Tory West Midlands mayor condemns way levelling up fund operates, saying "bidding and begging bowl culture is broken" Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, and the most senior Tory in local government, has delivered a withering assessment of the way the levelling up fund operates. He says that most of the bids from the West Midlands were rejected, that some of its most deprived areas lost out and that it should be for local decision makers, not Whitehall, to decide where money gets spent. He says this shows “why Whitehall’s bidding and begging bowl culture is broken and the sooner we can decentralise and move to proper fiscal devolution the better”. Afternoon summary Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, has delivered a damning assessment of the way the government administers its levelling up fund. He was speaking as the government announced how 111 communities would receive funding worth a total of £2.1bn from the fund. This is the second round of awards from the fund, which is worth £4.8bn in total. Echoing Labour criticisms of the way local authorities are forced to bid for money from central government, Street said today’s announcements showed “why Whitehall’s bidding and begging bowl culture is broken, and the sooner we can decentralise and move to proper fiscal devolution the better”. (See 3.11pm.) Labour said the fund was “in chaos” because of payment delays and allegations of “favouritism”. (See 9.15am.) Rishi Sunak has suggested the government cannot afford any immediate tax cuts, saying people are “not idiots” and understand what is unaffordable. Sunak has been criticised for taking a domestic flight in an RAF jet for the third time in 10 days. The RMT has received a fresh offer from train operators, the union said, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the long-running pay dispute. This is from Rob Parsons of the Northern Agenda newsletter. Mikey Smith from the Mirror has more on Rishi Sunak’s travel arrangements today. Starmer calls for "clean power alliance" of leading net zero countries as alternative to Opec Keir Starmer has called for a “clean power alliance” of countries strongly committed to net zero as an alternative to Opec, the cartel of oil producing states. Speaking at Davos, he said an alliance of this kind could operate as an “inverse Opec”. He explained: One of the things that I am proposing is a clean power alliance where countries that are in the advance when it comes to net-zero share information, cooperate and share investment with a view to driving the global prices down. So, this is an inverse Opec, if you like. Instead of trying to ensure prices stay at a certain level, it’s to drive them down, to see the common benefit, whether it’s in the UK or across the globe. If we could get that alliance working together, then I think that will be a big step in the right direction. The Conservatives will lose the next election unless they take climate targets seriously, Chris Skidmore, the government’s net zero tsar, has told my colleague Helena Horton in an interview. Starmer says Met police need "root and branch" changes, possibly including new name Keir Starmer has said the Metropolitan police need “root and branch” changes, which might need to include changing its name. In an interview with the News Agents podcast, Starmer said that having a new name might help to assure Londoners that the force had been through a genuine transformation. He said having a new title was one reason why the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has more public support than its predecessor body in Northern Ireland, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Starmer said the case of David Carrick, who has admitted multiple counts of rape committed while he was a police officer in the Met, showed a “fundamental review” of the force was needed. He said: It absolutely needs fundamental review. The Carrick case is just jaw-droppingly shocking. But it’s obviously not a single case on its own. There are other examples, many of which we’ve seen in the last few years. It needs a root and branch review, cultural change, because this is not just the perpetrators, it’s those that have allowed this to happen, moved them around, not taken action when they should have done. When he was a barrister, Starmer served as a human rights adviser to the board overseeing thePSNI, the then new force set up after the Good Friday agreement to replace the RUC, which did not have the confidence of the Catholic community it served. He said: With the police service in Northern Ireland … that was root and branch, that was stripping it down. It was also very important that it was called the Police Service of Northern Ireland because it changed the way in which the force was looking, it was a service to the public, not a police force. Asked if the Met should also change its name, he replied: If changing the name signals a change, then perhaps. It was very important to what we were trying to achieve in Northern Ireland that it was the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Sunak apologises for not wearing seatbelt while filming social media video Rishi Sunak has apologised for making a “brief error of judgment” by removing his seatbelt to film a social media video message while a passenger in the back seat of a car. PA Media says: No belt could be seen covering the prime minister’s shoulder as he promoted his levelling up funding in the clip filmed for Instagram on Thursday as he visited Lancashire. Fines of up to £500 can be issued for failing to wear a seatbelt when one is available. There are a few exemptions, including when a car is being used for police, fire and rescue services and for certified medical issues. Police motorbikes can be seen escorting the car as Sunak addresses the camera. Lancashire constabulary referred a request for comment to the