Outsider falls before the first hurdle as race to become Conservative Party leader gets underway
EIGHT candidates will battle it out to become the next Conservative Party leader – and our new Prime Minister – as voting gets under way this afternoon.
Each of the candidates was able to get the minimum twenty signatures required to take part in the contest and the competition now gets under way in earnest.
One hopeful who didn’t make it was little-known backbencher Rehman Chishti, who failed to get the required number of nominations.
Cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps chose not to stand, instead attending Rishi Sanak’s campaign launch. Other big names not putting themselves forward to be the next Prime Minister are Priti Patel, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, although all three will be keen to influence the outcome of the contest.
The candidates are: Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi.
They now have to secure 30 votes in the first round today to stay in the race. Voting opens at 1.30pm with the result expected just after 5pm.
Further votes will then take place over the coming days to whittle the number of candidates down to a final two. Conservative Party members across the country will then choose between this final pair over the summerand the winner is expected to be announced on 5 September before parliament resumes after the summer recess.
Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak seems certain to be one of the final two, but at this stage it is far from clear who his final opponent is going to be.
5pm UPDATE:
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and current Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi have been eliminated after today’s vote.
The six remaining candidates will do it all again tomorrow.
TheCOVID-19 Recovery Committeeis to analyse the impact of the pandemic on the Scottish labour market, including how long Covid, long-term sickness and early retirement is affecting the number of those in work.
As the country starts the process of recovery from the pandemic, a key issue that has emerged is a persistently high number of people no longer part of the workforce, termed ‘economically inactive’.
A blog by the Fraser of Allander Institute concluded in April 2022 that: “More worrying for the outlook for the Scottish labour market is the fact that we now have over 20,000 more people economically inactive because of long-term sickness than we had pre-pandemic.”
The Committee will investigate the reasons behind these high numbers, including the emergence of above average numbers of long-term sick.
They want to understand if this is this due to pre-existing conditions, or new conditions, such as long COVID, or other factors, such as stress brought on by pandemic experiences. The Committee will also look at whether early retirement is one of the drivers behind this change in the labour market.
COVID-19 Recovery Committee Convener Siobhian Brown MSP said: “Unlike previous economic shocks, where the labour force numbers recovered much more quickly, we are seeing concerning persistent numbers of long term economically inactive people.
“We want to find out why this has happened and what needs to be done to encourage these people back into the work place.
“We are keen to learn more about the labour market impact of the pandemic on people with pre-existing health conditions, what influenced people to take early retirement and whether specific groups of society or areas of the country have been impacted more than others.
“There is no doubt that the reasons behind this will be complex but in order to address this issue we must first understand why people are no longer working.”
UK government rebuild under way as Tory candidates line up for top job
The Queen approved the following appointments yesterday as outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson assembled a new government after a tumultuous 48 hours that saw more than fifty resignations:
Rt Hon Greg Clark MP as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Rt Hon James Cleverly MP as Secretary of State for Education
Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland QC MP as Secretary of State for Wales
Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Shailesh Vara MP as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Andrew Stephenson MP as Minister without Portfolio. He will attend Cabinet.
Johnny Mercer MP as a Minister of State (Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) at the Cabinet Office. He will attend Cabinet.
Graham Stuart MP as a Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Stephen McPartland MP as a Minister of State (Minister for Security) at the Home Office
Tom Pursglove MP as a Minister of State jointly at the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice
James Heappey MP as a Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence
Will Quince MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Education
Maria Caulfield MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Health and Social Care
Paul Scully MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He remains as Minister for London.
Marcus Jones MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Matt Warman MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Trudy Harrison MP as a Minister of State at the Department for Transport
Edward Timpson CBE MP as Solicitor General
Mr Johnson plans to stay on as PM until a successor is elected by the autumn, but many Tory MPs want him to leave office straight away. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab – who has ruled himself out of the race to replace Johnson – would seem like the obvious person to hold the reins during this transitional period.
Opposition leader Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer has said he will call a vote of no confidence, forcing a general election, if Johnson doesn’t go now, For that to succeed, though, Starmer would need the support of Tory MPs – and even in these turbulent times it’s pretty unlikely that turkeys will vote for Christmas!
