Latest news with #CabinetMinisters
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
STEPHEN GLOVER: Britain is broken. Wherever you look the State is failing. In many ways the mess is worse than in the 1970s - when Labour last ruined the country
Nearly 40 years have passed since Norman Tebbit, who died this week, was a power in the land. He was one of a handful of outstanding Conservative Cabinet ministers who gave Margaret Thatcher vital support in her crusade to save Britain from the depredations of socialism. Tebbit wasn't an intellectual. He didn't even go to university. But he understood with greater clarity than grander Tories with Oxbridge degrees how militant trade unions were destroying this country. His greatest achievement was to curb their excesses.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Lord Hermer gives himself an 'effective veto' over government policy, documents show
UK Attorney General Lord Hermer has handed himself an 'effective veto' over government policy, according to reports. Documents seen by The Telegraph suggest he has watered down instructions issued by Suella Braverman in 2022 to prevent lawyers from 'blocking' plans. It is alleged Lord Hermer has made a number of changes to the guidance given to government lawyers by the Attorney General. These include the addition of a new 'snitch clause', calling on civil servants to tell him if ministers may be about to break the law. In total, Lord Hermer is said to have added 23 references to international law to the guidance, which is issued to lawyers on how they should advise elected politicians. Lawyers are also told to assume that ever decision taken by a government minister could face a legal challenge. This is understood to be a change from previous advice which stated that such an outcome was unlikely. Lord Hermer has recently come under fire from Cabinet ministers amid allegations he has tried to block government policy with spurious legal objections. Just last month he was accused of 'blocking' Britain from defending Israel against Iran strikes. Despite the UK previously coming to the aid of its ally, Lord Hermer is said to have warned against intervention during the brief war last month. He is also said to have played a major role in 'surrendering' the Chagos Islands, the UK's last territory in the Indian Ocean, to adhere to a non-binding ruling by the International Court of Justice. The alleged changes to the guidance issued to government lawyers have been criticised by Conservatives. Sir Michael Ellis, a former Conservative attorney general, said Lord Hermer had 'effectively given himself a veto over all government business'. 'It is quite something if ministers of the crown within the same Government cannot be trusted, and have to be snitched on by their own officials,' he added in comments made to The Telegraph. Meanwhile, shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart branded the guidance a 'surrender charter'. He said: 'Measures like the snitch clause will undermine discussion across government and harm our national interest. 'Keir Starmer's Attorney General is putting the partisan views of activist lawyers before the national interest.' A source close to Lord Hermer branded the allegations against him as 'desperate nonsense from the Tory party' in a comment made to the Telegraph. A spokesman for the Attorney General said: 'We are getting on with delivering the Plan for Change, from getting NHS waiting lists down, to rolling out free breakfast clubs in primary schools, expanding free school meals, and creating growth, wealth and opportunity for all. 'Government lawyers advise ministers, but it is always ministers that make decisions on policy as has been the case under successive governments.'
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Lord Hermer gives himself ‘veto' over government policy
Lord Hermer has handed himself an 'effective veto' over government policy, new documents reveal. The Telegraph has seen the guidance given to government lawyers by the Attorney General, and the previous version of the document, which was issued by Suella Braverman in 2022. Analysis of the documents reveals that Lord Hermer has made a number of controversial changes. This includes inserting a new 'snitch clause', telling civil servants to inform him if ministers may be about to break the law. Lord Hermer has also inserted 23 references to international law and watered down instructions by Mrs Braverman to avoid lawyers becoming a 'block' to government policy. He has told lawyers they should assume that every decision made by a minister will be subject to a legal challenge, while the previous advice was that lawsuits were very unlikely in most cases. The changes can be revealed after a series of complaints from Cabinet ministers that Lord Hermer had tried to block their decisions with spurious legal objections. Guidance is issued to government lawyers by the Attorney General on the approach they should take when advising ministers. Lord Hermer's advice has included that the UK should not join US and Israeli strikes on Iran because they may be in breach of international law. Sir Michael Ellis, a former Conservative attorney general, said the changes to the document amounted to 'empire building' by Lord Hermer, who had 'effectively given himself a veto over all government business'. Alex Burghart, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, dubbed the guidance a 'surrender charter' that cements 'rule by lawyers' at the heart of the British state. He said: 'Measures like the snitch clause will undermine discussion across government and harm our national interest. 'Keir Starmer's Attorney General is putting the partisan views of activist lawyers before the national interest.' The updated guidance includes two new sections focused on international law, taking the total length of the document from three pages to five. It argues that civil servant lawyers must treat international treaties, such as the Chagos deal, with the same weight as national law. 'The rule of law requires compliance by the state with its obligations in international law as in national law, even though they operate on different planes,' it says, adding that allowing ministers to breach international law could 'incur significant consequences, be they legal, political, diplomatic and/or reputational'. The Telegraph's analysis of the documents reveals that Lord Hermer also banned the Government from using Parliament to override international agreements, as Rishi Sunak's government did last year to stop the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) from sinking the Rwanda plan. The new 'snitch clause' says that government lawyers should report their politician bosses to the Attorney General if ministers defy the legal advice they have been given. 'If it is proposed to proceed with a course of action despite advice that it would be unlawful to do so because it is not supported at least by a tenable legal argument, law officer advice must be sought immediately,' it says. Sir Michael said: 'This is another extraordinary overreach by Lord Hermer, who has effectively given himself a veto over all government business. 