Category Archives: Politics

PM will allow second referendum if SNP wins, says Sturgeon

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Scottish first minister tells Guardian fresh poll impossible to resist should her party land majority next month

Boris Johnson will not oppose a second independence referendum if the Scottish National party wins a majority in the election next month, Nicola Sturgeon has said, with some UK government ministers reportedly conceding it is an inevitability.

In an interview with the Guardian, Scotland’s first minister said: “If people in Scotland vote for a party saying, ‘when the time is right, there should be an independence referendum’, you cannot stand in the way of that – and I don’t think that is what will happen.”

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When I was young, I left Sudan in search of ‘success’. Now I yearn for family and home | Nesrine Malik

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In the stillness of lockdown, I now see that the costs of globalisation have come to outweigh its benefits

For as long as I have been able to remember, I have known that I would not always live where I was born. I knew that at some point, I would have to leave my country of Sudan if I wanted to secure work that would provide a meaningful living.

At the time, it wasn’t a sad realisation but more an exciting prospect, one that promised a shot at a “modern” life. To me, that modernity meant social mobility, the loosening of oppressive family ties and economic prosperity.

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‘She made a pact with God’: why the Queen is not likely to abdicate

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Analysis: though she will probably find it hard without Prince Philip, the Queen is unlikely to step down

The Queen, newly widowed, will find it “difficult” without the support she has leant on over 73 years of marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh, but royal observers have dismissed any speculation that she might consider stepping down.

The former prime minister Sir John Major acknowledged that her position as monarch was “a very lonely position”. He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “There are a limited number of people to whom she can really open her heart, to whom she can really speak with total frankness, to whom she can say things that would be reported by other people and thought to be indelicate.”

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Making sense of conspiracy theorists as the world gets more bizarre

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It is 20 years since Jon Ronson wrote Them, his eye-popping investigation into conspiracy theorists. Now, in a world awash with tales of paedophile elites and puppet masters, is he any closer to understanding it all?

In 1999 I sat in a Vancouver café with a group of anti-capitalist activists. They’d just returned from protesting the WTO in Seattle to find a new, far stranger foe in town – David Icke. He was there to lecture about how the ruling elite are actually child-sacrificing, blood-drinking paedophile lizards in human disguise.

Nobody had ever suggested such a thing before, and the activists were working to get his books seized and destroyed. They were alarmed not just by the echoes of antisemitism but because something startling was happening. Icke was beginning to win over people who should have been on their side. I wrote back then that they were “seeing an omen of the blackest kind, the future of thought itself: a time when irrational thought would sweep the land”. But this wasn’t prophecy on my part. I thought they were probably being overdramatic.

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Taoiseach says Northern Ireland must not ‘spiral back to dark place’

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On 23rd anniversary of Good Friday agreement, Martin says onus on political leaders ‘to step forward’

The Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that political leaders must not allow Northern Ireland to “spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord” after the region was marred by another night of disorder.

On the anniversary of the Good Friday agreement 23 years ago, the taoiseach said there was “a particular onus on those of us who currently hold the responsibility of political leadership to step forward and play our part and ensure that this cannot happen”.

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Publish figures on long Covid to show ‘untold suffering’, MPs urge

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Cross-party group urge PM to give greater priority to potential harm posed by post-viral condition

The number of people suffering with long Covid should be published routinely, as happens with those infected with or hospitalised with coronavirus, MPs and peers are urging Boris Johnson.

The cross-party group of parliamentarians want the prime minister to ensure that the “untold human suffering” that the condition involves helps shape future government policy towards the pandemic.

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UK recognition of EU’s vaccine effort would not go amiss, says Brussels

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Europe could have fully vaccinated 70% of adults before UK reaches its target, says head of EU taskforce

The UK will be reliant on the EU to complete its vaccine rollout and a little recognition of that would not go amiss, the European commissioner leading Brussels’ vaccine taskforce has said – adding that Europe could have fully vaccinated 70% of adults before the UK reaches its own target of one dose for all over-18s by the end of July.

