Closing summary
Here is a round-up of the political news stories from today:
The three candidates to replace the outgoing Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon – Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf – took part in the second televised SNP leadership debate on Thursday evening live on Channel 4’s news programme. It followed a heated exchange between Yousaf and Forbes two days ago in the first debate, which saw Scottish Tory leader quoting Forbes’ criticisms of the SNP government during First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood.
Yousaf addressed Forbes’ criticism of him and said she provided “ammunition” to opposition parties to attack the SNP with. He tells Forbes: “What unfortunately happened in the last TV debate, Kate, was that you essentially gave our opponents so much ammunition to attack us with.”
Forbes insisted that the Scottish Tories “fear me” and referred to polling which shows her as the most popular of the trio among the Scottish public. Regan added that it is “perfectly acceptable” to admit what the SNP may be able to do better and said it is “time for change”.
Meanwhile, Home Office mandarins are demanding an apology from Suella Braverman for offering “praise [to] staff in private only to attack them in public” after an email in her name claimed civil servants had blocked attempts to curb migration. A letter sent to the department’s most senior civil servant accused the home secretary of “an outrageous attack on the integrity and impartiality of the thousands of Home Office staff” and said she must apologise.
HS2 will be delayed by another two years and major roadbuilding schemes will be mothballed, ministers have confirmed, after soaring inflation added billions to the cost of transport infrastructure projects. Ministers insisted they remained committed to Britain’s high-speed rail network scheme, but the budget constraints have cast further doubt over prospects for the rail project’s full implementation.
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle criticised the way in which the delay to the HS2 leg was communicated. A spokesperson for the speaker’s office said: “The speaker has consistently told the government that major policy announcements should be made to the house first so that members have the chance to ask questions on behalf of their constituents, rather than hearing about them via the media.”
Italy’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, has praised Rishi Sunak’s anti-immigration measures as “harsh but fair”. In a post on Instagram, Salvini, leader of the far-right League, quoted a tweet by Sunak, translated into Italian, in which Sunak said: “If you arrive illegally in the UK, you can’t claim asylum; you can’t benefit from our modern slavery protections; you can’t make spurious human rights claims; you can’t stay”.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has said she feels personally offended by Gary Lineker comparing her language to that used by the Nazis because her husband is Jewish. In an interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson for his Political Thinking podcast, Braverman escalated her criticism of the Match of the Day presenter over his comment, saying it was “offensive”, “flippant” and “lazy”.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has suggested that MPs will vote on the Northern Ireland protocol deal by the end of the month. Speaking on a visit to a garden centre on the outskirts of Belfast, he told reporters: “There’s some European processes that also are happening. So, the European parliament will have its say on this, I believe, next week, and then I think there’s one more stage in the European political sphere for it to go through, so that’ll be in the next two or three weeks.”
The government’s flagship vocational reform continues to struggle, as the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, announced in a written statement this morning that a series of T-levels due to launch this year will instead be delayed. Keegan said four of the six new T-level subjects starting in September have now been put on hold for at least a year, with catering delayed until 2025, “to allow time to consult with employers and sector bodies”.
Boris Johnson has been urged to stick to his job as an MP and save the speeches he charges private companies millions of pounds to hear for the House of Commons. Having already made more than £3.7m in 2023, the former prime minister has faced criticism for the limited time he has spent making contributions in parliament.
Thanks for following the UK politics live blog throughout this wet and windy Thursday. From me, Tom Ambrose, it’s goodbye for now.
In one of the more confrontational moments of the SNP leadership debate, Forbes and Yousaf faced off over her criticism of her party’s record in government during the first televised debate on Tuesday.
Here is a clip of the pair clashing again this evening.
We are only going to win support for our cause if we work together as a team."
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 9, 2023
SNP leadership candidate Humza Yousaf says fellow candidate Kate Forbes gave opposition politicians "so much ammunition to attack us with" during debates. #NextLeaderOfScotland pic.twitter.com/qbXptM0lMI
Debate ends with Regan refusing to endorse a second preference candidate
The debate comes to a close with Guru-Murthy attempting to ask Regan who her supporters should back as a second preference; Forbes or Yousaf?
She says “if the SNP members are happy with devolution, they have two people they can pick from but if they want someone with a plan to deliver independence, they need to vote for Ash Regan”.
Guru-Murthy concludes he “didn’t get the answer but never mind”.
And, with that, the second televised SNP leadership debate is over. Thanks for following along.
SNP leadership hopeful Kate Forbes taking part in the Channel 4 leadership debate, at the Engine Works in Glasgow.
Updated
Candidates quizzed on plans for a second Scottish independence referendum
Somewhat belatedly, we now turn to the burning issue of how and when each candidate will seek to deliver independence for Scotland as SNP leader.
Guru-Murthy draws attention to a Channel 4 poll which found Regan is seen as the prospective leader least likely to achieve an independent Scotland.
She says:
I am the only person, I believe, in this contest that actually has a plan to deliver independence.
So, I’m suggesting that we set up an independence convention. That is an attempt to unite the wider movement, other political parties and groups from the Yes campaign of old and inspire that and lead that.
She adds that she has had conversations with all pro-independence leaders in Scotland who are “excited” to work with her.
Meanwhile, Yousaf says the important thing is to build a “consistent, sustained majority” for an independent Scotland.
