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 [...]
Gove the gardener: Are plans for a Tulip tower in London set to bloom again? October 17, 2021 Tulip fever is heading to London, with housing secretary Michael Gove tipped to overule London mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to squash plans for a flower-inspired skyscraper in the City. Gove is expected to give the plans for a 300m tower the OK, the Telegraph reported, which would overturn Khan’s 2019 decision against the Tulip. At [...]
Treasury refuses to bankroll Michael Gove’s single government login proposal August 21, 2021 Michael Gove’s plan to give every adult a single login for online interactions with the government, could be stalled by a funding dispute with the Treasury, according to reports. The Cabinet Office’s proposed plan, dubbed “one login for Government”, would result in people logging into a single online interface to conduct a host of activities [...]
Government to bin English votes for English laws July 8, 2021 The government today announced it plans to scrap English votes for English laws, a system that gives English MPs a veto over laws that only affect England. Speaking at Cabinet Office questions on today, Michael Gove said: “The procedure has been suspended since April 2020 and, having reflected, the government believes it has not served [...]
Michael Gove says only ‘unprecedented and remarkable’ Covid-19 change would delay 19 July ‘terminus date’ June 15, 2021 Michael Gove said 19 July is the absolute “terminus date” for ending England’s remaining coronavirus restrictions, and only an “unprecedented and remarkable” change would push it back further. The Cabinet Office minister’s comments came the morning after Boris Johnson announced a delay of four weeks to so-called “Freedom Day”, the fourth and final step of [...]
Whitehall shakeup: 22,000 roles may be moved out of London and external candidates for senior roles June 15, 2021 The government will today launch a reform programme that will see wide-scale reforms to the civil service, with jobs being moved out of Whitehall and senior jobs open to external candidates. The reforms include moving 22,000 civil servant roles outside of London by 2030, including 50 per cent of senior servant roles, and advertising all [...]
Government broke the law with Covid contract for Cummings-linked polling firm, court rules June 9, 2021 Government broke the law with Covid contract for Cummings-linked polling firm
UK-EU meeting on Northern Ireland fails to produce breakthrough February 24, 2021 Frustrations all around as Arlene Foster's talks with the EU end with no breakthrough over trade issues
Frost replaces Gove with “more assertive stance” on EU February 19, 2021 PM Boris Johnson replaced Michael Gove as EU relations minister with Lord David Frost, chief negotiator of last year’s Brexit deal, on Wednesday. Downing Street said Frost would have a seat in cabinet and take over all responsibility for dealings with Brussels. The newly-appointed EU relations ministers wants to take a more “hardline” stance on [...]
Tory MP slammed after telling anti-vaxxers NHS figures are ‘manipulated’ January 28, 2021 A Conservative MP has faced condemnation from government ministers after he told an anti-vaccination campaign group that NHS statistics are being “manipulated” and that we are living in a “police state”. Sir Desmond Swayne told Save Our Rights UK, which organised the anti-lockdown rally in Trafalgar Square last September, to continue their fight against lockdown [...]