Afternoon summary
Michelle Mone has condemned Rishi Sunak after he expressed concern at her admission she lied about involvement in a company that won lucrative deals during Covid, saying the government “knew about my involvement from the very beginning”. But Lord Bethell, a health minister at the time, has claimed she was not honest with him about her links to PPE Medpro. (See 5.04pm.)
Council leaders have warned that well-managed local authorities will start to go bust because today’s settlement for councils in England will not alleviate the crisis they are facing. (See 4.40pm and 5.24pm.) In a statement, Solace, which represents local authority chief executives, said:
Local authorities right across England are facing unprecedented financial pressures – and all the independent analysis makes clear that the problems are systemic, in particular due to rising demand for adults and children’s social care, special educational needs provision and housing services, all accentuated by inflation. The ever-growing number of councils issuing or warning of forthcoming s114 notices underlines the peril we face. Without a genuinely sustainable financial settlement for the sector, it won’t be long before a stream of well-managed authorities start to tip over the edge.
The bare fact is there are very few savings options left. And the cuts that councils are now making to their services in order to remain financially sustainable are only storing up trouble for years ahead – reducing quality of life for our residents in the here and now, but also leading to increasingly complex social problems that cost the public purse much more in the long run. Even worse, the chronic underfunding of our services and our areas will negatively impact our national economic prospects at a time when an upswing in productivity and growth is much needed.
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Minister tells MPs government 'not yet in position' to give details of compensation for victims of infected blood scandal
John Glen, the Cabinet Office minister, has told MPs the government is “not yet in a position” to share any final decisions on compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal.
Two weeks ago the government was defeated on a vote on an amendment to the victims and prisoners bill, saying it must set up a body to administer compensation within three months of the bill becoming law. The government has accepted the moral case for paying compensation, but had wanted to wait until the inquiry into the scandal produced its final report before setting up a scheme.
There are a number of technical issues that must be considered that would have a significant impact on public finances.
It is important any decisions on compensation funding are taken carefully and the house should expect the government to work through the associated costs to the public sector whilst at all times considering the needs of the community and the far-reaching impacts this scandal has had on their lives.
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Council leaders say it's 'unthinkable' that Gove did not offer more to plug £4bn black hole in local authority finances
The Local Government Association says councils in England face a £4bn funding gap over the next two years as a result of today’s provisional settlement. (See 4.40pm). In a statement Shaun Davies, chair of the cross-party body, says it is “unthinkable” that councils have not been offered more. He says:
Today’s settlement does not provide enough funding to meet the severe cost and demand pressures which have left councils of all political colours and types warning of the serious challenges they face to set balanced budgets next year. Councils in England continue to face a funding gap of £4bn over the next two years as today’s announcement does not change the funding gap facing councils this year and next.
It is therefore unthinkable that government has not provided desperately needed new funding for local services in 2024/25. Although councils are working hard to reduce costs where possible, this means the local services our communities rely on every day are now exposed to further cuts.
The County Councils Network has delivered a similar verdict. Its finance spokesperson, Barry Lewis, said:
The announcement of the provisional local government finance settlement today will be bitterly disappointing for England’s county authorities. The County Councils Network (CCN) had put together a strong case for emergency funding next year to address the significant financial headwinds councils face which are outside of our control. But despite constructive discussions with ministers over recent days the government has chosen not to act.
With no additional funding announced, our councils will have no choice but to implement more severe reductions to services and to levy higher council tax rises. This will undoubtedly be a double whammy for residents during a cost of living crisis, while an increasing number of local authorities will struggle to deliver a balanced budget next year.
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Former health minister Lord Bethell says Mone wasn't honest with him about her involvement with PPE Medpro
Lord Bethell, a health minister during Covid, has challenged Michelle Mone’s claim that she told people in government about her links with PPE Medpro at the time it was bidding for contracts. In response to her post on X about Rishi Sunak (see 2.45pm), he posted this.