He adds:
Our route to independence is actually quite simple. Our opponents want us to talk endlessly about process. Actually, what we have to talk about is policy. We need to be inspiring people with our vision for independence.
If we do that, much like we got the Scottish parliament, those political obstacles will disappear.
Forbes makes her case as the leader who can “reach out to No voters and persuade [them] to vote Yes”.
She says:
We will reach them through competent government with a competent leader and making the economic case for independence.
Over the last few years, despite the barrage of attacks from the UK government on devolution, we haven’t seen the dial shift on independence as much as I would have liked.
We need a more gentle approach on reaching No voters and that is through gentle persuasion making the economic case.
Regan does, however, highlight her own resignation “on a point of principle” over the SNP’s gender recognition reform plans.
She says:
I’m not religious but I respect other people’s views.
Asked if she believes trans men and women should have the same rights, as adults, as everyone else, she replies: “Of course.”
Guru-Murthy directs a question about whether abortion is right or wrong at Forbes, who says she has stated previously that “while I, myself, wouldn’t have an abortion, I would uphold the legal provisions which are in place for women to access abortion services”.
She adds:
There is a distinction between what I would do myself, which I think is actually the common view held by a lot of people in Scotland and beyond.
Yousaf says he would uphold abortion rights and support buffer zones to prevent people protesting outside abortion centres.
Regan says she is pro-choice and says it is “extremely important” for women to have access to abortion services.
Updated
Following Forbes’ comments on gay marriage, the candidates are asked whether politicians should vote on religious grounds.
Yousaf begins by saying he is a “proud Muslim” but that is not the basis on which he makes policy. He says it is clear that religion or faith should not be the basis on how politicians vote.
Forbes says her religious beliefs will influence how she leads in the same way it influences how she sets her budgets, “in other words, not at all”.
She says she has valued fairness and progressive policies in her budgets, adding that she agrees with Yousaf that on some issues, she will vote on “conscience”.
Yousaf hits back at Forbes that voters need to know the first leader will stand up for them, not just “tolerate” them.
For a three-person debate, it does seem to have quickly spiralled into a face off between the two frontrunners, with Regan very much on the periphery tonight.
Updated
Guru-Murthy is now throwing a handful of quickfire questions at the candidates.
First, he asks who has been the best Scottish first minister – Alex Salmond or Nicola Sturgeon?
Yousaf says:
Nicola Sturgeon, hands down.
Forbes replies:
Nicola Sturgeon has been an exceptional person to serve under.
Regan simply adds:
Nicola Sturgeon.
On the matter of the monarchy’s place in a potentially independent Scotland, the host asks: “King Charles or president Andy Murray?”
Forbes says it is a matter for the people of Scotland but that she is a big fan of Murray. Regan says: “Andy Murray, every time,” while Yousaf says: “In the long-term, President Andy Murray all the way”.
In response to a question about Gary Lineker’s tweets about the UK government’s asylum bill, Regan says she didn’t see them, Yousaf says the former England striker “absolutely nailed it”, while Forbes says she agrees with his sentiment.
Updated
The candidates are now being asked about whether Scotland ought to be exporting more oil and gas, or less.
Regan tells Guru-Murthy:
Oil and gas in Scotland supports about 70,000 jobs in Scotland. I’m very clear that I’m standing up for Scottish jobs.
We need to be very careful with the transition, I’m obviously committed to us getting to net zero and making that transition but we have to be very careful we are not putting people in Scotland out of jobs, hollowing out our communities whilst we are importing oil from other countries.
That just doesn’t make financial sense for us whatsoever.
She adds that whether it was more or less exports would “have to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis”.
Forbes, on the other hand, immediately commits to “less over the longer term” and says that a “just transition” could save jobs.
She says:
The ‘just transition’ means putting justice at its heart, not throwing jobs to the wind but ensuring those jobs have somewhere to go in our renewable industries. We’ve got huge potential but we need to do this at a pace that works for people in well-paid, secure jobs.
Yousaf also says he is committed to less oil and gas because the North Sea is a “declining basin”.
He adds that he doesn’t want to “just harness the [renewable industries] jobs but make sure that we, the people, get some of that profit too”.
Updated
Yousaf tells Forbes she has handed 'ammunition' to opposition parties
Yousaf addresses Forbes’ criticism of him directly and said she provided “ammunition” to opposition parties to attack the SNP with.
It comes as the leader of the Scottish Tories, Douglas Ross, used the debate against first minister Sturgeon in Holyrood.
Yousaf tells Forbes:
What unfortunately happened in the last TV debate, Kate, was that you essentially gave our opponents so much ammunition to attack us with.
The fact Douglas Ross did first minister’s questions today and said your words would be in every single Conservative leaflet.
What you’ve done is you’ve handed the Conservatives and our opponents material ammunition to attack and trash our record. Now you will be on every single leaflet.
They don’t fear you Kate, they are rooting for you to win so that your words are on every single leaflet.
Forbes insists the Scottish Tories “do fear me” and refers to polling which shows her as the most popular of the trio among the Scottish public.
Regan adds that it is “perfectly acceptable” to admit what the SNP may be able to do better and says it is “time for change”.
Updated
Regan says nurses are “crying out” for someone to listen to the staff and get the NHS back on track.
But Yousaf defends his record as health secretary, saying he spends most days talking to staff.
