Politics

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

Fraser Nelson

What is the real impact of lockdown on the NHS?

24 min listen

The NHS has been transformed to deal with the coronavirus threat, and it’s thus far holding up, despite fears over capacity. But what has been the effect on the rest of the health service, and its usual patients? Fraser Nelson speaks to Alastair McLellan, Editor of the Health Service Journal.

Steerpike

Watch: Welsh Minister caught swearing on Zoom call

So far things have gone rather well in Westminster as Parliament for the first time allows MPs to ask questions over the Zoom video conferencing software.  Over in Wales though, it appears Assembly members might be struggling a bit more with the technology. This afternoon, the Labour Health and Social Services Minister, Vaughan Gething, didn’t realise his mic was on and accidentally announced to the world his dissatisfaction with the proceedings. The Labour politician was caught on mic asking the crowded Zoom call: ‘what the fuck is the matter with’ one of his fellow Assembly members.  Whoever said that politics wasn’t civilised? Watch here:

Lloyd Evans

The disastrous Zoom backgrounds of MPs at PMQs

That wasn’t PMQs. That was World Of Interiors. With members scattered across the country, the session took place in a sparse, hushed Chamber. Dominic Raab stood in for the Prime Minister and Keir Starmer made his first appearance as opposition leader. But this historic debut was eclipsed by MPs at home asking questions online. This was an extraordinary day for the taxpayer who finally got to see the furnishings and ornaments selected by MPs. First, the worst. Ed Davey needs an eye test. He appeared at a desk flanked by two luridly pigmented abstract paintings. One resembled a chess board with the squares coloured in at random, perhaps by a

James Forsyth

Most of the cabinet want a significant easing of the lockdown in May

Coronavirus has created two different cabinets: an inner cabinet involved in the key discussions about how to handle the pandemic and an outer cabinet. Last week’s meeting reinforced this point, when some in the outer cabinet were acutely aware that the real decision had been taken by the inner cabinet before the whole cabinet Zoomed in for their meeting. The outer cabinet tends to be very keen on a significant easing of the lockdown. One minister’s assessment is that two-thirds of the total cabinet favour a substantial reduction in restrictions at the next review in a few weeks’ time. As I say in the magazine, out tomorrow, Boris Johnson is

James Forsyth

PMQs: Starmer poses the question that ministers are asking in private

Today’s PMQs was more political than I had expected. But that is a good thing, challenge and accountability are the great strengths of the Westminster system and lead to better government. Keir Starmer is never going to be an exciting parliamentary performer, but his questions were detailed and he followed up on Dominic Raab’s answer. He will be far more effective at scrutinising the government than Jeremy Corbyn was. Keir Starmer will be far more effective at scrutinising the government than Jeremy Corbyn was Starmer went on testing and the question of why half of the current capacity isn’t being used, a question that lots of people in government are

Is the furlough scheme too generous to be stopped?

You can get 80 per cent of your salary, and sometimes even 100 per cent, without actually working. Companies are getting virtually free loans, and can dump their often troublesome staff on the Treasury payroll, and entrepreneurs can get direct injections of cash from the state without actually having to launch any products. Sure we can understand why the Government has stepped in with so much cash. It needs to stop the economy collapsing, and a lot of businesses would have gone under already if that support was not available. But there’s a catch. We’ve just created the biggest free lunch in history, and we shouldn’t be surprised if some

Cindy Yu

Is Matt Hancock the government’s ‘fall guy’?

14 min listen

Is Matt Hancock the government’s ‘fall guy’? As Katy Balls details on Coffee House, the Health Secretary’s 100,000 target has rubbed up some in government in the wrong way, with the Daily Telegraph’s front page today reporting that an insider close to No 10 has dubbed it ‘irrational’ and ‘arbitrary’. So what’s going on behind the scenes?

