Markus Andrews

The number of households affected by the benefit cap has risen significantly since November, official figures show. The number jumped by 13 per cent to reach 200,000 in February, a spike a leading charity blamed on people losing jobs or working hours during the pandemic. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) estimates that abolishing the cap would lift 100,000 children out of deep poverty (defined as below 50 per cent of median income) – and cost £575 million – while average losses for capped families are £62 per week. Alison Garnham, chief executive of CPAG, said the policy was an “unjust punishment” for families. Most of those families affected by it cannot work to escape it, she said, often because they are looking after young children or can’t find affordable childcare. The latest figures showed “thousands more households who have lost jobs to Covid-19 are now subject to the cap even though in the pandemic it is much harder to find ways to replace their lost earnings and become exempt,” she said. “Especially in areas with high rents, capped families are losing large amounts of social security support and that is disastrous for the children concerned.  The government must abolish the benefit cap to prevent more children from being damaged by impoverishment.”The cap, brought in when David Cameron was prime minister, limits the total amount of benefits claimants can receive.  But Universal credit claimants are exempt if they earn £617 a month.  They are also afforded a nine-month ‘grace period’ if they have earned more than £617 a month in the previous year. CPAG believe the latest figures include families who initially qualified but have now seen their grace period run out. The charity warns that this means the number of capped households will go on continuing to rise as more and more people who lost their jobs during the pandemic find their nine month reprieve expires. The latest figures also show that more than 83 per cent of capped households are families, while 59 per cent are single parent families.The level of the cap, which has not changed since 2016, is set at £23,000 per year for those in greater London and £20,000 outside. a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “The benefit cap, up to the equivalent salary of £28,000 in London, ensures fairness for hard-working taxpaying households and a strong work incentive, while also providing a much needed safety net of support.“The proportion of households impacted remains low in comparison to the overall number claiming Universal Credit even after the temporary uplift to Universal Credit and increases to Local Housing Allowance rates.” More

Conservative MPs are growing concerned that their party conference will be cancelled this year due to Covid, with tickets for the get-together still yet to become available.Raising a point of order in the Commons William Wragg said it was “a little strange” that Tory head office was unable to say with “certainty” that the event would go ahead given Covid restrictions are set to lift on 19 July.The Conservative Party conference is scheduled to be held in Manchester from 3 to 6 October. Registration for Labour’s conference, which is due to be held around the same time in Brighton from 25 to 29 September, has been open for some time. Mr Wragg raised the point of order because MPs are set to vote on Wednesday on whether the Commons should go into recess to make way for the event.”Forgive me for being suspicious, Mr Speaker, but we are at risk of being strung along,” Mr Wragg said.”How might we be reassured that the conference recess will be used for its intended purpose rather than simply as a means to keep backbenchers away from this House asking awkward questions?”The conference’s website says registration “will launch soon”.Conservative former chief whip Mark Harper, who chairs the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group, said: “I do think it’s important that, before the House is asked to take decisions on important matters like it being in recess for three weeks, that it does have available the essential information.”If there’s not going to be an in-person Conservative Party conference then we wouldn’t need to be in recess for that period. So it seems to me not unreasonable to ask the Government… to set that out before we’re asked to vote tomorrow.”He added: “There are thousands of businesses across the country that depend on conferences and events, and if the governing party is not able to set out with confidence that an event scheduled for October is able to take place, the sector will draw its own conclusions – which will be very damaging to many thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of employees.”MPs normally bring the commons into recess so they can attend their party conferences, which are usually scheduled in late September and early October. This year the proposed recess would start at the conclusion of business on September 23 and run until October 18. Another short recess in November is also planned, with MPs rising for Christmas on December 16 and returning on January 4.Replying to the Tory MPs’ point of order, Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said: “I can’t comment on the arrangements that parties make for their conferences.”I can confirm that the motion on yesterday’s order paper was objected to and will be subject to a deferred division tomorrow.”He added: “There is a genuine concern, there are jobs at stake, it is an industry that really does matter. This is something beyond me, but at least it is on the record, and I do know the whips will definitely be wanting a word with [Mr Wragg] and he’ll therefore be able to pass on his concerns directly to the chief whip.” More

