The war within Whitehall over the energy crisis is continuing in earnest this morning, with Securities Minister Damian Hinds becoming the latest trooper dragged into the crossfire – seemingly as a member of Team Kwarteng. Here’s a reminder of how we got here…
Yesterday on Sky News, BEIS Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng claimed he was “speaking to government colleagues, particularly in the Treasury,” to try and solve the energy crisis, specifically for manufacturers and businesses at the mercy of soaring prices. He didn’t promise any additional support or bailouts, although he assured viewers that BEIS were “engaging” with the Treasury on the government’s plans. Pretty straightforward.
Only a few hours later, an unnamed Treasury source speaking to Sky’s Sam Coates flat out denied Kwarteng claims – and essentially accused him of lying to a national broadcaster: “This is not the first time the BEIS Secretary has made things up in interviews. To be crystal clear the treasury are not involved in any talks.” Later, Treasury officials doubled down by claiming that while BEIS had met with the Treasury to discuss bailing out an American fertiliser company, those were “very specific and targeted intervention[s]”. Definitely nothing to do with the energy crisis, they insisted.
Now Securities Minister Damian Hinds has found himself stuck in the middle of all this. Asked this morning on Sky News whether Kwasi had “told porkies“, Hinds said “of course not“, adding: “these unnamed sources stories come out from time to time… the fact is government departments, government ministers, talk to each other the whole time … [this] is something that the Business Secretary, and of course the Energy Secretary, is going to be totally focused on.” No comment as of yet from the Chancellor himself, presumably trying to keep his mouth shut as well as his chequebook…
Former Secretary of State for Education Damian Hinds has (presumably accidentally) leaked a screenshot of his email drafts folder on his public Instagram story. Provocatively the subject is “~RE: Re[2]: GE2019 team thoughts & i…”
The draft message appears to be part of a much longer email chain and is addressed to Debbie Curnow-Ford, a local Conservative activist in his constituency, and a ‘Julie’, presumably his local association chairwoman Julie Butler. The leak is decidedly off-message, but adds fuel to the worst kept secret in British politics. Everyone is gearing up for an election this year…
As of Guido going to pixel the awkward screenshot is still online on his story…
UPDATE: After 20 hours, Hinds has finally got round to deleting the accidental post
"Yes we will" – Education secretary @DamianHinds is asked by Sophy #Ridge whether the UK will leave the EU on the 29th of March.
Follow it live here: https://t.co/MmKdbiMXmb pic.twitter.com/ox04IuqDwU
— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) January 27, 2019
An unequivocal “yes we will” from the Education Secretary to the question of whether the UK is leaving on 29th March…
“MPs have a responsibility. I would lock you in a room with limited food and water until this decision was arrived at” City AM’s @ChristianJMay to MPs @EmmaReynoldsMP @DamianHinds on their Article 50, customs union and single market votes#politicslive https://t.co/e8n3YEXQKh pic.twitter.com/k0aZv0Oypi
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) January 24, 2019
Education Secretary Damian Hinds and Labour MP Emma Reynolds and were skewered this afternoon on Politics Live by CityAM’s Christian May over their support (tacit or otherwise) for Yvette Cooper’s anti-no deal amendment. They admitted that they both stood on manifestos pledging to take the United Kingdom out of the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union, and both voted to trigger Article 50, thereby starting the clock and setting no deal as the legal default. It is logically impossible for MPs take no deal off the table now unless they are prepared to cancel Brexit altogether.
It’s not good enough for MPs who voted to hold the referendum, agreed to implement the result, voted for Article 50, and then stood on manifestos pledging again to implement the result in full, to now start engaging in Parliamentary shenanigans with the effect of blocking Brexit indefinitely because they haven’t thought through the consequences of their actions. It’s increasingly apparent as time goes on that it wasn’t Leave voters but in fact smug Remainer politicians who didn’t understand what they were voting for…
Following Tim Shipman’s story this morning that May’s top allies Gavin Barwell and David Lidington have been discussing a second referendum, Education Secretary Damain Hinds has come out to criticise it on Ridge this morning. More convincing than Barwell’s denial?
Shami attacking grammar schools and singing the praises of comprehensive education on Question Time last night, claiming that her state schooling got her into the Lords. Now there’s a compelling argument for education reform…
What the Shadow Attorney General failed to mention – leaving viewers entirely none the wiser – is that she chose to send her own son to the academically selective, £18,000-a-year Dulwich College – not just a private school, but one of the very best and most competitive in the country. One rule for the many, another for the few…
