Tag Archives: Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak Sparks Anger By ‘Advising’ King Charles To Meet Ursula Von Der Leyen

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A furious political row has erupted after Rishi Sunak urged King Charles to meet the president of the European Commission in the middle of crunch Brexit talks.

Buckingham Palace confirmed this morning that the monarch will have an audience with Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor.

The EU chief will be in the Berkshire town for negotiations with the prime minister to put the finishing touches to a new deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

In a statement, the palace said: “The king is pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain and it is the government’s advice that he should do so.”

But the PM’s official spokesperson insisted: “Fundamentally it is a decision for the palace.”

The spokesperson also pointed out that the king had met with other world leaders who have visited the UK recently, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He added: “His view is that it is a matter for the palace to decide and ultimately for the kind to decide if he wants to meet individuals.”

However, former DUP leader Arlene Foster said it was “tone deaf” for for the government to advise the king to meet von der Leyen at such a politically sensitive moment.

Reports first emerged over the weekend that the king and European Commission president could meet up.

At the time, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “If there were a plan to bring the King in before there is domestic political agreement, it would border on constitutional impropriety.”

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle said: “I do not know how a thought of involving the king could pass somebody’s mind and reach it to their mouth before they realise that this is a very very unwise policy to choose because it has constitutional implications.”

The row comes as Sunak prepares to finally unveil the agreement he has reached with the EU on trade between Britain and Northern Ireland.

He and von der Leyen will hold a press conference this afternoon, before the PM makes a statement to MPs in the House of Commons.

However, it could potentially spark a major Tory split if the DUP say they cannot support the deal.

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Eat Turnips Amid Tomato Shortage, Environment Secretary Therese Coffey Says

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Therese Coffey made the comments when she was questioned by MPs in parliament on Thursday about food shortages.

Tory MP Selaine Saxby had suggested seasonal eating would solve the issue, saying: “The supermarkets are still importing far too many products for us and… actually we should be eating more seasonally and supporting our own British farmers.

“And if we were actually to move to a seasonal line of eating, many of these problems would be avoided… there are great food products available from local farmers at this time.”

Why Is There A Shortage Of Tomatoes And Other Fruit And Veg?

The UK government says it is mainly down to bad weather in Europe and Africa.

High electricity prices are also having an impact on food grown in greenhouses in the UK and the Netherlands.

Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Morrisons have all announced they are rationing salad ingredients for a few weeks.

Coffey replied: “It’s important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country.

“A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but I’m conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy.”

During the exchange, Coffey said the shortages would be a temporary issue that should be resolved in two to four weeks.

A shortage of tomatoes in UK supermarkets has widened to other fruit and vegetables due to a combination of bad weather and transport problems in Africa and Europe.

Some supermarkets have introduced customer limits on certain fresh produce, with photographs emerging of empty shelves.

Lib Dem Wera Hobhouse said Rishi Sunak should call an emergency Cobra meeting to respond to the “national emergency”.

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Labour Increases Poll Lead Over The Tories To 28 Points

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The Labour Party is a whopping 28 points ahead of the Conservatives, according to a fresh poll.

A YouGov voting intention survey shows the Tories on just 22% of the vote – down two points from their previous survey on 8-9 February.

The pollster found Labour on 50% of the vote – an increase of three points from their last poll.

Elsewhere, the Lib Dems have 9% of the vote (-1), while the Greens have 6% (no change) and Reform UK have 7% of the vote (+1).

While polls should always be treated with caution, Labour supporters celebrated the latest figures.

Critics pointed out that the survey contained many in the 24 to 49-year-old age bracket.

However, it follows two other polls published in the last 48-hours that have put Labour well ahead of the Tories.

A Deltapoll survey found Labour on a 22 point lead while a Redfield & Wilton poll put them on a 27 point lead.

According to the YouGov poll, Keir Starmer’s lead over Rishi Sunak has also increased to 13 points.

Participants were asked which party leader would make the best prime minister. Starmer is on 34% of the vote (+1) while Sunak is on 21% (-4).

