Michael Gove says personal attacks on ex-wife Sarah Vine ‘hurt so much’

Michael Gove has said that the most hurtful part of his political career was the attacks on his former wife, Sarah Vine.In extracts of a new BBC podcast about politics hosted by Gove, the former Conservative minister and MP said this was particularly the case when an email in 2016 from Vine offering advice to her then-husband was accidentally sent to other recipients and leaked to the media.Vine, a Daily Mail columnist, had intended to send the email to Gove and his then-advisers, but sent it more widely, and it was passed on to outlets including the Guardian.Coming when Gove had been expected to support Boris Johnson’s bid to become Conservative leader to replace David Cameron, Vine told him and the advisers to hold back until there was a specific offer of a cabinet job.It said: “One simple message: you MUST have SPECIFIC from Boris OTHERWISE you cannot guarantee your support

James Cleverly spent £655 a head on in-flight catering for one-day trip to Rwanda

The in-flight catering for James Cleverly’s one-day round trip to Rwanda last December, while he was home secretary, cost £655 a head.Cleverly spent £165,561 chartering a private jet for his 11-hour visit to Kigali to sign Rishi Sunak’s deportation deal after the supreme court’s finding that Rwanda was an “unsafe country”.He travelled to Kigali with officials and a TV crew on 4 December and signed the new legally binding treaty alongside Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister, Vincent Biruta.It can now be revealed that the catering for the eight-and-a-half hour return flight for Cleverly and his 14 officials cost £9,803.20, or £653

Labour must keep its promise to consult on the future of the House of Lords | Letters

Re Simon Jenkins’ article (Starmer’s House of Lords reform only scratches the surface of its problems, 14 October), as a network of organisations working on power and democracy in the UK, we welcome the second reading of the hereditary peers bill last week. Although removing the indefensible hereditary peers from the Lords, whose title and position in parliament depends upon a quirk of birth, is a laudable first step, this reform does not go nearly far enough to restore trust and clean up politics.We’re calling on the government to deliver on its manifesto promise of a proper consultation on the future of the Lords, including via a representative citizens’ assembly, to let the people decide who should be holding politicians to account and making sure laws are sensible and fair.Continuing a system of political appointees risks accusations of cronyism and conflicts of interest. We need a second chamber that makes the most of the views and experience of a much more representative group

Ministers urged to increase basic rate of UK statutory sick pay

Ministers are under pressure to increase the basic rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) from £3 an hour for a full-time worker, amid concerns that hundreds of thousands of people a year are left without adequate financial support to pay essential bills while off work.The government will launch a consultation on Monday to coincide with the second reading of its employment rights bill, under which workers will get paid sick leave from day one, with those on earnings below the threshold of £123 a week eligible.Campaigners have welcomed the changes, but they want ministers to go further and raise sick pay, which is fixed at £116 a week and pegged to the inflation rate. They argue that the low rate pushes vulnerable people into poverty.In a letter to Keir Starmer, a group of charities including Citizens Advice, Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind and Maggie’s called on the government to amend the bill so ministers can increase sick pay amid the worsening health of working-age people

Angela Rayner given permanent seat on UK national security council

Angela Rayner has been given a permanent seat on the UK government’s national security council as the rebooted Downing Street operation seeks to smooth over reports of tensions between Keir Starmer and his deputy.Allies of the deputy prime minister had shared concerns she was being sidelined when it emerged two weeks ago that she had been given only a temporary place on the committee that brings together ministers with military and intelligence chiefs.However, the Guardian understands she has now been made a permanent member of the NSC, which discusses and assesses the biggest threats facing Britain, as part of a concerted effort driven by the new No 10 chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, to bolster her position.Starmer has also strengthened the “quad” of his most senior ministers to become a proper steering group for the government’s agenda, insiders said. As well as Rayner, it includes Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Pat McFadden, the senior cabinet office minister

Rachel Reeves urged to ringfence NHS funding on illness prevention

Rachel Reeves is being urged to use next week’s budget to ringfence health spending on prevention so it is protected from cuts when money is tight.A letter sent to the chancellor by a leading health charity, thinktanks and the body that represents accountants says carving out a new category of preventive spending would mean a healthier population and save the NHS money.The letter, seen by the Guardian, welcomes Labour’s emphasis on prevention but says there has been a long history of previous administrations making similar pledges only for services that affect health outcomes to become a casualty of pressures on day-to-day budgets and a victim of short-term thinking.Analysis by the Health Foundation – one of the signatories to the letter – showed that in the five years leading up to the pandemic (2014-19) spending on hospitals rose by 10%. The share of health spending devoted to prevention fell by 10% during that period