Early evening summary
No 10 has rejected claims that Rishi Sunak is dithering as he considers whether to order an inquiry into claims that Braverman broke the ministerial code by asking officials to arrange a private speed awareness course for her. The story first emerged on Saturday night. (See 4.30pm.)
80% of voters, including 55% of Tory supporters, think Britain needs fresh team of leaders, poll suggests
The polling firm Ipsos has published its latest political monitor polling round-up. There is a faint glimmer of hope for the Conservatives in the voting intention figures which, while still giving Labour a big lead, suggest that it has been shrinking a bit in recent months.
But most of the other charts in the document will make grim reading for Rishi Sunak. Perhaps one of the most significant is this one, showing that 80% of people – and 55% of Conservative supporters – think Britain needs a fresh team of leaders. This matters because “time for a change” is one of the strongest campaign messages in politics.
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Jeffrey Donaldson signals he expects cash for Northern Ireland to be part of UK offer to get DUP to resume power sharing
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, has signalled that he expects extra money for Northern Ireland to be part of a package of measures from the UK government to end the deadlock at Stormont, and lead to the DUP lifting its boycott of power sharing.
Speaking at Westminster at the launch of the Trade NI reports, Donaldson said:
We’re discussing a range of issues with the government, not least our budgetary challenges in Northern Ireland, as well as the need to address the problems created by the protocol and where we feel the Windsor framework falls short of providing that solution.
As to quantum [for a financial package for Northern Ireland] there is nothing clear at this stage but I think what is evident from the Treasury is that they want to see proposals from Northern Ireland about investment to reform our public services, as well as giving us the extra funding we need to deliver for those public services.
The government knows what is needed and I believe the government will bring forward what is required.
The DUP has been refusing to participate in power sharing for more than a year because of its opposition to the original Northern Ireland protocol and the revised version, the Windsor framework.
In a report for Politico last month, Shawn Pogatchnik said the UK government could end up spending around £1bn on Northern Ireland as part of efforts to get the DUP to lift its boycott of Stormont.
Last week at PMQs Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM, did not mention finance, but he did say, in a reply to Donaldson, that the government was willing to legislate to give the DUP the assurances it wants about Northern Ireland continuing to have access to the UK market.
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No 10 rejects claim Sunak 'dithering' over whether to order inquiry into claims Braverman broke ministerial code
Downing Street has rejected suggestions that Rishi Sunak is dithering over whether to launch a formal inquiry into Suella Braverman’s conduct, PA Media reports. At the afternoon lobby briefing, asked why Sunak was “dithering” over whether or not to get his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to carry out an investigation into claims Braverman broke the ministerial code, the PM’s spokesperson replied:
I wouldn’t characterise it like that. I think people would understand that it’s right to gather all the facts before making a decision.
Pressed on why Sunak is carrying out an investigation himself when he has an independent adviser to do this for him, the spokesperson said:
That’s not how I’d characterise it. He’s asked for some more information before coming to a decision. I’m sure we will have more to say once that’s concluded.
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Chris Mullin, the former Labour MP and celebrated diarist, doesn’t believe that the Suella Braverman speed awareness course story amounts to much of a scandal. Mullin, a Labour leftwinger, seems to feel the same way about this as Tories such as Sir Edward Leigh. (See 12.51pm.)
Politics is becoming a game of Gotcha. I am, to put it mildly, no fan of Suella Braverman, but for the life of my I cannot get excited about this latest piece of nonsense. It is certainly not a resigning matter.
— Chris Mullin (@chrismullinexmp) May 23, 2023
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Troops will need to be deployed to tackle climate crisis, US climate envoy John Kerry tells MPs
Britain and America’s efforts to combat the climate crisis will require mobilisation and deployment of troops as if they were waging a major war, the US climate envoy John Kerry has warned MPs.
Appearing before the Commons defence committee, Kerry was upbeat about the chances of “winning this battle” even though he accepted it would be a “hard lift” to keep global heating to 1.5C.
Despite that, he believed that technology and innovation would play a crucial role in bringing the world back after it had smashed through that target, citing the Covid vaccines as examples. He said:
It is clear that it is building up to a place where it going to be one of the most significant disrupters of life as we know it on the planet.
The former presidential candidate, now serving as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate, was appearing by remote link before the committee as part of its defence and climate change inquiry.
