Joe Bedell-Brill

Sinn Fein leader Michelle O’Neill made history this week as she became Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister. Speaking to David Blevins on Sky News, she described herself as a ‘proud Republican’, but insisted that she ‘wants to be a unifier’. Blevins asked her about her ambitions for Irish unity, pointing out that the UK government has said that there is ‘no realistic prospect of a border poll leading to a united Ireland’, and that Northern Ireland will be part of the UK for decades. O’Neill contested this claim, saying her appointment meant she had a mandate from the public, and described the near future as a ‘decade of opportunity’ for Irish unity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

This week there have been reports of Tory ministers calling for Rishi Sunak to be replaced by Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who consistently tops polls on the popularity of cabinet ministers. On Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips showed Badenoch a graph which gave her a favourability rating of 64 per cent, contrasted with Rishi Sunak on minus twenty-six per cent, and asked her if she was involved in plotting for a leadership change. Badenoch said she was not, and said prime ministers ‘cannot be treated as disposable’, and Tory MPs needed to ‘stop messing around and get behind the leader’. Later on with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC, Badenoch responded to a focus group that was disaffected with politicians by saying there was too much focus on personality in politics.

On a call with Joe Biden this weekend, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s demand for security control over Gaza once Hamas has been destroyed, and said that this was incompatible with Palestinian sovereignty. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps described Netanyahu’s views as ‘disappointing’, and said that the two-state solution is the only option. However, he described Israel’s government as a ‘rainbow coalition’, and said it was important to distinguish between the view’s of Netanyahu as an individual, and the UK’s support for Israel as a country.  Is the UK preparing for war with Russia?

David Cameron: western strikes on Houthi rebels are ‘a very clear message’ This week the US and UK launched military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, following repeated Houthi attacks on Red Sea cargo ships. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, David Cameron suggested the strikes sent a message that western countries were prepared to ‘follow our words and warnings with actions’. Kuenssberg questioned whether the strikes would have much impact, given the Houthi rebels’ declaration that they will step up their own attacks. Cameron pointed out that Houthi attacks have been escalating since November, and said military action was the only option.

Does Rishi Sunak believe in Rwanda? An election year has begun, with Rishi Sunak still struggling in the polls and continuing to face great challenges home and abroad. His first appearance of the year on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg didn’t get off to an easy start. Kuenssberg surprised him with leaked documents she said implied he had had major doubts about the efficacy of the Rwanda returns deal, when acting as Chancellor in 2022. Sunak said he hadn’t seen the documents, but brushed off the accusations, claiming it was his job as Chancellor to ask tough questions about any proposal. He told Kuenssberg that his actions on getting returns deals with Albania and Rwanda were proof that he believed in the importance of a deterrent.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Baroness Mone: ‘I can’t see what we’ve done wrong’ Laura Kuenssberg’s show this morning was dominated by her interview with Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman, who have admitted their direct involvement with PPE Medpro, a company which was awarded a huge PPE contract during the pandemic, despite years claiming the contrary. The couple said they made £60 million in profit from the deal, and Mone admitted to being a beneficiary of financial trusts where the money is held. There is an ongoing criminal investigation, but Mone suggested they had been made scapegoats while Barrowman even implied a government official had asked for a bribe in exchange for the investigation to be called off. The Baroness claimed all they had done wrong was lie to the press.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg after resigning on Wednesday, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick was disparaging in his assessment of the government’s new Rwanda legislation. Explaining his resignation, he said he couldn’t be the minister guiding the bill through parliament. Jenrick implied he had a better understanding of the issue than the Prime Minister, and that a ‘political choice’ had been made to bring forward a bill which wouldn’t do the job. Jenrick claimed that under the proposed legislation, the Rwanda scheme would be bogged down by migrants’ potential legal claims and would not act as an effective deterrent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Another winter crisis looms for the NHS, meaning a difficult start for the new Health Secretary, Victoria Atkins. Despite Rishi Sunak pledging to reduce the hospital waiting list, it has continued to grow. Atkins told Laura Kuenssberg that more money than ever before was going into the NHS, and the government was using that cash to increase its workforce. She also implied that recent industrial action was partly to blame for the long waiting list, despite seeing a graph that showed a steady increase in its size since 2010.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?

This week the politics shows were focused on the economy, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt prepares to make his autumn statement next Wednesday. Hunt has signalled he may deliver tax cuts, and has said ‘everything is on the table’. Laura Kuenssberg pointed out that the tax burden is the highest it has ever been, despite the Conservatives being in power for thirteen years, and asked if Hunt regretted that situation. Hunt admitted he’d been forced to make difficult decisions because of the pandemic and subsequent high inflation, and said he believed lower taxes were essential for ‘dynamic, thriving… economies’.

