Tag Archives: Rishi Sunak

Tory Peer Says Government Behaving Like ‘Despots’ Over Rwanda Bill

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A Tory peer has accused the government of acting like “despots” over its Rwanda deportation policy.

As the controversial Safety of Rwanda Bill makes its way through parliament, both Tory and Labour members of the House of Lords lined up to warn of its dangers on Monday night.

Conservative grandee Lord Tugendhat, whose nephew is security minister Tom Tugendhat, took exception to attempts to overturn a Supreme Court ruling blocking the government from deporting asylum seekers to the east African country.

The peer claimed the bill could have an impact on the UK’s perception as a “marvellous place to do business because of our great respect for the rule of law”.

“I have been a member of parliament for a very long time on and off, and I have been a member of the Conservative party for some 66 years when I counted it up, and I do have to say that I find it quite extraordinary that the party of Margaret Thatcher should be introducing a bill of this kind,” Lord Tugendhat said.

He added: “What we are being asked to do really represents the sort of behaviour that the world associates with despots and autocracies, not with an established democracy, not with the mother of parliaments. It is a bill we should not even be asked to confront, let alone pass.”

The legislation is designed to overcome legal challenges to past attempts to send people to the east African country

It is central to the prime minister’s hopes of convincing voters he can “stop the boats” crossing the English channel.

The government hopes once the bill passes flights will be able to take off by the spring.

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Done Deal: Despite Labour’s Latest U-Turn, Is The Election Result Already Decided?

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Rishi Sunak has apparently decided that the general election will be in October, rather than November.

If so, it will surely be the first recorded example of a man breaking into a jog on his way to the gallows.

After another tumultuous week in Westminster, the fundamentals remain the same – Keir Starmer is heading for Downing Street.

The Labour leader has endured an uncomfortable few days, culminating in yet another U-turn, this time on the party’s previously-flagship policy of spending £28 billion a year on green energy projects.

And yet, all the available evidence suggests that the British public are determined to boot the Tories out and install Starmer as the next prime minister.

Two more polls published yesterday confirmed Labour remains at least 20 points ahead of the Conservatives, while numerous have emphasised voters’ desire for a change of government.

This is thanks in no small part to Sunak’s own troubles, which were once again on full display over the past week.

From cackhandedly agreeing to a £1,000 bet on Rwanda flights with Piers Morgan to making a joke about trans people in the presence of Brianna Ghey’s mother, the PM has merely confirmed what many in his party have already concluded – the guy is a loser.

“It’s like he’s a reverse King Midas – everything he touches turns to shit,” said one colleague.

Another Tory aide told HuffPost UK: “It’s just the dying days now.”

Keiran Pedley of pollsters Ipsos UK said the Tories are “running out of time” to turn things around.

“There’s clearly been no sign of a shift in the polls since the New Year, which the Conservatives would have hoped for,” he said.

“Around 7 in 10 voters tell us it’s time for a change at the next election. What they’ve got to do is change people’s minds about it being time for a change, which is not an easy thing to do.”

Pedley added: “The Conservatives will hope that next month’s Budget will be a setpiece moment that can turn things around, but they’ve also got by-elections and the local elections coming up which could make the situation even worse.”

If Labour really is heading inexorably towards victory in the general election, the party’s agonies over dumping the £28 billion green pledge have been instructive on how it might act when it’s in power.

Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves put on a united front in parliament on Thursday afternoon as they briefed political journalists on what was, by any measure, a particularly embarrassing and messy climbdown.

It has been obvious for weeks that the policy was heading for the knackers’ yard, and yet Labour’s top two seemed to be at odds over it. While Reeves would not even repeat the figure, Starmer was still mentioning it on Tuesday.

The Labour leader attempted to laugh off any suggestions that the pair were split, insisting Reeves’ only quibble with him was that he talked about football too much.

But his notorious thin skin was in evidence when he was asked by HuffPost UK if the Tories were right to call him “Mr Flip-Flop”.

He said: “This is ridiculous. I came into this place pretty late in life. In the real world, where I worked until I got here, everybody I worked with adjusted their positions when the circumstances changed and that was thought to be plain common sense. In fact, it would be pretty daft if you didn’t.

“This is the only place I’ve ever known where not adjusting your position to circumstances is supposed to be a great virtue. I don’t work in that way.”

One usually-loyal MP observed: “What does he mean by ‘in the real world’? He has no respect for politics or politicians.”

The behind-the-scenes wrangling over the green policy appears to be a symptom of a power struggle involving Morgan McSweeney, Labour’s national campaign director, and Sue Gray, Starmer’s chief of staff.

Matthew Doyle, Labour’s amiable director of communications, has even been caught in the crossfire, with some blaming him for the U-turn.

One frontbencher described it as the “a big boy did it and ran away” school of political accountability.

