Category Archives: Politics

Byelection likely as Chris Pincher faces suspension over groping claims

Posted on by

Recommendations of standards committee inquiry will trigger recall petition in Pincher’s Tamworth constituency

Rishi Sunak faces the prospect of yet another byelection after a parliamentary report into groping allegations against Chris Pincher recommended that the former government whip be suspended as an MP for eight weeks.

The suspension will automatically trigger a recall petition in Pincher’s constituency of Tamworth if approved by MPs. If 10% of constituents sign it then there will be a byelection.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer refuses to commit to free school meals pledge

Posted on by

Labour leader says ‘money is a big factor’ as he also declines to promise 6.5% pay rise for teachers

Keir Starmer has refused to commit to supporting free school meals for all primary school children, as he stuck to a tough fiscal position despite pressure from inside and outside of his party.

The Labour leader also declined to commit to a 6.5% pay rise for teachers as he urged the government to resolve the dispute at the centre of strike action.

Continue reading...

Tory MPs back mandatory swift bricks in all new homes to help declining birds

Posted on by

Calls grow for legislation requiring developers to include hollow bricks for endangered nesting species

Conservative MPs are joining calls for a new law to guarantee swift bricks in every new home to help the rapidly declining bird and other endangered roof-nesting species.

Pressure is growing to amend the levelling up bill so that developers are required to include a hollow brick for nesting birds in all new housing, with MPs to debate the issue in parliament on 10 July.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson claims he ‘reminded’ Trump about key role in Ukraine aid

Posted on by

Former British prime minister says in interview that Trump ‘played an important role’ in arming Ukraine and set an example

On his recent visit to the US, Boris Johnson “reminded” Donald Trump he “actually played an important role” in supporting and arming Ukraine against its Russian invaders, the former British prime minister said, adding that British aid to Kyiv was “enabled” by Trump’s example.

Johnson made the claim about the notoriously pro-Russian former president – and brushed off mention of Trump’s impeachment for blocking military aid to Ukraine – in an interview on One Decision, a podcast hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove, a former chief of the British intelligence service MI6, and the journalist Julia Macfarlane. The episode was released on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Austerity has led to NHS quality of care declining in key areas, study finds

Posted on by

Exclusive: Experts say fall in funding caused ‘turning point’ in standards in health service in England

The quality of care that the NHS provides has got worse in many key areas and patients’ long waits to access treatment could become even more common, research has found.

The coalition government’s austerity programme in the early 2010s led to the heath service no longer being able to meet key waiting time targets, the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation said.

Fewer people with long-term heath conditions such as cancer, diabetes and depression, are getting enough help to manage their condition.

Breast cancer screening rates for women aged 53-74 have fallen.

It has become harder for patients to see a named GP.

Only 6% of midwives think their maternity unit has enough staff to do its job properly.

Continue reading...

Striking teachers in England accused of undermining pupils’ pandemic recovery

Posted on by

Gillian Keegan says she ‘can’t think of a worse time’ for action by NEU members

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, has accused striking teachers of undermining children’s recovery from the Covid pandemic, saying she did “pretty well” at winning extra funding for schools from the Treasury.

Keegan told a conference in Bournemouth: “Let me be clear, we should not be having these strikes in general, but certainly not now. Children have been through so much in the pandemic and I can’t think of a worse time to be willingly keeping them out of school.”

Continue reading...

Time to worry about car tyre pollution, Chris Whitty tells MPs

Posted on by

Chief medical officer says move to electric cars can reduce impact of exhausts, but may bring different problem to the fore

Ministers need to start looking seriously at the health risks from vehicle tyre wear as the impact of pollutants from car exhausts gradually reduces, Sir Chris Whitty has told MPs.

Giving evidence to the environmental audit committee, England’s chief medical officer said improvements in emissions from petrol and diesel vehicles, and a shift towards electric cars, were reducing the extent of dangerous pollutants such as nitrogen oxides.

Continue reading...

