Newslinks for Wednesday 5th February 2025 | Conservative Home

Starmer ‘faces questions’ over voice coach visit during lockdown…

“Sir Keir Starmer is facing questions about whether lockdown rules were broken for a meeting with a voice coach. Leonie Mellinger told the authors of Get In, a new book about Labour under Starmer, which is serialised in The Times and The Sunday Times, that she visited the party’s headquarters in a mask on Christmas Eve in 2020. Mellinger, a classical dramatist, said that she qualified for key worker status and was there to advise Starmer as he considered his response to Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. However, senior Conservatives have asked whether the visit complied with national rules in place to tackle the pandemic at the time… Soon after coaching Starmer in London, Mellinger posted online a picture of an empty train, saying that she was going home…” – The Times

…as his £9 billion Chagos payment ‘to rise’ under new inflation clause…

“The true cost of Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to give away the Chagos Islands could be far higher than previously thought after it was revealed Britain had agreed to link payments to Mauritius with inflation. Navin Ramgoolam, the Mauritian prime minister, said on Tuesday he had secured an inflation-linked deal from the UK that would see the cost of Britain’s lease of the Diego Garcia air base increase each year for the next century. Sir Keir is already facing opposition from MPs and members of Donald Trump’s team over his agreement to give away the Chagos Islands. The archipelago is claimed by Mauritius, which argues that the islands were stolen by Britain when it was given independence in 1968.” – The Daily Telegraph

• US national security adviser to discuss Chagos Islands deal with UK counterpart – The Financial Times
• Starmer accused of national sabotage with his plans to surrender Chagos Islands – The Sun

…and as he faces ‘growing internal backlash’ over potential approval of Rosebank oilfield

“Keir Starmer is facing a growing internal backlash over the potential approval of a giant new oilfield, after Treasury sources indicated Rachel Reeves was likely to give it her backing. MPs described a “breaking point” in relations and called for Starmer to reiterate his own commitments to no further oil and gas licences. The proposed Rosebank development was given the go-ahead in 2023 but was ruled unlawful by a court last week. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has previously described the licence issued to Rosebank as “climate vandalism” – setting up a potential major clash between his department and the Treasury. Reeves is understood to be supportive of a new application for environmental consent, with allies suggesting that would not violate Labour’s manifesto…” – The Guardian

• Reeves must back new oilfield or face Labour’s pro-growth agenda being sunk by Miliband and the eco mob – Editorial, The Sun

Reeves ‘left with tough choices’ as fiscal headroom dwindles

“Rachel Reeves has been warned that she will have no choice but to cut spending or increase taxes because any leeway in the public finances has “evaporated”. The Office for Budget Responsibility gave the Treasury the first official estimates on the state of the economy on Tuesday, before the chancellor’s spring statement next month. Economists said the government’s £9.9 billion in “fiscal headroom” — spare money against the government’s spending plans — had been wiped out by a combination of low growth, higher borrowing costs and higher-than-expected interest rates. JP Morgan, the investment bank, now expects Reeves to face a significant “fiscal hole” in the public finances, while other economists warned she will be at risk of breaking her “iron-clad” fiscal rules.” – The Times

• She faces mounting fiscal pressure as watchdog prepares forecast – The Financial Times
• OBR to slash growth forecasts in blow for Reeves – The Daily Telegraph
• Reeves pension raid leaves 50,000 families with extra inheritance tax bill from 2027 – The I

>Today:

Streeting attacks NHS over diversity schemes

“NHS staff boasted of their “anti-whiteness” stance, Wes Streeting has said in an attack on “misguided” diversity and inclusion agendas. The Health Secretary highlighted “some really daft things being done in the name of equality, diversity and inclusion” which he said were setting back its cause. Speaking at an event on cancer, he said it was important to tackle health inequalities in order to save lives. Mr Streeting cited evidence showing black men are twice as likely as white men to suffer prostate cancer, with black women much more likely to die in childbirth compared with white counterparts.But he said that attempts to tackle such disparities were too often being undermined by “ideological hobby horses” which he said needed to go.” – The Daily Telegraph

• NHS diversity practices hindered by ‘misguided approaches’, he says – The Guardian
• Streeting and cancer journey’s detour into wokery – Tom Peck, The Times

