Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson’s approval ratings have hit a record low, according to a poll which found nearly half of UK voters believe the prime minister and his party to be “corrupt” in the wake of the paid lobbying scandal.The Conservative Party has been engulfed in further allegations of sleaze this week after Mr Johnson not only ordered his MPs to vote against the standards watchdog’s recommendation that now former Tory MP Owen Paterson be suspended for 30 days, but also to establish a new committee to rewrite the process which found he had repeatedly broken lobbying rules.In its first poll conducted after Mr Paterson’s resignation on Thursday, following an embarrassing U-turn from the government, Opinium found the Tories’ lead over Labour had narrowed to just one percentage point, dropping by three points to a rating of 37 per cent.The prime minister’s own personal ratings were the lowest ever recorded by the pollster, slumping four per cent to -20, with half of respondents now disapproving of the job he is doing.While Sir Keir Starmer’s approval ratings improved by a mere point, sitting at -9, the pollsters reported finding a “substantial narrowing” in public opinion over the past week on whether the Labour leader would make a better prime minister.When questioned on Friday and Saturday, 28 per cent of respondents said Mr Johnson was the best choice for prime minister, down five points from the week prior. Conversely, Sir Keir saw his share increase by four per cent to 26. The largest proportion – 34 per cent – said neither was the best choice.The findings appear to vindicate John Major’s assessment on Saturday that, as a lifelong Tory – and former Conservative prime minister – if he was “concerned at how the government is behaving”, it was likely that “lots of other people are as well”.In an extraordinary attack, Sir John accused Mr Johnson’s government of behaving in a manner that is “un-Conservative” and “perhaps politically corrupt”.Referring to the row over Owen Paterson’s suspension, he told the BBC: “I think the way the government handled that was shameful, wrong and unworthy of this or indeed any government. It also had the effect of trashing the reputation of parliament.”Opinium found that just 22 per cent of voters now believe the Conservative Party to be “clean and honest”, while 48 per cent think it is “corrupt”. These figures have gone six and seven percent respectively in the wrong direction since the pollster’s last survey in April, taken in the wake of revelations that former PM David Cameron had lobbied the chancellor Rishi Sunak on behalf of Greensill Capital.The April survey also followed months of allegations over the government’s awarding of multimillion pound contracts to firms with whom ministers have personal links at the outset of the Covid crisis, while significant questions have since been raised about alleged cash-for-access schemes for Tory donors.Mr Johnson – who has personally faced calls this week for a fresh probe into the funding for the refurbishment of his Downing Street residence, and for an inquiry into his failure to declare free holiday accommodation in Spain belonging to Zac Goldsmith, to whom he gave a peerage – fared only slightly better than his party, with 47 per cent of respondents believing him “corrupt” – a rise of five since April.Just 22 per cent now believe the prime minister to be “clean and honest”, Opinium found, down from 30 per cent in April.His own backbenchers were among those left seething this week with his decision to order them to vote for Andrea Leadsom’s amendment during the Commons ballot on Mr Paterson’s suspension, which proposed a Tory-led committee to rewrite conduct rules, only to U-turn the following lunchtime after a wave of headlines referencing “sleaze”, including on the Daily Mail’s front page.Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs that he would instead seek cross-party talks on reform, conceding that the link between Mr Paterson’s case and need for wider reform “needs to be broken” – leaving Mr Paterson facing a fresh vote on his suspension until his resignation hours later on Thursday.Ex-chief whip Mark Harper said it amounted to “one of the most unedifying episodes I have seen in my 16 years as a member of parliament”, while another ex-minister told The Independent that MPs were “apoplectic with rage” at being ordered to vote in a way which gave the impression they were bending the rules to save their colleague.Mr Paterson, a former Cabinet minister who is accused of lobbying ministers and regulators on behalf of firms paying him more than £100,000 a year, said in a statement announcing his resignation: “I will remain a public servant but outside the cruel world of politics.”“I maintain that I am totally innocent of what I have been accused of and I acted at all times in the interests of public health and safety. I, my family and those closest to me know the same. I am unable to clear my name under the current system,” he said.Meanwhile, a fresh front in the sleaze scandal emerged on Saturday night, as a report byThe Sunday Times and Open Democracy claimed that the Tory Party appears to have been operating a secret scheme offering House of Lords peerages to wealthy benefactors as a “reward” for large donations.A party spokesperson told the paper: “We do not believe that successful businesspeople and philanthropists who contribute to political causes and parties should be disqualified from sitting in the legislature.” More

