Rishi Sunak not attending Cop27 is ‘standard practice’, says Therese Coffey
It is “up to” King Charles whether or not he attends the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt, environment secretary Therese Coffey has said, after former prime minister Liz Truss reportedly told the new monarch to stay away.
Her successor in No 10, Rishi Sunak, has now been accused of a “massive failure of climate leadership” after announcing he would not attend the event himself, on the same day the United Nations warned there remains “no credible” pathway in place to rein in global temperature rises to 1.5C.
But Ms Coffey defended the PM by insisting it is “standard practice” for the “big political” Cop events to take place every five years, claiming the “UK continues to show global leadership, as opposed to just a gathering of people in Egypt”.
The row came as the Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt were considering either increasing the government’s windfall tax on energy companies or expanding it to include renewable energy firms in a bid to plug Britain’s multi-billion pound fiscal black hole.
Nadine Dorries says Rishi Sunak ‘wrong’ not to attend Cop27
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries has said Rishi Sunak is “wrong” not to go to Cop27.
Responding to a claim from her frequent political ally Jacob Rees-Mogg that the new PM was “right” not to attend the climate summit in Egypt, the former culture secretary said: “For balance, my friend … The Prime Minister is wrong not to go to Cop.
“Global warming is the biggest crisis facing our planet and net zero creates many 1000s of jobs which is good for the economy. Cop in Glasgow was most successful ever … but don’t expect media to report that.”
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 11:42
Fresh election in Northern Ireland will be ‘verdict’ on political instability, says Sinn Fein MLA
A fresh Assembly election in Northern Ireland will be a verdict on what has been happening for the last nine months, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy has said.
Mr Murphy said the DUP has had the opportunity to come into an Executive, and dismissed their stance that refusing to form an Executive is exerting pressure on the UK government to act over the Northern Ireland Protocol as “fanciful”.
“The rouse the DUP has been adopting, in terms of north/south arrangements for a year, in terms of the Executive and the Assembly since February and May, is clearly not working, and what we need to do is get back around the table and work for people who elected us,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.
“The chaos and the infighting that is going on within the Tory government means their focus is entirely on themselves, and if there is a negotiation with the EU, that will take place because the British government want it to take place not because the DUP are punishing the people of the north by preventing them having their own institutions.
“The DUP action is harming only the people that they represent and we all collectively represent and is serving no purpose other than to do that.”
He added: “If an election takes place on December 15 … that will be a verdict on what has been happening over the last six or nine months in terms of the DUP’s approach to all this, and we’re ready to fight that but there is no need for us to go down this road.”
DUP leader blames Westminster for Northern Ireland’s return to polls
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted it is the fault of the UK government that devolved government in Northern Ireland is not functioning, with voters set to head to the polls again after a six-month period in which a new executive must be formed elapsed.
The leading unionist party is refusing to nominate ministers until the government takes action to address its concerns around the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“We’ve had six months in which to do something about the protocol, and during those six months we have had three prime ministers, we have had the government changed often and we haven’t seen the progress that is needed,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.
“I think the government would be within its rights to say given that those six months have elapsed and progress hasn’t been made that we need a further period to sort this out, get a solution on the protocol that restores Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market and that will see the institutions restored immediately.”
Sir Jeffrey also said the protocol is harming Northern Ireland’s ability to access medicines and equipment, contending that recently caused a three-week wait for life-saving cardiac surgery in a Belfast hospital, adding: “Those problems are real and need to be dealt with.”
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 11:09
Home Office should be split into two departments, think-tank says
Rishi Sunak should consider splitting the Home Office into a Security Ministry led by the home secretary, and an Immigration Ministry led by a separate minister, a think-tank has suggested.
With “something in the Home Office’s record for everyone to despair at”, such a reform “won’t be a silver bullet”, but “provides the best hope for the government making real headway by the time of the next election”, the right-wing Adam Smith Institute said in a new report.
