Flattening Covid cases could see families gather at Christmas, says Hancock November 20, 2020 Flattening Covid-19 cases could mean Britain eases its distancing measures to allow families to gather for Christmas, Matt Hancock has said. The health minister is working with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for a UK-wide approach to rules for Christmas. England has been under lockdown for two weeks following a rise [...]
Matt Hancock defends ‘kind’ Priti Patel as Home Secretary comes under fire November 20, 2020 Matt Hancock defends 'kind' Priti Patel as Home Secretary comes under fire
UK borrowing drops to £22bn in October but deficit hits new record November 20, 2020 The UK government’s borrowing dropped sharply in October as companies and individuals required less economic support, with spending on the furlough scheme almost quartering. Public sector net borrowing came in at £22.3bn last month, down sharply from a downwardly revised figure £28.6bn a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It was also [...]
Is going to university actually worth it — and who should decide? November 20, 2020 What are universities for? It’s the sort of navel-gazing question that academics love to pose, and the sort of deep philosophical terrain that pragmatic policy people fear getting sucked too far into. But with the government and regulators looking at new ways to measure and compare the quality of different degrees, it is a conversation [...]
Singing of arms and the man: Behind the big Boris defence announcement November 20, 2020 The announcement was preceded, of course, by a leak to the media, so that it could make a splash in the morning press. Standard practice these days, unfortunately — but the story was still an impressive one: the Prime Minister was giving the Ministry of Defence an extra £4bn a year for the next four [...]
Brexit negotiations to continue remotely following positive Covid case November 19, 2020 Brexit talks will continue remotely after being put on hold earlier today on the news a member of the EU negotiating team tested positive for Covid.
London business groups urge Sunak to give capital its fair share in spending review November 19, 2020 A pair of London business advocacy groups have called for the capital to receive significant amounts of funding in Rishi Sunak’s spending review next week amid fears the city could be overlooked. London First and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry told City A.M. that it was vital the capital was not forgotten by [...]
Test and Trace bosses ‘set out plans to rebuild public trust’ November 19, 2020 Test and Trace bosses have set out plans to “rebuild public trust” among local councils, according to reports, as the contact tracing app this week failed to identify 123,000 positive cases of coronavirus. According to leaked slides seen by Sky News, government officials heading up England’s contact tracing scheme believe they need to “reset” their [...]
China warns West on Hong Kong: ‘Their eyes will be plucked out’ November 19, 2020 China has warned the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada to stay out of its affairs after the countries accused Beijing of silencing critics in Hong Kong. The Five Eyes alliance slammed China’s introduction of new rules that allows it to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong. The countries yesterday called on Beijing to [...]
Two-thirds of London boroughs launch their own local contact tracing systems November 19, 2020 Almost two-thirds of London boroughs have launched their own contact tracing platforms as confidence in the government’s Track and Trace app continues to plummet. Redbridge and Hammersmith and Fulham today joined a list of 21 out of 32 London boroughs that have snubbed the national system in favour of localised approaches to tackling the virus. [...]