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Today’s Political Headlines include Brexit news, with May, Hammond and Davis; Lord Mendelsohn who has been ‘effectively sacked’ for attending the Presidents Club dinner; Gavin Williamson warning of a Russian attack; and Donald Trump visiting the UK. 

May rebukes Hammond for Brexit claims and tones down Davis speech
Theresa May rebuked the Chancellor last night, The Times claims, after he predicted ‘very modest’ changes in the UK’s relationship with the EU after Brexit in a speech to the CBI at the World Economic Forum. The Daily Telegraph adds that Downing Street has toned down a major speech by David Davis today so that it focuses on negotiating trade deals during a transition period, rather than on managing expectations and selling the transition period as the price to pay for Brexit. The paper also reports that Jacob Rees-Mogg, chair of the European Research Group, has said that the Government’s tone on Brexit needs to ‘fundamentally change’. The Sun suggests that Downing Street ‘fears a vote of no confidence’ after at least three more Tory MPs said that they planned to call for May to go.

Lord Mendelsohn ‘effectively sacked’ for attending controversial dinner
Lord Mendelsohn has been ‘effectively sacked’ from his role as a Labour party spokesperson on business and international trade for attending the controversial Presidents Club dinner, The Times reports. The Financial Times adds that the Attorney-General has said that it is possible that criminal offences were committed at the event and that the Bank of England is investigating the regifting of tea with its Governor, Mark Carney, to the event’s auction.

Gavin Williamson warns of Russian attack, admits affair
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has warned that Russia could kill ‘thousands and thousands and thousands’ of people in the UK, with an attack on infrastructure and energy supply, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. He has also been speaking to the Daily Mail, admitting to an affair that happened before he became an MP.

Donald Trump will visit the UK, apologises for Britain First tweets
The Times reports that President Trump is to make a working visit to the UK in the summer, which is likely to include meeting the Queen. The visit’s outline was agreed when Trump met with Theresa May at Davos yesterday. The news comes as Trump tells Piers Morgan, in an interview for ITV, that he ‘would certainly apologise’ for retweeting Britain First.

Tessa Jowell calls for global cancer co-operation
The Guardian reports that Baroness Jowell received a standing ovation in the House of Lords yesterday. Jowell, who has a high-grade brain tumour, used her speech to promote the Eliminate Cancer Initiative, which links patients and doctors globally through a clinical trials network, and which is building a global database.

Companies prepare for no-deal Brexit
According to the Financial Times, a majority of UK companies are preparing for a no-deal Brexit, as time runs out for clarity on the transition period. A survey by the CBI has found that over 60% of companies have implemented contingency plans, or intend to do so.

Minister boycotts John Humphry’s interview
In an exclusive, The Guardian reports that minister Tracey Crouch refused to be interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme after presenter John Humphrys was recorded joking about his colleague Carrie Gracie’s fight for equal pay. The paper claims that other female MPs ‘are using informal parliamentary networks to encourage a potential boycott.’

Sadiq Khan launches legal action over Worboys release
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has applied for judicial review of the Parole Board’s decision to release the rapist John Worboys, The Guardian says. In a statement, Khan described it as ‘an astonishing and deeply concerning decision’.

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Today’s Political Headlines include the Presidents Club debacle, Theresa May addressing Davos, the 1922 Committee Chair begging MPs not to trigger a challenge against the PM and Ministerial turnover putting projects at risk. 

Presidents Club closes down, as minister faces calls to quit
The fallout from the Financial Times’s exposé of sexual harassment at the Presidents Club dinner has continued. The club is to be wound up and charities have returned donations. David Meller, a chair of the club, has resigned from the board of the Department for Education, while Theresa May has come under pressure to sack Nadhim Zahawi, the minister for children and families, who attended the event. Mark Carney and Boris Johnson have said that they did not authorise meetings with them being auctioned at the event.

May to tell investors to put pressure on social media firms over content
When she addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos today, the Prime Minister will call on investment companies to put pressure on social media providers to remove terrorist and extremist content, The Times reports. She will tell attendees that ‘No one wants to be known as the terrorists’ platform or the first-choice app for paedophiles’.

1922 Committee Chair begs MPs not to trigger challenge against May
An exclusive in The Sun reveals that Sir Graham Brady, the Chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, has begged MPs not to trigger a challenge against Theresa May. A no confidence vote would be automatically triggered if he receives 48 letters. He apparently declined to comment on the claim.

Ministerial turnover putting projects at risk
The unusually high turnover of ministers – more than two-thirds have been appointed since June – is putting Government projects at risk, according to the Institute for Government. The thinktank’s findings are reported by the Financial Times. Sir Richard Mottram, former Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary said that ‘The system incentivises short-termism and eye-catching initiatives.’

Sara Khan appointed to head Commission for Countering Extremism
Sara Khan has been appointed to head the new Commission for Countering Extremism, the BBC reports. The campaigner promised that the commission will challenge ‘extremism in the name of our shared values, fundamental freedoms and human rights’. However, Baroness Warsi has accused Khan of being a Home Office ‘mouthpiece’.

Theresa May’s relationship with Donald Trump under the microscope
Two different accounts of Theresa May’s relationship with Donald Trump are being reported today, ahead of their meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Daily Telegraph says that Trump compared May to Winston Churchill during a phone call in December, with a source saying that the pair ‘have a surprisingly warm relationship’. However, Bloomberg News claims ‘May finds it almost impossible to make headway and get her points across’.

Department for International Trade criticised
The Guardian says that the Department for International Trade has been criticised by the National Audit Office. The department is apparently struggling to meet deadlines, to recruit specialist staff, and to retrain its workforce. A departmental spokesperson said that ‘Overall, our plans are on track and we have met every EU exit delivery milestone to date.’