Boris Johnson is deliberately picking Brexit fights with the EU to distract from scandals back in the UK, Keir Starmer has suggested. The Labour leader claimed the prime minister was hoping to draw attention away from fiascos like the Owen Paterson lobbying affair by talking tough abroad.It comes after the government dramatically ramped up the rhetoric against the European Union just as it was forced to U-turn on abolishing a corruption watchdog.Brexit minister Lord Frost warned on Friday that triggering Article 16 and suspending the Northern Ireland Brexit agreement was “on the table”. But Sir Keir told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning: “There’s a little bit of me, Andrew, I am afraid that can’t help think that the Prime Minister is constantly trying to pick a fight on things like this so he hopes people don’t look elsewhere in the forest, which are things like the Owen Paterson affair.”MPs were deluged with angry correspondence after they tried to abolish a corruption watchdog to let Mr Paterson off the hook for a Commons suspension. The MP, who ended the affair by resigning, had taken tens of thousands of pounds in cash from companies who he went on to lobby the government for.The Labour leader would not be explicitly drawn on whether his party would oppose the government in triggering Article 16 – a mechanism built into the Northern Ireland protocol that effectively suspends the deal. There is not expected to be a vote in parliament on the matter.But he said: “I don’t think that triggering Article 16 will resolve the dispute in relation to the Protocol in Northern Ireland.”That isn’t in the interests of the communities in Northern Ireland or businesses in Northern Ireland. What is in their interests is resolving the issues.”Because of the way the protocol was drafted, because of what the Prime Minister signed, it is perfectly true that there are checks from Great Britain to Northern Ireland – we want to reduce those.”The Labour leader added: “What I am saying is don’t rip up the protocol because that has that very important central purpose, which is to protect the no border in Northern Ireland.”Sir Keir said as an alternative he would like to see “both sides sitting down and resolving this”. More talks between Lord Frost and his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic are scheduled for next week. The Labour leader, who was previously seen as a major supporter of a second referendum, said repeatedly throughout the interview that he wanted to “make Brexit work” – a slogan he used in his recent party conference speech.Former Tory prime minister John Major warned on Saturday that it would be “colossally stupid” to trigger the treaty provision. The EU has warned of “serious consequences” if the UK pursues this course of action while businesses in Northern Ireland have said it will cause more disruption and uncertainty.The agreement struck between the two sides was designed to stop a hard border from appearing between Northern Ireland and the Republic, but also puts controls on trade between Britain and the EU.The UK has taken issue with the controls it signed up to and says it wants the protocol to be changed. The EU has presented proposals to do this – but the UK says they do not go far enough. The UK is also critical of the role of the European Court of Justice in overseeing the deal, and says it wants to remove any role for EU judges.Some reports speculative reports suggest Mr Johnson wants to trigger Article 16 – the agreed mechanism to suspend it – after the Cop26 climate summit is over and Britain is no longer in the spotlight. More

Jacob Rees-Mogg should resign a leader of the House of Commons over the Owen Paterson scandal, Labour has said.Speaking on Sunday morning Thangam Debbonaire said the Tory MPs position had become “untenable” after he led efforts to neuter parliament’s standards watchdog and let a rule-breaking MP off the hook.She joins calls from the chair of the standards committee Chris Bryant who on Friday said Mr Rees-Mogg had “created a crisis in parliament”.Ms Debbonaire, Labour’s shadow leader of the house, also urged Boris Johnson to to “consider his position this weekend and takes steps to repair the reputation … of politics.”.And she urged the government to promise that Owen Paterson, who resigned this week over the scandal, would not be handed a peerage and return to parliament as Lord Paterson.”If I was [Rees-Mogg], I’d be considering my position. That’s what I think he should do today. I think his position is untenable,” she told Sky News.The leader of the House was one of the first senior Tories to come to Mr Paterson’s defence over the affair and led parliamentary efforts to scrap the corruption watchdog that had found he broke the rules.Ms Debbonaire added that the government “needs to make clear that Owen Paterson will not be recommended for a peerage”. Boris Johnson’s spokesperson was asked about the issue of a Lords seat at the weekend and would not deny that the prime minister had offered the ex MP one.Mr Paterson was found to have broken lobbying rules by advocating for companies that paid him tens of thousands of pounds above his own MPs’ salary. But when the standards committee recommended consequences – a 30 day suspension – the government instead moved to abolish the body and replace it with a committee with an in-built Tory majority. Following a backlash, the government withdrew its support from the former cabinet minister, and Mr Paterson quit as an MP, bemoaning the “cruel” world of politics. Corruption experts described the government’s approach as eroding democratic norms. Meanwhile Cabinet minister George Eustice dismissed the Owen Paterson affair as a “storm in a teacup”.Speaking on the same programme Mr Eustice, the environment secretary, acknowledged that the government had “made a mistake”. But he told the broadcaster: “What we have seen is a Westminster storm in a teacup.”Yes, we made a mistake in bringing that forward in the way that we did, so we withdrew it.”But the overall principle, that you should have due process and a right of appeal in these types of situations, I don’t think anybody doubts.”Following Mr Eustice’s appearance on broadcasters on Sunday morning Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the minister’s performance had been “impressive”.”He managed to lie so many times in such a short period of time while keeping a straight face,” she said. More

