Yahoo Finance LIVE BLOG: All the bad news the Conservative government is sneaking out today
‘Take out the trash day’ has become a political tradition, where the government will sneak out bad news on days where they are unlikely to get much coverage, in order to minimise damage.
Thirteen written ministerial statements are scheduled from seven departments, with announcements possible over the course of the day.
Here is our rolling coverage of all the news the government is trying to hide as Boris Johnson is announced the successor to Theresa May on Tuesday.
We’ll be updating this throughout the day:
17:00:
Crossrail costs have exceeded £14bn with at least 16 months of work to go, according to a statement to parliament from transport secretary Chris Grayling. The earliest likely date for completion is October 2020, and the latest March 2021.
Grayling said: “The coming months will be critical for the project as Crossrail Ltd work to complete the installation and integration of the tunnel, stations and signalling systems, and Network Rail continue their works on surface sections of the route.
“It remains a hugely complex project and uncertainty and risk remains across the programme, with significant testing and integration work remaining.
“The new leadership team has committed to being fully open and transparent as it works through the final stages of the project, which is supported by the Department and TfL.”
16:00:
In a statement, DUP leader Arlene Foster says she is conducting her annual review of the DUP's Confidence and Supply agreement.
15:38:
Eton has produced 20 British prime ministers, the Labour party has produced six. Balliol College, Oxford has now produced four.
— Nick Bryant (@NickBryantNY) July 23, 2019
13:26:
DCMS secretary Jeremy Wright has accepted the new undertakings by The Times and Sunday Times newspapers to share journalistic resources. Wright initially indicated his support for the part merger in April.
13:18:
Another cabinet minister from the Theresa May government resigns; one-time leadership contender Rory Stewart.
Congratulations @BorisJohnson on becoming Leader. Honour to serve in turn as Minister of Environment @DefraGovUK, Mid East +Asia @DFID_UK, Africa @FCO, Prisons @MoJGovUK + then Development Secretary in Cabinet +NSC. Backbench tomorrow serving Cumbria. Thank you all. More walking! pic.twitter.com/2PVLTaGXXR
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) July 23, 2019
12:30:
READ MORE: Investors brace for no-deal Brexit as Boris Johnson wins leadership
12:06:
David Gauke MP, outgoing Lord chancellor and secretary of state for Justice, is off to the backbenches.
Congratulations @BorisJohnson on being elected as Leader of @Conservatives and PM @10DowningStreet. An honour to serve in Cabinet @MoJGovUK, @DWP and @hmtreasury under @theresa_may. Looking forward to returning to backbenches tomorrow, serving people of South West Hertfordshire.
— David Gauke (@DavidGauke) July 23, 2019
11:45:
At around the time the leadership election result was due, the Department for
Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy tweeted this, announcing a £63m investment into new nuclear power stations.
£63 million funding will help create new mini nuclear stations which are less expensive and quicker to build than traditional nuclear plants as we take steps to decarbonise or energy system and move to #netzero emissions by 2050 https://t.co/AXV0lK13NV #IndustrialStrategy pic.twitter.com/Y81d3oPcdm
— Dept for BEIS (@beisgovuk) July 23, 2019
11:15:
Education minister Ann Milton has resigned.
10:30:
Controversial government adviser Sir Roger Scruton has been re-appointed as co-chair of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.
Scruton in his own words:
• Homosexuality: "not normal"
• Homophobia: "invented"
• Islamophobia: "a propaganda word"
• Date rape: "no such crime" and "withdrawing consent in retrospect"
• Sexual harassment: "just sexual advances made by the unattractive"— Stuart Millar (@stuartmillar159) July 23, 2019
Overnight:
The government published their Green Paper on ill health prevention, ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’ amid a cabinet row over the policy.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been pushing against the policy in recent weeks, given the opposition of leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson to so-called ‘Sin Taxes’. According to a report from the Financial Times, the paper caused an “extraordinary” row between Hancock and outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May.
The paper was published at 7.13pm without a press release by the cabinet office on Monday evening.
READ MORE: Sajid Javid favourite to be next chancellor
Responding to the report, Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “There are serious questions for Matt Hancock to answer on why he has slipped this important green paper out at this time. It looks like he is trying to bury the bad news that he buckled under pressure from Boris Johnson and the corporate lobbyists running his campaign.
“With advances in life expectancy stalling, infant mortality rates worsening and health inequalities widening, this green paper is hugely disappointing.
“Proposals to extend the sugar tax to milkshakes have been shelved again and an expected levy on tobacco firms to fund smoking cessation services appear to have been kicked into the long grass.
“The Tories have imposed £800 million worth of cuts to public local health services and there is no indication these cuts will be reversed.
“Sadly this green paper is a missed opportunity, raises disturbing questions about the role of lobbyists in watering it down, and isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Only Labour will prioritise health inequalities and fully fund public health services.”
