London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Sunak’s letter to PM puts desire to crack down on Covid subsidies on record

Sunak’s letter to PM puts desire to crack down on Covid subsidies on record

Latest move by chancellor to wrest back some control of public finances will raise eyebrows in Westminster
Last August, it was “eat out to help out”, launched by a beaming and maskless chancellor in Wagamama on London’s South Bank, carrying plates of noodles to nonplussed customers. This year, it’s “fly out to help out”.

With just a few weeks left of the school summer holidays, the airline and tourism industries are facing another bleak summer. As the threat of possible new restrictions hangs over holidays, and the costs of testing prove prohibitive for many families, many have decided to take their vacation in the UK, even though travel restrictions will ease for fully vaccinated travellers from 16 August.

Sunak is preaching to the choir in his letter to the prime minister demanding an even greater relaxation of travel rules to save summer holidays abroad, despite notes of caution from scientists and some in the Department of Health about the perils of possibly importing new variants.

Boris Johnson is not known for his caution and is expected to reopen green list travel, dropping most requirements for all travellers, to many holiday destinations on Thursday.

But it is the style, not the content, of the letter to Johnson from Sunak that will raise eyebrows in Westminster. Johnson will already be well aware of his chancellor’s views on the subject, but the leaked letter is a marker that Sunak wants his views on the record.

It is the latest in a series of interventions Sunak has made to try to wrest back some form of control over economic policy and the public finances after a torrid 18 months where the fiscally hawkish chancellor has been forced to pay people’s wages to keep business afloat.

He is saying that more subsidy is out of the question, having already made clear that Johnson cannot spend his way out of the pandemic in order to boost the economy and rebuild his popularity.

Take the stalemate over social care: Johnson could have announced a plan to overhaul the system this summer, taken the credit and allowed Sunak to have the row over unpopular tax rises this autumn. But the Treasury firmly put its foot down, saying any new policy had to show how it would be paid for.

A rise in national insurance is clearly the Treasury’s preferred policy, widely briefed ahead of the anticipated announcement.

That plan, which would hit lower-paid workers the hardest and would break the Tory manifesto, has been met with suspicion by the cabinet and Tory MPs, some of whom accused the Treasury of trying to pressure the prime minister into it. Though more are likely to agree with Sunak’s intervention on travel, many are starting to see a pattern.

Sunak is highly ambitious and is widely seen as Johnson’s natural successor. He is the second most popular Tory in the party after Liz Truss, according to ConservativeHome’s latest poll, which has seen Johnson’s personal popularity fall by 36 points. Though denied by No 10, there are longstanding rumours that Johnson may be keen to depart Downing Street and make money on the circuit after winning another election.

In the short term, there are numerous tests to come for the shaky partnership between Nos 10 and 11 this autumn, including rows over tax, a spending review where the chancellor will want to tighten the purse strings, as well as the threat of industrial action from medics and other public sector workers over pay.

These are some of the dangers ahead for Johnson, but they are also traps for his chancellor. So far Sunak’s reputation has been flying high among voters – for paying their wages – and among fellow Tory MPs, who see him as the bastion against Covid restrictions. If Sunak insists on higher taxes and pay cuts, that popularity could wane.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
×