UK politics - latest: Inflation falls as Peter Bone suspension triggers byelection for Rishi Sunak in 2024
Falling petrol prices help drive a bigger-than-expected fall inflation
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UK inflation eased back to its lowest level for more than two years last month as falling petrol prices helped drive a bigger-than-expected fall, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 3.9 per cent in November, down from 4.6 per cent in October, and the lowest level since September 2021.
Most economists had been expecting inflation to fall to 4.3 per cent last month.
Elsewhere, Rishi Sunak will face another by-election test early next year after MP Peter Bone lost his seat in parliament in a recall petition.
The Northamptonshire MP was suspended from the Commons for six weeks in October after an inquiry found he had subjected a staff member to bullying and sexual misconduct.
Some 13.2 per cent of eligible voters – 10,505 people – in Mr Bone’s Wellingborough constituency voted for the recall petition, surpassing the 10 per cent threshold needed to trigger a by-election.
Inflation eases back sharply to 3.9% in November
UK inflation eased back to its lowest level for more than two years last month as falling petrol prices helped drive a bigger-than-expected fall, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 3.9 per cent in November, down from 4.6 per cent in October, and the lowest level since September 2021.
Most economists had been expecting inflation to fall to 4.3 per cent last month.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, said: “Inflation eased again to its lowest annual rate for over two years, but prices remain substantially above what they were before the invasion of Ukraine.
“The biggest driver for this month’s fall was a decrease in fuel prices after an increase at the same time last year.
“Food prices also pulled down inflation, as they rose much more slowly than this time last year.
“There was also a price drop for a range of household goods and the cost of second-hand cars.”
Opinion | The Michelle Mone interview was the worst PR comeback since Prince Andrew
In his column about Michelle Mone’s BBC interview, our associate editor Sean O’Grady writes:
I’m not sure who’s advising Baroness (Michelle) Mone and her hubby Doug Barrowman these days.
Hannah Ingram-Moore maybe, who, during a catastrophic interview earlier this year with Piers Morgan, destroyed the charitable foundation set up in the name of Captain Sir Tom Moore, her dear old dad and national treasure?
Or maybe Lady Mone was recently at a perfectly normal shooting party and bumped into his former royal highness the Duke of York, a chap always ready with a few useful tips about getting out of a fix.
Whoever is at the ignoble lady’s elbow these days isn’t serving her interests terribly well.
You can read his thinking in full here:
Michelle Mone interview was the worst PR comeback since Prince Andrew | Sean O’Grady
The Baroness and her husband put on a humiliating public display in an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, writes Sean O’Grady. What were they thinking?
Watch: Michelle Mone admits she could benefit from £60m PPE contract
Michelle Mone questions why government is taking action against PPE Medpro
Issuing a further defence of herself on Tuesday, Michelle Mone questioned why the government has chosen to litigate against PPE Medpro.
Nadine Dorries wades into Michelle Mone row:
Nadine Dorries has waded into the row over Michelle Mone’s peerage, calling on her to quit the House of Lords.
The former culture secretary, who quit as an MP in protest at her own failure to secure a peerage, said the biggest question about Baroness Mone was “why she was made a peer at all”.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Dorries lashes out at Michelle Mone: ‘Why was she made a peer in the first place?’
Ms Dorries, who quit as an MP in protest at her own failure to secure a peerage, said the biggest question about Baroness Mone was ‘why she was made a peer at all’
Full report: Michael Gove reveals he has cooperated with criminal probe into Michelle Mone scandal
Cabinet minister Michael Gove has revealed that he has being cooperating with the National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into the scandal surrounding Baroness Michelle Mone’s firm PPE Medpro.
Our political correspondent Adam Forrest has the full report here:
Michael Gove reveals he has cooperated with criminal probe into Michelle Mone scandal
Gove says he wants to see ‘justice served’ – as Baroness Mone lashes out again at Tory ministers
Politics Explained | Would Baroness Mone lose her title if removed from the House of Lords?
Not necessarily, writes our associate editor Sean O’Grady.
Nowadays, membership of the upper house, ie taking part in making laws and debates, isn’t synonymous with carrying a title.
Most of the holders of the historic hereditary peerages, for example, no longer vote in the Lords, but are still viscounts, dukes, earls and so on.
However, everyone voting in the Lords – aside from Church of England bishops – carries some sort of a title.
Could Baroness Mone lose her title and be removed from the House of Lords?
Calls have been made to strip Michelle Mone of her peerage after she admitted to lying about a PPE controversy. But how easy is it to remove a peer’s title and expel them from the House of Lords? Sean O’Grady explains...
Watch: Deputy PM 'doesn't accept' Michelle Mone's claim she was 'scapegoat' in PPE scandal
What has sparked the current row?
The ongoing row erupted last week after Michelle Mone, who has repeatedly denied that she had profited from the deal, admitted publicly that she stood to benefit from £60m in profit over a PPE contract signed at the height of the Covid crisis.
The Ultimo bra tycoon, who was made a peer by then Conservative prime minister Lord Cameron in 2015, said in a BBC interview on Sunday that she was “sorry” for denying her links to PPE Medpro, a consortium led by her husband which was awarded government contracts worth more than £200m to supply PPE after she recommended it to ministers.
Michelle Mone is not a Conservative peer, says Michael Gove
Michelle Mone, made a Conservative peer by David Cameron in 2015, has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords and therefore without the Tory whip since December 2022.
However, the Lords still categorises her as a Tory peer, although there have been reports that she is no longer a member of the party.
Asked if she should have whip stripped, Michael Gove claimed: “My understanding, and I’m not expert, is that she is not a Conservative peer. My understanding is that she is not a member of a Conservative body.”
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