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Tuesday 30 June 2020 09:27
Boris Johnson’s so-called New Deal economic recovery plan has been called “hopelessly inadequate” ahead of its launch after spending figures released yesterday were found to be lacking.
The prime minister announced a £5bn infrastructure spending boost for hospital maintenance, high street rescues and road upgrades but critics warned the plans failed to address the need for action on climate change or the extent of the economic crisis brought on by Covid-19.
It came as leading military, security and diplomatic figures condemned the departure of senior civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill from his roles as cabinet secretary and national security adviser amid concerns that Mr Johnson was trying to politicise the Civil Service.
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Ministers refuse to extend benefit sanctions ban despite warnings
The government has refused to extend the suspension of benefit sanctions beyond June despite warnings that lifting the ban could threaten to place millions of people in an “untenable situation”.
Charities told The Independent last week that people who were shielding or suffered from underlying health conditions would face an “uphill struggle” to find suitable work during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Our social affairs correspondent,
May Bulman, has the full story below:
Leicester lockdown necessary to puncture ‘elation’ as restrictions ease, Jeremy Hunt says
The decision to force Leicester back into lockdown is a “necessary puncturing of the elation that had been building up throughout the country” ahead of the easing of coronavirus restriction on 4 July, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
It was revealed on Monday that the city had been told to step back from easing restrictions and advised to re-close shops and schools following a spike in Covid-19 cases.
Mr Hunt, chairman of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the decision showed the easing of restrictions would be a “stop, go” process until there is a vaccine.
“It’s not going to be smooth and there are going to be times when we have to go into reverse gear,” he said.
Labour’s shadow chancellor backs sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey
Labour’s shadow chancellor has backed Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey from the shadow cabinet for retweeting an article which was said to contain an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Anneliese Dodds told Good Morning Britain she thought it was right that the Labour leader took “decisive action” over the controversy.
“What was repeated was an antisemitic conspiracy theory, there’s no room for them, it was a really bizarre statement, but unfortunately we see those kind of horrible conspiracy theories circulating and we need strong action against them,” Ms Dodds said.
“So it was right that Keir decided that she should not continue in her current position.”
When asked if she believed Ms Long-Bailey was antisemitic, Ms Dodds added: “No, I don’t believe that she is, actually, I think that she however circulated something that was well beyond the pale.”
Leading diplomatic figures condemn Sir Mark Sedwill departure
Leading military, security and diplomatic figures have condemned the “appalling and unnecessary” secret briefings targeting top civil servant Sir Mark Sedwill ahead of his departure from the roles of cabinet secretary and national security adviser.
The warnings came amid concerns that Sir Mark’s exit had been orchestrated by Boris Johnson and his senior adviser Dominic Cummings in an attempt to politicise the Civil Service.
David Frost, Mr Johnson’s chief negotiator with the EU, has already been selected to take over as national security adviser.
Our diplomatic editor,
Kim Sengupta, has the full story below:
The prime minister’s spending plans have angered green campaigners due to a lack of new measures to achieve the government’s legal duty on net zero carbon emissions.
Mr Johnson has been urged to seize the moment to ensure the UK is not “locked further into the climate crisis” following the pandemic.
Our deputy political editor,
Rob Merrick, has the full story below:
Johnson’s New Deal called ‘hopelessly inadequate’
Boris Johnson’s so-called New Deal economic recovery plan has been called “hopelessly inadequate” ahead of its launch following criticism over spending figures released yesterday.
A £5bn infrastructure spending boost for hospital maintenance, high street rescues and road upgrades was revealed on Monday but critics warned the funding was not enough to address the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Critics have also warned that the plan does not adequately address the need for action on climate change.
Sir Ed Davey, the acting Liberal Democrat leader, said the government needed to introduce a “green job guarantee” with investment to insulate homes, improve green transport and invest in nature.
Others have noted that the figures announced so far amount to just 0.2 per cent of GDP – a fraction of the sort of money spent in Franklin D Roosevelt’s original New Deal programme during the 1930s in the US.
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