View from Westminster
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£10m is a lot for the Tories to give up |
I wonder what it was about Frank Hester, who has donated £10m to the Conservative Party, that has made the Conservative Party reluctant to call his comment about Diane Abbott racist. The amount at stake makes this a real test of the prime minister's promise to lead a government of "integrity". I cannot think of an exact parallel, but Tony Blair repaid a £1m donation from Bernie Ecclestone after it was revealed that he had lobbied to change the Labour government's policy on tobacco advertising. Now that Kemi Badenoch, the trade secretary, has broken ranks to tell it like it is, namely that Hester's 2019 comments, as reported (see Most Commented, below) "were racist", the pressure on Rishi Sunak to return the money should become irresistible. |
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What does M*A*S*H stand for? |
Answer at the bottom of today's email |
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| Science secretary told House of Lords Committee she should have dealt with her concerns privately |
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| Sean O'Grady on how he may tempt other Tory MPs to think they can save their seats by joining Reform |
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| Damian Hinds told MPs that some youngsters were given phones 'quite a lot earlier' than the final year of primary school |
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What else you need to know today |
- Darren Jones, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, responded to a challenge from the SNP in the Budget debate by saying: "We are not sticking to the Conservatives' spending plans." We need to know more...
- Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, made a statement in the Commons about releasing prisoners early because of overcrowding in jails; he also announced measures to increase the number of foreign criminals deported
- I wrote about Rishi Sunak's latest plan to tell us the country is going to the dogs – warning of power cuts – and that we should vote for him
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Is Lee Anderson's defection to Reform UK a major blow for the Tories? |
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Sean O'Grady predicts further unrest in a Conservative Party already in turmoil... Read more |
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Tomorrow inside the Westminster bubble |
Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for |
The GDP figures for January, released at 7am, will be studied closely by ministers in the hope the UK's recession is coming to an end. In another week of internal woes for the Tories, there will be no shortage of ammunition for Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's questions at noon. The Commons starts at 11.30am with questions on Wales. MPs will later approve legislation enacting the cuts to national insurance contributions in last week's Budget. Jeremy Hunt will be questioned about his measures by the Treasury Committee at 2.15pm. Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, will defend her stance on EU retained law before the European scrutiny committee at 2.30pm. The Lords will consider an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill to give parliament the power to block foreign governments buying UK news organisations, such as the UAE-backed attempted takeover of The Daily Telegraph. Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, will give evidence to the Covid inquiry in Cardiff at 10am. | |
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"As I was saying, Madam Deputy Speaker, even in parliament you can't be a maiden twice..."
George Galloway, speaking in the Commons for the first time since 2015 |
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And finally... Why aren't we calling it WaterKate? – Laura |
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Quiz answer: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital |
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