Sacked shadow minister praises Lisa Nandy for joining strikers on picket line
Sam Tarry, the shadow transport minister sacked by Keir Starmer over comments made about a rail picket line, said it was “great to see” Lisa Nandy visiting striking communications workers today.
Tarry was sacked by Starmer last week for giving multiple interviews on a picket line in London’s Euston with striking RMT workers, where he suggested they deserved pay rises in line with inflation.
Tarry tweeted:
Senior Labor politicians must demonstrate loud and clear that our party stands with ordinary working people who are fighting against this anti-Labor government.
Great to see @lisanandy on the picket line.
Senior Labor politicians must demonstrate loud and clear that our Party stands with ordinary working people who are fighting against this anti-Labor Government. 🌹 https://t.co/a553BF8Udg
— Sam Tarry MP (@SamTarry) August 1, 2022
Starmer has previously told shadow leaders they should not join picket lines for strikes, arguing Labor should be a government party. Nandy is understood to have told the leader’s office in advance that he planned to visit striking BT and Openreach Communication Workers Union (CWU) workers in his Wigan constituency.
Updated at 1.32pm BST
Key events
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Key events (4)Rishi Sunak (10)Liz Truss (8)Boris Johnson (6)Keir Starmer (3)Thérèse Coffey (3)
A new Ipsos poll shows Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are tied among the public for who would make the most capable Prime Minister.
Liz Truss trails Starmer by six points on the same measure, although they are all doing much better than Boris Johnson, according to the latest poll.
Sunak has a slight lead among the general public and among Tory voters in terms of being seen as “having what it takes to be a good prime minister”, but Truss has narrowed the gap among Tory supporters.
NEW Who would be the most capable Prime Minister? Johnson 31% Starmer 51%
Altar 39% Starmer 39%
Truss 35% Starmer 41%
Field work from July 21 to 27
NB no one knows how hypothetical leaders will act until they are in office.
— Ben Page (@benatipsos) August 1, 2022
Meanwhile, Labor has increased its lead over the Conservative Party among the public.
NEW from @IpsosUK / @standardnews.
🚨Labor leader at 14 🚨
Lab 44 (+3) Con 30 (nc) Lib Dems 10 (-5) Green 8 (+2) Other 8 (nc)
Fieldwork from July 21 to 27. Changes from June.
But there is a catch…
— Keiran Pedley (@keiranpedley) August 1, 2022
Boris Johnson has ruled out an extra bank holiday to celebrate the Lionesses’ win at the Women’s Euros.
A Number 10 spokesman said there were “no plans” to add a new public holiday, but the Prime Minister would support the honors for the Lionesses.
The spokesman said:
Obviously, we all want to celebrate the Lionesses’ win, but there are no plans to change the current holiday pattern.
Jessica Elgot
Two sources said Nandy did not “get permission” from Loto to meet CWU workers; he told them in advance as a courtesy. Other shadow ministers basically interpret that if you go there and don’t feel like promoting yourself, that’s fine.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) August 1, 2022 Rory Carroll
David Trimble faced bitter opposition from across the political spectrum during his lifetime, but his funeral has united British, Irish and Northern Irish leaders to pay tribute to his achievements and sacrifice.
The service in Lisburn on Monday brought together British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other political representatives from London, Dublin and Belfast to bid farewell to Northern Ireland’s inaugural prime minister.
Boris Johnson attends David Trimble’s funeral with Irish President Michael D Higgins, left, in Lisburn. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA
It was a rare gathering and show of solidarity, and a lull in current political tensions, to honor Lord Trimble, architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), who died last week at the age of 77.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin joined Northern Ireland party leaders at Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church, a name both apt and ironic given Trimble’s torrid weather as a peacemaker.
Read my colleague Rory Carroll’s full article here:
Updated at 2.46pm BST
Asked by reporters if Chris Pincher should resign from his Commons seat, Rishi Sunak said he would quickly re-appoint an independent adviser “to make sure ministers and the government are held to account for their behaviour”.
Pincher has refused to stand down as MP for Tamworth after drunkenly bumping into two men at a private club in London’s Piccadilly. He now represents the constituency as an independent after being suspended by the Conservative party.
