

Nadine Dorries calls Rishi Sunak a 'privileged posh boy'

Tuesday 13 June 2023 09:20 , Tara Cobham

Covid inquiry to look at Brexit impact on pandemic

Tuesday 13 June 2023 09:37 , Tara Cobham

The Covid inquiry will examine the impact of Brexit on Britain’s readiness for the virus and the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Two years after then-PM Boris Johnson announced a public inquiry would be set up, chairwoman Baroness Hallett will officially begin the first day of evidence on Tuesday.

The first module – investigating the country’s preparedness for the crisis – will include evidence on “any impact arising from the UK’s departure from the European Union”.

Adam Forrest reports:

Covid inquiry to look at Brexit impact on pandemic

‘Weird’ for Boris career to be destroyed, says ex-spin doctor

Tuesday 13 June 2023 10:08 , Eleanor Noyce

Former No 10 communications director Guto Harri said “miscommunication” was to blame for the feud between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak over his honours.

“I don’t think Rishi Sunak was trying to be malicious or malevolent, I don’t think Boris Johnson was careless,” he told TalkTV. Mr Harri said “something got lost in translation”, adding: “It’s all gone a little bit of horribly wrong.”

Asked about the privileges committee’s Partygate report – set to find Mr Johnson deliberately misled parliament – Mr Harri said: “Forgive me if I think it’s a bit weird if he settled a £50 fine by police, but allow a committee ruled by a former Labour leader to destroy what’s left of his career.”

Sir Keir Starmer: UK’s response to Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act a ‘critical question'

Tuesday 13 June 2023 10:29 , Eleanor Noyce

Sir Keir Starmer said how the UK responds to Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is a “critical question”.

The Labour leader said President Biden’s $369bn package of subsidies for investment in green technology is drawing business away from Britain.

“I can feel investors being drawn toward the US, and we need a response in the UK to that. We can not just sit it out,” Sir Keir told attendees at the London Tech Week conference.

He added: “Creating those conditions for businesses to thrive is absolutely vital to us.”

Sir Keir highlighted Labour’s so-called Green Prosperity Plan, which will see the party invest up to £28bn per year in climate-friendly projects until 2030 if it wins the next election.

He said: “We have a plan that will be our equivalent of the Inflation Reduction Act.

“It will give us lower bills, security, independence from tyrants like Putin and a real chance to grow our economy.”

And, in a swipe at Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Sir Keir added: “What I don’t believe in is a government that just looks at the problem and sits it out.

“We have to be on the pitch, agile and active working in business to reap what will be the great rewards if we get this right.”

Who is Charlotte Owen and why is she getting a peerage?

Tuesday 13 June 2023 10:56 , Eleanor Noyce

A former aide to Boris Johnson is set to become the youngest-ever peer after being included in his controversial resignation honours list.

Charlotte Owen, 29, joins former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg and Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns in being elevated to the House of Lords by the ex-prime minister.

Mr Johnson’s full honours list was published shortly before he resigned on Friday and sparked a political row with Rishi Sunak after MPs Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams were omitted.

My colleague Matt Mathers reports:

All we know about Charlotte Owen as Boris Johnson makes her UK’s youngest peer

First day of UK Covid-19 inquiry to begin with ‘difficult to watch’ video testimonies

Tuesday 13 June 2023 11:15 , Eleanor Noyce

The voices of some of those who suffered most in the pandemic will be heard as the UK Covid-19 Inquiry officially begins its first day of evidence.

Two years after then-prime minister Boris Johnson announced a public inquiry would be set up, chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett will formally open the first substantive hearing on Tuesday.

Following her statement, a video featuring people from across the UK sharing their experiences of loss will be played to those gathered at the hearing centre in west London.

Aine Fox has the full story:

First day of Covid-19 inquiry to begin with ‘difficult to watch’ video testimonies

Tory turmoil over Johnson is having an impact on UK’s reputation, Starmer claims

Tuesday 13 June 2023 11:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Tory infighting between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak is damaging the UK’s reputation internationally and putting off investors, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed.

Mr Johnson, who formally quit Parliament on Monday in advance of a report which was expected to find he deliberately lied to MPs over the partygate scandal, has been involved in a public spat with Mr Sunak over his resignation honours list.

Sir Keir said it “is certainly evidence of chaos” in the Tory party, claiming the by-elections triggered by Mr Johnson, Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams were “essentially political tantrums”.

“Political parties usually fight like this when they’re out of office, it’s very unusual when they’re in office,” he said.

But, Sir Keir told business chiefs at London Tech Week: “There is a price to be paid.

“Everywhere you go across the country, most people are really worried about the cost of living, they are worrying about how they can pay their bills.

“And for them to see a government squabbling with itself instead of focused on what they need addressed, I think is a very serious situation for this government.

