Tory Party chairman Oliver Dowden has claimed he is “really not terribly worried” about the threat posed by the Labour Party, after Boris Johnson’s Conservatives held their safe seat in the closely watched Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election.
Councillor Louie French’s party hailed his victory as “almost unheard of” for a mid-term government, after the count showed a 10 per cent swing to Labour amid low voter turnout in the constituency previously held by former minister James Brokenshire, who died in October of lung cancer aged 53.
But Labour’s Ellie Reeves also claimed it was a “remarkable result for us in a Tory stronghold” that if replicated at a general election would see Keir Starmer’s party “within reach of forming a majority government”, while Richard Tice of Reform UK – which came third – claimed the result showed his was now the only party “on the upward march”.
Exclusive: NHS leaders left in the dark over government’s booster rollout plan
NHS leaders have still not been told how the government expects them to manage a huge expansion of the booster vaccine campaign, nearly a week after the government indicated the move to jab tens of millions of people.
One senior NHS director in the West Midlands told The Independent: “It’s a bit of an issue really, saying they’re going to ratchet up the programme. There’s quite a lot toing and froing and we don’t know quite where it is going to land really in terms of the vaccination programme and how it’s going to be delivered.
“As with every stage of this we’ll find a solution about how to get the vaccine to people, but the way the government has been doing it has been ham fisted.”
Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas and deputy political editor Rob Merrick have the full story here:
Ofgem removes compensation limit for energy customers left without power for a week
The energy regulator Ofgem has lifted a £700 cap to allow customers still without power a week after Storm Arwen first struck to be able to claim £70 for each 12-hour period without power.
Old Bexley and Sidcup was a ‘move on, nothing to see here’ by-election, polling expert suggests
By-elections are a “rubbish” barometer of wider political sentiment, a polling chief at YouGov has suggested, describing the Old Bexley and Sidcup vote as a “move on, nothing to see here” poll.
Anthony Wells suggested that the by-election could have had political significance if there had been a larger shift to Labour, or if Reform UK had performed better – but neither of these things happened to a sufficient extent to represent a threat to Boris Johnson or his party.
A Labour MP has suggested that Tory MPs appear determined to “filibuster” or “talk out” Kevin Brennan’s private members bill on music streaming to stop it from progressing through Parliament.
‘I have waited 20 years to get a bill like this’: MP hails music streaming proposals
MPs have been discussing a new bill from Labour’s Kevin Brennan aimed at making streaming more equitable for musicians.
Pete Wishart, a former keyboard player in Runrig and Big Country and now the SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said he had “waited 20 years to get a bill like this”.
“I have been in the music industry, I have seen exactly what it is. It is a field of dreams. If you make it big, you can escape your background, you can go on to have huge success and huge riches. It is an amazing industry. It is great to be part of,” Mr Wishart told MPs.
He added: “We have an opportunity to resolve a really serious situation here today and I really hope the government take advantage of that.”
‘No plans’ to make jabs mandatory, says No 10
Downing Street has said the government has “no plans” to make vaccinations mandatory, my colleague Adam Forrest reports.
Asked if jabs could ever be made compulsory – or curbs enforced on the unvaccinated, as Germany is now doing – Boris Johnson’s spokesman told reporters: “It’s not something that we would look to introduce.
“You’re aware of the changes we made in terms of social care settings and for NHS workers, given the importance of protecting the most vulnerable in our society. But there’s no plans above and beyond that in that regard.”
Tory chair Oliver Dowden had earlier appeared unable to explicitly rule out the prospect of such a move when asked by TalkRadio, saying: “It’s not something that we want to do or plan to do in the United Kingdom. And the reason why we don’t want to and hopefully won’t have to do any of that is because of the booster – people are taking that booster, that is building up the wall again.”
No 10 refuses to give details of any planned ‘private’ Christmas parties
Any staff parties held at Downing Street over Christmas would be “private events” that would not be publicly announced, No 10 has said.
Speaking amid allegations that Downing Street breached its own Covid rules with a party last Christmas, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “The prime minister has said that there will continue to be festive events in the run-up to Christmas. You’ll have seen earlier this week the prime minister do the switching on of the No 10 Christmas tree lights.”
Asked if he would therefore inform reporters if there were plans for a No 10 Christmas party for staff, he clarified: “Obviously, events that happen in No 10 that are private events, we wouldn’t inform you … We obviously wouldn’t set out details of private functions in No 10.”
Civil servant ‘tried to take own life after racial bullying at work’
A civil servant tried to take their own life after “prolonged racial bullying” in a government department, it has been alleged.
The Cabinet Office has launched a review of “respect and inclusion” amid accusations of racism as well as unfairness towards disabled staff.
And the PA news agency reports that concerns have been raised over a number of years around how black members of staff are treated, with examples given of one black worker being called “boy” in a meeting and the use of the N-word.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson said the Prime Minister felt “racism has no role whatsoever in our society”.
The PCS union, which represents civil servants, called the accusations “utterly shocking”.
PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka wrote to Mr Chisholm last December raising concerns about bullying following the Civil Service People Survey.
At that time, he said that “large numbers” of black and ethnic minority staff had complained to the union about prejudice.
The union earlier this year said it was considering taking the issue to the Equality and Human Rights Commission after more than 80 staff members had complained about being racially bullied.
The Cabinet Office said improvements had been made, and this was reflected in the most recent staff survey.
A spokesperson said: “The Cabinet Office does not tolerate bullying, harassment or discrimination in any form. We sought out these experiences precisely to help make our workspace more inclusive.
“This is a vital part of our commitment to set a new standard for diversity and inclusion, as set out in the Declaration on Government Reform. While our latest data shows a decline in reported incidents of discrimination, there is always more we can do.”
PM’s jokes aren’t funny any more for Tory voters, says Starmer
Keir Starmer has hailed the by-election result in Old Bexley and Sidcup, saying: “Even for Tory heartland voters, Boris Johnson’s jokes aren’t funny any more.”
‘Vaccine inequality should be a higher priority than the snogging debate’
Ministers would be better off addressing global vaccine inequality and nationalism than tying themselves up in knots with mixed messages on what we should and should not be doing this Christmas – such as whether to snog others, argues Andrew Grice:
