Prime minister says he is ‘committed’ to fixing issues but says there is no deadline on talks
In his latest column, Simon Jenkins argues that instead of fighting for the centre ground, Keir Starmer should look to the radical changes pushed through under Harold Wilson.
Wes Streeting has declined to say whether a Labour government would agree to a pay rise for nurses.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak announces £1.6bn contract led by shipyard Harland and Wolff that will create 900 jobs in Belfast
Shipbuilding is to be revived in Belfast after 20 years as part of a £1.6bn Ministry of Defence contract for three new naval vessels, Rishi Sunak has announced.
A consortium led by the shipyard Harland and Wolff has secured the preferred bidder status which will create 1,200 jobs across three companies, 900 of which will be in Belfast.
Continue reading...Royal College of Nursing says Steve Barclay refused to discuss pay at meeting on Monday; Welsh nurses to strike after last-minute talks fail. This blog is now closed
Pat Cullen, the Royal College of Nursing’s general secretary, told ITV this morning that there was no point talking to Steve Barclay, the health secretary, if he was not prepared to discuss pay. She said
What I’m saying … to the health secretary this morning, is if you don’t want to speak to me directly about nurses’ pay, we have engaged with the conciliation service Acas, they can do that through Acas, but our door is absolutely wide open and it appears at the minute that theirs is totally shut …
Fundamentally, I need to get to a table and talk to them about pay. This isn’t just me, it’s the 320,000 nurses that voted for strike action … They voted through an independent ballot that we carried out and surely to goodness you couldn’t look at one of those people this morning in the eye and say: ‘You’re not worth an extra brown penny’. In my mind they absolutely are.
I think it’s a very challenging international picture. About a third of the world’s economies are predicted to be in recession, either this year or next.
We’re no different in this country and truthfully, it is likely to get worse before it gets better, which makes it even more difficult when we have big public sector strikes going on at the moment.
Continue reading...Unanimous judgment in UK’s highest court means Stormont assembly can proceed with abortion services bill
The Northern Ireland assembly can legislate to create buffer zones around abortion clinics to protect users and staff, the UK’s highest court has ruled.
The supreme court’s unanimous judgment means the assembly can proceed with the abortion services (safe access zones) (Northern Ireland) bill, which criminalises people who enter the specified areas and influence people attending clinics.
Continue reading...Analysis of database tailored to EU needs shows 85% of GB exports stay in the region’s factories and shops
UK hopes that controversial Brexit checks on goods crossing the Irish sea can be eliminated have risen after early analysis of government data showed that at least 85% of goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain stay in factories or shops in the region.
The research comes from a new HM Revenue and Customs database, the EU Access system, that tracked the movement of 1m goods crossing the Irish Sea in 2021.
Continue reading...Minister rubbishes reports of ‘Chequers’-style plan, as businesses expected to call for more ‘practical’ immigration rules
Rishi Sunak is facing a new row on two fronts over Brexit, as he sought to quell a backlash from hardline Eurosceptics given suggestions the UK could seek a Swiss-style deal with Brussels, while businesses are expected to call for a more “practical” immigration stance.
Ahead of the prime minister’s address to business leaders in Birmingham on Monday morning, Downing Street tried to dampen down speculation that a deal similar to Theresa May’s “Chequers” plan could be adopted, claiming it was “categorically untrue”.
Continue reading...Men held after improvised explosive device damaged police vehicle in Strabane, County Tyrone, on Thursday
Police in Northern Ireland have arrested three men after the apparent attempted murder of two officers in a bomb attack on Thursday night.
A suspected improvised explosive device damaged a police vehicle in the town of Strabane in County Tyrone about 11pm. The two officers escaped unharmed.
Continue reading...Around 100,000 civil servants, working in multiple government agencies, have voted to strike in a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs.
According to Pat Leahy, political editor of the Irish Times, the Irish government is doubtful about the prospect of a breakthrough in the coming weeks in the talks on the Northern Ireland protocol.
In his Sky News interview Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, also suggested that large number of politicians in parliament are voting for Matt Hancock to perform “grim” tasks on I’m A Celebrity. My colleague Aubrey Allegretti has the story here.
Continue reading...Party vice-president Michelle O’Neill says government must find a way to make post-Brexit arrangements work
The Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, has said the UK government needs to “step up to the plate” and find a way to make the Northern Ireland protocol work.
On Friday, the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, said there will not be a Stormont election in December.
Continue reading...No 10 said Chris Philp had not spoken to the PM before accusing asylum seekers of ‘cheek’ for complaining about conditions
The Downing Street lobby briefing is over, and the prime minister’s spokesperson has just shot down reports that the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant could be shelved.