He says:
You can recruit all you want but if you’re recruiting to an empty bucket, it ain’t going to help so we have to make sure we retain our staff too.
Guru-Murthy then offers Forbes the opportunity to apologise to Yousaf following the criticism she received for talking down his record in government.
She dodges the question as to whether she is proud of his record.
Regan, however, adds:
I don’t think attacking people personally is the way to go and I’ve chosen not to do that myself because I don’t think that’s appropriate. But clearly if we’re going to go for a new leadership, I think this is a time for a brave heart, not a faint heart.
When people tell you who they are and they tell you they’re not going to do anything about independence and they’re quite content with devolution, then people should listen to that.
SNP leadership debate begins
Channel 4’s host Krishnan Guru-Murthy, in Glasgow, kicks off the debate with a question on Forbes’ criticism of health minister and fellow leadership hopeful Yousaf’s record in government.
She responds by saying it has been a “privilege” to serve alongside Yousaf and under Sturgeon in government.
Forbes says:
I think we need to take a step back with the NHS, we need to empower the frontline, we need to ensure that funding is going on the frontline with our doctors and nurses.
Social care needs to be reformed through average wages and average terms and conditions, she adds.
Yousaf replies by insisting he has momentum in the campaign and repeats the line that Scotland is the only country in the UK not to face NHS strikes.
He says:
We have to make sure we are relentless in our focus in reducing waiting times and they have been reduced by 25%.
The NHS in Scotland outperforms the NHS across other UK countries, he says.
Next SNP leadership debate to begin at 7pm
The next televised SNP leadership debate is due to get under way in just under half an hour.
The three candidates to replace the outgoing first minister Nicola Sturgeon – Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf – will go head-to-head just 48 hours after their last showdown live on STV.
Tonight’s debate will be hosted by Channel 4’s 7pm news programme and I will be bringing you all the key talking points here.
Stay tuned.
Updated
Home Office officials demand apology from Suella Braverman over ‘attack on integrity’
Home Office mandarins are demanding an apology from Suella Braverman for offering “praise [to] staff in private only to attack them in public” after an email in her name claimed civil servants had blocked attempts to curb migration.
A letter sent to the department’s most senior civil servant accused the home secretary of “an outrageous attack on the integrity and impartiality of the thousands of Home Office staff” and said she must apologise.
It adds to evidence of anger within the Home Office at an email signed by Braverman which blamed an “an activist blob of leftwing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour party” for blocking laws to curb “illegal” migration. Braverman insists she neither saw nor sanctioned the email before it was sent to thousands of party activists.
Wynne Parry, the Home Office rep of the FDA union, sent the letter to Sir Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office permanent secretary, on Wednesday.
Parry, whose union represents senior grade civil servants, said the home secretary’s explanation that she did not sanction the letter is not enough to calm “furious” staff – and she must still say sorry.
Updated
West Midlands mayor Andy Street has said the latest re-phasing of HS2 is a “great disappointment” and called for the delays to be kept to a minimum.
Street, a Conservative, said in a statement:
However, this is a taxpayer-funded project and so there can be no blank cheque as the cost realities facing the construction sector bite.
It has long been reported about cost over-runs and budget concerns, and so I can understand the logic behind the DfT’s decision to opt for re-phasing in an attempt to bring costs down.
What is clear, however, is that the re-phasing and remodelling work has to be done at breakneck speed so any delays can be kept to a minimum and we can get on and get HS2 built and trains running as soon as possible.
Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has criticised the way in which the delay to the HS2 leg was communicated.
A spokesperson for the speaker’s office said:
The speaker has consistently told the government that major policy announcements should be made to the house first so that members have the chance to ask questions on behalf of their constituents, rather than hearing about them via the media.
HS2 will be delayed by another two years and major roadbuilding schemes will be mothballed, ministers confirmed, after soaring inflation added billions to the cost of transport infrastructure projects.
Ministers insisted they remained committed to Britain’s high-speed rail network scheme, but the budget constraints have cast doubt over prospects for the rail project’s delivery.
Sunak’s bill would have closed door on Mo Farah and me, says charity chief
The head of the Scottish Refugee Council, Sabir Zazai, who arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry 23 years ago, has said Rishi Sunak’s illegal migration bill would have denied sanctuary to thousands of refugees such as him and Sir Mo Farah.
The home secretary, Suella Braverman, struggled to clarify on Wednesday whether the Olympic gold medallist Farah would have been deported as soon as he turned 18 years old under the latest immigration proposals.
But Zazai, who was presented with an OBE in January for his work, said the bill closed the door on the vast majority of refugees seeking safety today and historically.
Zazai, who had fled Afghanistan, said: “There’s no regular route. If there was a regular route, I wouldn’t have risked my life and many other people will not risk their lives and the lives of their children.”
He added: “[This would have affected] all of us. Not just Mo Farah or me, but hundreds of thousands of people who fled and live their lives here. The friends, colleagues and neighbours, the people who have brought so much to this country, all of them would be affected.”
Updated
Labour says the HS2 delay shows that the north of England is paying the price for “staggering Conservative failure”. In a statement for the party, Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, said:
Tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic growth are dependent on this project.
The north is yet again being asked to pay the price for staggering Conservative failure.
Conservative chaos and chronic indecision is holding back jobs, growth and costing the taxpayer.
This is the biggest project in Europe and delays pile costs up in the long run – ministers now need to come clean on precisely how much their indecision will cost taxpayers and the north.