Iranian envoy tells UK to stick to terms of nuclear deal and lift missile sanctions

Posted on by

Diplomat says accord could collapse if European signatories retain restrictions on weapon development

The UK, France and Germany should stick to the terms of the Iran nuclear deal and lift sanctions on Iranian missile development, Tehran’s chargé d’affaires to London has said.

Speaking on the eve of a UN security council debate on Iran, Mehdi Hosseini Matin said on Wednesday that such a breach would lead to the collapse of the deal, known as the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA). It would, he added, also affect the atmosphere around recent bilateral talks in Oman between Iran and the US to secure a separate mini-agreement covering the release of US prisoners, maintaining aspects of the nuclear deal and the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad.

Continue reading...

Tony Blair urges expanded role for private sector as NHS turns 75

Posted on by

Former PM says service needs radical reform, including pointing patients to private healthcare offers

The NHS must undergo radical change or it will continue to decline and lose public support, Tony Blair has argued on the service’s 75th anniversary.

It must embrace a revolution in technology to reshape its relationship with patients and make much more use of private healthcare providers to cut waiting times, the former Labour prime minister says.

Continue reading...

Sexual harassment of girls is a scourge at schools in England, say MPs

Posted on by

Commons committee’s report calls for government strategy to engage with young boys to tackle problem

Sexual harassment of girls is “a scourge” in England’s schools, according to MPs, who have called for a government-led strategy to focus on boys who are failing to engage with relationship and sex education.

MPs on the women and equalities committee said in a report that there should be training for all teachers to help them hold conversations with boys and young men about sexual harassment and gender-based violence, in a way that challenges prevailing gender norms and ideas of masculinity.

Continue reading...

‘Get a grip and listen’: Scottish voters share views as Yousaf reaches 100 days in office

Posted on by

Focus group compares first minister with Sturgeon and discusses appeal of Labour as cost of living crisis continues

Scottish voters overwhelmed by the cost of living want Humza Yousaf to “get a grip and listen” to their struggles, as previous SNP supporters discuss the appeal of revitalised Scottish Labour.

As Yousaf reaches 100 days as first minister this week, members of a focus group convened by More in Common UK agree his public profile is not as strong as his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, despite divergent views on her recent arrest.

Continue reading...

Rise in racist abuse against Sadiq Khan linked to London clean air zone expansion

Posted on by

Study by Greater London authority finds mayor has received over 300,000 pieces of racist abuse since being elected

Sadiq Khan has received more than 300,000 pieces of openly racist or racially-oriented abuse on social media since he was elected London mayor, with a recent surge in such messages connected to his plan to expand the city’s clean air zone, research has found.

The study, carried out by the Greater London authority, found that racist abuse against the Labour mayor, which peaked when he was targeted on Twitter by Donald Trump, has started to rise again this year.

Continue reading...

Ministers urged to shelve illegal migration bill until supreme court ruling after 11 defeats in Lords – UK politics live

Posted on by

Purpose of the bill is now ‘dead’, says crossbench peer Alex Carlile after yesterday’s vote in House of Lords

Rishi Sunak has posted a message on Twitter saying that he looks forward to continuing working with Jens Stoltenberg, who has had his term as Nato’s secretary general extended.

According to the Sun’s Harry Cole, at cabinet Sunak praised Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, as the only other credible candidate for the job who was not a former prime minister. Stoltenberg is a former Norwegian PM.

Continue reading...

Court hears councils’ legal challenge over London Ulez expansion

Posted on by

Five Tory-led councils seeking to block mayor’s plans to extend ultra-low emission zone to whole of capital

A legal challenge to plans to expand London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to the whole of the capital will be heard in the high court on Tuesday as five Conservative-led councils seek to block the proposals.

The Ulez is due to expand at the end of August from the boundary of the north and south circular roads to throughout Greater London, requiring drivers of the most polluting vehicles to pay a fee when using them in the area.

Continue reading...