@MichelleMone wasn’t “honest” about her financial interest to me. She didn’t explain “from the very beginning” about her financial “involvement” - her message below was typical.
It wasn’t in her Register of Interests, as you’d expect it. @RishiSunak is right to take this “very seriously”.
@MichelleMone wasn’t “honest” about her financial interest to me.
— Lord Bethell (@JimBethell) December 18, 2023
She didn’t explain “from the very beginning” about her financial “involvement” - her message below was typical.
It wasn’t in her Register of Interests, as you’d expect it. @RishiSunak is right to take this… https://t.co/YareaimiXA pic.twitter.com/jXxB889WSr
A reader asks:
What is the procedure for a Peer to be stripped of their title? And under what circumstances?
According to a House of Lords library note, a peerage can only be removed by an act of parliament, and this has not happened since the first world war, when four people had their peerages removed for supporting the Germans. Until quite recently, the Lords did not even have the power to expel a member for bad behaviour. But that can now happen as a result of the House of Lords (Suspension and Expulsion) Act 2015. The procedure is set out here. In 2020 the Lords conduct committee recommended the expulsion of a peer for sexual exploitation, but he announced his retirement from the Lords before the expulsion vote could take place.
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Gove's £64bn settlement for councils in England dismissed as 'too little, too late'
Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, has announced the provisional funding settlement for councils in England in 2024-25. Full details are available on the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ website here and the news release is here.
DLUHC says the package is worth more than £64bn. It says:
The provisional local government finance settlement makes available almost £4bn more funding for councils in England in 2024-25, an increase of 6.5% on 2023-24 – an above-inflation rise in recognition of the pressures being faced by local authorities.
The funding guarantee introduced last year will be maintained to ensure every council in England sees at least a 3% increase in core spending power before any local decisions are made around council tax. This decision has been taken in recognition of the pressures being faced by local authorities despite the recent drop in inflation.
And to continue to support councils providing essential adult and children’s social care services, we are making available £1bn in additional grant funding for social care in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24.
Councils will be able to increase council tax by up to 3% without a local referendum with a further 2% for those responsible for adult social care services, with additional flexibilities for some authorities. It is for councils to determine council tax levels, but they should always be mindful of cost-of-living pressures when making any decisions.
The Local Government information Unit (LGiU), a thinktank working for councils, has described this as “too little, too late”. In a statement, Jonathan Carr-West, its chief executive, said:
This year’s provisional financial settlement does not address the severe problems at the heart of local government finance and is simply too little, too late. There is little confidence across the sector in local governments’ financial resilience. In March this year, only 14% of senior council figures said they were confident in the sustainability of local government finances. Since then, three more councils have announced their effective bankruptcy.
The key problem is not the scale of annual financial settlements – although that can make any given year harder or easier for councils to manage. The key issue is with the long-term resilience of the sector …
The severe systemic problems faced across English local government can only be addressed through multi-year financial settlements based on need, more fiscal flexibility for councils in both how they raise and spend money, and most crucially of all - engagement between central and local government as equal partners dedicated to delivering essential services.
A system where local governments only find out how much money they have for a year, without significant consultation, and with limited capacity to change their own financial position, can never succeed in meeting the long-term needs of the sector.
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Lib Dems demand inquiry into what ministers knew about Mone's involvement with PPE Medpro
The Liberal Democrats say that the latest comments from Michelle Mone (see 2.45pm) have highlighted the need for the government to say what it knew about her involvement with PPE Medpro. Christine Jardine, the Lib Dem spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, said an inquiry was needed to establish the facts. In a statement she said:
The endless stream of allegations and disclosures surrounding this Conservative government is painful. The more this scandal unfolds the more serious the questions for Michael Gove and other ministers to answer.
If they knew about Michelle Mone’s connections to the PPE contracts from the beginning, why didn’t they come clean years ago?
