Politics

Reducing the sensitivity of the NHS COVID app to bring down the number of people being told to self-isolate is “like taking the batteries out of the smoke alarm”, Sir Keir Starmer has said. On Thursday, the head of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, confirmed that ministers plan to “tune” the app

Sir Keir Starmer’s top spin doctor has quit after Labour suffered another poor by-election result in which the party lost its deposit. Ben Nunn announced he was stepping down as the opposition leader’s director of communications, after the party trailed in fourth behind the Green Party in the Chesham and Amersham poll. The departure of

Boris Johnson has denied his Conservative Party are neglecting southern parts of England in favour of its new northern seats as he blamed “particular circumstances” for a surprise by-election loss. The Tories have been dealt a humiliating defeat after the Liberal Democrats won Thursday’s Chesham and Amersham by-election. The Buckinghamshire constituency had been a Conservative

Boris Johnson’s former chief aide has described the prime minister as a “gaffe machine” who is “clueless about policy and government”. Dominic Cummings continued his assault on the government and the prime minister as he also attacked “drone-babblers” among Westminster pundits. The ex-adviser, who has been engaged in a weeks-long feud with Downing Street, made

A leadership hopeful for one of Labour’s biggest union backers has pulled out of the race in a bid to find a unity left-wing candidate. Howard Beckett, who had once been viewed as the heir apparent to Len McCluskey as Unite’s general secretary, is no longer seeking to lead the trade union. Instead, Mr Beckett

A minister has said the government is trying to “accommodate” Euro 2020 “as much as we possibly can” – amid reports thousands of VIPs will be granted quarantine-free access to England for the final. Both semi-finals and the final of the tournament are set to take place at London’s Wembley stadium next month. And, according

It’s an unwritten rule of politics that every electoral action can have an opposite – if not quite equal – reaction. The question being asked by many Tories this morning will be whether the party’s recent relentless focus on winning new supporters in traditionally Labour-held areas in the north is starting to cost them in

Edwin Poots has resigned as leader of the DUP after less than a month in the post. Mr Poots is standing down following an internal revolt against him but will stay in post until a successor is elected. Speaking on Thursday evening Mr Poots said: “I have asked the Party Chairman to commence an electoral

NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens has failed to confirm he has confidence in Matt Hancock. Asked repeatedly if, having worked alongside the health secretary during the pandemic, he has confidence in his ability, Sir Simon refused to give Mr Hancock his support. Pressed on whether the health secretary is hopeless, the NHS boss smirks after

Ministers should be banned from political lobbying for up to five years after leaving office, the anti-corruption watchdog has recommended. The Committee on Standards in Public Life has published its interim review of lobbying guidelines in the wake of the Greensill affair involving David Cameron. A number of inquiries have been launched after it was

An England football victory as the G7 summit wrapped up in Cornwall was something to celebrate, but even with a home advantage, Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not emerge from this global gathering with a win.  This was a big opportunity for Mr Johnson and in favourable conditions. Serendipitous that the UK was the host

Three days of discussions – as well as a beach barbecue – in Cornwall are over for G7 leaders. So what did their summit amount to? COVID-19 What was agreed: G7 leaders committed to providing one billion doses of COVID vaccines to poorer countries over the next year. They also agreed to initiatives on future

Boris Johnson has rejected claims of “moral failure” by the G7 in providing more COVID vaccines for poorer nations – as he dismissed suggestions a Brexit row had overshadowed the world leaders’ Cornwall summit. At the end of three days of talks at the seaside resort of Carbis Bay, the heads of the world’s leading

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has called for “a bit of respect” from EU leaders as he claimed the bloc’s senior figures “serially” talk about Northern Ireland “as if it were somehow a different country from the UK”. The UK and EU are currently at loggerheads over the implementation of post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland –

Matt Hancock has denied claims he lied to the prime minister over the COVID care homes crisis and said “you can’t respond to a pandemic by pointing fingers”. The health secretary is being questioned by MPs two weeks after Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former chief aide, claimed he “should have been fired for at least

The prime minister has been criticised for travelling to the G7 summit in Cornwall by plane, instead of taking the train. Boris Johnson arrived in Cornwall for the gathering of some of the world’s most developed economies, with climate change set to be high on the agenda. A picture of the PM stepping off on

Discussions between the UK and the EU over post-Brexit rules in Northern Ireland have ended without an agreement being reached. Brexit Minister Lord Frost said he and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic had broken up their discussions with “no breakthroughs and no breakdowns” with the EU on the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol.

The UK and the EU are set to thrash out their differences over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Brexit minister Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president, will meet on Wednesday after the latter suggested the EU is finding it hard to trust the UK following its departure from the

Greater Manchester and Lancashire are to receive a “strengthened package of support” to tackle a rise in the Delta coronavirus variant, Matt Hancock has announced – with residents told to minimise travel. Addressing the Commons, the health secretary said: “I can tell the House that today, working with local authorities, we are providing a strengthened

Seldom has a ruling by the Speaker of the House of Commons been so eagerly anticipated by MPs. During the Brexit wars of a couple of years ago, pro-Remain John Bercow could be relied upon to deliver rulings to cause maximum turmoil and embarrassment for the government. Sir Lindsay Hoyle is a much less partisan