Metropolitan police. The government has considered toughening seatbelt rules to ensure drivers not wearing them could receive penalty points. Recent Department for Transport figures suggested around 30% of people killed in cars on Britain’s roads in 2021 were unrestrained. Later a Downing Street spokesperson said: “That was a brief error of judgment. The prime minister removed his seatbelt to film a short clip.” Sunak “fully accepts this was a mistake and apologises”, the spokesperson added. “The prime minister believes everyone should wear a seatbelt. It was an error of judgment, he removed it for a short period of time to film a clip, which you’ve seen, but he accepts that was a mistake.” Sunak refuses for second day in row to confirm he"s fully committed to existing HS2 plans At PMQs yesterday Rishi Sunak refused to confirm that the government was still committed to ensuring the HS2 high speed rail line will reach Manchester. During his Q&A, Sunak was asked by Sam Coates from Sky News if he was 100% committed to the current plans for HS2. Coates was asking the final question, and he tagged on the HS2 question at the end of a lengthy question about levelling up (which Sunak did answer). But Sunak did not address the HS2 point at all. This is from Sky’s Tom Larkin. Earlier I posted a Guardian chart showing which regions have got most from the latest round of levelling up funding on a per capita basis. (See 10.48am.) This chart shows who has got most when the first and second rounds of funding are combined. Tory West Midlands mayor condemns way levelling up fund operates, saying "bidding and begging bowl culture is broken" Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, and the most senior Tory in local government, has delivered a withering assessment of the way the levelling up fund operates. He says that most of the bids from the West Midlands were rejected, that some of its most deprived areas lost out and that it should be for local decision makers, not Whitehall, to decide where money gets spent. He says this shows “why Whitehall’s bidding and begging bowl culture is broken and the sooner we can decentralise and move to proper fiscal devolution the better”. What Sunak said about not being able to cut taxes now, but wanting to be able to cut them in future Here is the full quote from Rishi Sunak during the Q&A, when he was talking about cutting taxes and explaining why people knew it could not happen now because they weren’t “idiots”. He did not mention Liz Truss, but he referred to her when he said that over the summer people saw what happened when politicians made unrealistic promises. He said: I’m a Conservative. I want to cut your taxes, of course I do, because you will work incredibly hard, and I want you to keep more of your money so you can spend on the stuff that you want to. That’s what I want to deliver. I wish I could do that tomorrow, quite frankly. But the reason we can’t is because all the reasons, you know. You’re not idiots, you know what’s happened. We had a massive pandemic for two years, we had to shut the country down, do a bunch of extraordinary things – that didn’t come cheap. And we’ve got this war going on, which is having an enormous impact on inflation and interest rates. And that’s meant that the public finances – how much we borrow every year and the trajectory of our debt – is not where it needs to be. And the worst thing I could do is promise you a bunch of things that sound great, but ultimately just make the situation worse. And all of you guys in the front couple of rows here [students] are just going to have to have to pick up the tab. I don’t want to do that. My job is to make sure that when you get all these fantastic jobs that we were talking about, that I’ve left you a really strong economy where, yes, we’re going to be able to fund the NHS and schools and all the other things that we talked about, but at that point interest rates are coming back down, you can afford to buy a house because the mortgages are not too expensive, inflation we’ve got a grip of … And then, yes, we can cut your taxes so you can keep more of what you earn. But it takes a bit of work to get there. And, as you saw over the summer, the easiest thing in the world is me to just promise you the Earth. But I wouldn’t be being straight with you. But, trust me, that is what I’m going to do for you this year. That is what we are going to do while I’m prime minister. And if we do those things, we will be able to cut your taxes. That’s what I want to deliver. Sunak defends taking jet to Blackpool, saying he needs to do "lots of things in one day" Rishi Sunak has been criticised for taking a domestic flight in an RAF jet for the third time in 10 days, my colleague Kiran Stacey reports. Commenting on Sunak taking a flight to Blackpool today, Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: Rishi Sunak’s expensive private jet habit is costing the environment and the taxpayer dear. Instead of catching the train like the rest of us, he’s swanning around like a washed-up A-lister courtesy of the public, making a mockery of his own government’s ‘zero-jet’ strategy. During his Q&A earlier Sunak defended his decision to fly to Lancashire, instead of going by train. He said: I travel around so I can do lots of things in one day, I’m not travelling around just for my own enjoyment – although this is very enjoyable, of course. Trust me, I’m working as hard as I can to deliver for you and I travel to make myself as effective as possible. Starmer criticises Sunak for not attending Davos, saying UK has been absent on global stage in recent yearas Keir Starmer has criticised Rishi Sunak for not attending the World Economic Forum event at Davos. Responding to a question at a panel event, Starmer said: Yes, I think our prime minister should have showed up at Davos. One of the things that’s been impressed on