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| Raab says it’s up to voters to decide whether Geoffrey Cox’s £1m outside earnings appropriate – UK politics live | Raab says it’s up to voters to decide whether Geoffrey Cox’s £1m outside earnings appropriate – UK politics live |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Deputy prime minister defends ex-attorney general who earned £400,000 a year advising British Virgin Islands over Foreign Office corruption charges | Deputy prime minister defends ex-attorney general who earned £400,000 a year advising British Virgin Islands over Foreign Office corruption charges |
| Labour is calling for the government to “come clean” about exactly how levelling up money for individual constituencies is distributed. It said if the criteria for funding was clear, it would not be possible for Tory whips to threaten to withhold cash from places where the local MP was defying the government whip. | |
| Steve Reed, the shadow communities secretary, told the Today programme: | |
| And here are some more lines from Dominic Raab’s interviews this morning on sleaze/standards/corruption issues. | And here are some more lines from Dominic Raab’s interviews this morning on sleaze/standards/corruption issues. |
| Raab insisted government constituency spending decisions were not related to whether or not the local MP defied the whip - although he did not deny that threats of this kind may have been made to some Tories. He told the Today programme: | Raab insisted government constituency spending decisions were not related to whether or not the local MP defied the whip - although he did not deny that threats of this kind may have been made to some Tories. He told the Today programme: |
| Asked if threats to punish MPs by withholding funding from their constituencies may have been made, Raab said: | Asked if threats to punish MPs by withholding funding from their constituencies may have been made, Raab said: |
| There have been various reports that threats of this kind were made to rebel Tories last week, although no MP has gone on the record to confirm this. Similar claims have been made in the past, as my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reported in September. The most detailed article on this topic may be this one by Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome. Goodman’s verdict is that the evidence is inclusive. Here is an extract. | There have been various reports that threats of this kind were made to rebel Tories last week, although no MP has gone on the record to confirm this. Similar claims have been made in the past, as my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reported in September. The most detailed article on this topic may be this one by Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome. Goodman’s verdict is that the evidence is inclusive. Here is an extract. |
| Raab was unable to explain why Boris Johnson has refused to apologise for the Owen Paterson vote debacle. On the Today programme Raab was asked this seven times. Raab said he could not speak for the PM directly, but he said that Stephen Barclay, the Cabinet Office minister, expressed regret for what happened yesterday, and he said he was happy to also express regret for this himself. | Raab was unable to explain why Boris Johnson has refused to apologise for the Owen Paterson vote debacle. On the Today programme Raab was asked this seven times. Raab said he could not speak for the PM directly, but he said that Stephen Barclay, the Cabinet Office minister, expressed regret for what happened yesterday, and he said he was happy to also express regret for this himself. |
| Raab rejected claims that the Tories were effectively selling peerages to donors. He said: | Raab rejected claims that the Tories were effectively selling peerages to donors. He said: |
| Sajid Javid, the health secretary, will make a statement in the Commons later on Covid, it has just been announced. Presumably he will announce the plan to make vaccination compulsory for frontline NHS staff in England. | Sajid Javid, the health secretary, will make a statement in the Commons later on Covid, it has just been announced. Presumably he will announce the plan to make vaccination compulsory for frontline NHS staff in England. |
| There are two urgent questions first, on Bosnia and Herzegovina, and racism in cricket, and so the Javid statement will probably not start until around 2pm. | There are two urgent questions first, on Bosnia and Herzegovina, and racism in cricket, and so the Javid statement will probably not start until around 2pm. |
| Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and other NHS trusts, has also expressed concern about the plan to make vaccines mandatory for frontline NHS staff in England. (See 10.41am.) He told the the BBC Radio 5 Live this morning: | Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and other NHS trusts, has also expressed concern about the plan to make vaccines mandatory for frontline NHS staff in England. (See 10.41am.) He told the the BBC Radio 5 Live this morning: |
| As my colleague Aubrey Allgretti reported yesterday, there were 114 cases of Covid among people working in parliament last month. Today there is another, with the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, saying he has tested positive. | As my colleague Aubrey Allgretti reported yesterday, there were 114 cases of Covid among people working in parliament last month. Today there is another, with the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, saying he has tested positive. |
