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Protesters chanting “refugees are welcome right here” have arrived exterior the NEC earlier than tonight’s Tory hustings. Social media footage reveals round 50 protesters with placards calling for an finish to deportation flights to Rwanda.
Tonight’s Conservative management hustings, held on the NEC in Birmingham, is because of start at 7pm and we will likely be masking it stay right here.
Should you refresh this web page at 7pm a stay stream of the hustings may even seem on the high.
Afternoon abstract
Andrew Sparrow
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A number one thinktank has criticised a plan from Scottish Energy for the federal government to again a £100bn plan to freeze power payments for 2 years. In keeping with the BBC, Kwasi Kwarteng, the enterprise secretary and possible chancellor in a Truss authorities, expressed some help for the thought at a non-public assembly final week. (See 2.35pm.) However Torsten Bell, head of the Decision Basis thinktank, has dismissed the proposal, which might contain power firms borrowing the cash, however the authorities underwriting the loans.
That’s all from me for right now.
A colleague will likely be selecting up the weblog later to cowl the Tory management hustings in Birmingham at 7pm.
The Liberal Democrats have written to Simon Case, the cupboard secretary, accusing Liz Truss of breaching the ministerial code through the use of Chevening, her grace-and-favour nation mansion as international secretary, for celebration political functions. As Jon Stone reviews for the Impartial, the Lib Dems have submitted a criticism following reviews that Truss used Chevening for a gathering of her marketing campaign group over the weekend.
The Lib Dems are asking for a proper investigation, however it will be stunning if Case had been to comply with open one. The principles about utilizing authorities property for celebration political occasions are designed to cease locations like No 10 getting used for issues like fundraising receptions, or phone canvassing. As Case is aware of full properly, politicians maintain conferences the place they talk about inner celebration political issues on authorities property on a regular basis.
Patel signifies she needs to remain as dwelling secretary
Liz Truss has not received the Tory management contest but, however already her group have been considering laborious about who would serve in her cupboard and there was appreciable hypothesis that she’s going to appoint Suella Braverman, the legal professional normal, as her dwelling secretary. (Nobody has spent a lot time questioning who would function dwelling secretary underneath Rishi Sunak.) It it thought that Braverman will get the job as a reward for endorsing Truss when she was knocked out of the management contest herself, at a time when if Braverman had endorsed Kemi Badenoch as a substitute, maybe that may have given Badenoch the increase she wanted to overhaul Truss and change into the lead candidate for the Tory proper as a substitute, going up in opposition to Sunak within the ultimate poll.
However Priti Patel, the present dwelling secretary, needs to stay in her submit, and in an interview with Sky’s Jason Farrell she has made her case to remain. Requested if she needed to maintain her job, she replied:
That’s the selection of the following chief. However the reality of the matter is that this celebration was elected with a really clear manifesto dedication to beat crime, reduce crime, but in addition ship 20,000 extra cops. I feel my file in that point speaks volumes.
Patel has not endorsed publicly endorsed a candidate within the contest. Requested who she needed to guide the celebration, she replied:
I’m simply not getting concerned. I imply I’ve bought a job to do. That’s what I’m centered on.
Many international locations all over the world won’t significantly welcome the election of Liz Truss as the following prime minister, Politico reviews. In a protracted article about how the international secretary is considered by governments overseas, Cristina Gallardo and Leonie Kijewski say she has not made a superb impression. Right here is an extract.
In fact, few international powers very similar to what they’ve seen.
Greater than a dozen conversations with senior diplomats and insiders from energy facilities all over the world counsel Truss will not be precisely a well-liked selection on the worldwide stage. She will likely be met with deep scepticism throughout a lot of western Europe, and throughout the Biden White Home. There are questions on relations with the brand new Australian authorities. She is despised in Moscow and Beijing.
Then again, Truss is kind of common in jap European states, and elements of the Indo-Pacific. So it’s not all dangerous.
The complete article is right here.
