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The Bank of England’s Monetary Committee has voted by 5-4 to cut interest rates from 5.25% to 5%. This represents the first cut in interest rates since March 2020 and comes as inflation has fallen from 8% last year to 2% this year.
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Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP for Tonbridge, has confirmed that he is entering the race to be the next Conservative leader. He is the second to join the race, with James Cleverly having announced his candidature yesterday.
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The Labour Party have suspended seven MPs from the Parliamentary party for voting against the Government on the benefit cap for two children. The MPs are Richard Burgon, Ian Byre, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, John McDonnell and Zarah Sultana. The Government won the vote by 363 votes to 103 votes.
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Victoria Atkins, the Shadow Health and Social Care spokesperson, has been criticised by politicians across the political spectrum for her personal conduct in the House of Commons where she attempted to speak over Environment Secretary Steve Reed.
Christopher Chope, the Conservative MP for Christchurch, said that her behaviour was “abominable”.
Perran Moon, the Labour MP for Camborne and Redruth, said:
“The behaviour of Victoria Atkins today in the House of Commons was an absolute disgrace & I hope the authorities take appropriate action.”
Helen Moran, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said:
“I witnessed this first-hand. The Conservatives proved the electorate got it right, they are not fit for Government”.
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Shabana Mahmood, the Secretary of State for Justice and the Lord Chancellor, has made a Commons statement on the shortage of prison places and the Government’s plans for limited early release. In the statement, she said:
“Since this Government took office two weeks ago, it has become clear that our prisons are in crisis and are at the point of collapse. The male prison estate has been running at over 99% capacity for the last 18 months. We now know that my predecessor warned No. 10 Downing Street but, rather than address this crisis, the former Prime Minister called an election, leaving a ticking time bomb. If that bomb were to go off—if our prisons were to run out of space—the courts would grind to a halt, suspects could not be held in custody and police officers would be unable to make arrests, leaving criminals free to act without consequence. In short, if we fail to act now, we face the prospect of a total breakdown of law and order. Rather than act, the last Prime Minister allowed us to edge ever closer to catastrophe. Last week, there were around 700 spaces remaining in the male prison estate. With 300 places left, we reach critical capacity. At that point, the smallest change could trigger the chain of events I just set out. With the prison population rising, it is now clear that by September this year, our prisons will overflow. That means there is now only one way to avert disaster.”
Edward Argar, the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, replied accepting that the Conservative Party were aware of the issue, noting:
“We recognise the challenges and pressures facing the prison and criminal justice system, and the need to ensure that our prisons function effectively. Of course, the Government were well aware of those things when they were in opposition, as I know from challenging oral question sessions. In Government, we took the right decisions to significantly toughen up sentences for those who commit the worst crimes, in order to ensure that society was protected. To reflect that, we set in train the biggest prison building programme since the Victorian era. More than 13,000 additional prison places were delivered while we were in government. Two new prisons opened; one prison is under construction; there are two prisons with planning permission; and one prison is on the cusp of a decision. Labour’s planning permission proposal for prisons would not impact any of those developments. In that respect, it is simply a gimmick.”
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Vaughan Gething, who has served as Welsh First Minister, has resigned after four Cabinet Ministers resigned this morning. Gething said in a statement:
“This has been the most difficult time, for me, and my family. A growing assertion that some kind of wrongdoing has taken place has been pernicious, politically motivated and patently untrue. In 11 years as a Minister, I have never ever made a decision for personal gain. I have never ever misused or abused my ministerial responsibilities.My integrity matters. I have not compromised it.”
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The Government has announced a wide-scale review of the UK armed forces which will be overseen by John Healey, the Defence Secretary, and led by Lord Robertson. The Ministry of Defence said in a statement:
“The Strategic Defence Review will be delivered at pace and report in the first half of 2025, with work starting immediately in recognition of the urgency of the threats facing the UK. It comes as the Defence Secretary John Healey argues that “at the start of a new era for Britain, we need a new era for defence. The Review will strengthen the foundations for this new mission-driven Government.”
With a new era requiring a new type of review, the Strategic Defence Review will be headed by three external Reviewers in a first-of-its-kind for UK defence:
Lord Robertson – Former Defence Secretary and NATO Secretary General (Review lead)
Dr Fiona Hill CMG – Foreign policy expert and former US presidential advisor
General Sir Richard Barrons – Former Commander Joint Forces Command and former Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff
The Reviewers will be supported by a Defence Review Team of senior high level experts from inside and outside Government and will engage widely across the defence community. Submissions will be invited until the end of September from serving and retired members of the Armed Forces, the defence industry, the general public, academics, Parliament, and our closest allies and partners, especially in NATO.”
Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said in a statement:
“We live in a more dangerous and volatile world. My government will forge a new clear-eyed approach to our national defences, equipping us to tackle international threats head-on while keeping the British people safe and secure. I promised the British people I would deliver the change needed to take our country forward, and I promised action not words. That’s why one of my first acts since taking office is to launch our Strategic Defence Review. We will make sure our hollowed out armed forces are bolstered and respected, that defence spending is responsibly increased, and that our country has the capabilities needed to ensure the UK’s resilience for the long term.”
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Shots have been fired at a campaign event attended by former US President Donald Trump, with the former leader leaving the stage with blood on his face. All of the attendees have now left the rally and police have said that a statement will be made soon. The shots were fired around ten minutes into the speech and it isn’t though that the former President has been seriously injured. A member of Trump’s security detail said in a statement:
“An incident occurred the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has implemented protective measures and the former President is safe. This is now an active Secret Service investigation and further information will be released when available.”
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Nigel Farage, the Leader of Reform UK, has sacked the party’s deputy leaders Ben Habib and David Bull, replacing them with Richard Tice, the party’s former leader. Habib confirmed the dismissal, noting on Twitter that:
“The key for me is that Reform UK stays true to the promises made to the British people. The movement we have created does not belong to us, it belongs to the people. We are obliged and indebted to the British people.”
Nigel Farage said in a statement:
“These appointments are the first step to ensure that Reform UK is fit and ready to take forward its positive message. I have no doubt that we will professionalise the party and change politics for good.”
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Rishi Sunak, the Leader of the Opposition, has announced his Shadow Cabinet. David Cameron and Richard Holden have announced their departures from the Cabinet, with the most notable change being the appointment of Richard Holden as Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Shadow Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: Oliver Dowden
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer: Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs: Andrew Mitchell
Shadow Home Secretary: James Cleverly
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence: James Cartlidge
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice: Ed Argar
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology: Andrew Griffith
Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary: Victoria Atkins
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Kemi Badenoch
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Steve Barclay
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons: Chris Philp
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords: Lord True
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade: Kevin Hollinrake
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero: Claire Coutinho
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: Mel Stride
Shadow Secretary of State for Education: Damian Hinds
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport: Helen Whately
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport: Julia Lopez
Shadow Attorney General: Jeremy Wright
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Alex Burghart
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland: John Lamont
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales: Lord Davies of Gower
Opposition Chief Whip: Stuart Andrew
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Laura Trott
Shadow Paymaster General: John Glen
Shadow Security Minister: Tom Tugendhat
Shadow Veterans Minister: Andrew Bowie
Shadow Women and Equalities: Mims Davies