Top story: Reshuffle deals May a losing hand
Good morning, Graham Russell here bringing you the sequel to the first morning briefing of 2018. Here we go.
My headline yesterday was “PM to take axe to cabinet” but it looks like the cabinet is made of sterner stuff than Theresa May anticipated. The resignation of Justine Green and a refusal to budge by Jeremy Hunt ruined her plans and cast fresh doubt on her authority. It didn’t help when the Conservatives’ official Twitter feed wrongly congratulated Chris Grayling on becoming party chair. Jeremy Corbyn said the reshuffle was a “pointless and lacklustre PR exercise”.
As Heather Stewart points out, it couldn’t have been more different from the brutal reshuffle of July 2016 in which she banished heavyweights including George Osborne and Nicky Morgan to the backbenches. May has now had three secretaries of state for work and pensions, and as many justice secretaries, since 2016 yet Monday’s comings and goings were far from the radical refresh that had been trailed. More junior posts will be unveiled today, so it’s not over yet.
It was a case of new year, same operating system failure for the Maybot, writes John Crace. May is stable for now, until the crunch comes in the autumn, says Polly Toynbee, when the cake-and-eat-it delusions about Brexit die. (Incidentally, Corbyn set out his Brexit policy to the parliamentary party last night.)
Here is the full list of who went where in May’s cabinet.
* * *
Toby Young resigns – Toby Young has stepped down from the Office for Students after a huge backlash to his appointment. In a statement posted on the Spectator website on Tuesday morning, Young said: “My appointment has become a distraction from its vital work of broadening access to higher education and defending academic freedom.” Young’s appointment caused a storm after a string of offensive tweets directed at women, and controversial writing about working-class students. This is a developing story so please check back for updates.
* * *
Bad day in Trump land – Robert Mueller’s investigators have expressed interest in speaking to Donald Trump as part of their inquiry into potential coordination between Russia and the president’s election campaign. Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort is suing in an attempt to foil the inquiry, which late last year indicted him on money-laundering charges. In other news, an attorney for the publisher of Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury said no retraction or apology would be coming despite threats from Trump’s lawyer, and a US energy regulator rejected Trump’s plan to prop up the struggling coal industry. And Trump Tower caught fire.
* * *
Staples Corner blaze – A spectacular fire at a paint factory on Monday night sent fireballs shooting 100 metres into the air, witnesses said, blowing thick black smoke across north London. Nearly 100 firefighters were sent to the “significant” blaze at Staples Corner and residents were urged to keep their windows and doors closed by the London fire brigade. No one is believed to have been inside the building.
* * *
Games break impasse – North and South Korea have held their first official talks for more than two years, with hopes they will pave the way for military discussions to ease tensions on the peninsula. After two hours of talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, the North said it would send athletes and cheerleaders to next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. Seoul has proposed that the two Koreas march together during the opening and closing ceremonies at the Pyeongchang Games, which open on 9 February.
* * *
Keeps the doctors away – A hospital in Manchester has become the first to remove sugary food and drinks from the menu in a bid to tackle obesity and hopefully set the standard for others to follow. Tameside hospital has gone from offering what its dietetically trained chef Simon Smith called “standard northern fare” of pie and chips and comfort food to mushroom stroganoff, couscous and fruit salad. The dishes have proved very popular, he says. Tameside hospital introduced its ban following a trial in which 100 staff signed up for a weight loss scheme that changed their attitude towards food.
* * *
Searching for balance – Google is being sued by former engineer James Damore, who alleges that white, male conservative employees were “ostracized, belittled, and punished”. His lawsuit claims numerous Google managers maintained “blacklists” of conservative employees with whom they refused to work; that some conservatives are banned from visiting the campus; and that Google’s firings of Damore – after writing a controversial memo about gender and technology – and the other named plaintiff, David Gudeman, were discriminatory. Google said: “We look forward to defending against Mr Damore’s lawsuit in court.”
* * *
Lunchtime read: Justice sits idle in Myanmar
Defence lawyer Zar Li Aye was eating lunch near a courthouse in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, when her phone rang. “Where are you?” asked a colleague. “Your client just confessed.” The client, under pressure from a police officer, had agreed to fire her and submit a false guilty plea when the judge started the hearing early. Zar Li Aye rushed back but it was too late. “I’m so sorry,” the defendant sobbed. “I really didn’t want to fire you and I didn’t do that crime, but they put me under a lot of pressure.”
Myanmar’s judiciary is well known to be beholden to the military and consumed by bribery, but that is only part of the story. “I’ve seen a lot of … judges talking on their phones or using Facebook while the court is in session,” says Yee Nwe Tun, a legal aid lawyer. Others take naps during hearings, or go for lunch, leaving the defence and the prosecution to go hungry as they continue the hearing on their own.
Sport
Trevor Bayliss intends to stand down as England head coach in 2019, but has said he will still look to lay the foundations for their next Ashes tour in four years’ time alongside captain Joe Root. Steve Smith has meanwhile put winning the Ashes in England on his bucket list after Australia’s crushing 4-0 Ashes series win.
Andy Murray’s decision to go under the knife in a Melbourne hospital on Monday morning – defying expert and amateur opinion – looks like it has not only mended his right hip but also revitalised the stubborn streak that has made the Scot such a remarkable player. Glenn Murray scored a late winner for Brighton, sending Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup, and Widnes Vikings and Papua New Guinea player Kato Ottio has died at the age of 23 after a “sudden health issue”.
Business
Retailers have blamed the squeeze on wages for a mediocre Christmas shopping period. The British Retail Consortium says consumers reined in their spending on furniture, clothes and footwear in December because they needed to keep more cash back for food and other essentials.
The FTSE100 is set to rise 0.2% this morning, according to futures trading. The pound is buying $1.357 and €1.134.
The papers
It’s May’s cabinet troubles all the way today, with a smattering of Princess Charlotte pictures.
The Times focuses on Justine Greening’s departure alongside a picture of an only slightly nervous-looking Princess Charlotte on her first day at nursery (wouldn’t you be, aged two?). It also carries a single column on the Church of England gradually laying claim to 237,000 hectares of mineral wealth that lies under what is now privately owned land.
The Guardian goes with May’s reshuffle shambles, the BBC facing questions on pay discrimination following Carrie Gracie’s resignation and the oft-raised issue of whether Oprah Winfrey will one day run for president.
The Telegraph dramatises Theresa May’s misery with the headline “Night of the blunt stiletto” next to a big picture of Princess Charlotte looking snug in her winter coat. The Mail produces a slightly confused front page that looks like Princess Charlotte is refusing a job in May’s cabinet.
The i says firmly “Reshuffle rejected” while the FT points out that pro-European David Lidington has been appointed May’s “right-hand man”.
The Mirror gives priority to a murder trial after a woman was found dead in an allotment and the Sun nudges the reshuffle to the side to instead go big on its report that Arsenal player Alex Iwobi was partying the night before his team’s FA Cup exit. It has christened Princess Charlotte as Lotte in its picture story.
For more news: www.theguardian.com
Sign up
The Guardian morning briefing is delivered to thousands of inboxes bright and early every weekday. If you are not already receiving it by email, you can sign up here.