While the Prime Minister throws together this patchwork interim governmentthe race to succeed him has begun in earnest after Johnson was finally forced to quit as Tory leader yesterday.
Respected backbencher Tom Tugendhat is the latest MP to throw his hat into the ring, joining Attorney General Suella Braverman and Brexiteer Steve Baker who have both indicated an interest in standing for the top job. They will be joined by plenty more candidates stepping forward over the coming days, however.
Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, former Health secretary Sajid Javid, transport secretary Grant Shapps and new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi are all likely to stand, as is photo-opp queen, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (above).
Defence secretary Ben Wallace is seen as a steady pair of hands and is popular with the Tory faithful and Trade minister Penny Mordaunt is also expected to put her name forward. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is very likely to stand, but his successor Matt Hancock has wisely ruled himself out. There will be many more who see themselves as the perfect candidate to be our next Prime Minister, though.
PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON statement 7th July 2022:
Good afternoon everybody,
It is now clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new Prime Minister, and I have agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week
And I have today appointed a cabinet to serve – as I will – until a new leader is in place so I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019 – many of them voting Conservative for the first time.
Thank you for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979 and the reason I have fought so hard for the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was not just because I wanted to do so but because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019.
And of course I am immensely proud of the achievements of this government from getting Brexit done and settling our relations with the continent after half a century reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown and in the last few months leading the west in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
And let me say now to the people of Ukraine that I know that we in the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes and at the same time in this country we have at the same time been pushing forward a vast programme of investment in infrastructure, skills and technology – the biggest for a century – because if I have one insight into human beings it is that genius and talent and enthusiasm and imagination are evenly distributed throughout the population but opportunity is not, and that is why we need to keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential of every part of the United Kingdom. And if we can do that in this country, we will be the most prosperous in Europe.
And in the last few days I have tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we are delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we are actually only a handful of points behind in the polls even in mid term after quite a few months of pretty unrelenting sledging , and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally and I regret not to have been successful in those arguments.
And of course it is painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself but as we’ve seen at Westminster, the herd is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves and and my friends in politics no one is remotely indispensable.
And our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times not just helping families to get through it but changing and improving our systems, cutting burdens on businesses and families and – yes – cutting taxes, because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay for great public services.
And to that new leader I say, whoever he or she may be, I will give you as much support as I can and to you the British people I know that there will be many who are relieved but perhaps quite a few who will be disappointed and I want you to know how sad I am to give up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.
I want to thank Carrie and our children, to all the members of my family who have had to put up with so much for so long
I want to thank the peerless British civil service for all the help and support that you have given our police, our emergency services and of course our NHS who at a critical moment helped to extend my own period in office, as well as our armed services and our agencies that are so admired around the world and
[Political content omitted]
I want to thank the wonderful staff here at Number Ten and of course at Chequers and our fantastic protforce detectives – the one group, by the way, who never leak .
And above all I want to thank you the British public for the immense privilege you have given me and I want you to know that from now until the new Prime Minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.
Being Prime Minister is an education in itself I have travelled to every part of the United Kingdom and in addition to the beauty of our natural world I have found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways that I know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden.
Thank you all very much.
With so much still uncertain, there’s no doubt those will NOT be Boris Johnson’s last words as Prime Minister …
Boris Johnson ‘gets on with the job’ as his government collapses around him
IT was perhaps the most remarkable day in British political history. Seldom, if ever, has so much drama been packed into twenty-four hours.
What happened yesterday? In summary:
New Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi does the early morning round of media calls: business as usual, getting on with the job, etc. etc.
An uncomfortable Prime Minister’s Questions sees Boris Johnson ridiculed by Opposition party leaders and attacked by members of his own party
PMQs is followed by a damning statement to parliament by outgoing Education secretary Sajid Javid
Boris Johnson leaves Westminster to attempt to appoint new ministers. This proves impossible as there is a steady stream of resignations – more than 40 by the end of the day – as well as new flood of letters of no confidence.
If PMQs was painful. an appearance in front of the high-powered Liaison Committee later in the afternoon was excruciating, with politicians from all sides taking the opportunity to heap further misery on a clearly flustered Prime Minister.
