Politics

Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.

Friday

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Why isn’t No. 10 cracking down on overzealous police?

There are now daily examples of police forces either overstepping the regulations and guidance on social distancing to tell people off who are, for instance, in their own front gardens, or threatening to do so in the near future (see Northamptonshire police desperately trying to blame the media for writing up verbatim what its chief constable said about his force potentially checking shopping trolleys for non-essential items). While most police forces are doing a very difficult job in adjusting to new legislation while also putting their officers at risk of catching coronavirus in order to enforce it, these extreme examples do risk making it look as though some members of

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Covid antibody test in German town shows 15 per cent infection rate

This morning we have some data giving a little more insight into the great unknown of the coronavirus pandemic: just how widely among the population has SARS-CoV-2 – the virus which causes Covid-19 – spread among the general population. A team at the University of Bonn has tested a randomised sample of 1,000 residents of the town of Gangelt in the north-west of the country, one of the epicentres of the outbreak in Germany. The study found that two per cent of the population currently had the virus and that 14 per cent were carrying antibodies suggesting that they had already been infected – whether or not they experienced any

Patrick O’Flynn Patrick O'Flynn

There might be a way to avoid higher taxes after coronavirus. Here’s how

‘Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the state has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the state wishes to spend more it can only do so by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking someone else will pay – that “someone else” is you. There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers’ money.’ These words, by Margaret Thatcher at the 1983 Conservative party conference, have often been used as a justification for rolling back the state so that private citizens can spend more of their own money. They seem to cast the state

Thursday

Robert Peston Robert Peston

The cost of Britain’s coronavirus lockdown is mounting

Thursday’s meeting of the emergency Cobra committee that takes decisions on how to protect us from the ravages of Covid-19 was supposed to be a 15-minute formality, to rubber-stamp a decision, to make no decision at all on when and whether to ease these unprecedented on our freedoms. But because the telecoms connections for this video conference call were ropey and the ministers chaired by the First Secretary of State Dominic Raab struggled to be understood, the 15 minutes extended to a frustrating 45 minutes. Even so, ministers did decide to mandate the government’s scientists, on the so-called SAGE committee, to gather the data necessary to inform a political decision

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The unknown factor that will help decide when the lockdown ends

Dominic Raab used the daily coronavirus press conference to confirm that the nationwide lockdown is unlikely to be lifted anytime soon. The First Secretary of State said that ‘the measures will have to stay in place until we clearly have the evidence that we have moved beyond the peak’.  As for when we should start to see the number of fatalities fall, the chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance said that this could be around two weeks after the peak of Intensive Care Unit admissions. Given that no one thinks we have yet reached that point, there is some way to go. As for what happens after, the most sobering point of the

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris Johnson moved out of intensive care

The Prime Minister was moved out of intensive care on Thursday evening but remains in hospital. After being moved on Monday night to an ICU where he received oxygen treatment, Boris Johnson’s health has slowly improved in recent days. Now, in the clearest sign he is on the road to recovery, Johnson no longer requires a bed in intensive care. A No. 10 spokesman said: The Prime Minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery. He is in extremely good spirits. This is not to say that Johnson should be expected to return

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Ending the lockdown is a decision that will have to wait for Boris Johnson

The news coming from St Thomas’ hospital is encouraging. Boris Johnson’s condition is continuing to improve. His close friends are audibly more relaxed when discussing his condition than they were a few days ago. But, as I say in the magazine this week, Boris Johnson is going to require a proper convalescence. Any idea that he can return to work as soon as he is discharged is deeply unwise. He will, as with anyone who has been in intensive care with this disease, need time to fully recover. The decision about when, and how, to end the lockdown is one that will almost certainly have to wait for Boris Johnson’s

Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Lockdown confusion isn’t helping

The government is still refusing to give any details of whether, when and how the current coronavirus lockdown might lift. At this afternoon’s lobby briefing with journalists, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman repeated the line we have heard over the past few days that the government needs to be ‘focused relentlessly’ on ensuring that people abide by the current restrictions, saying: ‘We need to focus in our public message in order to save lives.’ There is clearly anxiety that people will relax their approach to social distancing and staying at home over the Easter weekend, with the weather forecast promising warm temperatures and sunshine. No. 10 is accordingly rebuffing the

Steerpike Steerpike

Diane Abbott’s most memorable shadow cabinet moments

This week Keir Starmer’s formed his new Shadow Cabinet replacing several Corbynista stalwarts with his own favoured MPs on the frontbenches. As a result the Labour party has lost some of the ‘titans’ and ‘heavyweights’ of the Corbyn-era, who are no longer shadowing the great offices of state. To commemorate their departure, Mr Steerpike is compiling the best moments of their careers in opposition. On Monday, Mr S highlighted Richard Burgon’s greatest hits, after he was booted out as Shadow Justice Minister. Today we look at Diane Abbott, who announced in advance of Starmer’s election that she would be stepping down from the role. Her successor is Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds. Here are Abbott’s

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Why a lockdown extension is seen as inevitable