Thierry Breton also said AstraZeneca had agreed that almost all the Covid vaccine doses made in the Netherlands over which the UK has made a claim will stay in the EU.

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UK ministers silent on AstraZeneca vaccine shipment to Australia

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Downing Street will not confirm or deny report that more than 700,000 Covid jabs were sent after EU blocked export

British ministers and officials did not deny that more than 700,000 shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine were secretly dispatched from the UK to Australia a few weeks ago as the EU blocked the drug’s export.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 717,000 AstraZeneca doses were dispatched in late February and March from the company’s British operations – also during a period when the EU was demanding the vaccine from the UK.

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Northern Ireland executive holds emergency meeting over Belfast unrest

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Chief constable briefs party leaders after political crisis intensified by another night of riots in Belfast

Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive is holding an emergency meeting in Stormont after another night of riots scarred parts of Belfast and ratcheted up a political crisis.

Simon Byrne, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, briefed party leaders on the security situation on Thursday before a debate at the assembly, which has been recalled from its Easter break.

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The UK needs a robust border policy, but right now we can’t see if it is working

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Analysis: it is incredibly challenging to scrutinise the system because data on movement is so opaque

The official response to coronavirus at the UK border has been problematic from the start. It was not until February this year that the government introduced mandatory hotel quarantine – some 11 months after coronavirus was first recorded the UK – despite it being used in countries such as New Zealand from the off.

Even now with stricter requirements for arrivals in place, critics say the current border policy is seriously lacking. Reports claiming as many as 8,000 tourists a day are arriving in the UK have significantly fueled those concerns.

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How will England’s Covid restrictions be changing from 12 April?

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Next stage of easing of lockdown will mean non-essential retail can reopen, among other changes

England is gearing up for the next stage of coronavirus restrictions being eased from 12 April. So far, step 1 of the proposed roadmap has been completed: on 8 March, pupils and college students returned to the classroom, and care home residents were allowed to receive one regular, named visitor; then on 29 March, outdoor gatherings of up two six people, or two households, were allowed, outdoor sports continued, and the official “stay at home” advice came to an end.

There is a minimum of five weeks between each stage, with four weeks to collect and assess data and then a week for people and businesses to prepare for the next step.

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A year on, Keir Starmer’s grand vision is still in question | Letters

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Dr Anthony Isaacs thinks the Labour leader must unite the party and restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn, but Bruce Sawford has lost hope

No new opposition leader could have been expected to gain much media attention in their first year against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the government has clearly benefited from the vaccine rollout. But after a promising start, Keir Starmer’s declining poll ratings (Keir Starmer: one year in, Labour leader’s popularity has plunged, 2 April) indicate that his cautious style and lack of defined policies have failed to gain traction. The pandemic has, paradoxically, opened the way to an alternative agenda that plays to Labour’s strengths of promoting social solidarity and investment in public services. Starmer must embrace the opportunity of the waning infection rates to move the fight away from equivocation and abstention over Tory culture wars to ground of Labour’s own choosing.

Your editorial (2 April) points to Labour’s need for a transformative agenda that both rallies the party and speaks to the wider public. To bring this about, Starmer must first unite the party. Restoring the whip to Jeremy Corbyn would be an important symbolic gesture, opening the way for the party’s factions to work together in devising popular policies to combat the corruption and market failures epitomised by our current government. The second task is to unite opposition parties around an electoral strategy as the only hope of preventing continued Tory dominance. That will be a true test of leadership.
Dr Anthony Isaacs
London

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Northern Ireland clashes reflect loyalists’ fear of marginalisation

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Analysis: Brexit terms and handling of funeral seen as latest in a litany of perceived or real concessions

A Sinn Féin funeral was the spark but loyalists in Northern Ireland have been throwing petrol bombs and burning cars partly because they fear political marginalisation.

