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Boris Johnson says no-confidence vote win ‘decisive’ despite mass Tory rebellion
Boris Johnson is being urged to cut taxes this year to safeguard his position as prime minister, according to reports.
Mr Johnson’s own cabinet is piling on the pressure, according to The Times. One minister told the paper: “If we keep taxation at the rate it is now we are going to struggle.”
It comes as Mr Johnson’s allies encourage him to ditch Rishi Sunak and elevate Jeremy Hunt to chancellor in an effort to shore up his fragile leadership and prevent a Tory civil war.
The prime minister’s future in No 10 was left hanging in the balance after a vote of confidence on Monday night that saw 148 Conservative MPs vote against him.
Now Mr Johnson’s allies are eyeing up what they see as a “dream team” of him and Jeremy Hunt, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.
Meanwhile, Labour has called on tax authorities to investigate the financial affairs of the health secretary, Sajid Javid, The Independent has learned.
The party has penned a letter to HMRC requesting a fresh examination of the cabinet minister’s historic tax arrangements.
Recommended Boris Johnson ‘urged to ditch Rishi Sunak and make Jeremy Hunt chancellor’ ‘Disappointing’ No 10 didn’t stick to Covid rules, Patrick Vallance says Boris Johnson warned against King Kong-style bid to display strength after humiliating confidence vote
Key points Boris Johnson urged to replace Sunak with Hunt PM to face parliament for the first time since confidence vote bruising ‘No plans’ for reshuffle after Boris Johnson scrapes through confidence vote, says No 10 Johnson ‘hasn’t got enough fight’ for next election, fear his strategist Labour calls for HMRC investigation against Javid
Show latest update 1654669964 Labour calls for HMRC investigation of Sajid Javid’s tax affairs
Labour has called on tax authorities to investigate the financial affairs of the health secretary, Sajid Javid, The Independent has learned.
The party has penned a letter to HMRC requesting a fresh examination of the cabinet minister’s historic tax arrangements.
It centres on Mr Javid’s ties to a company called SA Capital. These links raise the “possibility that he has been a beneficiary of a loan scheme designed to avoid paying UK tax”, said the shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting.
A spokesperson for Mr Javid said the request for an investigation was a “smear attempt” by the Labour Party.
Read the full story by Anna Isaac here:
Labour calls for investigation of Sajid Javid’s tax affairs Party says health secretary ‘potentially avoided paying hundreds of thousands of pounds’
Holly Bancroft 8 June 2022 07:32
1654669023 PM urged by cabinet to cut taxes to save his job - reports
Boris Johnson is being urged to cut taxes this year to safeguard his position as prime minister, according to reports.
The Times has reported that Mr Johnson’s own cabinet is piling on the pressure.
One minister told the paper: “If we keep taxation at the rate it is now we are going to struggle.
“We are not in a good place. We have to reduce both personal and corporation tax levels. We can’t call ourselves a Conservative government if we have the highest tax burden since the 1940s.”
Holly Bancroft 8 June 2022 07:17
1654668342 Patrick Vallance slams No 10 for not sticking to pandemic restrictions
It is “disappointing” that government officials did not adhere to the Covid rules put in place to control the spread of the virus, the government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has said.
Sir Patrick, 62, was one of the key scientists who updated the public through televised briefings during the pandemic, sometimes accompanied by prime minister Boris Johnson.
He was speaking after collecting an honour from the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace for helping to lead the UK’s battle against coronavirus, against the backdrop of an attempt this week by Tory MPs to remove Mr Johnson from office following the scandal over lockdown breaches in Downing Street.
It was really important at all stages that everyone stuck to the rules. It worked when people stuck to them. It is disappointing that that wasn’t the case,
Patrick Vallance
Find the details in this report by Emily Atkinson:
‘Disappointing’ No 10 didn’t stick to Covid rules, Patrick Vallance says Covid rules worked best ‘when people stuck to them’, says the government’s chief scientific adviser
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 07:05
1654667534 Kwarteng ‘confident’ that Johnson will lead Tory into general election
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said he was “pretty confident” that Boris Johnson would still lead them into the next general election.
“I’m pretty confident he will but lots of things happen in politics, I’m 100 per cent behind him,” he told Channel 4 News on Tuesday.
As far as this particular prime minister is concerned, he has been written off dozens of times. He’s somebody who’s extremely resilient and is extremely focused on delivering what matters to people.
Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng leaves after attending the weekly government cabinet meeting at Downing Street on 7 June 2022
(Getty Images)
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 06:52
1654667442 PM warned against King Kong-style bid to show strength after MPs’ vote
Boris Johnson has been warned against a show-of-strength confrontation with Brussels as he seeks to shore up support among Tory MPs following his near defeat in Monday’s confidence vote.
