British Politics

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said that it is for “common sense” to decide what a “substantial meal” is that will enable people to have a drink in pubs as lockdown lifts in England. Gove was challenged by Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan as to whether a Scotch egg fitted the criteria after […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said the party would be abstaining in Tuesday’s Commons vote on the coronavirus restrictions, prompting accusations from the government the opposition is “playing politics”. Starmer said: “Coronavirus remains a serious threat to the public’s health and that’s why Labour accept the need for continued restrictions. We will always act […]

Boris Johnson is bracing himself for a damaging Tory rebellion as MPs vote on a new toughened system of tiered coronavirus controls for England. The government is expected to win Tuesday’s Commons vote on the new rules – which are due to come into effect the following day – after Labour said it would abstain. Sir […]

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said he is confident another lockdown in England could be avoided, but that the government could not rule one out. Appearing on Kay Burley at Breakfast, he said: “I am as confident as confident can be that we won’t need one because the tiers that we have now are […]

The government’s post-Brexit farming proposals are a “full-throttle attack” on English family farms, according to Labour. Shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard told the Commons: “Labour supports public money for public good, of course we do, but that’s not what this is about. “Strip away the green coating and these proposals are a full-throttle attack on […]

Another Vote Leave veteran has walked out of Downing Street following the resignation of ally Dominic Cummings. Special adviser Cleo Watson handed in her resignation to Number 10 just weeks after former Vote Leave mastermind Cummings and communications expert Lee Cain resigned. Watson worked on the Brexit campaign before joining government under Theresa May, before […]

A radio presenter has said Tory MPs opposing Boris Johnson’s latest lockdown plans are doing so because they “don’t like being told what to do”. The LBC’s James O’Brien has said the 100-strong group of Tories resisting the prime minister’s regulations were jeopardising the public’s safety. The band of MPs, known as the Covid Recovery Group (CRG), […]

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has warned Boris Johnson that his party may not back the government’s plans for a tiered system of coronavirus restrictions to replace England’s national lockdown. Increasing pressure amid a potentially large Tory rebellion, Sir Ed wrote to prime minister Boris Johnson to say the 11 Lib Dem MPs would […]

Internet pranksters have proposed a blue plaque in memory of David Cameron’s contribution to Brexit in a cheeky dig at the former prime minister’s legacy after it was reported that he had banned the topic from his speaking engagements. The ex-MP for Witney both agreed to the EU referendum in June 2016 before leading the […]

More than a third of Tory voters who backed the party in the last general election no longer believe Boris Johnson is the best candidate to be prime minister. While 63% of Conservative voters at the last election polled by YouGov still back the prime minister, 37% no longer support Johnson over his Labour opponent.  […]

Downing Street has said it will not be compromising on the UK’s Brexit negotiating position despite calls for a change of direction from the European Union. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We want to try and reach a free-trade agreement as soon as possible. “But we have been clear that we won’t change our […]

A BBC presenter has attracted a wave of complaints after calling Brexiteers “headbangers, zealots and quislings”. Sue Perkins, a former Great British Bake Off host and well-known comedian, sparked controversy last week when she posted a tweet mocking David Cameron and Brexiteers. Responding to a message by the former Tory prime minister, which slammed the decision […]

A Labour MP has waded into the calls from Tory politicians for Netflix’s The Crown to be labelled as “fiction” by calling for their leader to be given the same treatment. Over the weekend culture secretary, Oliver Dowden raised concerns that younger viewers might mistake fictional depictions for real-life happenings. He told the Mail on […]

Downing Street has criticised reports that Rita Ora threw a birthday party at a restaurant and actor Laurence Fox boasted of having a “large group over to lunch” over the weekend. Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said that the rules applied to “celebrities” and that they should be setting examples. He said: “It’s important that everybody in society […]

George Eustice has told Piers Morgan that Britain was a “free country” as he sought to defend a six-month government boycott of Good Morning Britain. Eustice, a cabinet minister, said political parties were free to choose which media outlets to speak with as he attempted to explain the reasons behind 201-day hiatus from the popular […]

Matt Hancock is to hold a press conference at 5pm from Downing Street. The health secretary is expected to announce further details on the government’s community testing programme. His appearance comes off the back of new figures suggesting coronavirus infections fell by almost a third in England during the second national lockdown. There was a […]