Truss had no concept about authorized help when she was justice secretary, says former lord chancellor Lord Mackay
Liz Truss, the frontrunner within the Tory management contest, has confronted criticism right now over her file as atmosphere secretary from 2014 to 2016. As Pippa Crerar and Helena Horton report, she reduce the grant for the surveillance mechanisms in place to cease water firms polluting rivers.
After serving as atmosphere secretary, Truss spent a 12 months as justice secretary and lord chancellor. Her efficiency in that job has additionally come underneath fireplace. In an interview with the Home journal to mark his retirement from the Home of Lords on the age of 95, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, a really distinguished former Conservative lord chancellor, stated that non-lawyers equivalent to Truss and Chris Grayling weren’t suited to the function. He went on:
I don’t know that Liz Truss had any concept of how authorized help was achieved both, when she was lord chancellor and justice secretary. You really want to know one thing about it.
Labour MP claims reporter broke into her workplace to search out Beergate materials
The Labour MP Mary Foy has claimed a reporter broke into her workplace to search out materials about Beergate. She was talking in an interview with my colleague Jessica Elgot during which she additionally described how the false accusation that she and different Labour figures had damaged lockdown guidelines (the police in the end concluded there was no case to reply) had been devastating to her in her first years as an MP. The complete article is right here.
Entry to early medical abortions by tablet will likely be made everlasting from the tip of the month, enabling extra girls to finish early stage pregnancies at dwelling, the Division for Well being and Social Care has introduced. As PA Media reviews, pregnant girls in England and Wales will be capable to completely entry early medical abortions of their houses from 30 August following a teleconsultation. PA says:
The federal government first enabled girls to have early medical abortions at dwelling, by taking two tablets, when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
It modified the laws in the course of the first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020 as a brief measure.
However in March this 12 months MPs voted to retain the at-home service, which has change into the preferred choice.
It follows Wales’s well being minister saying in February, following a session, that early abortions at dwelling had been being made everlasting.
The Division for Well being and Social Care (DHSC) stated the Abortion Act is being amended to permit everlasting entry to distant early medical abortions.
These contain two tablets being taken at dwelling throughout the first 10 weeks of being pregnant.
Docs should certify in “good religion” that the gestation interval is beneath 10 weeks, the DHSC stated in its information launch.
In keeping with Simon Jack, the BBC’s enterprise editor, Kwasi Kwarteng, the enterprise secretary and possible chancellor in a Liz Truss administration, left the power firm Scottish Energy with the impression that he was broadly receptive to its plan for the federal government to spend round £100bn over the following two years freezing the power value cap. However authorities sources have performed down the thought Kwarteng was in favour, Jack says.
UPDATE: That is from Ian Mulheirn, head of coverage on the Tony Blair Institute thinktank, on the Scottish Energy plan.
Johnson says UK will ‘by no means recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea or every other Ukrainian territory’
Boris Johnson has delivered a speech to the Worldwide Crimea Platform, a digital convention organised by the Ukrainian authorities. Supporting Ukraine following the Russian invasion this 12 months is one in every of his achievements as prime minister of which he’s most proud, and No 10 stated yesterday he could be specializing in Ukraine in his ultimate fortnight in workplace. Listed below are the details he made.
It has by no means been extra essential for all of us to face collectively in defence of the foundational precept of worldwide legislation, which is that, no territory, no nation, can purchase territory or change borders by drive of arms, and it so follows that we are going to by no means recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea or every other Ukrainian territory.
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He stated Crimea had been become an “armed camp” following its annexation by Russia in 2014 and he stated the identical factor would occur to different elements of Ukraine underneath Russian management now. He stated:
Ever for the reason that annexation, the folks of Crimea have endured a brutal and systematic marketing campaign of human rights abuses by the Russian authorities, together with the persecution of the Tatars, arbitrary arrests, with a tenfold improve in detentions within the final 12 months, and the restriction of land possession to Russian residents.
