Liz Truss “Preparing to Break Northern Ireland Protocol”
Liz Truss is reportedly drafting legislation that will unilaterally repeal key parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, eliminating the need for inspections of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland, said my colleague Jessica Elgot.
Tesco chairman says Queen’s speech should include contingency tax on energy companies
John Allen, chairman of Tesco and former president of the CBI, has joined those calling for an unforeseen tax on energy companies. Asked what he would like to see in the Queen’s speech, he told the program this morning:
First of all, I think that actions to help people cope with the very, very sharp rise in energy prices.
It is more difficult for people to soften energy than with food, and I think there is a huge argument for an unforeseen tax on the profits of these energy producers, returned to those who need help most with energy prices.
I think that would be the greatest thing that can be done.
An unforeseen tax on energy companies is the Labor Party’s most distinctive political proposition. The Liberal Democrats and the SNP also support the idea.
The government opposes it, arguing that it could deter energy companies from investing in the UK. But there were hints that a U-turn was possible. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said last month that he would look into the contingency tax if energy companies do not invest in the UK. And William Hague, the former Tory leader, recently said that a tax on real windfall income “is not a crazy idea” and something the Conservatives have done in the past.
The minister says the queen’s speech will deal with protesting “hooligans” amid fears that “non-Tory” bills have been missed
Good morning. This is the Queen’s speech and overnight the government announced measures that will be included in a new bill on public order. My colleague Rajeev Syal has a preview here.
Keith Malthaus, the police minister, did this morning’s interview and told BBC Breakfast that it would allow the government to deal with “hooligan” protesters. He said:
We have seen a number of very, very prolific, stubborn offenders who decide to simply ignore the courts, so we will introduce a new serious order to prevent disturbances that we can impose on them as individuals to deter them, if you wish, from this kind of hooliganism. way of protest.
We believe that protest is fundamental to our democracy, but it must be balanced against the rights of others to do their job and really keep us safe. I’m afraid some of the tactics we’ve seen lately haven’t done that.
If you think this sounds more like a language you would hear at a Conservative party conference than a speech setting legislative priorities for the whole nation for next year, then you don’t have to be wrong. Legislative programs are essentially party-political, but as Jim Picard and George Parker reported in the Financial Times, it has gone through a particularly rigorous filtering process, removing non-Tory measures. They attribute this to the influence of David Canzini, Boris Johnson’s new deputy chief of staff, who reportedly told assistant ministers to come up with more “wedge” issues that set the Tories apart from Labor and the Liberal Democrats. The public order bill is a good example.
FT says that as a result, some measures that were widely supported, but which were considered too regulatory and consensual and insufficient Tories, have been dropped. He says:
Legislation to improve auditing and corporate governance in the UK, giving legal powers to the technology supervisor and setting up a new football supervisor – all aimed at improving the functioning of business or enabling fairer market conditions – were dropped from the queen’s speech …
With a warning from the Bank of England last week that the UK was heading into recession, Kansini told colleagues in recent days that Downing Street believed “conservative governments are not legalizing their path to economic growth,” an official said.
The government has abandoned plans for a bill that would create a single agency to enforce employees’ rights and make flexible working as a default option for employees …
One minister said that the disgust of some in number 10 for the new business regulation is part of the “bastard form of Thatcherism”, which does not recognize that good rules can help the functioning of markets – for example, by stopping corporate scandals.
FT quoted the Institute of Directors, the business group, as saying that this approach was “disappointing”.
Here is the agenda for the day.
11.30 am: Prince Charles delivers the Queen’s speech on behalf of his mother at the state opening of Parliament.
12.30 pm: Downing Street holds a briefing in the lobby.
2.30 pm: Deputies open the debate on the Queen’s speech. Conservative MPs Graham Stewart and Faye Jones will begin by offering and supporting a loyal address, followed by Keira Starmer and then Boris Johnson.
I try to follow the comments below the line (BTL), but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include Andrew somewhere in it and I’m more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if they are of common interest, I will publish the question and answer over the order (ATL), although I cannot promise to do this for everyone.
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Updated at 09.05 BST
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