Reid points out that this cut came only after an even bigger increase. Johnson says changes to the global credit-cutting rate have given people an extra £ 1,000. Reid says the government cut that money from the beginning. Johnson argues that if the benefits were to increase further, there would be an inflationary risk. That will lead to higher interest rates, he says. Then there would be the risk of an “inflationary spiral,” he says. Reed asks Johnson if he knows how much the carer’s allowance has increased. Johnson does not, but says he expects it was not long. Reid says it was, 69.70. It has increased a little over 2 £. Johnson says imposing an unexpected tax on energy companies would limit investment. Reid reports quotes from a retiree, Elsie, who says the energy bill has been reduced from £ 15 a month to £ 85 a month. Now he eats only once a day. And she says she uses her freedom card to spend the day on the bus, so she does not have to pay for heating. Johnson says he introduced the Freedom Pass as mayor of London. Reid asks if he says the viewer should be grateful. Johnson is moving fast. He says he can qualify for help with heating. Q: What else should Elsie limit? Johnson says he does not want to cut anything. He wants to reduce the price of energy, he says. Johnson says it is “crazy” that the United Kingdom should import electricity from France. Q: Why not have an unexpected tax on energy companies? Johnson summarizes some of the steps that have already been taken to help consumers. There is more the government can do, he admits. But he says the priority is to tackle the problem in the medium to long term. Q: So you are not doing what you can now. Johnson says the 9 9 billion government’s plan is bigger than any rival plan he has seen (that is, bigger than the Labor’s unexpected tax plan). Q: The biggest issue for people is the cost of living, not Ukraine. Are you in touch with what people are experiencing? Prices are rising, the use of food banks is rising, poverty is rising. Johnson says the government is doing “everything it can” to help put pressure on family budgets. But he says it is important to look at the global context. The rise in the price of chicken is “crazy,” he says. Q: Why does the UK make it difficult for Ukrainians to obtain visas to visit the UK? Johnson says 86,000 visas have been issued and 27,000 have already arrived in the UK. Q: Why can’t we travel without a visa? These are women and children. We saw the horror they are trying to escape. Johnson says that in a state of war, some people may “pretend” to be refugees. The government must protect the country. He claims that the results “are starting to be really great”. Q: Only a fraction of people with visas have arrived. “Too big a fraction,” Johnson says. Boris Johnson speaking to Good Morning Britain Photo: ITV Updated at 08.46 BST
Johnson says UK is not trying to force Putin, saying it is “indifferent” to what is happening in Moscow
Johnson says the UK ambassador to Ukraine will return to Kyiv to reopen the embassy. What the UK is doing in Ukraine “is to guide the world by helping Ukrainians protect themselves from unpredictable aggression,” he says. He says the UK is not doing this to “drive geopolitical change” or have any effect on Moscow. The United Kingdom is “indifferent” to this.
Boris Johnson claims to be honest in an interview with ITV Good Morning Britain
Susanna Reid begins the interview by saying that GMB waited more than 1,700 days for this interview. Q: Are you an honest prime minister? Yes, says Johnson. Reid asks the question again. “Yes,” says Johnson, “she is honest. Q: Sometimes people say you are lying. Johnson says that if Reed talks about Partygate’s comments in the Commons, he was “accidentally” wrong. Boris Johnson was scheduled to appear on ITV’s Good Morning Britain at 8.15am, but has not yet appeared. This, by Chris Bryant of Labor, refers to an incident when the program tried to interview him during the 2019 election campaign. COURAGE – Johnson got stuck in the fridge. – Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) May 3, 2022 Here is the clip from 2019. Starmer concludes his interview with Today by saying that he is “absolutely focused” on winning the election. Asked if Durham police had contacted Labor about the incident where Keir Starmer was filmed drinking beer with party workers, Starmer said all that happened was that he and staff stopped eating while working. Asked again if police had recently contacted him about the story, Starmer skipped the question and simply said that they examined it months ago and concluded that no rules had been broken. He also says that it is absurd to suggest that no one return to work after 10 pm. She seems to be referring to this tweet from Nadine Dorries, the secretary of culture. Are we expected to believe that a curry and beers arrived for about 30 people at 22:00, and that was a break for a business meeting? No sensible person believes the history of Labor, so why Durham police and what they were told? https://t.co/XRopCmREzw – Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) May 1, 2022 Dorries has been widely criticized for this tweet, mainly (but not exclusively) because it includes a photo of Starmer eating in 2015, six years before the lockdown.
Starmer suggests defense spending should be increased, saying government should reconsider
In an interview with Today, Keir Starmer says the government will have to “look again” at defense spending. He does not mean to cut it. He also reiterated Labor’s opposition to limiting the number of soldiers in the army. Keir Starmer outside the BBC this morning Photo: Tayfun Salcı / ZUMA Press Wire / REX / Shutterstock Updated at 08.53 BST This is from Ed Miliband, the shadow foreign minister on climate change and net zero, on the latest BP earnings figures. Once again we see oil and gas companies making billions upon billions of dollars in profits directly from the pockets of the British people and the government is shamefully refusing to act. Oil and gas companies can do their job for the shareholders of their companies, but the government negligently fails to do its job for the people of this country. Refusing to impose an unexpected tax on energy bill cuts is deeply wrong, unfair and tells you everything you need to know about which side this government is on – and not the British people. According to Julia Kollewe, BP’s profits more than doubled to $ 6.2 billion (5 5 billion) in the first three months of the year, boosted by rising oil and gas prices. Updated on 08.19 BST Keir Starmer is interviewing Today now. He spoke in support of the US Alliance, but said that maintaining some independence was not the answer. My colleague Graeme Wearden has more about these results on his business blog here. Starmer says people are facing higher bills, but also have to pay more taxes because of the government’s increased national insurance. Most families will be much worse off, he says. Good morning. Boris Johnson gives his first interview to ITV Good Morning Britain this morning. While Piers Morgan was presenter there, Johnson never seemed to find time on his diary to appear, but with local elections just two days away, he will be on the program soon, with Susanna Reid asking questions. Later, Johnson will channel Churchill as he gives a fictitious speech to the Ukrainian parliament. In his interview, he will probably be less willing to talk about a new poll that suggests the Conservatives are going to lose nearly 550 seats in the election. The number comes from a poll for Electoral Calculus using MRP (Multilevel Regression and Layering) analysis. In the past, MRP polls have provided a better guide to election results than conventional polls, because they take conventional ballots and apply them by constituency, using data on the demographic composition of these constituencies and what the poll says about how different groups vote. The analysis of the Electoral Calculus of the findings can be found here. And here are his main conclusions. Cot 6% to Labor away from Conservatives Labor will hold 3,500 council seats, with Conservatives holding less than 1,000. Labor is likely to win about 16 councils, giving them control of 85 The Conservatives could lose a lot of councils, including Westminster’s flagship, and could end up with less than 40 councils Here’s the agenda for the day. 8.10 am: Keir Starmer is interviewed on Today. It is also on the BBC Breakfast at 20.30 followed by Times Radio. 8.15 a.m .: Boris Johnson interviews Susanna Reed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Morning: Johnson is scheduled to address the Ukrainian parliament via video link. According to Aubrey Allegretti, Johnson will quote Churchill, telling the Ukrainians that their fight against Russia will be considered the “best time” of their country. After 4 p.m.: Johnson gives an interview to Times Radio. I try to watch the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I will be more likely to find it. I’m trying to answer questions and if it is of general interest, I will post the question and answer over the line (ATL), although I can not promise to do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m at @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected]