“And there’s a deeper price because there’s a reputation hit to the UK. And I think there’s an economic hit as well ... many investors said to me, we’re not investing in the UK right now because we don’t see the conditions of certainty and stability we need in order to invest.”

Tory turmoil over Johnson is having an impact on UK’s reputation, Starmer claims

Britain’s COVID inquiry launches with pledge to put bereaved at its heart

Tuesday 13 June 2023 11:31 , Eleanor Noyce

The chair of Britain’s COVID-19 inquiry pledged to put the bereaved and those who suffered at the heart of her work as she began main hearings on Tuesday into how the coronavirus pandemic was handled.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson had ordered the inquiry to look into the United Kingdom’s preparedness as well as the public health and economic response after Britain recorded one of the world’s highest death tolls from COVID.

More than 175,000 deaths from the virus had been reported by the time Johnson stood down in July last year.

“I have promised many times that those who have suffered hardship and loss are and will always be at the heart of the inquiry,” the chair, Heather Hallett, said at the start of the hearing. “I am listening to them. Their loss will be recognised.”

Module one, which is looking into Britain’s preparedness for the pandemic, opened on Tuesday.

The inquiry has held preliminary hearings, but this week will see the first evidence heard in the inquiry since it was formally launched in June 2022.

With a national election expected next year, the detailed examination of decision-making could create political headaches for current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was finance minister during the pandemic.

However, evidence hearings on module two, which covers governance and decision-making in the pandemic, are not due to start until later in the year.

The government has launched a legal challenge against the inquiry over its requests for internal government WhatsApp messages from Johnson‘s time in office which it says are “unambiguously irrelevant” to the inquiry.

The inquiry argues that it is for the chair to determine what material is relevant. The legal case will be heard about the end of June.

The fall of Boris Johnson: How we got here and what comes next

Tuesday 13 June 2023 11:50 , Eleanor Noyce

In the fog of the Tory civil war, it’s not always clear who’s winning or even exactly who’s on the field of battle.

Sometimes there’s a surprising consensus on the course of events, but also a perplexing conflict over who said what to whom.

In particular, the way the nominations for Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list were handled (especially peerages for Nadine Dorries and others), is particularly opaque.

Sean O’Grady maps out a timeline of the fall of Boris Johnson:

The fall of Boris Johnson: How we got here and what comes next

Editorial: Boris is settling in as a sideline sniper, with Sunak in his sights

Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Rightly, Rishi Sunak has decided to defend himself against the torrent of abuse, half-truths and unfounded conspiracies spewed out by Boris Johnson and his few remaining outriders in recent days.

In a short digression during his turn at London Tech Week, the prime minister did not hold back: “Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t prepared to do because I didn’t think it was right. That was to either overrule the Holac [House of Lords Appointments Commission] committee or to make promises for people. Now, I wasn’t prepared to do that. I didn’t think it was right, and if people don’t like that, then tough.”

Harking back to his pledge to bring integrity, professionalism, and accountability into government, Mr Sunak went on to explain that he wanted to do things differently because he wanted to “change politics, and that’s what I’m doing”.

Read more:

Editorial: Boris is settling in as a sideline sniper, with Sunak in his sights

Voices: Boris’s big lockdown lie: A shameless, callous deception even the greased piglet couldn’t wriggle out of

Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:48 , Eleanor Noyce

No doubt, even allowing for some childish petulance, Boris Johnson thought himself jolly smart by skipping the House of Commons before the privileges committee published its report.

The likely sanction of suspension from the Commons has been rendered redundant, and the debate on the report will be missing his contributions. He has avoided a ritual humiliation in the chamber at the hands of those who he considers dolts and fools and, on his own side, those who owe their ministerial jobs and cushy parliamentary lives to his campaigning genius.

Sean O’Grady writes:

Not even the greased piglet could wriggle out of the big lockdown lie | Sean O’Grady

PM does not believe only ‘posh boys’ should be handed peerages - Downing Street

Tuesday 13 June 2023 12:54 , Eleanor Noyce

Downing Street has said it would have been inappropriate for No 10 or the Cabinet Office to have contacted individuals going through the vetting process for peerages, after Nadine Dorries accused the prime minister of blocking her from entering the House of Lords.

“In line with the longstanding custom, the prime minister forwards the list unaltered following vetting by Holac (the House of Lords Appointments Commission),” the spokesman said.

“Obviously it is not for No 10 or the Cabinet Office to be in contact with individuals going through the Holac process - again, that would not be appropriate.”

Asked whether the prime minister believes “only posh boys” should be handed peerages, the spokesman replied: “No.”

Rishi Sunak believes in “probity” and the rules on misleading Parliament are “clearly set out,” Downing Street added, amid reports the Privileges Committee has found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs.

