Boris Johnson news: PM’s ‘ludicrous’ plan for bridge to Northern Ireland attacked, as backlash builds over ‘mansion tax’ and HS2
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Boris Johnson’s spokesman said government officials have begun a “proper piece of work” examining the potential for a bridge linking Scotland and Northern Ireland. The proposal was immediately criticised as “ludicrous”, “crazy” and “a vanity project” by opposition politicians.
The prime minister is also facing a backlash from Conservative MPs as he prepares to give the go-ahead to the controversial HS2 rail project, and mulls over a possible “mansion tax” on the owners of expensive homes to help fund a public spending boost.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer’s team claimed “factional” dirty tricks were behind allegations of membership database hacking after the Labour Party reported his campaign. Up to 40 MPs are thought to be considering quitting the party if Rebecca Long-Bailey succeeds Jeremy Corbyn.
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Sinn Fein win ‘nightmare’ for Boris Johnson, says Labour advisor
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the party would soon work to form a “people’s government” after making historic gains in the Irish general election.
The left-wing republican party has emerged as the most popular in the country, securing the most first preference votes and topping the polls in the vast majority of constituencies.
Sinn Fein received 24.5 per cent of the vote share on first preference, Fianna Fail got 22.2 per cent and Fine Gael 20.9 per cent.
Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar has refused to form a coalition with Sinn Fein, but Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin has refused to rule it out – saying he would “listen to the people”.
Labour policy advisor Thom Brooks said the result would be a “nightmare” for Boris Johnson “who has never taken Ireland (or Northern Ireland) seriously”.
He added: “One EU member state veto can sink any hopes of a trade deal – and will put new pressure on Irish reunification risking fragmentation of the UK.”
No 10 bust-up? Symonds said to have challenged Cummings
There have been reports of a dispute between the prime minister’s closest adviser Dominic Cummings and his partner Carrie Symonds over the looming cabinet reshuffle.
According to The Daily Mail, Symonds was not happy that Cummings wanted to fire several ministers and ministerial special advisers she favours.
A Treasury source told the paper: “There was always a risk that Carrie and Dom were going to fall out and that the PM would get caught in the crossfire.
“Dom is trying to run the government the same way he won the referendum campaign. He doesn’t care who he insults if it makes the government more effective. Carrie is just as determined and is very loyal to her friends.”
Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds (Reuters)
No 10 denies misleading Dunn family following spy claims
Downing Street has insisted it was told Anne Sacoolas was not a spy, as it denied Dominic Raab misled Harry Dunn’s parents.
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “Ann Sacoolas was notified to the UK government as a spouse with no official role.”
Asked – after a Sunday newspaper reported that the woman who was driving the car who has killed Harry had been a spy – if the family had been “misled” by the foreign secretary, the spokesman replied: “No.”
He declined to respond further on whether the US had misled the UK government about Sacoolas.
The comments came as it was announced that the cabinet will meet on Tuesday, rather than Thursday – fuelling speculation that the go-ahead will be given to HS2 straight afterwards.
EU chiefs report Scottish nationalist projection to police
According to our Europe correspondent Jon Stone, the European Commission has reported the Brexit day projection of the message “Scotland loves Europe” on the side of its building to the Belgian police.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a picture of the image shortly before the UK formally quit the EU.
Scoping work into Scotland-NI bridge under way, says No 10
More from today’s lobby briefing. The prime minister’s spokesman said, for the first time, that “work is underway” on Boris Johnson’s dream – many people say fantasy – of building a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
He said a scoping report was being drawn up for the PM, but declined to say by whom, how many people were working on the project, or when it might be completed.
He also declined to respond to the suggestion it could end up being a bridge between two countries outside the United Kingdom – if Scotland ever votes for independence and Brexit triggers a referendum resulting in Northern Ireland joining with the Republic.
The PM’s spokesman also defended the deportation flight, insisting that those on board were convicted of serious offences.
“It’s correct to say that some of those on board are convicted of manslaughter, rape, violence and drug dealing,” he said.
“It is long-standing government policy that any foreign national offender sentenced to 12 months or more in prison should be considered for deportation.”