| Less than three weeks ago Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, was defending the then refusal of most Tory MPs to wear masks in the Commons chamber, saying there was no need because they all knew each other, and shared “convivial fraternal spirit”. But since then habits have changed, and Conservative MPs have started wearing masks more often. | Less than three weeks ago Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, was defending the then refusal of most Tory MPs to wear masks in the Commons chamber, saying there was no need because they all knew each other, and shared “convivial fraternal spirit”. But since then habits have changed, and Conservative MPs have started wearing masks more often. |
| The Unison union, which represents many health workers, has said that forcing frontline NHS staff in England to be fully vaccinated would be a mistake. | The Unison union, which represents many health workers, has said that forcing frontline NHS staff in England to be fully vaccinated would be a mistake. |
| Sara Gorton, the union’s head of health, told the Today programme this morning that making vaccination mandatory would be “really risky” because it could have “really, really difficult consequences for the NHS in what we know is going to be a really difficult winter”. | Sara Gorton, the union’s head of health, told the Today programme this morning that making vaccination mandatory would be “really risky” because it could have “really, really difficult consequences for the NHS in what we know is going to be a really difficult winter”. |
| She said: | She said: |
| According to the BBC’s health editor, Hugh Pym, an announcement on this is coming today. | According to the BBC’s health editor, Hugh Pym, an announcement on this is coming today. |
| Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, all but confirmed the announcement on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning when he said the government had looked at “every alternative” to compulsion. He said: | Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, all but confirmed the announcement on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning when he said the government had looked at “every alternative” to compulsion. He said: |
| The NHS Confederation, which represents NHS leaders, has joined those criticising Boris Johnson for not wearing a mask at certain points during his visit to a hospital yesterday. Matthew Taylor, the confederation’s chief executive, told Sky News: | The NHS Confederation, which represents NHS leaders, has joined those criticising Boris Johnson for not wearing a mask at certain points during his visit to a hospital yesterday. Matthew Taylor, the confederation’s chief executive, told Sky News: |
| Asked about this in his morning interview round, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said Johnson was following the rules that applied. He told Sky News: | Asked about this in his morning interview round, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said Johnson was following the rules that applied. He told Sky News: |
| The trust that runs the hospital, Northumbria NHS healthcare, has defended Johnson. It posted this on Twitter yesterday. | The trust that runs the hospital, Northumbria NHS healthcare, has defended Johnson. It posted this on Twitter yesterday. |
| A total of 859 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 29 October mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, PA Media reports. PA says: | A total of 859 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 29 October mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, PA Media reports. PA says: |
| As the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports, Labour is challenging Boris Johnson to condemn Geoffrey Cox. | As the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports, Labour is challenging Boris Johnson to condemn Geoffrey Cox. |
| And this, from the Spectator’s James Forsyth, explains why this is potentially such a lucrative line of attack for the opposition. | And this, from the Spectator’s James Forsyth, explains why this is potentially such a lucrative line of attack for the opposition. |
| Note the reference to “senior MPs” in Forsyth’s tweet. One bonus about using second jobs as a wedge issue against Johnson is that it doesn’t just open up a division between the Tories and public opinion; it aggravates the split between the Tory old guard in parliament (who were defending Owen Paterson most vigorously), and the 2019 “red wall intake”, who don’t have outside earnings like Cox’s and who may feel about this much the same way as Anneliese Dodds does. | Note the reference to “senior MPs” in Forsyth’s tweet. One bonus about using second jobs as a wedge issue against Johnson is that it doesn’t just open up a division between the Tories and public opinion; it aggravates the split between the Tory old guard in parliament (who were defending Owen Paterson most vigorously), and the 2019 “red wall intake”, who don’t have outside earnings like Cox’s and who may feel about this much the same way as Anneliese Dodds does. |
| This is from Wendy Chamberlain, the Lib Dem chief whip, on the Geoffrey Cox story. | This is from Wendy Chamberlain, the Lib Dem chief whip, on the Geoffrey Cox story. |
