Treasury minister branded ‘ridiculous’ after claiming HGV driver shortage nothing to do with Brexit – live

Simon Clarke, the new chief secretary to the Treasury, was giving interviews on behalf of the government this morning and he insisted that Brexit had nothing to do with the shortage of HGV drivers in the UK that has contributed to petrol stations running out of exchange. He was speaking to Justin Webb on the Today programme, and here is the key exchange.

In fact only this week Olaf Scholz, who is favourite to become the next German chancellor, said the situation inn the UK was worse than in EU countries and that Brexit to blame.

The causes of the driver shortage in the UK are complicated, and no one factor is solely responsible. But outside circles where belief in the wisdom of Brexit is an article of faith (and that includes the cabinet), there is a virtual consensus that Brexit is a factor. My colleague Lisa O’Carroll published an analysis explaining that here, and this briefing (pdf) from the Road Haulage Association says clearly that Brexit is a factor.

Clarke’s argument has been described as “ridiculous” by Gavin Barwell, a Conservative peer who served as Theresa May’s chief of staff when she was prime minister. He posted this response on Twitter.

Barwell is referring to the way the government is now arguing that Brexit has benefited workers like HGV drivers because a shortage of workers is driving up wages. Boris Johnson deployed this argument at PMQs earlier this month, when he told Sir Keir Starmer:

And he later told at Tory MP

Q: You criticised the 2019 manifesto. But you helped to write it, didn’t you?

Starmer says as shadow Brexit secretary he contributed. But he says he always supports the Labour party.

Q: Do you need to be a showman in politics?

Starmer says in his speech yesterday he set out how his background influenced. But as for a showman – we have one now.

Q: And he’s prime minister, and you’re not.

Starmer says look at what is happening, and the queues for petrol. Universal credit is being cut. There is a cost of living crisis. People are worried about how they will

Q: But that’s what he is doing.

Starmer acknowledges Labour has more to do.

Q: Name me one Labour prime minister who was not charismatic.

Starmer cites Clement Attlee. And he says Mark Drakeford is open, reassuring, transparent. When he campaigned with Drakeford, people came up to him to thank him for his leadership.

Q: But that’s Wales. The Tories don’t win in Wales.

Starmer says it is important for a leader to have honesty and integrity.

Q: And if you lose the next election, you will step down.

Starmer says he does not accept he cannot win. He cites Germany as an example, saying the Social Democratic party defied expectations.

Q: What did Tony Blair have that you don’t? Do you feel you should be more like him?

No, says Starmer. He says all leaders are different. It is not his job to “hug a leader from the past”. He wants to get Labour into a position where it can win.

Good morning. Next week universal credit will be cut by GBP20 per week, as the government ends its temporary Covid uplift. This will lead to families losing GBP1,000 a year, and could push another 800,000 people into poverty. Ministers have been under pressure to reverse the cut, or if not at least introduce measures to alleviate the hardship the measures will cause, and today we’ve got a response: a GBP500m household support fund.

This is how the Department for Work and Pensions explains it in a news release.

In a statement about the fund Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, said:

Announcing the move now means that at the Conservative conference, starting on Sunday, ministers will have something to say when asked about the impact of the universal credit cut.

And this is not a trivial announcement; GBP500m is proper money, in Treasury terms. But it is still just a fraction of the money that is being taken away from low-income families. Last week a minister said reversing the cut would cost GBP6bn a year – more than 10 times what has been announced today.

The Labour conference is over, and the Commons is in recess, the diary is relatively empty today. But Sir Keir Starmer is doing a morning interview round, and I will post the highlights shortly.

For more on the fuel supply crisis, do read my colleague Graeme Wearden‘s business live blog.

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