Ministers meet industry leaders as country faces looming gas crisis

The Labour Party’s disciplinary process came under further scrutiny over the weekend when Kate Osborne was issued with a notice of investigation and it was then confirmed that the Labour MP was not under investigation after all. The notice was apparently an ‘administrative error’, so it was rescinded and she received an apology. This came just one week after Young Labour chair Jess Barnard was also issued a notice in ‘error’. In a statement, Osborne warned there is “little if any consideration being given to the impact on members of receiving such threatening letters” and called for a “serious rethink by those running the governance and legal unit”.

Reacting to the news, CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “The current dispute process is not fit for purpose. The one the leadership expect us to introduce will be put into the hands of a general secretary doing this sort of thing on a daily basis.” He then confirmed that his union will join Unite in voting against David Evans as general secretary at conference. In response to Ward’s statement, a Labour source hit back: “What sort of trade unionist advocates sacking someone without due process? For all their painting themselves as reasonable, these are people coming to conference with the aim of causing as much trouble for Labour as possible.” Ward’s statement touched on Labour left opposition to the newly proposed complaints system, which will go to conference on the Sunday afternoon as part of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) rule changes. (The rule changes were passed by the NEC on Friday, but eight members voted against the new process.)

In Labour news today, the party has announced plans to raise £500m by closing a tax loophole used by private equity fund managers. Rachel Reeves said Labour would tax “carried interest” – the share of profits received by private equity fund managers from an investment deal – as income, because it is a fee for management rather than a capital gain. The potential amount that could be raised is small compared to other government taxes, but the party says this reform is evidence that there are ways of raising cash for the NHS and social care other than the increase in National Insurance contributions.

The main story driving the day is the gas crisis. Five small energy firms have gone bust in the last five weeks, leaving more than half a million people without a provider. Kwasi Kwarteng is meeting with industry leaders today. Energy suppliers are seeking a bailout and the ‘big six’ are pushing for the energy price cap to be scrapped. Alok Sharma did not rule out removing the cap on the Sunday politics shows. Labour’s Pat McFadden said the government should have foreseen the crisis, urged ministers to “get on with the transition to net zero” and said Labour wants to see “less reliance on fossil fuels”. Ed Miliband described the gas crisis over the weekend as a “fundamental failure of long-term government planning over the last decade” and said the government should have been investing in “diverse, secure, zero carbon energy supplies” and prioritising energy efficiency.

Working people will be hit hard by the rise at what is, to say the least, a difficult time. Households face the cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits, the hike in National Insurance contributions and now spiralling energy prices. Miliband called on ministers to recognise this reality over the weekend and to cancel the planned welfare cut and tax rise. Mayor Sadiq Khan warned this morning: “Many Londoners are now going to be losing from Universal Credit £20 a week and if they, on top of that, have to pay more expensive fuel bills this winter, I’m afraid some families will be choosing between turning the heating on or putting food on the table.”