Markus Andrews

The Liberal Democrats could win in “dozens” of constituencies across souther England whose needs are being ignored by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, the party’s leader has said.Ed Davey said national polling was not properly picking up a rise in Lib Dem support after the party’s activists pulled off a stunning victory in Amersham and Chesham this week.”I’m confident that we are seeing a change in British politics, much bigger than people had been seeing – I think with the pandemic the polls have not have not picked this up,” he told Sky News.”I think the blue wall in the south can be taken by the Liberal Democrats in large numbers of constituencies.”But Sir Ed would not be drawn on the possibility of a so-called “progressive alliance” with Labour to maximise the anti-Tory vote – only saying it would be wrong to deprive people of the chance to vote for a Liberal Democrat or Labour candidate. On the doorstep activists reported that the HS2 railway, which passes near the towns, and plans for more housebuilding near their London Underground stations came up as major topics. But Sir Ed said: “There are always some local factors but actually, on the doorsteps, and I went to Chesham and Amersham 16 times and I talked to hundreds of people and the thing I got from them was that they had been taken for granted by the Conservatives. “Many people in the doorsteps said I was the first politician to knock on their doors and they’d lived there for 20, 30 years so people not just in Chesham and Amersham but across the blue wall seats, I think have been taken for granted and they saw the Liberal Democrats were listening to them.”The Liberal Democrats’ national polling has remained relatively weak despite a gradual drift in support away from Labour during Keir Starmer’s tenure.The party was buoyed by the shock result in Amersham and Chesham, which was accomplished with a 30 per cent swing in a seat the Tories have held since its creation in 1974.Sir Ed said the Liberal Democrats have made inroads in Conservative territory not just in Chesham and Amersham, but in the recent local elections in places like Oxford and Cambridge, and Hertfordshire, Surrey and Wiltshire.”The first past the post system is dreadful – we want proportional representation, we want electoral reform,” he added.”But until we get that we’ve got to play with the current system, and that requires you to concentrate your resources in areas where you’re well placed to beat the incumbent and that for the Liberal Democrats is almost entirely beating Conservatives.” More

A cabinet minister has refused to rule out another Covid-19 lockdown this winter after Dr Susan Hopkins said it could be necessary to control the virus.Boris Johnson has promised an “irreversible” end to Covid-19 restrictions — a move that was due to take place on Monday but is now delayed until 19 July amid a surge in cases.But Dr Hopkins, the director for Covid-19 at Public Health England, said Britain needed to move to a situation where we can “live with this” in the longer term.She told The Andrew Marr Show: “I think that means that we wouldn’t normally put people into lockdown for severe cases of influenza.“We may have to do further lockdowns this winter, I can’t predict the future – it really depends on whether the hospitals start to become overwhelmed at some point.“But I think we will have alternative ways to manage this through vaccination, through antivirals, through drugs, through testing, that we didn’t have last winter, and all of those things allow us different approaches, rather than restrictions on lives and restrictions on livelihoods, that will move us forward into the next phase of learning to live with this as an endemic, as something that happens as part of the respiratory viruses.”Asked about her comments, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland declined to rule out more restrictions, telling Times Radio: “The essence of the virus is you can’t ever say mission accomplished”.Dr Hopkins, who is a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said there had been “rises and falls” in coronavirus cases across the country, with the virus having “definitely reversed” in Bolton and “stabilised” in Blackburn with Darwen but continuing to “rise quite fast” in London and the northeast.The scientist appeared to suggest it was unlikely remaining social-distancing measures would be lifted in England sooner than the earmarked 19 July date.“My strong opinion is the longer we just take our time and get through this period to get the maximum amount of people vaccinated is a positive thing for this summer and to get us through this winter,” she said.“So my view would be to keep going, that we can live at this level and then that would mean hopefully when we come out of this level of restrictions, which are much easier to live with I think for many of us, then we would be able to get on and get back to normal and stay back to normal for a very prolonged period.”She also suggested people should opt for a staycation over a holiday abroad this summer, but offered some hope for the future.“I think we should be predominantly deciding to holiday at home this summer while we get all of our population vaccinated – but I think we are moving step wise closer to being able to renew our lives and move around to other countries and to change the way we manage to live with this virus,” she told the programme.The UK recorded more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row on Saturday, while the death toll from the virus rose to 127,970 after a further 14 fatalities. More