The prime minister has done little publicly to reassure centrist critics since 40 per cent of the parliamentary party demanded his removal, instead vowing to “bash on” with plans for tax cuts, a Thatcherite right-to-buy policy, and legislation to override the Northern Ireland protocol.
One former minister told The Independent he expected a lurch to the right as Johnson offers red meat to MPs who are demanding tax cuts and a tough line on Brexit as the price of their support.
But there were warnings that this could backfire, reports Andrew Woodcock and Kate Devlin:
PM warned against King Kong-style bid to display strength after confidence vote Centrists fear lurch to right on tax and Brexit as prime minister seeks to shore up support
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 06:50
1654666722 Johnson to face MPs following confidence vote bruising
Boris Johnson is to face Parliament on Wednesday for the first time since the damaging revolt by Tory MPs in Monday’s confidence vote.
Backers of the prime minister can be expected to stage a noisy show of support when he steps up for his weekly Commons questions.
Boris Johnson returns to 10 Downing Street
(PA Wire)
But behind the scenes, tensions are running high after 40 per cent of Conservative MPs refused to back his premiership in the vote of confidence.
The discontent among the MPs was on a range of issues from Sue Gray’s report on lockdown parties to promised legislation aimed at overriding the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU, as well as concerns over the high levels of tax.
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 06:38
1654666582 Demands to change confidence vote rules
Former YouGov president Peter Kellner seemingly suggested that current party rules should be changed so ministers and their aides could not take part in confidence votes.
“The 1922 Committee exists to represent Tory backbenchers. Suppose it had done so this week,” he wrote in a letter to the editor of The Times.
“It would have honoured the electorate’s wish to depose Johnson, the need for effective government and the electoral interests of the Conservative Party - had its rules allowed it to bar ministers and their aides from taking part in Monday’s vote.
Johnson would be out, as should any party leader who cannot retain the loyalty of their backbenchers.
Peter Kellner
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 06:36
1654666542 ‘No plans’ for cabinet reshuffle
Boris Johnson is not “currently” planning a reshuffle of his cabinet in the wake of Monday’s bruising vote of no confidence, Downing Street has said.
And the prime minister’s spokesperson said that Mr Johnson retained his confidence in culture secretary Nadine Dorries after she raised eyebrows with a ferocious Twitter attack on Jeremy Hunt in which she accused the former health secretary of presiding over “inadequate” preparations for a pandemic.
There is speculation in Westminster that Mr Johnson will shake up his top team of ministers in response to the 211-148 ballot which saw more than two-fifths of Tory MPs vote to remove him as leader.
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the details:
‘No plans’ for reshuffle after Johnson scrapes through confidence vote, says No 10 Prime minister continues to have confidence in Nadine Dorries following outburst over ‘inadequate’ pandemic planning
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 06:35
1654665642 Javid ridiculed for likening NHS to ‘blockbuster’ Netflix’ age
Sajid Javid has been criticised for likening the NHS to a defunct video rental chain, calling it a “Blockbuster healthcare system in the age of Netflix”.
The health secretary said changes were needed in the use of technology and data to help workers care for patients and that it was “no longer simply an option to stick with the status quo”.
But one senior doctor said the comments show Mr Javid is “out of touch” and NHS leaders warned they need more support to turn tech ambitions into reality.
David Nicholls, from the Doctors’ Association UK told The Independent: “Blockbuster famously went bust, for Mr Javid to fail to even acknowledge the workforce and staff retention issues shows how out of touch he is with the crisis the NHS and social care system faces through his lack of investment over the last decade.
Does he actually care or is he more concerned about soundbites than patient care?
David Nicholls
Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas reports:
Javid ridiculed for likening NHS to ‘Blockbuster in age of Netflix’ Doctors say comments show health secretary is ‘out of touch’
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 06:20
1654664742 Johnson ‘hasn’t got enough fight’ for next election, fear his strategist
Boris Johnson’s own strategist is concerned the prime minister doesn’t have “enough fight in him” for the next general election, Westminster insiders have told The Independent.
David Canzini, deputy chief of staff at No 10, has privately expressed concerns about Mr Johnson’s ability and dedication to fighting a nationwide campaign in the next two years.
The prime minister’s future is under intense scrutiny after he scraped through a vote of no confidence on Monday night, with 41 per cent of Tory MPs actively voting for him to go.
Anna Isaac reports the details in this exclusive:
Boris Johnson ‘hasn’t got enough fight’ for election, fears his own strategist Exclusive: Allies of David Canzini say he is concerned the PM doesn’t realise what a battle he has to win a second election
Namita Singh 8 June 2022 06:05
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