We need an urgent, independent inquiry into what happened at the Cabinet Office over these contracts. What did ministers know when, and what exactly did they say to Michelle Mone or anyone else involved?
There has been some confusion today about whether or not Michelle Mone is still a Conservative party peer.
The Tories say she is not even a party member. But, as Pippa Crerar points out, the House of Lords website does list Mone as a Conservative peer.
Baroness Michelle Mone is *still* a Tory peer, according to the House of Lords website.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) December 18, 2023
She isn’t getting the Tory whip by default as she’s on a leave of absence but there has been no sanction against her, thus the listing 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/FpVw9SNOXa
The PM's press sec told us on 7/12/23: "She’s taken a leave of absence therefore, by default, she has not got the Conservative whip any more."
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) December 18, 2023
But she's still listed as a Tory peer on HoL website. It has to happen formally, rather than by default, for it to technically count!
Last year, following the publication of a Guardian story saying Mone could personally benefit from the PPE Medpro deal, she took leave of absence from the Lords. At the time the PM’s press secretary said that that meant Mone had had the whip withdrawn “by default” (or, in other words, that she withdrew the whip from herself).
As Pippa suggests, if Rishi Sunak is taking this “incredibly seriously” (see 11.23am), you might expect a more robust approach from the Lords whips.
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New disability minister Mims Davies insists downgrading of role will make no difference to work done for people
Mims Davies was last week appointed minister for disabled people, health and work. It was a sideways move from her previous job at the Department for Work and Pensions (minister for social mobility, youth and progression) and charities complained that she was combining responsibility for disabled people with other responsibilities. Previously there was a dedicated minister for disabled people (Tom Pursglove, who is now minister for legal migration).
During DWP questions, Vicky Foxcroft, the shadow minister for disabled people, asked Davies:
When her new role was finally announced, it had been downgraded from minister of state to parliamentary under-secretary. What message does she think this sends to disabled people? And will she push to be made minister of state like her predecessor?
In response, Davies insisted that the change in status would make no difference to the support offered to disabled people. She said:
Absolutely delighted to respond and to make it clear to the lobby, and those people we are talking about and we’re looking after, that this makes no material difference to their day-to-day life, there is no difference in my convening power, there is no difference in the day-to-day work.
This is not about rank. We are sent to serve the people in this house, to engage and listen, and I will be doing that whatever the title or rank is.
Last week Mims posted this on X to try to assure people that she was qualified for the role.
My Dad lived with head injury for over 25 years, as a result we were on benefits. I was the Charities Minister & have co chaired the APPG for carers & this has been a passion of mine, I’ve been at DWP since July 2019 & I know the teams, policymakers & JCPs. Be assured I get it
My Dad lived with head injury for over 25 years, as a result we were on benefits. I was the Charities Minister & have co chaired the APPG for carers & this has been a passion of mine, I’ve been at DWP since July 2019 & I know the teams, policymakers & JCPs. Be assured I get it
— Mims Davies MP (@mimsdavies) December 15, 2023
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Home Office announces plans to ensure police and door staff do more to tackle spiking
Early this evening there will be a Commons statement on new measures to tackle spiking in England and Wales. The Home Office has already issued a news release summarising the proposals, which mostly focus on ensuring that cases of spiking are properly identified and investigated. The Home Office says:
The new package will see changes to the legislation, research into self-testing kits, more training for door staff and better education for young people, to raise awareness about the threat. There will also be coordinated police action to crack down on spiking during key weeks of the year – an approach that has proved successful in tackling other crimes, such as knife crime.
The step up to tackle spiking comes as the government prepares to clarify under the criminal justice bill, that without any doubt, spiking is illegal. It will be backed with separate guidance, set in law, to provide a clear, unequivocal definition of what spiking is. This will give victims renewed confidence to come forward, increase public awareness of the crime and enforce that perpetrators will face up to 10 years behind bars.
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In an earlier message on X, Michelle Mone also suggested that, if anyone was to blame for the government overspending on PPE, it was Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister during Covid and now levelling up secretary, and Sir Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the Department of Health.
