British Politics

The Conservative Party’s collection of the personal data of 10 million voters around their ethnicity and religion was illegal, the Information Commissioner has told MPs. Elizabeth Denham said the Conservatives had deleted the data following a recommendation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in a report last year. Speaking to MPs on the Digital, Culture, […]

Boris Johnson has not lost faith in education secretary Gavin Williamson to do his job, despite a minister being sent in his place to answer an urgent question, his spokesperson has claimed. Schools minister Nick Gibb will reply for the government later in response to an urgent question on its plan for the reopening of […]

A Tory backbencher has been accused of “living in cloud cuckoo land” after suggesting schools might reopen by the end of February. Labour’s Chris Byrant accused Tom Hunt MP of ignoring the fact that there were not enough vaccines in circulation to inoculate teachers before the end of April. Speaking on Politics Live, Hunt said: “I don’t think […]

Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband has savaged the new business minister over his attempts to ‘review’ workers’ rights after Brexit. The former Labour leader turned his attention on Kwasi Kwarteng over his previous remarks about the rights of workers. In a debate in the Commons, where Tory MPs abstained on protecting the rights, Miliband pointed to the […]

Nigel Farage has been reminded of a comment he made claiming that fishing rights would be the “acid test” of any Brexit deal. A 33-second recording showing Farage making those claims have resurfaced on Twitter around the same time a former campaigner complained Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal had left her with “no fish”. “Acid test of Brexit […]

Conservative MPs have abstained on a motion to protect holiday pay, paid breaks, the 48-hour working week limit and legislation that bans firing and rehiring. While the motion was supported by 263 MPs, Tory MPs did not vote, with many Tory politicians failing to turn up for the debate. Labour frontbencher Andy McDonald told the Commons: […]

An SNP minister has warned Boris Johnson could be breaking Scotland’s coronavirus rules by visiting the country this week. Christina McKelvie, the minister for older people and equalities, doubted whether Johnson’s trip would count as “essential work”. The prime minister is reportedly planning a visit to Scotland to make an impassioned plea for Scots to reject […]

Piers Morgan has accused Boris Johnson of delaying unpopular decisions to control the coronavirus pandemic because he fears displeasing people. The Good Morning Britain co-host said the prime minister’s indecision had left the UK in the “worst of all worlds”. Morgan argued the prime minister was more concerned about headlines than he was about introducing unpopular but […]

Members of the public and politicians are up in arms after it emerged a Tory MP, who does not classify as vulnerable under government vaccine guidelines, received a coronavirus jab. Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith wrote on Friday on Facebook that “as a volunteer, I was also asked to have a vaccine” beside a photo of himself receiving […]

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has revealed he has an uncle to Covid-19 in the last week. Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said: “It’s painful, and it’s closer to home than you think … in terms of losing relatives and family. “I lost my uncle last week to Covid, but, you’re right, it is […]

Former cabinet minister Chris Grayling is attempting to give hedgehogs increased protection to preserve their numbers. Grayling has tabled an amendment to the Environment Bill which would put a legal obligation on developers to search for hedgehogs and take action to reduce the risk to them. By adding hedgehogs to the list of protected animals […]

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has caused hilarity after a jibe in which he likened Lorraine Kelly to “Priti Patel with a brain”. Morgan was tipped by the Daily Star to become the UK’s next prime minister, prompting the breakfast show presenter to look for potential ministers in his cabinet. As Kelly said she […]

The SNP has criticised health secretary Matt Hancock for using the Downing Street coronavirus press conference to make “overtly political statements” about the Union. Amid signs of rising support for Scottish independence, Hancock stressed the importance of collaboration between the nations in the fight against Covid-19 during the health briefing. He told the press conference […]

The UK’s role in a diplomatic row with the EU over the status of the bloc’s ambassador in London has been branded “vindictive” and “offensive” in the Lords. Foreign office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said the government continued to engage with the EU on the long-term arrangements for the EU delegation. Lord Ahmad told […]

Boris Johnson will tour Scotland this week in a bid to shore up the union after yet another poll showed strong support for Scottish independence. The Sun has reported Johnson will use the trip to promote the benefits of Scotland staying a part of the United Kingdom. It comes after Nicola Sturgeon threatened to hold a referendum on Scottish independence […]

