Read about the latest UK political news, views and analysis.
12 min listen
In a press conference from Downing Street today, Boris Johnson set out the road to ‘significant normality’ – but not until November. It’s a more cautious position than had been previously briefed, but is even this timeline too optimistic? John Connolly talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson.
Normally Fridays are spent thinking about how to unwind from work. Today though Boris Johnson announced changes to government guidance to get the public back to work, and more specifically, their place of work. From 1 August, the guidance will be changed to give employers more discretion to decide whether their employees should keep working from home or head back to the office. Public transport guidance will be updated as well to encourage people to use it to travel to work – an overdue change, as the guidance has been at odds with other policies for weeks now, and only open for essential journeys despite pubs, restaurants and shops opening
The numbers have seldom been better for Nicola Sturgeon. Ten months from the next Holyrood election, the SNP is polling 55 per cent on the constituency ballot and 50 per cent on the regional vote. Support for Scexit has swung into the majority. Almost three-quarters of Scots say she has handled the Covid-19 pandemic well, compared to just 21 per cent for Boris Johnson. Yet in terms of the record, Sturgeon’s response to coronavirus has been at least as impaired as that of Boris Johnson. The UK Government has been criticised for its lack of pandemic preparedness despite the findings of a 2017 simulation called Exercise Cygnus. However, the Scottish
38 min listen
White working class boys consistently perform worse than other demographics in the UK’s education system – why? (00:45) What is it like to be ‘cancelled’? (14:20) And is it time to return to the office? (24:50) With the IEA’s Christopher Snowdon; former Ucas head Mary Curnock Cook; journalist Kevin Myers; the Spectator’s columnist Lionel Shriver; editor of the Oldie, Harry Mount; and Director of UK in a Changing Europe Anand Menon. Presented by Cindy Yu. Produced by Cindy Yu and Max Jeffery.
Tomorrow Boris Johnson is expected to unveil his plan to get the country back to the office. However, the past 24 hours have offered a reminder of the pressure the Prime Minister faces on both sides when it comes to forging a path forward. On Wednesday night, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey addressed Tory MPs in an appearance before the 1922 committee. He stressed the importance of improving confidence in public transport so that more of the workforce could return. Bailey suggested this was crucial to any economic bounce-back. However, any effort to do this will face opposition. This afternoon Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance has been giving evidence
15 min listen
Chris Grayling failed to win the chairmanship of the Intelligence and Security Committee on Wednesday evening. In his stead, Julian Lewis clinched the position, and No 10 withdrew the whip from Lewis. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about why this happened and whether it’s better to rule by fear or love. Also on the episode: Shamima Begum and Patrick Vallance’s comments on working from home.
The greatest danger to the current government is the state of the Union, I say in this week’s edition of the magazine. Prime Ministers can survive many things but not the break up of the country they lead. Number 10’s position is that there won’t accept a Scottish independence referendum in this Parliament. Given that no legal referendum can take place without Westminster’s consent, this means there won’t be one. But this position will come under huge pressure if the SNP win an outright majority on a pro-IndyRef2 platform in next year’s Holyrood elections. The next skirmish between Westminster and Holyrood will be over the internal market bill. The SNP
When it comes to tackling climate change, the EU has always been eager to talk the talk. In 2011, the Commission vowed to spend a fifth of its upcoming budget on ‘climate action’. Last year, it went even further: it said that one euro in every four – or 320 billion euros (£290bn) – was going towards dealing with climate change. But a damning review from the European court of auditors suggests the EU might not be walking the walk on this issue. The biggest contribution to the EU climate spending target (100 billion euros (£90bn)) comes from agriculture. But subsistence payments to farmers are included in this vast number (as long as
When Michael Gove delivered the Ditchley Annual Lecture last month he spoke about why citizens feel that the political system has failed them. ‘The compact leaders offered — trust that we are the best, trust that we have your best interests at heart, and trust that we will deliver — was broken.’ It was a powerful message. Voters have a right to expect honesty and competence from their leaders, not just decisiveness. So Mr Gove will have thought carefully before saying on television last weekend that face masks should not be mandatory, and people should instead be left to use their own judgment. No one, it seems, told him that
‘Just rejoice’, as Mrs Thatcher once said about something else. The government’s decision to debug our national security by getting rid of Huawei is the right one (although seven years is much too long). The puzzle is why it did not happen earlier. At the end of January, I interviewed the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, when he came over here. We knew by then everything we needed to know about the Chinese government’s control of Huawei and the lack of trust this must engender. The British government also heard clearly from Mr Pompeo — and from Australia — that its preference for Huawei 5G threatened the deep trust
The greatest single danger to this government is the state of the Union. Prime ministers can survive many things, but not the break-up of the country they lead. No. 10 has a plan to avoid this: it simply won’t allow a Scottish independence referendum this parliament. No legal referendum can take place without Westminster’s consent and it will be declined on the grounds that a generation has not elapsed since the ‘once in a generation vote’ in 2014. This approach, however, cannot change the fact that the Union is now in even graver danger than it was during that campaign. In recent weeks, the polls have consistently shown independence ahead.
