Boris Johnson will tomorrow insist the national lockdown in England will end on 2 December, despite a member of his cabinet indicating the new measures could be extended beyond that date. Growing numbers of senior Conservative backbenchers have signalled their opposition to the measures due to come into effect on Thursday, while Labour have said
Politics
England is to enter a second national lockdown from Thursday, Boris Johnson has announced, as a second wave of coronavirus cases continues to grow. In a speech on Saturday the prime minister detailed new the new rules which will be in place from 5 November until 2 December. Here is that speech in full: Thank
England is to be placed under stricter nationwide restrictions from Thursday in an attempt to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new measures just after confirmed COVID-19 cases passed the one million mark across the UK. The new restrictions will initially be imposed from 0001 on 5 November until
A second national lockdown. It was something that the prime minister said would be a “disaster” for this country and something he vowed to do “everything in his power” to avoid. But now Mr Johnson is poised to announce exactly that. The measures are still under discussion – with a cabinet meeting planned this afternoon
“Every child has the right to be fed,” says charity worker Helen Needham as she packs tins and fruit into white plastic bags. “No child should be going hungry in 2020 and we have a responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.” At Foleshill Community Centre in north Coventry, they’ve registered 500 new individuals for
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News he was “disappointed” in his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s response to a damning antisemitism report – but has insisted there is “no reason for a civil war” in the party. Mr Corbyn was suspended from Labour on Thursday – a move he condemned as “political intervention” –
Days after being involved in a minor road accident which left his car dented and scratched and a Deliveroo cyclist with an injured arm, Sir Keir Starmer is on collision course with the Labour left. But while his car can be repaired and the cyclist’s arm will hopefully heal speedily, the Labour leader is now
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the party and has had the whip removed. A party spokesman said: “In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour
Big family reunions may be banned at Christmas in England as the coronavirus second wave could last until March, a senior minister has warned. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said people should prepare now for the “realistic” prospect that high numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths continue, so a normal festive period “won’t be achievable”. His
The government is in danger of leaving it “too late” for a short national lockdown to be effective in driving down the rate of coronavirus infections, a member of its scientific advisory group has warned. Professor Andrew Hayward, from UCL’s institute of epidemiology and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told Sky News
The Tory MP husband of embattled coronavirus Test and Trace boss Dido Harding has been condemned by Labour after criticising “chaotic parents” in the row over Marcus Rashford’s free school meals campaign. Former minister John Penrose, a millionaire publisher, made the comment in a letter to a constituent who asked him why he voted in
The government will “learn from” a summer holiday clubs programme as it seeks to steer a way through the free school meals row, a minister has told Sky News. A fresh campaign spearheaded by England footballer Marcus Rashford has heaped pressure on the government over the provision of school holiday meals for the children of
More than 50 Tory MPs from “red wall” seats are demanding a “roadmap out of lockdown” from Boris Johnson and a post-COVID economic recovery plan for the north of England. As Warrington and parts of Nottinghamshire became the latest areas to be placed under Tier 3 restrictions, the MPs have voiced their anger over the
When Dido Harding returned to her Somerset home by car on Sunday afternoon, she was towing her horsebox. An equine enthusiast for decades and board member of the Jockey Club, horses are how the boss of the government’s Test and Trace programme relaxes. And it’s likely she needs it, after senior Conservative MP Sir Bernard
A top Tory MP and leading Boris Johnson ally is calling for Dido Harding, the beleaguered boss of NHS Test and Trace, to be axed. Sir Bernard Jenkin, who chairs the powerful Liaison Committee of senior MPs, says Conservative peer Baroness Harding “should be given a well-earned break”, adding that “the immediate priority is to
Boris Johnson should have a word with the Conservative-controlled local council in his west London constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip about Marcus Rashford’s school meals campaign. “Hillingdon Council will be offering free school meals to eligible children during the half term holiday,” the council announced this weekend. “Full details of the scheme and how