Tory leadership: Shapps and Raab back Rishi Sunak to be next PM July 12, 2022 Transport secretary Grant Shapps and deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab have backed Rishi Sunak to be the next Tory party leader, with the former chancellor today vowing “a return to traditional conservative economic values” if he becomes Prime Minister. Shapps’ endorsement comes after he decided to call off his faltering campaign and throw his lot [...]
New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi in spat with Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey: ‘I’m just setting out my stall as prime minister!’ July 12, 2022 Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi insisted this morning it was appropriate for him to set out tax proposals during his Tory leadership race after criticism from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. He told BBC Breakfast this a.m.: “I’m just setting out my stall as prime minister! And I have fully costed these pledges, and I’ll be [...]
Opinion-in-brief: The Tory leadership race is training in the art of scheming July 12, 2022 A “dirty dossier” on Rishi Sunak – shared by an ally of Priti Patel – contained lines of attack against the frontrunner in the race to become party leader. One was that Sunak had been plotting this all along – with a campaign website domain registered in 2019. Sunak’s campaign team has denied owning readyforrishi.com, [...]
Rishi, Penny, Kemi or Jeremy: Meet the Tory leadership runners and riders fighting to replace Boris Johnson July 12, 2022 The Tory leadership race gained momentum over the weekend, with opening gambits coming thick and fast from candidates across almost every wing of the party. Rishi Sunak, who wasted no time on Friday in publicly stating an intention to stand, remains an early favourite. But a host of hopefuls, including Nadhim Zahawi, Grant Shapps and [...]
Labour to table vote of no confidence as Tory leadership election deadline nears end July 12, 2022 Labour is going to table a vote of no confidence in the government today, as the Conservative leadership election heats up. Keir Starmer will put forward a motion in Parliament to try and force prime minister Boris Johnson out of office before the contest ends. The prime minister, who resigned last week following a series [...]
UK to get new PM on 5 September as Tory leader votes start Wednesday July 11, 2022 The UK will get its 78th Prime Minister on 5 September, with the Conservative MPs to begin the process of electing a new party leader on Wednesday. Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, this evening announced MPs would have their first vote Wednesday and a second on Thursday. A number [...]
Number 10 says Johnson will not announce windfall tax on electricity July 11, 2022 Downing Street today said Boris Johnson will not extend the government’s energy windfall tax to electricity producers. There was speculation when the 25 per cent tax on North Sea oil and gas was announced in May that it would include electricity generators, including on wind farms and other green energy producers, however Boris Johnson’s official [...]
Tory leadership: Zahawi says he’ll cancel Corporation Tax hike if made PM July 11, 2022 New chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has said he has already “set the wheels in motion” to cancel a planned Corporation Tax hike if made Prime Minister as he proposes a swathe of tax cuts to launch his Tory leadership bid. Zahawi told a Westminster event this afternoon that he would also cut the basic rate of [...]
Tory leadership race: Johnson refuses to ‘damage anybody’s chances’ by making endorsement July 11, 2022 Boris Johnson has said he does not want to “damage anybody’s chances” of winning the Tory leadership race by making an endorsement. The Prime Minister said he wanted to “let the party decide, let them get on with it”, after a flood of Tory MPs over the weekend announced their campaigns to become the next [...]
£134bn: Biggest rise in tax receipts since 2000 gives chancellor room to make cuts July 11, 2022 The new chancellor of the exchequer may have leeway for tax cuts, after a £134bn spike in so-called ‘stealth ‘ taxes. There was the biggest increase in receipts since the turn of the century over the last 12 months, up to £718bn, representing a 23 per cent increase on the previous year. The rise from [...]