Watch live as Rishi Sunak faces MPs’ questions in parliamentOfficial figures released today show the benefit to the UK economy of a new proposed trade deal with Asian countries is small compared to the losses expected from Brexit.The Government launched negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Monday, which Boris Johnson said would “open up unparalleled opportunities”.Figures released today by the Department for International Trade (DfT) forecast a boost to UK GDP of £1.8bn in 15 years time, compared to the 4 per cent long-term hit to GDP forecast by the government’s independent Office for Budget Responsibility as a result of Brexit.It comes as Mr Johnson has today been warned that the EU could “slow down” exports or shut off the flow of important business data in the event of a trade war.If the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol worsened then Brussels has a number of levers that could cause “significant economic consequences” for the UK, said Jonathan Portes, of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank.Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer today made further changes to his top team as he wrestled with the ongoing fall-out from the Hartlepool by-election loss.Show latest update

1624373321Government calls for ‘more reuse and recycling’ after Amazon destroys millions of items in UK every yearThe government has called for “more re-use and recycling of products” after an investigation at one of Amazon’s Scottish warehouses suggested it is destroying millions of items every year.ITV News found items including smart TVs, laptops, drones, hairdryers and thousands of sealed face masks were sorted into boxes marked “destroy” at the Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Dunfermline, Fife.One ex-employee at the site, one of 24 such warehouses across the UK, said their “target was to generally destroy 130,000 items a week”, writes Samuel Osborne.Joe Middleton22 June 2021 15:481624371660Official figures show forecast boost to UK GDP from Pacific trade deal is fraction of cost of BrexitOfficial figures have shown that the potential benefit to the UK economy from a proposed partnership with Asian countries is less than one-fortieth the expected losses from Brexit.And Labour warned that the projected 0.08 per cent (£1.8bn) boost to GDP over the long term will shrink to just 0.017 per cent (£400m) if Malaysia continues to resist ratification of the deal, as it has for the past three years.One trade expert branded the expected benefits “teeny” by comparison with the negative impact of leaving the EU, writes The Independent’s political editor Andrew Woodcock.Joe Middleton22 June 2021 15:211624370779John Bercow joining Labour shows that politicians don’t really care about bullying at WestminsterIt is unbelievably frustrating to watch politicians be so complimentary about a man who is alleged to be a bully, writes Marie Le Conte.Joe Middleton22 June 2021 15:061624370315Dowden ‘thrilled’ 60,000 fans can attend Euro 2020 finalSport and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said he is “thrilled” after it was announced more than 60,000 fans will be permitted to attend the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final at Wembley.“We are thrilled that more fans will now be able to walk through the Wembley turnstiles and enjoy the finals of £EURO2020,” he tweeted.“As we continue to make progress on our roadmap out of lockdown, keeping the public safe remains our top priority.“We have worked extremely closely with UEFA and the FA to ensure rigorous and tight public health measures are in place whilst allowing more fans to see the action live.“The finals promise to be an unforgettable moment in our national recovery from the pandemic.”Joe Middleton22 June 2021 14:581624369868Carrie Johnson hits out at dog meat festival in China as Boris says slaughter ‘will never be acceptable’The prime minister’s wife called the torture of dogs and puppies “sickening” as a dog meat festival in China began.Carrie Johnson tweeted on Tuesday: “The torture of these dogs and puppies is sickening. Warning: these pictures are the thing of nightmares. #stopyulin” in response to the ongoing Yulin Dog Meat festival.Celine Wadhera reportsJoe Middleton22 June 2021 14:511624368506‘Anti-woke agenda’ helping Tories hold onto Brexit-backing voters, claims polling expertThe Government’s “anti-woke agenda” is an attempt to hold on to votes from those who backed Brexit, according to a polling expert.Elections expert Professor Sir John Curtice has claimed that the Conservative Party are seeking to “tap into” a wider set of values held by those who voted to leave the EU in 2016.Boris Johnson’s Government has been accused of seeking to start a culture war over issues like vandalism of statues and a crackdown on protecting free speech at British universities.The polling expert told a Westminster briefing: “The fact that people who are pro-Brexit are willing to support the Conservative Party, yes, it’s to do with Brexit in particular, but it is also of course to do with immigration.