Sunak said:
I think trust is very important and standards are very important in public life. I think honesty is important. And that’s why in this leadership campaign, even though it’s not easy for me, I want to be honest about some of the challenges we face and what it will take to fix them.
Sacked shadow minister praises Lisa Nandy for joining strikers on picket line
Sam Tarry, the shadow transport minister sacked by Keir Starmer over comments made about a rail picket line, said it was “great to see” Lisa Nandy visiting striking communications workers today.
Tarry was sacked by Starmer last week for giving multiple interviews on a picket line in London’s Euston with striking RMT workers, where he suggested they deserved pay rises in line with inflation.
Tarry tweeted:
Senior Labor politicians must demonstrate loud and clear that our party stands with ordinary working people who are fighting against this anti-Labor government.
Great to see @lisanandy on the picket line.
Senior Labor politicians must demonstrate loud and clear that our Party stands with ordinary working people who are fighting against this anti-Labor Government. 🌹 https://t.co/a553BF8Udg
— Sam Tarry MP (@SamTarry) August 1, 2022
Starmer has previously told shadow leaders they should not join picket lines for strikes, arguing Labor should be a government party. Nandy is understood to have told the leader’s office in advance that he planned to visit striking BT and Openreach Communication Workers Union (CWU) workers in his Wigan constituency.
Updated at 1.32pm BST
Sunak also played down growing cabinet support for Liz Truss, telling reporters:
It must be remembered that, in fact, in the parliamentary stage of this contest I was at the head of the polls in each and every round, with more support from the deputies than any other candidate.
He said “a lot more people” have come on board to support him since that vote closed, adding:
So I’m actually very confident that there is an enormous amount of support, in fact the most support of any parliamentary party, for my candidacy.
Updated at 1.14pm BST
Rishi Sunak said his plan to cut income tax by 20% by the end of the decade was “one of the biggest income tax cuts we’ve seen” and would be done “responsibly with the time”.
The former chancellor told reporters in Devon that, as prime minister, he would cut VAT on energy bills “to provide a little extra help for people over the autumn and winter” as the bills would be “higher than we thought”.
Sunak described his proposed plan to cut income tax to 16p by the end of the next parliament as “radical”, adding:
We will do this responsibly over time, continuing to reduce our borrowing. And we will do this by growing the economy, taking advantage of our Brexit freedoms and getting our businesses to invest more and innovate more through the tax reforms I will put in place.
Shadow secretary Lisa Nandy has attended the BT workers’ picket line despite Keir Starmer’s ban on leaders supporting strikes.
Nandy was pictured on a Communications Workers Union (CWU) picket line in her constituency, days after Starmer sacked Sam Tarry as shadow transport minister for giving interviews from a picket line of a railway strike, although his presence there was not given as a reason. .
As my colleague Jessica Elgot points out, one way Labor leaders can navigate Starmer’s politics is to argue that they attend the picket line to listen to workers.
Shadow level up secretary Lisa Nandy in Wigan today…
One way Labor leaders can navigate the picket line ban: they can argue it’s a visit to listen to workers if they don’t carry a placard or do interviews. But it’s definitely a statement… https://t.co/WNrmyCCfH2
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) August 1, 2022
A No 10 spokesman said Boris Johnson would “definitely” want the Lionesses to receive “the recognition they rightly deserve” after their triumph in the Women’s Euro final.
Asked whether the Prime Minister would be backing women for the team following his victory, Johnson’s official spokesman added:
On the honors specifically, there is obviously a process that falls to the independent honors committee, but it’s clear that the public wants to see (the) Leonese receive recognition.
Johnson will be on holiday from Wednesday until the end of the week, Downing Street added.
Updated at 12.31pm BST
Rupert Neate
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has promised that the legislation coming into force on Monday will have an “immediate deterrent effect on oligarchs trying to hide their ill-gotten gains, ensuring that the UK is only a place for legitimate business “.
However, a number of lawyers, tax experts, MPs, accountants and transparency campaigners warn that the long-awaited registration of foreign entities, which was rushed through parliament after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, is ‘full of flaws and loopholes’ and will have no impact on forcing corrupt oligarchs to reveal…