Category Archives: Politics

Boris Johnson backs Tory rebels over Rwanda bill

Posted on by

Warning that bill is not compatible with international rules comes amid mounting revolt by Tory MP

Boris Johnson has backed calls by Conservative rebels to harden the Rwanda deportation bill in a direct intervention on the side of those defying his successor, Rishi Sunak.

The former prime minister used the social media platform X to retweet an article by a rightwing Tory rebel, Simon Clarke, who was describing the bill as a “flawed measure” and warning he would not support it if it was amended.

Continue reading...

UK fuel retailers to be forced to share prices within half hour of any changes

Posted on by

Petrol station owners will have to provide near-live data amid concerns drivers are being ripped off

Fuel retailers will be forced to share near-live information on price changes at the pump to help drivers find the cheapest petrol and diesel, after the government accused them of treating motorists as “cash cows”.

Petrol station owners will be required to provide data within half an hour of any change as part of a political effort to bring transparency to the sector amid concerns that drivers are being ripped off.

Continue reading...

Britons living abroad regain right to vote in UK elections as 15-year rule ends

Posted on by

Change to franchise brings UK in line with other major democracies which allow lifelong voting rights

An estimated 3 million Britons living abroad for more than 15 years will regain their right to vote in all elections in the UK from Tuesday, ending 20 years of broken promises by successive UK governments.

The end of the so-called 15-year rule means millions more could be enfranchised in time for the next general election, the date of which has yet to be decided by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak: UK willing to take further military action against Houthis

Posted on by

Prime minister addresses MPs hours after Yemen-based group fires on another container ship in Red Sea

Rishi Sunak has said the UK is willing to take military action against Houthi rebels again, hours after the Yemen-based group fired another missile at a container ship in the Red Sea.

The prime minister addressed MPs on Monday for the first time since the UK took part in airstrikes on the Houthis on Friday night, which he said destroyed 13 targets at two sites, including drones, an airfield and a cruise missile launcher.

Continue reading...

Geopolitical tensions and AI dominate start of World Economic Forum

Posted on by

Ukraine, Middle East and Taiwan overshadow annual meeting at Davos, with artificial intelligence also high on agenda

Growing concern that heightened geopolitical tension could damage an already shaky global economy has dominated the start of the annual gathering of the world’s business and political elite in Davos, Switzerland.

Three potential flash points – Ukraine, the Middle East and Taiwan – threatened to overshadow the meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) aimed at rebuilding trust after the series of setbacks suffered in the past four years, including war, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Continue reading...

Grant Shapps dismisses significance of Tory-backed poll suggesting Labour on course for landslide election win – UK politics live

Posted on by

Defence secretary dismisses poll, saying things will change by time general election takes place

And here is some more comment on the YouGov poll on X from experts and commentators.

From Will Jennings, an academic and psephologist

At last, details of the @YouGov MRP. Bad for the Conservatives (unsurprisingly), but this is curious to say the least: “In constituencies across England and Wales, the Labour vote is up by an average of just four per cent compared to 2019”.

These results are actually *way better* for the government than the most recent standard YouGov poll, which would produce a 334 seat Labour majority according to Electoral Calculus. So something quite peculiar is going on...

Continue reading...

UK ‘will wait and see’ before deciding on further Houthi strikes

Posted on by

Grant Shapps says UK has no interest in wider Yemen conflict as Rishi Sunak prepares to address MPs

The UK has no interest in taking part in any wider conflict in Yemen but is “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether further military strikes against Houthi forces might be needed, the defence secretary has said.

Discussing the US-led strikes on the Yemen-based rebels in the early hours of Friday, which were aimed at stopping Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Grant Shapps said the aims of the military operation were always limited.

Continue reading...

UK government’s free childcare scheme in disarray, charities say

Posted on by

Thousands of concerned parents reportedly struggling to sign up for flagship offering that starts in April

A flagship government childcare scheme is at risk of “falling apart” with parents struggling to access new free hours and nurseries in the dark about if they can afford to provide care, according to charities.

