Month: November 2022

Scotland’s first minister said the meeting was “cordial and constructive” despite the pair having “profound political disagreements”.

She said they discussed the cost of living crisis, the NHS and her desire for a second Scottish independence referendum.

Mr Sunak called on political leaders to unite to tackle shared challenges.

The talks were held in Blackpool ahead of a meeting of the British-Irish Council.

Ms Sturgeon said: “It is good to be able to sit down with the prime minister, as I used to do with Rishi Sunak’s predecessors, and to talk through issues that we are all grappling with.”

Rising inflation and the cost of living crisis were among topics on the agenda.

Mr Sunak said: “The economic challenges we face are similar, whether you are in Belfast or Dublin, Swansea or Edinburgh or indeed Yorkshire.

“So I thought it was important to come here, talk to other leaders about how we can relentlessly focus on coming together to serve the people that we represent across all these islands.”

Afterwards, he used Twitter to say it was “great to meet” Ms Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales.

“Teamwork, absolute focus and collective effort will be required to deal with the shared challenges faced by people across the UK,” Mr Sunak added.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove were also involved in the discussions.

Ms Sturgeon said she spoke about her “profound concerns about the NHS and the fact it is close to breaking point across the UK”.

“It’s my government’s responsibility to manage the NHS in Scotland,” the SNP leader said. “But our ability to invest in it depends on the decisions taken by the UK government and we in Scotland are at the limits of what we can do.”

She called for an “injection of investment” in the health service ahead of the upcoming Autumn Statement.

And she explained their discussion about a second independence referendum, which she wants to hold in October 2023.

The UK Supreme Court is currently considering whether the Scottish parliament has the legal power to hold a referendum without the UK government’s consent.

On a second independence referendum, Ms Sturgeon said she would not allow Scottish democracy to be “held prisoner” by Westminster.

“The right way of doing that would be for the UK government to respect the mandate and agree a process to allow the people of Scotland to decide,” she said.

Mr Sunak has given no indication that he is likely to grant formal consent for a second vote.

He has previously said that ignoring Ms Sturgeon and the SNP would be “dangerously complacent” and described the first minister and her party as an “existential threat to our cherished union”.

While acknowledging “deep and profound political disagreements”, the first minister expressed hopes for a constructive relationship.

It comes after Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss failed to have any formal talks with Ms Sturgeon during her brief spell in Downing Street.

Ms Truss claimed during the contest to succeed Boris Johnson that the first minister was an “attention seeker” who was best ignored.

Ms Sturgeon said: “There’s been a lack of respect on the part of the UK government or riding roughshod over the powers and responsibilities of devolved parliaments.

“Now, I welcome Rishi Sunak’s words about wanting to reset the relationship and do things differently. I really welcome that.

“But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. We need to see from the UK government proper respect.

“And if if that is the case, then I do believe that notwithstanding our disagreements, we’ll be able to build a good relationship.”

Rishi Sunak appears to have pushed the reset button on relations with Nicola Sturgeon and the devolved Scottish government.

By making an early effort to meet the first minister, he’s already done more for intergovernmental relations than his predecessor Liz Truss managed in her six-week premiership.

While Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed the chance to discuss shared challenges with the PM and his talk of closer co-operation, she is also putting their relationship to an immediate test.

To solve the pay dispute with nurses and other NHS workers, the first minister has asked for more money from the UK government and will find out in next week’s Autumn Statement whether or not that’s forthcoming.

There are, of course, policy differences on things like independence and nuclear power where there is little scope for agreement but that does not have to mean they can’t do business in other areas.

Rishi Sunak’s expected to visit Scotland in the near future and it’s not impossible that he and Nicola Sturgeon might jointly announce the two successful bids for green freeport status.

In his first interview since he was sacked by the then PM, Mr Kwarteng told TalkTV he had warned her to “slow down” after September’s mini-budget.

He said he told her it was “mad” to fire him, and she would only last “three or four weeks” if she did.

“Little did I know it was only going to be six days,” he added.

Mr Kwarteng was dramatically fired by Ms Truss in October, two weeks after their tax-cutting mini-budget sparked turmoil on financial markets.

She then ditched almost all of the plan in a bid to stay in power, but announced her resignation a few days later – less than seven weeks after taking office – as support from Conservative MPs ebbed away.

Speaking to TalkTV, Mr Kwarteng said that he had warned Ms Truss about going at a “breakneck speed” with economic measures after the mini-budget.

“She said, ‘Well, I’ve only got two years’ and I said, ‘You will have two months if you carry on like this’. And that is, I’m afraid, what happened.”

He also said: “I think the prime minister was very much of the view that we needed to move things fast. But I think it was too quick.”

Mr Kwarteng, a longtime political ally and friend of Ms Truss, revealed the then-PM was “distressed and emotional” when she called him in to be fired, after summoning him back from a trip to the US.

He also revealed he found out he was going to be sacked when he saw a journalist tweeting about it while he was in the car going to Downing Street.

He said he had told her: “This is mad. Prime ministers don’t get rid of chancellors.”

By David Wallace Lockhart, political correspondent

Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng once looked like a dream combination to lead a Conservative government: freedom-loving tax cutters who wanted to prioritise growth, who also happened to be long-term friends.