'It is quite something if ministers of the crown within the same Government cannot be trusted, and have to be snitched on by their own officials. 'I often received advice from lawyers whose opinion was that there was a minimal chance of success and then when the matter was later litigated the Government actually won the case. 'This is an empire-building charter for a stagnating and internally divided Government.' Mrs Braverman's advice, which the Telegraph has seen for the first time, was designed to weaken the power of government lawyers to block policy, included several warnings about being obstructive to ministers. It was revealed after questions were laid in Parliament by the Conservatives requesting that the Government publish the guidance. Mrs Braverman's version of the document said it was 'rarely the case' that a legal risk to a government policy would prevent it from going ahead, and warned civil servants not to become a 'perceived block' by focusing on minor issues. She also said that lawyers who have objections to a policy should 'identify mitigations' to help ministers pursue their policy. Those lines were removed by Lord Hermer, who said that civil service lawyers should instead give 'full merits legal advice' that does not focus on whether a policy is technically illegal. A source close to Lord Hermer said the accusations against him were 'desperate nonsense from a Tory party that has lost credibility on law and order and upholding the rule of law'. The source said his guidance 'demands lawyers to be creative solution finders, enabling our ambitious plan for change to succeed – unblocking obstacles so that policies are not held up for years in the court as was always the way under the last administration'. A spokesman for the Attorney General said: 'We are getting on with delivering the Plan for Change, from getting NHS waiting lists down, to rolling out free breakfast clubs in primary schools, expanding free school meals, and creating growth, wealth and opportunity for all. 'Government lawyers advise ministers, but it is always ministers that make decisions on policy as has been the case under successive governments.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ministers in talks with City over climate finance for disaster-hit nations
Senior Cabinet ministers including Rachel Reeves and David Lammy are to meet City chiefs for talks on how to unlock UK private sector climate finance and disaster risk insurance for countries facing extreme weather events. The Foreign Secretary has pledged £12 million from the Government's tightened aid budget in a bid to enable faster payouts for nations experiencing climate shocks like hurricanes and tornadoes. Mr Lammy will join the Chancellor, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Environment Secretary Steve Reed for the first meeting between multiple Cabinet ministers and finance leaders on Tuesday. The group is expected to discuss how the sector can play a part in channelling investment into climate initiatives in emerging markets. The Government hopes the £12 million for pre-arranged finance for disaster relief and risk insurance will cut the cost of responding to extreme weather events, and the time it takes for countries to recover from such shocks. This funding is triggered by certain warning signs — such as a forecast or weather event itself — to enable faster payouts, the Foreign Office said. It comes after the Government slashed the UK's overseas aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in order to pay for increased defence spending. The UK's climate finance commitments come from its aid budget. The Foreign Secretary said: 'The climate and nature crisis is the greatest global challenge we face. Failure to act will cause unprecedented environmental damage, fuelling displacement, conflict and famine. 'Tackling this crisis is also a huge opportunity for people and businesses here in the UK, delivering on our Plan for Change. The green sector is worth trillions of pounds, and I'm determined that we seize on the economic growth, jobs and security it offers. 'The City of London, the world's leading sustainable development financing hub, has a crucial role to play in this.'
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Nigel Farage 'in touching distance' of being PM as new mega-poll puts Reform UK on course for 290 seats in the Commons... as Keir Starmer's ratings slump to an all-time low
Nigel Farage is on course to become PM with his Reform UK party within 'touching distance' of forming a majority government, a new mega-poll has suggested. The More In Common survey found, if a general election was held today, Reform would become the largest party in the House of Commons with 290 seats. Although this is below the number of MPs needed for an outright majority, meaning a hung parliament, it was more than twice as many as any other party. And the pollster said Reform is now 'close to the level where they could command an outright majority'. More In Common's new MRP (Multilevel Regression and Post-stratification) model, based on polling of more than 10,000 Britons, put Labour on 126 seats. This is a loss of 285 seats from Sir Keir Starmer 's general election landslide just a year ago, and leaves them with fewer than half as many seats as Reform. The research put the Tories on 81 seats, down 40 seats from last year, with the Liberal Democrats on 73 seats (up one seat) and the SNP on 42 seats (up 33 seats). Meanwhile, as Sir Keir marks one year in Downing Street this weekend, the poll found the Prime Minister's personal approval rating had slumped to an all-time low of -43. More In Common's projection showed a majority of Cabinet ministers would lose their seats in the face of a Reform surge. This includes Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Labour's main losses were found to be to Reform, with 223 seats directly flipping from Sir Keir's party to Mr Farage's outfit. This includes many long-standing Labour constituencies in the North of England and in Wales. Reform was also shown to be growing support in Conservative areas, with the MRP projecting they would win 59 seats that the Tories held in 2024. The main reason that voters gave for turning away from Labour - regardless of who they would vote for instead - is broken promises and U-turns on previous pledges. More than a third (36 per cent) selected this as a reason, while also high on the list was failing to deliver on the cost of living (31 per cent), and Labour's changes to the wiinter fuel payments (27 per cent). Luke Tryl, UK director of More in Common, said: 'It is an unhappy birthday for the Prime Minister. 'His personal approval has hit an all-time low, while Britons blame him rather than his Chancellor for the welfare mess and think he has lost control of his party. 'Meanwhile our new MRP shows Reform UK as the big winners from the Government's failures. 'Although we are a long way from an election and much will change between, Nigel Farage's party are demonstrating that they are now close to the level where they could command an outright majority. 'Britain's political landscape has transformed entirely from just a year ago.'
