British Politics

Education secretary Gavin Williamson turned down a BT offer of cheap broadband for children, it has been revealed. The broadband giant offered to supply families basic connections to allow access to online learning with schools closed for months during the Coronavirus pandemic. The firm’s chief executive also revealed they had given free wifi vouchers to the […]

A Brexiteer peer has accused politicians in the House of Lords who tried to block Brexit of “lacking the imagination to see life beyond Brussels”. Claire Fox, a former Brexit Party MEP, said such peers also shared with US president Donald Trump a “refusal to give losers’ consent”, and warned voters may look at “unelected lawmakers […]

James O’Brien has shut down a Trump supporter who called in to push false allegations that Joe Biden was corrupt. A US caller was left eating his words after failing to provide evidence proving Joe Biden was a “corrupt” politician. The call comes after unprecedented scenes in America on Wednesday saw a woman shot dead and […]

Labour could dump Sir Keir Starmer in favour of a leader keen to rejoin the EU, a former frontbencher has warned. Former Labour whip Rosie Duffield said a majority of party MPs were “desperate to rejoin the EU at heart”. Speaking on HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast, Duffield – who was forced to resign in May for […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has blocked an extension of a Commons committee tasked with scrutinising the Brexit process. The Commons leader rejected a last-minute request by Labour’s Hilary Benn to extend the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union beyond its expiry date of January 16 for a further six months. A letter by Rees-Mogg to […]

The prime minister’s father has said his application for French citizenship was a “sentimental gesture” to his mother and said Boris Johnson should be “jolly pleased” about it. Stanley Johnson revealed he was applying for a French passport in December, soon after the Brexit deal negotiated by his son was approved by MPs. Appearing on […]

Lorry drivers passing through Kent have been issued with more than £32,000 in fines since the end of the Brexit transition period. Under the new Brexit deal that came into effect on January 1, hauliers must have the correct permit to enter Kent on their way into mainland Europe. However, scores of drivers have not, while […]

A key Brexit lobbying group has moved its registrant address to a location in the Republic of Ireland in order to keep its .EU suffix. Leave.EU, the domain name behind the Leave the EU campaign body funded by British businessman Arron Banks and supported by Nigel Farage, changed addresses to keep its .EU suffix as thousands of domains in […]

MPs have overwhelmingly backed the latest lockdown measures as the UK Covid death rate reached levels not seen since the spring peak. With Labour supporting the lockdown, the vote in the recalled House of Commons passed comfortably by 524 votes to 16, giving the government a majority of 508. Boris Johnson, however, did face rebellion […]

A high-profile doctor has said patients turned down the chance to have the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, saying they would “wait for the English one”. Paul Williams, former Labour MP for Stockton South, said it shows nationalism has consequences, given they were delaying having a jab at the height of the pandemic. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was […]

A Tory peer recently ennobled by Boris Johnson has urged the prime minister to remove EU consumer and worker protections now that Brexit has happened. Daniel Hannan has said safeguards on the use of data, workers rights, GM foods, and environmental standards should be scrapped. “Change is coming. To succeed outside the EU, we need […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has faced a torrent of criticism after failing to boldly denounce Donald Trump over inciting riots in the US capital overnight. Patel avoided Trump’s name in her condemnation of the riots despite the president having instructed protesters to march on the capital. Sky News’ Niall Paterson caught the minister out, telling her […]

A senior Welsh Conservative politician has come under fire after comparing the storming of Capitol Hill by Donald Trump protesters to politicians who supported a second referendum on Brexit. Andrew RT Davies is facing calls to remove a tweet aimed at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Labour MS (member of the Senedd) Alun Davies. […]

An overwhelming majority of England’s teachers believe education secretary Gavin Williamson should resign, snap polling has found. In response to a question posed by app Teacher Tapp, carried out on behalf of ITV News, 92% of almost 6,000 respondents said they think Williamson should quit. The results come as the government faces mounting criticism of its handling of […]

