“Theresa May backed Philip Hammond in the Cabinet row over public-sector pay yesterday. The Prime Minister told MPs it was ‘not fair to refuse to take tough decisions and to load debts on to our children and grandchildren’. She rounded on Jeremy Corbyn, warning that Labour’s profligate agenda risked turning Britain into an economic basket case like Greece. She said this nation had to live within its means. The Prime Minister made clear that the government was ready to listen to recommendations for rises above the 1 per cent threshold.” – Daily Mail
>Today: Daniel Hannan MEP’s column: Sooner or later, you run out of spending other people’s money. And its young people who foot the bill.
>Yesterday:
“The Tory party is behaving like a balloonist who has lost altitude unexpectedly and is, in panic, prepared to chuck almost anything overboard in an attempt to regain height. But before fiscal conservatism is jettisoned, they should stop and think. There are better arguments in favour of their policies and principles than the ones they have been making. There is nothing inevitable about a massive shift to the left. Indeed, the manifesto that did them so much damage was itself a move to the left. It seemed more interested in attacking a caricature of the right than in advancing conservatism. A different approach would almost certainly have seen them home.” – The Spectator
“Theresa May’s first outing on the world stage since her general election failure pitches her into the middle of a worsening row between Donald Trump and Angela Merkel. The White House announced the formal meeting between the US president and the prime minister last night before the two-day G20 summit, tomorrow and Saturday, in Hamburg, hosted by Mrs Merkel, the German chancellor. President Trump faces being isolated on a range of issues including climate change, free trade and migration in a country where he is disliked. Tens of thousands of people are expected to demonstrate against him.” – The Times (£)
“Wealthy homeowners should brace themselves for “open season” on greenfield land after ministers unveiled a plan to force new housing schemes on the most sought after parts of the country. The Campaign to Protect Rural England said that plans to create a single way to calculate housing need will require a big increase in more homes to be built in the Home Counties. Councils are likely to be forced to accept more homes by bureaucrats if they refuse to agree to the increased targets. Current regulations say that if councils fail to meet their housing target they are expected to find 20 per cent more sites for development. The plans were unveiled by Sajid Javid, the Communities secretary, who said in a speech to the Local Government Association that a consultation will be launched in three weeks’ time.” – Daily Telegraph
“A minister choked back tears in the Commons today as he told how meeting the survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster was ‘the most humbling and moving experience of my life’. Local government minister Alok Sharma became overwhelmed with emotion as he recounted the moving stories he has heard from those who escaped the blaze with their lives. Addressing MPs, his lip trembled and his voice broke as he described the ‘unimaginable pain’ of those who lost loved ones in the inferno. The usually loud and boisterous Chamber fell silent as he spoke of his determination never to allow another tragedy like Grenfell to happen again.” – Daily Mail
>Today: Kevin Davis in Local Government: Grenfell Tower. When a Mayor needs to be Mayor
>Yesterday:
“Business bosses will today be urged to do their bit to kick-start a post-Brexit revolution – and help create an “army” of skilled British youngsters. Education Secretary Justine Greening will urge firms to work with government to deliver a youth workforce like no other – with experience in coding, to engineering, construction and design. And she will say the strategy is central to a post-Brexit world – where new immigration controls will demand young Brits are trained up to compete with the best in the world. The address comes after the government unveiled plans for new technical or T-Levels – designed to replace 13,000 qualifications with 15 and dramatically increase training hours for young recruits.” – The Sun
“A Minister sparked uproar yesterday after he suggested millions of older women with delayed pensions should take up apprenticeships so they can work longer. Guy Opperman said the Government would make no concessions to the so-called ‘Waspi women’, who were suddenly told they would have to wait up to six years for their pensions. Instead the Pensions Minister proposed that the women, who are in their early 60s and have paid National Insurance all their lives, should re-train at work and even consider ‘apprenticeship opportunities’.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
“I understand there are scars you can see and the ones you can’t. That’s why I am proud to serve in a government which has always put tackling domestic abuse at the heart of its agenda. We have already achieved a great deal. In the last parliament, we published our strategy to end violence against women and girls, introduced domestic violence protection orders to provide victims with immediate protection following a domestic abuse incident, and introduced a specific offence of controlling or coercive behaviour. It is clear that we have made progress.” – The Times (£)
