Inside Politics: ‘Out of ideas’
Boris Johnson to call on cabinet ministers to focus efforts on cost of living crisis, writes Matt Mathers
Is Twitter set for lift off? Elon Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla founder, who describes himself as a free speech “absolutist”, has snapped up the social media giant in a multibillion dollar deal. The move is already sparking a lively debate about what direction he could take the platform in, with concerns that a lack of content moderation could lead to further hate speech. Back in Westminster, Boris Johnson this morning will try to relaunch his government’s plans to tackle the cost of living crisis with just over a week to go until May’s election, as he seeks to move the conversation on from the Partygate scandal.
Inside the bubble
Chief politics commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:
The cabinet meets this morning. The Commons sits from 11.30am starting with Foreign Office questions and ending with a general debate about Ukraine. In committees, Professor Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser who converted Boris Johnson to net zero, gives evidence about the behaviour changes needed to minimise climate change. Mark Spencer, the leader of the Commons, gives evidence on a new parliamentary code of conduct.
Coming up:
– Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh on Sky News at 8.05am
– Armed forces minister James Heappey on GB News at 8.50am
Daily Briefing
- ‘OUT OF IDEAS’: It has often been said that it could be Britain’s cost of living crisis rather than the Partygate scandal that ends up sinking Boris Johnson and the prime minister is this morning making a plea to cabinet ministers to come up with ideas on how to help people with sky high energy bills and increasing food costs. With just over a week to go until the local elections, the PM was expected to urge ministers to do more to promote existing support schemes which have not been widely taken up, but The Independent understands that no new measures will be discussed. Opposition parties accused the PM of being “out of ideas”.
- PARTYGATE LATEST: Sue Gray’s report into Partygate will be released by “the end of May” at the earliest, according to reports. Sources told The Guardian that the senior civil servant is “working towards the end of May as the most likely timetable” for completing her report. Gray was forced to delay her report while the Metropolitan Police completes its investigation into the events in Downing Street, which Scotland Yard confirmed it would not update until the end of the local elections. We’ll have all today’s politics action on our liveblog.
- SEXISM ROW: A sexist article about Angela Rayner was condemned by all sides in the Commons yesterday and sparked a wider debate about the culture in parliament, with Labour’s Harriet Harman, parliament’s most senior female MP, demanding a change to MPs’ code of conduct to make misogyny an offence punishable by suspension. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, earlier in the day said he plans to meet with the editor of the newspaper which ran the story, which critics also said stank of classism. Boris Johnson branded the article an “appalling load of sexist, misogynist tripe” and warned that the MP responsible for it would face the “terrors of the earth” if found, but stopped short of launching an internal investigation. Meanwhile, a “victim-blaming culture” could be leading to “missed opportunities” to collect vital evidence of spiking, according to an inquiry by MPs.
- MUSK BE THE MONEY: Twitter, the favourite social media platform of politicians and journalists, has been bought by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, for around $44bn (£35m). There is now fevered speculation about the direction the Tesla CEO, a self-styled free speech “absolutist”, will take the platform in. Analysts say Twitter is likely to carry out less content moderation, which would inevitably lead to more misinformation – a problem most tech giants are grappling with. Donald Trump supporters in the US are excited about Musk’s takeover and hope it could open the door for him to return to the platform.
- TRUMP 2024?: The Donald’s heavily trailed interview with Piers Morgan was aired last night and the former president was once again producing plenty of news: he dropped a big hint that he would run for the White House again in 2024 – current polls say he will win that race if pitted against either Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. He also said it was “true” that in 2019 he cancelled a separate interview with Morgan at the request of Johnson, who was at the time campaigning to become PM. You can read a full wrap of the interview here.
- HOAX CALLS: Ministers are being targeted by hoax callers pretending to be British citizens captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, The Independent understands. Russian information operations are believed to be behind the calls, which have been made to the private offices of cabinet members. To date, two British soldiers fighting with the Ukrainian army have been captured by Vladimir Putin’s troops. Both were paraded on Russian television last week. In an email sent by Cabinet Office security last week, staff were urged not to engage with callers impersonating the soldiers and instead to direct them to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
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
“If we ever find who is responsible for it, I don’t know what we will do, but they will be the terrors of the earth.”
PM says Tory MPs who made Rayner claims will be punished if identified.
From the Twitterati
“If @BorisJohnson’s Rwanda deportation plan fails to work, he may find there’s no one left to blame for rising numbers of Channel boats.”
i chief politics commentator Paul Waugh.
Essential reading
- Jess Phillips, The Independent: We are all Angela Rayner: Sexism and misogyny in politics is something every woman in the Commons expects
- Harriet Williamson, The Independent: The Angela Rayner row isn’t just sexist – it’s classist, too
- William Hague, The Times: Boris Johnson will have to change if he’s to survive
- Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic: Macron won. And so did the far right
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