That is all from me for today. My colleague Tom Ambrose is now taking over.
Here is my colleague Gwyn Topham’s story about the HS2 delays.
Mark Harper announces HS2 delays, with Birmingham-Crewe link set back by two years and Euston opening held up
Mark Harper, the transport secretary, has published a Commons written statement confirming that parts of HS2 will be delayed. It says that the line between Birmingham and Crewe will be delayed for two years, and that there will be a delay in extending the line to Euston station. Initially the London service will stop at Old Oak Common.
Harper says:
The government is prioritising HS2’s initial services between Old Oak Common in London and Birmingham Curzon Street to provide delivery of passenger benefits as soon as possible. We remain committed to delivering HS2 services to Euston, and will address affordability pressures to ensure the overall spending profile is manageable. We will therefore take the time to ensure we have an affordable and deliverable station design, delivering Euston alongside high-speed infrastructure to Manchester …
The government is committed to delivering HS2 phase 2a between Birmingham and Crewe. We have seen significant inflationary pressure and increased project costs, and so we will rephase construction by two years, with an aim to deliver high-speed services to Crewe and the north-west as soon as possible after accounting for the delay in construction.
Updated
SNP leadership candidates need to explain how 'long game' independence strategy might work, says Pete Wishart
Pete Wishart, the SNP’s longest-serving MP, has delivered a withering verdict on the conduct of the three candidates to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as first minister. In a post on his blog he says:
Leadership contests are meant to be robust, with candidates rightly challenged and policy positions properly debated. What should not happen is the trashing of our own government’s policies and the dismissal of important government partners. It should come as absolutely no surprise that our political opponents will be all over this and we should expect to hear this quoted back at us, ad nauseam.
Wishart says what worries him most is the absence of a strategy for independence. With a referendum ruled out by Westminster, and Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to use the next election as a de facto referendum not favoured by the two leading candidates to succeed her, Wishart says all candidates need to explain how a “long game” approach to independence might work. And he offers his own solution.
The only way I can see a long game strategy working is if we make the short term about protecting and defending our parliament. There will be a constitutional review if Labour, as seems likely, forms the next government and we could use that as an opportunity to put the case to expand and entrench the powers of the Scottish parliament. We could campaign to have full home rule with all fiscal powers devolved on top of Labour’s pledge to allow Scotland to sign international agreements.
We could use this to put the case for a ‘Scottish protocol’ that finally acknowledges our EU vote and grants Scotland the same single market access as Northern Ireland. Maybe it should be an opportunity to argue for an ‘almost independence’ or the now forgotten ‘independence in the UK’ as a staging post to a longer-term strategy of securing full independence. A ‘long game’ independence strategy could maybe just about work if we use the short term to make advances for our parliament and its powers.
Updated
Chris Heaton-Harris suggests MPs will vote on Northern Ireland protocol deal by end of month
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, has suggested that MPs will vote on the Northern Ireland protocol deal by the end of the month. Speaking on a visit to a garden centre on the outskirts of Belfast, he told reporters:
There’s some European processes that also are happening. So, the European parliament will have its say on this, I believe, next week, and then I think there’s one more stage in the European political sphere for it to go through, so that’ll be in the next two or three weeks.
We will be having a vote in parliament on a similar timetable.
Updated
The government’s illegal migration bill has been criticised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews. In a statement it said:
Today’s British Jewish community is descended from refugees and/or migrants. We have significant concerns at the potential for newly proposed migration legislation to breach both the refugee convention and the Human Rights Act.
While we understand that small boat crossings to the UK have increased notably in recent years, we believe that strengthening and enhancing safe, legal and viable routes to gaining asylum in this country will be a far more effective way to significantly reduce such numbers.
“Today’s British Jewish community is descended from refugees and/or migrants. We have significant concerns at the potential for newly proposed migration legislation to breach both the Refugee Convention and the Human Rights Act.” pic.twitter.com/HO0Y1VoPso
— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) March 8, 2023
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, was asked about this in an interview with Robert Peston on ITV on Wednesday. In reply, she said that she had not seen the statement from the Board of Deputies, but that she was confident the bill complied with the refugee convention and other international obligations.
Suella Braverman has said that she was particularly offended by Gary Lineker’s claim that the language she has used to describe migrants is reminiscent of the language used in Nazi Germany because her husband in Jewish. (See 2.11pm.)
In the light of that, it is worth pointing out that some Jewish people feel differently. In January the Guardian published this article by Joan Salter, a Holocaust survivor, who explained why she confronted Braverman at a public meeting to ask her to explain why she was using words like “invasion” to describe the arrival of migrants.
In the article Salter makes an argument that is very similar to Lineker’s. She says:
The Holocaust began in a country where Jews and non-Jews had lived together in peace for generations. The small Jewish population – less than 1% – was so integrated into German culture that the majority looked upon themselves as Germans, with a variety of degrees of adherence to Jewish culture and traditions. So how did this relative harmony turn to hatred in such a short period of time? Through the use of language. The language of hate and division.
Kate Forbes only SNP leadership candidate rated more highly by voters than Labour's Anas Sarwar, poll suggests
Ipsos has now published full details of the polling on the SNP leadership contest for Channel 4 News mentioned earlier. (See 11.13am.) It shows that Kate Forbes is the only one of the three candidates who has a higher net rating than Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, on who would do a good job as first minister. But all three SNP candidates outperform Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, who has by far the worst ratings of the five MSPs polled.