“There’s some crazy briefing and counter-briefing going around,” said a senior insider. “They’re at war and they’re not even in government yet.

“Keir and Rachel and their people being at odds, and all the sub-plots and dramas, is a massive moment.

“Once you do it the first time, it’s easier to do it again and again. It will have consequences in government.”

At the end of a difficult week, Starmer can console himself with the fact that it appears nothing can be done to knock his journey to No.10 off course.

But he’ll also know that things will only get harder for him once he gets there.

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Rishi Sunak Earned More Than £2.2 Million Last Year

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Rishi Sunak earned more than £2.2 million in the last financial year, it has emerged.

The prime minister paid the taxman paid £508,308 in tax – a rate of less than 23%.

The figures were revealed in Sunak’s tax return of 2022/23 and confirm his status as one of the country’s richest men.

It takes his total earnings over the last four years to more than £7 million.

Sunak earned £84,119 for being an MP, plus an additional £55,358 as prime minister.

He also received £3,985 in bank interest, plus £289,422 in investment interest and dividends.

The PM’s main source of income came was £1,796,202 in capital gains, meaning he earned £2,229,086 in total.

In all, he paid £163,364 in income tax plus £359,240 in capital gains tax – a total of 508,308.

His income tax rate was 37.7%, while he paid 20% tax on his capital gains. That is an overall tax rate of 22.8%.

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Brianna Ghey’s Father Calls On Rishi Sunak To Apologise Over PMQs Trans Comments

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The father of murdered schoolgirl Brianna Ghey has called on Rishi Sunak to apologise over his joke about trans people.

Peter Spooner said the remarks at PMQs – as Brianna’s mother, Esther, watched from the public gallery of the House of Commons – were “absolutely dehumanising”.

Last week two 16-year-olds were convicted of murdering 16-year-old Brianna, who was transgender.

Tory MPs have also broken ranks to condemn the prime minister, who has so far refused to express any remorse.

Peter Spooner told Sky News: “For the prime minister of our country to come out with degrading comments like he did, regardless of them being in relation to discussions in parliament, they are absolutely dehumanising.

“Identities of people should not be used in that manner, and I personally feel shocked by his comments and feel he should apologise for his remarks.”

Sunak made the remarks as he launched an attack on Keir Starmer for changing his policy positions.

The PM said this included “defining a woman”, before adding with a laugh: “Although in fairness that was only 99% of a U-turn.”

That was a reference to Starmer’s previous claim that 99.9% of women “haven’t got a penis”.

In response to Sunak’s comment, Starmer hit back: “Of all the weeks to say that. When Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.

“Parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility.

“I think the role of the prime minister is to ensure that every single citizen of this country feels safe and respected and it’s a shame the prime minister doesn’t share that.”

Esther Ghey later met with Starmer, who said he was “utterly in awe of her strength and bravery”.

At the end of PMQs, Sunak said what had happened to Brianna Ghey was “an unspeakable and shocking tragedy”.

He added that Esther Ghey “deserves all our admiration and praise”.

But following PMQs, Sunak’s spokeswoman doubled down on the prime minister’s comment, insisting it was “legitimate to point out the number of U-turns the leader of the opposition has made”.

Former minister Dehenna Davison, the Tory MP for Bishop Aukland, joined those who have condemned the PM.

She said: “The debate around trans issues often gets inflamed at the fringes. As politicians, it’s our job to take the heat out of such debates and focus on finding sensible ways forward, whilst ensuring those involved are treated with respect.

“Given some of the terrible incidences of transphobia we have seen lately, this need for respect feels more crucial than ever.

|That’s why it was disappointing to hear jokes being made at the trans community’s expense. Our words in the House resonate right across our society, and we all need to remember that.”

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Only The Over-70s Would Vote Tory, Poll Finds

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The Conservative traditional grip on older voters appears to be slipping as research found only people aged over 70 back the Tories.

Pollster YouGov revealed that the age group most likely to vote Labour in the next election is 25 to 29-year-olds – at 59 per cent. And Keir Starmer’s party had an advantage over the Tories in five other age categories, with a lead among 18 to 24-year-olds up to the 60-69-year-old age bracket.

The only age category most likely to opt for the Conservatives are the over-70s, at 43 per cent.

Ahead of the last general election in 2019, the Conservative party was ahead of Labour in the four age categories from 40 years old and over.

YouGov’s Matthew Smith said: “Age will continue to be the key dividing line at the general election.

“The Tories are now the most popular party only among the over-70s, 43% of whom back the party. This is down from 67% in 2019, however, with Labour being the main beneficiaries, having increased their vote share among the oldest Britons from 14% to 23%.

“Britons in their 60s are split, with 33% backing Labour and 31% the Conservatives. The majority of Britons under-50 now say they will vote Labour.”

