British Politics

Forcing an employee to have a coronavirus vaccine in order to keep their job would be “discriminatory”, Downing Street has said. Some care home staff are reportedly refusing to have a Covid jab – with some providers said to be considering not hiring staff who have refused the vaccination on non-medical grounds. And Charlie Mullins, […]

A Labour government would “clean up cronyism” and deliver the “biggest wave of insourcing of public services for a generation”, a shadow minister has pledged. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves accused the Conservative Party of being “rife with conflicts of interest” as she urged firms awarded contracts during the pandemic with Tory links to […]

Boris Johnson has shown little to no interest in a report on the abuse of low-paid workers, says the man who led it. Matthew Taylor, who recently stood down as director of Labour Market Enforcement – a workers’ rights watchdog -, said the government was “indifferent or complacent” to the body’s work.  The report warned that unemployment rises caused by […]

Ministers have sought to reassure the public over the effectiveness of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as experts warned it was “very possible” the South African variant is already quite widespread in the UK. A study of around 2,000 people has shown the jab only offers minimal protection against mild disease of the South Africa variant […]

Elton John has called on the government to renegotiate a better settlement for musicians after they were largely ignored during Brexit negotiations. The British pop icon accused Boris Johnson of having “screwed up” by failing to reach an agreement with the EU for visa-free tours by British musicians. John said Britain’s Brexit negotiators either “didn’t care about […]

A DUP MP has been referred to the Westminster Standards Commissioner following a Facebook post in which he criticised the “BBC at its BLM worst” (Black Lives Matter) over the ethnic make-up of a Songs of Praise gospel show. East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell made the comment in a January 31 post. It stated: “Just watched […]

The government “doesn’t have a plan” to bring home a British mother due to finish a five-year sentence in Iran next month, her local MP fears. British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained in Iran since 2016, when she was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to […]

Cronyism concerns have led to Labour urging companies with Conservative Party links to disclose their pandemic profits. Research by the Opposition suggests the value of contracts awarded to firms with connections to the Tories amounts to almost £2 billion. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves is expected to reveal she has written to the top […]

A survey of international hauliers has found the volume of exports travelling from British ports to the EU fell 68% last month compared with the same period last year. The research by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) prompted it to write to Cabinet minister Michael Gove to call for assistance, particularly with increasing the number […]

The government’s top scientific advisers warned last month that a “complete, pre-emptive closure of borders” was needed to fully prevent new coronavirus strains being imported into the UK – despite Number 10 claiming otherwise. Minutes from a meeting of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) held on January 21 revealed that the experts said the […]

Number 10’s adviser on ethnic minorities considered resigning over fears the Conservative Party was pursuing a “politics steeped in division”. Samuel Kasumu reportedly retracted his resignation letter – in which he said tensions in government were at times “unbearable” – on Thursday after talks with vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi. The BBC said he wrote: “I […]

Tory former health minister Jeremy Hunt has urged caution about reports of Covid restriction being mostly gone by May. Speaking with the Guardian, Hunt said cases should drop to 1,000 per day before re-opening the economy. Hunt’s remarks come as lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs are calling for measures to be lifted entirely by June. On Thursday, […]

Ministers have been accused of being too slow to act after it was disclosed new coronavirus quarantine hotels will not come into force until mid-February. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that, from February 15, travellers returning to the UK from “red list” countries will have to quarantine in a government-approved facility […]

Tory lockdown-sceptics have expressed worry that the government is shifting the goalposts on reopening society as they called for complete removal of restrictions by the end of May. The prime minister told a Downing Street briefing that the level of coronavirus infections in the country was still “forbiddingly high” and that it was too soon […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has dismissed a call from Labour for a select committee on Brexit and the European Union to be reinstated as problems continue after the UK’s departure from the bloc. For Labour, Valerie Vaz challenged Rees-Mogg over Boris Johnson’s claims about trade in Northern Ireland after Brexit. Calling for the committee to be reinstated, […]

A Brexiteer official will take over the duty of advising Boris Johnson on the state of the union after his former aide quit. Oliver Lewis will take over a “beefed-up union unit” which advises Johnson on ways to counter calls for Scottish independence after Luke Graham quit following a furious dispute with Downing Street, the FT […]

Boris Johnson still believes Brexit is “done”, despite the government’s call for a two-year extension of the grace periods in the Northern Ireland Protocol. The prime minister’s official spokesman said “there are some issues that we need to resolve as part of the protocol” and “we will continue to work to address those issues” with […]

The culture secretary has been told by Elton John to end the obstacles facing UK-based musicians after Brexit. The singer has claimed that up-and-coming acts hoping to tour the continent will be “up against a brick wall” of fresh “bureaucracy”, “paperwork” and added finances. “It’s much more difficult for young artists to get this together because […]

Calls have been made to scrap part of the Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland, as the prime minister warned Brussels he will act to prevent trade barriers being put up in the Irish Sea. First minister Arlene Foster said the Northern Ireland Protocol risked the country’s “political and economic links” to the UK and […]

Reports suggesting there was an argument between Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer after Prime Minister’s Questions have been denied. The two leaders had clashed in the Commons after the Prime Minister accused the Labour leader of repeatedly calling for the UK to stay in the European Medicines Agency after Brexit, suggesting such a move would […]

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suggested to the House of Commons he could invoke Article 16  “to ensure that there is no barrier down the Irish Sea” after Brexit. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, DUP MP Ian Paisley said people in Northern Ireland were being made to “feel like foreigners in our own country” by […]

Boris Johnson has been branded “reckless” for visiting a Scottish vaccine plant which saw a coronavirus outbreak just 24 hours before. A report in the Daily Record revealed Johnson visited Valneva’s plant in Livingston last week as they started manufacturing their Covid-19 vaccine – just one day after public health officials uncovered a surge in coronavirus cases. Officials […]

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of twisting the “truth” for the purpose of “gags” during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). The leader of the opposition said Johnson had a habit of hiding behind “pre-prepared gags” instead of answering tough questions. Probing the prime minister on the government’s border strategy, Sir Keir asked: “With new variants coming […]

Implementing tougher Australia-style border closures would not help the UK tackle the coronavirus pandemic, transport secretary Grant Shapps has insisted. The cabinet minister said the UK’s proximity to continental Europe means it is important that vital goods and people continue to move in and out of the country. The government has faced criticism for not […]

Matt Hancock has downplayed suggestions he took advice on the UK’s vaccine strategy from a Hollywood film, telling Good Morning Britain (GMB) he had in fact consulted numerous sources. Hancock told LBC radio he had become aware that a row could break out over who was eligible for a Covid jab from Contagion, a 2011 thriller about the deadly outbreak of […]

The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned Ryanair’s “jab and go” holiday advertisement campaign, citing concerns it encourages the public to act irresponsibly once they had received the coronavirus vaccine. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the two ads, which were the third-most complained-about of all time, mere days after the airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said […]

The government has been defeated a second time over its post-Brexit trade bill. The legislation would allow the UK government to forge new agreements with other countries after leaving the EU. But opponents want to see parliament given a bigger role, with a former Tory minister leading calls for ministers to publish draft negotiating objectives to […]

Independence would hit the Scottish economy harder than Brexit, and rejoining the EU would make little difference, a team of academics has said. The economic damage from leaving both unions would be the equivalent of an income loss of between £2,000 and £2,800 per person, according to an analysis of trade by the London School […]