Sketching out the threats, he warned that it was clear there would be more destruction from some of the impact of the climate crisis than occurred in wars, while there would need to be a mobilisation and deployment of troops to meet range of related challenges.
On top of this, the crisis could embolden the world’s “mischief makers”, threaten deterrence and act as what he described as a “threat multiplier”.
Kerry also said the armed forces needed to play in terms of emissions reductions, pointing out that more than 50% of UK government emissions came from the military.
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The University and College Union, which represents university staff, has described the Home Office decision to restrict foreign students from bringing dependants with them to the UK (see 1.17pm and 1.52pm) as “a vindictive move”.
Jo Grady, the UCU general secretary, said:
Today’s announcement that international students will be prevented from being joined in the UK by their family members is a vindictive move from a government captured by anti-immigration sentiment.
Those who choose to study in the UK, no matter where they are from in the world, bring huge value to our society and deserve the right to live alongside their loved ones whilst they study. Instead, they are being treated with contempt.
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Labour criticises Gove for dropping plans to abolish leasehold under pressure from No 10 and Tories who think he's 'socialist'
Labour has accused Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, of going back on a proposal he made earlier this year to abolish the “feudal” system of leasehold.
In a Commons debate, Lisa Nandy, his Labour shadow, suggested that Gove had been forced to scale back his plans for leasehold reform because Tory MPs were complaining he was “too socialist”. She said:
We have had grumbling from the backbenches opposite that the secretary of state is being too socialist. And so Downing Street has stepped in and plans are being rowed back and he isn’t even able to set foot in this chamber today. It is a bit of a mess isn’t it?
Referring to the legislation that has been promised by the government, Nandy asked:
Will the minister give us a cast-iron guarantee that the bill they have promised will bring to an end the sale of new private leasehold houses at the point the bill comes into force, ensure those provisions are applied retrospectively to December 2017 – a promise that has been made repeatedly by this government – and bring in a workable system to replace private leasehold flats with commonhold?
Gove was not in the chamber to respond, but Lee Rowley, the levelling up minister, told MPs that leasehold reform would happen before the election. He said:
We have committed to make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to extend their lease or to buy their freehold. We will bring forward legislation to ban new residential long leases on houses and I am pleased to see that whilst there are still issues, the market has already responded, with only 1.4% of houses in England now being built as leasehold compared to nearly 15% previously.
Earlier this month my colleague Kiran Stacey reported that Gove had been forced to drop his more ambitious plans because No 10 does not think it will be possible to pass wholesale reform before the general election.
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Marley Morris, a migration expert at the IPPR thinktank, says targeting foreign students and their dependants as a means of bringing down net immigration does not make sense because the vast majority of them don’t stay anyway.
New govt announcement tightens rules for international students in attempt to bring down net migration.
— Marley Morris (@MarleyAMorris) May 23, 2023
But even on its own terms, this is a mistake - because we know most international students are temporary migrants and are not a major contributor to net migration in long run pic.twitter.com/DT2LVjc0x7
The vast majority of people issued study visas end up with expired leave within a decade, as below Home Office chart shows.
— Marley Morris (@MarleyAMorris) May 23, 2023
And exit checks data confirm that nearly all are identified as departing on time. pic.twitter.com/N6YoO2KNVA
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The Russell Group, which represents 24 leading universities, has said the restriction on foreign students bringing dependants with them, announced by the Home Office today (see 1.17pm and 1.52pm), will make it harder for universities to diversify their foreign intake. In a response, Tim Bradshaw, its chief executive, said:
International students bring a range of benefits to the UK as well as vital income to support education for UK students and world-leading research that benefits us all, which is why they feature prominently in the government’s own international education strategy.
Global competition for international students is fierce and some of the announcements made today are likely to have a negative impact on universities’ plans to diversify their international student intakes.
Bradshaw also said students should not be included in the net migration figures as if they are permanent migrants.
Updated
A reader asks:
Do we know anything about the economic contributions of students/dependant families? I had to pay an NHS surcharge + paid taxes despite not having any access to public funds when I became a citizen. Surely students are a net bonus. And as a uni lecturer, international students bring £ but also a ton of insight to the classroom.