| Good morning. Boris Johnson may have been hoping that, after yesterday, outrage about Tory sleaze would have passed the high water mark and that the news agenda would start to move on. But it hasn’t worked out like that, and this morning the whole sleaze/misconduct/corruption issue has got second wind and is back with a vengeneance. Alex Wickham in his London Playbook briefing has a good round-up of all the new developments, but the highlight is the Daily Mail splash, by Harriet Line and Jason Groves, which starts like this. | Good morning. Boris Johnson may have been hoping that, after yesterday, outrage about Tory sleaze would have passed the high water mark and that the news agenda would start to move on. But it hasn’t worked out like that, and this morning the whole sleaze/misconduct/corruption issue has got second wind and is back with a vengeneance. Alex Wickham in his London Playbook briefing has a good round-up of all the new developments, but the highlight is the Daily Mail splash, by Harriet Line and Jason Groves, which starts like this. |
| The Mail is not alleging that Cox has broken any laws. But, as MPs discovered during the expenses scandal, what matters in the court of public opinion (a judicial environment where Cox’s skills are well below QC level) is what people think is approporiate, not what’s legal. | The Mail is not alleging that Cox has broken any laws. But, as MPs discovered during the expenses scandal, what matters in the court of public opinion (a judicial environment where Cox’s skills are well below QC level) is what people think is approporiate, not what’s legal. |
| Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, was on morning interview round duty for the government. As justice secretary, he would normally be expected to applaud a British lawyer making good money abroad, but obviously that wasn’t the line to take today. | Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, was on morning interview round duty for the government. As justice secretary, he would normally be expected to applaud a British lawyer making good money abroad, but obviously that wasn’t the line to take today. |
| Asked about Cox, and whether it is right for an MP to be spending so much time on a second job instead of representing his consitituents, Raab’s first response was to say that the fact that we know about this was a victory for transparency, and the rules that force MPs to declare their earnings and their hours in cases like this. | Asked about Cox, and whether it is right for an MP to be spending so much time on a second job instead of representing his consitituents, Raab’s first response was to say that the fact that we know about this was a victory for transparency, and the rules that force MPs to declare their earnings and their hours in cases like this. |
| Raab said it was legitimate for Cox to be advising a foreign government on legal matters in this way. He told Times Radio: | Raab said it was legitimate for Cox to be advising a foreign government on legal matters in this way. He told Times Radio: |
| But on the wider question of whether an MP should be spending so much time on a second job, and earning so much from it, Raab was equivocal. He would not defend Cox. But he did not criticise him either, and instead he said it was up to Cox’s constituents to decide what was right. Asked if he was “comfortable” with this, Raab told the Today programme: | But on the wider question of whether an MP should be spending so much time on a second job, and earning so much from it, Raab was equivocal. He would not defend Cox. But he did not criticise him either, and instead he said it was up to Cox’s constituents to decide what was right. Asked if he was “comfortable” with this, Raab told the Today programme: |
| That sounded like a vague hint that the Conservative association in Torridge and West Devon, or the electorate there as a whole, might be justified in finding a new MP at the next election. | That sounded like a vague hint that the Conservative association in Torridge and West Devon, or the electorate there as a whole, might be justified in finding a new MP at the next election. |
| I will post more on Raab’s interviews shortly. | I will post more on Raab’s interviews shortly. |
| Here is the agenda for the day. | Here is the agenda for the day. |
| 10am: Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, and Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, head of regulation at Impress, give evidence to the Commons culture committee on the online harms bill. | 10am: Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, and Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, head of regulation at Impress, give evidence to the Commons culture committee on the online harms bill. |
| 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. | 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. |
| 2pm: A minister gives a statement in the Scottish parliament on Covid. | 2pm: A minister gives a statement in the Scottish parliament on Covid. |
| 2.30pm: The British Retail Consortium, the Cold Chain Federation and UK Hospitality give evidence to the Commons environment committee on labour shortages; at 3.30pm Ben Broadbent, deputy governor of the Bank of England, gives evidence. | 2.30pm: The British Retail Consortium, the Cold Chain Federation and UK Hospitality give evidence to the Commons environment committee on labour shortages; at 3.30pm Ben Broadbent, deputy governor of the Bank of England, gives evidence. |
| Also, according to the BBC, the government will today confirm that Covid vaccines will be compulsory for NHS frontline staff in England from next spring. | Also, according to the BBC, the government will today confirm that Covid vaccines will be compulsory for NHS frontline staff in England from next spring. |
| I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. | I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. |
| If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow. |
| Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com | Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com |