Lots of questions in the Budget/SR. The SR bit is the most important as it’s a three year spending review and it’s the first time we’ve had one of those in a long time. Will see us beyond the lifetime of this Parliament.
2 big questions for me
1) What happens to Deparmental..
...Expenditure Linits (DELs). That’s essentially spending caps/budgets for each department. One of the big themes of this government is that it rejects the views around political economy (especially austerity) of its predecessor Conservative administrations. Despite that even...
...through the course of this government so far (and the enormous pandemic spending we’ve seen) core non-emergency DELs remain tight for many departments, certainly coming nowhere near reversing the real terms cuts we’ve seen over many yeas. You have to take the long view...
...and that relates to point 2
2) The central political fact of this government is you have a prime minister who is very comfortable unorthodox Conservative economic thinking and a Chancellor who (pandemic notwithstanding) is by instinct much more orthodox, Osbornite...
...indeed. Today will be a good guide as to whether those competing instincts have come to some sort of accommodation, where the balance between them lies. The danger is that it continues to be a source of tension and indeed confusion, with policy (arguably as it has been...)
...(in some areas of late) pointing in different directions and agendas, like “levelling up” remaining Ill-defined.
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One notable change already- government front bench masked up (though not Jacob Rees Mogg)
Sunak on prices: "Inflation in September was 3.1%- OBR expecting inflation 4% over the course of this year."
Sunak says rising prices are "shared global problems, neither unique to the UK nor something we can solve on our own."
Of course, on labour shortages-a central govt policy Brexit is undoubtedly making shortages experienced in other countries especially severe in the UK.
Mr Speaker: "I've repeatedly stated in the clearest possible terms that important announcements should be made by the government first in this House rather than outside...The government doesn't have to take my word for it its own ministerial code says so."
Speaker implicitly saying the government is breaking its own ministerial code.
"If the government continues to treat this House in this discourteous manner I will do everything in my power to ensure ministers are called to this House to explain themselves...Once again this House will not be taken for granted."
Keir Starmer: "It's 3 years since the govt promised an online safety bill but it's not yet before the House. Meanwhile the damage caused by harmful content online is worse than ever." Asks PM to commit to bringing forward 2nd reading of bill before end of 2021.
PM slightly unclear, says it will "complete its stages" by end of the year. But says he's delighted by Starmer's expressions of support to get the bill through.
Starmer says he's determined to conduct this exchange in a "collegiate spirit"
There are important things to be said about civility in politics and our public life. It’s also important to ask whether that’s germane to what happened on Friday.
Depending on what emerges about the details, there are clearly questions to be asked and debates to be had about the role of radicalisation and what has happened with the security services with regards to this particular case and others. Likewise security of MPs and why more...
...wasn’t done after murder of Jo Cox.
Danger is we don’t focus on those by talking about civility which though important probably doesn’t really address the matters at hand in this case.
NEW: Former US Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chief and Four Star General Colin Powell has died follow complications from Covid 19. He was America’s first African American Secretary of State. cnn.com/2021/10/18/pol…
Powell was 84. Before the election of President Barack Obama he was the highest ranking African American political figure in US history (later sharing the distinction with his successor, Condoleezza Rice).
President Obama issues a statement on Secretary Powell’s death: “He understood what was best in this country, and tried to bring his own life, career and public statements in line with that ideal.”