US president-elect Joe Biden has addressed citizens amid the storming of Congress by Donald Trump protesters. In an address to the nation, Biden, who was set to be certified as the incoming US president by Congress on Wednesday said: “Let me be very clear, the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true […]

UK politicians have begun reacting to news of Donald Trump protesters storming Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Trump supporters broke into Capitol Hill on Wednesday in an attempt to interrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s US election victory in Congress. Thousands descended on to government grounds following a speech by Trump in which he added pressure on president […]

Scotland would not have received a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine if Nicola Sturgeon had been in charge of distributing it, Boris Johnson has claimed. Johnson told Tory MPs that Scots would have missed out on doses of the new jab had Sturgeon’s party been responsible for its distribution, the Guardian understands. Johnson apparently made the remark during […]

Dominic Cummings has threatened to expose Remainer civil servants who ‘sabotaged Brexit’ in his latest attack on Whitehall. Boris Johnson’s former senior adviser used Twitter to hint at naming and shaming civil servants he clashed with during his time in government. Cummings left Downing Street in November after falling out with the prime minister. He has used his […]

Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is “very unstable” and could see the UK miss out on millions of pounds worth of investment, a legal expert has warned. EU legal scholar Catherine Barnard told MPs companies may be put off investing in the UK because of unresolved questions on tariffs and trade. This comes as customs professionals […]

Former Goldman Sachs banker Richard Sharp will succeed Sir David Clementi as BBC chairman, BBC News has said. His appointment comes amid a debate about the BBC licence fee and how the broadcaster is facing competition from streaming services. Sharp, who was once Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s boss, will take over from Sir David, who will […]

Piers Morgan has delivered the perfect quip to a Tory minister who struggled to explain the government’s Covid testing regime at UK airports. Morgan laid bare his thought about Boris Johnson and his ministers when he quizzed vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi about No 10’s airport testing strategy on Good Morning Britain. Morgan asked the minister if he knew the […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has caused outrage after crossing coronavirus tiers to attend a Latin mass in Somerset. The Commons leader – a devout Catholic – was seen leaving his West Harptree house in a Tier 3 area to attend church 15 minutes away in Glastonbury, which was under Tier 4 restrictions. Although people in Tier 4 can […]

A right-wing commentator who said Covid-19 had “disappeared” has admitted he was wrong during an on-air grilling on the BBC. Lockdown Sceptics editor Toby Young claimed in June that coronavirus “had all but disappeared” and questioned the need for social distancing. Young was confronted over claims during a debate on free speech on BBC 2’s Newsnight. […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has been accused of leaving the “nation’s doors unlocked” to alarming new coronavirus variants amid calls to strengthen border protections. Ministers were considering introducing a requirement for international arrivals to have a negative coronavirus test before travelling to Britain in order to tackle surging cases. But Labour joined some senior Tory MPs […]

Nicola Sturgeon has told Donald Trump that the travel ban on people entering Scotland also applies to him. Scotland’s first minister made the remark amid rumours the US president could skip Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony by flying to Scotland. Addressing the press during a coronavirus update, Sturgeon said she hoped Trump’s immediate travel plan was […]

A Tory politician has resigned after claiming A&E departments were full of “fat mums in pot noodle-stained leggings” with their “snot-covered Asbo” children. Constituency Conservative chairman Gareth Baines claimed mothers were were taking their children to hospital “for a day out” to “harvest Facebook likes”. In one message over New Year’s, Baines wrote: “A&Es in […]

Boris Johnson has been accused of following Nicola Sturgeon’s lead on coronavirus lockdowns after he put England under one hours after his Scottish counterpart did. England entered its third national lockdown on Monday evening which saw schools shut and the toughest restrictions imposed since March following a recent, steep rise in coronavirus cases. Johnson ordered people […]

A TV presenter has blasted Downing Street after it emerged Boris Johnson would be holding another coronavirus press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Phillip Schofield did not hold back when he found out that No 10 announced another Covid conference for 5pm this afternoon. The news comes less than 24 hours after the prime minister announced […]