“It is also now, as the Conservative Party realises, Brexit is also tapping into a wider set of more socially conservative values.“And that’s why you can see why the Conservative Party are pursuing this anti-woke agenda, is indeed finding other ways of continuing to connect with the views of Leave voters.“As well of course the more direct appeals designed by the phraseology of levelling up.”Joe Middleton22 June 2021 14:281624367262England’s top nurse says NHS should continue to recruit staff from overseasEngland’s chief nurse has said international recruitment to help fill NHS staff shortages should continue just days after reports suggested Baroness Dido Harding wanted to end the practice as part of her pitch to take over the NHS.Posting on twitter NHS England’s top nurse Ruth May said the health service was at its best when its workforce reflected the community it serves.Her post was made to mark Windrush Day – the anniversary of the Empire Windrush ship docking in Essex in 1948 and bringing Caribbean migrants to work in the UK after the Second World War, writes The Independent’s health correspondent Shaun Lintern.Joe Middleton22 June 2021 14:071624366252Who is the DUP’s new leader? Sir Jeffrey Donaldson narrowly lost out last month to Edwin Poots in the DUP leadership race. His time has come, however, after being elected unopposed following Mr Poots’ resignation last week. The 58-year-old, Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP, is described as a “moderate” DUP politician. He is expected to be sworn into the position over the weekend. My colleague Matt Mathers has more information about Sir Jeffrey: Rory Sullivan22 June 2021 13:501624365352MoD to cover initial costs of new royal yacht, No 10 says The cost of the new royal yacht will be initially covered by the Ministry of Defence before a full funding plan is set out “at a later stage”, Downing Street has said. Health secretary Matt Hancock earlier claimed that the £200 million vessel, which former cabinet minister Ken Clarke described as “silly populist nonsense”, would “pay for itself many, many times over”.No 10 said Mr Hancock’s statement was based on the fact that the yacht would promote British trade and “drive investment back into our country”. Rory Sullivan22 June 2021 13:351624364452EU should stop threatening ‘big’ countries like Britain, says minister The EU should stop making “threats” and should work in a different way with “big” countries like the UK, the former Brexit negotiator David Frost has said. Speaking to MPs on Tuesday, he said: “I think the EU does need to try and find a way of dealing with big third countries in its neighbourhood that is a bit more responsive, and some sort of fleet-of-foot rather than a cookie-cutter approach and fitting everything into a template.”The Brexit minister added that relations between the UK and the bloc would be a “little bumpy” for a while. Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports: Rory Sullivan22 June 2021 13:20 More

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed a three-week delay to easing of Covid restrictions across Scotland, as she said no part of the country will change level next week.Last week the Scottish first minister had indicated she would postpone the relaxation, saying it was “unlikely” that any area would see measures eased on 28 June — the date it had been hoped all of Scotland would move into Level 0 restrictions.This level, the lowest in the five-tier system north of the border, is only currently in place in the island authorities of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, with all mainland areas having either Level 1 or Level 2 restrictions applied.Setting a new target, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs she hoped to move the whole of Scotland to the lowest level by 19 July — in three weeks’ time — which would represent a “significant step back to normality”.She said the Scottish government expected to have all priority group, including everyone over the age of 50 and those with underlying health conditions, fully vaccinated by the end of this week.Ms Sturgeon also made clear that the 19 July cannot be an “endpoint”, with some significant restrictions remaining in force under Level 0, including the limit on household gathering indoors.“We want to move beyond Level 0 as quickly as it is prudent to do so,” she said. “Our assessment on balance and assuming we meet the necessary conditions on vaccines and harm reduction is that it would be possible and proportionate to lift the major remaining legal restrictions by 9 August.”It comes after Boris Johnson delayed the lifting of all remaining restrictions in England — postponing the final stage in the government’s roadmap until 19 July — due to concerns over the spread of the Delta variant first detected in India.Updating Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said “caution” was still required, as she outlined an increase of 40 per cent in new cases on the previous week, adding: “At the moment the high number of Covid cases being recorded is a significant consideration”.