Category Archives: Conservatives

Furious Tories pile pressure on Boris Johnson over No 10 parties

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Former ministers and MPs call on prime minister to fully address issue in Commons after latest revelation

Boris Johnson is facing intense pressure from senior Conservatives to publicly confess he attended a rule-breaking garden party in Downing Street, with the Scottish Tory leader suggesting the prime minister should resign if he broke Covid rules.

A string of Conservative MPs openly expressed anger and humiliation about the “bring your own booze” gathering for up to 40 people on 20 May 2020 after it emerged in a leaked email. Others called on him to come clean and apologise on Wednesday in the hope of stemming rising fury.

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UK Covid live: party revelations show PM has done ‘incalculable damage’ to trust in health measures, Labour says

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Latest updates: health minister Edward Argar says he can understand why people are ‘upset and angry’ about reports

The Conservative mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, whose mother died of Covid last year, has said news of a party at Downing Street during the first lockdown is “pretty incredible” and that he is “very hungry” to find out what happened.

Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands, Street said he was shocked when he read the news. He said:

When I saw this I thought, I can’t really believe this, if I’m honest. It was May 2020, a time when we were all restricted. My idea of going out was to walk along the canal with one friend, frankly, and I’m sure there’s lots of people in the West Midlands who have their own recollections of what they were doing in May 2020. So yes, it is very difficult to believe.

What we don’t know is whether the prime minister was there. I obviously can’t possibly comment on that, but that’s why the inquiry has got to come.

And I’m sure that when the inquiry finds out the facts, then the conclusions and the consequences will be acted upon.

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Health minister admits public will be ‘angry’ over No 10 lockdown party

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Ed Argar says he understands public anger after email unearthed inviting staff to drinks in the garden

A health minister has admitted the public will be “upset and angry” at revelations that a senior official invited more than 100 Downing Street staff to a “bring your own booze” party during the first lockdown.

In a tacit acknowledgment of the strength of feeling at the latest revelations, Ed Argar said he had personally not attended any parties and had been aware of the regulations, “not least because I was a health minister who’d helped draw them up”.

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‘Funds for favours’: Geidt pressed to reopen investigation into PM’s flat

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Emergence of ‘great exhibition’ messages seems to undermine ethics adviser’s finding, says Labour

Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser has been accused of failing to investigate a potential “funds for favours” scandal after the prime minister was cleared of rule-breaking over his Downing Street flat refurbishment.

Christopher Geidt shut his investigation without commenting on Johnson seeking funds for the works from a Conservative donor while promising to consider plans for a “great exhibition”. Expectations also faded that another inquiry, led by parliament’s standards commissioner Kathryn Stone, would go ahead.

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Dominic Cummings makes new claim of party in No 10 garden in lockdown

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Former aide says he put in writing that event – five days after photographed gathering – should not happen

Boris Johnson’s former top adviser Dominic Cummings has alleged there was a lockdown-breaking party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 after an emailed invitation to “socially distanced drinks”.

Cummings, who left No 10 in November that year, said people were invited to the gathering by a senior Downing Street official who he said should have been removed from their job because of failings over Covid.

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Boris Johnson accused of corruption after ‘great exhibition’ text emerges

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PM sought funds for flat refurb from Tory donor while promising to consider plans for mystery event

Boris Johnson has been accused of corruption after it emerged that he sought funds for his flat refurbishment from a Conservative donor while promising to consider plans for a mystery “great exhibition”.

The prime minister is facing fresh questions after newly published WhatsApp messages with the Tory peer David Brownlow show Johnson called parts of his Downing Street residence a “tip” and asked for “approvals” so his decor designer, Lulu Lytle, could “get on with it” in November 2020.

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Tory peer Michelle Mone secretly involved in PPE firm she referred to government

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Exclusive: Leaked files suggest Mone and her husband were involved in business given £200m contracts

Leaked files appear to suggest the Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her husband, Douglas Barrowman, were secretly involved in a PPE business that was awarded more than £200m in government contracts after she referred it to the Cabinet Office.

Barrowman, an Isle of Man-based financier, may have played a central role in the business deal that enabled PPE Medpro to sell millions of masks and surgical gowns to the government at the start of the pandemic, documents suggest.

