Category Archives: Politics

Millions of ‘missing voters’ cost Labour seats due to electoral boundaries bias

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Analysis of official data has revealed the system for drawing constituencies is ‘warping’ democracy by omitting eligible voters

British democracy is being “warped” by an unfair system for drawing constituency boundaries that ignores millions of “missing voters” and hugely benefits the Tories, according to a new study of official data.

Analysis by the political commentator and pollster Peter Kellner shows that if constituencies were determined according to the size of their populations rather than the number of registered voters – as happens in most other advanced democracies – then the number of extra Labour seats created would cut the Tories’ Commons majority by 22.

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‘We don’t need police’: the New Forest village taking the law into its own hands

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At the village with the most unsolved burglaries in the UK, shopkeepers are turning to vigilante-style tactics

Within the genteel New Forest village of Lyndhurst, it was considered a crime of almost outrageous audacity.

On a busy Saturday afternoon in February, two vividly painted Moorcroft pottery charger plates were stolen in plain sight from the middle of the venerable antique store.

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England’s concrete crisis could extend to hospitals and courts, experts say

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Labour demands urgent audit of government’s handling of longstanding concerns about Raac

England’s growing buildings crisis could expand beyond schools to other public buildings such as hospitals and courts, experts have said.

More than 100 schools were forced to partially or fully close this week after a dramatic escalation of the government’s approach towards crumbling concrete.

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Ex-Tory MP apologises for ancestors’ links to slavery

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Antoinette Sandbach ‘struggling with difficult history’ after initially threatening to sue University of Cambridge over academic’s research

A former Conservative MP has apologised “for the acts of my ancestors” after an academic named her as a descendant of a merchant with links to the slave trade.

On Thursday, Antoinette Sandbach had threatened to sue the University of Cambridge over an online TED Talk given by Malik Al Nasir. On Friday she said she had raised the matter with the university over concerns for her personal safety, but that she did not object to being linked to a history “that is absolutely there”.

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Ministers face calls to explain delay in closing schools over concrete crisis

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Labour calls for audit of handling of longstanding safety fears as government pledges to fund repairs expected to cost at least £100m

Headteachers are racing to find temporary classrooms for thousands of children amid a growing building safety crisis that has left ministers under pressure to explain why they were slow to shut buildings in more than 100 schools.

With the new academic year due to start next week, Labour demanded an urgent audit of the government’s handling of longstanding safety fears about aerated concrete found in the roofs, floors and walls of hundreds of schools, hospitals and other public buildings.

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‘An absolute nightmare’: teachers and parents shocked by concrete closures in England’s schools

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From Essex to Cumbria, many are dismayed by timing of the government’s action on aerated concrete in buildings

On Thursday, the emails that have left headteachers reeling started to arrive. A ruling from ministers in the Department for Education said their schools, built using potentially dangerous concrete, would need to close or partially close.

Within hours, parents and children had been informed. Many were left angry and confused by the timing of the announcement, just before the start of a new school year. Schools across England were left with days to improvise temporary classrooms from marquees or empty office buildings, or arrange to share space with unaffected schools. The majority of schools will open as usual but for tens of thousands of pupils the new academic year will start like no other.

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New school safety warning prompted by beam collapse at building considered safe – UK politics live

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Schools minister Nick Gibb said the collapse happened at a school previously thought to have been at no risk from aerated concrete

We want to speak to school leaders and staff at affected schools or colleges in England. Does your building contain aerated concrete? What are you planning to do?

What communications have you received? How will this affect you?

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More English schools could close due to crumbling concrete, minister warns

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Nick Gibb says buildings continue to be surveyed for risk of collapse after over 100 were told to shut

The schools minister has warned more schools in England could face closure after more than 100 were told to shut just days before term starts for thousands of pupils.

The government has refused to publicly reveal the 104 education facilities that have been told to shut buildings due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material at risk of collapse.

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Foul fumes and sewage spills in Tory stronghold of Michael Gove

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Aggrieved residents tell of issues in constituency of housing secretary planning to rip up pollution laws

While Michael Gove was deciding to weaken pollution laws for new housing developments this week, his own constituency was being plagued by the stench of human waste.

People living on the outskirts of Camberley, the largest town in Gove’s constituency of Surrey Heath, have been complaining for months that foul-smelling fumes from the local sewage works have ruined their summers, causing even the washing they hang out to stink.

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Grant Shapps appointed defence secretary as Claire Coutinho takes energy brief in mini-reshuffle – UK politics live

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Energy secretary appointed defence secretary in mini-reshuffle, with Claire Coutinho taking the energy security brief

Grant Shapps said he is “honoured” to become defence secretary and praised Ben Wallace for his time in the role.

Shapps tweeted:

I’m honoured to be appointed as Defence Secretary by Rishi Sunak. I’d like to pay tribute to the enormous contribution Ben Wallace has made to UK defence & global security over the last 4 years.

As I get to work at DefenceHQ I am looking forward to working with the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who defend our nation’s security. And continuing the UK’s support for Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s barbaric invasion.

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English schools told to close buildings made with crumble-risk concrete

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A week before start of term, DfE says buildings should be taken out of use regardless of assessed risk

More than 100 schools are facing the immediate closure of buildings constructed from potentially dangerous aerated concrete panels, plunging the beginning of term into chaos for thousands of pupils.

The government has found that 156 schools in England have reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) materials but only 52 have put mitigations in place against risks including collapse, it admitted on Thursday. Engineers have warned the material is at risk of cracking and spalling and of “shear failure”.

