2021 in review: Furlough is government’s big success story, but Rishi Sunak’s £69bn lifesaver comes at a price December 27, 2021 Furlough has become a household word in recent years. The scheme that protected the jobs of nearly nine million Britons at its peak has been hailed as the big success story of the Government’s Covid support measures as the jobs market rebounds at an impressive pace. The warnings of soaring joblessness that struck fear into [...]
Vladimir Putin threatens Russia will consider all options if West does not give security guarantees: ‘We must tell them, stop!’ December 27, 2021 If the West does not give Russia any new security guarantees, including Ukraine not joining NATO, Vladimir Putin will ponder all options, it has emerged. Earlier this month, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that Nato deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back its military deployments in Central and Eastern [...]
Desmond Tutu: Anti-apartheid campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize winner dies aged 90 December 26, 2021 Archbishop Desmond Tutu has died aged 90, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who helped end apartheid in South Africa.
Boris Johnson considers new Covid-19 measures as Omicron variant spreads December 26, 2021 Boris Johnson will weigh up whether or not to bring in new restrictions in a crunch meeting with his cabinet and scientific advisers tomorrow.
MPs and peers face 20 years away from Palace of Westminster in eye-watering £14bn renovation plans December 26, 2021 MPs and peers could face two decades away from the Palace of Westminster, as costs to restore the site double to £14bn.
2021’s lighter political moments: From Michael Gove’s dance moves and Britain’s chief mouser to the hunt for Irn-Bru December 26, 2021 From the rags-to-riches tale of Britain’s chief mouser to a hunt for Irn-Bru at COP26, even in the midst of a global pandemic there have been some lighter moments in politics during this long and challenging year. ‘Church warden overslept’ On May 6, local elections were held across England, Scotland and Wales but some voters [...]
Yamal-Europe pipeline reports reverse flows for sixth day running as Europe’s energy crisis deepens December 26, 2021 The Yamal-Europe pipeline has been sending fuel eastwards for the sixth day running as fears over energy shortages this winter continue to rise.
Think-tank: Further restrictions will put more people into poverty December 26, 2021 A think-tank boss has warned that further restrictions would put hundreds of thousands of people at risk of long-term poverty. Dame Philippa Stroud, a former highly-respected Tory adviser and now chief of the Legatum Institute, wrote today in the Sunday Telegraph that some 900,000 people slipped into poverty during previous lockdowns and that that number [...]
Former Treasury wonk slams Covid-19 restrictions methodology December 26, 2021 A former Treasury statistician has said that “sleight of hand” may have been used in internal government documents as part of efforts to strengthen Covid-19 restrictions. An internal document claimed that the lag between catching the new Omicron virus and it potentially leading to hospitalisation was 17 days, reported the Sunday Telegraph this morning. Such [...]
Trump’s golf clubs enjoy furlough benefits December 26, 2021 The former US President Donald Trump may not have reacted with too much urgency to the spread of Covid-19 but his UK golf clubs certainly did. Trump’s courses in Turnberry in Ayrshire and Balmedie in Aberdeenshire claimed around £3m in furlough cash during the pandemic. The figures were disclosed in accounts first reported by the [...]