“The consequences for misleading Parliament are clearly set out.

“You’ve heard the prime minister talk on a number of occasions about the importance of probity,” his spokesman added.

Watch: Moment Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs on following Covid guidelines

Tuesday 13 June 2023 13:01 , Eleanor Noyce

On Wednesday 14 June, Boris Johnson will reportedly be found to have deliberately misled MPs over parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.

The Privileges Committee has rejected the former prime minister’s defence that senior officials advised him that Covid rules and guidance had been followed.

Watch:

Year-on-year reduction in small boat crossings hailed by Sunak has shrunk further

Tuesday 13 June 2023 13:15 , Eleanor Noyce

The year-on-year reduction in small boat crossings hailed by Rishi Sunak last week has shrunk further with another significant day for arrivals, our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden writes.

Home Office figures show that 545 migrants arrived in dinghies on Monday, following a 2023 daily record of 616 the previous day.

Calm seas accompanying the UK’s current heatwave have provided favourable weather for the dangerous crossings, following weeks of rough conditions and high winds.

Just last Monday, the prime minister visited Dover and launched a major speech proclaiming: “Our approach is working. For the first time, crossings are down by 20 per cent.”

But the year-on-year drop has been cut to 11 per cent in recent days, and could disappear completely this week if fine weather continues to see high daily crossings.

Experts had already cautioned that it was “too early to say” whether small boat crossings were on course for an overall reduction this year, and if government policy or other factors like the weather were behind recent changes.

Yesterday, Home Office submissions to a Court of Appeal battle on asylum seeker accommodation said its “operational plans are based on scenarios of up to 56,000 small boat arrivals in 2023”, which would be a new record and a rise of over a fifth in 2022.

With questions over how the new Illegal Migration Bill will be implemented - given the lack of detention centres to detain migrants or agreements to deport them - and an absence of evidence for ministers’ claims it will deter crossings, the PM’s pledge to “stop the boats” is looking very risky indeed.

Could tactical voting force Rishi Sunak out of No 10?

Tuesday 13 June 2023 13:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Three by-elections occasioned by the sudden decisions of Boris Johnson and two of his acolytes to leave the House of Commons. None of them are contests that Rishi Sunak will relish, at a time when his party is still as much as 16 points behind Labour in the national polls. Yet they are, nevertheless, three by-elections with a rather different character.

The three upcoming crunch by-elections all have the potential to swing votes decisively for the main parties contesting them, writes John Curtice:

Will tactical voting keep Rishi Sunak out of No 10? | John Curtice

Government accused of prioritising the ‘latest round of Conservative infighting’ over mortgage market crisis

Tuesday 13 June 2023 13:27 , Eleanor Noyce

A minister insisted he was focused on the crisis in the mortgage market, as the government faced accusations of prioritising the “latest round of Conservative infighting”.

Labour MP Emma Hardy (Hull West and Hessle) told the Commons: “Interest rates are up and mortgage deals are being pulled left, right and centre, yet the minister has had to be dragged here to answer this urgent question.”

Referring to the rift between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak over the former prime minister’s resignation honours list, she added: “Will the government please refocus on this mortgage crisis rather than the latest round of Conservative infighting, and give the public the reassurance it desperately needs?”

Treasury minister Andrew Griffith replied: “I can give her the reassurance that focusing on the wellbeing of the nation’s mortgage holders, savers, pensioners, and investors is the whole of my focus, and I know that of my other colleagues on the Treasury bench. That is what we are focused on.

“It is a feature of the UK mortgage market, as honourable Members on both sides will know, that from time to time mortgage deals are withdrawn from the market and repriced.

“As of now there are over 5,000 mortgage offers from different suppliers at different tenures in the market and of course it remains my focus that those who seek to buy a first home or to re-mortgage their home do have the most competitive offers available.”

Sunak hits back at Nadine Dorries as he denies believing only posh boys should be Lords

Tuesday 13 June 2023 13:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Rishi Sunak has hit back at a claim by Nadine Dorries that a “class ceiling” prevented her from being elevated to the House of Lords, denying that only posh boys should be awarded peerages.

Ms Dorries has claimed she resigned as an MP after being “bullied” by No 10 and accused the prime minister of “duplicitously and cruelly” blocking her from getting a peerage.

The Boris Johnson loyalist sought to divide the row along class lines, branding Mr Sunak and James Forsyth – his political aide – “privileged posh boys” who had stopped her from being offered a seat in the Lords.

“I’m broken-hearted, not just for me but for everyone who comes from a background like mine,” she said.