Updated
Tories won't solve childcare crisis just by offering parents extra 'free hours', says Phillipson
The full text of Bridget Phillipson’s speech on childcare is now available here, on the FE News website. In one sense it was unsatisfactory, because she notably did not give any detail about the childcare reforms that a Labour government would introduce. But as a criticism of government policy it was more robust, and some of her arguments about this policy area were interesting.
My colleague Kiran Stacey has already posted on what she said about Sure Start. (See 1.28pm.) Here are some of the other points.
Phillipson said that in the 100 most marginal Conservative seats in England the parents of children under 11 make up more than a quarter of the population. “So in Britain next year, as in Australia last year, childcare will be central,” she said. “Family is the fight ahead.”
She said Liz Truss was right to identify the cost of childcare as a factor holding the country back.
But Phillipson said that the solutions offered by the Tories did not work. Truss favoured relaxing staff/child ratios, but Phillipson said that would only “drive down quality with minimal impact on costs”. And she said just offering parents free hours of childcare, which is current government policy, did not work either, because the subsidy to providers from government does not cover the costs, which means providers either go out of business, or have to jack up fees for the hours where parents are paying. She said:
Adding a few hours here and there is not going to work either.
More ‘free hours’ for parents, means more underfunded hours for nurseries, more costs piled on to providers struggling to deliver services as they are now, and more need for cross-subsidy.
The model they have built fails everyone.
There is speculation that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, might increase the number of free hours available in next week’s budget. If so, this speech was a pre-buttal.
She said she was looking to other countries for ideas as to how to build a better system. She said:
We have to look not just around these islands, but around the world.
That’s why I was pleased to visit Estonia in the autumn, to see how they have made high-quality childcare a part of every childhood, a support for every family, and integral to the education system all our young people deserve.
That’s why I visited Australia, to see a system on the move, where the salience of a general election, and a new government hungry for change, is delivering for families at pace.
That’s why I am planning to visit Singapore, to see what Britain can learn from their childcare and skills systems.
And it’s why I plan to visit Ireland, to see a new funding model and a new sectoral deal for childcare.
Because the reform agenda of the next Labour government, will be lit up with the achievements of successful, future-facing governments from right around the world.
She said Labour was the “party of the family” and that “what matters about families is not the shape they have, but the love they give”. She went on:
I want strong families where the bonds are of love, and the foundation of that love is time spent happily together.
Because those strong families, rooted and grounded in love, are the basis of strong societies, the society Labour exists to build, where opportunity is for everyone and where no one is left behind.
Updated
Gary Lineker would not tell journalists this morning (see 11.34am) what was said in his recent conversation with Tim Davie, the BBC director general, but he hasn’t lost his appetite for taunting Tory ministers over Twitter. Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, referred to him in the Commons this morning.
They’ve borrowed from Lineker’s playbook. Labour are a party of goalhangers and left-wing strikers. That doesn’t work in politics. The country needs centre forwards, people who are prepared to put the hard work in and create opportunities. And it needs a team captain with a plan. pic.twitter.com/hDNSLvNl4t
— Penny Mordaunt (@PennyMordaunt) March 9, 2023
In a response on Twitter, Lineker used a joke to suggest Mordaunt was a bit useless.
Thank you for mentioning me in your clumsy analogy. I’m just happy to have been better in the 6 yard box than you are at the dispatch box. Best wishes.
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) March 9, 2023
He has also tweeted about putting the asylum row behind him and getting back to his day job.
Well, it’s been an interesting couple of days. Happy that this ridiculously out of proportion story seems to be abating and very much looking forward to presenting @BBCMOTD on Saturday. Thanks again for all your incredible support. It’s been overwhelming.
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) March 9, 2023
Gillian Keegan says rollout of four new T-levels being delayed
The government’s flagship vocational reform continues to struggle, as the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, announced in a written statement this morning that a series of T-levels due to launch this year will instead be delayed.
Keegan said four of the six new T-level subjects starting in September have now been put on hold for at least a year, with catering delayed until 2025, “to allow time to consult with employers and sector bodies”.
T-levels are intended to be a vocational rival to A-levels but so far there appears only muted appetite from students and employers. Colleges have repeatedly asked the government to delay scrapping alternative qualifications such as BTecs until T-levels have gained some credibility.
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the abrupt cancellation was “massively disrupting” for colleges and students. He said:
Colleges already had plans in place for how to deliver these now delayed T-levels and have been marketing them to potential learners. Alternative arrangements will now need to be made urgently.
The DfE must guarantee any providers which are affected have the support they need to ensure no student misses out on learning because of these delays.
Updated
Suella Braverman says she was personally offended by Gary Lineker's Nazi comparison because her husband is Jewish
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has said she feels personally offended by Gary Lineker comparing her language to that used by the Nazis because her husband is Jewish.
In an interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson for his Political Thinking podcast, Braverman escalated her criticism of the Match of the Day presenter over his comment, saying it was “offensive”, “flippant” and “lazy”. She said:
I think it is, from a personal point of view, to hear that characterisation is offensive because – as you said – my husband is Jewish, my children are therefore directly descendant from people who were murdered in gas chambers during the Holocaust. And my husband’s family is very – feels very – keenly the impact of the Holocaust, actually.