Universities UK, the lobby group representing universities (who are strongly in favour of foreign students, because they are a revenue bonanza for the organisation’s members) claims the figure is close to £42bn. It published a report on this earlier this month and in its summary it says:
The report, which was commissioned to explore the impact of international students to the UK economy, reveals economic benefits have risen from £31.3bn to £41.9bn between 2018-19 to 2021-22, an increase of 34%. The data also confirm that – even when accounting for the impact on public services (estimated at £4.4 bn) – the economic benefits of hosting international students significantly outweigh the costs with a total net benefit of £37.4bn to the UK economy.
The net economic impact of international students has seen a dramatic rise over the past few years – up 58% since 2015-16, (£23.6bn to £37.4bn). One reason for this is the 68% rise in the number of students (now standing at 350,145) from non-EU countries since 2018-19. Data from the report indicate that every 11 non-EU students generate £1m worth of net economic impact for the UK economy – or £96,000 per non-EU domiciled student.
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Changes to student visa rules will have disproportionate impact on women, says Universities UK
Universities UK, which represents universities, has expressed some concern about the Home Office plan announced today to impose restrictions on foreign students being allowed to bring dependants with them to the UK. (See 1.17pm and 1.52pm.) It says women could be affected disproportionately.
In a statement, Jamie Arrowsmith, its director, said:
The rise in the number of dependant visas has been substantial and has likely exceeded planning assumptions in government. We recognise that, in some places, this has led to local challenges around access to suitable family accommodation and schooling, with implications for the student experience. Given this, some targeted measures to mitigate this rise may be reasonable, for example looking at eligibility for particular types of course (such as one-year taught postgraduate programmes) or enhancing the financial assurances that prospective students are required to provide.
While the vast majority of students will be unaffected by proposals that limit the ability to be accompanied by dependants, more information is needed on the programmes that are in scope before a proper assessment of the impact can be made. Yet we do know that any changes are likely to have a disproportionate impact on women and students from certain countries. We therefore urge the government to work with the sector to limit and monitor the impact on particular groups of students – and on universities, which are already under serious financial pressures. The review process that has been announced must consider these issues.
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No 10 gives its backing to EHRC chair amid reports her support for amending Equality Act has triggered staff backlash
This morning the Daily Mail has splashed on a story saying staff at the Equality and Human Rights Commission are trying to force out its chair, the Lib Dem peer Lady Falkner. The paper suggests she is the victim of a “witch hunt” because she has told the government that in principle the EHRC favours tightening the definition of sex in the Equality Act so that it just means biological sex. As the Act is drafted, it seems to apply to gender too, because the two words are used interchangeably.
The government is pushing for this change, but the proposal is deeply unpopular with trans people who say it would limit their rights.
MAIL: Revealed: Plot to drive out equality chief who’s standing up for women #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/jZVHyVQmrA
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 22, 2023
At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning No 10 gave its backing to Falkner when asked about the story. The PM’s spokesperson said:
The government has enjoyed a constructive relationship with both the commission and the chairwoman on its important ongoing work relating to equality.
Braverman says net immigration expected to fall to pre-pandemic levels 'in medium term'
Here are more details of the immigration measures announced by Suella Braverman.
Braverman, the home secretary, said there were six elements of the package she was proposing. She set them out like this.
1) Removing the right for international students to bring dependants unless they are on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes.
2) Removing the ability for international students to switch out of the student route into work routes before their studies have been completed.
3) Reviewing the maintenance requirements for students and dependants.
4) Steps to clamp down on unscrupulous education agents who may be supporting inappropriate applications to sell immigration not education.
5) Better communicating immigration rules to the higher education sector and to international students.
6) Improved and more targeted enforcement activity.
Downing Street said the new rule about foreign students not being able to bring dependants would take effect from January 2024.
Braverman implied there might be an exemption from the new rule about dependants for “the brightest and the best”. In her ministerial statement she said:
We are committed to attracting the brightest and the best to the UK. Therefore, our intention is to work with universities over the course of the next year to design an alternative approach that ensures that the best and the brightest students can bring dependants to our world leading universities, while continuing to reduce net migration. We will bring in this system as soon as possible, after thorough consultation with the sector and key stakeholders.
She said the government expected net migration to fall to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term. She said:
We expect this package to have a tangible impact on net migration. Taken together with the easing of temporary factors, we expect net migration to fall to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term.