The poll also looked at voting intention by gender, education and class. “The coalition that won the Conservatives the 2019 general election has crumbled,” it summarised.

Polls have repeatedly give Labour a double-digit lead over Rishi Sunak’s party. Last week, the prime minister’s own pollster quit No.10 having concluded the country is on course for a “decade of Labour rule”.

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Ken Clarke Warns Rwanda Bill Moves UK Towards An ‘Elected Dictatorship’

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Ken Clarke has blasted Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill, warning that overturning a Supreme Court ruling is “very dangerous” amid fears of the UK slipping into an “elected dictatorship”.

The Tory grandee, seen as a leading figure on the liberal wing of the party, has previously backed the deportation policy, arguing no-one had a better solution to the problem caused by small boats.

But the former chancellor now thinks the policy has hit a “brick wall” after being vetoed by the Supreme Court.

In the Lords, Clarke said that the government over-riding the court risked a situation where “you claim that the colour black is the same as the colour white, all dogs are cats”.

He said: “If we pass this bill, we are asserting as a matter of law that Rwanda is a safe country for this purpose, that it is always going to be a safe country for this purpose until the law is changed.

“And the courts may not even consider any evidence brought before them to try to demonstrate that it’s not a safe country.

“This is a very dangerous constitutional provision.

“I hope it will be challenged properly in the court because we have an unwritten constitution, but it gets more and more important that we do make sure that the powers are in this country are controlled by some constitutional limits and are subject to the rule of law.

“Claiming the sovereignty of parliament … you claim that the colour black is the same as the colour white, all dogs are cats, more seriously that someone who’s been acquitted of a criminal charge is guilty of that criminal charge and should be returned to the courts for sentence.

“Where are the limits?

“I always fear as time goes by in my career, echoes of the warnings that (former lord chancellor) Quintin Hailsham used to give us all about the risks of moving towards an elected dictatorship in this country.

“The sovereignty of parliament has its limits, which are the limits of the rule of law, the separation of powers and what ought to be the constitutional limits on any branch of government in a liberal democratic society such as ours.”

Speaking during the bill’s second reading debate in the Lords, the Tory peer said the bill was “a step too far for me”.

He added: “And I don’t think I can possibly support the bill unless it is substantially amended as it goes through this house and we should urge the Commons to revise it.”

It came as the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill cleared its first major hurdle in the House of Lords, after peers voted 206 to 84, majority 122, against a motion designed to block it

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Tory MP Says He Quit £120,000 Ministerial Job As Couldn’t Afford Mortgage Hike

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A Conservative MP has revealed he quit his £120,000-a-year ministerial job last year because he could not afford soaring mortgage costs.

George Freeman, who resigned as science minister in November, said his repayments jumped from £800 a month to £2,000.

The MP for Mid Norfolk would have been receiving an annual salary of around £118,300.

As an MP, his salary is £86,584 – but he is free to take up a lucrative second job if free of the ministerial work.

Mortgage rates have spiralled as the Bank of England hike interest rates to curb inflation, while the Liz Truss’s disastrous stint as PM added a premium to mortgage woes.

In a Substack blog post last week, he wrote: “Why did I stand down?

“Because my mortgage rises this month from £800pcm to £2,000, which I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a Ministerial salary.

“That’s political economy 2.0.

“We’re in danger of making politics something only Hedge Fund Donors, young spin doctors and failed trade unionists can afford to do.”

Freeman also told The New Statesman on Monday his finances “are not what they were – at all”, having gone through “a very painful divorce” and with parents “who are both getting elderly”.

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Rishi Sunak Clings On As Tory MPs Lose The Plot (Again)

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If a Hollywood scriptwriter came up with the storyline, it would be instantly dismissed as too far-fetched.

Even House of Cards, the seminal tale of political intrigue at the heart of power – written by a Tory peer, incidentally – did not go this far.

Incredibly, there is a growing number within the Conservative Party who believe that installing the fourth prime minister of this parliament is a desirable state of affairs.

The alternative, the anti-Rishi Sunak plotters believe, is to stand back and watch as Keir Starmer sweeps to power with a Tony Blair-style Commons majority.

Simon Clarke, the former cabinet minister and a man who backed both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss to the hilt, spoke for many Conservatives this week when he said the PM must be ousted to prevent the party being “massacred” at the general election.

The Middlesborough South and East Cleveland MP, who was Sunak’s number 2 at the Treasury in Johnson’s government, told the BBC: “No one likes the guy who’s shouting ‘iceberg’. But I suspect that people will be even less happy if we hit the iceberg. And we are on course to do that.”

The backlash against Clarke by Tory MPs was swift and brutal, but that does not mean he is a lone wolf. The plotters, who include right-wing peer Lord Frost, believe time is on their side.

Upcoming by-elections in Wellingborough and Kingswood are not expected to go well for the Conservatives, with May’s local elections across England and Wales also set to be a bloodbath for the party.

