Quick questions to follow the PMQs
After the PMQs are over, keep an eye out for two quick questions in the Commons.
First, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, will seek a statement on reports “the UK government helped Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigosan circumvent the UK sanctions regime”.
Afterwards, Alba MP and former Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill will call for a statement on the energy cuts.
Sunak on his way to PMQs
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has left Downing Street and headed for the House of Commons.
He will take questions from MPs as usual at 12 pm.
No Tory consensus on Zahawi’s future but pressure growing
“Zahawi’s Toast”. This is the theory that a conservative grumbles to me.
Others disagree. And the investigation is now kind of a shield. Some say it is right to wait until the investigation is complete to make a decision.
But what is painful for Zahawi and the prime minister is that there is now a drip, drip, drip of conservatives, publicly and privately, feeling as if the negative headlines are a distraction.
What else might come up at PMQs?
Apart from Nadeem Zahawi’s tax issues, there are many other prickly questions that could be asked of Rishi Shankar during PMQs today.
It has been claimed that he was involved in discussions about securing a loan for then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He said he was “only connected” and had no conflict of interest.
The outlook for the economy is also likely to be significant. JEE News reported that the Office for Budget Responsibility has told the government that it has overestimated medium-term growth prospects, and that it plans to revise its forecasts. The paper says this will eliminate any room for maneuver in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s March Budget.
The SNP is stressing the need for time to debate the UK government’s decision to block the Scottish Gender Identity Bill. Stephen Flynn, the leader of Westminster, may raise the issue again during his two questions to the Prime Minister.
And it would be a huge surprise if Sunak didn’t appear to have the fixed penalty issued by Lancashire Police last Friday, for taking off his seatbelt to film a social media message.