Prisons minister says that he will ‘get back to basics’
The Daily Mail reports on evidence given to the Justice Select Committee by the new justice minister, Rory Stewart. Following reports about poor conditions in prisons, Stewart said ‘My instinct is we need to get back to basics. We need to absolutely insist that we are going to run clean, decent prisons.’

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Today’s Political Headlines include the Johnson backlash, allegations over the Presidents Club Charity Dinner, a new defence review and the UK opposing EU recycling targets. 

Johnson faces backlash at Cabinet meeting
The Times says that Boris Johnson received a ‘brutal rebuff’ in yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, but that this has not deterred him from laying out his vision of a ‘liberal case’ for Brexit next month. The paper adds that at least eight cabinet ministers criticised Johnson yesterday, in an operation apparently ‘authorised and led by the prime minister’. The meeting concluded with Theresa May criticising those who leaked cabinet discussions.

Allegations about charity dinner lead to calls for changes to the law
An investigation by the Financial Times into the Presidents Club Charity Dinner, at which, the paper says, ‘many hostesses — some of them students earning extra cash — were groped, sexually harassed and propositioned’, has resulted in calls for changes to the law. The Guardian says that Maria Miller, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee suggested that ‘perhaps it’s time the government gives the Equality Act some real teeth?

New defence review announced
As The Daily Telegraph reports, a new defence review has been announced, giving Gavin Williamson another five months to make the case for increased military funding. The review will be controlled by the Ministry of Defence, having been spun-off from Sir Mark Sedwill’s cross-Whitehall security capability review, which had drawn up a programme of cuts.

UK opposing new EU recycling targets
In an exclusive, The Guardian claims that confidential documents show that the Government is opposing strong recycling targets across the EU, despite recently pledging to develop ‘ambitious new future targets and milestones’. The UK Government is opposing a target to recycle 65% of urban waste by 2035, according to a record obtained by Greenpeace.

New unit to combat ‘fake news’ will be created
The UK is to create a new unit to counter ‘fake news’, the BBC reports. According to a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, the ‘dedicated national security communications unit’ would be responsible for ‘combating disinformation by state actors and others’. The creation of the unit was agreed at a meeting of the National Security Council.

Channel 4 to air allegations about three former ministers
A controversial episode of Channel 4’s Dispatches, which alleges that three former Conservative ministers, Andrew Lansley, Andrew Mitchell and Peter Lilley, were willing to sell their services to a fake Chinese business will be shown next week, following a review by senior executives at the broadcaster, The Guardian says. The three men deny wrongdoing.

Government urged to introduce personalised road charging
The BBC says that a new report by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) suggests that the Government should charge drivers for using the road network, based on their individual circumstances, including the type of road, time of day, congestion levels, and their personal financial situation.

Labour’s National Executive Committee sides with ‘hard left’ in Haringey dispute
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party intervened in a dispute surrounding the Haringey Development Vehicle, a housing scheme run by the council in partnership with a private company, The Times reports. The scheme, backed by the council’s leadership, has been opposed by left-wing councillors, Momentum, and trade unions, as well as local Labour MPs, whose side the NEC has now taken.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, which include the UKIP leadership crisis, MPs opinions on free movement, more money for the NHS and the ‘threat’ of Russia. 

UKIP Leadership Crisis
The BBC reports that the deputy leader of UKIP, Margot Parker has resigned and is calling for UKIP leader Henry Bolton to do the same. Yesterday the party’s national executive committee backed a vote of no confidence in Bolton. This vote comes after reports relating to Bolton’s personal life, Bolton has said he will not resign as he feels he is the person to bring success to the party. UKIP’s national executive committee does not have the power to remove Bolton so the members of the party will now be given a vote on Bolton’s future. John Bickley has also resigned from his position as the party’s immigration spokesperson.

Conservative MPs want free movement to end during the transition period
The Huffington Post claims that 75% of Conservative MPs want free movement to end during the transition period despite Theresa May saying the current state of play will continue for about two years after Brexit. With strong backbench influence, May will have to find a way to appease her MPs. May is not the only leader to be staring down a confrontation with backbench MPs as the same survey finds 90% of Labour MPs feel membership of the single market and Brexit are compatible. This would indicate that Labour MPs are more representative of the party membership than the leadership on this issue.

Extra £100m a week for the NHS?
Theresa May will face calls from senior members of the Cabinet to give the NHS £100m extra a week according to The Sun. Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove and Chris Grayling will all try to persuade the Prime Minister to make this commitment. This would contribute to the £350m mentioned in the referendum campaign.

The threat of Russia requires more spending on defence
The Guardian reports on the anticipated intervention by Sir Nick Carter, Chief of General Staff, into the debate into defence spending. Carter will warn that Russia is spending more on defence than the UK and this should be a concern. Carter does not feel that the threat coming from Russia takes a traditional form and in a speech, will warn of the unorthodox threats we face. The Ministry of Defence wants more spending on the army, navy and air force as the Government becomes more and more focused on counter-terrorism.

Abuse of pensions to come to an end
Executives who give themselves higher pay at the expense of workers’ pensions will be facing tougher sanctions, according to the Financial Times. A white paper to be published in March will set out new rules for directors who take risks with workers’ pensions. This commitment comes after 28,000 people face cuts to their retirement benefits since Carillion went into liquidation.

Councils can fix the housing crisis
The Telegraph suggests how councils can fix the housing crisis, the Treasury select committee wants the cap on how much councils can borrow to build to be abolished. History shows that when house building was at its highest, councils were building roughly half the homes. With the current borrowing cap the number of homes being built is severely restricted and the Government are being called on to address this.

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