To kind of throw out those kind of flippant analogies diminishes the unspeakable tragedy that millions of people went through and I don’t think anything that is happening in the UK today can come close to what happened in the Holocaust. So I find it a lazy and unhelpful comparison to make.
When it was put to Braverman that the comment may have been a reflection of the “passion” that Lineker felt about this, she said that she has been called a Nazi during the Brexit period and that she would not use language like that herself. She went on:
I think it’s an unhelpful way to frame the debate which is actually focused on people’s lives, compassion control over our borders and ultimately fairness what the British people want.
Braverman’s husband, Rael Braverman, is reportedly a manager for Mercedes, and the couple have two children.
On Tuesday Lineker posted a message on Twitter describing a video by Braverman in which she set out her asylum plans as “beyond awful”. Later he posted another tweet saying that the language being used by Braverman and others was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”.
Updated
Department of Health and Social Care says pay talks with unions have been 'constructive and meaningful'
Pay talks with health unions have been “constructive and meaningful”, the government has said, although a deal is not yet immediately in sight.
The brief update from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the discussions with GMB, Unison and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy will carry on next week.
It is nonetheless a relatively upbeat assessment of the talks. Strike action planned for this week was called off after Steve Barclay, the health secretary, agreed to discuss pay, including a one-off cost of living payment for this year, a major concession.
The DHSC statement said:
The government, NHS employers and unions representing the Agenda for Change workforce have been holding constructive and meaningful discussions over the past few days, covering pay and non-pay matters. These talks will continue into next week.
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Labour's childcare plan won't involve bringing back Sure Start, says Bridget Phillipson
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, says that if she had a pound for every time someone told her Labour should bring back Sure Start centres, she would be able to personally solve the problems facing Britain’s beleaguered public services.
So when she gave her speech this morning in Westminster on how to fund childcare properly (see 9.26am), you might have expected that she would do exactly that. But not a bit of it. Here is what she told an audience at Methodist Central Hall:
Sure Start was many great things, but too often the educational and healthcare component fell down the priority list. That’s why when people tell me we need to bring back Sure Start, I know they have a set of policy priorities with which I am deeply sympathetic, a set of values I share - but an approach to reform with which I differ.
As those filing out of the speech remarked afterwards, given the scheme’s popularity not only with the party’s leftwing base but also its modernising reformers and swing voters, it might have been better to bring in a new system and simply brand it as Sure Start 2.0. But Phillipson was clear she wants a more significant break from the past.
Sure Start centres were seen as one of the success stories of Tony Blair’s government. They still exist, but many have closed since 2010 and in many places they have been replaced by, or rebranded as, family hubs.
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Parts of HS2 to be delayed or cut as ministers prepare to reveal rising costs
Ministers are set to delay construction of key sections of the HS2 rail line, with a statement expected imminently outlining the extent of budget overruns amid soaring inflation, my colleague Gwyn Topham reports.
In the Commons the Conservative MP Andrew Selous joined opposition MPs who have criticised attacks on civil servants by his party. During business questions, Selous, a former minister, said:
While there may be a need for challenging discussions between ministers and officials, the use of generic descriptions like snowflake is unwelcome, inaccurate and entirely inappropriate.
This was taken as criticism of the email sent out by CCHQ on Tuesday claiming civil servants were part of an “activist blob” blocking government policy, but in fact it was Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, who accused civil servants of “snowflake” tendancies in January. He was suggesting that officials who complained about being bullied by Dominic Raab were being unduly sensitive.
In response Penny Mordaunt, leader of the Commons, said there were “wonderful people” in the civil service who were “diligent, who are determined to deliver for the government of the day and I’m pleased to be able to have the opportunity to put on record our gratitude to them”.
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Number of A&E waits in England lasting more than 12 hours, and more than four hours, falling, figures show
The latest NHS performance figures for England also show that ambulances are still missing their targets for response times, but that waits in A&E lasting more than 12 hours, or more than four hours, are falling, PA Media reports. PA says:
– The average response time in February for ambulances dealing with the most urgent incidents, defined as calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, was eight minutes and 30 seconds, unchanged from January but above the target standard response time of seven minutes.
– Ambulances took an average of 32 minutes and 20 seconds last month to respond to emergency calls such as heart attacks, strokes and sepsis, up very slightly from 32 minutes and six seconds in January, while the target is 18 minutes.
– The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments from a decision to admit to actually being admitted stood at 34,976 in February, down 18% from 42,735 in January and down 36% from a record 54,532 in December 2022.
– The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission has fallen from 142,139 in January to 126,948 in February, a drop of 11%.
Hospital waiting list in England back at record 7.21m, NHS figures show
The number of people in England waiting to start hospital treatment has returned to record levels, though times for the longest waits have improved, PA Media reports. PA says:
Ambulance and A&E performance has held steady, despite the NHS continuing to face pressures from bed shortages, winter viruses and strike action.
The proportion of cancer patients receiving their first treatment within two months of an urgent GP referral has dropped to a record low, however.
An estimated 7.21 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment at the end of January, up from 7.20 million in December, according to new figures from NHS England.
It is the joint highest total since records began in August 2007. This was previously reached in October 2022.
The number waiting more than a year and a half to start treatment has dropped month-on-month by 17% from 54,882 to 45,631, in a sign that progress is being made on clearing the backlog of longest waits.