Andy Burnham has demanded “compensation” for Manchester from the Scottish government over advice banning travel to the North West.The Mayor of Greater Manchester accused Nicola Sturgeon’s administration of acting with “hypocrisy” for imposing the restrictions without consultation and said the policy had come “out of the blue”.The Scottish first minister on Friday announced at a coronavirus briefing that “anyone” travelling in Greater Manchester or Lancashire should “think carefully about whether your journey is really necessary”.Reacting to the announcement on Sunday Mr Burnham said he was “really disappointed” and that the Scottish government had announced the measure.”That is exactly what the SNP always accuse the Westminster Government of doing, riding roughshod over people,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.”The SNP are treating the north of England with the same contempt in bringing that in without any consultation with us.”He added: “I just think it’s double standards, it’s hypocrisy. They’ve done to us exactly what they always complain that the UK government does to Scotland.””I’ll be writing to the First Minister today. I’ll be asking for compensation for the individuals who might lose holidays and the businesses who might lose bookings.”Why should a couple from Salford who are double jabbed who are about to go on a walking holiday in Scotland not be able to go?”It’s completely disproportionate in my view – we could have come up with a different arrangement if the First Minister had been in touch with us.”Speaking on BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show, Scottish Government trade minister Ivan McKee said a decision on Covid-19 had to be made quickly.”The virus, as we know, moves very fast, decisions are made very fast and those decisions are communicated at a four nations level,” he said.”Andy Burnham… is going to write to the First Minister about it, that’s absolutely fine and I’m sure there will be a conversation about how we can keep him better informed in future.”The North West has seen a surge of cases in recent weeks, recording an increase of 2,538 on the previous day. There are currently 411 people in the region’s hospitals being treated for Covid-19, including 83 on ventilators. Mr Burham himself on June 8 told people in the region to minimise travel, though he stressed that the situation was “not a lockdown”. More

Former U.K. House of Commons Speaker John Bercow who gained international fame refereeing the country’s political drama over Brexit, said Sunday he has quit the governing Conservatives to join the opposition Labour Party Bercow was a Conservative lawmaker for 12 years until being elected in 2009 to the neutral role of Speaker, responsible for running House of Commons business and interpreting Parliament’s rules of procedure.He enraged the Conservative governments of Prime Minister Theresa May and her successor, Boris Johnson by giving legislators chances to stymie proposed legislation about the U.K.’s exit from the European Union.He became a hero to opponents of Brexit and a villain to its supporters, and was recognized around the world for his loud ties and even louder calls of “Order!”Bercow also was accused during his career of bullying members of his staff, claims he denied. He stepped down in 2019.Bercow is a strong critic of Johnson, a champion of Brexit whose rise has coincided with an exodus of pro-EU politicians from the Conservative Party. Bercow told The Observer newspaper that the Conservatives under Johnson had become “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic.”“The conclusion I have reached is that this government needs to be replaced,” he said. “The reality is that the Labour Party is the only vehicle that can achieve that objective.”Justice Secretary Robert Buckland rejected the characterization of the party as xenophobic, and said Bercow’s decision to forgo political neutrality “actually has the effect of diminishing the force of his voice in politics.” More

Gavin Williamson has named one of his policy advisers as his pick to lead England’s independent exams regulator.The education secretary has chosen Dr Jo Saxton, a former academy trust boss, as Ofqual’s new chief regulator.His recommendation still needs to be approved by prime minister Boris Johnson.Dr Saxton has worked as a policy adviser to ministers in the Department for Education – including Mr Williamson – since leaving her post as chief executive of Turner Schools Academy Trust in Kent.If appointed, she would take over from the interim chief regulator Simon Lebus – who took on the role in January – from September.It comes after the fiasco around grading of GCSE and A-level students in England last summer, when end-of-year exams were cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic and school closures.Thousands of A-level students had their results downgraded from school estimates by a controversial algorithm, before Ofqual announced a U-turn, allowing them to use teachers’ predictions.In August, Ofqual’s chief regulator Sally Collier quit in the wake of the U-turn and she was replaced by her predecessor Dame Glenys Stacey.Mr Williamson faced calls to resign over the grading chaos.On the selection of Dr Saxton, Mr Williamson said: “I look forward to welcoming Jo Saxton to the role, whose wealth of experience makes her the ideal candidate to lead such an important organisation.”With a deep understanding of the education system and Ofqual, she will play a vital part in upholding standards and confidence in our exams and qualifications.”I am also grateful to Simon for his work as interim chief this year, helping the organisation to navigate the pandemic’s challenges.”Dr Saxton will attend a pre-appointment hearing before the Education Select Committee on 6 July. The MPs will then publish their recommendations.Simon Lebus, the former chief executive of Cambridge Assessment, has been in post in the top job on an interim basis since January and will leave in September.Additional reporting by Press Association More

