All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
The United States, and indeed the rest of the world, is going through the worst public health pandemic in living memory. Entire countries are closing their doors to new travellers; shutting themselves down until further notice. The NBA (National Basketball Association) has postponed the rest of the season due to the coronavirus outbreak. America’s health
In a sombre news conference in Downing Street, Boris Johnson has warned that coronavirus is causing the ‘worst public health crisis for a generation’ and that many families will lose loved ones before their time. Flanked by the chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer he announced a new series of measures including that people
As I have repeatedly mentioned, the view of the chief medical officer Chris Whitty, which has shaped the Government’s response to Covid-19, is that the virus is the equivalent of unstoppable bad flu. But to make policy on that basis is to impose an epidemiological judgement on what is a social, ethical and political issue.
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After the World Health Organisation labelled the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, countries across the globe have been responding with varying strategies. A common theme in every country, however, is the cancellation of events. This afternoon the Electoral Commission recommended that the UK government postpones the May elections until the autumn: ‘The risks to delivery that have been identified are
There is no question more important for all of us than whether Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings and Matt Hancock are right that there is no alternative to letting coronavirus run its course in the UK, and to control the peak of the epidemic so that it falls in summer when the NHS may have the
Yes, of course Donald Trump’s ban on travel between the US and the Schengen zone is an over-reaction to coronavirus, which will do far more harm to the economy than it will to protect the health of Americans. But it is pretty rich for the EU to be bleating about others banning things without scientific
Boris Johnson faced his first major rebellion of the new parliament on Tuesday. Parliamentarians are waking up to the fact that this decision has far greater diplomatic ramifications than was originally appreciated. Despite their sizeable majority, the government narrowly avoided defeat and will be vulnerable when future bills relating to Huawei are tabled. The reaction
Rory Stewart announced at a meeting today that he won’t be holding any more meetings as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. He is also cancelling all of his door-knocking and canvassing, putting a swift end to his sofa-surfing escapade. Mr S. thinks that this meeting really should have been an email.
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The key phrase we all need to understand is ‘herd immunity’ – which is what happens to a group of people or animals when they develop sufficient antibodies to be resistant to a disease. The strategy of the British government in minimising the impact of Covid-19 is to allow the virus to pass through the
It is fair to say that preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have not being going to plan. In fact, the whole project has been beset by problems and scandals right from the start. The initial award of the games to Tokyo was controversial, with Japan Olympic committee chairman Tsunekazu Takeda forced to step down
There may be no vaccine yet for Covid-19, but the Bank of England yesterday morning gave us a full dose of what it hopes will be the financial equivalent; slashing interest rates from 0.75 per cent to 0.25 per cent. It has also relaxed the capital buffer requirements for banks — the amount of capital
Why hasn’t parliament been closed after Health minister Nadine Dorries contracted coronavirus? Why isn’t the government demanding the cancellation of large events and school closures to help limit the spread of the illness? Why isn’t it copying other countries who have introduced much more draconian measures, to the extent that Atlético Madrid fans arriving in
The Treasury thinks it has a new friend: the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). During the delivery of his first Budget this afternoon, Chancellor Rishi Sunak referenced the economic forecaster multiple times, relying on its assessment of the Budget as proof that the ‘largest giveaway since 1992’ is still fiscally responsible. The OBR has ‘made
A dramatic dawn cut in interest rates. A huge blast of public spending. And immediate cash help for companies that might find themselves temporarily in trouble as their customers stay at home and staff call in sick. We will find out over the next few weeks whether the British government has done enough to fight
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Scotland is planning to change the way in which people can legally change sex, and is currently holding a consultation (which closes next week) on whether trans people should be able to ‘self identify’ as their preferred sex. But some trans people fear that the move toward ‘self-ID’ might be a mistake. Claudia is a
He began with a touch of statesmanlike solemnity about the pandemic. ‘The British people may be worried but they are not daunted. We will protect this country and our people. We will rise to this challenge.’ This was Rishi Sunak delivering his first budget. Many viewers will not have seen him give a sustained performance
If Jeremy Corbyn had been saving his energy by giving a poor performance at PMQs, he wasn’t saving it for his Budget response. He sounded bored, almost as though he too is fed up of waiting for the Labour leadership contest to trundle to an end so that he can pack off and not have
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The most remarkable element of that Budget was a Tory Chancellor standing at the despatch box saying that people had voted to change the ‘economic geography’ of the country and that was what this government was going to try and deliver. It was a sign of how different this government is from its Tory predecessors.
It’s always tempting for governments to respond to economic trouble with a debt-fuelled spending splurge, but it’s a notoriously blunt tool. The root of the current problem is not financial panic but a rational response to the coronavirus. People are travelling less, staying away from shops and the workplace, delaying various projects, and they will
Rishi Sunak unveiled his first Budget today. The Chancellor has promised a £30bn war chest for tackling coronavirus. There is also £6bn of new funding for the NHS, a new £2.5bn pothole fund and £5.2bn for flooding defences. Here is his full speech: I want to get straight to the issue most on everyone’s mind–
If a Prime Minister’s Questions before a Budget is rather lacklustre, then this is normally easily excused as being the Leader of the Opposition not putting as much prep as usual into a session that no-one will watch. But while today’s performance from Jeremy Corbyn was indeed lacklustre, it wasn’t any different from his offerings
Oh dear. Michael Gove, the minister entrusted to head up the British civil service, seems to have developed a problem with multitasking. The key government minister was giving evidence this morning to the Committee on the Future Relationship with the EU when he made an unfortunate mistake. So engrossed was Gove in the point that
Rishi Sunak has unveiled his first Budget. The Chancellor has promised a £30bn war chest for tackling coronavirus. There is also £6bn of new funding for the NHS, a new £2.5bn pothole fund and £5.2bn for flooding defences. Here are the main headline announcements: A promise to increase public spending by 2.8 per cent – the OBR says
The Bank of England hasn’t wasted time getting in front of the coronavirus, and its actions this morning show how far things have moved from the days of Mervyn King. Perhaps more interesting than the interest rate cut is the Bank’s moves to quickly free up the best part of £200bn of lending capacity for
Westminster is abuzz this morning not with anticipation for Rishi Sunak’s first Budget but over the news that Nadine Dorries has become the first UK politician to contract the coronavirus. The health minister began to feel unwell at the end of last week before showing symptoms relating to the coronavirus – dry cough, high fever
The great state of Michigan was oh-so-kind to Bernie Sanders four years ago, bringing him back from the dead against a Clinton political machine that looked insurmountable after multiple wins across the south on Super Tuesday. But if Sanders was hoping for Michigan to resurrect his presidential campaign for a second time, the septuagenarian will
It seems fresh infighting has broken out in Whitehall on what is supposed to be the most important Budget day of a generation. Yes, a briefing war has spilt out into the open, with the PM’s fiancée Carrie Symonds taking to Twitter to defend… Dilyn the dog. Some fed-up official appears to have been whispering that the
We are likely to see a significant fiscal and monetary stimulus across the UK, eurozone and US in the coming days — lots more spending (e.g. tomorrow’s UK budget), and probably significant easing by the Bank of England, ECB and Fed (presumably measures to increase the flow of cheap credit to cash-strapped businesses and individuals,
How far the Tories have come. Once, the former chancellor was unassailable, bestowing his patronage on those who knew the true value of loyalty. Now, MPs from northern working-class constituencies openly mock George Osborne on the floor of the House of Commons. Jacob Young, the new Conservative MP for Redcar, used his maiden speech to poke