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PP: They clearly take the… position that I just don’t conform to their preconceived idea or stereotypical view of what an ethnic minority woman should stand for… and in my view that in itself is racist… I’m not going to dignify that letter any further.
Robert Jenrick case is ‘deemed to be closed’
Patel also appeared opposite Andrew Marr, who quizzed her about the activities of the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. Jenrick granted planning permission for a luxury housing development in east London’s Isle of Dogs, with the developer, Richard Desmond, donating £12,000 to the Conservative party shortly afterwards. Jenrick’s swift approval is reported to have saved Desmond from paying up to £45 million to Tower Hamlets council, bypassing a local infrastructure tax:
AM: Mr Jenrick decided to do exactly what the developer wanted, against the advice of his own officials, and… two weeks later, Desmond donated £12,000… Is that a coincidence?
PP: The correspondence, the documentation is out in the public domain… The secretary of state has followed all issues around transparency. It’s has been discussed in Parliament a number of times… and the matter is deemed to be closed.
Enjoy yourself responsibly
Pubs, restaurants and other venues are to begin opening up again from next Saturday, as part of the government’s roadmap for returning the UK to normality. However, concerns have been raised by the Police Federation, who are worried about a ‘pressure cooker building up’ as many people begin to congregate for the first time since late March. Patel said that people should have fun, but continue to be cautious:
PP: I would say go [to the pub], be responsible, follow the guidance, practise social distancing. Follow the hygiene as well… It’s incumbent on all of us to… enjoy ourselves in a responsible way, but be conscientious of other people around us.
Jonathan Reynolds – Furlough scheme should be extended
Ridge also spoke to the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who called for the government’s furlough scheme to be extended for certain sectors of the economy, such as the hospitality and tourism industries:
JR: We have over 9 million people furloughed. As employers have to make contributions… the danger is many of those people will simply be made redundant… [The scheme] should be extended – not in a universal way, but in a sector specific way.
Universal Credit is not ‘a strong safety net’
Reynolds also confirmed that it was still Labour’s position to make major reforms to Universal Credit, the government’s flagship benefits system. Though Labour have called for some alterations during the pandemic, such as abolishing the five week wait for the first payment, Reynolds implied that this was only the tip of the iceberg:
JR: What you need… is a strong safety net that gets people through crises like this one, but also when they’ve lost their job or they’re too ill to work, and that is not what Universal Credit provides.
Ed Miliband – Starmer was right to sack Long-Bailey
Ed Miliband, now serving as the Shadow Business Secretary, told Marr that he thought Keir Starmer has no option but to dismiss their colleague Rebecca Long-Bailey from her post in the shadow cabinet. Long-Bailey, the left’s standard bearer in the last Labour leadership contest, approvingly tweeted an article featuring the actress Maxine Peake, who in turn had indulged a conspiracy theory that the Israeli Defence Force trained the American police responsible for George Floyd’s death in May:
EM: Rebecca is a very decent person, but… over the centuries when calamitous things have happened, Jews have been blamed… and that’s why I believe that Keir took the right decision… We cannot have a debate at the next general election about whether Labour is an anti-Semitic party.
Starmer does not want to ‘purge’ the Labour left
Several on Labour’s left have rallied to Long-Bailey’s defence, including the former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and the former party chairman Ian Lavery. Reacting to a comment in Marr’s paper review segment, Miliband felt compelled to stress that Long-Bailey’s resignation was not about to precipitate a purge of the wider left from the party:
EM: I heard something in your paper review about how Keir wants to purge [the left of the party]. He’s not about purges… He wants to change this country by unifying the Labour party, but also not having the Labour party mired in issues which provide a stain on us…
AM: Ian Lavery… has encouraged people to stay inside the party and fight…
EM: We should fight the Conservatives.
Starmer will ‘definitely’ be a better leader than me
And finally, Miliband gave his opinion on Keir Starmer’s chances of future electoral success:
AM: Is he going to be a better leader of the Labour party than you?
EM: Definitely. We’ve seen that already. I certainly never had his approval ratings!… I think the more people see of him, the more they’re going to see the integrity, the principle, and the decency that I know really well.
Because you read about home secretary
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