Read more:

Sunak hits back at Dorries over whether only posh boys should be Lords

ICYMI: Boris Johnson ‘pushed Sunak to knight father Stanley’ in crunch meeting with PM

Tuesday 13 June 2023 14:20 , Eleanor Noyce

Boris Johnson is said to have pressed for his father Stanley to be given a knighthood during his crunch talks with Rishi Sunak on his honour list.

The former prime minister told his successor his dad should be honoured for his work for the Conservatives and the environment, according to The Times.

Frustrated at his father being cut from the list, Mr Johnson is said to have argued that it was customary for family members to be recognised in a PM’s resignation honours.

But No 10 is said to have worried about how handing Stanley Johnson a knighthood would be perceived. A government source told the newspaper: “It just would have looked terrible.”

My colleague Adam Forrest reports:

Boris Johnson ‘pushed Sunak to knight father Stanley’ in crunch meeting

Uxbridge, Mid-Bedfordshire and Selby by-elections: Key numbers

Tuesday 13 June 2023 14:50 , Eleanor Noyce

The Conservatives are facing the prospect of fighting three by-elections at the same time – but against parties with differing chances of success.

Here are the key electoral statistics for the constituencies of Uxbridge & South Ruislip, Mid-Bedfordshire and Selby & Ainsty, together with what Labour or the Liberal Democrats would need to do to take the seats from the Tories.

Ian Jones writes:

Uxbridge, Mid-Bedfordshire and Selby by-elections: Key numbers

The 12 words that sparked Boris Johnson’s downfall

Tuesday 13 June 2023 14:57 , Eleanor Noyce

They were the 12 words that ultimately brought down a prime minister and if Boris Johnson didn’t know it then, he will almost certainly know it now.

At 12.28pm on Wednesday, December 8 2021, the then-prime minister stood at the dispatch box at Prime Minister’s Questions to answer a question from Labour MP Catherine West, eight days after the first reports of Downing Street gatherings emerged.

With a knowing smile, Ms West asked Mr Johnson to tell the house “whether there was a party in Downing Street on 13 November“.

He stood up calmly, placing his notes on the historic despatch box, telling her firmly, “no,” before adding, “the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times”.

My colleague Archie Mitchell reports:

The 12 words that sparked Boris Johnson’s downfall

COVID-19 inquiry hears government was under-prepared

Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:07 , Eleanor Noyce

The UK government was under-prepared and failed to anticipate measures needed to protect the vulnerable, an official inquiry heard on Tuesday, as its chair pledged to put the bereaved at the heart of her work.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson ordered the investigation after Britain recorded one of the world’s highest death tolls. More than 175,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus had been reported by the time Mr Johnson stood down in July last year.

Tory peer called journalist a ‘presstitute’ and mocked her for being ‘poor’

Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:10 , Eleanor Noyce

A Conservative peer bullied and humiliated a women’s rights campaigner both online and in person, a House of Lords investigation has found.

Lord Rami Ranger has been forced to apologise after the inquiry found he had harassed the campaigner and journalist on Twitter – calling her “the epitome of filth and garbage”.

The top Tory donor also described the Indian journalist Poonam Joshi “a total nutcase” and referred to her “poor upbringing” following an argument at a Diwali event in parliament.

Following a complaint from Ms Joshi, Lords standards commissioner Akbar Khan found Lord Ranger had bullied and harassed Ms Joshi by “persistently undermining, humiliating and denigrating” the journalist.

Our Political Correspondent Adam Forrest has the full story:

Tory peer called journalist ‘presstitute’ and mocked her for being ‘poor’

Johnson ‘was updated on resignation honours list by Cabinet Office before June’

Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:25 , Eleanor Noyce

Boris Johnson was given updates about his resignation honours list before he met with the Prime Minister in June, it is understood.

The former prime minister is involved in a public spat with Rishi Sunak over his House of Lords nominations, after Nadine Dorries and other allies missed out on getting peerages.

Ms Dorries has claimed information about what was needed for her to pass the vetting process for nominees was not relayed to her in time and accused the Prime Minister of “duplicitously and cruelly” blocking her appointment.

She used an interview with TalkTV to launch a fresh attack on Mr Sunak, claiming he used “weasel words” and “sophistry” in a meeting with Mr Johnson last week which left the outgoing MP believing she would be included.

David Hughes writes:

Johnson ‘was updated on resignation honours list by Cabinet Office before June’

Cabinet Office’s refusal to hand over documents to Covid Inquiry ‘corrosive’, inquiry hears

Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:27 , Eleanor Noyce

The Cabinet Office’s refusal to hand over requested documents to the Covid Inquiry is “corrosive” and will damage confidence in the process, the inquiry has heard.

Sam Jacobs, a lawyer representing the Trades Union Congress, said its position “smacks of having something to hide” and warned the “infighting” between Boris Johnson and the Government “jars with the terrible losses” suffered during the pandemic.

