“Ministers are fast-tracking work on a victims’ bill in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, Government sources said last night. Amid an overwhelming political clamour for action to better protect women and girls, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday vowed that the issue was his ‘number one priority’. Asked what would change as a result of Miss Everard’s death, Government sources said a victims’ bill to strengthen the rights of those in the position of Miss Everard’s family would be published soon. It will enshrine in law the rights of victims to give impact statements and increase support for those who have suffered abuse. Home Office sources also pointed to the strategy to combat violence against women and girls which was announced last summer. A consultation on the strategy was extended following Miss Everard’s death, resulting in 180,000 additional responses.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The horrific treatment of Harvey Proctor exposes the extraordinary extent to which the Metropolitan Police mark their own homework
“Boris Johnson faces fresh pressure to avert a “looming winter of discontent” as a poll shows a majority of Tory voters fear a gruelling few months. Seven in 10 Conservative supporters are worried about rocketing bills and are preparing to tighten their belts, according to a survey by Savanta Comres seen by the Sun. The PM has been warned that a perfect storm of soaring gas prices and the £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit will hit the wallets of Brits during the chilly season. More than 1.5million customers face hiked energy bills after their provider went bust and forced them to switch to another with potentially higher tariffs. A shortage of truck drivers is also choking the fuel supply and causing chaos at petrol pumps. The Savanta Comres poll commissioned by the Lib Dems shows 68 per cent of Brits were worried about the cost of living this winter.” – The Sun
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>Yesterday: John Redwood MP in Comment: Public spending is not a fast track to levelling up
“Britain is taxed “as highly as the country can afford”, a Cabinet minister has warned Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak ahead of the Budget next month. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the House of Commons leader, said Britain was now as “highly taxed” as at any time since the Second War and it was “false” to suggest more tax rises were necessary. In an interview with today’s Chopper’s Politics Podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, Mr Rees-Mogg also said that the UK needed more people to generate wealth to fund public services. He also said that it was “rational” for people to want to fill up their cars during the recent fuel crisis, and said that levelling up also meant diverting cash to Conservative seats in the south of England.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Interviews: Kwasi Kwarteng: “My job is to make us not lose sight of the fact that we are Conservatives”
“Sluggish moves to combat Insulate Britain have left Government departments at loggerheads, the Daily Mail can reveal. Home Secretary Priti Patel was left ‘amazed’ by delays at Grant Shapps’ Department for Transport, which is running the Government’s legal response to protesters’ actions, it is understood. Ministers have now given orders to seek sweeping new legal moves against the eco-activists, in the form of a tougher and far more wide-ranging injunction. Miss Patel has also instructed police chiefs to look at charging protesters with road traffic offences such as ‘causing danger to road users’ that could see them imprisoned for up to seven years. Such a lengthy jail term would place convicted protesters in jeopardy of losing their livelihoods and their homes.” – Daily Mail
“Carrie Johnson will make a rare public intervention at the Conservative Party conference next week where she will give a speech about the importance of defending LGBT+ rights. The prime minister’s wife, 33, was named guest of honour at the conference Pride reception in Manchester. Johnson, the Conservatives’ former director of communications, is pregnant with her second child with the prime minister. The couple married in a surprise ceremony in Westminster Cathedral this year after the birth of their son, Wilfred, last April. Elena Bunbury, chairwoman of the LGBT+ Conservatives, said that Johnson often attended the group’s events and was a proud defender of gay rights. “Carrie is a longstanding ally, and has always been a good sport to LGBT+ Conservatives,” she said. “She even judged our virtual lip-sync last conference. We’re thrilled she’ll be joining us in person this year in Manchester.”” – The Times
>Today: ToryDiary: The transition conference. Twelve curtain-raisers for the Tories in Manchester.
“France is trying to persuade the European Union to retaliate against Britain over what it sees as Boris Johnson’s use of fishing permits to gain leverage in the migration crisis. Paris is likely to ask for curbs on British fish imports and restrictions on UK students who want to study in the bloc. Annick Girardin, France’s minister for the sea, has suggested that railway links could be dragged into the fishing war too, hinting at blocking Channel tunnel freight and passenger traffic. She said that energy could be another weapon in the hands of France, which exports electricity to the UK. EdF, the state electricity giant, also has significant assets in Britain, producing about 20 per cent of the country’s generating capacity. French analysts said it was unlikely that their government would cut Britain’s power supply, however.” – The Times
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>Yesterday: Henry Hill’s Red, White, and Blue column: ‘Show, don’t tell’ is the right way to fight the SNP – and ‘Ukima unionism’ in action
“Keir Starmer has blamed the fuel crisis on Boris Johnson’s “whack-a-mole” approach to running the country, urging him to plan ahead or risk staff shortages in a string of other industries in the coming months. Ministers have suspended competition law in the energy sector and called in the army in recent days as they scramble to alleviate the shortages on forecourts caused by a lack of HGV drivers. Other sectors including social care, hospitality and food production have also highlighted difficulties in finding staff as a result of Brexit and the Covid pandemic, and the CBI said this month the problems could persist for up to two years. Starmer said: “The government at the moment is playing whack-a-mole: it’s trying to whack down one problem and another one pops up somewhere else. And that is a pathetic, lamentable lack of planning.”” – The Guardian
“Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to carry out a reshuffle following a successful party conference, with some allies hoping he will demote his predecessor Ed Miliband. The Labour leader has more authority over his party than at any time since taking up the role after a conference in which he forced through new leadership rules, made it harder for MPs to be deselected and won standing ovations for praising Nato and the armed forces. Starmer’s supporters want him to harness his new strength to make changes to the shadow cabinet, four months after a botched reshuffle in which Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, refused to move. Although there is no indication that Starmer’s office is planning another reshuffle, several leading backers want him to press ahead. “The next month is the time to do it before something comes along and dents his authority again,” a shadow cabinet source said.” – The Times
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