Parents’ groups have accused the government of planning the new free offering “on the back of a fag packet”, with thousands of “furious” parents struggling to sign up for the scheme, which starts in April.

Continue reading...

Houthi missile targeting US warship intercepted, says US, amid Red Sea tensions

Posted on by

US Central Command says missile from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen was launched towards USS Laboon before being shot down by fighter jets

US fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen at one of its warships in the Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday night.

The missile was fired towards the USS Laboon which was operating in the Southern Red Sea, US Central Command said in a statement, in what appears to be the first such attempt on a US destroyer. No injuries or damage were reported, Central Command said.

Continue reading...

Up to 70 Tory rebels could abstain or back amendments to Rwanda bill

Posted on by

Lee Anderson could be one of ‘six Conservatives on the payroll’ ready to support the amendments

Conservative rebels have said as many as 70 MPs could back amendments or abstain from supporting Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda bill, telling the prime minister he will have “nowhere to go” if he does not toughen up the legislation.

A leading figure on the right wing of the party said at least three junior ministers and six Tories on the payroll, including a vice-chair of the party, had already informed the whips they were “sympathetic” to the amendments.

Continue reading...

Sunak ‘dodging scrutiny’ by failing to appoint chair of Climate Change Committee

Posted on by

No successor has been named for Lord Deben – and now the independent watchdog’s chief executive has resigned

Rishi Sunak has been accused of trying to avoid scrutiny of his green policies after details surfaced about his government’s failure, over more than 18 months, to appoint a new chair of the independent climate change committee.

Senior environmentalists said they believed Sunak may be deliberately trying to avoid appointing a successor to Lord Deben – who first announced that he was stepping down in July 2022 – until after a general election, so he does not face criticism for his U-turns on green issues.

Continue reading...

Ed Davey’s approval rating takes a big hit from the Post Office scandal

Posted on by

Letter shows the Lib Dem leader initially refused to meet a campaigner when he was a minister responsible for the service

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has seen his personal popularity take a significant hit in the wake of the Post Office scandal, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.

Davey was one of a series of ministers responsible for the Post Office during the crisis, holding the role between 2010 and 2012. He has received criticism after a letter emerged in which he refused to meet Alan Bates, the former postmaster and campaigner fighting for justice, telling him: “I do not believe a meeting would serve any useful purpose.”

Continue reading...

Plans to reform private prosecutions after Post Office Horizon scandal

Posted on by

Improved oversight and a law to strip organisations of their power to take people to court are among measures gaining cross-party support

Plans to overhaul the growing “cottage industry” of private prosecutions are already being urgently examined by ministers in the wake of the Post Office scandal, including measures that could see untrustworthy bodies barred from pursuing them.

Labour is also understood to be drawing up its own reform package this weekend after the outcry prompted by the Post Office’s use of private prosecutions against more than 700 post office subpostmasters. It means that there is growing scope for a cross-party commitment to complete any reforms after the election.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak says UK acted in ‘self-defence’ with Yemen airstrikes

Posted on by

PM defends lawfulness of military action against Houthis as MPs call for parliamentary scrutiny

The prime minister has said the UK acted in “self-defence” with military strikes in Yemen intended to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability to the region”, as he faced calls for greater parliamentary scrutiny.

Speaking from Ukraine, Rishi Sunak said that in the face of this aggression “we will always stand up for the rule of law” after a series of attacks by Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

Continue reading...

Sunak seeks stature on the global stage – and to keep trouble away from home

Posted on by

Foreign policy displays in Yemen and Ukraine may win PM reflected glory – but capping inflationary pressures will be his foremost wish

Returning from an overseas trip last year that had been broadly seen as a success, Rishi Sunak was heard privately observing that a truism of foreign policy is that even when you get things right, voters tend to not especially notice or care.

Time will tell whether Sunak’s decision to throw in the UK’s lot with US-led attacks on Houthi forces will stem a spate of attacks on international shipping. But for now, the strike has won support from the bulk of British MPs, despite a few qualms about a lack of prior parliamentary consultation.