As soon as he had grabbed Crimea, Putin deployed increasingly Russian forces within the peninsula, turning the territory into an armed camp from which to threaten the remainder of Ukraine, and Crimea duly grew to become the launch pad for the invasion on twenty fourth February. Or one of many launch pads. And I’m afraid that every one this has even higher salience right now as a result of Putin is planning on doing to elements of Ukraine, in actual fact all of Ukraine, what he has achieved to Crimea, and he’s making ready extra annexations and extra sham referendums.
That land seize in 2014 was the direct precursor to right now’s conflict, and we should always have the humility to acknowledge that not everybody realised the sheer enormity of what was taking place on the time.
All of our international locations nonetheless reacted with energy and unity after Putin escalated his onslaught in opposition to Ukraine on the 24 February this 12 months, however the first act of this tragedy opened eight years earlier – virtually to the day – when Russian forces started fanning out throughout Crimea, and taking management of a peninsula seizing which constitutes 10,000 sq. miles of sovereign Ukrainian territory.
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He stated the UK ought to proceed to provide Ukraine “all of the navy, humanitarian, financial and diplomatic help that they want till Russia ends this hideous conflict and withdraws its forces from the whole thing of Ukraine”.
The Workplace for Nationwide Statistics printed its common month-to-month mortality figures for England and Wales this morning. They present extra deaths in England in July operating at 10.2% (which means 10.2% extra folks had been dying than you’ll anticipate at the moment of 12 months).
The ONS says the excessive variety of extra deaths was partly right down to the heatwave. But it surely additionally says that different elements could also be concerned, and that “additional investigation is required to know this totally”.
John Burn-Murdoch, the statistics knowledgeable on the Monetary Occasions, is already on the case. He has posted a protracted and glorious thread on Twitter taking a look at why England and Wales are recording extra deaths this summer season and he argues that issues with emergency healthcare, and particularly lengthy waits in A&E, could also be contributing to 500 additional deaths per week.
His thread begins right here.
And here’s a chart from the thread exhibiting the hyperlink between A&E ready instances and elevated danger of dying.
Truss would ‘spook worldwide traders’ if she threatened independence of Financial institution of England, says Sunak
Rishi Sunak has advised that Liz Truss would “spook” worldwide traders if she threatened the independence of the Financial institution of England.
In an interview with Sky Information, referrring to Truss’s plans to overview the Financial institution’s mandate, the previous chancellor stated this may alarm traders. Requested what he would do to convey down inflation, he replied:
I feel we have to let the Financial institution of England get on with its job with rates of interest.
And I’m anxious, fairly frankly, by reviews from others that they need to curb the independence of the Financial institution of England. I feel that might be a mistake, and I feel it will spook worldwide traders into the UK and will likely be dangerous for all of us.
Truss and her supporters say that the Financial institution of England has not managed to maintain inflation down and that its mandate needs to be reviewed as a result of there has not been a correct reassessment because it was given its independence 25 years in the past. Critics declare this implies the independence of the Financial institution is underneath menace, however the Truss camp dispute this.
Within the interview Sunak additionally rejected the suggestion that he ought to stand down to permit Truss, the clear favorite, to take over as prime minister now and begin implementing an financial rescue plan. Requested if he would do this, Sunak stated he had many marketing campaign occasions organised and that he was “centered relentlessly” on persuading folks that his plan was finest for the nation.
There was not less than one name from a newspaper columnist for Sunak to face apart in favour of Truss. And yesterday an power firm boss stated the Conservative celebration ought to convey ahead the tip date for the competition to permit the brand new PM to get to work extra shortly. However that might be a call for that celebration, not Sunak. At this level within the contest, nobody severely thinks he would, or ought to, simply unilaterally withdraw.
Sources within the Liz Truss camp have criticised Mel Stride for utilizing the Commons Treasury committee, which he chairs, to launch an assault on Truss (see 10.58am), the Solar’s Harry Cole reviews. Stride is backing Rishi Sunak.
Mark Harper, the previous Tory chief whip who’s backing Rishi Sunak within the Tory management contest, has been tweeting about Paul Johnson’s description of Truss as extra like Edward Heath than Margaret Thatcher. (See 8.52am.)
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