But we know it didn’t work out that way. And now Mr Kwarteng has pointed the finger of blame firmly at his former boss. He claims to have told her to take her foot off the gas after the mini-budget.

This may raise some eyebrows, given that Mr Kwarteng told the BBC a few days after cutting taxes that there was “more to come”. That may not have helped investor confidence.

He insists that he remains friends with Ms Truss. But in this interview he does reveal elements of private conversations during his sacking that Ms Truss may well have preferred had stayed within the walls of Downing Street.

He once toured TV studios insisting she would make a great prime minister. It doesn’t feel like they’re on as good terms now as they once were.

And what next for Mr Kwarteng? It doesn’t sound like he’s going to be an awkward backbencher: he’s pledging complete loyalty to Rishi Sunak.

There was lots of detail in this interview, but it’s important to remember that this is only one side of the events that took place as Ms Truss’s premiership began to crumble. When will she break her silence?

The former chancellor said he did not think the prime minister could fire him “just for implementing what she campaigned on” during her summer Tory leadership campaign.

He highlighted pledges to scrap a planned increase in corporation tax and reverse a rise in national insurance as having been central to her platform.

Mr Kwarteng joined Ms Truss’s in arguing that low taxes and policy aimed at encouraging private investment were the best ways to boost economic growth.

During his time as chancellor, he repeatedly advocated measures of the sort set out in the mini-budget, and two days after delivering it told the BBC there was “more to come” in the way of tax cuts.

The comment, along with a decision to announce the mini-budget without publishing an assessment by the government’s fiscal watchdog, was later seen as key to convincing investors that the government did not have a credible plan to keep debt levels under control.

In the interview, Mr Kwarteng acknowledged he had to “bear some responsibility” for the pace of the changes.

Asked whether he would like to apologise to homeowners facing higher mortgage costs after the mini-budget, he replied: “I don’t want to relive the past, I just want to focus on where we are next week. There was turbulence, and I regret that”.

He insisted he and Ms Truss were “still friends” – adding that they last spoke around a week ago. He revealed he had still not returned a missed call from her two days ago but added “I will call her back”.

Ms Truss is yet to comment on her time in office since quitting Downing Street last month.

In a resignation speech outside No 10, she defended her lower-tax vision for the UK, insisting “We simply cannot afford to be a low-growth country where the government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth.”

In an earlier interview, she said she took responsibility for going “too far, too fast” with the tax cuts in the mini-budget.

Republicans are inching towards control of the House of Representatives, but Mr Biden noted that a “giant red wave” did not materialise on Tuesday night.

Either party could still win the Senate, which hinges on three races that are too close to call.

The party in power, currently the Democrats, usually suffers losses in a president’s first midterm elections.

Republican strategists had been hopeful of sweeping victories, given that inflation is at a 40-year-high and Mr Biden’s approval ratings are relatively low.

But exit poll data suggests voters may have punished Republicans for their efforts to restrict access to abortion.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Biden said the results so far had made him breathe a “sigh of relief”.

“It was a good day, I think, for democracy,” he said.

He added that his optimism had been vindicated, and ribbed journalists who had predicted heavy Democratic losses.

Buoyed by the better-than-expected night, Mr Biden said he plans to stand for re-election in 2024. “Our intention is to run again, that’s been our intention,” Mr Biden, who turns 80 this month, told reporters.

Republicans, meanwhile, were closing in on the 218 seats they need to wrest control of the House from Democrats.

If Republicans win either chamber of Congress, they will be able to block the president’s agenda. The White House is also braced for congressional investigations into the Biden administration.

Mr Biden said he was prepared to work with Republicans and would host bipartisan talks next week.

But the president also said he believed the American people would view any Republican-led inquiries as “almost comedy”.

Whichever party wins two of the three outstanding contests in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada will control the Senate.

Arizona’s Senate race is leaning toward the Democrats, while Nevada is a toss-up, according to estimates by the BBC’s partner CBS News.

Georgia’s contest between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker must be decided by a run-off next month. Neither candidate passed the 50% threshold needed for outright victory.

One of the Republicans’ most prized midterms gains was beating Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the House Democratic campaign chief.

The biggest trophy of the night for Democrats was flipping a US Senate seat in Pennsylvania.

John Fetterman, who has been recovering from a stroke, beat the Republican, Mehmet Oz, a political newcomer and celebrity doctor.

Mr Oz had been backed by former President Donald Trump, who is being blamed by some analysts for Republicans’ underwhelming night.

The lacklustre results have even placed a question mark over the timing of Mr Trump’s widely expected declaration of a 2024 White House comeback bid. He had promised an announcement next week.

But one of his advisers, Stephen Miller, told conservative network Newsmax he was recommending Mr Trump hold off until the Georgia run-off is decided.

Mr Trump had mixed results out of the more than 300 candidates he endorsed.

Candidates he picked for open Senate seats in Ohio and North Carolina won.

But other contenders Mr Trump hand-picked in the Michigan and Pennsylvania governor’s races lost.

Mr Trump conceded on social media that the election results were “somewhat disappointing”.

