Press play to listen to this article
Voiced by artificial intelligence.
Good Sunday afternoon. This is Annabelle Dickson in the Crunch hot seat.
THINGS TO KNOW
HIGH SPEED ROW: U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps did little to hose down fevered weekend reports that the second phase of the government’s flagship high-speed rail project HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester could be the next project in PM Rishi Sunak’s line of fire.
Inflation nation: It would be “crazy” not to review the plan amid soaring costs, Shapps told the BBC. “Things have changed. If you don’t stop and reflect after things have changed … that is a foolish approach,” Shapps earlier told Sky. In what could be pitch-rolling for a decision which reportedly could come as soon as this week, he cited the Ukraine war, inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for a rethink on the project’s affordability, while also insisting he wasn’t privy to any decision, and no announcements had been made.
Next steps: The PM and Chancellor are reportedly due to meet on Monday or Tuesday to discuss the plan, and a decision could be announced by Sunak by the middle of this week, the Observer hears. Strangely enough, it is thought that making the announcement in Manchester during the Tory conference would not go down that well. Shapps told Sky an announcement would come in “due course.”
Resignation watch: The Observer also hears of “strong rumors” that at least one middle-ranking minister could resign if the project is dramatically cut back.
**A message from Google: Google is supporting the UK economy. Since 2015, we’ve helped more than one million people grow their career or business with free online digital skills training. Find out more.**
Not happy: There are some seriously unhappy ex-PMs and regional mayors this weekend. Saturday’s Times said David Cameron, who has largely kept himself out of big political rows since leaving office, has privately raised concerns about abandoning the rail project. A less reticent Boris Johnson has urged the government not to build a “mutilated” version of HS2. The BBC has his comments.
Miffed mayor: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has written to the PM today to express his alarm at the U-turn on HS2. He suggests the separate revelation that the high-speed rail link might not actually go to Euston, and could stop at Old Oak Common, could actually see journey times increase compared to the existing line between Birmingham and central London.
Putting some figures on it: In what looks to be more pitch-rolling, the Sunday Telegraph splash says officials expect the upper estimate for building the initial London-to-Birmingham stretch of the line to increase by more than £8 billion, from the £45 billion price tag projected in June 2022.
Waiting game: Which might be why Labour isn’t yet promising to stump up the cash for the project if it wins power. After last week’s confusion about the Labour Party position on the high-speed line, Darren Jones, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, insisted his party was “supportive” of the project being built, but isn’t yet ready to commit. “We’re not going to make decisions about national infrastructure projects that involve tens of billions of pounds without all of the information being available,” he said. Their announcement will come when the government makes a decision, he told Victoria Derbyshire, who was standing in for Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC this morning.
Turning the screws: On Sky, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said there “have been commitments” from his party on HS2, and it was its “stated policy.” Burnham warned the government to “think carefully” before making its decision on HS2. “
NEXT IN LINE: Beyond HS2, other Downing Street policy leaks have been coming thick and fast this weekend — a sure sign an election is on the horizon. Talking of which, the Sun on Sunday brings exciting news that councils have been put on “red alert” for a snap election next spring.
Manifesto murmurings: Inheritance tax cuts are reportedly back on the table, according to the Sunday Times splash. Abolishing the pensions triple lock is back off the table, according to the Mail on Sunday splash.
Playing defense: Shapps predictably left the inheritance tax question to the Treasury when asked about the prospect on his media round, but intriguingly went on to say he thinks it is “particularly punitive and unfair.” He will also have got some brownie points from the Treasury for acknowledging the government is in a “fiscal straitjacket.”
Shake-up: The FT reckons Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is planning a mega shake-up of Individual Savings Accounts aka ISAs to “persuade more people to take advantage of the tax-free vehicles and use them to back London-listed companies.”
