Inside Politics: £6bn cash injection for NHS and fresh levelling up row

Extra funds aimed at clearing patient waiting lists and chancellor among several top Tory MPs whose seats are in line for millions of pounds in development funds, writes Matt Mathers

Monday 25 October 2021 08:18 BST

(PA)

Wednesday is Budget day and speculation is already rife about what might be inside Rishi Sunak’s red box. The Treasury has announced £6bn of additional funding for the NHS to clear patient waiting lists. Meanwhile, the chancellor is among several top Tory MPs whose “prosperous” seats are in line for millions of pounds of development cash, sparking a fresh levelling up row. Elsewhere, Labour is calling on the government to “follow the science” and introduce plan B Covid restrictions and polling for The Independent reveals two in three people think Boris Johnson has botched his handling of the energy and supply crises.

Inside the bubble

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen gives evidence to the joint committee on the draft Online Safety bill at 2.30pm

Coming up:

– Shadow education secretary Kate Green on Sky News at 8.05am

– Health secretary Sajid Javid on ITV GMB at 8.30am

Daily Briefing

CASH INJECTION: Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, gave little away on what might be in his Budget as he toured the broadcast studios yesterday. But the Treasury later announced a £5.9bn billion package for the NHS aimed at tackling waiting lists in England. The money will come on top of the £12bn a year set to be raised through the health and social levy plan outlined earlier this year and will be used to buy equipment and improve IT systems – as well as clearing patient backlogs. Sunak claims the funding is “game changing” but critics say it won’t be enough. What else might be in the chancellor’s red box? The Sun this morning reports Sunak will raise the national minimum wage and unfreeze public sector pay amid the cost of living crisis. Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is calling on the government to slash VAT on household energy bills to help families through the winter. Research by the party shows poorer households have been found to pay as much as 50 per cent more on their energy bills than those with more money.

LEVELLING UP? Sunak is among several cabinet ministers and high profile Tory MPs whose “prosperous” seats are in line to receive tens of millions of pounds of development cash despite previously being judged as not needing the funds, analysis by The Independent reveals, triggering fresh accusations of bias in “levelling up”. Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, Stephen Barclay, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, are on a list of “priority places” ahead of a new £1.5bn annual fund. Yet all three – plus those of Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, chief whip Mark Spencer and Robert Jenrick, the former communities minister – had been classed as “most developed” and unlikely to receive grants.

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: Labour has called on the government to bring in its so-called “plan B” restrictions to tackle the surge in Covid cases. Shadow chancellor Reeves said ministers must listen to scientific advisers asking for tougher curbs – including the mandatory wearing of masks in public places and a return to work-from-home guidance. “We think we should follow the science – if the scientists are saying work from home and masks, we should do that,” Reeves said on The Andrew Marr Show.

BOTCHED IT BORIS: Two in three people think Boris Johnson has botched the energy and supply crises which have seen firms collapse and empty supermarket shelves, exclusive polling for The Independent has found. The same survey found the majority of voters are “not confident” about the prime minister’s handling of the economy, as his chancellor Rishi Sunak prepares to set out his Budget plans this week. Some 64 per cent of voters said the government has handled the country’s supply chain problems and lorry driver shortages “badly”, according to the survey by Savanta ComRes. And 66 per cent of voters believe the government has also handled the energy crisis “badly”, amid the collapse of UK suppliers and warnings of factory closures as manufacturers continue to struggle with gas costs.

SCIENCE DELAYS: A delay in the UK’s participation in EU research programmes because of a row about the Brexit deal is beginning to hurt British science, MPs have warned. A report by the European Scrutiny Committee said UK academic institutions are being “frozen out” of key projects on the continent while London and Brussels continue to argue about Northern Ireland. In December, the EU provisionally agreed to the UK participating in its new research and space programmes, including the flagship Horizon Europe fund and the Copernicus Earth observation project. However, final approval from Brussels is tied to the outcome of Northern Ireland protocol negotiations, according to EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

On the record

“Fossil fuel companies are raking it in hand over fist through this gas crisis. The least they can do is pay a little more in tax to help struggling families get through the winter.”

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey calls on Sunak to include windfall on fossil fuel companies in his Budget.

From the Twitterati

“I used to think the Lords should be reformed as it stands, but now think it should be abolished and replaced with a chamber of mayors + devolved parliament representations + legislative experts.”

Financial Times Whitehall editor says the House of Lords should be replaced.