Asked by a committee member how his week was going, Boris Johnson replied: ‘Terrific’. I assume he was joking – but then, with this Prime Minister, you can never be really sure …
You might have thought the Prime Minister’s ‘terrific’ day couldn’t have got any worse … but this was no ordinary day.
Awaiting the PM at Downing Street was a group of Cabinet ministers, including newly-appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi-, the vast majority of whom urged him to stand down.
The chairman of the Tory Party’s 1922 committee also patiently awaited his audience with the PM – and it’s not breaking any confidences to say that Sir Graham Brady was not the bearer of glad tidings of great joy either …
Johnson met each of them individually, but rather than heed their considered advice that the game was up, the Prime Minister instead sided with the views of arch-loyalists Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg and decided instead to fight on … and as a parting shot for the evening fired arch-conspirator Michael Gove!
Putting all those internal difficulties aside, The Prime Minister found time to ‘get on with the job’ and fired off a letter to Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to confirm that no, I won’t be agreeing to another referendum …
A busy day at the office indeed, and a day on which Wimbledon really couldn’t match Westminster for excitement and drama.
Who knows what surprises today will bring as the Prime Minister attempts to salvage his government from the remnants of his deeply divided party?
Can his ‘terrific’ week really get any worse? Resignation looks inevitable but could this serial survivor really escape once again?
BELEAGUERED BORIS JOHNSON INSISTS HE’LL ‘GET ON WITH THE JOB’
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned from Boris Johnson’s Tory government last night.
The mishandling of the former deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher affair seems to have been the final straw for the two senior cabinet ministers, who submitted letters of resignation within minutes of each other last night.
Four junior ministers and Solicitor General Alex Chalk also resigned, piling pressure on the Prime Minister to step down.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to carry on, however, and promoted three loyalists in an attempt to shore up his teetering government. The following ministerial appointments have been made:
Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP to be Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP to be Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP to be Secretary of State for Education
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “It is an honour to take up the position of Health and Social Care Secretary. Our NHS and social care staff have showed us time and again – throughout the pandemic and beyond – what it means to work with compassion and dedication to transform lives.
“This government is investing more than ever before in our NHS and care services to beat the Covid backlogs, recruit 50,000 more nurses, reform social care and ensure patients across the country can access the care they need.”
THE Government is collapsing and it has been “corrupted” by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said last night.
Speaking to GB News after the resignation of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, he also called for a General Election.
He told Darren McCaffrey: “It’s clear that this Tory government is now collapsing.
“Tory cabinet ministers have been cheerleaders for Johnson throughout this sorry saga. They backed him when he broke the law.
“They backed him when he lied. They backed him when he mocked the sacrifices of the British people, so they have been complicit as he has disgraced his office and let down his country.
“And frankly, if they had a shred of integrity, they would have gone months ago. The Tory Party is corrupted and tragic.
“One man at the top won’t fix it. We need a real change of government and a fresh start for Britain.”
Sir Keir added: “There’s anything but political stability, this government is collapsing. Cabinet members have been backing Boris Johnson through this.
“The Tory party is corrupted and we need not just a change at the top of the Tory party, we need a change of government and a fresh start for our country so we can actually address those big issues that are undoubtedly out there.”
He continued: “He isn’t fit to be Prime Minister. He’s not fit to govern the country.
“That is appalling for many people across the Conservative Party but they have to reflect on the fact that they have backed him for months and months and months and resigning today, it means nothing against their complicity for all those months when they should have seen him for what he was they knew who he was.”
Starmer called for a General Election: “We need a fresh start for Britain. We need a change of government and this government is collapsing. The Tory party is corrupted and changing one man at the top of the Tory party won’t make any difference. It won’t fix the problems.
“Let’s have a fresh start for Britain, let’s have a real change of government.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “Feels like end might be nigh for Johnson – not a moment too soon. Notable tho that the resigning ministers were only prepared to go when they were lied to – they defended him lying to public. The whole rotten lot need to go.
“And Scotland needs the permanent alternative of independence.”
Prime Minister’s Questions will be interesting today!
Yesterday I attended the Muslim Council of Scotland’s rally outside the Scottish Parliament, to call for an end to Islamophobia (writes FOYSUL CHOUDHURY MSP).