Michael Gove and Sir Chris Wormald approved the purchase of 5 years supply of PPE when the remit was to build up only 4 months. They oversaw huge waste in PPE contracts. They have both had questions to answer for a very long time.
Michael Gove and Sir Chris Wormald approved the purchase of 5 years supply of PPE when the remit was to build up only 4 months.
— Lady Michelle Mone (@MichelleMone) December 18, 2023
They oversaw huge waste in PPE contracts. They have both had questions to answer for a very long time.
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Michelle Mone criticises Sunak over his comments about her involvement in PPE contracts
Michelle Mone has criticised Rishi Sunak over his comment this morning about her involvement in Covid PPE procurement contracts that are being investigated by the National Crime Agency. (See 11.23am.) Repeating a point she made in her BBC interview yesterday, she claimed that she had never concealed her link to PPE Medpro from officials dealing with the contract – even though she did in the same interview admit that she had lied to journalists about the connection.
What is @RishiSunak talking about?
I was honest with the Cabinet Office, the Government and the NHS in my dealings with them.
They all knew about my involvement from the very beginning.
What is @RishiSunak talking about?
— Lady Michelle Mone (@MichelleMone) December 18, 2023
I was honest with the Cabinet Office, the Government and the NHS in my dealings with them.
They all knew about my involvement from the very beginning. https://t.co/GOtB2QN7Uu
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Starmer calls for sustainable ceasefire in Gaza 'as quickly as possible'
Keir Starmer has said there needs to be a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza as quickly as possible.
Speaking on a visit to a hospital in Leeds, he said:
We need to get to a sustainable ceasefire as quickly as possible.
And, I think the route to that is to get back to where we were just two weeks ago, where hostilities ceased, there’s an opening that allows the remaining hostages to be freed, which they must be straight away – allows humanitarian aid to get in – desperately needed – but, also, is a foot-in-the-door to a process, it will have to be a political process, to a two-stage solution which, in the end, is the only way that this is going to be resolved.
A sustainable ceasefire is what everyone should be arguing for, certainly what we’re arguing for, and, if we can get as much support for that as possible, I think that’s the most realistic way forward.
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Scotland's deputy FM hits back at Sunak over taxes, saying SNP, unlike Tories, will prioritise public services
Shona Robison, Scotland’s deputy first minister and finance secretary, has said Rishi Sunak has “a bit of a cheek” lecturing the Scottish government on public spending.
She was speaking after the PM used an interview in Scotland this morning to say that reports saying Robison plans to raise taxes for higher earners in her budget tomorrow are “very disappointing”. (See 12.44pm.)
In response, Robison said the UK government’s decision to cut national insurance in its recent autumn statement was “pre-election positioning by the Tories, entirely at the expense of public services”. She said the autumn statement provided just £10.8m extra for the NHS in Scotland next year.
She said:
What I would say to Rishi Sunak is he has got a bit of a cheek, pitching up in Scotland to say anything given his autumn statement is deprioritising public spending.
To have a real-terms cut to the NHS in England is an astonishing position at a time when services are still recovering from Covid.
Clearly that’s not something we can follow and wouldn’t want to follow.
She said the Scottish government, unlike its UK counterpart, would prioritise investment in public services. “Our values, first and foremost, are about making sure we sustain our public services,” she said.
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Tories will lose next election unless they commit to leaving ECHR, New Conservative co-chairs say
The Tories will lose the next election unless they commit to leaving the European convention on human rights, the leaders of the rightwing New Conservatives group have said.
Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates are co-chairs of the New Conservatives group, which represents Tory MPs pushing for less immigration, lower taxes and socially conservative family policies. In an interview with the Inside Whitehall podcast, which is hosted by Jonathan Gullis MP (a member of the New Conservatives) and James Starkie, a former Tory special adviser, they were asked if the next leader of the party would come from their group.
