British Politics

Business secretary Alok Sharma travelled to South Korea on government business only days after coming into contact with staff who later tested positive for Covid-19, it is understood. The cabinet minister last month came into close proximity with at least one member of his private office at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy […]

Suspended Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn has been spotted flouting coronavirus restrictions on the Isle of Wight. The former Labour leader was seen travelling on a ferry to the Isle despite living in a Tier 2 area in London, where travel to lower-risk areas is discouraged. According to the Sun, he is staying in a four-star […]

Sir Patrick Vallance has hit back at suggestions by a Brexiteer that he was attempting to scare people into lockdown with gloomy data on Covid infection rates. Appearing in front a Commons committee on Covid-19, Vallance, who sits on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said the figures were a “scenario” of what could happen, and […]

Boris Johnson’s spokesman has confirmed that the UK government had missed the European Union’s deadline for replying to its formal letter of notice about the controversial Internal Market Bill. It leaves the government facing further legal action for failure to explain why he intends to break international law over Brexit, after ministers admitted an intention to […]

A poll of those living in the north of England has found a majority think the government is treating the south of England better with its coronavirus response. A YouGov survey commissioned by BBC North West after the city was placed into Tier 3 showed that 67% of people asked thought that the South was […]

A health minister has rebuffed calls for cross-party talks on a mental health package for NHS staff, telling Labour the only way they would sway policy was to “win an election”.  Nadine Dorries, the minister for mental health, said the government had launched a range of initiatives to help people with mental health conditions cope during the […]

SIMON USHERWOOD on the new defining issue in British politics. In the autumn of 1991, a meeting was held in London. Convened by a lecturer at the London School of Economics, it resulted in a commitment by a cross-party group of individuals to stand in elections to protest at the big expansion of powers of […]

Robert Jenrick has admitted he “doesn’t know” how many tests will be needed for the government’s mass coronavirus testing programme in Liverpool. The government announced that Liverpool will become the first city to offer its citizens coronavirus tests in a new mass testing pilot programme from Friday. Anyone living or working in the city will be available […]

Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock are being sued over the appointment of Tory peer Dido Harding to run the government’s Test and Trace system. Runnymede Trust and the Good Law Project have brought forward legal proceedings against the two over alleged cronyism. The NGOs claim top-ranking affiliates of the Conservative Party were given key public sector […]

Robert Jenrick has joined fellow cabinet ministers in creating confusion about the rules which will apply when England’s second national lockdown begins on Thursday. Communities Secretary Jenrick suggested that an entire household could meet up with a friend, before then contradicting himself. The official guidance states that people in England can exercise or visit outdoor public […]

Michael Gove has apologised for confusing the rules over tennis and golf rules during England’s second lockdown. Downing Street has insisted it will not change direction over the decision to close golf courses and tennis clubs when new measures are introduced this week. But during an online question and answer session with his constituents, the […]

A legal challenge over the decision not to investigate Dominic Cummings for alleged breaches of coronavirus lockdown rules will be heard by the High Court on Tuesday. The prime minister’s chief adviser caused controversy by making a 260-mile drive from London to Durham in March with his wife, journalist Mary Wakefield, and their four-year-old son to […]

The UK is on the verge of becoming a “broken kingdom”, a senior Tory has warned in the House of Lords. Lord Cormack said the government underestimated “at its own potential peril, just what dangers surround us” post-Brexit. He said the Westminster parliament could not behave as if it was the only legislative body in […]

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked the chancellor’s decision to block a “circuit breaker” lockdown and claimed the delay would have far-reaching consequences. The leader of opposition said the chancellor’s name was “all over” the decision to delay a nationwide lockdown during an appearance at the Confederation of British Industry conference in London. Sir Keir said Sunak’s decision […]

Boris Johnson has vowed to end the second lockdown on December 2 when the government “intends” to return to a regional tiered system. Johnson guaranteed “without a shred of doubt” that the restrictions would expire on December 2, amid concerns on the Conservative benches that England’s lockdown could be extended. A growing number of senior MPs on […]

Boris Johnson believes MPs should continue travelling from across the UK to Westminster despite the national lockdown coming into effect in England. The prime minister’s spokesperson said Johnson did not agree with arrangements for a virtual parliament which would involve many working from home. Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg later echoed the importance of MPs attending […]

The speaker of the House of Commons has criticised a leak that revealed ministers were about to announce another lockdown in England. Sir Lindsay Hoyle called the leak “unacceptable” and demanded the culprits apologise to parliament if an investigation launched over the weekend finds an MP was behind it. The prime minister was forced to […]

An ex-chief prosecutor has claimed he has new evidence proving Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules and has submitted it to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Nazir Afzal, who lost his brother to Covid-19 in April, is fighting to have Cummings prosecuted for breaching lockdown regulations earlier this year. Afzal has claimed his lawyers have found […]

A government adviser has blamed the public for the low level of people being contacted by NHS Test and Trace staff. The official said the public’s reluctance to answer calls from unknown numbers was the reason so few people have been reached by the government’s test and trace team. Data released last week showed that two in […]

The Brexit transition period will not be extended, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as he told businesses that it is now down to Boris Johnson to deliver on his promise. Sir Keir struck a strongly more pro-business tone than his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn as he spoke at the CBI conference. Sir Keir, who backed Remain in […]

Brexit and the UK government’s handling of it has undermined the case for the union and is driving up support for independence, the Scottish Conservative leader has warned. Douglas Ross said there has been a failure to resolve Brexit divisions and the SNP government at Holyrood “benefits from intergovernmental disputes”. He suggested there is a […]

James O’Brien has said minsters are “psychologically incapable” of approaching issues without it turning into a fight during a take down of the prime minister’s latest lockdown measures. O’Brien delivered a withering attack on the prime minister’s handling of the national lockdown expected to come into force on Thursday. The prime minister announced a new four-week […]

Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice has had an angry showdown with television presenter Adam Boulton after he asked what had happened to the money from donations to his organisation. Brexiteers had helped donate more than £2 million to the cause in early 2020 with the intention of fighting against “Brexit in Name Only”, with more money […]

A software glitch inside the government’s coronavirus app has led to thousands of people not being told to self-isolate when they should have been. They were apparently not contacted because the app has been set to the wrong sensitivity, the government has admitted to the Sunday Times. For more than a month, officials from the Department of Health and […]

Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson appears to have been arrested during a heated rally in London. Images on social media show Robinson in handcuffs as officers tried to clear a path to a police van through a shouting crowd. Robinson, 37, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, co-founded the far-right EDL (English Defence League) in […]

Nigel Farage has been branded a “chancer” for rebranding the Brexit Party into an anti-lockdown party, despite supporting such measures earlier in the year. The Brexiteer has lodged papers with the Electoral Commission to rebrand his old party as “Reform UK”, which he hopes will be the home for lockdown sceptics, despite an attempt from […]

Piers Morgan has launched a scathing attack on Boris Johnson’s decision to introduce a nationwide lockdown over the weekend. Morgan said the government’s announcement had come too late and accused Johnson of having no plan to get the nation out lockdown. The lockdown, expected to come into force on Thursday, will see non-essential shops close and people […]

The leader of the Scottish Conservative has said Boris Johnson made a “mistake” by rejecting calls for a second lockdown and extending furlough. Douglas Ross said that the prime minister should have listened to the scientists on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee. Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Ross said […]