According to the ONS, net immigration in 2019 was 313,000. In December 2019 the Conservative party won a general election on a manifesto saying that under the party “overall [immigration] numbers will come down”. Rishi Sunak has recently signalled that, if this meant getting net immigration below 2019 levels, he no longer feels committed to achieving that before the next election.
Braverman suggested the measures would have a minimal impact on UK growth. She said:
Those affected by this package will predominantly be dependants of students who make a more limited contribution to the economy than students or those coming under the skilled worker route, minimising the impact on UK growth.
She said that although the government welcomed the economic contribution made by foreign students, “this should not be at the expense of our commitment to the public to lower overall migration and ensure that migration to the UK is highly skilled and therefore provides the most benefit”.
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Braverman announces restrictions on ability of foreign students to bring dependants to UK
While the urgent question was taking place, Suella Braverman, the home secretary, published a written ministerial statement confirming that the government will stop foreign students getting visas allowing them to bring their dependants to the UK, unless they are doing postgraduate research courses.
According to the government, around 136,000 such visas were issued in 2022 – up from 16,000 in 2019. And 486,000 student visas were issued to main applicants in 2022 – up from 269,000 in 2019.
Braverman is also stopping foreign students switching to a work visa before they have finished their studies.
These measures are being announced now because the government wants to show it is doing something to reduce net immigration numbers before figures are published on Thursday, which are expected to show immigration at a record high in 2022, at around 700,000 or more.
Updated
Jim Shannon (DUP) says we should all learn from the biblical quote, that he who is without sin should cast the first stone.
Pointing out that this is the last question, Quin says that is a good note on which to end.
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Joanna Cherry (SNP) asks if the latest Independent revelations (see 12.26pm) will be investigated. She says that, as chair of the joint committee on human rights, she has been in correspondence with Suella Braverman on Rwanda, and Braverman has a “rather rosey-eyed view” of Rwanda’s human rights record. She suggests that is connected to Braverman’s undisclosed links with the Rwandan government.
Quin says he has not read the Independent story, but just seen a tweet about it. He says this was charity work carried out before Braverman became an MP.
Labour’s Andrew Gwynne also asks if the Cabinet Office’s proprietary and ethics committee was involved. (See 12.53pm.) He says, if officials had the integrity to seek advice on this, why has the PM not shown the same attitude and ordered an investigation?
Quin says the PM is seeking the facts as to what happened.
Updated
Labour’s Clive Efford asks if it is true that the civil servants asked to arrange a private speed awareness course for Suella Braverman referred the matter to the Cabinet Office’s proprietary and ethics team.
Quin says the PM is looking into the facts of what happened.
Sir Edward Leigh (Con) says we used to have “proper scandals” in this country, involving sex or money, or the illegal invasion of Iraq. “All this moral outrage is ludicrous,” he says. He says Suella Braverman asked her civil servants for advice, and then took the advice they gave her. He says Braverman is just being attacked because she is trying to tackle “the real scandal” of high immigration.
UPDATE: Leigh said:
What’s wrong with this country, we used to have proper scandals about sex or money, or about prime ministers invading Iraq on dodgy evidence in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
Apparently this is a scandal, all this moral outrage is ludicrous that a minister asked her private office about something and she takes their advice … We all know what’s this all about, they’re attacking a good home secretary who is trying to attack the real scandal of mass immigration to this country.
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Sir Charles Walker (Con) says he is not on Suella Braverman’s Christmas card list. But he says he finds it hard to understand why the BBC sent its political editor, Chris Mason, halfway around the world to ask the PM about a speed awareness course at a press conference.
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Kirsty Blackman for the SNP says this affair has descended into “absolute farce”. She suggests that any investigation should also cover the latest revelations in the Independent. (See 12.26pm.)
Instead of professionalism, accountability and integrity that the prime Minister promised when he came into office, we are faced with calamity, chaos and corruption … How can the prime minister continue to pretend that he’s presiding over a government with anything other than their own personal interests at heart?
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Jeremy Wright, a Conservative former cabinet minister, says that when he was a member of the committee on standards in public life, it recommended that the independent adviser on ministers’ interests should be allowed to initiate an investigation without waiting to be asked by the PM. He says if that recommendation had been accepted, Quin would not have to be answering questions about this.
