DEBATE: Is the government wrong to drop plans for all primary pupils to return to school? June 10, 2020 Is the government wrong to drop plans for all primary pupils to return to school? Joanna Williams, a former school teacher and director of the think tank Cieo, says YES. An email from my daughter’s school: she will not be returning before the end of term and, from September, might attend only a couple of [...]
Vodafone lashes out over UK’s Huawei doubts June 10, 2020 Vodafone has warned that the UK’s desire to be a global leader in 5G technology will be crippled if it decides to block Huawei from the country’s telecoms infrastructure. “The UK’s leadership in 5G will be lost if mobile operators are forced to spend time and money replacing existing equipment,” said Scott Petty, Vodafone UK’s [...]
Let the economy reboot itself June 10, 2020 How can the government best support the UK’s economic recovery after the crushing impact of the pandemic? Today, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Civitas are publishing a joint report on the economics of the Covid-19 crisis, written by Professor Len Shackleton and myself. Many are arguing that the crisis has demonstrated the need for [...]
Senior Tory figures trying to oust mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey June 9, 2020 Senior Conservative party figures are reportedly trying to replace London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey with former chancellor Sajid Javid for next year’s election. Bailey trailed mayor of London Sadiq Khan by 25 per cent in March polling before the election, originally scheduled for May, was postponed to next year due to the coronavirus outbreak. Khan [...]
Brexit: Minister says there is no point in an ’11th hour’ UK-EU trade deal June 9, 2020 Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt has told MPs that there is no point doing an “11th hour” Brexit trade deal and that the EU needs to speed up negotiations. Mordaunt – who was stepping in for defacto Brexit minister Michael Gove in the House of Commons today – said that businesses needed enough time to [...]
Coronavirus deaths in the UK rise by 286 June 9, 2020 The UK’s death toll from coronavirus has risen by 286, it was announced today. Almost 130 of those deaths occurred in hospital after testing positive for the virus, NHS England said this afternoon. For overall deaths, data from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the toll rose by 286 as of 5pm [...]
Track and trace app ‘ready in weeks’ June 9, 2020 The NHS track and trace app will be ready in time for the next stage of lockdown easing next month, according to reports. Whitehall sources suggested that an upgraded version of the trial app used on the Isle of Wight was almost ready, the Times reported. The app had been due to launch alongside the [...]
Is the government brave enough to let markets fix the social care crisis? June 9, 2020 We have all seen, with the direst of consequences, the deficiencies of the current social care system. As Covid-19 has raged through the UK, tens of thousands have died in under-resourced, under-invested, and ill-designed care homes. With the focus in those early weeks on protecting the NHS at all costs, central planners sent potentially infectious [...]
Coronavirus: Cabinet ministers ‘push to cut two metre social distancing rule’ June 9, 2020 A majority of Boris Johnson’s cabinet ministers are said to be putting pressure on Downing Street to relax the two-metre social distancing rule to contain coronavirus. The Prime Minister, who will chair a cabinet meeting today, is thought to be sympathetic to calls to dispense with the two-metre rule, amid a clamour from the hospitality [...]
The new counter-terror bill threatens our civil liberties and our justice system June 9, 2020 As More points out to Roper in A Man For All Seasons, if you flatten all the laws in England to get to the devil, you will have no protection when he turns round to meet you. This often goes to the heart of questions of individual liberty. You may one day need to rely [...]