Jonathan Reynolds: Transport Secretary’s comments on P&O Ferries ‘not the government’s position’
This week, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described P&O Ferries as a ‘rogue operator’ and encouraged consumers to boycott the company, leading parent company DP World to threaten they would pull out of the government’s investment summit on Monday, and put a reported £1bn worth of investment in the UK on hold. Keir Starmer said that Haigh’s comments were ‘not the view of the government’, despite previous government press releases using the same language, and DP World subsequently reconfirmed their attendance at the summit. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds echoed the words of the prime minister, and said that although P&O’s ‘fire and rehire’ scandal in 2022 was ‘wrong’, it was lawful at the time. Reynolds said that the Employment Rights Bill will make such practices illegal, and that the government wanted to work with DP World on ‘investments into the country’.
Reynolds hints at rise in employer national insurance
The October budget is fast approaching, and Labour pledged in their manifesto to not raise income tax or national insurance for ‘working people’. On Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds if employers will face a rise in their national insurance contributions. Reynolds refused to answer directly, saying the budget will be a ‘budget for growth’, but he did not rule out the possibility. Reynolds said that Labour’s manifesto pledges were specifically referring to employees rather than employers. Phillips pointed out that Reynolds himself criticised national insurance rises in 2022, and had said Labour would ‘back businesses to keep British firms competitive’.
Robert Jenrick signed letter warning Brexit would lead the UK into ‘dystopia’
After James Cleverly’s shock exit in the Conservative leadership race, Robert Jenrick is left to compete with Kemi Badenoch for the position. Facing questions from Laura Kuenssberg’s viewers, Jenrick was asked about a letter he had signed warning against a Brexit ‘us versus them dystopia’. Jenrick claimed he did not remember the letter, but said he had been ‘concerned that it would prove difficult for the British state to realise all the benefits of Brexit’. The former immigration minister said his view on Brexit had changed, and he wanted to work towards seeing ‘all the benefits’ it has to offer, such as having a ‘proper philosophy as a country on our immigration system’, despite ‘poorly made’ decisions made by the government after the 2019 election.
John Swinney pays tribute to Alex Salmond
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg after the death of Alex Salmond, Scottish First Minister John Swinney said Salmond was a ‘significant figure in every respect’, who ‘inspired a generation of people to believe in Scottish independence’. When asked about the legacy that Salmond leaves behind, Swinney said that Salmond took the SNP ‘from the fringes of Scottish politics to the heart of government’. Kuenssberg pointed out that more recently there had been a large rift between the SNP and Salmond, and that there had been ‘multiple allegations about his behaviour’. Swinney said there would be ‘time to reflect on those issues in the days to come’, but that everyone ‘can recognise the formidable contribution that Salmond made to… transforming Scotland into a country that believed evermore that its future was as an independent country’.
Lloyds CEO Charlie Nunn: tech companies are enabling fraud
And in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Lloyds bank CEO Charlie Nunn pointed out that fraud accounts for 40% of all individual crime in the UK. Nunn said it was ‘harrowing’ to hear what fraud victims go through, and that 80% of fraud was happening through the big tech platforms, in particular through Meta’s Facebook Marketplace, where victims are messaged and encouraged to send payments. Nunn said that banks need help from the tech companies to help protect people, rather than just compensate victims.
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