With friends like these: The PM will also be weighing the reaction to his first bold announcement since parliament returned from its summer break — the easing of green targets last week. He has got an endorsement he probably didn’t particularly want for his green policy retreat. On his social media channel Truth Social overnight, ex-U.S. President Donald Trump was full of admiration. “I always knew Sunak was smart, that he wasn’t going to destroy and bankrupt his nation for fake climate alarmists that don’t have a clue,” he wrote. POLITICO has more.
Not so happy: Billionaire John Caudwell, the biggest donor to the Conservative Party before the last election, has told the Sunday Times he will not back Rishi Sunak after the “madness” of his U-turn on green policies, and was thinking of switching to Labour instead.
About that too difficult box: The Sunday Times, which has been briefed about how Sunak wants to do the things others have found too difficult, points out the rather large omission. Tim Shipman says that despite most healthcare professionals thinking the failure to fix social care is creating capacity problems in NHS hospitals, the issue is apparently “not one he plans to touch.”
NEWS FROM BOURNEMOUTH: It’s Ed Davey’s big moment as the Lib Dems gather for their party conference this weekend, and he continues to get quizzed about his party’s position on re-joining the EU. Dancing around the subject with Derbyshire this morning, he insisted a return the bloc was “currently not on the table.” Helpfully, Layla Moran, the party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, told a fringe event at the conference yesterday “we want to rejoin.” The Sunday Telegraph has a write-up of those comments.
Pacts with Labour: Davey was equally circumspect about the question of a coalition with Labour, telling the BBC: “I’m not going to be distracted.” On Times Radio, he said he would rule out any pacts with the Labour Party in the next general election, although he wouldn’t be drawn on whether the Lib Dems would vote against a minority Labour government.
Unlikely coalition: Earlier on the BBC’s Broadcasting House, former leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable was more forthright. A Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition after the next general election is “very unlikely,” he said. “Should we find ourselves in a position where the Labour Party has no overall majority, there will be an examination of the different ways in which we can help government to be stable and do things and run the country properly … but I think a coalition itself is very unlikely,” he said.
Celebrity glamour: There is also plenty of chatter about tactical voting this weekend. In a video message the actor Steve Coogan told the opening conference rally that while he normally voted Labour, he would switch to the Lib Dems in the marginal Lewes constituency where he lives to try to oust the incumbent Tory, health minister Maria Caulfield. The Observer has more.
QUICK-FIRE CATCH-UP
STANDING FIRM: Britain would continue to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Ukraine even if a future U.S. president pulled back, Shapps told the BBC this morning. “We know what happens when we allow a tyrant to invade a neighbor and then continue westward, and it’s absolutely essential that Putin is unable to walk into a democratic neighbor without consequences, and that is why Britain has stood firm and we will continue to do so,” he said.
PAWS FOR THOUGHT: Worrying news from Downing Street in the Sun on Sunday that the stalwart chief mouser, who has outlasted a raft of Tory MPs, is in poor health, and an emergency comms plan is being worked out on how to break the news to the nation when he does pass away. One Larry watcher on X however hears there is nothing to be concerned about. If you haven’t read it, POLITICO’s Bethany Dawson wrote over the summer about why political cats matter more than you think.
SUELLA STATESIDE: Home Secretary Suella Braverman is the latest politician to head to the U.S. and will this week question whether key international conventions governing the movement of people are “fit for purpose.” The Sunday Telegraph has more.
Review ordered: Breaking this afternoon, the BBC reports that Braverman has ordered a review of armed policing after some Met Police officers have stepped back from firearms duties after one of their colleagues was charged with murder.
FINE BY ME: Rishi Sunak will insist all his current ministers will have to commit to new post-office lobbying rules that could see them fined up to £19,000 for any breach, the Sunday Telegraph reports. The U.K. government is also drawing up revised civil service contracts with specific restrictions on employment, the paper says.
GET YOUR ANSWER READY: Parliamentary candidates for the next general election will be probed on their view of what a woman is as part of a grassroots campaign which will record and publish their responses, the Sunday Telegraph hears.