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Rishi Sunak Condemns Decision To Rewrite Roald Dahl Books For Modern Readers

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Rishi Sunak has condemned the decision to re-write Roald Dahl’s books to appeal to modern-day readers.

The prime minister’s spokesman quoted much-loved Dahl character the BFG by insisting people should not “gobblefunk around with words”.

The intervention followed reports the latest editions Dahl’s children’s books have been edited to remove language which could be deemed offensive.

Sunak’s spokesperson said on Monday: “It’s important that works of literature and fiction are preserved and not airbrushed.

“When it comes to our rich and varied literary heritage, the prime minister agrees with the BFG, you shouldn’t gobblefunk around with words.”

Gobblefunk is the language Dahl created, used in his books including The BFG.

According to the Daily Telegraph teferences within the classic children’s books relating to weight, mental health, violence, gender and race have been cut and rewritten.

Edits reportedly include removing the word “fat” from every book, Augustus Gloop in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is now described as “enormous” and The Cloud-Men in James And The Giant Peach have become Cloud-People.

The Roald Dahl Story Company confirmed it began a review into the books alongside publishers Puffin in 2020, and that any changes made were “small and carefully considered”.

A spokesperson for the Roald Dahl Story Company said: “We want to ensure that Roald Dahl’s wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today.

“When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it’s not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book’s cover and page layout.

“Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text. Any changes made have been small and carefully considered.”

The company added that it had worked alongside Inclusive Minds, a collective for people working towards inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature.

Philip Pullman, the author of his Dark Materials, told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, Dahl’s books should be let to “go out of print” rather than edited.

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Rishi Sunak Rejects Call From Deputy Tory Chairman For Return Of Death Penalty

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Rishi Sunak has rejected calls for the return of the death penalty made by the new deputy chairman of the Conservative Party.

Lee Anderson said he backed the death penalty because “nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed”.

He told The Spectator magazine that capital punishment has a “100% success rate” when it came to stopping repeat offenders.

But speaking to reporters during a visit to Cornwall on Thursday, the prime minister said that was “not my view” and “not the government’s view”.

Sunak added: “But we are united in the Conservative Party in wanting to be absolutely relentless in bearing down on crime and making sure people are safe and feel safe.”

The prime minister said his government had “tightened up sentencing laws for the most violent criminals” and “they spend longer in prison”.

The death penalty for murder in the UK was outlawed permanently in 1969, with it totally abolished for all crimes in 1998.

Anderson was the most eye-catching appointment made as part of Sunak’s mini-reshuffle on Monday.

A former Labour councillor before converting to the Tories, he has been no stranger to controversy since being elected as MP for Ashfield in 2019.

He has criticised food bank users and also the England men’s football team for taking the knee in protest at racism.

Earlier, children’s minister Claire Coutinho said that while she was a “big fan” of Anderson, she didn’t back the return of capital punishment.

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Rishi Sunak Orders Dramatic Whitehall Shake-Up In Bid To Reboot His Leadership

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Rishi Sunak has created a new energy department as part of a dramatic shakeup of government departments, in an attempt to reset his premiership after 100 days in office.

They cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday has seen Greg Hands appointed chairman of the Conservative Party, replacing Nadhim Zahawi who was sacked over his tax affairs.

Under the new structure, the department for business, energy & industrial strategy (BEIS) has been broken up into three.

Grant Shapps has moved sideways to lead a new energy security and net zero department. Its creation fulfils a pledge Sunak made during the summer Tory leadership contest.

There is a new department of science, innovation and technology to be led by Michelle Donelan.

Kemi Badenoch has been appointed business secretary, after the remaining parts of BEIS were merged with the department for international trade, creating the business and trade department (BaT).

Lucy Frazer has been promoted from housing minister to replace Donelan as culture secretary.

The government said the new departments would “ensure the right skills and teams are focused on the prime minister’s five promises”.

Sunak has chosen to keep Dominic Raab in post, despite the deputy prime minister being subject to an investigation in to multiple claims of bullying, which he denies.

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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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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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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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