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The Guardian view on levelling up: a flagship policy adrift and becalmed | Editorial

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More mayors and a shake-up of local government will not be enough to rebalance the economy and heal the north-south divide

Two years after Boris Johnson made “levelling up” the lodestar of his new administration, the public still struggles to understand what the prime minister means by it. A new YouGov poll has found that half of those questioned either had no idea what the phrase signifies, or were not completely sure. The government’s flagship domestic policy resembles a ghost vessel drifting in a mist of Whitehall obfuscation and procrastination.

After a torrid period, Mr Johnson badly needs this to change in the new year. However fuzzy the follow-through, the political logic of his original pledge to level up England remains crystal clear: as it seeks to hold together the new electoral coalition forged in the 2019 “Brexit election”, improving the situation and prospects of voters in the north and Midlands is fundamental to the government’s hopes of re-election. The pots of money distributed piecemeal via the various levelling-up funds – described as a “drop in the ocean” by the Centre for Cities thinktank – will not cut it. Having promised to restore pride, regenerate places and deliver economic growth in the “red wall”, a convincing plan is urgently required to demonstrate how this will be done. The indications are that this will not be forthcoming, partly for fear of antagonising voters in the more prosperous south.

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Guidance v rules: which Covid measures work better?

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Analysis: the Tories are arguing against further restrictions – but what do scientists think works best to prevent the spread of Covid?

They are questions that have cast a shadow over the festive season: will new Covid measures be needed, and if so, when and what form will they take?

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said peak admissions could be comparable with or even greater than previous highs without significant behaviour change or further interventions, but many Tory backbenchers have argued against legal restrictions, saying that the public should be trusted to make their own decisions on the risks they wish to take.

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Johnson’s pig-headed reign approaches its tragicomic climax | William Keegan

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Events in the run-up to Christmas have conspired like twists in a novel to reveal the true character of Tory Brexiters

There was a moment last year when Boris Johnson was reported to have gone awol (absent without leave) from governing the country in order to work on a book about Shakespeare.

At the time, many commentators blamed his absence for a crucial delay in decision-making which contributed to thousands of avoidable, Covid-related deaths. Be that as it may, or was, he returned to the helm of state, brushed off many a criticism, and managed to persuade gullible members of the media and electorate that he possessed Teflon qualities and was invincible.

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Tory MPs warn Boris Johnson’s rivals to oppose tougher Covid new year rules

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Leadership hopefuls told to block new limits in England as scientists model curbs on bars and cafes

Cabinet ministers vying to succeed Boris Johnson have been warned by Tory colleagues that they will damage their chances unless they stridently oppose further Covid measures in England, as MPs called for New Year’s Eve restrictions to be ruled out.

With ministers expected to meet as soon as Monday to discuss whether additional measures are needed to protect hospital capacity, several Conservatives said that they would be watching those emerging as leading contenders to replace Johnson should he step aside before the next election.

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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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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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‘It’s a stretch’: Starmer on No 10’s wine and cheese work meeting – video

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The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has said it was 'a bit of a stretch' to suggest a photograph in which the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his staff are seen sharing wine and cheese platters in the gardens of Downing Street in May 2020 was a work meeting. No 10 has denied anything social took place and the deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, said no Covid rules had been broken

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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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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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‘All bets are off now’: a torrid week when Johnson’s balloon was burst

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Last week’s byelection result laid bare the growing anger felt towards the PM – both from outside and within his own party

Shortly after Owen Paterson resigned as the Tory MP for North Shropshire in early November, Helen Morgan, who had been trounced when she stood as Liberal Democrat candidate at the last general election, rang her party’s HQ in London with a message that took senior officials by surprise.

“She told us that we really had a chance in the byelection, that we had to throw everything at it. Initially there was a lot of scepticism,” said a party official. “Nobody really believed it.”

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Brexit minister’s shock resignation leaves Boris Johnson reeling

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Lord Frost’s frustrated exit is yet another blow for PM struggling for control of his government

Boris Johnson was dealt another major blow to his leadership on Saturday night as it emerged that the man overseeing Brexit was resigning from the cabinet.

With Tory MPs already warning the prime minister that he would have to regain control of the government to survive as leader until the next election, it emerged that Lord Frost is to leave the government after frustrations over Brexit negotiations and broader concerns over the government’s Covid policies and tax increases.

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