Category Archives: Politics

‘He’s in real trouble now’: Tory MPs are viewing Boris Johnson as the problem

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Analysis: It’s not Downing Street, it’s him, says a minister, amid fears the PM’s strengths have become weaknesses

Asked on Friday whether he took personal responsibility for the disastrous North Shropshire byelection result, Boris Johnson suggested the problem was that everyone else was talking about the wrong issues. “My job as prime minister is to get the focus on to the things that matter for all of us,” he said.

Yet after weeks of self-inflicted crises and the drip, drip of stories about lockdown-busting parties at the heart of Downing Street, many of his MPs believe it is Johnson himself who is the real problem – and some are warning he is now on borrowed time.

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North Shropshire byelection: Liberal Democrats win former safe Tory seat in blow to Johnson

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Helen Morgan wins a stunning victory for the Lib Dems in a byelection called after environment secretary Owen Paterson resigned

The Liberal Democrats have won a stunning victory in the North Shropshire byelection, taking what had previously been a safe Conservative seat by nearly 6,000 votes, capping a disastrous few weeks for Boris Johnson.

Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem candidate, took 17,957 votes, ahead of the Conservatives’ Neil Shastri-Hurst, on 12,032, a majority of 5,925. Labour’s Ben Wood was third, with 3,686 votes.

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UK changes tack over Northern Ireland protocol with push for ‘interim’ deal

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Brexit minister David Frost is seeking agreement on customs and imports to NI and could drop insistence on total exclusion of ECJ

The UK is to change tack in negotiations over the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol and will push for an “interim” deal to avert any further deterioration of political stability in the region.

Brexit minister David Frost is set to propose a new approach based on a “staged solution” with a deal on customs declarations and physical checks on goods a priority to address the immediate impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.

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Bahraini hunger striker in London told by MPs they will take up case

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MPs promise to raise situation of Ali Mushaima’s father, Hassan, who has been detained in Bahrain for 10 years

A Bahraini man whose father has been detained for 10 years in the Gulf country will end a 23-day hunger strike outside Bahrain’s embassy in London on Friday after MPs vowed to raise his father’s case in the Commons.

Ali Mushaima said he was suffering from back pain and had found the cold nights on a pavement outside the embassy “tough to take”.

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No 10 parties raise questions about whether PM will follow Covid science

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Analysis: After a steady stream of reports, how likely is it that Boris Johnson will take advice about imposing tougher restrictions?

• Boris Johnson joined No 10 party during May 2020 lockdown, say sources

Cast your minds back to 15 May 2020. Matt Hancock, the then health secretary before he quit for breaking restrictions by having an affair, was giving a press conference where he said people should be “staying at home as much as is possible”.

Social interaction was strictly limited to outdoors and one person at a time. It was the week when people were told they could meet one parent outside, in a socially distanced way, but not both of them together.

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Van drivers in UK will need new operating licences to enter EU from May

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Latest Brexit red tape will come into force alongside a series of further checks at Dover and other ports

Van drivers will be required to get new international operating licences if they want to travel back and forth to the EU from May next year, the government has announced.

The additional red tape will come into force next year alongside a series of further checks at Dover and other ports that were delayed three times in 2021 because of lack of preparation for Brexit in Great Britain.

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Don’t call it sleaze, call it corruption – why scandal haunts Boris Johnson’s government

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From contracts for mates to flat makeovers and illicit parties, barely a day passes without a crisis at No 10. But using the tabloid language of the 90s doesn’t scratch the surface of this government’s sins

Think of bonking. Not the activity, but the word. As a shorthand for sex, it was popularised, if not invented, by the tabloid press in the 90s – back then, “Bonking Boris” referred to a former Wimbledon champion rather than a future prime minister. You can see why it appealed. “Bonking” slipped easily under the bar prohibiting expletives in family newspapers; it sounded fun rather than pornographic. It was clear and direct, yet had all the advantages of euphemism.

Now think of sleaze. As it happens, that word performed a similar role in the same period. It could be hurled at politicians – specifically the Conservative government of John Major – relatively free of legal risk. You could say an MP or minister was “mired in sleaze” without having to prove that they had broken a specific law. It was handy.

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Dining across the divide: ‘He’s such a nice guy but supports Brexit. He’s young; it’s not normal’

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Both have experienced being treated as outsiders in the UK, but can they broach one of Britain’s most divisive topics?

Batuhan, 22, Bournemouth

Occupation Support worker and neuropsychology master’s student
Voting record Batuhan is not eligible to vote in the UK. In the last Turkish local government elections, he voted for the centre-left Republican People’s party
Amuse bouche Huge fan of basketball; supports any team LeBron James is playing for

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Cut back on socialising, says Whitty, as he predicts surge of hospitalisations

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Chief medical officer warns of ‘two epidemics on top of each other’ as UK records highest ever daily total of new cases

Chris Whitty sent a clear message to cut back on socialising in the run-up to Christmas Day, warning that a rise in Covid hospitalisations is “nailed on” after cases hit a record high.

Appearing alongside the prime minister, who has continued to insist formal restrictions on gatherings are unnecessary, Whitty said: “Don’t mix with people you don’t have to.” He advised the public to “prioritise social interactions that really matter to them”, suggesting work parties may be ill advised.

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Millions of unjabbed a key concern as England scrambles to vaccinate

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Government’s ‘Get boosted now’ slogan means little in areas where up to 30% of people have had no vaccine at all

In the Newtown ward of central Birmingham, the government’s “Get boosted now” slogan means nothing to half of over-16s, because they have not had any vaccination against Covid at all.

It is a similar story in Westminster and Camden in London where among the over-12s, 30% have not had a single jab. In Nottingham, a quarter of the whole population face the coming Omicron “tidal wave” unvaccinated.

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Canapes and party hats in CCHQ: Boris Johnson’s latest photo nightmare

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Picture emerges showing Tory mayoral candidate, activists and a party donor crammed together during lockdown

As Christmas parties go, it may not be everyone’s idea of a good time: there are barely touched canapes, hotel buffet-style containers of hot food, a hand sanitiser dispenser visible in the background, and about 25 political activists, all crammed into a brightly lit basement in the middle of a pandemic.

Uninspiring though it might be, that is the scene captured by a photo taken at Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ) last December, which emerged in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday to create another political nightmare for Boris Johnson.

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Why UK has been less keen than US to give Covid jab to children

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Differing adult uptakes, healthcare systems and cultures of medicine have played role in approaches

The UK and US may have many things in common, but when it comes to vaccinating children against Covid, the approach has been markedly different.

In May, the US Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was expanded from people aged 16 and older to those aged 12 to 15, with two doses recommended for all those eligible.

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MPs back Covid passes in England amid large Tory rebellion

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Measure comes into force on Wednesday and was passed despite many Tories voting against

Boris Johnson has suffered a humiliating rebellion over measures to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, with 99 Conservative MPs rejecting plans for vaccine certificates despite surging infections and personal lobbying by the prime minister.

Johnson had earlier warned his cabinet of a “huge spike” in cases but failed to convince many in his party to support plans to insist on a Covid certificate or negative lateral flow test to attend large venues.

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As focus turns to Covid boosters what other measures could tackle Omicron

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Boris Johnson has not ruled out new restrictions but how effective could they be and what are the political risks

Ministers’ focus may be a “national mission” to roll out booster vaccines to counter the dramatic rise of the Omicron variant, but the government has not ruled out new restrictions for England. Here we look at options on the table, how effective they could be at reducing the spread of coronavirus and the level of political risk for Boris Johnson.

Mandatory isolation for all close Covid contacts

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Heads warn of Omicron chaos in English schools, with staff and pupils absent

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Some schools said to have up to half their teachers off due to Covid, and there are fears parents will keep pupils at home

Headteachers are warning of “chaos” in England’s schools as Omicron sweeps across the country, with high levels of staff and pupil absences and reports that parents are planning to keep children home to avoid the virus before Christmas.

School leaders and unions urged the government to introduce more protective measures, including masks in classrooms, better ventilation and tougher isolation rules to try to slow the spread of the virus before the holidays.

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Pregnant refugees not being seen by doctors for weeks after reaching UK

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Labour MP writes to Home Office raising concerns over treatment of at least five women being put up at hotel

The Home Office is facing demands for an inquiry after it was claimed that pregnant refugees are not being fed or examined by doctors or midwives after arriving in the UK.

A first-time mother who was 38 weeks pregnant was not seen by a doctor for several weeks after crossing the Channel, it is alleged. After the Iraqi Kurdish woman was examined, it emerged that she had a pathological fear of pregnancy, and the baby had a breech presentation.

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Who are the rebel Tory MPs likely to oppose plan B Covid restrictions?

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Analysis: distinct camps have emerged in Westminster, from hardline lockdown sceptics to selective rebels

Government whips are braced for a major rebellion by Tory MPs over new plan B Covid restrictions due to come into force this week, against a backdrop of anger over rule-breaking Christmas parties. The restrictions are set to pass – but only thanks to support from Labour.

Ahead of the Commons votes on Tuesday on mask-wearing, working from home and Covid passports, these are the camps that are set to oppose at least some of the measures.

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Covid live news: Keir Starmer says Boris Johnson appears to have broken law over No 10 Christmas quiz

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Latest updates: UK prime minister seen at event that appears to be in breach of lockdown rules last year; minister defends PM insisting quiz was ‘virtual’

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency, has warned that “very difficult” decisions lie ahead for the government and that more Covid measures may be needed.

She told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show:

I think that the restrictions that the government have announced are sensible. I think that we may need to go beyond them. But we’ll need to watch carefully what happens with hospitalisations.

The challenge we have and the challenge government has is trying to balance the risks and benefits to the society, to people, to the population, to the economy, and to health, and they have very difficult decisions ahead of them.

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