Brevia Consulting is providing a weekly round-up and analysis of the UK headlines. This week, read about Rishi Sunak’s u-turn on attending COP27, the Bank of England’s announcement that interest rates will rise to 3 per cent, and recent criticisms of the Home Secretary over conditions and Manston processing centre.
PRIME MINISTER TO ATTEND COP27 SUMMIT IN EGYPT
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that he will attend COP27, taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt next week. Downing Street had previously stated that the Prime Minister would not attend due to ‘other pressing domestic commitments including preparations for the autumn Budget.’[1] Following a weekend of backlash from both domestic and international figures, Sunak confirmed via Twitter that he would attend the conference, writing ‘there is no long-term prosperity without action on climate change.’[2] Sunak will be joined at the conference by Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey and COP26 President Alok Sharma. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP has also confirmed that he will attend.[3]
UK FACES BIGGEST INTEREST RATE HIKE IN OVER 30 YEARS
The Bank of England confirmed yesterday that interest rates will rise to 3 per cent, representing the largest hike since 1989. Interest rates had sat at 2.25 per cent since 22 September 2022. This news comes as the Bank of England works to bring down inflation, as prices are rising at their fastest rate in 40 years.[4] Food and energy prices are rising particularly quickly, partly as a result of the war in Ukraine, The Bank of England also confirmed that the UK is already in recession and further warned that the UK is facing its longest recession on record. The Bank has previously stated it expected the UK to fall into recession at the end of this year and that it would continue throughout 2023. It is now expected to continue into 2024.[5] The unemployment rate is also expected to rise to 6.5 per cent, the highest since the 2008 financial crisis.[6]
HOME SECRETARY UNDER FIRE OVER MANSTON CAMP CONDITIONS
The Home Secretary has been heavily criticised in Parliament for her failure to address the crisis in Manston. The Manston processing centre is designed to accommodate around 1,600 people for up to 24 hours while security and identity checks take place. On 24 October, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Neal, visited Manston and reported that there were 2,800 migrants living there in poor conditions, some for over a month.[7] The Home Secretary has been blamed for the crisis by some MPs, with allegations that she ignored legal advice that she was responsible for finding alternative accommodation. The crisis in Manston will increase pressure on the embattled Home Secretary. Meanwhile, the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats has hit 40,000 this year.[8]
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Notes
[1] BBC, ‘Rishi Sunak criticised for skipping COP27 climate summit’, 28 October 2022, Link
[2] Rishi Sunak, Twitter, 2 November 2022, Link
[3] BBC, ‘Boris Johnson confirms he is attending COP27 in Egypt’, 1 November 2022, Link
[4] BBC, ‘Bank of England expects UK to fall into longest ever recession’, 3 November 2022, Link
[5] Ibid.
[6] Sky News, ‘Interest rate rises to 3% as Bank of England imposes biggest hike for three decades’, 3 November 2022, Link
[7] The Guardian, ‘Braverman says she ‘never ignored legal advice’ about housing asylum seekers’, 31 October 2022, Link
[8] BBC News, ‘Manston migrant centre: What are the problems?’, 2 November 2022, Link