Boris Johnson is headed for a clash with his chancellor Rishi Sunak over Treasury plans to suspend the pensions “triple lock” for a year, according to reports.The pair are also said to be at loggerheads over the prime minister’s desire to build a new royal yacht at a cost of £200m, cap social care costs at £50,000 and make further green pledges at the Cop26 climate summit in November.It follows days of speculation over the government’s spending plans after it emerged that a rise in average wages during the pandemic would result in a 6 per cent increase in the state pension – at a cost of £4bn.Mr Sunak confirmed on Thursday that he was prepared to keep his “triple lock” promise despite rejecting the £14bn Covid catch-up plan for schools to help pupils recover from lost lessons in the lockdown. Downing Street also insisted that Boris Johnson was “committed to the triple lock”.However The Sunday Times reported that Treasury officials are said to be examining plans to put any pensions rise on hold for a year to save money. A former minister has already suggested that the system could be “fudged” by applying the formula over a longer period or by accounting for the effect of the pandemic and the furlough scheme on earnings data.The Times reported that there was “growing consternation that Boris Johnson keeps announcing plans costing billions of pounds when there is no means to pay for them.”It claimed Mr Sunak is worried about increasing public borrowing in the event that interest rates start to rise to peg back inflation. The UK’s inflation rate jumped sharply from 1.5 per cent to 2.1 per cent in May.Officials also told the paper that the financing of the royal yacht was “a complete and utter sh**show” after Mr Sunak refused to fund the project – leaving the Ministry of Defence, the Cabinet Office and the Department of International Trade facing the bill.And the prime minister was accused of backing a “Marshall Plan” for climate change – which would involve the G7 helping developing countries meet carbon emissions targets – without telling the Treasury.The “triple lock” promise, which was a Conservative manifesto pledge in 2019, ensures pensions rise annually by whichever is the highest of average earnings growth, inflation or 2.5 per cent. More

Sir Keir Starmer’s top adviser has been moved out of his role as chief as staff following Labour’s worst ever by-election performance.Morgan McSweeney will instead take up a “strategic role” within the leader’s office, according to the party.”Morgan remains Keir’s number one adviser. He is staying on, staying in the top team and staying in LOTO (the Leader of the Opposition’s Office) focusing on getting Labour election-ready for 2023,” the source said.It follows the departure of communications director Ben Nunn and deputy communications director Paul Ovenden within hours of the Chesham and Amersham result.Concerns are now growing over Labour’s prospects in the by-election in Batley and Spen, which was murdered MP Jo Cox’s seat, on 1 July.A new poll put Ms Cox’s sister Kim Leadbetter on course to lose the Yorkshire constituency to the Conservatives by four per cent of the vote at 47 to 43.The by-election was triggered after Tracy Brabin, who won the seat for Labour in 2019 with a 3,525 majority over the Conservatives, was elected as the mayor of West Yorkshire in May.Labour came fourth in the Chesham and Amersham by-election with just 622 votes, or 1.6 per cent of the votes – meaning it lost its £500 deposit.Polling expert Sir John Curtice said it was the “worst Labour performance in any by-election”.Mr Starmer reshuffled his shadow cabinet after several disappointing results during the May elections, and is now overseeing a shake-up of his staff.In Mr Nunn’s departure email to staff, the aide said he was standing down from his role to “go forward and do something different”, but claimed that he believed Mr Starmer “will be a great prime minister”.By contrast Mr Ovenden left his job for family reasons. “It’s been an incredibly tough decision to step back from a job I love but at this difficult time, family comes first,” he tweeted. “I’ll be back digging up stories before you know it.” More

Robert Buckland must resign as Justice Secretary if he cannot reverse the plunging prosecution and conviction levels for rape within a year, Labour has demanded.Shadow justice secretary David Lammy accused Mr Buckland of shedding “crocodile tears” this week when he apologised for the downward trends in bringing sexual offenders to justice.Ministers set out plans for a “system and culture change” after convictions for rape and lesser offences in England and Wales hit a record low.Mr Buckland said sorry over the dire situation and accepted Government cuts to the legal system played a part in plunging conviction rates following the publication of an official review.But Mr Lammy said: “The Justice Secretary’s crocodile tears will mean nothing if the Government fails to reverse its disastrous failure of rape victims.“The Conservatives’ decade of cuts to the justice system has let rapists and other violent criminals off the hook while denying victims justice.“Rape convictions and prosecutions have more than halved in three years. If he cannot reverse these figures within a year of his apology, the Justice Secretary should do the honourable thing and resign.”The latest CPS figures for 2019-20 show 1,439 suspects were convicted of rape or lesser offences in England and Wales last year – the lowest level since records began.That figure was down from 1,925 the previous year, despite reports of adult rape to police almost doubling since 2015-16.There are an estimated 128,000 victims of rape and attempted rape a year, but only 1.6% of reported cases results in a charge.A Tory spokesman accused Mr Lammy of “continuing to play politics with such a serious issue”.“But more worryingly, It shows naivety and a poor understanding of the criminal justice system to think that five years of decline can be reversed at the drop of a hat,” the spokesman added.“We’re focused on delivering justice for victims, not headlines for newspapers.”Earlier this week, Mr Buckland said he was “deeply ashamed” by the downward trends and cited a raft of measures aimed at increasing the number of allegations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).They are also intended to increase the number of suspects charged, and ensure the amount of cases reaching court return to 2016 levels by the end of this Parliament.Measures include a pilot scheme aimed at reducing cross-examination of victims in court by conducting pre-recorded interviews and a nationwide recognition that only evidence about the complainant that is pertinent to the case should be used.A new approach to investigations which ensures that there is an “early and robust assessment of suspect behaviour and offending patterns” is also planned.Press Association More