Westminster committee calls for PM to ditch voter ID plans December 13, 2021 The government’s plan to make voters show photographic ID at polling stations risks causing a “reduction of trust in UK elections” and should be dropped, a Westminster committee today said. The cross-party Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) said the government’s case for the new law has “simply not been good enough”. A report [...]
Boris set for Tory rebellion as reaction to ‘mild’ variant angers backbenchers December 12, 2021 Boris Johnson is coming under increasing pressure from his party as up to 100 Tory MPs prepare to rebel against the Prime Minister on Tuesday and vote against new Covid restrictions. Sixty-eight Tory MPs have already said they will not support the government in a vote on new restrictions which include mandatory face masks and [...]
French fishermen set to carry out blockade in a bid to spoil Christmas for Brits December 12, 2021 French fisherman are planning to start a blockade in Calais and other ports in moves that could disrupt supply chains and spoil Christmas for millions of Brits. The blockade would be the latest salvo in a long-running row between the UK and France over post-Brexit fishing licences. A spokesperson for a group of French trawler [...]
UK airlines set to ask Treasury for extension to Covid loans December 12, 2021 Bosses from British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet are set to ask the Treasury to extend their Covid-19 loans and provide further economic help in light of new restrictions imposed by Boris Johnson last week. Chief executives from the three airlines will meet with civil servants at the Treasury today to discuss the proposals, after [...]
Labour takes nine-point lead over Tories in wake of Number 10 parties saga December 12, 2021 Labour has taken a nine-point lead over the Conservatives in new polling as Boris Johnson faces the fallout of revelations that his staff had illegal Christmas parties last year. A new poll from Opinium/The Observer puts Labour at 41 per cent and the Conservatives at 32 per cent, giving Sir Keir Starmer’s party the biggest [...]
One-third of London Covid cases is Omicron variant, says Zahawi December 12, 2021 One-in-three Covid-19 cases in London are now the Omicron variant, according to education secretary Nadhim Zahawi. Zahawi said there could be up to 160,000 cases of the highly transmissible variant in the UK already, despite the official recorded number being only 1600. The education secretary also confirmed that there are now people who have been [...]
One of our own: Rachel Reeves’ journey from the City to the top of Labour politics December 10, 2021 Rachel Reeves looks comfortable in the palatial settings of 1 Lombard Street as she settles down to a gin and tonic, garnished with a slice of grapefruit. The shadow chancellor is is a formidable force in the House of Commons – a Labour staffer described her as “un-chill, but in a very good way” – [...]
Labour’s Rachel Reeves would support cut to UK basic rate of Income Tax December 9, 2021 Rachel Reeves has said she would support a 2p cut to the basic rate of UK Income Tax amid reports that Rishi Sunak is considering the measure. The shadow chancellor told City A.M. in a wide-ranging interview that she “would like to see the chancellor do it”, but described reports of Sunak’s potential tax cuts [...]
Raab, Gove and Shapps forced self-isolate after close contact with Covid case December 9, 2021 Three cabinet ministers have both been forced into self-isolation after being in close contact with Australia’s Covid-positive Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Justice secretary Dominic Raab, communities secretary Gove and transport secretary Grant Shapps will have to stay at home for ten days after meeting with Mr Joyce for trade-talks in London earlier this week. [...]
Tories fined £17,800 for breaking electoral law over Downing Street flat refurb December 9, 2021 The Conservative party has been fined £17,800 for breaching electoral law over the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat. The Electoral Commission found that rules over donations “were not followed” and that cash used to fund the renovations was not registered through the proper channels. The commission found the party did not fully report [...]
