Frost: EU must show ‘more ambition’ to clinch Northern Ireland Protocol deal November 21, 2021 The EU has not done enough to present solutions to the problems surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol and must instead show “more ambition”, Lord David Frost has said. The UK’s defacto Brexit minister chided Brussels negotiators for not pushing talks fast enough, stressing that “we need more … urgency if we are to sustain the [...]
Javid: England ‘firmly’ still in plan A Covid restrictions November 21, 2021 Sajid Javid has signalled that new Covid restrictions are still not needed, saying today that England is still “firmly” in Plan A. The health secretary said the government must “remain cautious, not complacent in any way”, but that he hoped people could “look forward to Christmas together”. Cases are rising across Europe, with a national lockdown called [...]
Government ‘did not act on warnings’ from pre-Covid pandemic simulations, says audit November 19, 2021 The government failed to act on warnings from pandemic simulations and was left unprepared for Covid-19, according to a new parliamentary audit. Findings from a National Audit Office (NAO) audit said the government needs to “strengthen national resilience to prepare for future risks of this scale”, after its previous emergency plans lacked key detail on [...]
Lib Dems call for bank tax hike to plug TfL funding gap November 18, 2021 The Liberal Democrats have called for taxes on banks to be hiked to help fill Transport for London’s (TfL) £6.6bn funding gap. The party called the long-running TfL funding saga between the government and mayor of London Sadiq Khan a “a ridiculous macho battle”, while urging them to “sort this mess out”. Khan last night [...]
‘Great train robbery’: Labour outrage at government cuts to HS2 November 18, 2021 Labour has labelled the government’s decision to cut the eastern leg of HS2, which would have connected Birmingham to Leeds, a “great train robbery”. Transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed today, after a series of press stories this week, that the eastern leg of the high speed rail line will instead go from Birmingham to near [...]
Boris Johnson admits ex-MP Owen Paterson broke Westminster lobbying rule November 17, 2021 Boris Johnson has today admitted Owen Paterson broke Westminster’s lobbying rules, just two weeks after his government tried to get the ex-MP off the hook for a recommended 30-day suspension. Johnson told parliament’s Liaison Committee today that “there’s no question [Paterson] had fallen foul of the rules on paid advocacy as far as I could [...]
‘Mish-conduct’: Johnson hammers Starmer over previous paid legal work November 17, 2021 Boris Johnson has tried to put Sir Keir Starmer front and centre of Westminster’s sleaze scandal as he called the Labour leader out for previous legal work he has done while sitting in parliament. Johnson repeatedly hectored Starmer in Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today over £25,000 of legal work he did at the end of [...]
Senior Tory MP says Johnson’s sleaze U-turn causing ‘dissatisfaction’ on backbenches November 17, 2021 A senior Tory has said there is ” dissatisfaction on the backbenches” in the wake of Boris Johnson’s crackdown on MPs having second jobs in response to ongoing sleaze claims. Johnson yesterday proposed new rules that would see MPs banned from holding outside jobs as political consultants, while there will also be a mandate that [...]
Trevelyan unveils roadmap to boost UK exports post-Brexit November 16, 2021 The government will tomorrow publish its 12-point plan to boost UK exports post-Brexit, with a series of initiatives launched to help businesses learn more about sending goods and services overseas. The new Made in the UK, Sold to the World plan will reintroduce an old target, first touted by David Cameron in 2012, to almost [...]
Boris Johnson set to ban on MPs acting as paid political consultants or lobbyists November 16, 2021 Boris Johnson is set to ban MPs from holding paid consultancy jobs that allow them to act as a “parliamentary strategist, adviser or consultant” in the wake of the Owen Paterson sleaze scandal. The Prime Minister wrote to House of Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to say he wanted any outside job by MPs to [...]
