Liz Truss’s campaign to become prime minister cannot continue to offer “magic money tree” promises of tax cuts, a Rishi Sunak supporter has warned. Asked about plans to support leadership candidates’ living costs, Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake praised the former chancellor’s “affordable” and “targeted support package”. Referring to the Foreign Secretary’s proposals, he told Sky News: “You see in the Truss camp a promise to spend £65 billion on tax cuts and extra spending, without even providing those targeted support measures that will inevitably be needed. “It can’t be a case of the magic money tree again and we need to provide the right support and also make it targeted and affordable for taxpayers.” It comes after Mr Sunak himself criticized Ms Truss’ economic plans and said her leadership would risk higher inflation. Mrs Truss plans to announce a raft of sweeping reforms to stop doctors leaving the NHS, the Daily Telegraph reported. But he has been accused of trying to “avoid independent scrutiny” by promising to hold a budget next month without an official financial forecast.
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Tories divided by ‘hopeless divisions’, says Labor
Labor accused the Tories of being beset by “desperate divisions” and said leadership contenders must address their concerns about the cost of living. Shadow communities minister Alex Norris told Sky News: “I think what we’ve heard from Kevin Hollinrake is more reflective of a desperately divided Conservative Party, neither of which thinks the other is very good. “I don’t think the rest of us should think that either is good. “What’s really scary to me is, at a time when families are really struggling, when people up and down the country are so concerned, that the conversation going on in the leadership contest doesn’t seem to reflect those concerns about dealing with this challenge.” Mr Norris added that Labor had “properly funded” and “practical” plans to freeze energy bills and announced proposals for a mass home insulation programme. Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 09:20 1661155549
There will be ‘people on the streets’ without more help with energy bills, Tory MP warns
A Tory MP has predicted public unrest this winter unless more help is given to households to pay skyrocketing energy bills. Rishi Sunak’s supporter Kevin Hollinrake said there would be people “on the streets” without further support. Whitehall editor Kate Devlin has more on this sensational story:
There will be “people on the streets” without more help with energy bills, Tory MP warns
A Tory MP has predicted public unrest this winter unless more help is given to households to pay skyrocketing energy bills. Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 09:05 1661154998
Prime Minister Stanley Johnson’s father blames government for pumping sewage into British waterways
Stanley Johnson, the prime minister’s father, blamed his son’s government for the staggering levels of sewage being dumped into Britain’s waterways. Speaking to LBC presenter Rachel Johnson – who is the Prime Minister’s sister – the 82-year-old former Conservative MEP said Brexit meant his son Boris Johnson’s government “felt able not to push” to stop pollution as hard as it would could have been the The UK is still part of the EU. Ministers are under increasing pressure to stop routine pollution as dozens of warnings were put in place this week at beaches and swimming spots after heavy rain overwhelmed sewage systems, prompting water companies to release sewage into the environment. My colleague Andy Gregory has more:
Prime Minister Stanley Johnson’s father blames government for sewage in UK waters
Reduced EU oversight after Brexit leaves UK ‘in a very, very difficult and dangerous situation’, warns former MEP Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 08:56 1661154242
People will be “on the streets” without extra winter bills support, Tory MP says
People will be “on the streets” without further help to pay their energy bills this winter, a Tory MP has suggested. Rishi Sunak’s supporter Kevin Hollinrake told Sky News that Liz Truss’ campaign promises to cut taxes would only provide an extra “pound a week” to the poorest households, while providing “around £30 a week” to household like his own. “It’s just not right,” he added. “These people will take to the streets. Things will be so bad for some households.” Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 08:44 1661153533
Watch: Talk TV caller says migrant boats should be undermined by drones
Talk TV caller says migrant boats should be undermined by drones Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 08:32 1661152914
Senior Tories urge Truss to deliver transparent emergency budget proposal so ministers are not ‘blindsided’
Liz Truss’ plans for an emergency budget must be transparent and affordable so ministers are not “blindsided”, a senior Tory MP has warned Finance Committee chairman Mel Stride’s comments came after suggestions that the Foreign Secretary’s emergency budget, if elected Prime Minister, would not be scrutinized by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Mr Stride, a supporter of Rishi Sunak, told LBC: “At the moment Liz’s camp are saying I think there will be no OBR forecast at the time and that’s flying blind. “It means you’re doing all these dramatic things in tax and so on, but you don’t really know what the independent forecasting thinks the impact on public finances is going to be, and I think it’s a very serious situation if that happens.” Asked if OBR scrutiny would be bureaucratic in a time of crisis, Mr Stride said: “No. We ask for transparency and reassurance that whatever wins this competition is affordable and not reckless.” Emily Atkinson 22 August 2022 08:21 1661151357
Camp Sunak slams Truss for offering ‘magic money tree’ tax cuts.
