British Politics

Labour has warned Rishi Sunak against immediately raising taxes in his Budget on Wednesday, urging him instead to focus on securing the economic recovery. Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said now is “not the time” for tax rises, but signalled that she could support an increase in corporation tax in the future. Her comments came amid […]

A former senior Labour staffer has lost a High Court bid to force the party to reveal who it believes leaked an internal report into the handling of allegations of anti-Semitism. An 860-page report on Labour’s governance and legal unit, which found “no evidence” of anti-Semitism being handled differently from other complaints, was leaked in […]

Vote Leave turned Brexit into its own religion to capture supporters, a recent study by the universities of Birmingham and Warwick has found. Researchers said slogans such as “take back control” used the NHS as the country’s Holy Grail that could be rescued from European forces threatened by Britain’s unique historical place in the world. They also said […]

A post-Brexit move to dilute human rights laws in the UK would undermine Northern Ireland’s historic peace agreement, academics have warned. Amending the provisions of the Human Rights Act (HRA) risks upsetting the delicate constitutional balance achieved in the 1998 Good Friday accord, experts from Queen’s University claim. The concerns of the academics from Queen’s […]

A new record is about to be set for the longest period of time since a parliamentary by-election was held in the UK. On March 5, a total of 582 days will have passed since voters last went to the polls in a Westminster by-election. The gap is unprecedented in post-war history, according to analysis […]

Time and money is being wasted chasing unnecessary paperwork for businesses exporting from Northern Ireland to the EU, a leading cargo firm said. Belfast Port and Northern Irish hauliers are losing out because of red tape associated with duties which do not need to be paid, Quay Cargo Services said. The firm is based in […]

Labour will only make headway once it is able to move the debate onto its favoured territory, rather than allowing the Tories to set the agenda. By ZOE WILLIAMS Funny thing about the prime minister’s roadmap: he mentions golf and beauticians; touches schools, universities and colleges; makes a huge number of fine distinctions between the […]

MITCH BENN starts his weekly look back at some of the highlights and lowlights of recent days… UNFATHOMABLE STRATEGY OF THE WEEK The trouble with an inscrutable and mysterious strategy is that to the untrained eye, it’s indistinguishable from an entirely non-existent one. What is Sir Keir Starmer’s plan as leader of the opposition? Does it […]

Two out of five small businesses are not clear about new rules for posting goods to the EU since the start of the year, new research suggests. A survey of 500 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) found that one in six were not even aware of new EU posting requirements. Many of those questioned by […]

Boris Johnson has supported calls for a campaign to promote British seafood during a video conference with Conservative MPs from coastal areas. Johnson also promised to address concerns surrounding quotas and the ban on shellfish exports to the EU, following massive trade disruptions for British fishermen. MORE: George Eustice claims EU ‘unexpectedly’ changed its position on […]

The coronavirus crisis has made the UK look “dysfunctional” at times due to a lack of co-operation between administrations, Gordon Brown has said. In an article on devolution for the Scottish Fabians think tank, the former prime minister also said Boris Johnson risks becoming the “biggest recruiting sergeant for nationalism” due to his position on […]

Reports claim that chancellor Rishi Sunak will not include a pay boost for health workers in England’s forthcoming budget, despite warnings it could cause an exodus among frontline staff. Sunak will not make any decision on salaries for NHS staff until he receives the NHS Pay Review Body’s conclusions, which are due to be delivered […]

Nicola Sturgeon insisted she has no regrets about ensuring complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond were investigated – despite the “difficulties” it has caused. The first minister spoke out as the row surrounding her government’s bungled handling of sexual harassment allegations against Salmond grew – with her political opponents claiming that the Scottish Parliament itself […]

Boris Johnson has launched a new union strategy committee which has been described as a “step up” from the government’s union unit that it replaces. The committee was set up after Oliver Lewis left his position as the head of Downing Street’s Union unit last week. Lewis, a veteran of the Vote Leave campaign, had been […]

Tory Brexiteers have called on Boris Johnson to scrap the arrangements for Northern Ireland which he agreed with Brussels. The European Research Group (ERG) has published a report which concluded the Northern Ireland Protocol had a “profound and negative effect”. The protocol was designed by the EU and UK to avoid a hard border on […]

Downing Street has rejected claims that Boris Johnson is running a “populist” government and lacks the appetite to be unpopular by doing the right thing. Responding to remarks from former chancellor Philip Hammond, who said he was not being honest with the public about the budget, press secretary Allegra Stratton, said: “The prime minister has spoken […]

Former chancellor Philip Hammond has urged Boris Johnson to tell the public “some difficult home truths” ahead of next week’s Budget. The ex-occupant of Number 11, who was a close ally of Theresa May, also said the government should ditch “very extravagant” promises from its manifesto. Lord Hammond of Runnymede told the BBC he broadly […]

Calls for Matt Hancock to resign following the recent court ruling against him over PPE contracts simply underline the problem with bringing such cases.  This week, a lot of people are confused – and very reasonably so. A court has ruled that health secretary Matt Hancock broke the law over Covid-19 related contracts. The ruling seems to […]

Our leaders are avoiding proper scrutiny due to the changes in the way politicians communicate during the pandemic. The social impact of COVID is self-evident. It has touched the everyday aspects of each of our lives, from simple tasks such as shopping, to meeting family members on Zoom, to (not) socialising with friends. Each of […]

MPs have called on Matt Hancock to apologise after he denied there was ever a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves urged the health secretary to say sorry to NHS and care staff who “had to make makeshift PPE” due to a lack of […]

Boris Johnson has sidestepped calls from Labour to rule out tax rises for families and businesses in next week’s Budget. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted “now is not the time” for tax increases given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But instead, Johnson took aim at previous Labour Party policy and Labour-run councils. Speaking […]

There are good signs that coronavirus will not suddenly start escaping from the vaccine, MPs have heard. Professor Sarah Gilbert, of the University of Oxford, told the Science and Technology Committee: “Certainly what we’re seeing at the moment is a reduction in efficacy against variants rather than falling off a cliff edge. “We have to […]

Boris Johnson should “have a word” with Conservative MPs doubting the accuracy of data behind his road map out of lockdown, according to Sir Keir Starmer. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, the Labour leader said he backed the principles of the plan but warned Covid scepticism could risk it all. He explained: “One of the […]

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has not ruled out lengthening school days or shortening summer breaks to help pupils in England catch up from coronavirus disruption. Ministers have announced an extra £400 million of funding and asked secondaries to deliver some summer teaching to counteract the months of classroom closures. With all pupils in England set […]

Matt Hancock appears to have removed a picture of a friend’s pub from his wall following a court ruling on coronavirus contracts. Alex Bourne, who ran the Cock Inn near Hancock’s former constituency in Thurlow, secured a contract to provide medical equipment after contacting the health secretary over Whatsapp. It comes as the UK’s medicines regulator, […]

Ministers are being urged to accept a rebel amendment to protect leaseholders in England from the costs of carrying out emergency fire safety work on their flats. More than 30 Tory MPs have signed the amendment to the Fire Safety Bill – intended to strengthen regulation in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster – […]

Independence supporters have ridiculed a flyer produced by the Scottish Tories warning an SNP majority at this year’s Holyrood elections would lead to a second referendum to separate from the United Kingdom. The leaflet, sent to household across Scotland, appears to suggest Boris Johnson would not prevent the referendum. It says: “The SNP will hold another […]

An MP was snubbed from making a virtual contribution to parliament after being judged to be dressed too casually. Conservative Jonathan Gullis had been set to address the Commons from home during a debate on support for businesses and individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Stoke-on-Trent North MP was skipped on the order paper […]