“It (the Cabinet Office) is refusing even to return Mr Johnson‘s diaries to him as it knows Mr Johnson intends to provide them to the inquiry. Mr Johnson himself has been complaining to the Times newspaper of the Cabinet Office foot-dragging in response to the inquiry, of wasting public time and money by delaying the inquiry, and of deliberately frustrating the inquiry’s work.

“My Lady, the infighting jars with the terrible losses described in the impact film that we watched this morning.

“The position taken by the Cabinet Office is corrosive because it damages confidence in this inquiry. It smacks of having something to hide - of fighting tooth and nail to avoid revealing all to the inquiry.

“What the public want to know is ... whether the Cabinet Office can approach this inquiry, not just now but going forward, with the spirit of openness and candour that we deserve. Those in the cabinet either have the will to respond openly to this inquiry, or they do not.”

He added: “It is a matter of regret to is that these substantive hearings start under something of a cloud.”

Covid inquiry: Everything you need to know about public hearings into UK’s pandemic response

Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:40 , Eleanor Noyce

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry opened its first public hearing on 13 June in London, beginning a three-year investigation into the British government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The inquiry will seek to understand the decision-making that led to the imposition of strict lockdown measures on the public, how our evolving understanding of the virus guided policy, what the government got right and what mistakes were made, with a view to being better prepared for future pandemics and public health emergencies.

When then-prime minister Boris Johnson announced the first “stay at home” order on 23 March 2020, British citizens came together in a rare moment of national unity, for the most part, diligently adhering to social restrictions introduced to help stop the spread of the contagious respiratory disease.

Here’s everything you need to know about the public hearings into the UK’s pandemic response:

Everything you need to know about the Covid inquiry

No-deal Brexit ‘crowded out’ UK’s preparations for pandemic, Covid inquiry hears

Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:50 , Eleanor Noyce

The government’s focus on Brexit “crowded out and prevented” the work that was needed to prepare for the next pandemic, the lead lawyer to the Covid-19 inquiry has said.

Hugo Keith KC told the inquiry that work around a no-deal exit from the EU threatened by Boris Johnson may have drained “the resources and capacity” that were needed for pandemic planning.

The top lawyer told chair of the inquiry, Baroness Hallett, that a lot of planning went into the “severe consequences of a no-deal exit on food and medicine supplies, travel and transport”.

Adam Forrest has the full story:

Brexit ‘crowded out’ UK’s preparations for Covid, inquiry hears

COVID-19 inquiry in UK asks whether 'terrible consequences' could have been avoided

Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:00 , Eleanor Noyce

A mammoth three-year public inquiry into the U.K. government’s handling of the response to COVID-19 opened Tuesday by asking whether suffering and death could have been avoided with better planning.

Lawyer Hugo Keith, who is counsel to the inquiry, said the coronavirus pandemic had brought “death and illness on an unprecedented scale” in modern Britain. He said that COVID-19 has been recorded as a cause of death for 226,977 people in the U.K.

“The key issue is whether that impact was inevitable,” Keith said. “Were those terrible consequences inexorable, or were they avoidable or capable of mitigation?”

Jill Lawless reports:

COVID-19 inquiry in UK asks whether 'terrible consequences' could have been avoided

Boris Johnson told ‘months ago’ peerage for Nadine Dorries had been rejected

Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:07 , Eleanor Noyce

Boris Johnson was told his attempt to award a peerage to Nadine Dorries had been rejected as long ago as February, according to senior government sources.

The former prime minister and the ex-culture secretary shocked Westminster when they announced they were quitting as MPs on Friday, triggering by-elections their party, currently struggling in the polls, could lose.

They are both locked in a public spat with Rishi Sunak over her peerage, amid claims Mr Johnson did not know until recently his nominations had been blocked.

Kate Devlin reports:

Boris Johnson told ‘months ago’ peerage for Nadine Dorries had been rejected

Voices: If you’re posh, the least you could do is feel embarrassed about it

Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:20 , Eleanor Noyce

So there she goes, “Mad Nad” Dorries, furiously flouncing off towards her sunset talkshow slot at TalkTV’s London studios, aiming both barrels squarely over her shoulder.

The presenter formerly known as the Rt Hon Nadine is seething that two “posh boys”, Rishi Sunak and his adviser James Forsyth, were behind moves to “duplicitously and cruelly” block her from getting a peerage.

“It kind of breaks my heart, because this story is about a girl from Liverpool who worked every day of her life, had something offered to her that people from that background don’t get offered, removed by two privileged posh boys who went to Winchester and Oxford”, she told Piers Morgan on his TalkTV show.

Samuel Fishwick writes:

Opinion: If you’re posh, the least you could do is feel embarrassed about it

Coverage paused

Tuesday 13 June 2023 16:21 , Eleanor Noyce

We’re pausing coverage on this for now.

