Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s restrictions for pubs will not apply to bars in parliament. Despite requiring pubs to close at 10pm, and encouraging drinking establishments to collect data for the track and trace system, the Times reports the same rules will not apply where politicians frequent. That is because parliament is using a loophole which claims “workplace canteens […]

A senior Tory MP has claimed that Boris Johnson ruled out a second national lockdown to prevent chancellor Rishi Sunak from quitting. Number 10 has denied a rift between the prime minister and his chancellor, but there are fears the pair are at odds about how best to deal with a second wave of the […]

Former Commons speaker John Bercow has warned Boris Johnson against sidelining parliament by pushing through coronavirus laws without a vote or debate before they are enacted. Bercow told BBC Radio 4’s World This Weekend: “Parliament has been unavoidably constrained by Covid-19 but it should not now avoidably constrain or hamper itself. Debate, scrutiny and votes […]

Comedian Michael Spicer has said the incompetence of politicians in recent years handed him his career “with a little bow on top”. Spicer shot to fame in 2019 with his satirical sketches about a political adviser speaking in the ear of public figures as their interviews, using real-life footage, invariably fall apart. However, the 42-year-old […]

Boris Johnson is lining up former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre to become the new chair of broadcasting watchdog Ofcom. The Brexiteer critic of the BBC is said to be lined up to replace Lord Burns, who is expected to leave before the end of the year, the Times reports. The news comes as fellow Brexiteer […]

Boris Johnson has called for an ‘early warning system’ to alert countries about the possibility of a pandemic – like the one the EU has in place that the UK is set to leave from the end of the year. Johnson is to make a speech on video link via the United Nations General Assembly […]

The president of Italy has hit out at Boris Johnson over remarks the UK’s Covid infection rate was worse than Italy’s because Britons loved their freedom more. Sergio Mattarella said his citizens “also love freedom” but that they “also care about seriousness”. Johnson claimed the UK’s infection rate was higher than both Italy’s and Germany’s because […]

Campaigners have staged a protest outside Matt Hancock’s health department urging the government to put the coronavirus test and trace system into public hands. The We Own It campaign group said its research showed that the public did not agree with the use of private firms, pointing out they have so far failed to get […]

Public health experts have warned Boris Johnson against pursing herd immunity or mimicking Sweden coronavirus response. Independent SAGE – an independent group of scientists who provide advice to the government – has warned Britain is in a “dangerous place”. The committee released a report in which it advised against the strategy of herd immunity or […]

A Tory MP – who previously claimed they had ‘got Brexit done’ – was ridiculed when she tweeted again to say she had voted again to get it done.Dehenna Davison, the representative for Bishop Auckland, sent the tweet after the Internal Market Bill passed – which could override key aspects of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.The […]

A Tory Brexiteer has been given a haranguing online after posting a speech justifying Boris Johnson’s violation of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (WA). Desmond Swayne MP said it was fine for a country to break international law “when that obligation is interpreted in such a way as to undermine the very integrity of that country”. […]

The DUP’s chief whip in Westminster has labelled MPs who voted against or abstained from Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill “agents of the European Union”. Sammy Wilson, a fervent Eurosceptic who supports the Brexit pressure group Leave Means Leave, said he failed to understand why MPs would choose to vote against the prime minister’s internal market […]

I wonder what clever slogan the ‘genius superforecaster’ in Downing Street is going to come up with as the UK hits a tipping point over the pandemic?“Get Covid Done” sounds like the best. It’s short and snappy and it’s something we can all believe in. What is brilliant about this slogan is it taps into the […]

France has hit back at the UK’s government attempts to try to secure a Brexit agreement by warning that the EU “won’t fall for a kind of intimidation at the European level”. The French have been angered by Boris Johnson’s attempts to override the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement signed this year, which is a breach of […]

In his book on Winston Churchill, Boris Johnson wrote that “one man can make all the difference”. This biographer still had faith in the “great man” theory of history. In his admiration for a charismatic and controversial figure, Johnson seemed to be hinting, or perhaps thinking, that another latter-day controversialist might also make a pretty […]

Piers Morgan has predicted that Boris Johnson will resign as prime minister. Speaking on Good Morning Britain, the presenter said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the prime minister made the decision to resign. Morgan noted that many publications who were in support of Johnson as prime minister had now turned. Piers Morgan predicts Boris Johnson […]

