Five problems PM Rishi Sunak faces on his uphill battle to lead the Tories
Rishi Sunak may yet find himself asking what Sir Gavin Williamson would have done between now and Christmas, as he faces an unenviable uphill struggle to manage his party.
While the prime minister presented himself as a fresh start when he entered Number 10 two weeks ago, the fissures, fury and fire inside the Conservative party have only partially calmed. This may yet change given the scale of the challenge ahead.
Here are five of them…
The Autumn Statement
The storm clouds are gathering. A revolt is brewing on tax. The Conservative membership refused to put Mr Sunak in Downing Street over the summer – in part – because as chancellor he took Britain to a 70-year high. Mr Sunak has subsequently been installed without consulting them.
Everything has changed in the interim, with Trussonomics causing a spike in debt costs and a run on the pound, but at the same time, nothing has changed. And the Tory right is already agitating.
On Thursday evening, Iain Duncan Smith told Sky News that “it will be of deep concern if we go over the top on tax rises because it’s absolutely a fact of life that tax rises will make the recession deeper”.
He thinks the size of the black hole, which he stresses is based on forecasts (which can be wrong), may be smaller than expected particularly if energy costs drop. Newspapers have speculated on tax rises on every front, from income to inheritance tax. When the latter was floated at the weekend, one Tory MP told me: “You do have to ask what is the point of a Tory government anymore.”
A quickie Brexit deal on Northern Ireland
This is a sleeper cell issue that could cause untold pain to Mr Sunak’s premiership if he gets it wrong. Some MPs believe there is a chance of a deal within weeks to overhaul the Northern Ireland Protocol – the agreement between the UK and EU preserves both the integrity of the EU single market as well as the lack of a hard border on the island of Ireland.
US President Joe Biden has suggested a deadline for a deal is the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement next April, and he is personally keen to resolve what he regards as a long-running sore. In his opening fortnight, Mr Sunak has made a huge effort to repair relations with the French and US presidents.
He was not an instinctive hardliner in EU Brexit discussions in Boris Johnson’s government. You can see the political attraction of a deal for Mr Sunak. But again, beware the hard Brexiteers. They – and some in the Unionist community in Northern Ireland – fear what will emerge is an expedient deal to reduce checks which still leaves this part of the UK subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
But if this happens, what happens to Suella Braverman, the home secretary, Chris Heaton Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary and Steve Baker, a Northern Ireland minister, and the chance of a revolt on his right flank?
Mr Duncan Smith told Sky News that the EU was not in a position to do a decent deal with the UK, and Mr Sunak should wait until after controversial legislation giving the UK the unilateral ability to disapply the protocol is in place. Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss never successfully took on the ERG wing of the Tory party: will Mr Sunak be different?
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Analysis: ‘PM wasn’t as on form’
The trial of Boris Johnson
Forget “I’m A Celebrity”, the reality TV drama of late autumn could be the Privileges Committee inquiry into Mr Johnson over whether statements by the ex-PM during partygate “appear to amount to misleading the House”.
Although not formally confirmed, the plan has been to televise parts of the hearings – in effect to allow viewers to watch the evidence themselves in the hope that they reach the same conclusion as the panel of MPs chaired by Harriet Harman.
This has been plenty of potential to upend Mr Sunak’s administration. The PM’s spokesman said this week that this government “takes our responsibilities to assist the committee seriously” – a far cry from the approach taken when Ms Truss was in power.
Expect diaries, WhatsApp messages that have survived, and testimony all to be shared. Will Boris Johnson-supporting MPs be relaxed about the active decision by the Mr Sunak government to be complicit in the investigation?
Or will those who transferred their allegiance from Mr Johnson to Ms Truss – and now find themselves in the wilderness – allow themselves to become riled up at events?
Read more: Has Rishi Sunak’s baptism of fire showed opposition leaders make the best PMs?
By-elections and opinion polls
As this parliament enters the twilight years, Mr Sunak cannot avoid multiple potentially bruising electoral tests. The first couple were in seats that elected Labour MPs last time around: on 1 December the City of Chester goes to the polls in a by-election to find a successor to Christian Matheson, who resigned after sexual misconduct allegations which he denied.
There will also be a by-election in Stretford and Urmston to find a replacement for Kate Green, the Labour MP who is stepping down to become deputy mayor of Manchester. But this will be little sweat for Mr Sunak since Labour will be expected to win. But then the party could be facing the self-inflicted wound generated by peerages for two Mr Johnson allies in his resignation honours list could cause by-elections.
RIshi Sunak gets hectored by Sir Keir Starmer over Sir Gavin Williamson’s resignation at PMQs
Nadine Dorries, the mid-Bedfordshire MP with a 24,664 majority and Nigel Adams, the Selby and Ainsty MP which has a 20,137 majority could both trigger much more problematic elections. The margin of Tory victory in 2019 in both was considerable: but that means losses in these two very different parts of the county will be cataclysmic.
Rishi Sunak, Paul Dacre and The Blob
This is niche – but high impact. Ex-Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre is tipped to feature on Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list for a peerage. This would come despite the recommendation of House of Lords appointments committee, which reportedly rejected his nomination earlier in the year.
However, it would be for Mr Sunak to ultimately push through Mr Johnson’s recommendation against what Mr Dacre himself might term “the blob”. Would he risk the likely criticism for handing a peerage in the face of the rejection by the official committee, or would he risk the wrath of the Daily Mail by refusing?
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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