While freedom of expression must be protected, this should not be exercised in a way that incites hatred or acts of violence against others. It is unacceptable that anybody should be a victim of discrimination, prejudice or abuse based upon a protected characteristic.
I felt it important to attend the rally to firmly show that I believe we should actively oppose, and try to prevent, this kind of hate crime. Minority communities should be confident about reporting incidents of hate and abuse to the authorities and be assured of the support they deserve.
I believe that this starts with authorities and communities openly acknowledging the existence of hate crime and being dedicated to prevent and punish such crimes.
I hope to continue raising awareness of this important issue in Parliament throughout my time in office and I encourage the Scottish Government to bring forward its new hate crimes strategy as a matter of urgency.
The Scottish Government also needs to speak out against injustices that we witness against minority communities around the world. Similarly, acknowledgement of the lived experiences of minority communities and the effects of hate upon them should be taught and prioritised within the school curriculum and institutions such as Police Scotland.
I hope that diverse communities can come together to call out hate speech and hate crimes against their fellow citizens, supporting one another so that our ever-interconnected world can flourish through respect, tolerance and togetherness.
If you witness a hate crime, whether in-person or online, please report this to Police Scotland or a third-party reporting centre.
Stand against hate, both in Scotland and around the world.
The Prime Minister’s press conference remarks at the NATO Summit in Madrid:
This has been a highly successful and historic NATO Summit in which we have once again exceeded expectations in the unity and single mindedness with which this alliance is confronting Putin’s illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
After 127 days of war we in NATO are now more resolved than ever that Europe’s boundaries cannot be changed by force and that we must give the Ukrainians the means to protect themselves. And we are.
In the last few days virtually everyone around the table has agreed to give more to help.
And at the same we have to recognise the impacts that this brutal invasion are being felt around the world. In Africa, in Latin America, in Asia – there is not a country that is not being affected now by the surge in energy prices and the shortages of food and fertiliser.
And so just as we in the UK are focused on helping people next month, in July to the 8 million households with £1200 with more help to come, £400 for every family to help with the cost of living and energy. So too, the governments of the Commonwealth, of the G7 and NATO are determined to work together to ease the pressure around the world, whether that means getting the grain from Ukraine or encouraging moves to increase global energy supplies or helping countries to find alternative sources of fertiliser
And we must frankly recognise that not every country takes the same view of Putin’s invasion or sees it in the way that we do. And so we have agreed that we have to explode some myths.
We have to explode the myth that western sanctions are in some way responsible for these price spikes when of course it is the Russian invasion that has caused the shortages of food and Putin’s blockade that are stopping the grain leaving Ukrainian ports.
We need to explode the myth that NATO was in any way responsible for provoking the conflict. Nothing could be further from the truth. And if you want proof that this is a purely defensive alliance, you could have no more eloquent testimony than the accession of Finland and Sweden – quintessentially peace loving countries that have been neutral for decades.
The fact that these two paladins for peace have joined NATO tells you all you need to know about NATO and all you need to know about Putin.
We need to show the global south that we are the partners they need and that we NATO countries and that we’re there to help them as they make the transition to a green future and that they should beware the trap of running up huge debts to other countries that do not share our values and maybe do not have their best interests at heart.
And the final myth we need to debunk is that when it comes to crisis such as this, western democracies, because of the pressures that politicians face, do not have the same staying power.
And I think If Ukraine were to be crushed or forced into a bad peace, the consequences for freedom around the world would be appalling.
And that view is shared by everyone in NATO, so let us be absolutely clear, the best way for us to win the argument around the world about our values, what we stand for, about our opposition to the use of force to change boundaries, about international law. The best way to win that argument is for the Ukrainians to win and for Putin to fail in Ukraine.
That’s why I’m pleased today we have announced another billion pounds worth of military support. And if you wanted evidence of the amazing ability of the Ukrainians to fight back, to overcome adversity to repel the Russians, then then look at what has happened just today on Snake Island where Russia has had to cede ground.
In the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his rule.
This has been a crucial summit in that we are resolved not just to support Ukraine, but we have agreed a new strategic concept, we are moving beyond the doctrine of tripwire deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank to a new approach of defence deterrence by denial. And countries around the table are also recognising that they must spend more.
