Political Headlines – May faces rebellion, opposition to Saudi Arabia, offshore gambling tax and Brexit budget growth

Today’s political headlines include May to face a rebellion over Brexit, opposition parties signing a letter to Hunt over Saudi Arabia, tax to be hiked on offshore gambling and department budgets to grow if there’s a Brexit deal. 

May faces rebellion over Brexit’s impact on Northern Ireland
The Times alleges that Theresa May is facing a rebellion by over 40 MPs if she doesn’t give in to Brexiteer demands in the next two days. Former Brexit minister Steve Baker has tabled amendments that would stop Northern Ireland being placed in a separate customs and regulatory territory without approval from the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will be put to the vote on Wednesday. The Guardian adds that May is to use a statement today to tell MPs that 95% of the Withdrawal Agreement has been agreed including issues to do with Gibraltar, Cyprus and dispute resolution. The Daily Telegraph says that May called members of the Cabinet over the weekend to try to secure support, with Esther McVey, Sajid Javid and Geoffrey Cox among those raising concerns about her policy. Writing in The Sun, May insists that she will make the ‘right choices, not the easy ones’.

Opposition parties sign joint letter to Hunt over Saudi Arabia
The Guardian says that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to take a tougher stance against Saudi Arabia following the death of Jamal Khashoggi and the conflict in Yemen after representatives of Labour, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens signed a joint letter claiming that the Government’s ‘inaction’ is ‘utterly incompatible with our most basic value as a democracy’.

Tax on offshore gambling to be hiked
The Financial Times reveals that Chancellor Philip Hammond is to use the Budget to increase the tax paid by offshore gambling companies, raising £1bn over five years by raising remote gaming duty. The move will help to fill the hole in the public finances created by lowering the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals from £100 to £2.

Department budgets will grow if there’s a Brexit deal
The Times claims that Philip Hammond is to say that Government departments will receive above average budget increases in the 2019 spending review, if there’s a Brexit deal. Sources told the paper that Hammond faces a tricky situation, starting out £100bn ‘in the red’ owing to the NHS funding pledge and commitments made in May’s conference speech.

Hammond to replace blanket pay increases with a ‘targeted’ approach
The Daily Telegraph suggests that Philip Hammond is to abandon blanket public sector pay increases in favour of a more ‘targeted’ approach based on factors such as people’s performance and where in the country they live, with salaries rising slower outside London and the south east.

MPs call for more action on domestic abuse
The Financial Times carries details of a new report by the Commons Home Affairs Committee that calls on the Government to take ‘stronger action’ to protect domestic abuse victims. Suggested measures include increased funding for refuge centres, automatic split payments for couples receiving Universal Credit and a statutory responsibility for local authorities to make refuge places available.

Plastic straw ban could be introduced next year
The Daily Mail reports that Michael Gove, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, is to announce today that plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds could be banned from next year. Warning that oceans and wildlife need ‘urgent protection’, Gove will say that the UK ‘needs to do more’.

EU could ban British Summer Time
According to the Daily Mirror, the EU is proposing to ban member states from observing daylight savings time. The paper warns that there is a risk that the proposal will be put through during the Brexit transition period, when the UK will be unable to stop it. A report by the Lords EU Internal Market Sub-Committee claims that the plan breaches EU treaties.

Brexit isn’t the only political story – find out what you’re missing and why it matters with Vuelio Political Services.