The government and NHS England have set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April 2023.
Waits of more than 52 weeks are down from 406,035 in December to 379,245 in January, with a target for eliminating them completely by March 2025.
No 10 says Sunak does not see civil servants as part of 'activist blob' blocking government policy
Downing Street has said that Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman do not view civil servants as part of an “activist blob” that stopped the government from implementing its policies to cut small boat crossings.
The Conservative party made this claim in an email sent out on Tuesday to supporters, purportedly written by Braverman. Yesterday the party said that was a mistake, because she had not seen the text, or approved its wording.
Asked about the email at today’s lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said:
It doesn’t represent her views and certainly does not represent the views of the prime minister …
From the prime minister’s point, he thinks the civil service is vital to the work of government and, as you’ve heard on other issues, he thinks civil service impartiality is crucial and he wouldn’t want to see anything done to have an impact on that.
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Gary Lineker won’t face any disciplinary action from the BBC over his tweet comparing the goverment’s language about asylum seekers to Nazi rhetoric, the Sun’s Noa Hoffman reports.
A BBC source said: "We have spoken to Gary and he won't face any disciplinary action.
— Noa Hoffman (@hoffman_noa) March 9, 2023
"From our perspective the situations has been resolved now and we want him to get back to what he's best at, which is being a brilliant sports presenter."
Éric Zemmour, the French far-right commentator, supporter of the “great replacement” theory that Muslim immigrants are replacing native Europeans and candidate for president in last year’s election (he came fourth), has also praised Rishi Sunak’s new asylum policy.
In a tweet yesterday, Zemmour said:
The message is clear. In the UK, illegal immigrants are not welcome and will receive no preferential treatment.
Congratulations to the British prime minister who, unlike Macron’s government, has chosen to protect his people against submersion by migrants.
Le message est clair. Au Royaume-Uni, les clandestins ne sont pas les bienvenus et n’auront aucun traitement de faveur.
— Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) March 8, 2023
Bravo au Premier ministre britannique qui, contrairement au Gouvernement de Macron, fait le choix de protéger son peuple contre la submersion migratoire. https://t.co/VfAWW1Q1EX
'Harsh but fair' - Italy's far-right deputy PM Matteo Salvini praises Sunak's illegal migration bill
Italy’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, has praised Rishi Sunak’s anti-immigration measures as “harsh but fair”.
In a post on Instagram, Salvini, leader of the far-right League, quoted a tweet by Sunak, translated into Italian, in which Sunak said: “If you arrive illegally in the UK, you can’t claim asylum; you can’t benefit from our modern slavery protections; you can’t make spurious human rights claims; you can’t stay”.
Beneath the post, Salvini wrote:
Words from the UK prime minister. Harsh but fair.
Salvini, who turned 50 today, will attend a cabinet meeting later today in Cutro, the Calabrian town close to where 72 people are confirmed to have died in a shipwreck.
The meeting comes as debate rages over whether the immigration policies of Giorgia Meloni’s government contributed to the tragedy. The cabinet is expected to toughen measures against people smugglers while loosening bureaucracy for foreign workers to enter Italy via legal routes.
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Gary Lineker says he stands by asylum tweet, and does not regret sending it, despite getting talking-to from BBC boss
Lucy Frazer won’t be happy. (See 10.40am.) Interviewed by reporters leaving home this morning, Gary Lineker said that he had had a conversation with the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie. He would not reveal what was said. “We chat often,” was all Lineker said.
But Lineker did not look chastened. In fact, he was smiling like a Cheshire cat. Asked if he regretted sending his tweet, he replied “No,” and, asked if he stood by what he said, he replied, “Of course.”
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Forbes and Yousaf neck and neck amongst SNP voters on who would make best first minister, poll suggests
Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf are neck and neck amongst SNP supporters in the contest to be the next party leader, although Scottish voters overall would prefer Forbes, new polling suggests.
Channel 4 News commissioned the polling from Ipsos, ahead of a televised debate it is holding in Glasgow tonight.
SNP members will choose between Forbes, the Scottish finance secretary, Yousaf, the Scottish health secretary, and Ash Regan, the former community safety minister, to replace Nicola Sturgeon as party leader and first minister.
Ipsos did not poll party members, but it surveyed people who voted SNP at the last Holyrood election and 33% said Yousaf would be the best first minister, 32% Forbes and 10% Regan.
Amongst Scottish voters as a whole, Forbes is the most popular candidate. The poll found 32% of people saying she would be the best first minister, with Yousaf on 24% and Regan on 8%.
But the poll also found that one voter in three either said that none of the candidates would make the best first minister, or that they did not know.
Visa rules will be relaxed to make it easier for foreign workers to come to the UK to take up jobs in the construction sector, the Financial Times reports. It says:
In the week that Rishi Sunak, prime minister, announced a crackdown on migration by illegal routes, the government has quietly been clearing the way for more overseas workers to come to the UK as it searches for ways to boost growth.
The process will start in the construction sector, with the adding of key jobs to the government’s “shortage occupation list”, people close to the discussions say.
The government’s migration advisory committee (MAC) has recommended that bricklayers, roofers, carpenters, plasterers and people working in the construction trade generally should be among those added to the list.
Being on the “shortage occupation list” means foreign construction workers will be able to come to the UK to take up jobs paying a minimum of £20,480 a year, instead of £25,600 a year, the current minimum threshold for a skilled worker needing a visa.
