“Boris Johnson has said he is “actively thinking” about a third term, amid criticism of his leadership. The prime minister was asked if he would like to serve a full second term in office – to 2028 or 2029. “At the moment I’m thinking actively about the third term and what could happen then, but I will review that when I get to it,” he told reporters. One Tory MP has said he wants the rules changed so Mr Johnson could face another confidence vote. Speaking to reporters in Kigali, Rwanda, where he has been at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, the prime minister was asked to elaborate on his comment, replying that he was thinking ‘about a third term – mid 2030s’.” – BBC
“Boris Johnson will risk fresh allegations that he is breaking international law this week as he imposes sweeping new steel tariffs as part of an effort to win back support in Red Wall seats. The Prime Minister is preparing to hit several developing countries with new “safeguard” import limits designed to protect UK manufacturers from a “flood of cheap steel” from overseas. At the same time, ministers will announce a two-year extension of steel tariffs already imposed on developed countries and China.” – Sunday Telegraph
“The Prime Minister will promise further financial support for Ukraine as he meets world leaders at a series of summits. He will urge allies to continue backing Kyiv against Moscow’s “barbarism,” saying now is not the time to give up on Ukraine. He will pledge £429m in guarantees for World Bank lending. He will attend the G7 summit in Germany and Nato’s meeting in Madrid on Sunday as his leadership is being questioned. Mr Johnson is due back in the UK on Thursday.” – BBC
“Benefits claimants will have to work longer hours in order to be released from regular job centre visits under a crackdown to be announced by Therese Coffey. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Work and Pensions Secretary suggested benefits rules will initially be overhauled so that anyone working fewer than 12 hours a week will have to attend appointments at job centres and look for more work. Dr Coffey said she wanted to increase the threshold even further in a second stage, which could see the current requirement of nine hours work per week increased by more than 50 per cent.” – Sunday Telegraph
“Boris Johnson’s Mr Fixit could be the next party chairman, top Tories say. Minister without Portfolio Nigel Adams is in the frame after Oliver Dowden resigned last week. Adams is seen as a Cabinet enforcer and has served in the Foreign Office, as Sports Minister and a party whip. A Tory source said: “As we head towards the general election, the next party chairman needs charisma, the willingness to campaign, an ability to rally the troops in CCHQ and the activists around the country, and be laser-focused on the party, not their ego.” Business Minister Paul Scully and Foreign Office Minister and ex-chairman James Cleverly could also be asked to take on the role.” – The Sun on Sunday
“Ministers are under pressure to tighten up on the time public sector workers spend on duties for the trade unions. Tory MP Richard Fuller is writing to Cabinet Office ministers to request time is capped. Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said last week it was “difficult to understand” why union activities are “supported by the taxpayer”. Some public bodies including Network Rail and Hs2 don’t have to reveal the number of union officials working in them or the cost of their “facility time.” Analysis by the Taxpayers’ Alliance estimates that more than £100 million of facility time goes unreported – on top of the £98 million that has been logged for 2020-21.” – The Sun on Sunday
“Sports have tried to balance inclusivity with fairness. Instead, they’ve offset one against the other. And in a choice between inclusivity against fairness, as Culture Secretary I will always choose fairness. The Sports Councils are clear that ‘categorisation by sex remains the most useful and functional division relative to sporting performance’ and that ‘testosterone suppression is unlikely to guarantee fairness’. So I’m setting a very clear line on this: Competitive women’s sport must be reserved for people born of the female sex. Not someone who was born male, took puberty blockers or has suppressed testosterone. But unequivocally and unarguably someone born female. I want all our sporting governing bodies to follow that policy.” – Nadine Dorries, Mail on Sunday
“The fashion of finding “wedge issues” where you divide the population and leave your political opponents on the wrong side of an argument only works when most people trust what you are saying to them. Without trust, we are left with bombast and rhetoric. Like many others this weekend I have been waiting for Cabinet Ministers to lead this essential debate. It is not a secret that a significant proportion of the Cabinet think they could do a better job of leading the country than the current incumbent. Now would be a good time to demonstrate those leadership qualities.” – Damian Green, Sunday Telegraph
“The biggest policy difference is that we want our Government to stop talking about tax reductions and actually deliver them, so that we are no longer the highest taxing Tory Government in history. I am not one of those who has argued for a change in the rules on leadership. So in theory at least, Boris has a year to earn back the support of those who voted against him. My advice to him is that it is not a psychological change that we want, it is not even big headline grabbing initiatives that we want, but rather a return to being a competent, and above all Conservative Government once more.” – David Davis, Sunday Telegraph
“Analysis by YouGov found that there were 44 Tory-held seats where the combined Labour and Lib Dem vote at the 2019 election was higher than the total for the Conservatives. So even if there were to be no Tory deserters, Boris Johnson’s majority would disappear if the maximum amount of tactical voting took place.” – The Observer
“Even as he prepared to sign the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades yesterday, President Joe Biden’s mind was still on the Supreme Court ruling the day before that removed women’s constitutional right to abortion and ignited protests across America. “Yesterday, I spoke about the Supreme Court’s shocking decision striking down Roe v Wade,” Biden said…he added that his administration was going to do what it could to “protect women’s health”. To do that effectively he needs voters. With Republican-held states already moving to ban abortion across swathes of the country, Democrats are seeking to make women’s rights central to campaigning for crucial midterm elections in November.” – Sunday Times
>Today: ToryDiary: America provides a timely reminder that law is no adequate substitute for politics
“Ministers did not need to make a virtue of public spending. They made a choice to boast about successive budget rises rather than presenting them as a regrettable contingencies. Even now, the “line to take” documents put out by CCHQ are often a self-satisfied list of spending rises – as if the money committed, rather than the results secured, was what counted. Unsurprisingly, this prodigality encourages a belief that every problem can be solved by moolah. Or, to put it more precisely, when voters see the Centre-Right party, the party they associate with fiscal rectitude, gaily splashing billions around – not just on Covid response measures, but on discretionary schemes like HS2, net zero, levelling up and social care – they assume that there must be plenty in the kitty.” – Daniel Hannan, Sunday Telegraph