Category Archives: Politics

Coronavirus: who will be winners and losers in new world order?

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Are state responses to the virus shifting the balance of power between China and the west?

Andrà tutto bene, the Italians have taught us to think, but in truth, will everything be better the day after? It may seem premature, in the midst of what Emmanuel Macron has described as “a war against an invisible enemy”, to consider the political and economic consequences of a distant peace. Few attempt a definitive review of a play after the first three scenes.

Yet world leaders, diplomats and geopolitical analysts know they are living through epoch-making times and have one eye on the daily combat, the other on what this crisis will bequeath the world. Competing ideologies, power blocs, leaders and systems of social cohesion are being stress-tested in the court of world opinion.

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UK lockdown could end ‘with sector-by-sector plan’ for firms

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Industries like manufacturing could return to normal before entertainment companies, according to Whitehall sources

Ministers are looking at ending the coronavirus lockdown with a “gradual sector-by-sector approach” that could see vital industries such as manufacturing get back to work before less critical ones like entertainment, according to Whitehall sources.

Two officials said one of the main options being explored for ending the lockdown was the idea of a phased return by industry, with civil servants in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy among those looking at how it could work.

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‘We’re not done yet’: coronavirus lockdown must continue over Easter, says Raab – video

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Dominic Raab has said the UK must not ease up on lockdown measures going into the Easter weekend. 'Thank you for your sacrifice but we’re not done yet,' he told the public. 'We must keep going.' The lockdown measures were introduced with a three-week review, which is due next week

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Blindsided: how coronavirus felled the global economy in 100 days

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A singular event has economists asking the same questions as everyone else: how far is there to fall – and can we ever get back?

It is New Year’s Eve 2019 and around the world stock markets are closing for business on a high note. Shares in the US are up by almost 30% on the year, those in Japan by 18%. Even in Britain, where the mood has been dampened by months of Brexit uncertainty, the FTSE 100 has risen by 12%.

Overall, it had been the best year for stocks since 2009 and traders saw no real reason why the party should not continue into 2020. The US and China looked close to an armistice in their trade war, the US central bank was stimulating the world’s biggest economy, and Boris Johnson’s decisive victory in the general election had removed any lingering doubts about whether Britain would leave the European Union.

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Coronavirus crisis has transformed our view of what’s important | Jonathan Freedland

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After 100 days of rapid change we now see we can do without celebrities but not shelf-stackers

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

So said Vladimir Ilyich Lenin of the ferment of revolution, but he could just as easily have been talking about the 100 days that have passed since the moment coronavirus officially became a global phenomenon, the day China reported the new contagion to the World Health Organization.

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Boris Johnson improving and sitting up in bed, chancellor says

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PM ‘engaging positively’ but still in intensive care, according to update on his condition

Boris Johnson remains in intensive care but his condition is improving and he is sitting up in his hospital bed, the chancellor has said.

Rishi Sunak said the prime minister was “engaging positively” with medical staff as he gave an update on Johnson’s condition at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

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Union calls for cash payment ban on UK buses over coronavirus

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Move will reduce risk of infection for drivers during pandemic, says Unite

Cash payments on all UK buses should be abolished for the duration of the coronavirus crisis to reduce the risk of driver infection, the union representing bus workers has demanded.

Unite called on Wednesday for an end to cash payments on all the bus systems still operating across the UK to help drive down infection rates, particularly as the country enters the predicted peak period of the outbreak over Easter and beyond.

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Brexit: UK plan to agree trade deal by December is fantasy, says EU

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Leaked letter reveals scale of bloc’s inability to function during coronavirus outbreak

Boris Johnson’s plan to seal a deal with Brussels on the future relationship with the UK by the end of December has been described as “fantasy land” by EU officials, as a leaked letter revealed the scale of the bloc’s inability to function during the coronavirus pandemic.

The European council headquarters, where member states’ positions are coordinated, is only able to hold one daily video conference due to a lack of facilities. The capacity to carry out work is 25% of what it would usually be.

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Mark Sedwill: the securocrat steering Dominic Raab through Covid-19 crisis

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Supporters of cabinet secretary say his role will be crucial with Boris Johnson ill

He has been called the most powerful man in the UK, a securocrat who is too smooth for his own good.

But few would dispute that the influence of the cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, has increased since Boris Johnson was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital with coronavirus on Sunday night.

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Jewish leaders praise Keir Starmer for pledges on Labour antisemitism

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New Labour leader wins praise after setting out steps party would take to tackle issue

Keir Starmer has been praised by Jewish leaders for achieving “in four days more than his predecessor in four years” after he held a video conference to set out steps Labour would be taking to stamp out antisemitism.

Starmer, who replaced Jeremy Corbyn as party leader on Saturday, told the meeting that he had asked for all outstanding investigations into antisemitism within the party to be “on my desk at the end of the week”.