Boris Johnson criticised for making millions while rarely appearing in Commons
Boris Johnson has been urged to stick to his job as an MP and save the speeches he charges private companies millions of pounds to hear for the House of Commons, my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reports.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer says she's 'pleased' BBC will be speaking to Gary Lineker about asylum policy tweet
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, has told MPs that she is “pleased” the BBC seems minded to reprimand Gary Lineker for a tweet saying language used by the government about asylum seekers is “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”.
The Match of the Day presenter’s tweet triggered fierce criticism from Tory MPs, and BBC sources say the corporation intends to have a “frank conversation” with Lineker about his impartiality obligations under its social media guidelines.
Asked about the row during culture questions, Frazer said:
As somebody whose grandmother escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s, I think it’s really disappointing and inappropriate to compare Government policy on immigration to events in Germany in the 1930s.
It’s important for the BBC to maintain impartiality, if it is to retain the trust of the public who pay the licence fee.
The BBC is operationally independent and I’m pleased that the BBC will be speaking to Gary Lineker, to remind him of his responsibilities in relation to social media.
Frazer was responding to a question from Sir John Whittingdale, the former culture secretary, who said said “the requirement to be politically impartial must cover all those who are presenters on the BBC, including the highest paid”.
MPs to vote on illegal migration bill on Monday, Penny Mordaunt tells Commons
Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, has just told MPs that the second reading debate and vote on the illegal migration bill will take place on Monday next week.
The Conservative MP Pauline Latham, who represents Mid Derbyshire, has announced she will stand down at the next election, the BBC reports. Latham, 75, is the 24th Tory to say they will quit at the election, according to this Daily Mirror tally.
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, has been giving interviews this morning ahead of her speech later. On Sky News, in response to a question about Boris Johnson’s outside earnings (which account for 85% of the total outside earnings declared by all MPs, according to Sky News), she said the Conservative party was “rotten from top to bottom”.
As well as citing Johnson neglecting parliament, she also mentioned the Dominic Raab bullying allegations, argued that Rishi Sunak must have known about them when he appointed Raab to cabinet, and referred to Suella Braverman being reappointed home secretary despite having broken the ministerial code.
Govt rotten from top to bottom says Labour's @bphillipsonMP
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) March 9, 2023
The Shadow Education Secretary responds to Boris Johnson's mammoth earnings and whether the former PM knew about Dominic Raab's bullying allegations.#KayBurley FC pic.twitter.com/SGChc3Tljk
The second reading of the illegal migration bill will be on Monday next week, Christopher Hope from the Telegraph reports. We should get the formal confirmation from Penny Mordaunt, leader of the Commons, at 10.30am.
Rishi Sunak is not hanging around with his illegal immigration crackdown.
— Christopher Hope📝 (@christopherhope) March 9, 2023
I am told the second reading - when Labour MP will vote against the plans - is on Monday.
Labour says government’s childcare policy ‘fails everyone’ as reports highlight ‘affordability blackspots’
Good morning. One of the arguments being used by the Tories against Labour in recent days is that Keir Starmer did not make stopping small boats one of his top five priorities (or “missions”). It’s true; he didn’t. But Starmer has included childcare in his five missions (it is part of breaking down the barriers to opportunity), and this topic, which does not feature on Rishi Sunak’s list of five pledges, is top of the news agenda today.
There are two reports out essentially saying the same thing; provision in England is dreadful.
A report by Nesta, a social policy thinktank, identifies “affordability blackspots” for childcare. It says:
The median pre-tax cost of an hour of childcare in England is just under a third of the average hourly wage. London is England’s affordability blackspot where an hour of childcare in some London boroughs costs nearly half the average hourly wage. Pressure from the cost of childcare is not restricted to London, however. An hour of childcare in Manchester, Leicester and Herefordshire costs significantly less than an hour of childcare in London, but the median wage is also lower. As a result, childcare in these areas is as expensive relative to income as some of the most affluent parts of the capital.
And a report by Coram, the children’s charity, says there has been “a sharp drop in childcare availability across England over the past year, with only half of local areas reporting sufficient childcare for children under two”.
There is more on both studies here.
Later this morning Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, will deliver a speech on childcare. The government offers 30 hours of free childcare in England for children aged three and four, but Phillipson will say that, because the government subsidy does not cover the actual cost to providers, the policy has actually pushed up prices, because providers have to recover their costs by charging more for paid-for hours. She will say the Tory policy “fails everyone” and promise reform.
According to an extract released in advance, she will say:
The childcare model the Conservatives have built fails everyone, denying parents the ability to work the jobs they’d like, to give their children the opportunities they’d like, and is not of the quality that staff want to provide.
In the Britain the Conservatives will leave behind, tweaking the system we have will not deliver the ambition or scale of reform we are going to need.
Labour’s missions must be central to breaking down the barriers to opportunity in this country. To breakdown those barriers, our Mission commits to reforming the childcare system: that will be my first priority.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, makes a statement to MPs on next week’s business.
11am: Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, gives a speech on childcare. She will say Labour will overhaul the government’s flagship childcare scheme, promising parents of young children 30 hours of free childcare a week if the party is elected at the next election.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 11.30am: MPs hold a debate to mark international women’s day (which was yesterday).
12pm: Nicola Sturgeon takes first minister’s questions at Holyrood.
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
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Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
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