The royal family, partygate and cancel culture: can a Tory voter and a socialist find common ground over dinner?
Michelle, 34, Reading
Occupation Primary school teacher and trade union official
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I didn’t break Covid rules when kissing aide, says Matt Hancock
Ex-minister explains why he resigned last year after CCTV showed him embracing adviser Gina Coladangelo
Matt Hancock has insisted that he broke only Covid guidelines rather than rules in kissing his aide and friend in his ministerial office, events that forced his resignation as UK health secretary after CCTV images of the clinch emerged.
Hancock also said his decision to step down more than 24 hours after the pictures were published was made after people he knew and respected got in touch to remind him they had been unable to see dying relatives because of Covid regulations.
Continue reading...From partygate to Putin’s war: Boris Johnson rides on a rare wave of unity
The prime minister’s stirring rhetoric on the crisis in Ukraine earns him a reprieve from his woes… for now at least
It was the silence in the House of Commons – more than the words spoken from the dispatch box – that captured the magnitude of the moment, and the dramatic shift of political mood, on Thursday evening.
Boris Johnson had been woken at 4.10am that morning to be told Vladimir Putin’s troops had crossed the border into Ukraine. It was what military intelligence had prepared him to expect.
Continue reading...UK politics live: Boris Johnson promises ‘massive sanctions’ after Russian invasion of Ukraine
Latest updates: prime minister condemns Russian president Vladimir Putin and promises to stand with Ukraine
- Boris Johnson promises massive sanctions to ‘hobble’ Russian economy
- Ukraine crisis: latest updates
- Explained: what we know so far after Russia invades Ukraine
- British Gas says supplies are safe after Russian invasion
General Sir Richard Shirreff, the former British officer who was Nato’s deputy supreme allied commander, told the Today programme this morning the possibility of the war in Ukraine leading to military conflict between Britain and Russia could not be ruled out. Asked if this was possible, he replied:
Absolutely there is a possibility that we as a nation could be at war with Russia, because if Russia puts one bootstep across Nato territory, we are all at war with Russia. Every single one, every single member of the Nato alliance.
Article 5 [of the Nato alliance] says an attack on one is an attack on all, so we need to change our mindset fundamentally, and that is why I say our defence starts in the UK on the frontiers of Nato.
What became evident in the days leading up to this invasion is that Vladimir Putin is increasingly isolated. That bizarre video of him berating his senior officials shows that he’s making these decisions increasingly in isolation and illogically.
And unfortunately I think that that is part of the reason why the initial round of international sanctions that [were] put in place by ourselves, by France, Germany, the US, Canada and others, didn’t have the deterrent effect.
The sanctions package that will be put in response to this is already actually having an effect. Just the announcement that it’s coming - we’ve seen the Russian stock market, the equivalent of the FTSE, drop by over 30%. That is a huge reduction in Russia’s economic abilities to fund this invasion.
And those sanctions will be laid today and over forthcoming days to really prevent Russia from funding this invasion.
Continue reading...Tory row over testing casts shadow over PM’s Covid announcement
Analysis: cabinet colleagues horrified over wrangling between Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid
Cabinet ministers were already waiting in No 10 on Monday morning when it became clear the sign-off for the prime minister’s much-anticipated end to Covid regulations was not going to be as perfunctory as they had imagined.
A festering row between Rishi Sunak’s Treasury and Sajid Javid’s health department was responsible, first reported by the Guardian last week and still unresolved.
Continue reading...Ending all Covid restrictions ‘premature and not based on evidence’, says BMA
Council chair says decision not guided by data or made in consultation with health profession
Ending all Covid restrictions is premature and “not based on current evidence”, the British Medical Association has said, as experts warned dropping testing and self-isolation could lead to a surge in cases.
Boris Johnson told MPs last week that he was preparing to lift the legal requirement in England to self-isolate on 24 February, a month earlier than originally planned, with a formal announcement expected on Monday.
Continue reading...UK and Scottish government agree deal on freeports in Scotland
Plan proposes two ‘green freeports’ based around low-emission industries
UK ministers and the Scottish government have reached a deal over proposed freeports in Scotland, after months of disagreement over what No 10 has billed as one of the main economic benefits of Brexit.
The Scottish government had resisted the idea of freeports – specific areas that offer tax breaks and other incentives to investors – which are intended to revitalise deprived areas but have been accused of encouraging tax avoidance and lower regulation.
Continue reading...Has Boris Johnson done enough to avoid a no-confidence vote?
Analysis: The letters have seemingly stopped but MPs may be keeping their pens dry for strategic reasons
As MPs wheeled their suitcases on to trains for a short recess, those with lingering doubts about Boris Johnson’s leadership tucked their letter-writing pens back into their pockets.
They seem unlikely to come out again until the Metropolitan police determine whether the prime minister committed any criminal offence by attending a number of Downing Street gatherings.
Continue reading...John Major says Boris Johnson broke lockdown laws and is creating mistrust
Former Tory PM fiercely attacks Johnson and issues barely veiled challenge to MPs to remove him
Boris Johnson broke lockdown laws, appears to believe rules do not apply to him and is creating an atmosphere of mistrust in politics that threatens the long-term democratic future of the UK, Sir John Major has said.
In a fierce and wide-ranging attack, Major said Johnson had regularly sent ministers out to “defend the indefensible”, with the truth seen as “optional”, and was badly tarnishing the UK’s reputation overseas with populist-style “megaphone diplomacy”.
Continue reading...More than 50 people to face police questions on Downing Street parties
Those identified as part of Operation Hillman will be sent questionnaire asking for their account of events
More than 50 people must answer police questions about alleged parties in Downing Street and Whitehall that may have breached strict Covid rules, Scotland Yard has said.
