
Dan Boucher: Labour’s stewardship of the NHS in Wales has been disastrous. Come May, it’s time for a Conservative administration.
Health is one of the most pressing issues to get right in the upcoming Welsh Parliament elections.
Health is one of the most pressing issues to get right in the upcoming Welsh Parliament elections.
There’s a difference between skiving school with your friends and travelling to Syria to pledge your allegiance to a death cult.
Furthermore, the world will soon realise that Brexit is no disaster but rather a big positive which could harness growth.
The Environment Bill offers this opportunity – if some simple changes are made to the text currently before Parliament.
It will probe whether or or not Sunak can prepare the country for that future – and perhaps succeed Johnson himself, “one fine day”.
Perhaps the simplest way of putting it is: it’s all about economic credibility, stupid. Because come 2024, it certainly will be.
It will need to make hard choices and to show evidence of a clarity and long-term vision that, to date, have been rather notable by their absence.
Many face being trapped there, due to the bias against adoption. The Ministerial failure to tackle this has been woeful.
Further details enclosed.
Does this sentence say more about a) Dominic Cummings? b) Carrie Symonds? c) The media? d) The dog?
“Coming through the trauma of Covid It’s right that we focus on rebuilding our country. ” – Sarwar
“We have to balance difficult decisions. The decision we made was to protect two million jobs in the hospitality industry.”
“What will drive levelling up is not necessarily about roads and bridges but getting people ready for the industries of the future.”
“Given the shock we have had, it would be brave for people to know exactly what was going to happen in three years.”
But Dodds also says that she “would be concerned at additional taxes on businesses right now, clamping down on confidence in our recovery.”
The Chancellor adds that the success of the vaccine should “give us all a sense of optimism and confidence about the future.”
Sunak’s scores have come in at exceptionally high levels. We will see what happens next as more conventional times approach.
The upcoming Online Harms Bill must be as effective as possible in tackling the scourge of online abuse.
With the right investment, new technology can extend big-city opportunities to communities all over the United Kingdom.
One of an occasional series of articles that ConservativeHome is publishing in advance of the Budget.
Housing First is essential but not sufficient – if there are as many non-UK nationals sleeping on the streets post-Covid as before.
We need to have a debate about which taxes are least damaging to economic growth. Over the long term, corporation tax ranks as being one of the worst.
“Rishi Sunak has laid the groundwork for tax rises after he said it was time to “level with people” about the problems facing the economy. The chancellor confirmed yesterday that he would extend coronavirus support in the budget on Wednesday but warned that the pandemic had an “enormous hold” on the economy. He repeatedly declined to deny telling Conservative MPs that he was planning to raise taxes in the short to medium term in order to be able to cut them again before the next election. Sunak is expected to announce a pathway to increase the rate of corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent over this parliament. He is likely to announce a “stealth tax” by freezing the lifetime allowance on pensions, the amount people can build up in their pension pot before incurring punitive charges.” – The Times
Comment:
>Today:
“The Government has discussed a giveaway for pubs which would see the business rates holiday extended and all alcohol duty frozen. Treasury officials have been in talks with the hospitality industry to continue business rates relief and a VAT cut for pubs, restaurants and clubs beyond June 21 – when lockdown restrictions could be fully lifted – and potentially into the New Year, sources have told The Telegraph. Beer and other alcohol duty could also be frozen in the Budget on Wednesday, although a proposed plan to cut tax on alcohol served in pubs while maintaining it on shop-bought drinks will not be included. It came as 45 Conservative MPs Northern “Red Wall” seats urged Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, to make “a bold move to reduce business rates” on retail as soon as possible.” – Daily Telegraph
“People smugglers will face life sentences under Priti Patel’s plans to crack down on Channel crossings, The Times has learnt. The home secretary is expected to announce the move in an attempt to increase from three years the average length of sentences for gangsters convicted of assisting illegal immigration. The longer jail terms are part of a series of deterrent measures due to take effect next year. Ministers fear a rise in crossings this year as migrants try to reach Britain before the law is tightened. Eighty-seven migrants crossed the Channel in warmer weather on Saturday, pushing this year’s total to 531 — 40 per cent higher than at the same time last year. A further 51 attempts to cross the Channel on the same day were intercepted by the French authorities.” – The Times