And in our case that means meeting, and being prepared to exceed, the target we set for ourselves a decade ago of everybody spending 2% of our GDP on defence, goals which were then set for a very different era. What we are saying is that we want Jens Stoltenberg, the General Secretary to start work on that new target now and he has agreed to do that.
We need to invest for the long term, in vital capabilities like future combat air, while simultaneously adapting to a more dangerous and competitive world. The logical conclusion of the investments we propose to embark, of these decisions, is 2.5% of GDP on Defence by the end of the decade.
I want to say a big thank you to our Spanish hosts, and I think they have done an amazing job and thanks to Jens Stoltenberg, and say at the end of this Madrid Summit – the NATO alliance is plainly in robust health and getting stronger, with new members and a renewed purpose.
We can see that our work is cut out and we can see that there are billions of people around the world, swing voters, who need to hear and understand our arguments, but we have a huge advantage of knowing what we want, in believing in our ideas and having the means to do what we want to do, and above all we are united and, if history is any guide, then I believe that this great alliance will again be successful.
The next steps on securing a referendum on independence were outlined by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a statement to Parliament yesterday.
She said: “Independence is about equipping ourselves to navigate the future, guided by our own values, aspirations and interests.
“Now is the time – at this critical moment in history – to debate and decide the future of our country. Now is the time to get Scotland on the right path – the path chosen by those who live here. Now is the time for independence.
“This parliament has a clear, democratic mandate to offer Scotland that choice. The UK government, regrettably however, is refusing to respect Scottish democracy.
“The UK and Scottish Governments should be sitting down together, responsibly agreeing a process, including a section 30 order, that allows the Scottish people to decide. That would be the democratic way to proceed.
“The issue of independence cannot be suppressed. It must be resolved democratically. And that must be through a process that is above reproach and commands confidence.
“That is why I am setting out today the actions the Scottish Government and the Lord Advocate will take, in the absence of a section 30 order, to secure Scotland’s right to choose.
“I can announce, first of all, that the Scottish Government is today publishing the ‘Scottish Independence Referendum Bill’.
“In common with the 2014 referendum – indeed, in common with the Brexit referendum and the referendum to establish this Parliament – the independence referendum proposed in the Bill will be consultative, not self-executing.
“The Bill states that the question on the ballot paper should be – just as it was in 2014 – ‘should Scotland be an independent country’.
“There has been much commentary in recent days to the effect that a consultative referendum would not have the same status as the vote in 2014.
“That is simply wrong, factually and legally.
“The status of the referendum proposed in this Bill is exactly the same as the referendums of 1997, 2014 and 2016.
“The Bill includes the proposed date on which the referendum should be held.
“I can announce that the Scottish Government is proposing that the independence referendum be held on 19 October 2023.
“We must seek now to accelerate to the point when we have legal clarity; legal fact. And crucially, in doing so establish and safeguard the ability of this Parliament to deliver a referendum on the date proposed.
“The Lord Advocate has agreed to make a reference of the provisions in the Bill to the Supreme Court.
“I can confirm that the reference will be filed with the Supreme Court this afternoon.
“Obviously, it is this government’s hope that the question in this Bill, proposing a referendum that is consultative, not self-executing, and which would seek to ascertain the views of the Scottish people for or against independence, will be deemed to be within the legislative competence of this Parliament.
“If that outcome is secured, there will be no doubt whatsoever that the referendum is lawful. And I can confirm that the government will then immediately introduce the Bill and ask Parliament to pass the it on a timescale that allows the referendum to proceed on 19 October 2023.
“It is, of course, possible that the Supreme Court will decide that the Scottish Parliament does not have power to legislate for even a consultative referendum. Obviously, that would not be the clarity we hope for.
“But if that is what the law establishing this Parliament really means, it is better to have that clarity sooner rather than later.
“Because what it will clarify is this: any notion of the UK as a voluntary union of nations is a fiction. Any suggestion that the UK is a partnership of equals is false.
“There would be few stronger or more powerful arguments for independence than that.
“And it would not be the end of the matter. Far from it. Democracy demands that people must have their say.