Kruger replied:
I think they will be New Conservative in philosophy; whether they are one of our current members or not ….
I don’t think we will ever get back into power if we go out of power. And frankly I think we are going to struggle at the next election without this [the New Conservative policy approach] as well.
So I think the next election we win will be one in which we are standing to leave the ECHR (European convention on human rights), to restore sanity, quite deliberately, in these culture questions, particularly around sex and gender, and also around what goes on in schools.
Kruger also said that other new policy approaches were needed to make the party electorally attractive. He went on:
I would see us investing much more in defence. I think we’ve got to be much more realistic about what technology means for the world of work and for ordinary family life. There is a bunch of stuff that is off the radar at the moment, outside the Overton window in our politics, that we need to just get real about.
And if we can do it this side of the election, I think we’ve got a really good chance of holding on. If we go out, yes, in answer to your question, it would have to be someone who believes in this stuff if we were ever to win power again. Because there is no point just trying to contest the centre ground with Labour.
Asked if she agreed with Kruger’s assessment, Cates simply replied: “Yes.”
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Starmer says Michelle Mone should be removed from Lords permanently
Keir Starmer has said that Lady Mone, the former Tory peer involved in Covid PPE contracts that are being investigated by the National Crime Agency, should be thrown out of the House of Lords.
Mone is now on leave of absence from the Lords, but could in theory return. She denies wrongdoing in relation to the contracts, but admitted at the weekend that she lied when she claimed that she was not involved in the firm that won the contracts.
Asked if Mone should be expelled from the Lords, Starmer said:
I don’t think she should be in the Lords. I think the government should be held to account for this.
Starmer also said that Michael Gove, who was Cabinet Office minister during Covid and who is now levelling up secretary, should answer questions about his role in the affair.
I think this is a shocking disgrace from top to bottom. And, as every day goes past, there are more questions that need to be answered. There’s now suggestions there was early private contact with members of the cabinet that may have started this unhappy story in the first place …
There are now serious questions that I think Michael Gove, the government, needs to answer.
Mone contacted Gove when she wanted to ensure that PPE Medpro could be considered for contracts via the so-called “VIP lane”, a system allowing ministers to earmark bids for consideration by officials at a time when the Whitehall procurement system was at risk of being swamped by offers.
The government has claimed this did not amount to favouritism because decisions to award contracts were made by civil servants, not ministers.
Mone was appointed to the Lords as a Conservative peer, but has now had the whip withdrawn and left the party.
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There will be one urgent question in the Commons today at 3.30pm, on the Jimmy Lai trial in Hong Kong, followed by three ministerial statements, first on the fighter jet treaty with Japan and Italy, then on the infected blood inquiry, and finally on measures to stop spiking.
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Sunak says it will be 'very disappointing' if Scottish government goes ahead with plan to raise tax for higher earners
Shona Robison, Scotland’s finance secretary and deputy first minister, will unveil the Scottish government’s budget tomorrow. There has been speculation, which she refused to deny in a TV interview yesterday, that she will raise taxes for people earning more than £75,000 in Scotland.
Speaking to journalists at RAF Lossiemouth today, Rishi Sunak said a tax increase of this kind would be “very disappointing” for people in Scotland. He said:
The first thing I’d say is the UK government has provided a record amount of funding to the Scottish government through the Barnett formula, so they’re ultimately responsible for the finances here in Scotland.
But I can tell you what we’re doing in the UK is controlling spending and cutting people’s taxes and that’s going to kick in for everyone in Scotland and across the UK, a reduction in the rate of national insurance from 12% to 10% from January. That will save a typical person in work around £450 – it’s a significant tax cut.
So that’s what the UK government is doing to help Scottish families with the cost of living, which we know is a priority for them.
But ultimately, it’s the Scottish government that are responsible for their own finances – it’s already the highest taxed part of the UK and obviously it would be very disappointing to see that tax burden continue to rise in Scotland.