To keep up to date with the latest breaking news, visit independent.co.uk.

Sunak: My thoughts are with Nottingham victims

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:14 , Matt Mathers

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said the thoughts of all in the House of Commons are with the injured and the families of those who lost their lives in Nottingham.

Speaking at the start of Prime Minister’s Questions, he said: "I know the whole House will want to thank the emergency services for their ongoing response to the shocking incident in Nottingham yesterday.

"Our thoughts are with those injured and with the families of those who lost their lives."

Starmer: Why are Tories arguing about who gets a peerage?

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:16 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer has asked the prime minister why the Conservative Party "spent this last week arguing over which of them gets a peerage".

The Labour leader told the Commons at Prime Minister’s Questions: "All across the country, people are worried about their bills, the price of the weekly shop and the spiralling mortgage rates.

"So why has the Tory party spent this last week arguing over which of them gets a peerage?"

Mr Sunak replied: "In line with a long-established convention of previous prime ministers having the ability to submit honours, I followed the process to the letter, in convention of long-standing process.

"It is, by the way, a long-standing convention that prime ministers on both sides to this House have followed in the same way that I did."

Sunak: I upheld convention

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:21 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak has insisted prime ministers from both parties “have always upheld the convention of non-interference on political honours”.

His comments were in response to Sir Keir Starmer, who asked him in the Commons: “But the truth is for all his tough talk after the event, the prime minister did sign off the honours list. That means that those who threw a Downing Street party the night before the late Queen sat alone at her husband’s funeral will now receive awards from the King.

“If he is so tough, why didn’t he block it?”

The prime minister replied: “As I said, I and the government followed due process and convention. Prime ministers of both parties have always upheld the convention of non-interference on political honours.

“My predecessors may not have agreed with Labour’s choices of Tom Watson or Shami Chakrabarti, but the same precedent stood then as it does now. And I’d expect a knight like him to understand that.”

Watch: ‘Honours should be for public service not Tory cronies’, Starmer says

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:24 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer responded: “Honours should be for public service not Tory cronies.”

He asked: “Isn’t this this case: He was too weak to block Johnson’s list, and that also means that those who spent their time helping cover up Johnson’s lawbreaking are rewarded by becoming lawmakers for the rest of their lives?”

Echoing the prime minister’s words, Sir Keir added: “Is his message to the British public ‘if you don’t like it, tough’”?

Rishi Sunak replied: “It is right that we use the honours system to recognise people. Almost 2,000 people a year from members of the England Lionesses team to the first Asian police officer in Greater Manchester.

“But he talks about putting people in the House of Lords: perhaps he could explain why he put forward for a peerage the former Labour MP Tom Watson who spread vicious conspiracy theories that were totally and utterly untrue, damaged public discourse ad inflicted misery on innocent people?”

Sunak asked if he will ‘buckle’ to Truss over her resignation list

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:29 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer asked if Rishi Sunak will block the honours list of former prime minister Liz Truss or “buckle to her as well”.

The Labour leader told the Commons: “There’s only one party that broke the economy and they’re sitting right there. And there’s a reason they can’t fix the problems facing the country because they never take responsibility for the damage that they’ve done.

“And it’s not just Johnson – the Prime Minister’s immediate predecessor is hoping to reward those who made her reign such a rip-roaring success.

“On her honours list are the masterminds of that kamikaze budget – the economic extremists of the Institute of Economic Affairs, those whose disastrous ideas crashed the economy and left the country to pick up the pieces.

“Will the Prime Minister block that honours list or will he buckle to her as well?”

Mr Sunak replied: “If you want disastrous economic ideas all you have to do is (look at) Labour’s economic policy on energy. It’s an energy policy that seeks to ban all new British oil and gas drilling, jeopardising 200,000 jobs and our energy security at a time of international conflict.

“Despots like Putin are the only people who will welcome such a policy. His predecessor once said he wanted British jobs for British workers – his policy is British jobs for Russian workers.”

Starmer: End the ‘excuses’ and call election ‘now’

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:30 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer concluded by calling for a general election, saying: “End the boasting, the excuses, the Tory chaos, see if he can finally find somebody, anybody, anywhere to vote for him and call a general election now.”

Rishi Sunak replied by criticising Labour for voting against the Government’s immigration reforms and measures to tackle disruptive protests, adding: “We’re getting on and delivering for the country.”

Speaker scolds Sunak for bringing up Labour’s Tom Watson in honours row

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:53 , Matt Mathers

Sir Lindsay Hoyle scolded Rishi Sunak for bringing up Labour’s Tom Watson during a fiery PMQs exchange about Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.

The row between the prime minister and the Commons Speaker began after Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of being “too weak” to block Mr Johnson’s list.