BEYOND UK SHORES: Tons of humanitarian aid were on the way to Nagorno-Karabakh under the terms of a deal struck with the breakaway region’s Armenian leadership.
SMOKING OUT: Saturday’s Guardian got wind of discussions in government about effectively banning the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes.
STRAIN OF A MIGRAINE: Tory MP Dehenna Davison has written movingly in the Sunday Times about her battle with migraines, and why she eventually took the decision to stand down from her ministerial role.
MEDIA ROUND
Ayesha Hazarika on Times Radio (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.): Conservative MP Christopher Chope … Labour MP Rosie Duffield … deputy leader of the Green Party Zack Polanski … POLITICO’s own Rosa Prince.
Westminster Hour (BBC Radio 4, 10 p.m.): Conservative MP Steve Brine … Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh … the Lib Dems’ Daisy Cooper … the Sunday Times’ Caroline Wheeler.
**Explore the intersection of trade and tech at POLITICO Live’s “UK Financial Services Summit” on Nov 9. Network with industry leaders and gain insights that can reshape the future of finance. Join us for this dynamic exchange of ideas!**
WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY
STRIKES: UCU university staff begin five days of strike action.
CONFERENCE: Ukrainian MP addresses Lib Dems conference.
COURTS: IT worker who crashed a car into Downing Street back in court.
TUESDAY
CLIMATE: International Energy Agency’s updated roadmap on net zero emissions to be published.
CONFERENCE: Lib Dem leader Ed Davey to addresses his party conference, 2.30 p.m.
COURTS: Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia to appear in court.
TELLY: First Matt Hancock Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins show airs, Channel 4, 9.30 p.m.
**Listen in on conversations with global power players with Power Play, a brand-new global podcast by POLITICO. Renowned host Anne McElvoy takes you into the minds of those shifting power, policy and politics across the globe. Sign up here to be notified of the first episodes.**
WEDNESDAY
ENVIRONMENT: RSPB to publish its State of Nature report.
ECONOMY: Ex-PM Gordon Brown to speak at the London School of Economics, 7 p.m.
COVID-19: Preliminary hearing for the third module of the COVID-19 inquiry.
THURSDAY
PARTY: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to address the Westminster Correspondents’ Dinner.
FRIDAY
ECONOMY: U.K. National Accounts to be published by the Office for National Statistics, 9.30 a.m.
STRIKES: ASLEF train drivers in overtime ban.
SATURDAY
STRIKES: ASLEF train drivers strike to coincide with the Tory conference.
ELECTIONS: Elections to be held in Slovakia and the Maldives.
SUNDAY
CLIMATE: Met Office is due to release monthly statistics on climate, with this month expected to be one of the hottest Septembers on record.
CONFERENCE: Conservative Party conference kicks off in Manchester. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps on the main stage.
PROTEST: People’s Assembly demonstration to be held at the Conservative Party Conference.
BAN: Single-use plastics ban comes into force in England.
ENERGY: Energy price cap changes take effect.
Thanks: To Jones Hayden for giving Crunch some Sunday sparkle.
**A message from Google: Google is supporting the British economy by providing digital skills training that helps people grow their career or business. We offer more than 100 courses and since 2015, over one million people across the UK have learned new digital skills with Google. We aim to make our training flexible for everyone. So, alongside our courses, we provide online resources including live webinars with Google trainers, 1:1 tailored business mentoring, and videos from industry-leading experts. We’re also supporting future growth by providing free skills training for advancing technology like AI, which could create £400 billion in economic value for the UK by 2030. Read our Economic Impact Report 2023 to find out more.**
SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | London Playbook PM | Playbook Paris | POLITICO Confidential | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Watcher | Berlin Bulletin | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | Global Insider | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters
More from …
Annabelle Dickson
https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/sunday-crunch/rishis-high-speed-conundrum/