“I want the process set in train today to lead to a lawful, constitutional referendum and for that to take place on 19 October 2023.
“But if the law says that is not possible, the General Election will be a ‘de facto’ referendum.
“Either way, the people of Scotland will have their say.”
“To believe in Scottish independence is to believe in a better future. It involves an unashamedly optimistic view of the world. The belief that things can be better than they are now.
“The people of Scotland have told us that they want the right to decide.
“Today we have set out the path to deliver it.”
THERE HAS BEEN A PREDICTABLE RESPONSE FROM OPPOSITION PARTIES:
A letter to the Prime Minister has been sent to inform him of the content of the statement and make clear that the Scottish Government is ready and willing to negotiate the terms of a section 30 order.
UK will give £25 million to found a new World Bank fund to prevent, prepare for and respond to future devastating pandemics
Investment in preventing future pandemics can stop the devastating human and economic impact of COVID-19 happening again
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced £25 million of UK aid backing for a new fund to ensure the world is better prepared to defeat future pandemics.
Hosted by the World Bank, the ‘Financial Intermediary Fund’ for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response will provide funding to countries whose healthcare systems are dangerously unprepared for the challenges caused by large outbreaks of infectious diseases. It will ensure they can quickly respond to, and as far as possible contain, outbreaks before they spread across the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to at least 6.2 million deaths across the world and caused far-reaching economic devastation.
Stopping a pandemic like this ever happening again will require a concerted and coordinated international effort.
At the G7 Summit today (Monday), leaders will discuss the importance of helping countries manage Covid as an endemic disease and the pressing need to invest in preparedness and other measures to prevent history repeating itself.
The new fund will help fill some of the financing gaps exposed by COVID-19, particularly insufficient financing for preparedness in national health systems and disease surveillance at country, regional and global levels. Crucially, the fund can help catalyse countries’ own financing, so the world is as equipped as possible whenever and wherever a new public health risk emerges.
The Prime Minister said: “While the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic are, thankfully, behind us, we cannot be complacent. The next potential pandemic could emerge any moment and with it the devastating human and economic consequences we have experienced over the last two and a half years.
“We must ensure we learn the lessons of COVID-19 and are better prepared next time. We owe it to the people of the world to say, ‘never again’.”
The chance of a pandemic on the scale of COVID-19 occurring in the next 25 years could be as high as 50%, and a key lesson of the coronavirus pandemic is that even small investments in pandemic preparedness can have huge returns.
By contributing to preparedness in the short term, we can avoid huge economic damage in the long-term.
Under the UK’s G7 Presidency last year, the Prime Minister drove forward international work on pandemic preparedness under his ‘five point plan’ and the 100 Days Mission, work on which was led by Sir Patrick Vallance.
This included launching a worldwide network of zoonotic research hubs, increasing the global manufacturing capacity for treatment and vaccines, designing a new early warning system and agreeing global protocols for a future health emergency.
The UK also hosted a Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit in March, which raised over £1.2 billion to develop variant-proof coronavirus vaccines and speed up the process of developing vaccines against future health threats so this can be done in under 100 days.
David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, said: “I welcome the UK’s support for the new Financial Intermediary Fund to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response functions in developing countries.
“The fund will provide a dedicated stream of additional, long-term funding to complement the work of existing institutions and operate with high standards of transparency and accountability.
“COVID-19 highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action to build stronger health systems and mobilise additional resources to prepare for the next pandemic in countries, regions, and around the world.”
At the G7 Summit last year, the UK galvanised international action to donate 870 million coronavirus vaccines to those who need them. This commitment, combined with UK and other investments to support the development and rapid manufacturing scale-up of COVID-19 vaccines, turned the tide on Covid around the world. Two-thirds of the global population have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.
The supply of coronavirus vaccines now outstrips demand and UK efforts are therefore focused on action to end the acute phase of the pandemic, help countries manage COVID-19 as an endemic disease and prepare for the next health threat.
Governments, NGOs and private donors have been encouraged to donate to the Financial Intermediary Fund, which was called for by G20 Finance Ministers in April.
The funding announced by the Prime Minister today will establish the UK as a founding donor to the fund, alongside the US, EU and others.