Continue reading...

Labour considers non-dom tax plan that would raise £1bn less than initial pledge

Posted on by

Party may allow non-domiciles to live in Britain for four years before ending tax break, it is understood

Labour plans to scrap non-dom tax breaks would raise about a billion pounds less than the £3.2bn previously claimed, under an option being considered to allow a four-year grace period for those with the status.

Research suggesting that scrapping the breaks could raise £3.2bn a year was cited by Labour when it announced the plans in 2022 to scrap rules allowing some wealthy people to avoid tax on foreign earnings if they have lived in the UK for less than 14 years.

Continue reading...

Post Office lied and threatened BBC over programme exposing Horizon scandal, says broadcaster – UK politics live

Posted on by

Post Office lawyers sent intimidating letters to experts interviewed for Panorama in 2015, says BBC, ahead of latest Horizon inquiry evidence

Chris Jackson, the lawyer acting for the Post Office, has apologised for delays in the disclosure of documents at a hearing in London as part of the inquiry into the Horizon scandal.

He is being questioned by the lead counsel to the Inquiry, Jason Beer KC.

The Post Office has asked me to convey its apologies for the current situation and to assure the inquiry and other core participants that it is a post office priority to get to a position where hearings (and planning and preparation for hearings) can take place from a stable basis.

I think it’s very important to be clear that these were, or the vast majority of these were, Post Office prosecutions brought by the Post Office in relation to their cases.

A small number, at the moment it looks like there may have been three or so, a handful of cases, in the five years that I was director of public prosecutions that were handled by the Crown Prosecution Service.

More details will emerge no doubt ... it’s not clear whether they’re in the cohort of cases of concern or not.

Continue reading...

Yemen strikes: Commons speaker calls for MPs to be urgently updated

Posted on by

Lindsay Hoyle says he will recall parliament if necessary as minister says no immediate plans for more attacks

The Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, has called for MPs to be updated on military strikes in Yemen “at the earliest possible opportunity”, saying he would recall parliament before Monday if needed for this to happen.

In a statement released by his office following UK involvement in attacks against Houthi forces, Hoyle said: “I was invited to a meeting at the Cabinet Office last night to be briefed about the airstrikes on Houthi rebel bases. I made representations to the deputy prime minister [Oliver Dowden] about the need for the house to be informed at the earliest possible opportunity and that I would be happy to facilitate a recall at any time.”

Continue reading...

Hezbollah and Iran condemn US and UK strikes against Houthis

Posted on by

Tehran-backed Lebanese group says ‘aggression confirms that US is a full partner’ in Israel’s actions in Gaza

The Iran-backed Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has condemned the US and UK’s overnight strikes against Yemen’s Houthis, as countries across the Middle East express fears over the latest escalation of the conflict in the region.

Although anxiety was widespread, most vocal were countries and militant groups backed by Tehran, which accused the US and the UK of destabilising the region.

Continue reading...

‘Done with Labour and the Tories’: Reform UK attracts angry voters

Posted on by

The rightwing populist party could play an outsize role in the next UK election – and cost the Conservatives dearly

“A sinking ship” was how Antonia, an administrator from Middleton, described Britain at the start of 2024. That assessment, while damning, isn’t unusual, with “broken”, “mess” and “struggling” the top words used to describe the UK today. But Antonia, and her fellow focus group participants – former Conservative voters from the “red wall” seats of Heywood and Middleton, Great Grimsby and Dudley North – weren’t planning on expressing their exasperation with the state of Britain by voting Labour. Instead, they were tempted by the successor to the Brexit party – Reform UK.

Since October, Reform has enjoyed a steady rise in support, hitting 10% in some opinion polls. While unlikely to win seats of their own, by attracting former Tory voters Reform could play the role of spoiler. An analysis by the thinktank More in Common suggests that at present polling levels Reform could enable more than 30 additional Conservative losses.

Luke Tryl is the UK director of the research group More in Common

Continue reading...