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has hit back at his critics over an interview with Thérèse Coffey – in which she appeared to turn off her webcam off after awkward questioning about the pandemic. Coffey claimed Morgan was being “insulting” when he pointed out that the minister was blaming the UK’s high coronavirus death […]

The government has defied fresh calls to scrap the Festival of Brexit – due to take place in 2022 at a cost to taxpayers of £120 million – after a petition was launched to get the event cancelled. A spokesperson has claimed it will give the country a chance to “champion all that is great […]

A former Brexit Party MEP who owns a seafood company and campaigned on fishing being ‘great’ for coastal communities across the UK has said Boris Johnson’s deal has left her with “no fish”. June Mummery said waiting five years for fishing quotas to expire was “a long time when you have nothing”. Mummery, who campaigned during with […]

Fewer than 60% of people asked to self-isolate over coronavirus actually do so, the head of Test and Trace has revealed. Dido Harding said people tended not to follow the rules because of practical, financial and mental health concerns. But she stressed that all surveys on isolation data are “imperfect” because they rely on people […]

A Telegraph columnist has blamed German chancellor Angela Merkel for Britain’s decision to exit the European Union. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard claimed Merkel was “more responsible for Brexit than any other political figure in Europe”. He used an op-ed in the Sunday Telegraph to say the chancellor’s attempt to resuscitate the European Constitution had “sown the seeds of British […]

The UK government has dropped an advert which claimed that joggers are ‘highly likely to have Covid-19’. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints after a thirty-second radio advert stated: “Someone jogging, walking their dog or working out in the park is highly likely to have Covid-19. This is a national health emergency.” The advert […]

Downing Street has attempted to clarify Boris Johnson’s remarks after he said the government will be “looking at the potential of relaxing some measures” before mid-February. Speaking to reporters on a visit to a vaccination site at Barnet Football Club in north London, Johnson said ministers were looking at infection rates and progress in vaccinating the […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he has been told to self-isolate after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. Sir Keir wrote on Twitter: “This morning I was notified that I must self isolate after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. “I have no […]

Liz Truss is tipped to receive a more senior role in government after Boris Johnson seeks to promote more female ministers in the next reshuffle. The international trade secretary is likely to join Kemi Badenoch, Lucy Frazer, Gillian Keegan and Victoria Atkins in receiving boosts in the next reshuffle, the Daily Mail reports. Housing secretary […]

MEPs have voted to add British overseas territories such as the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, and Jersey to its post-Brexit tax havens blacklist. The resolution passed through the European parliament with a majority of 537 and saw territories with 0% tax regimes automatically added to the list. Britain’s membership of the European Union had afforded […]

A picture of Boris Johnson on the phone to US president Joe Biden has caused a stir online after social media users spotted something odd. Johnson was the first European leader to speak with the new US president over the weekend. The pair discussed strengthening the transatlantic relationship, the critical role of NATO, and joked about […]

The UK risks becoming a “failed state” unless it makes reforms to the Union, former prime minister Gordon Brown has warned. Brown urged prime minister Boris Johnson to consider ideas like replacing the House of Lords with a “senate of the regions” and to review the way the UK is governed. It comes after the […]

A government minister has shut down an interview after suggesting the British public’s weight and age was to blame for the coronavirus death toll in the UK. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Thérèse Coffey denied suggestions from presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that the government was not prepared for the pandemic. “There’ll be a […]

A former Brexit Party MEP has died in a diving accident near his home in the Bahamas. Robert Rowland, 54, represented the South East of England at the European Parliament from July 2019 until December 2020. Nigel Farage announced the death of the father-of-four, who was born in Bowdon, Greater Manchester, on the website of […]

Sky has brought the rights to a television drama about Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his first year as prime minister. This Sceptred Isle is a five-part series focusing on Johnson’s appointment as prime minister, the Covid-19 cases in the UK, through to him falling ill with the virus, and the arrival of his […]

Ministers are ‘psychologically incapable’ of owning their mistakes and are to blame for the UK’s death toll, James O’Brien has said in a swipe at No 10’s coronavirus record. O’Brien accused ministers of “doing the same thing again and hoping for a different result”. The comment comes as Oxford University research showed the UK has the worst […]

A Piers Morgan impersonator prank-called Donald Trump on Air Force One last year, the Good Morning Britain presenter has revealed. The former president only realised he had been pranked when he called Morgan on his way to vote in Florida last year. The incident allegedly took place in October but only emerged in an interview […]