Adam Forrest reports:

Speaker scolds Sunak for bringing up Labour’s Tom Watson in honours row

Economic growth is back — but the battle with inflation means it may prove fleeting

Wednesday 14 June 2023 13:12 , Matt Mathers

Jeremy Hunt is left crossing his fingers and hoping the Bank of England can finally tackle rising prices by the end of this year, says James Moore.

Read James’s full piece here:

Economic growth is back – but it may prove fleeting

Watch: Stephen Flynn clashes with Rishi Sunak over SNP’s turmoil at PMQs

Wednesday 14 June 2023 13:35 , Matt Mathers

MP blasts Suella Braverman in fiery Commons clash over small boats: ‘Just answer the question’

Wednesday 14 June 2023 14:00 , Matt Mathers

Suella Braverman has admitted that the government does not know how much its new small boats bill will cost in a fiery Commons clash.

The home secretary has vocally backed the Illegal Migration Bill, claiming it will deter Channel crossings by allowing the government to detain and deport everyone who arrives in the UK in small boats without considering asylum and modern slavery claims.

Lizzie Dearden reports:

MP blasts Braverman in fiery clash over small boats: ‘Just answer the question’

Joe Biden set for ‘mini state visit’ to Britain this summer

Wednesday 14 June 2023 14:25 , Matt Mathers

US president Joe Biden is set to make a trip to the UK next month in what has been described as a “mini” state visit.

It is understood the American leader will pay a visit to Britain before heading on to the Nato summit in Lithuania, with negotiations about the nature of the visit ongoing.

Adam Forrest reports:

Joe Biden set for ‘mini state visit’ to Britain this summer

Rishi Sunak attacks Nadine Dorries over her failure to resign as promised

Wednesday 14 June 2023 14:45 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak has lashed out at Nadine Dorries‘s failure to resign as an MP as promised – with No 10 describing her decision to hang on days after she said she was quitting as “unusual”.

The prime minister said her constituents deserve “proper representation” and he was “looking forward” to a by-election in the former culture secretary’s Mid Bedfordshire seat.

Kate Devlin, Archie Mitchell and Adam Forrest report:

Rishi Sunak attacks Nadine Dorries over her failure to resign as promised

Government is ready to expand safe and legal routes for refugees

Wednesday 14 June 2023 15:05 , Matt Mathers

The Government is ready to expand existing safe and legal routes to the UK for refugees as illegal migration is curbed, a Home Office minister has said.

Speaking in Parliament as peers continued their debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, Lord Murray of Blidworth said: "There should be safe and legal routes. The question is the mechanics of that safe and legal route, and how that fits with the scheme in the Bill to deter people from embarking upon dangerous journeys across the Channel."

He told the upper chamber the aim was to implement any proposed new safe and legal routes by the end of 2024.

Lord Murray said: "I believe the timeframe proposed is suitable as it will allow for proper consultation on potential new safe and legal routes.

"We are ready to expand existing safe and legal routes as we get a grip on illegal migration and the Bill already provides for this. That is the way forward."

Lord Murray also argued a planned limit on arrivals "does not signify a lack of willingness to help".

The minister said: "Introducing a cap is the right way to ensure our safe and legal routes can become part of a sustainable migration system.

"While we are committed to considering new safe and legal routes we must also acknowledge current local authority capacity to house and support refugees.

"It makes no sense to launch new routes where we do not have the capacity to bring people to sanctuary in the UK and ensure their successful integration into our society."

Privileges Committee signs off on Johnson report and prepares for publication

Wednesday 14 June 2023 15:30 , Matt Mathers

The investigation finding Boris Johnson misled Parliament with his partygate denials has been finalised and is set for its long-awaited publication.

The Privileges Committee has signed off on its report paving the way for publication on Thursday morning, sources said, after a last-ditch intervention from the former prime minister.

Sam Blewett reports:

Privileges Committee signs off on Johnson report and prepares for publication

Greens criticise Illegal Migration Bill

Wednesday 14 June 2023 16:00 , Matt Mathers

Green Party peer Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle claimed the Illegal Migration Bill has "echoes" of the Act which abolished slavery in the 19th century, but focused more on compensation to former slave owners than former slaves.

She said: "There’s a great deal of concern about the fact that there was one very short paragraph that addressed what would happen to the former slaves, and there were paragraphs and paragraphs addressing compensation for the slave owners.

"Now that’s something that’s had a very long historical tale that still rebounds today - and I would suggest that the Bill, as currently constructed, with its extreme focus on attempts at deterrents and attempts at treating refugees really badly, there’s real echoes and parallels to be drawn there."

Meanwhile, former Labour shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti suggested that the proposed cap on refugees coming to the UK via safe and legal routes may be a "statutory grenade" designed to limit the compassion of future governments.