“No part of the country will change Covid level next week,” she stressed. “Apart from some minor amendments, restrictions in all parts of the country, from Monday, will be unchanged”.Announcing the delay to her government’s roadmap, she said: “We must not allow the virus to get too far ahead of the vaccines.“Therefore as indicated last week, we intend to maintain the current restrictions applicable in each part of Scotland for the next three weeks. Within those levels, though, we will make some minor but important changes to the rules on weddings and funerals. These will take effect from Monday 28 June.”The first minister added: “Our assumption based on recent case numbers is that current levels will remain in force until 19 July and obviously we will keep that under review.“Assuming we are meeting the revised strategic aim, we hope that all parts of Scotland, not currently in that level, can move to Level 0 on 19 July.“That means, for example, that the limits for household gatherings indoors will increase from that date, and up to 200 people will be able to attend weddings and funerals.We also hope – assuming the data supports this – that the general indoor physical distancing requirement can be reduced from 2 metres to 1 metre. And we hope, from that date, to lift the outdoor requirement to physically distance.“In addition – in recognition of the reduced risk of outdoor transmission and therefore the desire to encourage people to stay outdoors as much as possible – we hope that limits on informal outdoor social gatherings, in private gardens for example, will also be removed at this stage.” More

One of Sir Keir Starmer’s top aides has been moved out of the leader’s office after coming under fire from some in the party over the disastrous loss of Hartlepool in last month’s by-election.Jenny Chapman’s move to become Brexit spokesperson shadowing David Frost in the House of Lords completes a clear-out of senior staff in Starmer’s office.It comes amid growing concern among MPs over Labour’s poor showing in the polls and the prospect of a second by-election defeat in the traditional stronghold of Batley and Spen next week.Polls suggest that the Conservatives are set to take the West Yorkshire seat, which has been held by Labour since 1997 and is being fought for the party by Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox.Lady Chapman served as Labour spokesperson on Brexit in the Commons under Jeremy Corbyn from 2016-19, working under Starmer, who was then shadow Brexit secretary.After she lost her seat of Darlington to the Tories in the 2019 general election, she became chair of Starmer’s successful campaign for the Labour leadership and was rewarded with a peerage and the role of political secretary to the new leader.Close Starmer allies who have left the roles they were appointed to when he took office include chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who is moving to a new role overseeing elections; head of communications Ben Nunn, who quit on Friday; and deputy head of communications Paul Ovenden. Carolyn Harris, his parliamentary private secretary, also stood down last month.Deborah Mattinson, formerly Gordon Brown’s pollster, is set to join Starmer’s office as director of strategy. More

The government has called for “more re-use and recyling of products” after an investigation at one of Amazon’s Scottish warehouses suggested it is destroying millions of items every year.ITV News found items including smart TVs, laptops, drones, hairdryers and thousands of sealed face masks were sorted into boxes marked “destroy” at the Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Dunfermline, Fife.One ex-employee at the site, one of 24 such warehouses across the UK, said their “target was to generally destroy 130,000 items a week”.The anonymous worker added: “I used to gasp. There’s no rhyme or reason to what gets destroyed: Dyson fans, Hoovers, the occasional MacBook and iPad; the other day, 20,000 Covid (face) masks still in their wrappers.”Overall, 50 per cent of all items are unopened and still in their shrink wrap. The other half are returns and in good condition.”Commenting on the news, a spokesperson for the prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: “The business secretary has already spoken to Amazon on this issue. We absolutely want to see more re-use and recycling of products.“We are looking at the regulations to see how we can increase re-use and recycling and make sure retailers take more responsibility for things like electrical goods.”ITV’s investigation also found a leaked document showed more than 124,000 items were marked “destroy” during one week in April – compared to just 28,000 items in the same period labelled “donate”.However, a Amazon spokesperson told the PA news agency that while the investigation followed lorries to a landfill site, no items are disposed of in that way. The Lochhead Landfill is also part of the Dunfermline Recycling Centre.A statement from Amazon said: “We are working towards a goal of zero product disposal and our priority is to resell, donate to charitable organisations or recycle any unsold products.”No items are sent to landfill in the UK. As a last resort, we will send items to energy recovery, but we’re working hard to drive the number of times this happens down to zero.”We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and