Operation Red Meat: The battling manifesto
DOWNING Street is planning a blitz of policy announcements in the next fortnight in a bid to seize the initiative and win back the support of disillusioned Tory MPs and voters. ‘Operation Red Meat’ is expected to include:
■ A No 10 workplace ‘booze ban’ to end the drinking culture that led to party row. Boris Johnson is drafting rules for Downing Street staff that will limit alcohol to being served only at official functions. They will be announced following the publication of Sue Gray’s report into lockdown-busting events in Whitehall. The senior civil servant, pictured, is aiming to conclude her inquiry by the end of this week.
■ Clearout of No 10 staff caught up in party row. Martin Reynolds, Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary who emailed the ‘bring your own booze’ invite for the Downing Street garden party in the first lockdown, and chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, are among those seen at risk.
■ Two-year BBC licence fee freeze to help ease household bills. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is expected to confirm that the cost of an annual licence will remain at £15 until 2024. She said yesterday the licence fee will be abolished in 2027.
■ Drive to bring down NHS waiting lists. The number of people on a hospital waiting list in England hit six million for the first time, figures showed last week. In December, nearly 27 per cent of patients at A&E waited more than four hours to be seen – a record high.
■ Extra money for jobs and skills training to help those out of work and further reduce the number of jobseekers. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2 per cent in the three months to the end of October, down from 4.3 per cent in the three months to the end of September.
■ Get rid of Plan B Covid restrictions, such as the wearing of masks in shops and on public transport and vaccine passports for large events on January 26. Tory chairman Oliver Dowden said yesterday the signs are ‘encouraging’ that the measures can be scrapped by the middle of next week.
■ Publication of the Levelling Up white paper. The document, which is being prepared by Michael Gove, will set out the Government’s strategy to improve lives in neglected towns. It is expected to come in the first week of February. Around the same time, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will unveil measures to help families with rising fuel bills, ahead of an announcement on how much the energy price cap is going up.
■ As announced last night, the military will be drafted in to tackle illegal immigration in the Channel. Defence chiefs will take charge of efforts to stop the dangerous crossings that have reached record levels this year. Royal Navy boats could be sent to reinforce Border Force’s fleet.