Boris Johnson claims Tory MP on privileges committee may have broken lockdown rules

Wednesday 14 June 2023 16:42 , Andy Gregory

Boris Johnson has called for a Tory to resign from the committee due to publish the report into whether he lied to Parliament about parties during lockdown, with the ex-prime minister alleging that the MP may have broken lockdown rules himself.

On the eve of the publication of its investigation into whether Mr Johnson lied to MPs, the former prime minister called for Sir Bernard Jenkin’s resignation from the privileges committee.

The Guido Fawkes website reported that Sir Bernard went to a drinks party held by Commons deputy speaker Dame Eleanor Laing in December 2020, while London was in Tier 2 measures restricting indoor mixing.

In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “Bernard Jenkin has just voted to expel me from Parliament for allegedly trying to conceal from Parliament my knowledge of illicit events.

“Now it turns out he may have for the whole time known that he himself attended an event – and concealed this from the Privileges Committee and the whole House for the last year.

“To borrow the language of the committee, if this is the case, he ‘must have known’ he was in breach of the rules. He has no choice but to explain his actions to his own committee, for his colleagues to investigate and then to resign.”

Boris Johnson accused of ‘desperate’ last-ditch attack on privileges committee

Wednesday 14 June 2023 16:50 , Andy Gregory

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:

Boris Johnson has been accused of a “desperate” last-ditch attempt to discredit the work of the privileges committee just hours before it passes judgement on whether he lied to parliament about Partygate.

The former PM has called on senior Tory Sir Bernard Jenkin to “explain his actions and resign” from the committee. It follows a report by the right-wing website Guido Fawkes which claimed Sir Bernard attended a drinks reception in December 2020.

A source close to the committee said it was “desperate stuff” from the Boris camp, and noted that the committee was ruling on Mr Johnson’s claims in the Commons rather than the gatherings themselves.

A reception for Sir Bernard’s wife on her birthday, hosted by deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing, was held in parliament on 8 December 2020, according to Guido Fawkes.

Ms Laing said she held a “business meeting” on that evening, adding: “I was so strict with my 2 metre ruler and told everyone we will adhere to those rules and be very careful.”

Asked if he attended the event, Sir Bernard told Guido: “I did not attend any drinks parties during lockdown.” Asked if he saying you did not have anything to drink, the MP said: “I don’t recall.”

The Independent has approached Mr Jenkin for comment.

Voices | Sunak couldn’t say it, so one of his backbenchers did: Boris is a busted flush

Wednesday 14 June 2023 17:17 , Andy Gregory

In his latest column, our chief political columnist John Rentoul describes today’s PMQ’s battle as having been “tediously partisan” until the session’s close. He writes:

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Keir Starmer wanted to embarrass Rishi Sunak by saying he was responsible for approving Boris Johnson’s honours list. Sunak was indeed embarrassed, as he squirmed and said as blandly as he could that he had just “followed convention” in allowing his predecessor’s resignation list to go through.

The prime minister obviously wanted to say that Johnson had nothing to do with him, and that he wanted him, in the words of Tory MP Tim Loughton, to “shut up and go away”. But he couldn’t, so he had a go at Ed Miliband instead.

So far, so tediously partisan. It wasn’t until towards the end of the session that Philip Davies, the right-wing Tory backbencher, finally spoke for the nation. He asked Sunak about “the former member for Uxbridge”, saying: “I’m sure the prime minister remembers him: he’s the one who said we should be more Conservative – if only he’d had a majority of 80 and been prime minister, he might have been able to do something about it.”

It was a cathartic moment, in which someone suddenly spoke the truth that both sides of the Commons knew, but which really needed a Tory to say out loud: that they have had enough of Johnson’s narcissism and self-pity.

The Tories are sick of Boris – they want him to go away and stay away | John Rentoul

Voters ‘sick’ of Tory melodrama, says Labour candidate in Boris Johnson’s constituency

Wednesday 14 June 2023 18:42 , Andy Gregory

The prospective MP hoping to seize Boris Johnson’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency for Labour for the first time has insisted that voters are “sick and fed up with” Tory melodrama.

Labour's Danny Beales told the Daily Mirror: “When more and more people are having their mortgages revalued and getting extra bills through the door and just to hear Tories tear chunks out of each in government – or supposedly in government – who are responsible for these things, I think it’s deeply frustrating.

“The feeling is can we have some adults in the room who are making decisions in the national interests. I find it deeply frustrating, I want this Tory melodrama just to be at an end.”

Wednesday 14 June 2023 18:44 , Joe Middleton

This blog is now closed, but we’ll be back on Thursday bringing you all the latest news from Westminster.

European Union 'would love' to have UK back, claims Nigel Farage

02:00 , Joe Middleton