Liz Truss’s campaign to become prime minister cannot continue to offer “magic money tree” promises of tax cuts, a Rishi Sunak supporter has warned. Asked about plans to support leadership candidates’ living costs, Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake praised the former chancellor’s “affordable” and “targeted support package”. Referring to the Foreign Secretary’s proposals, he told Sky News: “You see in the Truss camp a promise to spend £65 billion on tax cuts and extra spending, without even providing those targeted support measures that will inevitably be needed. “It can’t be a case of the magic money tree again and we need to provide the right support and also make it targeted and affordable for taxpayers.” It comes after Mr Sunak himself criticized Ms Truss’ economic plans and said her leadership would risk higher inflation. Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 07:55 1661150482
PM’s own family blames his government for ‘sorry mess’ on UK beaches, climate campaigner says
Boris Johnson’s father and sister essentially agreed the government should be blamed for the “sorry mess” on Britain’s beaches in an “excellent” interview, an environmental campaigner has claimed. Feargal Sharkey told BBC Breakfast that the state of the water industry was “definitely” linked to Brexit, citing a legal challenge launched by the European Commission against the UK for allowing companies to dump waste water into the environment. Referring to a conversation between Rachel Johnson and Stanley Johnson on LBC radio, he said: “What I thought was the most unusual part of this interview was that the Prime Minister’s father and sister agree and come to the resolution that you should blame government for all this sorry mess our beaches, sewage system and industry are in, and I have to agree with them.” Stanley Johnson blames the government for releasing sewage into UK waterways He said: “In fact, shortly before Brexit, I have reason to believe that the European Commission was going to take the UK back to court to ask the court to start imposing a financial penalty against the UK.” Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 07:41 1661149339
The state of the water industry is the result of a “policy oversight gap”, says campaigner
The state of the water industry is the result of three decades of poorly regulated “speculation” and a “vacuum of political oversight” by the government, an environmental campaigner has said. Feargal Sharkey warned that beachgoers do not have a “clear picture” of the amount of sewage being pumped into the water they swim in. The environmental campaigner was asked on BBC Breakfast: “Are you saying that people who use beaches have virtually no idea that across the country, we just don’t have a clear enough picture of the state of our water?” “We really don’t,” Mr Sharkey said. He added: “I’m afraid that what you’re seeing is simply the result of 30 years of underinvestment by the water industry, 30 years of profiteering, 30 years of regulatory failure and 30 years of a vacuum of political oversight by a government. failing to undertake appropriate scrutiny for this industry’. Emily Atkinson22 August 2022 07:22 1661147739
Jacob Rees-Mogg backs Liz Truss over comments Brits need ‘more graft’
Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended Liz Truss’ suggestion that British workers need “more graft” as “sensible”. Last week, leaked audio from Mrs Truss’ time as chief secretary to the Treasury revealed she said Britons lacked “skills and application”. Mr Rees-Mogg was quoted by the Mail on Sunday as saying her comments reflected “low productivity in the British economy”. He said they had “attracted mixed political criticism but reflected an unfortunate reality in much of the British state” and that “this is…