Faced with such stark evidence of Sunak’s electoral toxicity, the plotters believe, enough Tory MPs would be willing to take the radical step of ditching yet another leader in order to potentially save their seats at the general election.

The anti-Sunak faction were bolstered by a mega-poll last week which suggested Labour are on course for a landslide.

The survey of 14,000 people by YouGov was commissioned by yet another Tory grouping, the Conservative Britain Alliance, paid for by persons unknown. We do know, however, that one of those involved was Will Dry, Sunak’s former pollster.

He quit No.10 before Christmas and this week said the Tories are “heading for the most almighty of defeats” with his former boss at the helm.

The smart money at Westminster is still on Sunak somehow keeping the Tory show on the road until his preferred election date of November 14, not least because his enemies can’t agree on who out of Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt and Rob Jenrick should replace him.

One Conservative insider told HuffPost UK: “Tory leaders are always vulnerable – never dismiss the sheer lunacy of some MPs.

“However, I think most will take the view that Rishi is the PM we have and we have to fight hard to retain as many seats as we can. To change leader again isn’t going to shift the polls by magic, if anything it will anger the electorate even more. It’s simply pie in the sky stuff to think otherwise.

“And no one can decide which person is really the answer – each faction has its own ‘favourite’ and is busy telling all the other factions they are wrong. Hardly coherent or joined up, is it?”

Sunak may well end up being saved by the sheer ineptitude of his opponents.

“To nick a phrase from Blackadder – a war hasn’t been fought this badly since Olaf the Hairy, high chief of all the vikings, accidentally ordered 80,000 battle helmets with the horns on the inside,” one source said.

A senior MP described the attempts to oust Sunak as “more plop than plot”, while others it is all really about positioning for the leadership race which will follow a thumping Tory election defeat.

Labour, meanwhile, are happy to hold the jackets on the sidelines as the Conservative civil war continues.

Intriguingly, some around Starmer remain convinced that Sunak will end up calling a May election – a contest which, on current polling numbers, Labour would win easily.

“The longer this farce goes on, the more obvious it is that the country needs change,” said one senior Labour source.

“There’s obviously no complacency, but we are ready for whenever he calls it.”

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Huge Blow For Rishi Sunak As NHS Consultants Reject Government Pay Offer

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NHS consultants have narrowly voted to reject the government’s latest pay offer.

In a huge blow to Rishi Sunak, the British Medical Association announced that 51% of its members who took part in a ballot had turned it down.

The BMA said: “The result demonstrates that consultants still have considerable concerns about the offer.”

Under the offer, the majority of consultants would have received a 12.8% rise, with others receiving a minimum of 6%.

“From the feedback members have given us it was clear that they thought it did not go far enough and as a result they did not have confidence that pay would be restored over future years,” the BMA said.

The government is already involved in a long-running dispute with junior doctors.

Shadow heath secretary Wes Streeting said: “Last week, Rishi Sunak was bragging that NHS doctors had accepted his pay offer. This vote shows he was trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes.

“The NHS is in the second year of strikes. They have cost patients more than one million cancelled operations and appointments, and cost taxpayers £2 billion.

“It is long past time Rishi Sunak took personal responsibility and took charge of negotiations himself. The prime minister cannot continue to wash his hands of the crisis in the NHS.”

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Keir Starmer Accuses Tories Of ‘Salting The Ground’ By Spending Billions On Tax Cuts

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Keir Starmer has accused the Tories of planning to spend billions of pounds on tax cuts so there is no money left for an incoming Labour government.

He said Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak want to “salt the ground” in the upcoming Budget, where the chancellor is expected to dramatically slash the tax burden.

The Labour leader said that showed the Conservatives were “not acting in the national interest, they’re acting in party interest”.

His comments come amid mounting speculation the Treasury could have up to £20 billion more than expected available for pre-election giveaways.

Hunt cut 2% off the rate of National Insurance at last year’s autumn statement, and is considering further reductions in the Budget on March 6.

However, several opinion polls have suggested that voters would rather see the money spent on improving public services than tax cuts.

Starmer said: “It’s very obvious that they are trying to salt the ground. So they’re not acting in the national interest, they’re acting in party interest.

“They briefed the autumn financial statement out as a series of traps for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. That means they have totally neglected the national interest, they’re not even pretending that they’re making decisions in the best interests of the country.

“They’re making decisions in the best interests, as they see it, of the Tory Party and their best chance of creating divides into the election. That’s why we’re in this mess.”

Starmer said public service were “in a much worse position” than they were when the Tories came to power in 2014.

He said: “There’s a basic rule in politics as far as I’m concerned, which is whichever party you are, if you leave your country worse than when you found it, that is unforgivable and that’s the position we’re in at the moment.”

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