Cooper: ‘Sufficient evidence’ to label Rudakubana a terror threat

“The home secretary has said she will consider banning kitchen knives with pointed ends before publication of a report on Wednesday that will reveal there was sufficient evidence to consider the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana a terror threat. Yvette Cooper…will publish findings of a Home Office review that was carried out into the handling of Rudakubana by Prevent, the government’s counter-extremism programme. It has concluded that counterterrorism officers were wrong to not escalate his case to be treated as a potential terror threat, which would have led to diversionary programmes targeted at the teenager. It found there was enough evidence for Prevent officers assessing each of his three referrals to the counter-extremism programme to escalate his case…” – The Times

Reed to spend extra £200 million on flood defences in England

“Environment secretary Steve Reed is spending an extra £200mn on England’s flood defences as he tries to shore up old and crumbling infrastructure after catastrophic flooding across parts of the country this winter. The funding, to be announced formally on Wednesday, takes the total the government has committed to flood defences for the two years to March 2026 to £2.65bn in order to protect 66,500 properties. “The previous government severely underfunded flooding and flood defences. By doing that, they put lives and livelihoods at risk,” Reed told the Financial Times. “It was a dereliction of duty to leave our flood defences in the worst condition ever recorded.” The extra £200mn will be repurposed from underspent environment department budgets…” – The Financial Times

• Flood defences ramped up with £2.6 billion fund after climate threat rises – Daniel Zeichner, Daily Express

Thomas-Symonds to hold talks on UK’s post-Brexit relationship with EU

“British and European officials have been given the go-ahead to begin formal negotiations on “resetting” the UK’s relationship with Brussels before a major summit in May. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of EU negotiations, is due to hold talks in Brussels with his European counterpart, Maros Sefcovic, on Wednesday before more structured negotiations in the coming weeks. The two sides hope to make progress on a range of issues including security co-operation, fishing rights and a reducing checks on food exports before the first UK/EU summit due to be held in London on May 19. The planned talks follow a dinner between Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders in Brussels at which the prime minister outlined his plans…” – The Times

• Starmer will ‘fight’ to restore closer EU ties, says the Brussels minister – The Financial Times
• His six key goals in Brexit ‘reset’ – and what the EU could demand in return – The I
• Don’t handcuff Britain to the failing EU – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
• The Prime Minister should be applauded for trying to cut red tape and strengthen mutual security – Editorial, The Times
• The EU and UK need to get practical about their relationship – Daniela Schwarzer, The Financial Times
• This short-sighted PM can see across the Channel…but not to our closest ally – Andrew Griffith, The Daily Mail

Ministers will ‘relax rules’ to build small nuclear reactors

“Ministers are preparing to relax planning rules to make it easier to build mini nuclear power plants in more parts of the country in order to hit green energy targets and boost the industry. They are also examining whether it is possible to streamline the process for approving the safety of new nuclear power plants as a way to reduce construction delays. At present rules state that only the government may designate sites for potential nuclear power stations, of which there are eight, severely limiting where they can be built. This is seen as a serious barrier to ­developing small modular reactors (SMRs) that could be placed in various locations across the country, providing power for remote areas or power-hungry developments such as data centres­ for artificial intelligence.” – The Times

Hermer’s office considering calls for inquest into death of Kelly

“The Attorney General’s Office is considering calls for an inquest into the death of Dr David Kelly. Officials at the department are currently weighing correspondence from a medical expert questioning the verdict of the public inquiry, which ruled that Dr Kelly took his own life, The Telegraph understands. While civil servants are considering the request, it is understood that Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, has not yet been involved in the process. Dr Kelly, a government weapons expert, was found dead near his home in Oxfordshire in 2003. He died shortly after being exposed as the source for a story claiming the Government “probably knew” that a claim Iraq could attack with weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes was not true.” – The Daily Telegraph

Labour MPs set up group to focus on threat posed by Reform UK

“Labour MPs have set up an internal group to focus on the rising threat from Reform UK as Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist party this week took the lead in a major national opinion poll for the first time. The group is made up of MPs from the 89 Labour constituencies where Reform UK came second at the general election last year, according to members of the caucus. The group also involves Matthew Faulding, a close ally of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney. He ran Labour’s selection of Westminster candidates before the election, and is now secretary of the parliamentary Labour party. The idea is to organise political messaging and strategy for MPs facing strong challenges from Reform UK…” – The Financial Times

