Sunak skewered by Dorries for washing Tory policies ‘down the drain’ ahead of major speech

Nadine Dorries has hit out at Rishi Sunak for his plans for the UK, claiming that “three years of a progressive Tory government” are “being washed down the drain”. Writing on Twitter, Ms Dorries said: “Three years of a progressive Tory government being washed down the drain. Levelling up, dumped. Social care reform, dumped. Keeping young and vulnerable people safe online, watered down.”

She added: “A bonfire of EU [legislation], not happening. Sale of C4 giving back £2b reversed. Replaced with what?”

This came after it was revealed that the Government is backing down on Channel 4 privatisation.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan wrote to the Prime Minister calling for plans to privatise Channel 4 that were championed by Boris Johnson to be scrapped, in a stark change of tone.

In the letter, which was obtained by The News Agents podcast, she said there were “risks to the corporation’s long-term sustainability” but argued “that pursuing a sale at this point is not the right decision”.

She continued: “There are better ways to secure C4C’s [Channel 4 Corporation’s] sustainability and that of the UK independent production sector.

“Indeed, C4C’s role in supporting growth in our independent production sector, a sector which is currently worth around £3 billion to our economy, would be very disrupted by a sale at a time when growth and economic stability are our priorities.”

Earlier this week, it was also claimed that the Government’s plans to remove up to 4,000 pieces of EU legislation from the statute book will be delayed when they hit the House of Lords.

A senior Government source said it was “inevitable” that Mr Sunak’s Government would be forced to abandon the plans when the legislation reaches the Lords, as peers have raised significant concerns already.

This is expected to occur next month.

But the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said there are “no plans to change the 2023 sunset deadline” which features in the Retained EU Law Bill.