building a circular economy programme with the aim of reducing returns, reusing and reselling products, and reducing disposals.”Energy recovery is when recyclable materials are stripped from products before the rest is reconverted into energy and put through the national grid.But the spokesperson maintained this was a last resort for the company – and also denied it was cheaper to dispose of the items instead of returning them to the domestic sellers.Mark Ruskell, Scottish Greens environment spokesman and Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, said: “Amazon’s net profit has soared during this crisis while many people have struggled to make ends meet.”It’s therefore obscene that this multi-billion corporation finds it more profitable to put unused items in the bin than help people out.”It is a damning indictment of our economy that the throwaway culture is put before people’s needs. Even if it is not reflective of wider Amazon policy, the company must answer for why the Dunfermline warehouse has such high levels of waste and so little is resold or given to charities.”This shocking revelation shows that governments must do more to force companies to design waste out of their systems, with regulation and fines where they are failing to do the right thing.”Additional reporting by PA More

Official figures have shown that the potential benefit to the UK economy from a proposed partnership with Asian countries is less than one-fortieth the expected losses from Brexit.And Labour warned that the projected 0.08 per cent (£1.8bn) boost to GDP over the long term will shrink to just 0.017 per cent (£400m) if Malaysia continues to resist ratification of the deal, as it has for the past three years.One trade expert branded the expected benefits “teeny” by comparison with the negative impact of leaving the EU, just days after food and drink producers warned they had lost £2bn worth of exports to Europe in just the first three months of Brexit.Meanwhile, campaigners warned that details of the UK’s plans released today show that international trade secretary Liz Truss is ready to sign up to legal mechanisms which would allow big businesses to challenge governments in the courts over social and environmental legislation or barriers to involvement in public services.Launching negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Monday, Boris Johnson said membership would “open up unparalleled opportunities” for British businesses, while international trade secretary Liz Truss said that the region is “where Britain’s greatest opportunities lie”.However, analysis released today by Ms Truss’s Department for International Trade forecast a boost to UK GDP of just £1.8bn in 15 years time – the equivalent of 0.08 per cent of the British economy.This amounts to less than one-fortieth of the 4 per cent long-term hit to UK GDP forecast by the government’s independent Office for Budget Responsibility as a result of Brexit, even with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) secured by Mr Johnson on Christmas Eve.And the DIT’s forecast of £1.7bn worth of additional UK exports to the 11 existing members of the CPTPP is less than the £2bn loss in exports to the EU reported by the Food and Drink Federation over the first three months of this year.London School of Economics trade expert Dr Thomas Sampson told The Independent: “A small gain is better than nothing. But if you take the OBR figures, they have put the cost of Brexit at 4 per cent.“Any potential gains from joining the CPTPP are teeny compared to the costs of Brexit and there is no realistic possibility that CPTPP membership can offset the economic costs of Brexit.”The DIT also estimated an £800m boost to UK workers’ income in 15 years’ time from joining the Pacific partnership – the equivalent of around £25 a year for each of the country’s 32.5m people in employment.The DIT stressed that the £1.8bn figure represented extra growth over above increased UK trade with the CPTPP countries – including Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore – that could be expected anyway over the long term.And the department said that the boost to GDP would swell to £5.5bn if South Korea and Thailand joined the partnership.The forecast “excludes a number of future trends that could mean that the UK and global economy look very different in the future, and which could increase the economic value of UK accession,” said the DIT in its document setting out the UK’s strategic approach to negotiations.“In reality, the world is changing: the number of middle-class consumers in CPTPP member countries is expected to rise, driving a shift in consumption patterns towards high-value, luxury goods and services in which the UK has strengths.“While the modelling provides an indication of the likely economic impacts, it does therefore not tell the whole story and should be understood in the context of underlying economic growth and other potential changes in the global economy.”But Labour’s shadow trade secretary Emily Thornberry said: “The forecast benefits of joining CPTPP depend heavily on increased trade with Malaysia. So what if Malaysia keeps refusing to ratify?