An English man arrested in Ireland on suspicion of making threats to kill a British MP has been charged.The man, 41, from England, was detained in the Cork suburb of Douglas on Saturday.The arrest was made as gardai executed a search warrant at a residential property.During the course of the search a number of electronic items were seized.It is understood the person targeted by the alleged threat is a Westminster MP.The Irish Times has reported the person is a female Labour politician.The man, who was held at Bridewell garda station in Cork, was scheduled to appear before Cork District Court later on Sunday.The arrest and charge follows the fatal stabbing of Conservative MP Sir David Amess as he held a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex on October 15.Ali Harbi Ali, 25, has been remanded in custody charged with murdering Sir David.PA More

Labour is ramping up the pressure on sleaze amid reports the Conservative Party has been offering House of Lords peerages to wealthy benefactors as a “reward” for large donations.The report, by The Sunday Times and Open Democracy, says wealthy benefactors “appear to be guaranteed a peerage if they take on the temporary role as the party treasurer and increase their own donations beyond £3 million.”It also quoted party sources as saying that there is a “tradition” of Conservative prime ministers handing out peerages to the party’s treasurers.There has also been widespread speculation at Westminster that Owen Paterson, who quit as MP for North Shropshire on Thursday in the face of a suspension over “egregious” breaches of lobbying rules, could himself be in line for a peerage.Labour said the report highlighted a “cash for access culture” in the Tory party and Sir Keir Starmer has written to the body that considers nominations for peerages to argue that Mr Paterson should not be granted a peerage if Downing Street recommends him for one.In a letter to Lord Bew, chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, Sir Keir said it would “undermine confidence in the probity of Parliament” if Mr Paterson was made a Lord.According to the Sunday Times report, in the last two decades, all 16 of the party’s treasurers – except the most recent– have been offered a seat in the House of Lords.A further 22 of the party’s main financial backers who have given £54 million to the party between them, including nine donor treasurers, have also been offered seats since 2010, it said.An ex-party chairman told the Sunday Times: “The truth is the entire political establishment knows this happens and they do nothing about it… The most telling line is once you pay your £3 million, you get your peerage.”However, there is no suggestion any of the donors named in the investigation requested or were promised a peerage or were directed or offered to pay any particular sum to secure an honour.On Saturday, former prime minister Sir John Major said a peerage for Mr Paterson would be “rather extraordinary” as he launched a blistering attack on the “shameful” actions of Mr Johnson’s government, arguing that they were “perhaps politically corrupt”.An inquiry led by Kathryn Stone, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, found Mr Paterson repeatedly lobbied on behalf of two companies paying him more than £100,000 per year – Randox and Lynn’s Country Foods.Mr Paterson quit after Mr Johnson abandoned a plan which would have seen his case – and the parliamentary standards regime – reviewed by a Tory-led committee.Former minister Caroline Nokes – a prominent critic of the PM – has said in the Sunday Mirror: “If my postbag is anything to go by, the public think the PM’s decision to circle his wagons and attack Kathryn Stone well and truly stinks. And it does.”The Independent has reached out to the Conservative Party for comment. However, a spokesman told The Sunday Times: “We do not believe that successful businesspeople and philanthropists who contribute to political causes and parties should be disqualified from sitting in the legislature.” More

