Category Archives: Politics

Sunak sets out Northern Ireland trade deal to MPs as Labour vow to back agreement – as it happened

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen say ‘Windsor framework’ has been reached after four months of negotiations. This blog is now closed

Q: Why do you say you will back the PM’s deal when you have not seen the detail? And would you like to see Northern Ireland within the scope of the European court of justice, or outside it?

Starmer says he knows Northern Ireland well and knows the detail. Any deal will be an improvement on the status quo. That is why he is saying he would back it. He says the deal will not come as a surprise.

Continue reading...

Northern Ireland protocol: key issues revised deal must address

Posted on by

Trade and governance will be at centre of new post-Brexit pact, but what about other areas of disagreement?

Named the “new Windsor framework”, the revised Northern Ireland protocol has been described as a “decisive breakthrough” by Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

What does it mean and what are the big breakthroughs?

Continue reading...

News that king will host EU chief sparks fury from DUP and Brexiters

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak accused of ‘dragging the king into a hugely controversial political issue’

The king will host the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, after the signing of the final Northern Ireland protocol agreement with Rishi Sunak, prompting a furious reaction from the Democratic Unionist party and Tory Brexiters, who accused the prime minister of dragging the monarch into politics.

The former DUP first minister Arlene Foster said she “cannot quite believe that No 10 would ask HM the king to become involved in the finalising of a deal as controversial as this one. It’s crass and will go down very badly in NI. We must remember this is not the king’s decision but the government, who it appears is tone deaf.”

Continue reading...

Betty Boothroyd dies aged 93

Posted on by

First female speaker of the House of Commons was ‘one of a kind’, says Sir Lindsay Hoyle

Betty Boothroyd, the first female speaker of the House of Commons, has died, aged 93.

Lady Boothroyd, a former Labour MP, was speaker from 1992 until her retirement in 2000, and was the first person to be elected to the role after the Commons debates started being permanently televised in 1989. She was later made a life peer in the House of Lords.

Continue reading...

DUP leader faces stark and binary choice over any NI protocol deal

Posted on by

Jeffrey Donaldson risks internal revolt if he accepts deal but rejecting it will threaten future of power sharing

The Democratic Unionist party has said any Northern Ireland protocol deal must meet its “seven tests” but they omit the one that really matters: the test of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s leadership.

The seven conditions concern laws and trading rules, which have room for fudge and ambiguity.

Continue reading...

Embrace local solutions to meet UK net-zero targets, MPs and peers urge

Posted on by

Exclusive: Cross-party group recommends policies such as mortgage penalty for landlords of energy-inefficient homes

The UK will need to embrace innovative, community-based solutions to environmental and energy problems if it is to have any hope of meeting looming net-zero deadlines, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has recommended.

A report by the all-party group on a green new deal argues for a combination of robust, top-down policies on green issues including localised power generation, food and transport schemes. Recommendations include a mortgage penalty for landlords who let energy-inefficient homes, and also real community decision-making, notably on power schemes.

Continue reading...

England’s new housing supply likely to fall to lowest level in decades, study says

Posted on by

Home Builders Federation warns planning policy changes will result in government meeting less than half its annual target

Housebuilding in England is due to fall to its lowest level since the second world war, according to an analysis by the Home Builders Federation (HBF), owing to a range of government policies that threaten to dramatically slow development.

The study says the supply of new housing is likely to fall below 120,000 homes annually over the coming years, less than half of the government’s target, as a result of changes to planning policy and what developers say is over-strict enforcement of environmental regulations.

Continue reading...

Brexit: Ursula von der Leyen to travel to UK for talks with Rishi Sunak

Posted on by

European Commission chief heading to Britain with Northern Ireland deal expected as soon as Monday

Rishi Sunak is to hold face-to-face talks with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, with a deal to revise post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland expected as soon as Monday.

“Today, president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and prime minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak agreed to continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland,” a joint statement said.

Continue reading...

Sunak grapples with NI protocol puzzle but the stakes are different to 2019

Posted on by

PM’s toughest political test comes amid plummeting interest in Brexit and elaborate parliamentary intrigue

For a Brexit-minded MP, the parallels may seem striking: an electorally embattled prime minister trying to push through a controversial Northern Ireland deal in the face of Tory and Democratic Unionist party (DUP) scepticism. But one thing has changed: this is 2023, not 2019.

Theresa May’s struggles with Brexit, and her tumbling popularity with voters, led to her being forced out as prime minister by Conservative backbenchers. While no one would dispute that Rishi Sunak faces perhaps his toughest ever political test, the stakes for him are if not necessarily lower then perhaps different.

Continue reading...

Trans violent offenders banned from women’s prisons in England and Wales

Posted on by

New rules also cover transgender women ‘with their male genitalia intact’, says Dominic Raab

Rules barring some transgender women from female prisons in England and Wales are to come into force on Monday, the justice secretary has announced.

Dominic Raab had already announced in October that trans women with male genitalia or who had committed sexual offences would not be allowed in women’s prisons.

Continue reading...