Nigel Farage has been called out over a tweet slamming Boris Johnson’s government as “the worst ever”. Farage lambasted Downing Street on plans to create a “border” in Kent after Brexit. Speaking with The Times‘ Patrick Maguire, the Brexit Party leader said: “Not only an internal border with Northern Ireland but now Kent too. “Is this […]

Research by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has found student support for Labour has risen during Keir Starmer’s leadership. The new YouthSight data on voting intentions found that Labour was the most popular party among students, with 62% saying they would vote for the party. Labour’s student backers have risen considerably under Starmer, after […]

The government has criticised the BBC for allowing Keir Starmer a “right of reply” broadcast on prime time television. The leader of the opposition was allowed to speak to the nation a day after Boris Johnson’s address was broadcast on all of the major television channels. Under BBC guidelines it is standard for the Labour […]

Ofcom has received 181 complaints about The Great British Bake-Off, after comedian Matt Lucas performed an impression of Boris Johnson on the opening episode of the series. The regulator says the majority of complaints made about the episode refer to Matt Lucas’ impersonation of the prime minister, which saw him wear a blonde wig and […]

In a Britain where Gavin Williamson is education secretary, Suella Braverman is attorney general, Liam Fox is our candidate to lead the WTO and Priti Patel is home secretary, it comes as little surprise to hear of Boris Johnson’s supposed choice as the new chairman of the BBC Board. As the Mail on Sunday asked, […]

Boris Johnson made a rare foray into the Commons tea rooms last week to calm backbenchers’ nerves about the party of law and order breaking the law. It left at least one suspecting the PM might not see out his full term of office. “What was interesting was that to him it was all about […]

No 10 has narrowed the number of candidates to fill the role of Downing Street’s press briefing spokesperson to five. The role was created in the summer as part of an overhaul of the government’s communications strategy. Guido reports there are five final candidates in the mix to take up the role which will consist of […]

In July 1995, Tony Blair flew halfway around the world in his attempts to detoxify the brand of the organisation he had just taken over. The Labour leader decided that he needed to do whatever it took, wherever it took, to convince those with power and influence that his party had shed the extremism of […]

Now that the Tory press is finally turning against Boris Johnson, the contrarian in me wants to start making excuses for his feckless, over-entitled incompetence. It’s not easy running a hand-picked second-rate government, you know. Not during the twin Brexit and Covid crises, only one of which is your own fault. Both your own fault […]

Chauffeur-driven cars will be exempt from new laws forcing passengers to wear masks in taxis to slow the spread of coronavirus, Downing Street has said. Boris Johnson announced that passengers in licensed vehicles would have to wear coverings under new restrictions in England aimed at preventing a resurgence of Covid-19. But No 10 said the […]

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of being “out of touch” on the issue of coronavirus testing in schools during the latest round of Prime Minister’s Questions. Sir Keir pressed the prime minister to explain why more school children were not being tested for Covid-19. Taking to the despatch box, he said: “Many cannot get tests […]

Fresh polling has show Sir Keir Starmer outperforming Boris Johnson on a number of leadership qualities. The latest Ipsos MORI Political Monitor survey found 50% of respondents viewed Sir Keir as ‘more understanding’ of the problems facing Britain than Johnson, who only received 43%. Sir Keir also trumped Johnson on the scale of who was the more […]

Nicola Sturgeon has criticised UK government ministers for their boycott of Good Morning Britain, saying the move is “disgraceful”. The Scottish first minister told hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that leaders must be held accountable during the ongoing crisis. She said “Right now, communicating directly with the public is a real public duty on the […]

Dominic Raab has admitted the government is struggling to get the coronavirus “under control”. The foreign secretary said he hoped the government could get Covid infection rates stable by Christmas. Speaking with BBC Breakfast‘s Charlie Stayt, Raab said: “A stitch in time saves nine. We want to make sure that as we go into Christmas that we’ve […]

Failure to reach an agreement with the EU in post-Brexit trade talks could hit Britain’s economy three times harder in the long term than coronavirus, a think tank has warned. Queues at the border, shortages of fresh food and medicine as well as more “hassle” travelling to the continent are also possible, according to the […]

Germany’s minister for Europe has pleaded with the UK to “stop playing games” and produce a fairer basis for negotiations. Michael Roth said time was running out for both sides to reach a deal before the end of the Brexit transition period in December. Speaking with DW News, Roth called on Downing Street to ditch controversial provisions […]