“Cameron has risked widening the Tory rift over Europe by privately pressing MPs to support a watered-down Brexit deal that would keep Britain firmly tied to Brussels, party sources revealed last night. In a major intervention that will infuriate Theresa May, the former prime minister is said to have telephoned a string of Tory MPs in recent days to argue that Government should seek the so-called “Norway option” for the UK’s future relationship with the EU. His proposal – which directly conflicts with Mrs May’s Brexit blueprint – would mean Britain staying in the European Economic Area (EEA), a free trade zone that includes the 28 current EU member nations along with non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.” – Daily Express
Comment:
“A major Whitehall turf war has broken out between Philip Hammond and Dr Liam Fox over Britain’s post-Brexit trade policy. The Chancellor’s Treasury staff have challenged the International Trade Secretary’s department to assess whether new free trade deals with non-EU countries will compensate for leaving the customs union. It is seen as a ploy by Mr Hammond – who is leading efforts to deliver a “soft” Brexit – to keep Britain closely tied to the EU’s customs union to avoid disruption for business. But the move is fiercely opposed by Brexit supporters because continuing to abide by the rules of the customs union would continue to restrict Britain’s ability to pursue an independent international trade policy.” – The Sun
More:
Comment:
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“The BBC’s news chief refused to accept complaints of anti-Brexit bias during showdown talks with Eurosceptic MPs, it was claimed last night. A cross-party group of pro-Leave politicians met James Harding to complain about distorted coverage and present him with a dossier of evidence. But the BBC’s director of news rejected the claims outright and dismissed their concerns, the MPs said. One of the politicians at the meeting told the Mail: ‘It was a complete and utter waste of time.'” – Daily Mail
“Brexit will give Britain’s top judges the freedom to prove they are the best in the world, Justice Secretary David Lidington declared. In his first major speech since becoming Lord Chancellor, the Tory veteran announced plans for a worldwide marketing blitz to showcase English law. And he said the campaign would make the case for why businesses should “choose the UK” for legal services. The address came a day after the UK’s most senior judge Lord Neuberger said Brexit would boost rather than undermine the legal profession.” – The Sun
More:
Comment:
“Masked vandals attacked the office of a Tory MP and defaced it with abusive graffiti, it emerged today. Sarah Wollaston said she feared violent activists were trying to force her out of her constituency – and called on Jeremy Corbyn to crack down on aggressive behaviour from the left. The Conservative MP for Totnes is the latest female politician to speak out about the abuse she has suffered from extremists. She vowed to defy the left-wing bullies who tried to defy her during the election campaign, which saw her hold on to her seat in Devon.” – The Sun
“Jeremy Corbyn could back the mandatory reselection of Labour MPs amid fears he is preparing to mount a purge of moderate members of the party. A senior source close the Labour leader said that he is considering the idea as part of plans to “democratise” the party despite vehement opposition. It came after Chris Williamson, a shadow minister and one of Mr Corbyn’s closest supporters, said that automatic reselection could help “concentrate minds” among his parliamentary colleagues. Ian Lavery, Labour’s chairman, has also given his backing to a change to the current rules under which MPs cannot be reselected.” – Daily Telegraph
Analysis:
Comment:
>Yesterday: Rebecca Coulson’s column: Why the case for nuclear deterrence needs to be made all over again
“Sir John Chilcot has said he does not believe Tony Blair was “straight with the nation” about his decisions in the run-up to the Iraq War. The chairman of the public inquiry into the 2003 conflict said the former prime minister had been “emotionally truthful” in his account of events leading up to the war. In an interview with the BBC Sir John was then asked if Mr Blair was as truthful with him and the public as he should have been during the seven-year inquiry.” – Daily Telegraph
“SNP ministers are under pressure to disclose what they said to the head of one of Scotland’s most famous companies after he staged an extraordinary climbdown over his criticism of their independence agenda. Les Montgomery, the chief executive of bottled water firm Highland Spring, said an outspoken attack he delivered at the weekend had been misconstrued as it emerged he had been contacted by Scottish Government officials. In a statement issued by a London-based PR company, he insisted that his original claim that businesses were “fed up” with Nicola Sturgeon’s quest for independence was “not intended to offer an opinion on whether Scotland should or shouldn’t remain a part of the UK.” He also argued he had not mentioned a second independence referendum at the weekend despite stating then that “independence isn’t the job that the Scottish Government is supposed to be doing” and dismissing another vote as “a distraction.”” – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: Henry Hill’s Red, White, and Blue column: Trimble urges Brokenshire to bypass Sinn Fein and the DUP