Updated
Angela Rayner asks 'how many strikes before Suella Braverman is out' during urgent question over ministerial code
Angela Rayner asks if Braverman did tell her officials to organise a private speed awareness course for her.
And she asks if Braverman told her special adviser to tell journalists that there was no speeding ticket, when there was.
Pointing out that Braverman has already broken the ministerial code once, she asks: “How many strikes before she’s out?”
In response, Quin says he will not discuss what happens.
He says Sunak is gathering information, before taking a decision, because he wants to deal with this matter “properly and professionally”.
Updated
Sunak should be 'allowed time' to get information before deciding if Braverman inquiry needed, minister tells MPs
In the Commons Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, asks for a statement on the criteria for launching an investigation into a potential breach of the ministerial code.
Jeremy Quin, the Cabinet Office minsiter, says the ministerial code is the PM’s document. He is the ultimate judge of the behaviour of ministers. Ministers only stay in office as long as they have his confidence,
He says the independent adviser on ministers’ interests can be asked to investigate possible breaches of the code.
With regard to Braverman, Rishi Sunak told MPs yesterday he was considering this matter. He has met the adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, and Braverman, to discuss this. He goes on:
It is right that the prime minister, as the head of the executive and the abriter of the ministerial code, be allowed time to receive relevant information on this matter.
UPDATE: Quin said:
The prime minister made clear to the house yesterday that he is receiving information on the issues raised.
Since returning from the G7, the prime minister has met both the independent adviser and the home secretary and asked for further information.
It is right that the prime minister, as the head of the executive and the arbiter of the ministerial code, be allowed time to receive relevant information on this matter.
Honourable members will be updated on this in due course.
Updated
The Independent is running a story saying that, before she became an MP in 2015, Suella Braverman co-founded a charity called the Africa Justice Foundation that trained Rwandan government lawyers. It quotes an MP and former officials saying that Braverman should have publicly declared this as an interest given that, as home secretary, she is now actively pushing the policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Braverman was not paid for her work, but the Independent says some of the lawyers whose training was funded by the charity now work in the Rwandan government, including on the asylum policy.
At the No 10 lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson would not say whether or not this might constitute a breach of the code requiring ministers to declare relevant interests. But he said ministers were required to disclose potential conflicts of interest to the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, Sir Laurie Magnus. He pointed out that those interests only get published in the ministerial register if the independent adviser (IA) considers they do raise a potential conflict of interest.
A spokesperson for Braverman told the Independent that the home secretary had not disclosed her work for the charity as an interest because that was not necessary.
Sunak 'still looking at all information' before deciding whether to order inquiry into Suella Braverman, No 10 says
Rishi Sunak still has not taken a decison about whether or not to ask his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to conduct an inquiry into claims Suella Braverman broke the ministerial code by asking officials to arrange a private speed awareness course, No 10 says.
At the morning lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson told journalists:
[Sunak] is still looking at all the requisite information before coming to a decision.
And here are some more lines from what Rishi Sunak said at the London defence conference.
Sunak refused to say what size he thought the army should be, saying he did not want to “second guess” the military. Asked about plans to cut the size of the regular army to around 73,000 soldiers, Sunak said:
The army will have a total force capacity of 100,000, split between regulars and reserves. Now the defence secretary is currently in the process of reviewing that. There will be a defence command paper issued shortly which will talk through all that.
But ultimately my job is not to second guess the decision that our military chiefs are making. What I can say, what we’ve delivered as a government, is record defence uplifts.
How that is best spent to deal with the threats that we face is a question that our military chiefs will make.
He said his message to Vladimir Putin was “we’re not going away”. In response to a question about what he would tell the Russian president, he said: “It’s simple. We’re not going away.” He said Putin’s strategy to “wait this out” for “western democracies to get bored” was “not going to work”. He went on: “That support will be coming to Ukraine for years to come.”
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Sunak says challenge posed by China should not lead to 'blanket descent into protectionism'
And here are some of the lines from what Rishi Sunak has been saying at the London defence conference.
Sunak said the challenge posed by China should not lead to a “blanket descent into protectionism”. He said that China’s rise represented an “epoch-defining challenge”. He explained:
It is a country that has both the means and the intent to reshape the global order.