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The medical tests Boris Johnson may be undergoing in hospital

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Doctors will assess how PM is responding to coronavirus, including breathing issues

Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests on Sunday night with persistent coronavirus symptoms, 10 days after testing positive. Some estimates suggest that about 5-10% of people with Covid-19 require hospital treatment.

His admission to hospital indicates doctors want to check how his body is responding to the virus, which will probably involve carrying out the following tests:

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Boris Johnson’s hospital admission suggests his infection has progressed

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It is unlikely the prime minister will have been admitted unless doctors have real concerns

Most people recover from Covid-19 within a week and cannot even be certain they had it, as they probably won’t be tested. The advice is to stay home, rest and take paracetamol. In 80% of cases, that is the end of it.

But NHS advice is that if the symptoms – mainly the dry cough, temperature and fatigue – have not gone by the end of a week, or they get worse, people should seek medical help.

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‘I was face-to-face with Tony Blair’: Michael Sheen on Murdoch, class and giving away his money

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He renounced acting for activism, then had to start earning again. As he returns to TV, Sheen talks about life in isolation, politics and his curious encounter with the man he has portrayed more than any other

Michael Sheen is at home in south Wales, looking out on his garden. The sun catches the side of his face, lighting up his scraggly hair and beard. “We’re very lucky to have a garden to go out in. I know not everybody does,” he says. In the current climate of famous people churning out endless videos of their isolation struggles from the side of a pool in a mansion, it’s a telling sentiment.

A few years ago, after a successful stage and screen career, the actor, 51, “refocused” his life away from entertainment towards community work and activism, and moved back to Wales from Los Angeles. He had been living there for much of the past two decades, to be near his eldest daughter, Lily (her mother is the actor Kate Beckinsale, and they remain close). “And then when my daughter was 18 and went off to a life of her own, I realised: ‘Oh, I can go home again now.’”

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UK missed coronavirus contact tracing opportunity, experts say

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Thousands of council workers could have been deployed by the government but were not asked

The government has been accused of missing an opportunity after it failed to deploy 5,000 contact tracing experts employed by councils to help limit the spread of coronavirus.

Environmental health workers in local government have wide experience in contact tracing, a process used to prevent infections spreading and routinely carried out in outbreaks such as of norovirus, salmonella or legionnaires’ disease. But a spokesperson for Public Health England (PHE), which leads on significant outbreaks, said the organisation did not call upon environmental health workers to carry out contact tracing for coronavirus, instead using its own local health protection teams.

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Who runs the country if Boris Johnson is out of action?

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With the PM in hospital for his coronavirus symptoms, we look at who will fill the void at the head of the UK government

In his role as first secretary of state, the prime minister’s de facto deputy, Dominic Raab will be expected to stand in for Boris Johnson if he is unable to work because of coronavirus.

While other ministers, including the health secretary Matt Hancock and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, have been more visible during the Covid-19 outbreak, that position means he takes up the prime minister’s responsibilities if Johnson were unable to perform them himself.

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Scotland’s chief medical officer steps back from public briefings

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Catherine Calderwood apologises after visiting second home despite issuing advice to stay in

Scotland’s chief medical officer has been forced to step back from public briefings after a furious reaction to news she broke her own rules to twice visit her second home during the coronavirus outbreak.

But despite mounting calls for Catherine Calderwood to resign from her position, Nicola Sturgeon on Sunday insisted that she would continue to play a key role in guiding the Scottish government’s response to the crisis.

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Keir Starmer gives Lisa Nandy foreign brief on new Labour frontbench

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New leader brings in one former rival for key post but no role yet for Rebecca Long-Bailey

Keir Starmer has made Lisa Nandy, one of the candidates he defeated to become Labour leader, his shadow foreign secretary, and Anneliese Dodds, who became an MP only in 2017, his shadow chancellor.

Speaking before the first tranche of top appointments, the new Labour leader promised he would create a shadow cabinet balanced between the various wings of the party.

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Matt Hancock tells sunbathers: ‘You are putting lives at risk’ – video

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The health secretary has said people should not go outside to sunbathe, even if they practise social distancing. 

Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky News, Matt Hancock said: 'We are absolutely clear that you should not leave your home unless it is for one of four reasons: for medical reasons, to buy food, to go to work if you can't work at home, or for exercise. We're crystal in the guidance on what people should do – that guidance is backed up by law. It is not a request, it is a requirement in law'

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Five-year-old child among latest UK coronavirus deaths

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Death toll increases by 708 in one day, largest amount since outbreak began

A five-year old child is among 708 people whose deaths with coronavirus were announced on Saturday in the UK, as Britain’s death toll rose to 4,313, the biggest increase since the outbreak began.

The latest figures show the recorded death toll from the virus in the UK has risen by 20%, and above 4,000 for the first time.

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