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Top issues in Grant Shapps’ in tray as new UK defence secretary

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Ben Wallace’s successor faces major issues on several fronts including Ukraine and a British military seeking more investment

Grant Shapps’ appointment comes at a time of the largest war in Europe since 1945, with Britain a key strategic partner for Ukraine as it seeks to kick out the Russian invaders. A central part of the job is public and private diplomacy, with the UK particularly keen to maintain its position as a bridge between Kyiv, always seeking new weapons, and an often cautious White House, already increasingly mindful of the looming 2024 election battle, most likely with Donald Trump.

Once Boris Johnson had been ousted from Downing Street, Kyiv looked to Wallace as an increasingly important figure, with the former defence secretary central in efforts to find a pathway for Ukraine to eventually join Nato and in ensuring long-term military support continues. Shapps will want to keep the long-term door to Nato membership open, but he may have give Kyiv candid advice and help it temper its not always realistic lobbying.

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RSPB v the Tories: Six claims, the truth or otherwise

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Do the charity’s accusations that the government has reneged on a range of environmental pledges stand up to scrutiny?

If the RSPB hoped to raise awareness about the perplexing concept of “nutrient neutrality” their post calling Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Thérèse Coffey “LIARS!” worked: it has, to date, been viewed by five million people.

“You lie, and you lie, and you lie again,” the conservation charity declared on X, formerly Twitter, listing a number of environmental statements from the trio over recent years.

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Thursday briefing: What we learned from the foreign secretary’s trip to China

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In today’s newsletter: James Cleverly met senior Chinese officials for talks in Beijing – was there anything to gain?

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Good morning, or perhaps 你好 (nǐ hǎo). Hopefully James Cleverly got at least that far on Duolingo before the UK foreign secretary’s plane touched down in Beijing this week on a trip aimed at resetting ties after a long period of tension over security, investment and human rights concerns at home and abroad.

It was the first visit to China by a UK foreign secretary for five years. Remember the last time, when Jeremy Hunt somehow ended up announcing that his Chinese wife was Japanese? Very odd.

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‘National tragedy’: figures show large rise in people dying while on NHS waiting list

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Figures obtained by Labour show an estimated 120,695 people died in England while awaiting treatment

More than 120,000 people in England died last year while on the NHS waiting list for hospital treatment, figures obtained by Labour appear to show.

That would be a record high number of such deaths, and is double the 60,000 patients who died in 2017/18.

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Isolating China would be a mistake, says UK foreign secretary

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On trip to Beijing, James Cleverly says Britain is ‘clear-eyed’ about its disagreements with world’s second largest economy

James Cleverly has defended his meetings with senior Chinese government members, saying it would be a mistake to try to isolate China, during the first visit to Beijing in five years by a UK foreign secretary.

Cleverly said he believed China genuinely cared about UK views on human rights, following his meetings on Wednesday with China’s vice-president, Han Zheng, and foreign minister, Wang Yi. However, there was no indication of a change in Chinese policy such as the lifting of its sanctions on British parliamentarians, the test for the trip set by the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy.

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UK should take China to task on human rights and Taiwan, MPs say

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Foreign select committee report published as foreign secretary, James Cleverly, travels to Beijing

Britain must take a tougher stance on China over its severe human rights abuses and help Taiwan build its defences to deter a potential attack from Beijing, an influential group of MPs says.

With the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, scheduled to land in China on Wednesday for a first official visit in five years, a report from the foreign affairs select committee says ministers have to call out the country’s transnational repression.

China’s behaviour is a threat to world security that cannot be ignored, it says.

The Chinese Communist party (CCP) is “seeking to silence criticism of its human rights abuses, and impose its foreign policy and Xi Jinping’s thought beyond its own borders”, the committee, which is Tory controlled, writes. “This is a challenge to the functioning of democracies globally.”

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Tories accused of hypocrisy in Ulez row after call to extend congestion charge

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Ministers have claimed Ulez is cash-raising ploy – but letter reveals Grant Shapps backed a separate charge for same reason

Ministers have been accused of hypocrisy in claiming Sadiq Khan expanded London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to raise revenue after it emerged the Department for Transport urged the mayor to extend the city’s congestion charge for the same reason.

On the first day of Ulez covering every London borough there was renewed bickering between the Labour mayor and the government, with Khan castigating Mark Harper, the transport secretary, for what he called factual mistakes after the pair crossed paths at a TV studio.

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UK foreign secretary to challenge China over support for Russia in Ukraine war

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James Cleverly to say during visit to Beijing this week that China has ‘a responsibility on the global stage’

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will challenge Chinese officials in Beijing on Wednesday over their growing military support for Russia, but is intent that his meetings are seen as the revival of a political dialogue that eventually revives UK trade with China.

Ahead of the meetings, he said that no major international issue could be solved without China but added that the country had to live up to its international commitments and obligations.

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Rishi Sunak defends government’s green credentials after housebuilding water pollution rules scrapped – UK politics live

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Government claims ripping up EU-era protections on nutrient neutrality will allow for an additional 100,000 homes

Chronic under-investment, exploitation and low pay is leading to widespread poverty among workers in the care sector, according to damning research from the Trades Union Congress.

As it publishes its first workforce blueprint for the care economy, the TUC argues that the “Cinderella sectors” of social care and childcare need urgent investment to head off a demographic timebomb.

If the government is willing to strip away vital protection to save money for developers in polluted catchments, then where will it draw the line? This could be the most serious blow for environmental law in decades.

What the government is proposing here is to remove legal protections for nature, throw away requirements for polluters to pay, and instead use taxpayers’ money to try to fill the gap.

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