Category Archives: Politics

Boris Johnson warns of risk of fatigue in west’s support for Ukraine

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At G7 summit, PM pushes for renewed sanctions and says he would welcome a visit to UK by Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Boris Johnson has warned about the likelihood of “fatigue” among western nations over continued support for Ukraine, as he began talks at the G7 summit in Germany, where he hopes to push for renewed sanctions against Russia.

Before the first day of the annual gathering of political leaders, held amid ultra-tight security in the Bavarian countryside, Johnson also hailed a new international ban on importing Russia gold.

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Sajid Javid tells of heartache over brother’s suicide

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Health secretary urges men to discuss mental health and to ‘seek help’ when they need to

Sajid Javid has urged men to speak out about their mental health as he spoke publicly for the first time about the loss of his brother, who took his own life.

The health secretary said he still wonders if he could have acted to prevent his brother’s death, and spoke of his “deeply personal” mission to prevent suicides. Javid’s brother, Tariq, 51, took his own life in a hotel in Horsham, West Sussex, in July 2018.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.

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Boris Johnson tries to calm Tory anger over his ‘third term’ remarks

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Prime minister says he meant he was focused on ‘massive agenda’ after No 10 initially suggested he was joking

Boris Johnson has sought to defuse a row triggered by his declaration that he wanted to remain in office until the 2030s, by saying he meant he was focused on his reform agenda.

Coming after two huge byelection defeats revived talk in the Conservative party of Johnson being forced out of office within weeks or months, the prime minister’s comment about already planning a third term prompted a former cabinet minister to say he was “completely delusional”.

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Labour must not side with Heathrow staff in pay dispute, says David Lammy

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Shadow foreign secretary says party needs to show it is fit for government by seeking negotiated outcomes over strikes

Labour should categorically refuse to back demands from airline workers for a pay rise of about 10% in order to show it is serious about seeking negotiated outcomes to disputes, David Lammy has said.

The shadow foreign secretary said Labour had to act like a party of government and that responsible governments believed in negotiation and compromise.

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Double defeat points to unwinding of Conservative Brexit coalition

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Defeat for the Tories in two key byelections shows that tactical voting could put safe seats in play if replicated at a general election

Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton are at opposite ends of the country geographically, socially and politically. But they have two features in common: both voted Leave heavily in 2016, and both turned against the Conservatives last week. Defeats on the same day in a northern “red wall” seat and a southern rural stronghold suggest that, six years on from the EU referendum, the Conservative majority Boris Johnson stitched together with a promise to “get Brexit done” is beginning to unravel.

For both opposition parties, the byelections have a distinctly 1990s flavour, with the return of a pattern from the Major years that has been largely absent in the past decade of Conservative government – voters in both seats seemed determined to eject Tory incumbents and flocked to the local opposition candidate seen as best placed to do so. Tactical coordination among Labour and Liberal Democrats voters is back, and if replicated at a general election, it could put a lot of seemingly safe Conservative seats in play.

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Stars urge Commonwealth to oppose UK plan to send refugees to Rwanda

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Celebrities including Sophie Okonedo and David Harewood say scheme shows ‘colonial view’ of Africa as ‘dumping ground’

British celebrities have urged Commonwealth leaders in Rwanda to oppose the UK’s plan to deport refugees to the country, saying it shows a “colonial view” of Africa as a “dumping ground”.

It comes as a summit of Commonwealth prime ministers and presidents is under way in Kigali, the first time the gathering has been held since 2018.

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‘The country would be better off’: senior Tories urge Boris Johnson to quit

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Ex-leader Michael Howard among Conservatives to call for resignation after byelection catastrophes

Conservative grandees are urging Boris Johnson to quit after a historic double byelection defeat, as rebellious MPs began plotting new ways to oust him.

The former Conservative leader Michael Howard was among those who demanded the prime minister stand down after the losses in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield which prompted the immediate resignation of the party’s co-chair, Oliver Dowden.

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New SNP sexual harassment complaints policy ‘in weeks’, say insiders

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Exclusive: activists forcing action over ‘systemic’ failings such as handling of complaint against former chief whip Patrick Grady

A new system for dealing with sexual harassment complaints within the Scottish National party could become party policy within weeks, the Guardian has learned, after escalating criticism from activists about lack of openness and accountability.

Revelations in the past week about the scale of failings in the handling of a sexual harassment complaint against former Westminster chief whip Patrick Grady have prompted widespread frustration among SNP activists, who have been pushing for a culture change since the #MeToo movement kicked off in 2017.

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Two ways to bring down a PM: Boris Johnson’s rebels see opportunities

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Johnson was defiant in Rwanda after his byelection disasters, but at home there was renewed Tory anger

While Boris Johnson was in Rwanda, having an early-morning swim in the luxurious pool of the conference hotel, his Tory critics were already planning another go at ousting him.

The backbench plotters had previously been despondent about the prospects of kicking Johnson out after he narrowly won a confidence vote of his MPs and the cabinet rallied round him.

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Boris Johnson admits byelection defeats ‘not brilliant’ as ex-Tory leader calls for resignation – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest UK political coverage here

This is from James Johnson, a Tory pollster (who worked for Theresa May in No 10) whose firm JL Partners carried out polling in Wakefield, on who ought to be taking the blame for the byelection defeats.

PM Media has just snapped this.

Boris Johnson has said he will “listen” to voters but will “keep going” after the Tories suffered a double by-election defeat.

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Charles tells Commonwealth leaders dropping Queen ‘for each to decide’

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Prince of Wales says at summit any move by members to become a republic can be ‘without rancour’

The Prince of Wales has told Commonwealth leaders that keeping the Queen as head of state or becoming a republic is “a matter for each member country to decide”.

