Related video: PM refuses to say if he was at lockdown ABBA party in own flat
Three Tory MPs have announced submitting letters of no confidence against Boris Johnson in a single day, bringing the total number to publicly call the prime minister to resign amid the Downing Street parties scandal to 12.
As Mr Johnson prepared to face Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs on Wednesday, former minister Tobias Ellwood announced he was sending a letter to 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady – 54 of which are needed to trigger a leadership vote.
The influential Tory MP was followed by Anthony Mangnall, who said the PM’s “actions and mistruths are overshadowing” the work of his colleagues. Shortly afterwards, veteran Tory Gary Streeter did the same, saying: “I cannot reconcile the pain and sacrifice of the vast majority of the British public with attitude and activities of those working in Downing Street.”
Meanwhile, the Belfast government announced that Brexit port food checks in Northern Ireland will be halted from midnight on Wednesday – reigniting the battle with the EU over the inspections. It came as levelling up secretary Michael Gove delivered his long-awaited statement to MPs on how the government intends to close the gap between richer and poorer regions.
Michael Gove denies no new money is going into levelling up
Michael Gove has defended his flagship plans to close the gap between the rich and poor parts of the country and said that it is a “bogus argument” to suggest there is no new money going into the levelling up agenda.
Mr Gove told Sky News: “I think that’s a bogus argument because the chancellor gave us a huge cheque in the spending review and now we are spending it.”
He added that “we’re making sure in Wolverhampton, in Sheffield and in other areas that we put our money where our mouth is. And that we make sure that money which in the past was spent too much in London and the south-east is now spent in the north and the Midlands where it’s needed.”
Maroosha Muzaffar3 February 2022 06:02
Experts cast doubt over PM’s promise to ‘level up’
Experts have cast doubt over Boris Johnson’s promise to “level up” the UK and called it “highly unlikely” to be achieved.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank was quoted as saying in the Guardian that the “targets are largely in the right areas, but many look extremely ambitious – that is to say highly unlikely to be met, even with the best policies and much resource.”
He added that “there is little detail on how most of them will be met, and less detail on available funding. There is something for everyone, and hence little sense of prioritisation: ambition and resource will be spread very thin.”
Maroosha Muzaffar3 February 2022 05:24
Edwin Poots halts Irish Sea border checks
Edwin Poots, the Democratic Unionist Party minister said that there shall be no border checks from midnight on the Irish Sea border.
Mr Poots had been threatening to act on this as part of the DUP’s ongoing opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The minister also said that he has taken legal advice but Sinn Féin called the move a “stunt.”
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, of Sinn Féin, said it was an attempt by the DUP to “unlawfully interfere with domestic and international law.”
Maroosha Muzaffar3 February 2022 04:40
Tom Peck: Boris Johnson’s Ponzi scheme of promises comes crashing down
In his latest column, The Independent’s political sketch writer Tom Peck suggests that Boris Johnson’s “personal popularity has always depended on people never actually knowing who he really is”.
He writes: “But the never-ending saga has very publicly killed off the clown act at the worst possible time – when absolutely everybody is watching.
“That he doubled down on his Jimmy Savile slander at PMQs will have surprised no one. That is the level to which he has been reduced. But what will surely have worried the Conservatives more are the other accusations Starmer was able to level at him, which ring more than a little bit true.
“… They will have to ponder whether they’re really going to get as much payback as they thought from this guy whose most recent budget was mourned on the front of The Daily Telegraph as the ‘death of Conservatism’.
“Are they absolutely sure the guy who’ll promise absolutely anything to anyone if it gets him through the next 20 minutes won’t, by the time of the next election, be juggling too many plates, spinning too many lies, that the whole Ponzi scheme of bulls*** promises just comes crashing down.”
You can read his full take on the situation here:
Andy Gregory3 February 2022 03:01
Ministers ‘can’t have it both ways’ on NI protocol, Labour warns
Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland secretary has said that “ministers can’t have it both ways”, after his opposite number Brandon Lewis suggested the DUP’s decision to order a halt to Brexit checks on agri-food at ports was “a matter for” Stormont.
“Why are the EU negotiating with Liz Truss if it’s “a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive?” asked Peter Kyle.
Andy Gregory3 February 2022 02:00
PM focused on ‘next election’ – and not (necessarily) in 2023
After some confusion, The Sun’s political editor has clarified that Boris Johnson has said he is focused on the “next election”, which as things stand is due to be held in 2024, rather than 2023 – as previously reported in his interview with the PM tonight.
Andy Gregory3 February 2022 01:05
Russia calls Boris Johnson ‘utterly confused’ and attacks ‘stupidity’ of Liz Truss
Hours ahead of the planned phone call between Vladimir Putin and Boris Johnson today, Russia said it will hold diplomatic talks with anyone – even the “utterly confused”.
“It makes sense to speak to anybody. Russia and President Putin are open to communicating with everyone. Even to someone who is utterly confused, he is prepared to provide exhaustive explanations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia’s foreign ministry went even further with the insults, mocking foreign secretary Liz Truss for saying Britain was sending supplies to its “Baltic allies across the Black Sea” – two bodies of water that are on opposite sides of Europe.
“Mrs Truss, your knowledge of history is nothing compared to your knowledge of geography,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote in a blog post. “If anyone needs saving from anything, it’s the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians.”
My colleague Rory Sullivan has the full report here:
Andy Gregory3 February 2022 00:12
Johnson warns Putin any Ukraine invasion would be ‘tragic miscalculation’
Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has more details on Boris Johnson’s phone call with Vladimir Putin today, which had been delayed due to the prime minister’s domestic Partygate troubles.
After the call, which lasted around 45 minutes, a No 10 spokesperson made clear the “right to aspire” to Nato membership applied to Ukraine – a move strongly opposed by Mr Putin.
The spokesperson said: “The prime minister expressed his deep concern about Russia’s current hostile activity on the Ukrainian border.” Read more here:
Andy Gregory2 February 2022 23:20
Labour criticises ‘lost’ funding for bus network improvement
Labour’s shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh has claimed the “cat is out of the bag” on “lost” funding previously pledged by Boris Johnson to transform the country’s bus networks.
“We need to see first and foremost a proper plan to deliver bus connectivity and actually the cat’s been let out of the bag today – the transport secretary’s revealed that the £3bn-worth of funding for bus transformation that was promised just last year by the prime minister actually only amounts to £1.2bn,” Ms Haigh told the BBC.
“So we’ve lost over half of that funding, which means vast swathes of the country are not going to see any investment at all in bus services.”
She alleged that over recent years there has been a “managed decline of bus networks across the country”, adding: “It’s astonishing to me that coming out of the pandemic we wouldn’t be seeing investment in public transport.”
Here’s what transport secretary Grant Shapps tweeted earlier:
Andy Gregory2 February 2022 22:25
Watch: Levelling up minister discusses new strategy
Here’s footage of levelling up minister Neil O’Brien telling LBC about the benefits of the government’s new strategy:
He said: “The four pillars of that strategy are, firstly, about getting more good jobs, more high-paid jobs, particularly in areas where there are not enough.
“The second bit is about uplifting people’s skills and spreading opportunity and improving public services. The third is about regenerating the public realm, restoring pride in place – whether it’s sorting out run-down town centres and high streets, or sorting out anti-social behaviour and disorder.
“And the last thing is about empowering local areas, because this is a terribly, terribly centralised country. Too many decisions are made in Westminster and there’s not enough power for local leaders.”
Andy Gregory2 February 2022 21:59