Hello. The horror show Tory Sleaze News shows no signs of slowing down, and there are two aspects that must alarm No.10. First, it’s not just an obsession with left-wing newspapers; right-wing newspapers, which normally support the Conservatives, embraced it enthusiastically. And, secondly, once a narrative like this gains traction (“Conservative MPs are on the hook,” to put it bluntly), then it becomes an open season for the media, with all kinds of fuss. which in the past might have suddenly been ignored. come under scrutiny because they are now considered newsworthy. This story has reached this point.

Today’s newspapers are still full of revelations about Sir Geoffrey Cox. The Guardian is focusing on the £ 6million he earned from his legal work, the Daily Mail made a similar calculation, while the Daily Mirror asked him to apply for accommodation in London while renting an apartment that he owns. in the capital. But it’s not just Cox making the headlines. Other conservatives facing uncomfortable second-job questions include Julien smith, the former secretary of Northern Ireland (in the Guardian), Mark Pawsey (in town AM), Philippe dunne, former defense minister (in The Times), and Alun Cairns, the former Welsh secretary (in The Times). It’s not as bad as the 2009 MP spending scandal, but there are parallels.

This morning we had a potentially important intervention from Rishi Sunak, the chancellor. In interviews focusing on the (slightly disappointing) growth figures, he said the government had to “do better” on standards than it did last week. He told Sky News:

On a larger point and just thinking about recent events, I think for us as a government it is fair to say that we need to do better than what we did last week and we know it.

In one respect, this is not surprising. Ministers admitted that it was a mistake to get MPs to vote for the motion setting aside the Owen Paterson report, and so, of course, the government needs to do better. But, because they come from a cabinet minister who (at least so far) has not been involved in the controversy over misery or second jobs, and considered the frontrunner to be next. Prime Minister, Sunak’s words also sound like an implied rebuke to Boris. Johnson.

Here is the program for the day.

9:30 am: NHS England publishes latest wait time figures.

Morning: Boris Johnson is chairing what is expected to be a lengthy cabinet meeting. Originally, they planned to be away from the cabinet in Checkers for a day. The venue has moved to Downing Street, but the agenda will be the same, focused on upgrading, before the upgrade white paper is released later this year. There will also be a political cabinet.

12h: Nicola Sturgeon answers questions from the Prime Minister in the Scottish Parliament.

I am trying to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a straightforward question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I try to answer the questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and answer over the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m on it @AndrewSparrow.

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