This morning the BBC was leading the news with a story saying this was an option. A government official told Simon Jack, the BBC’s business editor: “We are reviewing every major project – including Sizewell C.”
I’ve seen some reporting on that, but it is not accurate to say we are scrapping it. Our position on Sizewell C has not changed. It remains crucial to ending our reliance on fossil fuels, increasing our energy security and meeting our net zero ambitions.
We hope to get a deal over the line as soon as possible. There are negotiations are ongoing. Negotiations have been constructive.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Peter Hain to table amendment in House of Lords to protect single energy market
A Labour peer is launching a bid to avert a fresh energy crisis with potential power cuts and drastic electricity price rises in Northern Ireland as a result of proposed Brexit legislation.
The former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain will table an amendment to the Northern Ireland protocol bill in the House of Lords on Wednesday to protect the so-called single energy market (SEM), which allows power to be traded with the island of Ireland as one economic unit.
Continue reading...Micheál Martin says electoral system ‘should not be one that constantly reinforces polarisation’
Ireland’s prime minister has said the system of sharing power between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland is no longer fit for purpose and should be reviewed.
Micheál Martin’s remarks come amid claims the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) wants to delay a new Stormont assembly election as long as possible to give talks over the disputed Brexit protocol a chance to take off.
Continue reading...Many new products now need multiple safety test facilities for home and abroad, say entrepreneurs
British inventions are being brought to market overseas because new Brexit safety certification rules mean they can’t be sold in the UK.
Trade bodies and entrepreneurs have blamed the government’s decision to stop accepting the European Union’s CE mark and instead create a new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark showing that a product is safe.
Continue reading...Assembly elections expected to be called by UK government if members fail to install a speaker
Northern Ireland assembly members will return to Stormont in a last-gasp bid on Thursday to restore the Northern Ireland executive before fresh assembly elections are called.
It comes after the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, held last-ditch talks with the region’s party leaders to try to restore devolved government and avert an assembly election.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak to meet monarch after Liz Truss chairs her final cabinet meeting at 9am
I’m Helen Sullivan, with for the next while. If you have questions or see news we may have missed, you can get in touch on Twitter here.
We’re expected to hear from Nadhim Zahawi, who made a dizzying U-turn from supporting Johnson to supporting Sunak yesterday, on Sky News at 07.05 this morning.
Continue reading...Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker also says new elections will be called if deadline to return to Stormont passes
The Northern Ireland minister, Steve Baker, has made a direct appeal to the Democratic Unionist party to accept EU-UK negotiations on the Brexit protocol and return to powersharing in Stormont.
He also warned that if the DUP did not return to Stormont by Friday’s deadline, the government would call fresh assembly elections .
Continue reading...Ireland’s taoiseach says party should honour mandate of people of Northern Ireland ahead of election deadline
Ireland’s taoiseach has called on the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) to “honour” the mandate of the people of Northern Ireland by contributing to the restoration of the Stormont institutions as the election deadline looms.
Micheál Martin said it does not appear that devolved government at Stormont will be restored by Friday’s deadline. He added that it is “not satisfactory” that the powersharing institutions are not functioning.
Continue reading...Home secretary departs after sending an official document by personal email but uses resignation letter to criticise PM
Plans to create Great British Railways, a public sector body to oversee Britain’s railways, have been delayed, MPs have been told.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the transport secretary, told the Commons transport committee that the transport bill, which would have set up the new body, has been delayed because legislation to deal with the energy crisis is being prioritised. She said:
The challenges of things like the energy legislation we’ve got to bring in and various others has meant that we have lost the opportunity to have that [bill] in this third session.
What we are continuing to pitch for will be what I would call a narrow bill around the future of transport technologies, the legislation around things like e-scooters.
Continue reading...NI secretary Chris Heaton-Harris indicates second poll of the year in mid-December unless power sharing quickly restored
Northern Ireland will face assembly elections before Christmas unless power-sharing is restored in the next 10 days, the government has confirmed.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, hinted at an 8 or 15 December polling day during evidence at a House of Commons select committee. It would be the second election for Northern Ireland this year.
Continue reading...In England about one in 35 people had Covid in week ending 3 October, according to ONS data
Covid infection levels are rising across much of the UK, with more than 1.7 million people thought to have had the virus in the most recent week, data has revealed.
About one in 35 people in England – 2.8% of the population – had Covid in the week ending 3 October based on swabs from randomly selected households, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. It is an increase from one in 50 the week before.
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