(REUTERS)

       Boris Johnson’s former Brexit chief Lord Frost has warned the prime minister that he must go back to “free market” and “low tax” policies if he wants to win at the next election.

       Speaking in his first interview since his resignation last month, former cabinet minister Lord Frost told The Mail on Sunday that there needed to be “different voices” around the Prime Minister if “we’re going to get out of this little trough and win the Election in a couple of years’ time”.

       Lord Frost argued the country needed to “get going economically again”, with “free markets, free debate and low taxes”.

       He also warned: “I saw the polling and it doesn’t look good. I don’t think the Red Wall is so different to the rest of the country.”

       Lord Frost’s comments come as his successor in the role of chief Brexit negotiator, foreign secretary Liz Truss, warned the EU that she would trigger Article 16 if talks fail.

       Firing a shot across the Channel, Liz Truss said: “My priority is to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland. I want a negotiated solution but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that.”

       Recommended Liz Truss ‘willing’ to trigger Article 16 if Brexit talks fail Government’s post-Brexit farming plan ‘will increase UK’s reliance on food imports’ Tony and Cherie Blair come under pressure over furlough payments

       Show latest update 1641717963 ICYMI: post-Brexit farming plan will ‘increase UK’s reliance on food imports'

       Many small and tenant farmers could be forced out of business by the government’s post-Brexit farming plan, a parliamentary report has warned.

       The report warned that by encouraging farmers to free up land for environmental purposes England could end up importing more food.

       Read the story by my colleague Andrew Woodcock here:

       Government’s post-Brexit farming plan ‘will increase UK’s reliance on food imports’ As changes wrought by Brexit slash and burn ￡1.8bn of direct payments to English farmers by 2027, experts warn that government optimism over agriculture in England is dangerously misplaced

       Holly Bancroft 9 January 2022 08:46

       1641717584 Labour calls for North Sea windfall tax to rein in soaring energy bills

       Labour has called for a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas to help lessen the impact of a hike in household energy bills.

       Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the proposed measures would save most households ￡200 and protect the poorest from the financial hit forecast from the rise in the energy price cap.

       Read the full story by my colleague Andrew Woodcock.

       Labour calls for North Sea windfall tax to rein in soaring energy bills Move would save average household ￡200 and poorest ￡600, says Rachel Reeves

       Holly Bancroft 9 January 2022 08:39

       1641717375 Lord Frost: ‘We need free markets, free debate and low taxes'

       Former Brexit minister Lord Frost has called for Boris Johnson’s government to move to “free markets, free debate and low taxes” in order to win the next election.

       Here are some of the key comments in his interview with The Mail on Sunday:

       “The PM has a right, when he wants something to happen, for the levers that he pulls to actually produce something. And he has the right to the best possible advice around him.”

       “There probably need to be some different voices around him to make sure that he gets the best possible advice.”

       “We need to get the country going economically again and that means free markets, free debate and low taxes.”

       “People need to look at this country and think, yes, something is changing here. You’ve got to set the direction of travel.”

       “If we’re going to get out of this little trough and win the Election in a couple of years’ time, then we’ve got to develop that.”

       Holly Bancroft 9 January 2022 08:36

       1641716338 Liz Truss: I’ll use Article 16 if EU talks fail

       Foreign secretary Liz Truss has warned that Britain will trigger Article 16 if she cannot reach a “negotiated solution” with the EU.

       Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Truss said: “My priority is to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland. I want a negotiated solution but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that.

       “This safeguard clause was explicitly designed - and agreed to by all sides - to ease acute problems because of the sensitivity of the issues at play.

       “The EU has already invoked this article to introduce a hard border for vaccine exports and, even in the act of withdrawing it, insisted on its right to do so again in the future.”

       EU officials and the Irish prime minister have warned Britain about triggering Article 16, with Truss’s counterpart Maros Sefcovic warning of “serious consequences” if the emergency measure was taken.

       Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol details the process for taking unilateral “safeguard” measures if either the EU or the UK concludes that the deal is leading to serious practical problems or causing diversion of trade.

       Read more about the story here:

       Liz Truss ‘willing’ to trigger Article 16 if Brexit talks fail Foreign secretary said she will suggest ‘constructive proposals’ to her EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic

       Holly Bancroft 9 January 2022 08:18