Rishi Sunak has ‘confidence’ in Zac Goldsmith amid pressure to sack him over partygate report
Rishi Sunak has “confidence” in government minister Lord Goldsmith after he was criticised in the partygate interference report, Downing Street has said.
The Tory peer, who is also a foreign office minister, was one of 10 Boris Johnson supporters accused of seeking to undermine a Commons inquiry into whether the former prime minister lied to MPs about Downing Street lockdown parties.
The privileges committee, in a special report about “vociferous attacks” on the investigation, pointed to a tweet from Lord Goldsmith characterising its work as a “kangaroo court” and “witch hunt” against Mr Johnson.
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The cross-party panel said this was one of “many examples” of attempts by Johnson supporters to frustrate and undermine their investigation to stop it “coming to a conclusion which the critics did not want”.
Pressure is now piling on Mr Sunak to condemn the MPs named, who also included former cabinet ministers Nadine Dorries, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel.
Labour has accused the prime minister of allowing “senior members of his own party to undermine and attack Britain’s democratic institutions” and said he should remove Mr Goldsmith from his government post.
Shadow leader of the House of Commons Thangam Debbonaire said: “It’s yet another example of the prime minister’s weakness and failure to hold his own ministers to high standards that Zac Goldsmith is still a government minister.
“It’s time Rishi Sunak condemned his Conservative colleagues who have sought to override parliament’s standards system to get one of their own off the hook. He must accept the committee’s damming conclusions and make time for MPs to approve the report in full.”
Labour peer Lord Foulkes of Cumnock also raised concerns about the suitability of Lord Goldsmith’s appointment.
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The Tory frontbencher had been due to present two statutory instruments to the upper chamber on Thursday, but instead this was carried out on his behalf by government whip Lord Davies of Gower.
Speaking in the Lords, former minister Lord Foulkes said: “Lord Goldsmith is one of the subjects of this report produced by the privileges committee. It is an extraordinary report the like of which I have never seen before.
“Lord Goldsmith, a minister of the House of Lords, is severely criticised by the privileges committee for interfering in the procedures of the House of Commons. In my 44 years in parliament I have never known such a criticism. It is astounding. What is happening to Lord Goldsmith? Is he able to, in the light of this criticism, to continue as a minister of the government?”
However, asked if he had confidence in Mr Goldsmith – who was handed a peerage by Mr Johnson after losing his seat as an MP in 2019, the prime minister’s spokesperson replied: “Yes.”
He also declined to say if Mr Sunak would vote for the report, which MPs are due to debate on 10 July.
Those named could face being suspended from parliament if MPs vote for the sanction.
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The privileges committee said the House of Commons should consider whether their actions could be considered a contempt of parliament and what further steps to take.
Asked what Mr Sunak will do, his spokesperson said: “You heard the prime minister give his view about the importance and the respect he has for the work of the committee.
“You’ve heard me say that their work should not be traduced and so we’ve talked about this on a number of occasions.
“The House will come to view on the privileges committee report on Monday. I’m not going to get ahead of the House coming to a view.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
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In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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