BETA filters Key Facts (2)Grant Shapps (2)Rishi Sunak (2)Andrew (1)Keir Starmer (1)Sam Tarry (1) Grant Shapps, the transport secretary and supporter of Rishi Sunak, also rejected claims that Sunak’s plan to cut VAT on household fuel bills amounted to a coup. He told BBC Breakfast: If [Sunak] it hadn’t produced £37bn of support, about £1,200 for the hardest-hit households already – if it had done none of that and then suddenly did, then you’d have a point. But he has, he’s provided all this support, now he’s saying ‘here’s something that won’t raise inflation that would save £160 on energy bills to every person who follows your programme’ – I think it’s worth it. Updated at 10.02 BST
Shapps challenges Starmer to sack shadow transport minister to join RMT echelon row
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, challenged Keir Starmer to sack Sam Tarry, a shadow transport minister, for taking part in a series of RMT walkouts this morning. Before the latest rail strike, Starmer told his frontbenchers they should not join the picket lines, although two frontbenchers and three ministers who defied the order were not reprimanded. Tarry has given interviews this morning defending rail workers and his right to stand up for them. But Shapps hinted that if Starmer did not sack Tarry, it would be a sign of weakness. He told Sky News: It is clearly in contrast to Sir Keir Starmer who told his bench that it should not be [on picket lines]. No doubt he will want to remove him from his job. Tarry is already at loggerheads with Labor HQ over his decision to allow activation ballots. This means that all members of his local party will vote on whether he remains a candidate at the next election. Updated at 10.03 BST
Sunak accused of ‘reversal’ by Truss campaign after proposal to cut VAT on fuel bills
Good morning. This is the third Tory leadership contest in six years to take place while the party is in government, but the 2016 and 2019 elections were both dominated by the single issue of Brexit. That is not the case this time, and one consequence of that is that Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak – the two candidates still in the race – have or choose to say a lot more about policy in various areas. And they’re at it again this morning, with the two making announcements.
Truss, now seen as the clear front-runner in the competition, has promised a return to national crime targets, pledging a 20% reduction in murders, other violence and burglaries within two years. My colleagues Peter Walker and Vikram Dodd have the details here.
In response, the Sunak campaign described it as “a lightweight plan based on the release of data the government is already doing and a power grab by the police and crime commissioners, including many excellent Conservative PCCs who are cracking down on crime in their area”.
Sunak has promised to scrap VAT on household fuel bills next year, saving the average household £160. As chancellor he resisted calls to cut fuel VAT, arguing it would disproportionately help wealthy families paying to heat large homes, but says he favors the move now because the energy price cap is expected to rise above £3,000 in October. The proposal is part of what Sunak calls a “winter plan,” and my colleague Heather Stewart has the details.
Truss’s campaign described this as a “turnaround stunt”. A Truss campaign source told the Telegraph: It’s good that Rishi has finally woken up and decided to offer something to people who are struggling with the rising cost of living. Still, this feels like a screaming turn from someone who spent the last few weeks of the leadership campaign calling everyone’s tax cuts immoral and fairy-tale. Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury and a leading Truss supporter, has made much the same point on Twitter. Perhaps what’s most interesting about Sunak’s announcement is what it says about how Sunak thinks his campaign is doing. As chancellor he always said he was willing to do more to help people with heating bills in winter. But his latest package of measures focused heavily on measures aimed at low-income households. a cut in VAT would help everyone, including the wealthiest people who need the money much less, which is why Sunak used to argue it was a bad idea. But many of the people voting in the Conservative leadership contest fall into this category. So Sunak is backing away from the preference for targeted intervention he advocated as chancellor. It also risks undermining his main argument against the Trust, which is that it promises unfunded tax cuts. This is the kind of move you might expect from a struggling campaign (that’s what the poll suggests) figuring it needs to do something drastic to regain the initiative. Not much on the political calendar for the day, but the campaigning never stops, so we’ll find something to blog about. I’m trying to follow the comments below the line (BTL) but it’s impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if they’re of general interest I’ll post the question and answer above the line (ATL), though I can’t promise I’ll do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively you can email me at [email protected] Updated at 09.38 BST
