6:58 am, August 8, 2022
Truss and Sunak under pressure over plans to help households pay soaring bills
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak face mounting pressure to explain how they will help households with the spiralling cost of living and the ‘financial timebomb’ due to explode in the autumn.
Their economic response to the crisis has emerged as the main battleground in the bid to be the next prime minister, with Truss under fire from Sunak’s allies for suggesting there would be no ‘handouts’ and subsequently playing down the comment.
The row followed the Tory leadership favourite telling the Financial Times she would ‘look at what more can be done’ in the light of warnings from the Bank of England about the longest recession since the financial crisis and inflation soaring to over 13 per cent. But she added: ‘The way I would do things is in a Conservative way of lowering the tax burden, not giving out handouts’.
Sunak quickly condemned it as ‘simply wrong to rule out further direct support’ for struggling families this winter.
Britain braced for another heatwave with highs of 35C and ‘prolonged’ dryness
Britain is braced for another heatwave that will last longer than July’s record-breaking hot spell, with highs of up to 35C expected next week, forecasters have said.
Temperatures over the coming days will remain lower than last month’s scorching 43C but the warmth will continue over a ‘prolonged period’, the Met Office has said.
People have been urged not to host barbecues in the tinder-dry conditions after 15 homes were evacuated following a garden fire that spread out of control in Essex.
Martin Lewis calls for stronger consumer protections around EU data roaming
UK mobile phone operators should be forced to make their rules around data roaming in the EU clearer, consumer group MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) has said.
The group, led by consumer rights champion Martin Lewis, has called on telecoms regulator Ofcom and the government to tighten the rules after some post-Brexit consumer protections expired.
In a new report, MSE warned that because a range of legal obligations for operators around roaming ended on June 30 this year, firms no longer have to send customers a text message with pricing details when they begin roaming; operate a monthly cap on data roaming fees; or provide protections against inadvertent roaming.
Steve Barclay: Government in ‘real sprint’ to avoid NHS winter crisis
A ‘real sprint’ will be needed before winter to protect the NHS from the combined threats of seasonal flu, Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, the Health Secretary has said.
Steve Barclay warned hospitals face ‘very serious challenges’ ahead of an expected influx of patients and the health system cannot afford for the government to drag its heels on the issue.
‘There’s an urgency of now to prepare, particularly in areas where there’s a long lead time. The decisions need to happen now, not wait until the autumn – by which time those lead times would put the resolution at too late a stage,’ he said.
Listen to the latest Car Dealer Podcast
This week Jon and Batch are joined by Andrew Mortimer, executive chairman of car subscription platform Loopit.
The three discuss last week’s top news stories.
Dominic Raab ‘considering measures to curb judges’ powers’
The justice decretary is reportedly considering introducing changes that could limit ministers’ accountability in judicial reviews.
According to a leaked Ministry of Justice (MoJ) paper, reportedly seen by The Guardian, Dominic Raab is weighing up a move that would likely make it more difficult for claimants who have concerns about decisions taken by public bodies to bring successful legal challenges against the government. The document reportedly states: ‘You (Raab) have indicated that you are minded to consult on further reforms to judicial review.’
Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said the reported changes showed the government thinks ‘the law only applies to the little people’.
Weekend Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Revealed: The 10 used models that lost the most value in July
- Toyota sees operating profit plummet by 42 per cent to £3.55bn during first quarter
- Western Nissan Straiton given new visual identity following £300,000 refurbishment
- An amazing anniversary road trip to mark a golden Mazda milestone
- Arson suspected as dealership goes up in flames for second time this year
- The long and the shorts of it… Motorpoint agrees sponsorship deal with Portsmouth FC
- Jaguar Land Rover showroom scheme wins approval – for a third time
- Tesla boss Elon Musk says Twitter deal could move ahead with ‘bot’ information
Johnson allies accuse MPs investigating him of conducting a ‘witch hunt’
Tory allies of Boris Johnson have accused a committee of MPs investigating whether he misled Parliament of conducting a ‘vengeful and vindictive’ ‘witch hunt’.
Although he is due to leave No 10 in less than a month, the Commons Privileges Committee is going ahead with its inquiry into whether the prime minister committed a contempt of Parliament by misleading MPs with his partygate denials.
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries, one of Johnson’s staunchest supporters, on Sunday tweeted: ‘If this witch hunt continues, it will be the most egregious abuse of power witnessed in Westminster.’ Labour MP Chris Bryant said: ‘The real abuse of power would be suspending an inquiry to protect your mate.’
Weather outlook
A dry and fine day for the majority of the country, reports BBC Weather, while northern Scotland will see rain spreading eastwards. It’ll be a hot day in the south of England with temperatures nudging 29C.
Tonight will see the same picture as today with spells of rain in northern Scotland, while it’ll be dry and clear in other parts. A warm night.