The Scottish government has the power to set its own income tax rates and it has become increasingly willing to diverge from the rates paid in England and the rest of the UK. Outside Scotland there are three rates of income tax – a basic rate, at 20%; a higher rate, at 40%; and a top rate, at 45%. The Scottish system is more progressive, with the lower paid being taxed less, but the higher paid facing higher rates. It has five rates: 19%, 20%, 21%, 42% and 47%.
It has been reported that the Scottish government will tomorrow announce the addition of a new rate, at 44%, for earnings between £75,000 and £125,000.
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Mark Harper, the transport secretary, has announced in a written statement that Transport for London is getting a capital funding settlement worth £250m for 2024. It will fund upgrades to the Piccadilly line. Sadiq Khan, the mayor, welcomed that announcement but, as the Evening Standard reports, said “a decent long-term funding settlement” from the government was still needed.
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Sunak restates call for 'sustainable ceasefire' in Gaza, saying 'too many civilian lives have been lost'
Rishi Sunak has said that too many civilian lives have been lost in Gaza – but declined to back Ben Wallace’s claim that Israel is engaged in a “killing rage”. (See 10.27am.)
Asked to comment on Wallace’s Telegraph article, Sunak said:
Israel obviously has a right to defend itself against what was an appalling terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas, but it must do that in accordance with humanitarian law.
It’s clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to.
And that’s why we’ve been consistent – and I made this point in parliament last week – in calling for a sustainable ceasefire, whereby hostages are released, rockets stopped being fired into Israel by Hamas and we continue to get more aid in.
Sunak says he and government taking allegations about Michelle Mone and PPE contracts 'incredibly seriously'
Rishi Sunak has said that he takes the allegations about Michelle Mone, the former Tory peer, and PPE contracts “incredibly seriously” – but that because of the National Crime Agency investigation he cannot comment further.
Speaking to the media on a visit to Scotland, Sunak was asked for his response to Lady Mone’s admission yesterday that she lied about her involvement in the firm PPE Medpro. He replied:
The government takes these things incredibly seriously, which is why we’re pursuing legal action against the company concerned in these matters.
That’s how seriously I take it and the government takes it.
But it is also subject to an ongoing criminal investigation. And because of that, there’s not much further that I can add.
Mone was appointed to the Lords as a Conservative peer, but has now had the whip withdrawn and left the party.
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Ben Wallace is not the only senior Conservative with an article in one of today’s papers. The Daily Mail has splashed on an article from Esther McVey written in her capacity as “minister for common sense” (sic) in which, as the Mail puts it in its approving editorial, she sets out her plans to “end the idiotic waste and bureaucracy that sap our instutions of effectiveness”.
In her article, McVey does not make any firm proposals that would save the taxpayer money, other than suggesting that she would like to stop councils paying heating bills for their staff if they choose to work from home. The Mail recently claimed this practice was costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Fortunately, a much better example of public sector waste is available. Labour claims that Covid-related fraud has cost the taxpayer at least £7bn, and it believes some of this money could be recovered under plans it announced at party conference. Michelle Mone, the former Tory peer linked to PPE contracts being investigated by the National Crime Agency, denies wrongdoing, but admitted in a BBC interview yesterday that she could benefit from the £61m in profits made from the deal.
McVey does not mention the scandal over PPE contracts in her article (the Mone ones were just some of many that triggered claims the taxpayer was being fleeced), but, helpfully, the Mail has chosen to run the two stories side-by-side on its front page.
Perhaps it’s a subtle example of subversive page design? Or perhaps the paper is just hoping that readers won’t notice the juxtaposition, and won’t conclude that McVey should be launching her new war on waste closer to home?