The government will make it easier to book Covid vaccine booster shots from Monday in a bid to top up immunity over winter.The NHS jab booking service will be updated to let people over 50 and those most at risk from coronavirus pre-book their jab for five months after their second dose.The change, introduced by health secretary Sajid Javid, aims to speed up the vaccination programme by letting people have their injection on the day they become eligible. Mr Javid said the government was keenly aware that “immunity begins to wane after six months, especially for the elderly and the vulnerable”.“I strongly urge everybody who is eligible for a Covid-19 booster or flu vaccine to take up the offer as soon as you can,” he said.“For those not yet eligible, please help your parents, grandparents or vulnerable loved ones get their jabs – it could save their life. More

Boris Johnson has urged world leaders to make “bold compromises and ambitious commitments” as the Cop26 climate crisis summit enters its final week.In an intervention marking the half-way point of the meeting, the prime minister warned that his colleagues have “one week left to deliver for the world”.A week ago around 120 leaders and theirs negotiators, officials and ministers gathered in Glasgow with the stated aim of limiting global warming to 1.5C.Now teams from 195 countries plus the European Union will work to reach collective agreement on more than 200 pages of text setting out their climate pledges.Issues which need to be resolved are largely those left open by the 2015 Paris agreement. They include how to track countries’ compliance with their climate commitments, and how to make sure nations are not disadvantaged by pledging to reduce emissions faster.During the UK’s Cop presidency, leaders have already made commitments which mean that 90 per cent of the world economy is now committed to net zero by the middle of the century.Significant pledges have also been made to end deforestation by countries representing 88 per cent of the world’s forests, while over 100 states have also agreed to cut their methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 – a significant win. More than 20 states have also committed for the first time to phase out coal power. “There is one week left for Cop26 to deliver for the world, and we must all pull together and drive for the line,” Mr Johnson said as the summit enters its second week.“We have seen nations bring ambition and action to help limit rising temperatures, with new pledges to cut carbon and methane emissions, end deforestation, phase out coal and provide more finance to countries most vulnerable to climate change.“But we cannot underestimate the task at hand to keep 1.5C alive. Countries must come back to the table this week ready to make the bold compromises and ambitious commitments needed.” More

Boris Johnson is facing the prospect of a “cash for votes” inquiry into whether his party used public money to “blackmail” its own MPs.During last week’s row over the Commons sleaze watchdog, the Conservative Party whips office was reported to have warned backbenchers their constituency areas would lose funding if they failed to vote with the government.Now the cabinet secretary Simon Case is being urged to investigate the allegations – which opposition parties say would amount to a misuse of public funds.The prime minister’s spokesperson did not deny the reports when questioned about them on Friday. In a letter to Mr Case, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said it appeared that the government was “consistently threatening to withhold vital investment from communities across the UK, in an effort to blackmail backbenchers into voting a certain way”.Sir Ed said an official inquiry was “urgently needed into whether this government has misused public funds to try and get their own MP off the hook”.He added: “It is unthinkable that local communities would be punished by having vital funding taken away, just because their MPs refused to defend the indefensible.“This would be a new ‘cash for votes’ scandal, using families and businesses as political bargaining chips to save the prime minister’s blushes.“Boris Johnson keeps promising to level up, but instead he is dragging our politics to new lows.”The government has also been criticised after it was revealed that its £4.8bn “levelling-up” fund funnelled cash to Conservative-voting areas by ignoring standard measures of deprivation and poverty when deciding where money should go.The vote the MPs were allegedly threatened into backing was over whether to abolish the Commons corruption watchdog and replace it with a committee with an in-built Tory majority. It also decided whether or not Tory MP Owen Paterson, who was found to have broken lobbying rules by lobbying on behalf of companies that paid him tens of thousands of pounds and has since resigned, should face any consequences for breaking the rules.The cabinet secretary is expected to respond to Sir Ed’s letter about the claims on last week’s whipping operation in due course.Mr Case was appointed to his role in September 2020 and was previously Mr Johnson’s Downing Street permanent secretary.A government spokesperson said: “As the prime minister has said, paid lobbying and paid advocacy by ministers and MPs is absolutely wrong. All elected officials must abide by the rules of conduct, as the public have a right to expect.”Mr Johnson said at Prime Minister’s Questions this week that those “found guilty of [paid lobbying] should apologise and pay the necessary penalties”. More