But he maintained that “from my personal standpoint it was a very big victory”.

A protester was restrained by police as crowds gathered at Micklegate Bar, the traditional royal entrance into the city, to greet the couple.

The 23-year-old was heard to shout “this country was built on the blood of slaves” as he was restrained.

The man, a University of York student, was held on suspicion of a public order offence and remains in custody.

People in the crowd started chanting “God save the King” and “shame on you” at the demonstrator.

The incident occurred on the second day of an official royal visit to Yorkshire, during which the King and Queen Consort later travelled to Doncaster.

The university said it was “appalled” by the images and would be reviewing the incident in line with its misconduct procedures.

The royal couple were being welcomed by city leaders in York when several eggs were thrown at them as the protester booed the pair.

Charles continued shaking hands with dignitaries including the Lord Mayor as the eggs flew in his direction, pausing briefly to look at the cracked shells on the ground.

The eggs missed the King and Queen Consort and they were ushered away.

Several officers were seen restraining a man on the ground behind temporary fencing set up for the King’s visit.

Witness Kim Oldfield, owner of the Blossom Street Gallery, said she was standing in the doorway of her shop “enjoying” the couple’s arrival when she heard “some booing and eggs flying”.

“I glanced across, [saw] the police just descended on the barrier and tried to drag this chap over the top.

“About five eggs he’d managed to send.

“Camilla sort of flinched a little bit when the booing started but they [police] quelled it really quickly. Just a shame they spoilt what was a lovely moment.”

The near miss with eggs being thrown by a protester shows how vulnerable the King can be on such occasions.

King Charles has been a very accessible figure to crowds of well-wishers. He’s been shaking hands, swapping jokes and literally become a hands-on monarch during his walkabouts.

The King seems to have enjoyed the warmth of the response, such as when he met people in the days following the death of his mother. Yesterday he greeted crowds lining the streets in Leeds, facing a sea of mobile phones recording the moment.

Senior politicians in the UK are unlikely now to be so open to the randomness of such a gathering. And it would be even less likely for the tight security surrounding a US president. Who knows what people may be carrying?

But there’s a trade-off between security and being visible to people, and these can be informal and hard-to-control events, with little separation between the King and the crowds.

In this case it included protestors with a ‘Not My King’ banner. And from only a few yards away, eggs were thrown.

The King seemed unperturbed, the police responded quickly, but by then the eggs had already landed.

Charles appeared unfazed as he continued greeting the crowds in a traditional ceremony which saw the sovereign officially welcomed to the city of York by the Lord Mayor.

The ceremony was last carried out by his late mother Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.

The King and Queen Consort had visited York to unveil a statue of Her Majesty at York Minster, the first to be installed since her death.

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said the incident had not put the royal couple off meeting the public.

He told the BBC: “Those in public life are in positions of vulnerability at times and I certainly want to live in a country, and indeed in a world, where we’re not so surrounded by people minding us that we can’t meet people and chat with people.

“That is certainly what the King and the Queen Consort want. They were out chatting with people [later in the day]. So I don’t think they’ve let it affect them.”

Later, the King was cheered by crowds as he arrived in Doncaster in South Yorkshire to formally confer its city status.

Charles and Camilla then attended a reception with a menu including egg and watercress sandwiches.

Rishi Sunak and Nicola Sturgeon will hold face-to-face talks in Blackpool on Thursday ahead of a meeting of the British-Irish Council.

The two leaders are expected to focus on the cost of living crisis.

Ms Sturgeon will also raise her demand for another independence referendum.

Mr Sunak spoke to Ms Sturgeon on the phone on 25 October – the day he was formally appointed as prime minister by the King.

The call was described as being constructive, with both leaders saying they would seek to work closely together despite the political differences between them.

Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss did not have any formal talks with Ms Sturgeon during her brief spell in Downing Street.

Ms Truss claimed during the contest to succeed Boris Johnson that Ms Sturgeon was an “attention seeker” who was best ignored.

The Scottish government said Ms Sturgeon would use her meeting with the new PM to stress the importance of avoiding “damaging austerity” measures in the upcoming Autumn Statement.

She will also highlight the “importance of respecting the right of the people of Scotland to choose their own constitutional future”, a spokesman said.

Ms Sturgeon has said she wants to hold a second vote on independence in October 2023, but Mr Sunak has shown no indication that he is likely to grant formal consent.

The UK Supreme Court is currently considering whether the Scottish parliament has the legal power to hold a referendum without that consent being in place.

Mr Sunak has previously said that ignoring Ms Sturgeon and the SNP would be “dangerously complacent” and described the first minister and her party as an “existential threat to our cherished union”.

The prime minister will also hold talks with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister, before the 38th meeting of the British-Irish Council opens.

Mr Sunak will be the first prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2007 to attend the summit, which brings together political leaders from across the British Isles.

He will call on those attending the event to focus on tackling shared issues through closer collaboration, and warn of the “huge challenges” posed by the global economy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

And he will reiterate his commitment to restoring the Northern Ireland Executive

Mr Sunak will say: “Let’s deliver for all our people across these great islands – and build a future defined not by division, but by unity and hope.”