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Israel's 'killing rage' in Gaza will fuel conflict with Palestinians for another 50 years, says former defence secretary Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, has accused Israel of engaging in a “killing rage” in Gaza and argued that the tactics it is using to combat Hamas “will fuel the conflict for another 50 years”. He has made the case in an article published in the Daily Telegraph which is more probably critical of Israel, and particularly its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, than anything that has been said by cabinet ministers or shadow cabinet ministers since its war with Hamas started.
Wallace, who served as a soldier in Northern Ireland and who quit government at the end of August after a four-year stint as defence secretary, said that the lesson from the Troubles was that “radicalisation follows oppression” and that ultimately a political solution was needed.
Here are the main lines from his article.
Wallace suggests Israel’s response to the Hamas massacre has been excessive, immoral and illegal. In its front page write-up, the Telegraph says Wallace is saying that Israel “risks losing legal authority” for the war in Gaza, but Wallace seems to be going further, and saying that Israel has already broken international law. He strongly condemned the Hamas massacre, and defended Israel’s right to retalitate, but he said:
I absolutely defend Israel’s right to defend itself.
But I also believe strongly in our obligations under the Geneva Conventions and expect all signatories to uphold them. Going after Hamas is legitimate; obliterating vast swathes of Gaza is not. Using proportionate force is legal, but collective punishment and forced movement of civilians is not.
We are entering a dangerous period now where Israel’s original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions. It is making the mistake of losing its moral authority alongside its legal one.
Monday’s Daily TELEGRAPH: “Israel risks breaking law with its ‘killing rage,’ says Wallace” #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/SkbpFmhEIf
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) December 17, 2023
He said Israel was engaged in a “killing rage”.
And he said this would fuel the conflict for another half century. He said:
If [Netenyahu] thinks a killing rage will rectify matters, then he is very wrong. His methods will not solve this problem. In fact, I believe his tactics will fuel the conflict for another 50 years. His actions are radicalising Muslim youth across the globe.
Wallace said what Israel is doing will fail to eliminate Hamas, but will eliminate moderate Palestinian support for a two-state solution. He said:
When all this is over, and the IDF withdraws from what is left of Gaza, there will still be Hamas. All the action will have achieved is the extinction, not of the extremists, but the voice of the moderate Palestinians who do want a two-state solution.
International sympathy will have expired and Israel will be forced to exist in an even greater state of siege.
He explicitly compared the mistakes made by Israel to the mistakes made by Britain in Northern Ireland. He said:
There isn’t a single soldier who served in Northern Ireland who didn’t curse, at one time, the events of Bloody Sunday under his breath. The hours spent in the bogs of South Armagh, or the back streets of West Belfast were testament to a conflict that had been ignited by the events on that day in 1972.
It took more than two decades for the Troubles to come to an end and it did so when nationalists recognised that the IRA didn’t have its wellbeing and economic interests at heart and when British governments accepted that while you could deliver security you couldn’t arrest your way out of the problems and political schisms. As sure as night follows day, history shows us that radicalisation follows oppression.
Northern Ireland internment taught us that a disproportionate response by the state can serve as a terrorist organisation’s best recruiting sergeant. For many, watching the events in Gaza unfold each day makes us more and more uncomfortable.
He said Israel should combat Hamas differently. He said:
What I am saying is Israel needs to stop this crude and indiscriminate method of attack. And it needs to combat Hamas differently.
Israel needs to recognise it has time on its side. It holds all the cards – from control of the air to control of the border. It is easy to wonder what has happened to the wise Israeli politicians of old. They would have never missed the signs of the attack nor would they have surrendered to political blackmail from militant illegal settlers. They would have never played footsie with Putin, while Russian money fuelled the Iranian rocket and drone industry. They understood balance in the region and practically wrote the book on “divide and rule”.
He said Israel was wrong to give up on the two-state solution. He said:
The Israeli ambassador defiantly states there can be no two-state solution. She is wrong. There must be. It has been the answer ever since the creation of modern-day Israel.
The path to peace, just like in Northern Ireland, means we have to keep trying and do all we can to marginalise the extremes. With the Oslo accords we came close to realising a two-state solution. Now is the time to re-energise that process.
