Sunak survives the storm, but his Rwanda Bill is far from plain sailing, Sir Jeremy Quin secures the Defence Committee win, and if you haven't heard who 'Ballsed' it up this week... Come find out in this week's Who's Top, Who's Not, below!
Flying High: Sir Jeremy Quin
Sir Jeremy Quin has secured the win: he has been elected as Chair of the Defence Committee, a landslide victory with Sir Jeremy receiving 371 votes out of 476. Sir Jeremy immediately stated that as the new Chair, he will push for increased funding and resources for Defence.
He also believes defence spending must grow to reflect the scale of the threat and higher levels of geopolitical instability referencing the war in Ukraine, the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific have increased global risk.
Sunak has already stated he would not commit to ramping up defence spending ahead of the next general election, despite pressure from Tory MPs. This is unlikely to become a key electoral issue with the public, but defence is a top priority for Tory MPs and you can expect Sir Jeremy’s inflcuene to grow this year.
Middle Ranking: Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunack survives another rebellion after his flagship Safety of Rwanda Bill sailed through the Commons on Wednesday night after a long-trailed rebellion of right-wing Tory backbenchers faded away at Third Reading.
Sunak has been making immigration a key dividing line for the upcoming General Election, but he is running the risk of becoming synonymous with his flagship immigration policy which is simply not working. Two years since the policy's inception, the only people to have been flown to Rwanda are Home Secretarys. This failed policy is giving ammunition to Reform who are rising in the polls at the Conservatives’ expense
Furthermore, Sunak’s Bill is far from plain sailing as it will now face significant opposition in the House of Lords where they will attempt to table a significant number of amendments – there is even a band of Peers trying to throw it out altogether. Peers are ready to batten down the hatches with the bill not expected to complete all stages until Spring – not what Sunak hoped for when he announced it as “emergency legislation”.
Sinking Quickly: Ed Balls
Ed Balls, the former Labour MP and Secretary of State for Education was on Good Morning Britain filming a trailer for a debate on the subject of public transport etiquette. To illustrate the issue they used four mocked-up plane seats.
As Susanna Reid settled into her seat alongside Daily Mirror’s political journalist Kevin Maguire, Ed sat behind Susanna and next to Daily Mail political journalist Andrew Pierce.
However, Ed Ballsed it up. As he settled back into the chair he swung both his feet onto Susanna’s headrest, accidentally clipping the presenter on the back of her head – ouch!
Later in the show, Susanna revealed that her eyesight “went blurry for 20 minutes” after the kick.
Word of warning commuters: make sure if you see anything strange – or Ed Balls – on public transport, you can text the transport police. See Ed. Say it. Sorted.