Steerpike

Watch: Jacob Rees-Mogg moves on from the 14th century

Today, the House of Commons finally reopened for business, after it closed its doors early in March due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Those who tuned in to the first debate since the break found a rather unusual spectacle awaiting them. Only a handful of MPs and officials turned up to the sparsely filled Chamber, which was filled with tape markings and warnings to ensure that all members remained socially distanced. But arguably the stranger sight, was to see the Commons’ arch-traditionalist Jacob Rees-Mogg leading the debate on behalf of the government for future Commons proceedings to take place via video link. It would be easy to imagine

Isabel Hardman

Who is in charge of the government?

Boris Johnson is still officially recuperating from coronavirus at Chequers and is ‘not doing government work’, according to No. 10. But he is starting to do some activities that sound distinctly work-related.  He will be having an audience with the Queen over the phone this week, and will also be phoning President Trump on Tuesday to thank him for his wishes when he was in the hospital and to get an update on the G7 response to the crisis. But the Downing Street line remains that ‘he isn’t doing government work but he is getting updates on the situation’. In Westminster, it’s almost as easy to find someone else to

Katy Balls

Why ministers are reluctant to change face mask guidance

‘Will the public be asked to wear face masks in public?’ This is a topic of debate today for the government’s SAGE committee of scientific advisers. Although the government dismissed the idea early on in the coronavirus pandemic, many other countries have since changed their own advice in support of them (read Dr John Lee’s analysis of the medical evidence here). Chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance has recently suggested they could play a role in stemming infection: The evidence on masks is much more persuasive for masks stopping you giving it to somebody than it is for preventing you catching it. We have a review ongoing at the moment on the evidence

James Forsyth

What will the Zoom Parliament change?

Parliament will return today, albeit in a very odd way. There will be some MPs in the chamber and others Zooming in. It will not be parliament as we are used to. This hybrid model will mean that debate will be stilted, but it is better than nothing. It is also essential that parliament sits in some form given the powers that the executive has taken on to deal with this crisis. One thing that the Zoom Parliament will change is that it will give an indication of where parliamentary opinion is on the lockdown. I have been struck talking to Tory MPs over the past week or so by

Kate Andrews

Covid-19 business loans aren’t yet working

Last week’s report from the Office for Budget Responsibility made waves with its latest economic scenario, estimating a 35 per cent collapse in GDP in the second quarter of the year. But could even that dire prediction have been too optimistic? While the downturn was estimated by the OBR to be sharp, so too was the economy bounce-back, creating a V-shaped recovery and quick economic improvement. But internal Treasury assessments revealed by the Times today predict a U-shape recovery: a longer, more painful return to the status quo. In both scenarios, the millions made unemployed by the Covid-19 lockdown take longer to return to work than the economy does to technically

Steerpike

Keir Starmer comes third in a two horse race

Following a weekend of negative headlines for the government over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, any cross-party truce to hold off criticism of the Prime Minister while he recovers is well and truly over. However, one group with whom Boris Johnson remains popular is the general public. In recent weeks, the Conservatives have enjoyed some of their best approval ratings since Johnson entered office. The election of Keir Starmer as Labour leader was billed as something that could change this. However, so far any Starmer effect has failed to materialise. A YouGov poll asking who out of Boris Johnson or Keir Starmer would make the best Prime Minister puts Johnson in the lead at 46 per

Katy Balls

Will Boris disappoint the lockdown hawks in government?

15 min listen

Behind the scenes, the Cabinet is split on whether or not to lift the lockdown. The hawks such as Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, and Alok Sharma, are concerned about the economic and human costs of a sustained lockdown; the doves, such as Matt Hancock, worry that lifting the lockdown too soon risks a second wave. Given Boris’s liberal instincts, the hawks hope that he will come down on their side. But will the Prime Minister disappoint?

Robert Peston

Why is Britain not using its testing capacity?

The government’s excuse for why it didn’t engage in a comprehensive testing and tracking approach to contain Covid-19 after it started to spread throughout the community was that – unlike Germany and South Korea – it did not have the sufficient number of labs to process the tests. Well that excuse is almost exhausted, because testing capacity is increasing rapidly. Take for example the new super lab being built in Cambridge by AstraZeneca (AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), using equipment and technology made in the UK by Primer Design, the molecular diagnostics division of Novacyt. AZN’s chief executive Pascal Soriot tells me that tests will start any day now and that