SNP MP Margaret Ferrier has said she will not resign despite backlash for travelling to parliament after developing coronavirus symptoms, saying the virus made her act ‘out of character’. Ms Ferrier admitted to travelling to London from Glasgow after taking a coronavirus test last month, and said once she had received a positive result, took
Politics
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told the French leader that the UK will explore “every avenue” to reach a trade deal with the EU. Mr Johnson spoke with Emmanuel Macron over the phone on Saturday morning as the deadline for securing an agreement nudges closer. The PM told Mr Macron that the UK was actively
Leaders in the north of England have warned further coronavirus restrictions would have a “devastating” effect on the country and the overall regional economy. Their comments come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to make a statement to MPs on Monday amid expectations that a three-tier local lockdown system will be introduced across England. Doctors have
Boris Johnson will make a statement to MPs on Monday, amid expectations that a three-tier local lockdown system will be introduced across England. New coronavirus restrictions for North West England could be implemented as soon as Wednesday, Sky News understands. During a meeting on Friday between local leaders and Westminster figures including the Housing Secretary,
A government minister has criticised “inappropriate” plans to give MPs a pay rise in the middle of the coronavirus crisis. Business minister Nadhim Zahawi called on the independent body that decides MPs’ salaries to “explain themselves” after they recommended keeping the existing method of calculating pay. This has seen MPs given a pay rise in
Theresa May has led a fierce onslaught by Tory ex-cabinet ministers against a housing shake-up proposed by Boris Johnson, which could lead to some building going ahead without planning permission. Backed by her former cabinet allies Damian Green, Jeremy Hunt and Chris Grayling – and several more ex-ministers – the former prime minister demanded a
Boris Johnson is expected to order tough new COVID curbs next week on pubs in northern England, which could include closing them altogether in Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. In an announcement that could come before the end of this week, the prime minister is expected to unveil a clampdown in response to alarming rises in
Ministers are preparing to introduce further restrictions in the north of England as the government races to handle the spike in coronavirus cases and hospital admissions. Government insiders told Sky News that no decisions had been taken on whether to introduce even tighter controls in the North – with the the North East and North
More than a dozen Tory rebels flexed their muscles on new coronavirus rules, but failed to defeat the government over its “rule of six”. Fourteen Conservative backbenchers were joined by five DUP MPs in trying to curb the restrictions on social gatherings. They were easily outnumbered, but Labour and 62 Conservatives abstained, meaning the total
It was a speech without the audience he had hoped for, in a year no one had anticipated. What should have been a Conservative Party victory rally for Boris Johnson on Tuesday turned instead into an attempt to steady the ship after some very rocky weeks. The prime minister used his annual conference speech to
Labour’s deputy leader has called on Health Secretary Matt Hancock to consider quitting over the “disgusting” technology blunder that saw 16,000 coronavirus cases missed by contact tracers. Angela Rayner told Mr Hancock he should be “completely embarrassed” by the delay in the reporting of 15,841 COVID-19 infections in England between 25 September to 2 October.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned there will be no “easy cost-free answer” as he vowed to “balance the books” following his spending splurge during the coronavirus crisis. In his speech to the Conservative Party‘s virtual conference, Mr Sunak listed the various schemes he has introduced in a bid to shore up the economy amid the
After a shaky start to the Conservative Party Conference (at least on the technological front), Monday will see Rishi Sunak speaking from the virtual podium. Right now the chancellor can do no wrong, but he knows difficult decisions are coming, not least the problem of how to come back from the largest recession on record.
The coronavirus pandemic “will be bumpy through to Christmas” and potentially beyond that, Boris Johnson has warned, as he said it is is “too early to say” whether local lockdowns are effective in bringing down infection rates. The prime minister was asked specifically about Oldham, which has seen its COVID-19 infection rate double despite being
The home secretary will promise an asylum system that is “firm and fair” when she speaks at the Conservative Party conference later. Priti Patel will present a system that would see the government routinely denying asylum to migrants who cross the English Channel on boats or via other “illegal routes”. This would include migrants who
One in four of us is now living under some form of tighter COVID-19 restrictions. The prime minister may say that a national lockdown is the nuclear option that he doesn’t want to resort to – but for millions of people who can’t meet other households indoors, the red button has already been pressed. But