“Read the small-print on the last page of the DIT document. The UK growth benefits fall to £400m, just 0.017 per cent of GDP.”Liberal Democrat trade spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “It is shocking that the government is presenting these negotiations as a free trade triumph when the expected benefit to our economy is a drop in the ocean.“Ministers continue to get their priorities wrong on international trade. Instead of paying attention to the huge drop in trade with Europe – by far our biggest trading partner – they are trying to present the Pacific Trade Pact as the way forward.“The government must focus on the mountains of paperwork and red tape threatening British small businesses trading with the EU.”Meanwhile, campaign group Global Justice Now warned that CPTPP membership would require the UK to sign up to an Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism allowing companies to sue governments if they feel they are not being given fair access to markets.The DIT document confirmed that membership of the CPTPP would include an ISDS mechanism to provide “legal redress” for investors.It insisted that the government would “protect the UK’s right to regulate in the national interest, to achieve public policy objectives and, as the government has made clear, to continue to protect the NHS”.But GJN director Nick Dearden said big polluters could be expected to attempt to use the ISDS to get round climate regulations which add to the cost of doing business.“Liz Truss is on a mission to drive down standards and hand over power to transnational corporations,” said Mr Dearden. “CPTPP membership will sign us up to a system of secretive corporate courts, known as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), that allows big polluters to sue governments for taking action on the climate.“Just as we’ve knocked these courts out of the UK-Australia trade deal, we find out the government is trying to sneak them into other trade deals. If the UK joins this block, it will be an act of environmental vandalism in the year we host COP26, binding us to climate inaction for another generation.” More

If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was last month narrowly pipped to the post in the DUP’s leadership election by Edwin Poots, who lasted a mere 21 days in the top job. But there was no chance of him losing this race because he was the only one in it. The Lagan Valley MP was on Tuesday named new party leader, with a formal coronation expected to take place over the weekend.Northern Ireland’s longest-serving MP, Sir Jeffrey, 58, was born in Kilkeel in Co Down, and joined the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) at a young age.He has often spoken about the effect the Troubles had on his early life, following the IRA murder of his cousin, Samuel Donaldson, an RUC constable.At 16, Sir Jeffrey, a proud Christian, followed his family’s tradition by joining the Orange Order, later signing up to the Ulster Defence Regiment.He was first elected to office in 1985 as a UUP MLA at Stormont, before a row with its former leader David Trimble over the Good Friday peace deal eventually resulted in his defection to the DUP, along with Arlene Foster, in 2004.With its historical stances on social issues such as gay marriage and women’s reproductive rights, it might seem like an oxymoron to describe a DUP politician as moderate, but that’s how Sir Jeffrey is viewed within the party, and his arrival could help stem its haemorrhaging of more liberal voters to the Ulster Unionists and cross-community Alliance Party, following a shift to the right in the wake of Arlene Foster’s ousting from the leadership.”We need to restore confidence and faith in our party and to work with other unionists of a like mind to broaden the appeal of unionism and secure the Union for the future,” Sir Jeffrey said in a statement when officially announcing his leadership bid earlier this week.In ideological terms the leadership of Sir Jeffrey, who will need to give up his seat as an MP and become an MLA to take up the first minister role, is being viewed as a slight departure from that of his predecessor; a moderniser who can broaden the church, so to speak. But the major obstacle before him remains the same: opposition to Brexit’s Northern Ireland protocol.However, it was notable that, in his statement, the party’s leader at Westminster did not explicitly state that he was prepared to bring down the devolved institutions at Stormont over the issue, a threat repeatedly touted by backers of Poots. But he has warned Boris Johnson that failure to act on the Irish Sea border “will undoubtedly have consequences for the stability of our political institutions and the prosperity of our economy.”Also missing from the statement was any reference to the Irish language act, which ultimately brought down Poots. But with DUP MLAs, MPs and party members incandescent at what they see as a capitulation to nationalist demands on language – backed by a verbal commitment by Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis to introduce legislation at Westminster – he will surely have to face down the issue sooner rather than later.But with assembly elections coming up in May next year, what is likely most pressing in the minds of Sir Jeffrey and other DUP politicians is the party’s survival.A poll in May showed support for the party had plunged to 16 per cent, down from 19 per cent at the beginning of the year. More