The union flag no longer flutters daily over Belfast city hall, a trade border separates the region from the rest of the UK and the police are allegedly beholden to Sinn Féin. Add to this a criminal gang’s resentment at recent arrests and you have the context for three consecutive nights of rioting in several towns that have left dozens of police officers injured, including five on Sunday night.

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Cutting aid will damage UK leadership of G7 and Cop26 summit, PM told

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Ex-ministers and serving Tory MPs among those criticising decision to cut UK foreign aid by a third

Boris Johnson has been told by a number of Tory former ministers and serving MPs that he risks jeopardising Britain’s leadership at the G7 and the Cop26 climate summit this year if he goes ahead with plans to cut UK aid by a third over two years.

Sir David Lidington, who was Theresa May’s de facto deputy prime minister, will tell an Institute for Government conference on the G7 on Tuesday: “Sadly, the proposal to drop the UK’s commitment to 0.7% [of gross national income] will make it harder to achieve the prime minister’s ambitious objectives for both the G7 and the climate summit.”

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Sanctions only escalate tensions. It’s time to tackle the Uyghurs’ plight differently | David Brophy

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The west needs to make a credible case that its opposition to China’s policies is not geopolitical manoeuvring

“Wholly counterproductive”, was how Newcastle academic Joanne Smith Finley described China’s sanctions on her, along with a series of British politicians and lawyers, as punishment for their advocacy for the Uyghurs. That was putting it mildly. But is it the case that western sanctions on China will be, by contrast, productive? Sadly, that seems unlikely.

International outrage at China’s policies of incarceration and social coercion in Xinjiang continues to grow. As someone who has been engaged with the region for two decades, I see that as much needed. But it’s crucial the energy being generated is put to good use. The gloves may be off, but what is the strategy?

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Labour calls for changes to lobbying law after Greensill row

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Party says rules should be widened to include ‘in-house’ roles such as that carried out by David Cameron

The law must be changed to prevent the type of lobbying undertaken by David Cameron on behalf of the financier Lex Greensill, Labour has argued, after more details emerged about the extent of Greensill’s influence inside Cameron’s government.

Only external lobbyists who deal with the government are required to be on a formal industry register, and not so-called “in-house” lobbyists like Cameron, who took an advocacy role for Greensill Capital after leaving Downing Street.

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Covid certificates on the cards for use in England since December

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Report shows government was considering plan months before ministers went public

A government-commissioned report in December examined how Covid certificates could be used to decide whether people should be allowed into sports events, pubs and other crowded spaces, months before ministers publicly confirmed the plan.

A document prepared for NHS test and trace and seen by the Guardian shows that the research also looked into whether certificates could be made a condition of entry for family events such as weddings or even small casual gatherings.

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Plea to ease Covid maternity rules as women continue to get bad news alone

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But Not Maternity Alliance says postcode lottery remains despite guidance issued in December

The majority of women who have received bad news about their pregnancy since December were on their own at the time, despite the NHS ordering trusts to allow partners to be present throughout scans, labour and birth, the Guardian can reveal.

An alliance of pregnancy rights campaigners have written to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, urging him to draw up a roadmap for easing visiting restrictions in maternity services.

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From bikes to booze, how Brexit barriers are hitting Anglo-Dutch trade hard

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A new survey of UK and Netherlands firms shows two-thirds think our departure from the single market has had a negative effect

It is now three months since Boris Johnson declared that his Brexit deal would be unalloyed good news for UK businesses and consumers alike. But the true picture is graphically illustrated by a new survey of 125 UK and Dutch firms that do business between the two old and close trading nations.

Whether it be trade in chocolate bars, electric bicycles or malt whisky distilled in Scotland, the reality for exporters, importers and customers infuriated by orders being delayed is mostly negative.

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Brexit vote sparked surge in Irish passports issued in Great Britain

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Figures show more than 420,000 applications were made from 2016-2020

The number of Irish passports issued in Great Britain rocketed in the years following the Brexit referendum, according to figures.

The data emerged as it was revealed that the celebrated British author John le Carré went to his grave as an Irish citizen.

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