Inside Politics: ‘Excoriating’
Report says Whitehall investigation could be so bad for Boris Johnson that he could have no choice but to resign, writes Matt Mathers
Boris Johnson is facing another difficult week ahead, with fresh reports this morning that the Whitehall investigation into Partygate could be so “excoriating” that it could leave him with no option but to resign. Away from the domestic front, Emmanuel Macron has won a second term as French president and the US has pledged more aid for Ukraine.
Inside the bubble
Commons action gets underway with Home Office questions at 2.30pm. Following that are any urgent questions or statements. Later, MPs will respond to Lords amendments to the Policing Bill and the Health and Care Bill.
Coming up:
– Tech minister Chris Philp on BBC Radio 4 Today at 8.30am
– Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves on Times Radio at 8.35am
Daily Briefing
- WIN FOR MACRON: Emmanuel Macron became the first French president to be reelected for a second-term since Jacques Chirac in 2002, after comfortably seeing off far-right leader Marine Le Pen in yesterday’s runoff vote. Macron in his victory speech vowed to unite France. “I will work for a more just society and equality between men and women,” he told supporters. “We need to show respect because our country is so divided…no one will be left by the wayside.” Although it was a better-than-expected win for Macron, the size of the vote for Le Pen has raised alarm among some in France. She secured 41.5 per cent of the votes, which is unprecedented for the French’s far-right. She was previously beaten 66 per cent to 34 per cent by the incumbent and her father received less than 20 per cent against Chirac. We’ll have all the reaction to the result on our liveblog.
- JET LAG: Following his two-day trip to India, embattled Boris Johnson once again starts the week on the back foot and faces fresh Partygate reports as the scandal refuses to go away. A damning report in The Times, which quotes a senior official, says the Sue Gray investigation into Downing Street drinks gatherings will be so “excoriating” that it could leave the PM with little choice but to resign. Allies of Johnson have repeatedly said that he will not quit over Covid law-breaking, and the PM himself said on a plane to Gujarat on Thursday last week that he plans to lead his party into the next general election – a view shared by Oliver Dowden, the Tory chairman, as he toured the broadcast studios yesterday. Any officials waiting for the PM to walk could be sorely disappointed. We’ll have all today’s politics action on our liveblog.
- NO NON-DOMS: In a very helpfully timed announcement, Labour has pledged to remove ‘non-dom’ status if it wins the next election. The move comes just weeks after The Independent revealed chancellor Rishi Sunak’s wife had used the status to minimise her UK tax bill. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said the scheme – used by rich people to save on their tax bills – was unfair, particularly at a time when the government is raising taxes on “working people”. The pledge to scrap the non-dom status, which has been considered by Labour’s two previous leaders, is likely to ramp up the pressure on Downing Street’s response to the ongoing cost of living crisis, which has been widely condemned as inadequate.
- DEPLORABLE: The PM has contacted Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, to condemn a misogynistic story about her which appeared in the Mail on Sunday. Anonymous Tory MPs claimed that Rayner deliberately tries to distract Johnson during PMQs by uncrossing and crossing her legs. In a tweet yesterday the PM said: “As much as I disagree with @AngelaRayner on almost every political issue I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed at her anonymously today.”
- UKRAINE UPDATE: A large fire broke out at a Russian oil depot near the Ukrainian border overnight, local authorities have said. The Kremlin’s emergency situations ministry confirmed that the fuel tanks at the facility in the Bryansk region were on fire.In other developments, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Moscow was struggling to achieve its war ambitions. After meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday, he said: “In terms of Russia’s war aims, Russia has already failed and Ukraine has already succeeded.” Mr Zelensky thanked Washington for its ongoing support. “The visit of a delegation of high-ranking US officials to Kyiv at this crucial moment for the Ukrainian state is very valuable and important to us,” he said. On the trip, the senior Biden administration officials — defence secretary Lloyd Austin and secretary of state Antony Blinken — promised $300m more in foreign military financing and approved a $165m sale of ammunition. More updates here.
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
On the record
“As much as I disagree with @AngelaRayner on almost every political issue I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed at her anonymously today.”
PM condemns sexist attack on Rayner.
From the Twitterati
“People often say that classism/sexism has gone from British public life. The fact a major newspaper carries a piece, the central premise of which being a working class woman’s debating skills can’t compete with an Eton educated man’s, tells its own tale.”
Newsnight policy editor Lewis Goodall.
Essential reading
- Thom Brooks, The Independent: There’s an obvious alternative to the government’s Rwanda plan
- Isabel Hardman, The Guardian: So few can afford to stand for parliament, it’s no wonder we get the wrong MPs
- Edward Lucas, The Times: Ukraine cannot blind us to China’s mischief
- Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Four in ten French voters wanting to make a neo-fascist their president is no cause for celebration
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