Luciana Berger rejoins Labour after Keir Starmer’s antisemitism apology

Posted on by

Jewish MP left party four years ago over its handling of the issue under Jeremy Corbyn

Luciana Berger has returned to the Labour party after an invitation and apology from Keir Starmer, four years after leaving the party over its handling of antisemitism cases.

“The Labour party has turned a significant corner under Keir’s leadership,” Berger said in a tweet on Saturday. “I’m pleased to be returning to my political home.”

Continue reading...

Lord Sainsbury returns to the Labour fold with £2m donation

Posted on by

The former chair of the supermarket chain was a big donor to Blair and Brown but cut off his support under Corbyn

Keir Starmer’s election war chest has been given an extraordinary boost after one of the biggest New Labour-era donors returned to the party fold with a £2m donation, the Observer can reveal.

David Sainsbury, who was consistently one of the largest donors under the last Labour government before withdrawing his support, has now renewed his backing with his first multimillion-pound donation since 2016.

Continue reading...

Revealed: one in 100 police officers in England and Wales faced a criminal charge last year

Posted on by

Figure has surged over the past 10 years with pressure growing for officers to be sacked on the spot

Shocking figures obtained by the Observer show roughly one in 100 police officers in England and Wales faced criminal charges, including for sexual offences, last year alone.

An Observerinvestigation has found that the Police Federation, the staff association for police officers, received 1,387 claims for legal support from members facing criminal charges in 2022.

Continue reading...

NI protocol: Sunak criticised over ‘plans for EU chief to meet king’

Posted on by

Meeting between Charles and Ursula von de Leyen cancelled, reports say, as Varadkar says deal ‘inching towards conclusion’

Rishi Sunak is facing criticism after reports that a meeting between King Charles and the president of the European Commission was cancelled days before the announcement of an expected deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.

According to reports, there had been plans for an in-person meeting between the king and Ursula von der Leyen, as part of a trip to the UK to seal the deal on the Brexit trading arrangements.

Continue reading...

Hopes grow for Northern Ireland Brexit deal as Tory MPs ordered to attend Commons on Monday – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here

Forbes interrupted her maternity leave following the birth of her baby daughter last summer to run to be the next SNP leader.

I want to lead Scotland into better days. I have a vested interest in achieving this, not least for the sake of my daughter’s future.

Scotland needs a leader who is bold, brave and energised. My vision centres on delivering a strong growing economy that expands the tax base and reinvests in tackling poverty and making our public services sustainable.

We need somebody competent, who voters trust, who speaks the truth, who has integrity and commitment … I’m the only candidate with a strong grip on the economy and our finances.

If anything, can be said of me in the past week it is that I am willing to be honest and open, even at the cost of my leadership bid and my career.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak faces calls to ban TikTok use by government officials

Posted on by

PM under pressure to follow EU and US in taking step over fears Chinese-owned app poses cybersecurity risk

Rishi Sunak has been urged to ban government officials from using TikTok in line with moves by the EU and US, amid growing cybersecurity fears over China.

Officials in Europe and the US have been told to limit the use of the Chinese-owned social video app over concerns that data can be accessed by Beijing.

Continue reading...

Sunak could announce Northern Ireland protocol deal on Monday

Posted on by

Move would come after four months of intense negotiations and mark an end to two-year standoff with EU

Rishi Sunak is poised to announce a deal to end the protracted row over the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol as soon as Monday, the Guardian has been told.

The move would come after four months of intense negotiations and mark an end to a two-year standoff with the EU. But in a huge political gamble for the prime minister, it may trigger a fresh battle with pro-Brexit Conservative backbenchers in the European Research Group (ERG) and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP).

Continue reading...

Bernard Ingham, press secretary to Margaret Thatcher, dies aged 90

Posted on by

Family pay tribute to man they described as ‘a journalist to his bones’

Margaret Thatcher’s former press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham has died at the age of 90 after a short illness, his family has said.

Ingham was a journalist with the Guardian in the 1970s before going into communications for the government. He served as press secretary for Thatcher for almost her entire time as prime minister.

Continue reading...

UK politicians mark anniversary of war with renewed call to send arms to Kyiv

Posted on by

They stopped short of Boris Johnson’s demand for UK to ‘break the ice’ and supply Ukraine with fighter jets

UK political leaders have marked the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a renewed call to support Kyiv with additional weaponry – but stopped short of the firm commitments on fighter jets demanded by Boris Johnson.

With James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, in New York for a meeting of the UN security council, Rishi Sunak hosted the Ukrainian ambassador at Downing Street, with a national minute’s silence planned for 11am on Friday.

Continue reading...

Defence review at risk of delay amid funding row

Posted on by

Original review published in 2021 but Ukraine war demonstrates need for investment

A planned refresh of the government’s integrated review of defence and foreign policy is at risk of being delayed until after the budget in mid-March amid a row over funding and a lack of clarity over its aims.

It had been expected that the fresh look at Britain’s geopolitical strategy, originally announced by Liz Truss and inherited by Rishi Sunak, would be released on 7 March – more than a week before the 15 March annual financial statement.

Continue reading...