This afternoon Dominic Raab will chair a Cobra meeting where the issue of lifting the lockdown will be raised. When Boris Johnson first announced social distancing measures he said the arrangement would be re-examined in three weeks’ time. Yet no one in government believes there is any prospect of an imminent lockdown lift – instead an extension is coming. If any change is on the menu it’s likely an enhancement of the current arrangement – such as limits on the use of cars – ahead of the sunny Easter Bank Holiday weekend.  The view in No. 10 is that talk of an exit strategy is premature when the UK has not yet even

Matthew Lynn

The Bank of England’s big coronavirus gamble

Ten billion here. Twenty billion there. At least we now know where Rishi Sunak is getting all the money from. As of today, the Bank of England has quietly started directly financing the government. Instead of selling gilts to fund the difference between what it raises in taxes and what it spends the Bank is simply going to increase the government’s account, normally a relatively trivial £370 million, to what it discreetly describes as an ‘unlimited amount’. How much might that be? No one knows, but the final number could easily have ten zeros at the end of it. What is known in the economics textbooks by the rather dramatic

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Dominic Raab is the constitutional choice, but a complicated one

We have never had a moment like this before in our history: a time when the Prime Minister is, in the most personal way possible, fighting the very problem his government is trying to tackle. After Boris Johnson tested positive for coronavirus, he insisted that he would keep leading the government from self-isolation in Downing Street. His determination was influenced by the fact that No. 10 believed that parts of government needed pushing to make sure they delivered; there is frustration in Downing Street about the speed of progress in testing, for instance. But those in virtual meetings with him did worry that he was often coughing, and his performance

Charles Moore Charles Moore

The problems of a sick prime minister

It is good of President Trump to offer Boris Johnson his best wishes and the best American pharmaceuticals (though no doubt Jeremy Corbyn would see this as a prelude to American takeover of the National Health Service). During the second world war, on Boxing Day 1941, Churchill had a minor heart attack after trying too hard to force open a window while staying at the White House. He had addressed the joint Houses of Congress earlier that day. Churchill’s doctor, Moran, did not inform President Roosevelt. In February 1943, however, when he knew Churchill had pneumonia, Roosevelt wrote to him: ‘Please, please, for the sake of the world, don’t overdo

Wednesday

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Sunak bails out charities – but are his measures actually working?

At Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing, Chancellor Rishi Sunak turned his attention (and the Treasury’s coffers) to the charity sector, which will receive £750 million to support vital services for the community. The money will be divided between small, local charities working with vulnerable people and charities that provide ‘essential services,’ with Sunak citing St John Ambulance and the Citizens Advice bureau as two examples of potential beneficiaries. The support comes as organisations like Cancer Research announced in recent days that they would have to scale back their medical research due to a projected drop in donations on which they rely to keep their services going. This pot will be intended to plug such funding

Katy Balls Katy Balls

Will coronavirus usher in a new Conservatism?

15 min listen

The Chancellor ended today’s press briefing with the words: ‘Our economic plan and the plan for charities we announced today are built on one simple idea: that we depend on each other.’ On the podcast, James explains why he thinks coronavirus is the dawn of a new kind of Conservatism.

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

The unforeseen costs of Covid-19

Assumptions made about the UK’s Covid-19 support packages are starting to unravel. When the Chancellor announced unprecedented spending to tackle the virus, he aimed to keep people in their jobs and mitigate an inevitable economic crash. But unemployment is soaring and the economy is contracting at a rapid pace, with growth figures set to plummet further than they did during the financial crash, and possibly even below that of the Great Depression. Despite the government’s measures, the economic effects are being acutely felt – and the Treasury’s coronavirus policies may have spurred on some unwanted activity of another sort. Today’s analysis from the Resolution Foundation and British Chambers of Commerce finds that the centrepiece

James Kirkup James Kirkup

There is nothing ‘tough’ about beating coronavirus

‘Boris is a very tough, very resilient person. … I’m sure he’ll come through this.’ That was David Cameron on the Prime Minister. ‘I’m confident that he’ll pull through because if theres one thing I know, he’s a fighter.’ That was Dominic Raab. I’m quoting those two simply because they’re the most prominent examples, but there are lots of other people who have spoken of Boris Johnson in similar terms in the last day or so. Those words are well-meant. Both men sincerely wish Johnson the very best, and are speaking as a sign of support and in Cameron’s case, real personal affection. Likewise all the others who have talked

Tuesday

Katy Balls Katy Balls

The decision Dominic Raab can’t make

12 min listen

One of the biggest decisions in the government’s approach to tackling coronavirus is when and how to lift the lockdown. But this is also one of the most divisive issues within Cabinet. With the Prime Minister not yet out of hospital, this will be one of the things that Dominic Raab can’t decide in his stead.

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Raab stands in for Boris – but he can’t take the biggest decision of all

Dominic Raab is a lawyer, not a doctor, by temperament as well as training. He is not a politician who talks about his feelings much. This made it all the more striking to hear him talking about Boris Johnson as a ‘friend’, and his hopes for his recovery. The reassuring news is that Boris Johnson’s condition is stable and he hasn’t required a ventilator. Raab faced a barrage of questions about how him deputising for Boris Johnson will actually work Understandably, Raab faced a barrage of questions about how him deputising for Boris Johnson will actually work. Raab emphasised Cabinet collective responsibility and how they were implementing the plans that