The Home Secretary Suella Braverman caused controversy this week when she wrote an apparently unauthorised article for the Times accusing the police of bias ahead of Armistice Day and the planned pro-Palestine rally. That march went ahead despite the wishes of some members of parliament. The police had to deal with violence from what was described as ‘far-right groups’ who converged on the Cenotaph as well as disorder from some of the pro-Palestine marchers. Trevor Phillips asked Defence Secretary Grant Shapps if Braverman’s actions might have made it harder for the police to maintain peace.

As the conflict in Gaza continues, there is increasing division over the crisis here in the UK. Keir Starmer continues to resist those in his party calling a ceasefire; Home Secretary Suella Braverman has labelled pro-Palestine rallies as ‘hate marches’; and Jewish columnist Lord Finkelstein told Trevor Phillips that he wonders whether it is safe for him or his children in central London. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden partially agreed with Braverman, telling Laura Kuenssberg there was hateful conduct occurring on the marches. He said he had 'grave concerns' about the pro-Palestine rally planned for Armistice day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

‘Where do we want to be when we die?’ The Israeli ground invasion has reportedly begun, as Israel repeated its order for civilians to head to the south of Gaza. Colonel Era Goren said Israel are planning to ‘increase dramatically the amount of assistance’ coming in from Egypt. But many people in Gaza cannot move from their locations further north. Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran spoke to Victoria Derbyshire of three generations of her family who have been sheltering in a church since an IDF bomb hit their house. There are frail people who cannot travel down roads which have also been bombed. Moran said the conversation has changed in Gaza, people no longer talk about where to go to be safe, but rather where they want to be if the worst happens.  https://www.youtube.

‘We are not responsible for Gaza’ On Saturday the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened for the first time to allow a small convoy of aid trucks to pass through. Victoria Derbyshire asked former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett if more aid would be allowed in. Bennett said that the Israeli government was allowing aid in, but that it was up to the rest of the world to help the people of Gaza. He also claimed Israel was not responsible for the humanitarian situation of Gazans, despite Israel controlling the borders and water and fuel supplies for the Strip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bvM_w7N1Co Is more aid coming?

‘The hardest day Israelis have ever experienced in their lifetimes’ The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Israel is at war, after Hamas launched attacks on an unprecedented scale. It is the biggest escalation in the conflict since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, and Israel has already launched retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely described ‘terrorists going from one house to another and brutally targeting children’. Dozens of hostages have been taken, and one British citizen, Jake Marlowe, is missing after a Hamas attack on a music festival.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg this morning, as the Conservative party conference gets underway in Manchester. With polls currently predicting an election defeat for the Tories, Sunak was noticeably combative in his interview, insisting that he would do what he ‘believes is right’ for the country. When Kuenssberg accused him of shifting away from pledges made in 2019, Sunak acknowledged that people would be critical of him, but said he was ‘prepared to change things’.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIYge3Oog20 Sunak: ‘My job is to deliver for people’ Kuenssberg showed Sunak a word cloud indicating that the public heavily associate him with his wealth.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly: We must be careful when listening to the voices of the ‘powerless’ Comedian Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse. Brand denies the allegations against him and said his relationships have all been consensual. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg asked Cleverly if he thought there were ‘wider questions the industry must answer’. Cleverly agreed, and suggested that abuse was particularly challenging in places where there are ‘acute differentials in power’. https://twitter.

Justice Secretary: ‘The relevant security protocols were in place’ The escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth this week has shone a spotlight on the government’s prison record. Over 60 per cent of prisons in the UK are overcrowded, and there are severe staff shortages. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told Laura Kuenssberg that the relevant security staff and protocols were in place during Khalife’s escape on Wednesday, but he did not yet know whether the protocols ‘were followed to the extent that they should be’. Chalk also claimed the government were working hard to attract and retain prison staff.

‘This is the government’s mess, and it’s for them to sort it out’ In an interview with Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Keir Starmer was keen to emphasise Labour’s commitment to change and reform. When Kuenssberg pressed him on a few specific issues however, he deflected the questions, saying they were the current government’s problem. He was also reluctant to go into any detail on Labour’s spending plans. Instead, Starmer insisted on fiscal responsibility, the necessity of growing the economy, and changes to the planning system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

The papers were heavily focused today on the allegations that a BBC presenter paid a 17-year-old for sexually explicit photos. The mother of the victim has claimed that the presenter stayed on air for weeks after the complaint was made. The shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Sophy Ridge on Sky that this scandal goes beyond the BBC and questioned wider investigations processes. She also said that the Corporation and other broadcasters ‘need to get a grip’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2TVsvPZKg Rachel Reeves - cluster bombs are not an appropriate weapon Reeves said she was concerned that the US had agreed to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs.