Category Archives: Politics

Brexit one year on: so how’s it going?

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Those promised rewards for Britain of leaving the EU should surely be with us by now. What have been the costs and gains of ‘taking our country back’?

• UK and the EU set to remain best of enemies as 2022 dawns

On New Year’s Day the UK will have been fully out of the European Union for a year: out of its political and legal structures, out of its single market, out of its customs union.

This was what Boris Johnson and Michael Gove – who led the Leave campaign – had wanted. No awkward halfway house like Theresa May had negotiated. No Brexit light. Out completely. Gone. Brexit well and truly done.

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NHS leaders alarmed by rise in hospital admissions as Covid cases hit record

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Daily hospitalisations in England up by more than 40% in a week at same time as more staff on sick leave

NHS leaders have voiced alarm at a major rise in the number of hospitalisations due to Covid-19 after 1,171 people with the disease across the UK were admitted in a 24-hour period that set another record number of daily cases.

The latest government figures showed 122,186 cases of coronavirus had been recorded as of 9am on Friday. Another 137 people died within 28 days of testing positive.

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End trade barriers to help tackle climate crisis, says WTO chief

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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala calls for changes to ensure developing nations are resilient to affects of extreme weather

Removing trade barriers around the world would help to tackle the climate crisis, enable a “just transition” away from fossil fuels and make developing countries more resilient to the impacts of global heating, the head of the World Trade Organization has said.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who took over as director general of the global watchdog last March, said: “Trade is part of the solution, not part of the problem … We need a global effort to climate-proof the supply chains and infrastructure of the most vulnerable economies or risk undoing hard-won economic progress and development.”

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Northern Ireland and Wales to bring in tough Omicron restrictions

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Devolved nations to reintroduce rule of six for hospitality venues and other measures from Boxing Day

Wales and Northern Ireland have announced stringent restrictions that will come into force from Boxing Day, including the return of the rule of six for hospitality venues, in an effort to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

The first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, accused Boris Johnson of being in a “state of paralysis,” over Omicron as he set out a package of strict measures he said would put his country at “alert level two”.

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Covid: how has the pandemic changed in the UK in 2021?

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The year has been marked by the success of the vaccination drive – yet thousands have still died

This time last year, Covid-19 cases were soaring in the UK, hospitalisations were steadily increasing, and the government had tightened restrictions to try to get a handle on a concerning new variant.

Twelve months on, there is a sense of deja vu. A weary public is worried about its festive plans being cancelled, an outcome that would be all the more painful in light of the Christmas party scandal that has enveloped Downing Street in recent weeks.

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‘The need is still there’: last young refugees arrive in UK as family reunion route closes

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Activists lament that a safe, legal way into Britain has closed with Brexit, when stranded children need it as much as ever

‘When I was a child in Afghanistan I loved to watch my uncle play chess. Now I have joined the local club here.” Samir is grinning as he talks about settling into life on England’s south coast. “I’m very happy here, just being with my family, going for walks to look at the Christmas lights. It’s really beautiful.”

After arriving in Greece alone two years ago, when he was just 16, and spending many months homeless and terrified in the port city of Patras, Samir recently made a journey that most refugees can only dream about. He said goodbye to the friends he had made in a camp for unaccompanied minors – other teenagers from Somalia, Iraq and Palestine – and travelled safely and legally to join his father and sister in the UK.

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No new Covid restrictions before Christmas, Boris Johnson confirms

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Prime minister warns rapid spread of Omicron variant could mean curbs are imposed after 25 December

Christmas will go ahead without any curbs on socialising, Boris Johnson has confirmed, prompting warnings this could lead to tougher measures later despite tentative signs that cases have begun to plateau.

The prime minister said he understood that families across England needed certainty to press ahead with Christmas plans but warned curbs could still be imposed after 25 December because of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

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UK government’s wait for Omicron evidence is a high-stakes gamble

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Analysis: ‘incontrovertible evidence’ is a tall order and in the meantime the NHS risks being overwhelmed

At a long and difficult cabinet meeting on Monday, hawkish ministers demanded “incontrovertible evidence” that Omicron risks overwhelming the NHS to justify the cost of taking action, while on Tuesday Boris Johnson confirmed his view that there is insufficient evidence to justify new measures – yet.

While some clarity on the hospitalisation rate associated with the new variant should be available within a day or two, scientists have warned that getting the evidence ministers want may be “a tall order”. So why is it so hard to work out, and what does that mean for decision-making?

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‘A fire-eater who’s run out of fuel’: European press lays into Boris Johnson

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Continental media are in no mood to donner un break to the British PM, sensing the ‘beginning of the end’

For El País in Spain, his “magic has vanished”. For Libération in France he is “the only actor in the Boris Johnson show – which is, increasingly, a flop”. In Germany, Der Spiegel asked how long Britain could last being governed “almost exclusively by defiant optimism”.

As the scandals mount, the approval ratings plunge, the electoral defeats accumulate, the rebellions multiply, his trusted Brexit lieutenant jumps ship and the Omicron variant runs rampant, continental media seem – to coin a phrase – in no mood to donner un break to Britain’s beleaguered prime minister.

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UK accused of abandoning world’s poor as aid turned into ‘colonial’ investment

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Rebrand of Foreign Office’s development arm, seen as effort to rival China’s loans, will shift aid to private sector, warn NGOs and unions

The British government has been accused by NGOs and trade unions of “chasing colonial post-Brexit fantasies” at the expense of the world’s poorest as they urge Liz Truss to keep aid focused on poverty reduction rather than geopolitical manoeuvring.

In a joint letter to the foreign secretary, the group criticises the rebranding of the UK’s development investment arm, which will see the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) become British International Investment (BII) next year.

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Liz Truss to hold Brexit talks with EU over NI protocol

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The foreign secretary, now chief negotiator with the EU, wants ‘a comprehensive solution’

The UK’s newly appointed chief post-Brexit negotiator, Liz Truss, said she would speak to her EU counterpart, Maroš Šefčovič, on Tuesday amid renewed calls to rip up the controversial Northern Ireland protocol.

The cabinet minister, who is also the foreign secretary, said she wanted to negotiate “a comprehensive solution” to the agreement, which requires post-Brexit checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

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Lockdown party inquiry could expand to cover No 10 garden event

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Cabinet Office can investigate ‘credible allegations’ on other gatherings, but PM says photo of staff shows work meeting

Bereaved families have accused Boris Johnson of showing “flagrant disregard” for the public as ministers struggled to explain the justification for a wine and cheese event in Downing Street at the height of lockdown.

A Cabinet Office inquiry into other alleged government parties in breach of Covid rules could be expanded after the Guardian published an image showing the prime minister alongside his wife and up to 17 staff in the Downing Street garden in May 2020.

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Covid restrictions unlikely before Christmas but PM watching data ‘hour by hour’

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Boris Johnson caught between scientific advisers and his sceptical cabinet over action on Omicron

New Covid restrictions are unlikely to be imposed before Christmas amid deep cabinet divisions but Boris Johnson warned further measures remain on the table, with data on the threat of Omicron monitored “hour by hour”.

The prime minister was accused of failing to follow scientists’ advice on the need for immediate restrictions while leaving millions of people and businesses in limbo after a two-hour cabinet meeting ended with no decision on Monday.

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Global Covid vaccination failure will harm Britain, Gordon Brown warns

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Exclusive: Ex-PM says virus will have ‘free rein to mutate’ unless richer countries fund $23bn vaccine drive

The failure to vaccinate the world against coronavirus will come back to haunt even fully vaccinated Britons in 2022, Gordon Brown has warned.

The former prime minister said the emergence of Omicron was “not Africa’s fault”, and added that new variants would continue to wreak havoc because richer countries such as the UK had “stockpiled” hundreds of millions of vaccines.

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Covid live: Thailand to consider ending quarantine-free travel; EU set to back Novavax vaccine

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Bangkok considering reinstating mandatory quarantine due to spread of Omicron; EU’s drug regulator will decide on whether to approve Novavax

Thailand’s public health minister said on Monday that his ministry will propose reinstating mandatory quarantine for foreign visitors due to concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant.

The proposal would scrap the current quarantine waiver for vaccinated visitors and revert to hotel quarantine and the “sandbox” programme, which allows free movement within a specific location, Anutin Charnvirakul told the Inside Thailand television show.

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Rachel Riley awarded £10,000 damages over ex-Corbyn aide’s tweet

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Judge says TV presenter proved Laura Murray’s post had caused serious harm to her reputation

The television presenter Rachel Riley has been awarded £10,000 in damages by a high court judge after suing a former aide to Jeremy Corbyn for libel.

Riley, 35, the numbers expert on the Channel 4 show Countdown, sued Laura Murray over a tweet posted more than two years ago.

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Raab says PM and staff’s garden gathering was within lockdown rules

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Minister says other offices would have been doing the same, in defence that appears to differ from No 10’s line

A photograph of Boris Johnson, his wife and up to 17 staff in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown shows people “having a drink after a busy set of work meetings” and acting entirely within the rules of the time, Dominic Raab has said.

Other workplaces would have done the same during this period and this would not have breached any rules, the justice secretary argued.

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Christmas curbs could be brought in within days, says Sajid Javid

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Health secretary expected to announce whether social mixing will be curtailed over festive period

Sajid Javid has made clear that fresh Covid restrictions could be imposed before Christmas to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, with ministers set to make a decision in days.

Government insiders expect an announcement to be made early next week about whether social mixing will be curtailed before the festive period – potentially including a cap on the number of families that can meet, or even hospitality closures.

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Boris Johnson and staff pictured with wine in Downing Street garden in May 2020

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Exclusive: photograph raises fresh questions for No 10 after denial of a social event at time of Covid restrictions

Boris Johnson has been pictured with wine and cheese alongside his wife and up to 17 staff in the Downing Street garden during lockdown, raising questions over No 10’s insistence it constituted a “work meeting”.

The photograph was shared with the Guardian following No 10’s denial last week that there was a social event on Friday 15 May 2020 including wine, spirits and pizza inside and outside the building. Johnson’s spokesman said Downing Street staff were working in the garden in the afternoon and evening.

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Liz Truss to take on Brexit brief after David Frost resignation

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The foreign secretary is assuming responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the EU, says Downing Street

The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, is to take over responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the EU after the Brexit minister Lord Frost’s resignation, Downing Street has said.

She will be adding ministerial responsibility to her foreign portfolio with immediate effect.

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