• They urge Number 10 to be tougher on migration to fend off Reform – The Guardian
• Farage’s Reform UK overtakes Labour in new opinion poll – The Financial Times
• Inside the divide town where Reform is channelling Thatcher to win big – The I
• In charts: will Reform rock Britain’s two-party system? – The Financial Times
• Reform will snatch away Labour’s red wall – and this time, for good – Matthew Goodwin, The Daily Telegraph

Muslim Labour politician warns against Rayner’s redefining of ‘Islamophobia’

“A senior Muslim Labour politician has warned Angela Rayner against adopting the party’s definition of Islamophobia “if it really wants to tackle discrimination”. Khalid Mahmood, who served as MP for Perry Barr in Birmingham for more than 20 years, said he was concerned that the Deputy Prime Minister’s new council on Islamophobia would rubber-stamp a definition previously adopted by the party. It follows Monday’s disclosure by The Telegraph that Ms Rayner had plans to create such a body and is lining up Dominic Grieve, a former Tory attorney general, to lead it. The 16-strong council will provide advice to ministers on tackling Islamophobia and help advise on drawing up an official government definition for anti-Muslim discrimination, according to sources.” – The Daily Telegraph

Assisted dying was debated less than foxhunting, cardinal warns

“It is “deeply irresponsible” of the government to permit the legalisation of assisted dying after a single morning of deliberation, the Archbishop of Westminster has said. The most senior Catholic clergyman in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said MPs spent more than a hundred times longer debating fox hunting than assisted dying. He added there was “something deeply lacking in a government that isn’t prepared to guide and sponsor, if it wants to, this process of legal change”. The cardinal described the exercise as a “shambles” and hoped the bill may still be defeated, noting: “I don’t think that story’s over yet.” Nichols said that the magnitude of the change being proposed, to permit doctors to assist terminally ill patients in ending their own lives…” – The Times

Conservatives 1) Thatcher and Howe hold centre stage in new opera

“Margaret Thatcher’s years in power are to be turned into an opera, with her souring relationship with Geoffrey Howe and his “Lady Macbeth” wife at the heart of it. The composer Joseph Phibbs has teamed up with the historian Dominic Sandbrook for the two-act opera, which will focus on the former prime minister’s time in Downing Street, from 1979 to 1990. Phibbs said he had initially been sceptical about attempting the opera because Thatcher was still “such a divisive polarising figure” but he came to the realisation that “there was so much operatic about her personality”. He then approached Sandbrook, the historian and podcaster who has written widely on the Thatcher era, who agreed to write a two-act libretto.“There was a bit of the diva about her from the beginning,” Sandbrook said…” – The Times

• Labour’s parallels with Thatcher may be more than just rhetoric – Jim Pickard, The Financial Times

Conservatives 2) Hunt: Starmer should not retaliate if Trump hits UK with trade tariffs

“Keir Starmer should not retaliate if Donald Trump hits the UK with trade tariffs, the former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said, with ministers braced for the president’s latest round of economic measures. The former chancellor told the Guardian the UK did not have enough economic firepower to start a trade war with the US, hours after Trump began one with China. The president imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods on Tuesday and says he intends to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Beijing responded with its own tariffs on American fossil fuels and agricultural machinery, but British officials have not confirmed whether they would respond in a similar way if Trump turns his attention to imports from the UK.” – The Guardian

Conservatives 3) William Atkinson: The Tories may already be too broke for a comeback

“Compare and contrast. Last week, Reform UK staged a lavish, £1 million-raising bash. Several ex-Tory donors paid £25,000 a pop to make plans with Nigel. This week, reports suggest the Conservatives are so cash-strapped that Kemi Badenoch may have to the party out of Matthew Parker Street, since they can’t afford the lease. She has told CCHQ staff to shape up or face the sack. In the three months since Badenoch became Tory leader, Reform have already over-taken the party in membership and the opinion polls. They now hope to do the same in donations… Whatever Badenoch plans to tackle the party’s empty coffers and enthusiasm deficit, she can’t ignore the existential threat Farage now poses… Will the last Tory to leave please turn out the lights?” – The Daily Telegraph

News in Brief:

• The real problem with CCHQ – Henry Hill, The Spectator
• Starmer has no right to lecture Europe on defence spending – Henry Hill, UnHerd
• Badenoch must go – Senior Source, The Critic
• The way UK inflation is worked out is changing – and we will all pay the price – Marcel Lukas, CapX
• The Tories’ Brexit tailspin – Rachel Cunliffe, The New Statesman