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 11:06
Sunak and Hunt ‘seeking up to £50bn to fill massive fiscal black hole’
Despite the markets having “calmed somewhat”, the economic picture “remains grim” and Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are seeking to fill a “massive fiscal black hole” in their upcoming Budget, a Treasury source has said.
The PM and his chancellor held a meeting on Thursday lasting more than an hour and characterised as “sober”, as they were warned economic growth is forecast to drop amid fears of a recession.
Treasury sources declined to put a figure on the savings being considered in the 17 November Budget – but they were believed to be looking at up to £50bn in cuts and spending hikes to plug a gap of £40bn.
“Markets have calmed somewhat, but the picture remains grim. After borrowing and spending hundreds of billions of pounds due to Covid-19 and for energy bills support, there is a massive fiscal black hole to fill,” the Treasury source told the Press Assocation news agency.
“People should not underestimate the scale of this challenge, or how tough the decisions will have to be. We’ve seen what happens when governments ignore this reality.”
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 10:51
Sunak ‘right not to’ attend Cop27, says Rees-Mogg
Former energy secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that Rishi Sunak “is right not to” attend the Cop27 climate summit, claiming that the cost of “each hotel room for the conference is £2,000 a night”.
The cost of accommodation at the conference has been the subject of consternation among attendees and activists, and the Egyptian government previously negotiated a $120 (£105) price cap for two-star hotels and announced cheaper accommodation in recent weeks.
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 10:24
Therese Coffey denies claims Tory MPs were physically pressured to vote with government
Therese Coffey has denied that Conservative MPs were physically pressured to ensure they voted against a Labour motion on fracking.
Asked about claims she was involved in chaotic and “quite ugly” scenes at Westminster last week, where a group of senior Tories were accused of pressuring colleagues to go into the “no” lobby, she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I don’t accept that at all. And frankly, you know, I’m not going to dwell on these things.
“People have posted things I believe to be libellous. What I did is to vote for the government on that day, in terms of what had been turned into, effectively, a vote of confidence, by shenanigans by the Labour Party.”
Pressed on whether she “manhandled” anyone, Dr Coffey said: “Absolutely not.”
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has said those investigating the alleged events are due to report back to him on Monday.
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 10:09
Environment secretary suggests Cop27 not a ‘big political’ summit
In this morning’s interview round, Therese Coffey has been defending Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend the crucial Cop27 climate summit, on the basis that the “big political” gatherings happen every five years.
Our climate correspondent Saphora Smith reports that, traditionally, the United Nations has required countries to submit climate targets every five years including ahead of the Glasgow summit last year where world leaders gathered to pledge how they would contribute to action on climate change.
However, as the climate crisis progresses more urgency and emphasis are being put on each annual summit with countries agreeing in Glasgow to update and strengthen their climate targets in 2022, rather than waiting another five years.
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 09:43
Sunak not just focused on ‘a gathering of people in Egypt’, says Coffey
Therese Coffey has continued her defence of Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend the crucial Cop27 climate summit, insisting that the “UK continues to show global leadership, as opposed to just a gathering of people in Egypt”.
“The politically big significant things happen every five years,” the environment secretary told LBC.
“The government has postponed the medium term fiscal plan until 17 November, I know that the prime minister is very keen to work with the chancellor very closely on this important element, and so he’s prioritising that.
“While at the same time, of course, the UK continues to show global leadership, as opposed to just a gathering of people in Egypt.”
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 09:31
Liz Truss denial of spending cuts sparked fears ex-PM could be ‘done in for lying’ to Commons
Downing Street aides are claimed to have feared that Liz Truss could “be done in for lying” to parliament and face a Commons probe alongside her predecessor Boris Johnson, after she told MPs she was “not planning public spending reductions”.
According to a new biography of the nation’s shortest-serving PM, serialised in The Sunthe claim sparked panic among some No 10 aides, who knew that soaring inflation would mean real-term spending cuts even though spending should technically increase.
The comments came after the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) reportedly told her soon-to-be sacked chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng that their mini-Budget had torn a £72bn black hole in the nation’s finances.
Andy Gregory28 October 2022 09:17