Defeats for small boats bill in the Lords as Channel crossings set new record

Posted on by

Peers voted against government-proposed measures on detention and deportation of asylum seekers

The government’s small boats bill has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords, as Channel crossings in June by people seeking asylum set a new record.

Peers voted on Monday to limit the time that children and pregnant women who claim asylum after arriving by irregular means can be detained, and backed preventing LGBTQ+ people from being deported to a country where they would have a well-founded fear of persecution.

Continue reading...

Sue Gray ‘breached civil service code’ over Keir Starmer job, inquiry finds

Posted on by

Civil inquiry finds official’s talks over role without telling bosses is ‘prima facie’ breach of code

A Cabinet Office investigation has said Sue Gray apparently breached the civil service code by discussing a role with Keir Starmer without telling her Whitehall bosses, prompting a vehement fightback by Gray’s allies, who said the inquiry was arbitrary and politically motivated.

Jeremy Quin, a Cabinet Office minister, said a civil inquiry found a “prima facie” breach of the code about outside interests to be clear and transparent – meaning an apparent contravention of the rules based on first impressions.

Continue reading...

Labour considering graduate-led nurseries to fight inequality

Posted on by

Exclusive: Bridget Phillipson says early-years education key to improving life chances

More graduate teachers would be parachuted into nurseries under plans being considered by Labour to improve education for under-fours, the Guardian has learned.

There could also be more nursery places in primary school settings as the opposition works up proposals to drive up standards and formally integrate early years into the English education system.

Continue reading...

Nigel Farage row: minister warns banks against closing accounts

Posted on by

Tom Tugendhat asks Treasury to review whether banks are blacklisting those with controversial views

It should be “completely unacceptable” for banks to close accounts on “political grounds”, a Home Office minister has said, as Conservatives weighed in on a so-called freedom of speech row prompted by claims from Nigel Farage.

Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, was speaking in parliament after the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, urged regulators to take action against banks that shut off access to people with controversial views.

Continue reading...

Australia’s actions in Ashes Test not in the spirit of cricket, says Rishi Sunak

Posted on by

Spokesperson says PM agrees with Ben Stokes about Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord’s

Rishi Sunak has weighed into the row over Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday, saying Australia did not act in the spirit of the game.

Downing Street said it was the prime minister’s belief that the Australian team had contravened the spirit of cricket by stumping Bairstow out when the England batsman appeared to believe the ball was not in play during a heated final day of the second Ashes test.

Continue reading...

Monday briefing: Labour’s key U-turns under Keir Starmer

Posted on by

In today’s newsletter: the Labour leader may well win the next election – but why are so many of his policies being ditched?

• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

Good morning.

Keir Starmer has undergone a political transformation since he became leader of the Labour party. During the leadership contest, he positioned himself as a “colleague and friend” of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, in whose shadow cabinet he had served. His list of policy pledges presented him as a more competent version of Corbyn, with none of the political baggage.

NHS | Seven in 10 people in the UK believe charges for NHS care will creep in over the next decade, ending the health service’s record of being free at the point of use, polling has found. Ahead of the service’s 75th birthday this week the Guardian also asked five experts for their ideas on how to make the NHS thrive again.

House of Lords | Two British peers were among 50 people who attended a party organised by the Russian ambassador to the UK at his opulent residence in west London last month. The event was to mark the creation of a Russia independent of the Soviet Union.

Scotland | Orkney could leave the UK to become a self-governing territory of Norway after its council opted to explore “alternative forms of governance”. The archipelago off the north coast of Scotland will also consider changing its legal status within Britain as it seeks to provide more economic opportunities.

Israel | As many as 50 Conservative MPs are threatening to rebel against a government proposal that would impose fines on public bodies, including local councils, that seek to mount boycotts against Israel. The scale of the unease on a foreign policy issue has caught government whips by surprise.

France | The riots over the police shooting of teenager Nahel M appeared to ease after five nights of unrest that have seen thousands arrested and widespread destruction. French media reported that police made 49 arrests nationwide yesterday, down significantly from more than 2,000 over the previous two days.

Continue reading...