Its behaviour is increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad and in light of that we do need to take the steps to protect ourselves.
But he said countries like the UK should not respond with blanket protectionism. He said:
There are a limited number of very sensitive sectors of our economy, or types of technology, where we want to take a particularly robust approach: semiconductors, for example, dual-use technologies, quantum, etc.
But this is not an excuse for a blanket descent into protectionism.
He said that G7 countries should not be engaged in subsidy competition. Asked whether the UK needed an industrial strategy, he replied:
That means different things to different people. If that means we should just be focusing on who can subsidise industries the most, then my answer is no.
We discussed that at the G7 and actually you will see in the G7 communique very specific language acknowledging that subsidy races that essentially just shift industrial capacity between allies in some kind of zero-sum competition are not appropriate.
And we shouldn’t be doing things at the expense of each other. That’s not improving our collective security.
Updated
Speaker grants Commons urgent question that will cover claims Suella Braverman broke ministerial code
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, has granted a Commons urgent question at 12.30pm that will cover Suella Braverman and claims she broke the ministerial code, Labour has announced. Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, is tabling the question. A Cabinet Office minister will respond (probably Jeremy Quin, who normally gets landed with these assignments).
We’ve got a lobby briefing before then, at 11.30am, and at that point we should learn if Rishi Sunak has finished “availing” himself of the information and decided whether or not to order a full inquiry into Braverman.
AFTER 1230 TODAY
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) May 23, 2023
UQ – @AngelaRayner - Asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the criteria for launching an investigation into a potential breach of the Ministerial Code
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Hunt claims IMF's decision to upgrade growth forecast for UK response to decisions taken by government
The International Monetary Fund has revised its growth forecast for the UK, and is now forecasting that the economy will grow by 0.4% in 2023, instead of shrinking by 0.3%. As Graeme Wearden reports on his business live blog:
The Fund is due to release its assessment of the UK economy at 11.15am, when we’ll her from Jeremy Hunt and IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva.
But the news is already out – with multiple reports that the IMF is no longer expecting the UK to fall into recession this year.
Instead of shrinking by 0.3%, as the IMF forecast in April, the UK economy is now forecast to grow by 0.4% during 2023.
Hunt, the chancellor, said the latest IMF report shows a “big upgrade” for the country’s growth prospects and credits the government’s “action to restore stability and tame inflation”. He went on:
It praises our childcare reforms, the Windsor framework and business investment incentives.
If we stick to the plan, the IMF confirm our long-term growth prospects are stronger than in Germany, France and Italy – but the job is not done yet.
This is significant because Rishi Sunak made growing the economy one of his five priorities for 2023. (It was hardly an ambitious target, because in a normal year the economy does grow, and Sunak did not say how much growth he aimed to achieve, implying even a tiny expansion would count as a success. But there were predictions the economy would shrink in 2023.)
There is more on Graeme’s live blog.
The Electoral Commission has said it is “disappointing” that rules on reporting donations were not fully complied with by parties including Labour and the Tories, PA Media reports. PA says:
Labour was issued with fines totalling £600, while the Conservatives escaped with no sanction after both parties failed to follow the rules.
The commission rebuked Labour for the late reporting of donations, while the Conservatives were also found to have failed to report two donations by the due date.
Louise Edwards, the watchdog’s director of regulation and digital transformation, said: “The requirements for political parties are clear, so it’s disappointing when they are not fully complied with.”
She added: “In the case of the Labour party, our investigations found seven offences related to the late reporting of donations from one of its quarterly financial reports, three of which have resulted in a sanction.”
Braverman criticised over 'insulting' government response to recommendations from child sexual abuse inquiry
Yesterday Suella Braverman, the home secretary, made a statement to MPs about the government’s response to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA). She implied she was accepting almost all its recommendations, saying: “We are accepting the need to act on 19 out of the inquiry’s 20 final recommendations.”
But her response has been strongly criticised by people involved in the inquiry. Yesterday Prof Alexis Jay, who chaired the inquiry, said she was “deeply disappointed” that the inquiry’s recommendations were not being accepted in full.