Environment secretary George Eustice has been ridiculed after claiming that a Scotch egg “probably would” class as a substantial meal in a pub to allow people to have a drink. The minister was ridiculed for entering the debate over what is classed as a “substantial” meal to go with alcohol in pubs in tier two […]

Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to stop “Boris Johnson and his band of Brexiteers” dictating Scotland’s future. The SNP leader told Good Morning Britain (GMB) viewers that Scotland would not put up with having “our future dictated to us” by Johnson and his closest allies. Speaking on the state of Brexit trade talks, Sturgeon said: “I want free […]

A minister in Boris Johnson’s government has admitted that Brexit talks with the European Union could be extended beyond the transition period of December 31. Appearing on Sky News with Kay Burley, the environment secretary George Eustice said it is “always possible” to extend negotiations, and that the UK’s chief negotiator David Frost has always […]

Boris Johnson is set to publish economic impact papers related to the coronavirus lockdown in a bid to attempt to assure Tory MPs. The prime minister will publish an impact assessment of the restrictions ahead of a crunch Commons vote on Tuesday in an attempt to win over would-be rebels. Scores of Tory MPs have […]

Nicola Sturgeon has told Boris Johnson “not to stand in the way of democracy” as she issued a call for a second Scottish independence referendum – claiming he risks being “swept away” by popular opinion if he failed to grant Holyrood a second vote. The SNP has told Downing Street that a landslide victory in next year’s national elections […]

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has pulled apart Laurence Fox’s tweet which suggested he had broken lockdown to meet with close friends – in defiance of policies designed to protect the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic. Reading out the tweet live on breakfast television, Morgan said: “Just had a large group over to lunch and we […]

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin, who boasted of donating £50,000 to the Tory party ahead of the 2019 general election, has now blasted the “reckless” government for their decisions over the coronavirus pandemic. The pro-Brexit chairman has written to MPs criticising the second lockdown for their policies, which he says is hurting pubs. He wrote: “It is […]

Laurence Fox has been slammed for boasting that he had a “lovely” lunch with a “large group” of friends in a breach of lockdown rules, before criticising the NHS response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The actor said he had “hugged” the friends, before claiming that the NHS was not “fit for purpose” if it cannot […]

Sir Keir Starmer has said Jeremy Corbyn’s response to a damning report on anti-Semitism in Labour was “just about as bad as you can get”. The opposition leader said he was “disappointed” when his predecessor claimed the issue had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”. Corbyn was suspended from Labour over his response to the […]

Boris Johnson has appointed Nadhim Zahawi as a health minister responsible for the deployment of coronavirus vaccines. Downing Street announced that the Stratford-on-Avon MP, who already serves as a business minister, would take on the role until at least next summer. Under the interim arrangement, he will serve as a joint minister between Department for […]

Boris Johnson has warned there will be “disastrous consequences” for the NHS if the new tiered system proposed by government does not win the support of MPs and the country. The prime minister, who is facing a rebellion from his own MPs over the measures, urged the nation to “work together” with tiering, testing and […]

The government has called for ‘fresh thinking’ from the European Union over Brexit, as the foreign secretary insisted there is a deal to be done. Dominic Raab said this could be the last week of “substantive” negotiations as he urged Brussels to recognise the “point of principle” on Britain’s control of its waters. He told […]

Downing Street has attempted to have vials of the Oxford University Covid vaccine labelled with the Union flag. No. 10 asked a taskforce set up to fight calls for Scottish independence to work on having injections kits covered with the flag, the HuffPost UK has revealed. It also asked the unit focusing on developing the […]

UK aviation officials are scrambling to secure a travel corridor between New York and London following fears Joe Biden could scrap it in favour of one with Dublin when takes office as US president next year. Plans to establish a corridor between Heathrow and JFK airport – known as Project Nylon – before Biden moves into the […]

Readers have their say on Andrew Adonis’ essay on whether a federal UK is possible. Can I answer Andrew Adonis’ question “What Chance a Federal UK?” (TNE #220). Yes, there’s every chance, if only we could stop being so shy of the ‘F’ word and address it head on. I hope the TNE will continue […]

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has failed to declare his family’s wealth in a ministerial register, an investigation has found. Sunak is under pressure to explain how a multi-million-pound portfolio of shareholdings and directorships held by his wife and her family were not declared in an official register of ministers’ interests, a Guardian investigation has revealed. Akshata Murty, […]