me since I’ve been here is the absence of the United Kingdom. That’s why it’s really important that I’m here and that our shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is here – as a statement of intent that, should there be a change of government, and I hope there will be, the United Kingdom will play its part on the global stage in a way I think it probably hasn’t in recent years. There was lots of anger in Nottingham today as it was revealed the Midlands city missed out on the government’s latest round of levelling up funding. The city had submitted three bids, including one to help turn the derelict Broadmarsh shopping centre into a performance and food space, totalling £57m, but all three were rejected. Alex Norris, Labour MP for Nottingham North and shadow levelling up minister, said the announcement was “just the latest instalment of disappointment from the government on levelling up”. He told the local democracy reporting service: It’s exceptionally disappointing to see that our city’s bids have not succeeded. The government has no interest in supporting Nottingham. Nevertheless our ideas are good ones and we will keep fighting to see them become reality. The Nottingham city council leader, David Mellen, said it was “a big disappointment” the bids had been turned down when the city “so clearly needs” levelling up funding. He said: All three Nottingham bids were very strong and clearly aligned to what the Levelling Up Fund is meant to be about. There has been huge support for the exciting new vision for Broad Marsh we unveiled just over a year ago. Mellen said the council would “explore alternative public and private funding options” so the plans can still go ahead. Sunak says people understand why government cannot cut taxes now because they"re "not idiots" The most significant moment in Rishi Sunak’s Q&A came when he said that people understand why the government cannot cut taxes now because “you’re not idiots”. It was a throwaway remark, and it came in the course of an answer in which Sunak stressed his belief in low taxes, and his determination to cut taxes eventually, but it probably set alarm bells ringing in the No 10 media operation. Why? Because this morning the Daily Mail splashed on a story that quoted approvingly Tory MPs who are saying Sunak should cut taxes. The Mail also has an editorial saying it is “dismaying that the chancellor is not considering tax cuts in March’s budget”. The Mail splash, and its editorial, were prompted by my colleague Pippa Crerar’s story yesterday saying that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is planning a slimmed down budget that will not contain tax cuts. In its story, the Mail quotes Tory MPs alarmed by this news. It says: Former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘We have got to get growth going. This Government will sink without trace if we don’t get growth going by the middle of this year – we won’t have a hope of winning the election. We are already over-taxed and it is quite clear we cannot tax ourselves out of a recession.’ Fellow Tory Sir John Redwood also warned tax cuts were essential – and said some could even boost overall revenues by triggering growth. He added: ‘We cannot address the issue of growth without some tax cuts. They must be affordable, of course – but the best way to bring borrowing down and boost revenues is to grow the economy.’ The Mail also says that Sunak’s two predecessors as PM, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, both want taxes cut. In his Q&A, when asked about tax cuts, Sunak said: When I was chancellor I also really preferred it when the prime minister didn’t comment on tax policy. I’m a Conservative, I want to cut your taxes … I wish I could do that tomorrow, quite frankly, but the reason we can’t is because of all the reasons you know. You’re not idiots, you know what’s happened. Sunak said the pandemic and the war in Ukraine had left the public finances “not where it needs to be”. He said that he wanted to get a “grip” on inflation, get interest rates down and make the economy stronger, so that the NHS and schools can be well funded. He went on: Trust me, that’s what I’m going to do for you this year, that’s what we’re going to do while I’m prime minister and if we do those things we will be able to cut your taxes. When Sunak used the word “idiots”, he almost certainly did not intend to refer to Tory colleagues like Iain Duncan Smith and John Redwood. But his comment could be linked to them quite easily, which makes it potentially perilous. UPDATE: See 2.59pm for the full quote from Sunak. Despite the ongoing row between the Scottish and UK governments over Holyrood’s gender recognition reform bill, at Thursday’s FMQs both Tories and Labour focused on education and health, a welcome reminder that there is politics beyond the culture war and beyond the constitution. Meanwhile, hostilities between the two governments continue, with Holyrood’s social justice secretary, Shona Robison, writing an article for the Guardian in which she calls for Alister Jack to revoke section 35 which he is using to prevent the gender bill going for royal assent. She says: This legislation is designed to make trans people’s lives better by removing an administrative burden. Instead, trans people have been dragged into an attack on devolution that puts them in the middle of a continuing culture war. The UK government must rethink this damaging course of action. Here is Robison’s article. Q: You flew to Blackpool today, instead of taking the train. Since you found the airport so useful, why can’t we have it reopened for commercial use. Sunak says he travels around by air so that he can do “lots of things in one day”. It is not for enjoyment, he says. He says he is working to deliver for the public and when he travels he tries to make himself “as effective as possible on your behalf”.