“The civil service is becoming “collateral damage” in an internal briefing war in No 10, a senior Whitehall source said last night. The warning came after reports of clashes between the prime minister’s fiancée, Carrie Symonds, and senior female civil servants. Some liken it to the warring court of Henry VIII while for others it is a “nest of singing birds”. There can be little doubt, though, that the atmosphere at No 10 has been poisoned by vicious anonymous briefings, many of them aimed at Symonds. Last night her allies hit back after a story appeared at the weekend accusing her of moving to thwart the careers of two senior women in the civil service.” – The Times
Analysis:
>Today:
“More than 20 million people in Britain have been given their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Boris Johnson hailed the “huge national achievement” as the figure was announced yesterday, with almost 800,000 also having had a second jab. The news came as health officials said that they had identified the first British cases of the Manaus variant that may spread more rapidly and respond less well to existing vaccines. Public Health England said it had identified six cases of the variant, which was first detected in the Brazilian city of Manaus, three of which were in England and three in Scotland.” – The Times
More:
>Today:
Analysis:
“Her Majesty the Queen is a master of understatement. When asked what she thought of Niagara Falls, she replied “it looks very damp”. When asked why she carried her purse around Buckingham Palace, she explained “this house is very big”. And when asked about the Covid vaccination programme, she quietly suggested citizens should “think about other people rather than themselves”. Though every utterance from the royal lips is diplomatic, one senses a twinge of frustration at the vaccine refuseniks who plan to free-ride their way out of this pandemic on the back of the jab-taking majority. The Queen is right to express herself in a reasonable, polite way, and this must be our reasonable, polite approach: ask all to be vaccinated;”. – The Times
More comment:
“Six people in Britain have tested positive for a Covid-19 mutation that is potentially more infectious and resistant to vaccines as a nationwide search is launched for one unidentified case. Health officials are hunting an unknown person who has been infected with the variant after the mutation first identified in Manaus, Brazil, was confirmed in the UK at the weekend. The P.1 variant is similar to the South African mutations, is highly contagious and is linked to greater risk of reinfection. There has been little research into vaccine efficacy against this strain. Two of the cases in England are from one household in South Gloucestershire. The third is an individual who took a test on February 12 or 13 but did not complete their test registration card so officials cannot contact them.” – The Times
“Prince Charles has praised the “dogged determination” of teachers as schools prepare to reopen with regular testing of pupils and their families for Covid-19. Families with children in school or college will be able to test themselves twice a week at home under plans for classes to safely resume in England from March 8. Free tests will be provided to pupils’ households and people in their childcare or support bubbles, regardless of whether anyone has symptoms. The rapid tests will be ordered and collected from local sites or administered through workplace testing programmes, the Department of Health and Social Care said.” – The Times
“Britain is in danger of more chemical attacks because terrorists can learn how to make the weapons they need online, the defence secretary has said in a warning three years after the Salisbury poisoning. Ben Wallace said that Russia remained an “adversary” and that the threat was more uncertain even than during the Cold War because of the unpredictability of the Kremlin. The Salisbury attacks in March 2018, when Vladimir Putin’s agents used novichok in an attempt to kill Sergei Skripal, brought home to parliament the reality of the threat from Russia, he said. Dawn Sturgess, 44, died four months later after touching a discarded bottle containing the nerve agent.” – The Times
“Nicola Sturgeon is facing a triple threat to her political career as a Holyrood inquiry and opposition MSPs demanded the evidence that would corroborate Alex Salmond’s claim she had repeatedly breached the ministerial code. Ahead of the First Minister’s appearance on Wednesday, the committee conducting the inquiry is on Monday expected to formally request a cache of documents from Mr Salmond’s solicitors that he claimed proved there was a “malicious” plot against him. It is understood a majority of the committee supports the move, which was suggested by Mr Salmond in his closing remarks of his six-hour evidence session on Friday as a means of circumventing the Scottish Government and Crown Office.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment:
“Donald Trump on Sunday launched his attempted political comeback, teasing a possible run for the presidency in 2024 and denouncing Joe Biden for “the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history”. The former president made his first speech since leaving the White House at the rightwing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, to an effusive reception. Trump claims, entirely falsely, that he actually won the 2020 election but was fraudulently denied his victory. He told CPAC the Democrats “just lost” the White House, despite the fact that Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the US on 20 January, sworn in by the supreme court chief justice, John Roberts. And officials at all levels called the election the most secure in US history.” – The Guardian
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