Today’s political headlines includes Hunt’s pledge to back fox hunting, Labour support at (joint) record low, Johnson announces plans for 20,000 more police officers and the Foreign Office has summoned Chinese ambassador over criticism.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Hunt pledges to back the legalisation of fox-hunting Labour support at record low in new poll Johnson announces plans for 20,000 more police officers Foreign Office summons Chinese ambassador over criticism Lords call for \u00a38bn to be spent on social care Supermarkets back simpler recycling labels Osborne considering running to be IMF head Gauke attacks \u2018populist politicians\u2019
\n<\/strong>Jeremy Hunt has used an\u00a0interview<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0to back the legalisation of fox-hunting, claiming that it is \u2018part of the countryside\u2019. He also told the paper that if he became Prime Minister Boris Johnson would be given \u2018a very important Cabinet job\u2019 while MPs\u2019 summer recess might be cancelled to ensure that all the legislation needed for a no-deal Brexit was passed.\u00a0Writing<\/a>\u00a0in the paper, he argues that he is better placed than Johnson to defeat the \u2018clear and present danger\u2019 posed by Jeremy Corbyn.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>A poll conducted by YouGov for\u00a0The Times<\/em>\u00a0has\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0that support for Labour is at its lowest in polling history, with just 18% of voters planning to vote for the party. The Conservatives are 24%, the Brexit Party is on 23% and the Liberal Democrats are on 20%. The paper adds that Jeremy Corbyn met Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to discuss its story about civil servants raising concerns about Corbyn\u2019s health, with Labour claiming that the meeting was \u2018frank and detailed\u2019 and that there will be an \u2018independent element\u2019 to the investigation.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Boris Johnson will today promise to put 20,000 new police officers on the streets within the next three years, at a cost of \u00a31bn a year. Johnson said that \u2018soaring crime levels are destroying lives across the country and we urgently need to tackle this\u2019, while the plan has been borrowed from former leadership candidate and Home Secretary Sajid Javid, adding to speculation that he may be made Chancellor by Johnson.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that the Foreign Office has summoned the Chinese ambassador, Liu Xiaoming, to accuse him of making unacceptable criticisms of the UK. He had used a press conference to claim that remarks by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt about the protests in Hong Kong were \u2018interference\u2019 and that there would be \u2018consequences\u2019 going further.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0carries details<\/a>\u00a0of a new report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, which calls on the Government to spend \u00a38bn on social care immediately in order to fix what it calls a \u2018national scandal\u2019. It says that the system is \u2018severely underfunded\u2019 and that 1.4m adults cannot access adequate care, adding that the Government should publish a white paper containing \u2018clear proposals for change\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that representatives from the supermarkets Iceland and Waitrose yesterday told the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that the Government should introduce legislation to simplify recycling labels on packaging so that it is easier for consumers to understand.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that George Osborne has told friends that he is considering campaigning to be the next head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now that Christine Lagarde, the incumbent, has been appointed as the head of the European Central Bank (ECB). To succeed, he will need to be nominated by the new Prime Minister, while his allies believe that his main rival is likely to be Mario Draghi, the outgoing ECB head.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Justice Secretary David Gauke used his speech at the annual judges\u2019 dinner in the City of London to attack \u2018populist politicians\u2019 who tell people what they think they want to hear, contrasting judges\u2019 fact-finding with those \u2018who pour poison into our national conversation\u2019. The paper says this will be seen as a \u2018veiled attack\u2019 on Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n