We are enjoined by certain experts to wear face masks while having sexual intercourse. No change there, then, for me. It’s the only way I’m allowed it. I don’t even get to choose my own mask. My wife keeps several in a cupboard under the stairs. If, when I retire to bed, I see the face of Benito Mussolini or Douglas Murray neatly laid out on my pillow — or, for more exotic excursions, the late President Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon — I know that fun times are ahead. This usually happens twice a year — on my birthday and on Walpurgisnacht. I don’t know if these largely latex creations
Boris Johnson hasn’t had as much authority over his MPs as he might have expected over the past few months. Tonight, after Number 10 failed to install Chris Grayling as its preferred, loyal, candidate as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it has tried to offer a show of strength by removing the Tory whip from Julian Lewis, who led a successful coup with the help of Labour MPs. This is a high stakes move. Firstly, Lewis is one of the most instinctively Tory members of the parliamentary party and has dedicated his career to a series of very Conservative causes, particularly defence, the nuclear deterrent, and Brexit. He
15 min listen
Boris Johnson has confirmed that there will be an inquiry into the handling of the pandemic after a possible second wave is over. On the podcast, Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about what it will find and who should be worried.
Oh dear. When Chris Grayling was axed from Cabinet, he appeared to secure a consolation prize from No. 10: a role as chair of the intelligence and security committee. Downing Street backed Grayling as its candidate and with a Tory-weighted committee to pick their chair, he appeared to be a shoo-in. Alas it wasn’t to be. This evening Graying has been thwarted in his efforts after Julian Lewis decided to go for the plum role and won 5/4. He and Labour members voted for him to become chair of the body. It seems the force of No. 10 was not enough to convince Lewis to play ball. ‘Only Grayling could lose a rigged election,’
Chris Grayling has this evening been thwarted in his attempt to become chair of parliament’s Intelligence and Security committee. Instead, the committee voted for Julian Lewis, a former chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, to take on the coveted role – with the Tory backbencher joining forces with Labour. The former transport secretary was the favourite for the role, and up until recently was viewed as the only likely candidate. Downing Street had given Grayling its backing – with his promotion for the role read in some quarters as a consolation prize for him supporting Boris Johnson in the leadership but being axed from the cabinet. That Lewis decided not to go
Keir-mania. Is it possible? Can we imagine it? Stadiums full of besotted voters chanting his name in frenzies of adoration. ‘Star-Muh! Star-Muh!’ No. Never going to happen. Sir Keir tinkled his way through his six questions at PMQs hoping to trip up the PM. Instead he put his own weaknesses in the spotlight. Far from being the ice-cool super-inquisitor, Sir Keir turns out to be thin-skinned and tantrum-prone. Boris enjoys tormenting him. When challenged, Boris likes to accuse the Labour leader of unpatriotic hypocrisy. Today, Sir Keir took the bait. When he criticised the government’s job retention scheme, Boris described his approach as disingenuous. ‘He has to work out whether
Each week it seems as though a new public figure enters the foray to offer their verdict on who is to blame for mistakes made in the UK response to coronavirus. Today Boris Johnson committed to holding an official inquiry to find out just this. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson said – in response to a question from Lib Dem leadership hopeful Ed Davey – that although he does not think now is the time for it, there would have to be an independent inquiry in the future: ‘Of course Mr Speaker we will seek to learn the lessons of this pandemic in the future and certainly we will
Matt Hancock appeared to have no time for Donald Trump’s boasts this morning when asked about the US President taking credit for the U-turn on the use of Huawei technology in our 5G network. Asked on Sky News whether he believed that the decision to scrap Huawei’s involvement was down to Trump, the Health minister replied that: ‘we all know Donald Trump don’t we… people can claim credit’. Hancock instead insisted that it was a ‘technical decision’ based on NCSC advice ‘to make sure that we have the highest quality 5G systems over the coming years’. He then referred viewers to the statement made by culture minister Oliver Dowden announcing the
21 min listen
Much as expected, the government has u-turned on Huawei, though the new government policy doesn’t go as far as some of the most hardline Tory MPs would wish. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about the UK’s China policy in the years to come. Also on the episode: masks and the Union.