In a sign of the scale of the “partygate” criminal inquiry, the Metropolitan police revealed on Wednesday they would this week start contacting more than 50 people as part of “Operation Hillman”, an investigation into events on eight dates between May 2020 to April 2021.
Continue reading...Billionaire Tory donor calls for Boris Johnson to resign
John Armitage, who has given £3.1m to the Conservatives, says PM has gone ’past the point of no return’
A billionaire donor to the Conservative party has suggested that Boris Johnson should resign, saying that the prime minister was “past the point of no return”.
John Armitage, co-founder of the hedge fund firm Egerton Capital, who has given £3.1m to the Conservatives, including more than £500,000 since Boris Johnson entered No 10, told the BBC he thought leaders should leave if they lose their moral authority.
Continue reading...Rees-Mogg becomes minister for Brexit opportunities in Boris Johnson reshuffle
Chris Heaton-Harris takes over as chief whip in shake-up as PM seeks to reassure mutinous Tories
Boris Johnson has made Jacob Rees-Mogg the new minister for “Brexit opportunities” and installed a key loyalist as his chief whip in a reshuffle intended to shore up his position after weeks of terrible headlines.
Rees-Mogg, who was Commons leader, is moved to the Cabinet Office to take on a newly created role as Brexit opportunities minister, a cabinet-level job that also includes “government efficiency”.
Continue reading...Senior Tory and Labour figures speak out over media focus on Carrie Johnson
MPs defend PM’s wife after criticism of her in extracts from book by Conservative peer Michael Ashcroft
Senior political figures, from Keir Starmer to Sajid Javid, have criticised negative briefings that suggest Carrie Johnson is partly to blame for the troubles of her husband’s premiership.
MPs came to the defence of the prime minister’s wife after the publication of extracts from a new book by the Conservative peer Michael Ashcroft which suggested her “behaviour is preventing [Boris Johnson] from leading Britain as effectively as the voters deserve”.
Continue reading...Johnson allies insist ‘grownups’ in charge of new team at No 10
Prime minister may still face more letters of no confidence and revelations from Dominic Cummings
Allies of Boris Johnson have insisted that “grownups” are now in charge of his operation as he heads into critical week for his beleaguered premiership that could see him face a confidence vote and the threat of further damaging revelations.
Tory MPs said Johnson may have bought some time by bringing a new team into No 10. One major Conservative donor, Alexander Temerko, told the Guardian that the prime minister should now take the opportunity to “purge” the cabinet of disloyal leadership rivals.
Continue reading...‘Partygate’: Johnson’s removal is now inevitable, warns loyalist
More MPs set to submit resignation demands as No 10 rejigs team
Boris Johnson’s desperate efforts to save his premiership were undermined on Saturday as one of his most loyal backbench supporters said it was now “inevitable” that Tory MPs would remove him from office over the “partygate” scandal.
In an interview with the Observer, Sir Charles Walker, a former vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, implored the prime minister to go of his own accord in the national interest, and likened events in the Tory party to a Greek tragedy.
Continue reading...Dorries claims vast majority of Tories behind Johnson
Culture secretary dismisses resignation calls over ‘partygate’ after another Tory says PM should go
The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has rejected calls for Boris Johnson to resign in order to restore trust after the “partygate” scandal, claiming that the “vast majority” of the party were behind the prime minister.
It comes after the former schools minister, Nick Gibb, became the latest Conservative MP to publicly call for Johnson to go, citing constituents “furious about the double standards” and the prime minster’s “inaccurate” statements in the Commons.
Continue reading...‘Secret sauce of success’: levelling-up report co-author on why UK should be like Renaissance Florence
Andy Haldane says city’s crucible-like atmosphere created ‘combustion’ for economic prosperity
The government’s new levelling-up strategy should help Britain’s left-behind towns and cities emulate Renaissance Florence in cooking up the “secret sauce” of economic success, according to its co-author Andy Haldane.
The hefty report, published on Wednesday, was mocked by some for its frequent historical references – including to 15th-century Florence under the Medici – but Haldane, a former Bank of England chief economist, is deadly serious.
Continue reading...Carrie Johnson: puppet master of Downing Street – or easy target?
Some argue Boris Johnson’s wife is pulling the strings at No 10 but others note that claims contain more than a whiff of sexism
Boris Johnson’s inner circle imploded so spectacularly in recent days that only one close political confidante from the early days of No 10 remains: his wife, Carrie Johnson.
The most powerful prime ministerial spouse in recent memory, the 33-year-old Johnson has a job of her own for a wildlife charity, but multiple sources from Downing Street past and present say her influence on the prime minister’s operation is undeniable.
Continue reading...Tory MP Aaron Bell goes public on letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson
More than a dozen MPs have now called openly for prime minister to resign over lockdown parties scandal
Aaron Bell has become the latest Conservative MP to announce publicly that he has submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
More than a dozen MPs have called openly for the prime minister to resign, including the former defence secretary Tobias Ellwood and the backbenchers Peter Aldous and Anthony Mangnall. More are believed to have submitted letters privately.
Continue reading...Four Johnson aides quit in fallout from Downing Street parties
Policy chief Munira Mirza was first to go, followed shortly by Jack Doyle, Dan Rosenfield and Martin Reynolds
Four of Boris Johnson’s key staff have quit as the fallout from the Downing Street party scandal continued to shake his hold on government.
Johnson’s longstanding policy chief Munira Mirza was the first to go, using a stinging resignation letter to accuse the prime minister of “scurrilous” behaviour when he falsely linked Keir Starmer to the failure to bring paedophile Jimmy Savile to justice.
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