Judicial review launched in bid to halt deportation flight
Lawyers are launching a judicial review in a bid to halt a flight deporting 50 people to Jamaica amid widespread calls for the jet to be grounded.
Duncan Lewis Solicitors, which is representing 15 people due to be on the flight, is expected to file the papers at the High Court imminently and have called for an urgent oral hearing on Monday afternoon to discuss the matter.
The move comes after the government insisted it would be pressing ahead with the flight, which is thought to be leaving the UK at 6.30am on Tuesday.
Toufique Hossain, director of public law at Duncan Lewis - who is leading the legal challenge, said many of the clients had come to the UK as young children aged between four and 13. Hossain said: “We are about to submit court papers to launch a judicial review and have asked for an urgent oral hearing in the High Court this afternoon.”
A number of the people due on the flight are thought to have been convicted of drug offences when they were young.
Chief secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak said earlier those being forcibly removed had committed "very serious offences” and their deportations were “reasonable”.
But more than 150 cross-party MPs have called on the prime minister to halt the flight.
Chief secretary to the Treasury Rishi Sunak (Getty)
Mansion tax: a short history
Boris Johnson is reportedly considering imposing a “mansion tax” owners of expensive homes at next month’s Budget.
Vince Cable is credited with bringing the idea of an annual property tax on high-value homes into frontline politics – having first suggested all properties valued at over £1m could be taxed when he was still Lib Dem leader in 2009.
In 2012, a mansion tax proposal with a £2m threshold was passed at the Lib Dem conference – but the Tories, the party’s coalition partners, ruled it out.
In 2013, then Labour leader Ed Miliband picked up the idea – saying a Labour government would introduce a mansion tax.
The following year Ed Balls, then shadow chancellor, fleshed it out – claiming properties valued between £2m and £3m would pay £3,000 per year under a Labour government.
But when the 2015 Labour leadership contest took place, candidates distanced themselves from the concept. It then languished in the wilderness – until, apparently, Johnson and his chancellor Sajid Javid were looking around for ways to help fund a boost public spending.
London property for sale (Reuters)
Predicting political year ahead a mug’s game – John Rentoul
Our chief political commentator says the “Peter Mandelson Memorial Dim Sum Supper” – a group issued its predictions for the political year ahead – has recently reconvened.
“The event began on 23 December 1998, when I was in a Chinese restaurant with a group of friends in Soho and the news came through that Mandelson had resigned from the cabinet. By coincidence, the same group was lunching on 24 January 2001, when Mandelson resigned again.”
“Since then we have gathered every year, just before or after Christmas, to discuss what we think is going to happen in the coming year.”
Read more here:
‘Ludicrous’: Reactions to government plan for Scotland-NI bridge
Plenty of reaction to the news No 10 has commissioned “scoping” work on building a bridge linking Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Labour’s Lord Adonis said “the big infrastructure projects that Belfast needs are decent railway lines to Dublin and Derry” – arguing they would cost “a fraction of this ludicrous bridge to Stranraer”.
Nigel Farage responded: “This is crazy. What about the North of England?”
Labour MP Wes Streeting tweeted: “We’ve been here before with vast sums of public money wasted on vanity projects like the Cable Car, Garden Bridge, and ‘Boris Island Airport’. The man never learns.”
PM steps up ‘bonkers’ plan for £20bn bridge
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more on the Scotland to Northern Ireland bridge proposal.
A No 10 spokesman has described the scoping exercise as a “proper piece of work”. Yet one expert has dismissed the infrastructure project – which could cost up to £20bn – as “bonkers”.
Chris Wise, the engineering designer of the 2012 Olympic velodrome, said last year: “It’s socially admirable but technically clueless.”
In December 2019 the PM told MPs “watch this space” when asked about the prospect of a “Boris bridge” in the Commons.
Johnson previously rejected the idea an explosives disposal area in the Irish Sea called Beaufort’s Dyke was a stumbling block. In November 2018, he said: “The problem is not the undersea Beaufort’s Dyke or lack of funds. The problem is an absence of political will.”
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