Charles made the comments during the opening ceremony of a summit of Commonwealth prime ministers and presidents in Rwanda. He said he believed such fundamental changes could be made “calmly and without rancour”.

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Boris Johnson insists he will keep going despite byelection defeats

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Prime minister promises to listen to voters and says he will take responsibility for results

Boris Johnson has promised to keep going in the face of pressure over his leadership following a double byelection defeat and the resignation of a cabinet minister.

The prime minister said on Friday that losing the former Tory stronghold of Tiverton and Honiton to the Liberal Democrats as well as surrendering Wakefield to Labour was tough, but insisted he would listen to voters.

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Tories lose two key byelections on same night in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton

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Labour takes Wakefield and Lib Dems snatch Tiverton and Honiton, piling pressure on Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has faced a double hammer blow to his authority after the Conservatives lost the Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton byelections on the same night, prompting the party co-chair Oliver Dowden to resign.

Labour took Wakefield, while the Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000-plus majority to snatch Tiverton and Honiton.

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Takeover of UK defence supplier Ultra Electronics set to be approved

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Sonar and radio comms maker expected to be sold to Cobham, owned by private equity firm Advent, in £2.6bn deal

The UK government is set to wave through a £2.6bn takeover of a British defence manufacturer in a deal that will move a US private equity investor a step closer to controlling a significant supplier of nuclear submarine equipment.

Cobham has received the green light to take over Ultra Electronics, a FTSE 250 maker of systems such as sonar and radio communications used by navies and air forces, as well as civilian aircraft. Cobham was itself controversially taken over and broken up by US private equity investor Advent over the course of 2019 and 2020.

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Ukrainians who come to UK illegally could be sent to Rwanda, Johnson says

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PM had previously said deportations were ‘simply not going to happen’ but now admits in theory they could

Ukrainian refugees face being sent to Rwanda if they travel to the UK without authorisation, Boris Johnson has said in an escalation of government plans to deport those who travel across the Channel seeking sanctuary.

During a visit to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, the prime minister also urged Nato and G7 countries not to settle for a “bad peace” in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, saying it would lead to escalation by Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

Politicians from 11 European countries condemned the Rwanda-UK scheme. But it emerged that Johnson did not raise human rights abuses when he met the country’s president, Paul Kagame, on Thursday, despite previous indications that he would.

Ahead of a meeting with Prince Charles on Friday, Johnson was bullish in saying he would defend the policy after the heir to the throne reportedly called it “appalling” – but Downing Street and Clarence House sources suggested the subject would not be raised.

The Rwandan government confirmed it has already received £120m from the UK government to house asylum seekers who have yet to arrive, and has spent a proportion of the money.

The prime minister pledged £372m in aid to provide help for countries grappling with soaring food prices.

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Dominic Cummings attempts career reboot as political speaker

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Ex-adviser to Boris Johnson holds forth about his hero Otto von Bismarck at Orwell Festival of Political Writing

More than a year since walking out of Downing Street clutching his possessions in a cardboard box, Dominic Cummings has emerged in public again, recasting himself as a political speaker,

From No 10 to a lecture hall in the Darwin Building at University College London, the man who was once Boris Johnson’s senior adviser and de facto chief of staff, appeared on Thursday night in a panel discussion at the Orwell festival of political writing.

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Simon Case admits discussing work ‘opportunities’ for Carrie Johnson

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Cabinet secretary says he had ‘informal’ conversations with the Earthshot prize about available roles for the PM’s wife

Cabinet secretary Simon Case has admitted discussing “opportunities” for the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Earthshot prize, but denied recommending her for any paid role.

Case’s account followed reports that he had sought to secure a job for Carrie Johnson at their charity, the Royal Foundation, which offers the prize for environmental innovation.

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Boris Johnson’s future in the frame as polls close in byelections

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Loss of Wakefield, and Tiverton and Honiton could push backbench Tories towards restarting efforts to oust PM

Voting has closed for two crucial byelections, in Wakefield and in Tiverton and Honiton, the results of which could play a pivotal role in Boris Johnson’s political future.

Defeat in both of what were previously Tory-held seats could reignite a challenge to the prime minister from disgruntled Conservative MPs, particularly if the Liberal Democrats overturn a 24,000-plus majority in Tiverton and Honiton.

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Labour unveils plans to seek limited changes to Brexit deal

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David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, confirms party won’t seek to rejoin single market or EU bloc

Labour has broken its long silence on Brexit, laying out detailed plans to improve, not scrap, the deal Boris Johnson struck with the EU, in a move it concedes will enrage remain supporters.

On the sixth anniversary of the Brexit referendum, the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, confirmed the party would seek only limited changes and would not seek to rejoin the single market which would bring the return of free trade and free movement of people.

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The chancellor’s position on lifting the state pension makes no sense | Nils Pratley

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Sunak’s attempt to make a distinction between increases in pensions and wages fuels a sense of political favouritism

The government has got itself into a fine muddle on the triple lock pension guarantee, David Cameron’s gift-cum-bribe to older voters in 2010 that has ricocheted down the years. On the one hand, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak argue that awarding inflation-matching pay rises to public sector workers would risk an “inflationary spiral” and so should be avoided. On the other, the chancellor maintains that lifting the state pension by 10% – the figure likely to be produced by the triple lock formula – wouldn’t create inflationary pressures.

The position makes no sense. Income increases, whether delivered via pension payments or pay packets, all contribute to aggregate demand and spending capacity. Sunak’s attempt to make a distinction – “pensions are not an input cost into the cost of producing goods and services we all consume so they don’t add to inflation in the same way,” he said – only fuelled the sense of naked political favouritism. Teachers, to alight on the next bargaining battleground, aren’t manufacturing soap suds either.

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