And this morning Lucy Duckworth, a member of the IICSA’s survivors and victims consultative panel, told the Today programme that in practice the recommendations were not being fully accepted. She said:
Actually, when you look at it, they are absorbing many of the recommendations in existing structures. We know that if they were working, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Duckworth also criticised the government’s decision to reject the inquiry’s call for the establishment of a cabinet-level minister for children, saying:
To really truly tackle this, we need a complete culture change and a complete reform of the system.
Sarah Champion, the Labour MP who was one of the people originally calling for the inquiry to be set up, also told the programme that she was angry about Braverman’s response to the inquiry recommendations, which she described as “insulting”. She said:
Rather than accepting those, she’s kicked it into the long grass with consultations, with 13 weeks of calls for evidence which conveniently takes her into summer recess when parliament isn’t sitting.
I find it incredibly insulting to, yes, the taxpayers’ £200m [the cost of the inquiry], but more so to the 7,000 victims.
Raab standing down because 'he knew he was going to lose', says Lib Dem leader Ed Davey
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, told LBC this morning that Dominic Raab is standing down at the next election because he knows he would otherwise lose his seat. Davey said:
He knew he was going to lose. We have been working really well there.
We’ll be working every day to earn the trust of people in Esher and Walton.
It’s not just about Dominic Raab, it really is about the whole Conservative party.
Asked if the Lib Dems could take Raab’s seat, Esher and Walton, Davey replied: “I hope so but we are going to work for it.”
Updated
Raab delights Lib Dems by joining more than 10% of Tory MPs saying they will quit at next election
Good morning. “Were you still up for Raab?” used to be a niche Westminster joke about the next general election, highlighting the fact that Dominic Raab, the former deputy PM, was widely expected to be one of the most high-profile Tory losses on election night last year, just as Michael Portillo was in 1997. It was never a particularly good comparison, because Portillo’s defeat was unexpected, whereas Raab’s is already priced in, but now the only thing it can refer to is the moment the Daily Telegraph dropped last night, with the story that Raab is standing down. Our version is here.
TELEGRAPH: London ‘left behind’ by financial rival cities #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/EXF0HjqLxR
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 22, 2023
Raab, who is only 49, has written a letter to the chair of the Conservative association in Esher and Walton, his constituency, saying that one of the factors behind his decision is “the pressure the job has placed on my young family”. He has two sons, aged 10 and eight. This may well be true. But at Westminster it will be taken for granted that he is announcing his decision to stand down now because he assumes he will lose his seat. His majority over the Liberal Democrats at the last election was just 2,743, and Esher and Walton is one of their top targets.
If this were just a one-off, it would not be so interesting. But, according to the Spectator’s tally, Raab is the 37th Conservative MP to announce they are standing down at the next general election. That is more than 10% of the parliamentary party – a much higher proportion than is normal at this stage of a general election. What’s more, 12 of the others are, like Raab, under 50. In the 20th century it was unusual for an MP to leave the Commons voluntarily before reaching retirement age. Career patterns are changing, but that on its own does not explain what is happening (the Labour MPs who have announced that they are standing down are all in their 60s, 70s or 80s), and it is hard not to conclude that Raab has joined a cohort of Tories who have given up hope their party will be in government after the next election.
Responding to the Raab announcement, a Lib Dem spokesperson said:
The local elections in May showed people are fed up with Conservative MPs taking them for granted. It’s not just Dominic Raab who should go, it’s this whole sleaze-ridden Conservative government.
We will be fighting hard at the next election to finally give the people of Esher and Walton the strong local champion they deserve.
And this is from Monica Harding, the Lib Dem candidate in Esher and Walton.
In 2019 I brought Dominic Raab’s 23k majority down to >3K.
— Monica Harding (@monicabeharding) May 23, 2023
Bringing proper accountability to #EsherandWalton
2 wks ago we became largest party at locals & lead the Council.
We’re working hard everyday, listening & delivering for the community.
We’ll keep on doing that pic.twitter.com/ydG1PfpHI1
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet.
10am: Claire Coutinho, the children’s minister, gives evidence to the Commons education committee about special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision.
11am: Sunak speaks at the London defence conference. At 3.15pm John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, will be speaking.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 12.30pm: MPs begin a debate on a Labour motion criticising the government for not abolishing or reforming the leasehold system; later there will be a debate on a Labour “humble address” motion calling for the publication of data about the safety of school buildings in England.
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