Starmer to hand teachers and nurses bumper pay rise
“Sir Keir Starmer is poised to hand above-inflation pay rises to teachers and nurses, despite warnings that the move may need to be funded by extra taxes or borrowing. The independent pay review bodies representing 514,000 teachers and 1.36 million NHS workers have both recommended pay rises of around 5.5 per cent. Labour is understood to have budgeted for a pay rise of only 3 per cent, and the extra cash “can only come” from either higher borrowing, higher taxes or cuts, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. However, refusing to offer the 5.5 per cent pay rise, or refusing to fully fund it, would put the Prime Minister on a collision course with union bosses who have threatened to strike if they are offered any less.” – Sunday Telegraph
- PM to give nurses and teachers big pay rise – Mail on Sunday
- Reeves hints at above-inflation public sector pay rise – BBC News
- And Reeves may ask workers to increase pension contributions – Sunday Telegraph
- Chancellor tells town halls to use pension funds – FT
- And Chancellor pledges ‘big bang’ for pension funds – Observer
- Reeves plans massive pension change – Sunday Express
- Council tax bills hit £10,000 under second homes crackdown – Sunday Telegraph
Comment
Conservative leadership 1) Braverman faces calls to stand aside in favour of Jenrick
“The Conservatives risk becoming “centrist cranks”, Suella Braverman has said, after she faced calls to pull out of the race to unite the Right of the party behind Robert Jenrick. The former home secretary is expected to launch a second tilt at the top job after running in the race to replace Boris Johnson in 2022. But some want her to strike a deal with Mr Jenrick, who served as her immigration minister and is another likely leadership contender, to avoid splitting the Tory Right. Dismissing calls for the Tories to lean into the centre ground before the next general election, Ms Braverman told The Telegraph: “I am terrified that we are still as a party refusing to learn the unarguable lesson of the 2024 election.” – Sunday Telegraph
>Today:
Conservative leadership 2) Tory leader race ‘may bankrupt party’
“The Tories risk being bankrupted by a long leadership race, insiders fear. Several senior Conservative figures have called for a drawn out contest running late into autumn, to give the party adequate time to “come together” again. Earlier this week, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said Rishi Sunak should stay in place as leader until November. But The Telegraph understands that senior figures at Tory headquarters have voiced disquiet at the idea of “going long” with the contest, citing the impact this would have on the party’s ailing finances. Party bosses acknowledge that until a new leader is appointed, new donors are unlikely to come forward.” – Sunday Telegraph
Conservative leadership 3) Tories who lost seats want formal role in choosing leader
“Former Tory MPs defeated in Labour’s landslide election win are calling for a formal role in the election postmortem, amid fears that their party risks a lurch to the right without a thorough examination of the defeat. Many former Conservative MPs who lost their seats by tight margins are already considering trying to make a swift return at the next opportunity. At a gathering held last week at London’s Carlton Club for those who lost, several senior Tory figures are understood to have expressed the desire to fight again, rather than walk away. There are hopes among Tories that figures such as former cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt will attempt a comeback.” – Observer
- Tories know why they lost, but who will pull them from the dustbin? – Sunday Times
Frost: Tories and Reform need to expose Labour’s blatant Brexit backsliding
“Writing in these pages on Friday, Fraser Nelson pointed out that every minister in the government, bar one – a Tory defector – had opposed leaving the EU. Yet we are supposed to believe that these people will stand by their commitment not to go back into the EU, its customs union, or its single market, and will happily just “reset” the relationship. I say: don’t trust them. All the warm words we saw at the Blenheim Palace Summit this week, all the innocuous-sounding promises to improve trade, are designed to reassure, in the hope that we drop our guard. I worked in government for 30 years. I know the Whitehall instincts. They never really accepted the referendum result.” – Sunday Telegraph
Braverman: It’s time the Tories became the party of family
“Listening to the King’s Speech, one thing struck me. For all the talk about “change” and “service”, there was one glaring omission: Labour’s refusal to scrap the two child benefit cap. I’ve long argued it’s time for the cap to go. After all, we announced it in 2014 as a way to reduce the welfare bill. Back in 2010, we faced an economic crisis. The deficit stood at 7% (now 1.9%), we were in a deep recession (we now have fastest growth in the G7), public sector net borrowing was 10% (now 3%). We overhauled welfare through Sir Iain Duncan Smith’s landmark Universal Credit. These reforms delivered one of our greatest achievements: 4 million more people in work since 2010 and unemployment at 4.4% – almost half of what it was in 2010.” – Sunday Telegraph
How Trump plans to beat Harris
“Donald Trump’s campaign is preparing an attack plan to take down Kamala Harris if Joe Biden pulls out of the race. If Biden steps aside as the Democratic nominee, Harris will likely replace him – and Trump’s team has already started to form a strategy to take her down. The plan includes a wave of ads that will focus on Harris’s record in her current office – as well as the time she spent in office in her home state of California. Trump’s campaign strategists have prepared opposition research books on Harris, two people briefed on the matter told the New York Times. According to the two people – anti-Harris signs and videos were made to show the delegates in the arena of the Republic National Convention and the TV audiences at home. “ – Mail on Sunday