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Miriam Cates being investigated by parliamentary commissioner for standards
The Conservative MP Miriam Cates has been placed under investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog, PA Media reports.
The backbench MP is facing claims that she has caused “significant damage to the reputation of the house as a whole, or of its members generally”, according to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, who lists active investigations on his website.
It is not known what the investigation relates to.
The details of investigations are kept confidential until the inquiry is concluded and those under investigation are barred from discussing the allegations.
Cates was elected as MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge in 2019 and has become a leading figure of the rightwing New Conservatives group alongside fellow backbencher Danny Kruger.
She has also been outspoken in her concern about declining fertility rates in Britain, calling for policies to promote marriage and having children.
She is one of eight MPs being investigated by the commissioner, including deputy speaker, Dame Eleanor Laing, the veteran Conservative Sir Bernard Jenkin and the Reclaim MP Andrew Bridgen.
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DUP reportedly 'rules out deal to restore power sharing at Stormont before Christmas'
The DUP has ruled out agreeing a deal to restore power sharing at Stormont before Christmas, the BBC’s Gareth Gordon reports. He says the government had been hoping to reach a settlement before the start of the parliamentary recess tomorrow. But he quotes a DUP spokesperson saying: “The DUP is condition-led not calendar-led.”
NI talks: DUP 'rules out' pre-Christmas Stormont deal https://t.co/AhaeTKzRyn
— Gareth Gordon (@BBCGarethG) December 18, 2023
Michelle Mone should not return to House of Lords, says Tory minister
Lord Callanan, the energy efficiency minister, has said he hopes his former colleague Michelle Mone “sees sense” and does not return to the Lords after Mone admitted she lied in denying involvement with a company that held UK government PPE deals during the Covid pandemic, Peter Walker and David Conn report.
Labour wants to cut maximum NHS waiting times to 18 weeks, says shadow health secretary
Good morning. It is the final week before Christmas, the Commons rises tomorrow afternoon for the holiday recess, and politics is starting to wind down. Today we were expecting to see David Cameron take questions from the Commons foreign affairs committee, but that hearing has been postponed because Cameron is flying to Kuwait for the funeral of the emir, sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah. We’ve got 12 ministerial announcements today as departments start to clear the decks. Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are both doing visits this morning, where they will do pooled media clips, and there is a range of questions they may get asked about.
Starmer is this morning visiting a hospital where he will highlight the plans announced at conference to fund more NHS overtime, including more weekend working, to cut waiting lists. In an interview on the Today programme this morning Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said by the end of its first time, Labour wanted to cut maximum waiting times to 18 weeks. He said:
I would hope that by the end of the first term of a Labour government we will have seen a serious reduction in NHS waiting lists. By the end of the first term of a Labour government, I would want the maximum waiting times for operations down to 18 weeks. That’s our commitment.
Streeting said he would be “depressed and furious” if the government has not resolved the junior doctors’ pay dispute in England by the time of the general election. But he stressed that Labour would not immediately give junior doctors the 35% pay rise they are seeking to restore their real-terms pay to what it was in 2008. Streeting said that, for Labour, restoring fair pay for doctors would be “a journey, not an event”. He said:
But he again stressed that Labour would not be able to immediately meet the demand for a 35% rise made by the British Medical Association.
I think we’ve got to see the road back to fair pay as a journey, not an event. The public finances are a complete mess. There are, as a result, much harder choices to be made.
And so we’ve got to sit down and try and agree a negotiation and compromise.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Rishi Sunak is visiting a military base in northern Scotland.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Morning: Keir Starmer is on a visit in West Yorkshire.
2.30pm: Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Afternoon: Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, issues a written statement about council fundings. It is one of 12 ministerial statements coming today, as departments release overdue statements head of tomorrow’s Christmas recess.
Also, Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, is holding talks with the main parties in Northern Ireland about resuming power sharing.
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