Markus Andrews

Brexit Briefing: The end of the transition periodFishermen in the UK are halting their exports to European Union countries over new border bureaucracy introduced by the government as part of Brexit.It comes as the Brexit campaign group Leave.eu has moved its internet registration to the Republic of Ireland in order to keep its .eu domain name after the UK left the European Union.The group was founded by businessman Aaron Banks and supported by Nigel Farage and has pushed for the hardest possible Brexit since it pushed for Leave in the 2016 referendum.Meanwhile, parcel courier DPD UK has said it was pausing its road delivery services into Europe, including Ireland, until at least Wednesday and Debenhams announced it was suspending online sales to Ireland due to “uncertainty” about the new rules, which mean some products are now subject to tariffs. Other major retailers were reported to be considering similar steps.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1610116874Sadiq Khan declares ‘major incident’ in London as Covid cases soar Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” in London, as health and emergency services in the capital struggle to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases. The London mayor described the situation as “critical, with the spread of the virus out of control”. Currently, one in 30 Londoners has the disease. Mr Khan said that hospital beds in the city would run out within the next fortnight, unless the transmission of the virus dropped off significantly. Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has the details: Rory Sullivan8 January 2021 14:411610115786Anti-Brexit peers accused of ‘lacking imagination to see life beyond Brussels’Peers who tried to block Brexit have been accused of “lacking the imagination to see life beyond Brussels”.Baroness Fox of Buckley said such peers also shared with US president Donald Trump a “refusal to give losers’ consent”, and warned voters may look at “unelected lawmakers closer to home” following the break with the EU.The former Brexit Party MEP voted for the UK-EU future arrangements deal “reluctantly” as she would have preferred a “clean break”, but praised the government for delivering on sovereignty issues.The non-affiliated peer told the Lords: “While many in this place sneeringly traduce sovereignty as xenophobic nationalism, only embraced by knuckle-dragging gammon, it is historically and now the only basis for democratic accountability.”The demos voted to remove the unelected legislature in Brussels unanswerable to UK voters. Now that is the reality, they may look at unelected lawmakers closer to home. Good.”Good also that now government has nowhere to hide and will need to look the electorate in the eye and own each and every decision they make, including the egregious parts of this agreement.”Voters matter. Listening to the hours of contributions last week – I was culled from speaking – I noted a rather self-congratulatory, back-slapping tone from the government benches. It rang rather hollow.”In truth it was the perseverance and steely courage of millions of voters who used the ballot box time and time again to use electoral vehicles, such as the pivotal Brexit Party, to pile on the pressure, and it was that which forced the Conservative Party to finally honour the referendum.”So, let’s acknowledge it’s the voters who got Brexit done and against all the odds, and against the machinations deployed by the highest echelons of the technocratic establishment.”And against many in this place who really did believe they had the right to overturn 17.4 million votes and shared with Donald Trump a refusal to give losers’ consent, who even now today lack the imagination to see life beyond Brussels or Erasmus or to see Brexit beyond the narrow prism of GDP.”Liberal Democrat Lord Shipley said he “disagreed profoundly” with much of Lady Fox’s speech.Samuel Osborne8 January 2021 14:231610113828Irish authorities relax customs amid post-Brexit backlogIrish customs authorities have temporarily relaxed regulations around goods moving from Great Britain, as traders face backlogs due to border controls and paperwork.Revenue Commissioners made the decision to lift some customs rules in response to delays and trucks being refused entry on to ferries.Exporters shipping goods to Ireland have to complete post-Brexit paperwork, which is causing administrative pressure for companies.Revenue officials issued a general code for hauliers to use to overcome administrative difficulties and allow the movement of goods to ports.In a statement, Revenue said it recognises some businesses are experiencing difficulties in lodging their safety and security ENS (entry summary) declaration for the movement of goods.”In response, Revenue is implementing a temporary easement to alleviate these current difficulties,” it said.”We expect trade and business with genuine difficulties that are impeding their ability to complete the ENS process to engage with Revenue in a co-operative endeavour to overcome their difficulties.”A failure to engage may result in this temporary easement being withdrawn, so early engagement with Revenue is strongly encouraged.”Samuel Osborne8 January 2021 13:501610112209Universities and colleges in Scotland move online until end of FebruaryUniversities and colleges in Scotland have been told to move online until at least the end of February, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Zoe Tidman reports.Nicola Sturgeon said students should not travel back to their term-time accomodation.Samuel Osborne8 January 2021 13:231610111175Brexit deal could accelerate possibility of united Ireland, ex-cabinet minister saysA united Ireland could emerge within the next 25 years given the “disaster” created by Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, a former cabinet minister has said.Lord Blunkett said the European single market “effectively continues” in Northern Ireland under the terms of the agreement reached between the UK and the EU, with a border in the Irish Sea.This creates “contradictions” in Northern Ireland’s relationship with the EU and the rest of Great Britain, said Lord Blunkett as he warned this bodes “extremely ill” for the future.“I believe that this deal actually accelerates the possibility within the next 25 years of a united island of Ireland,” he said.Zoe Tidman8 January 2021 13:061610109888Scottish seafood industry on ‘perfect storm’ of Brexit disruptionSeafood Scotland released a statement yesterday on what they called the “perfect storm” of Brexit disruption.“Weakened by Covid-19, and the closure of the French border before Christmas, the end of the Brexit transition period has unleashed layer upon layer of administrative problems, resulting in queues, border refusals and utter confusion,” the chief executive for the Scottish seafood industry’s trade body said.Find the full comments here:Zoe Tidman8 January 2021 12:441610108728‘Our exporters are already paying a high cost for Brexit’Nicola Sturgeon has said exporters are already “paying a high cost for Brexit”, and this is a “particular worry” for Scotland’s seafood sector.Fishermen are halting exports to Europe because new border bureaucracy, as Jon Stone reports: Zoe Tidman8 January 2021 12:251610107045Government ‘incompetence’ could hamper UK’s ability to take advantage of trade deal, Labour peer saysShadow business spokesperson Lord Bassam of Brighton said he fears the government’s “incompetence” will hamper the UK’s ability to take advantage of the EU trade deal.The Labour peer told the chamber: “This is a thin deal and its flaws will be exposed over time and will need fixing for the future. Labour will guard against any attempts to water down working and environmental protections.”We accept we will inherit this deal after the next election, but we intend to build from it as a means of promoting British interests.”Lord Bassam continued: “Like my party I am a pragmatist. It was complicated being a member of the EU, it will be a complex world outside it.”The prime minister’s desire for the UK to be world-beating, to go where others fear to tread in the world of trade might be laudable as an ambition.”My fear and that of our party is that the level of incompetence displayed by the government will be writ large and hamper our ability to take best advantage of even this thin deal.”Samuel Osborne8 January 2021 11:571610105909Cabinet Office minister says trade deal with EU will ‘protect high-value jobs’ and provide certaintyCabinet Office minister Lord True said the UK’s trade deal with the EU will “protect high-value jobs” and provide certainty for businesses.Opening a debate on the agreement, Lord True told peers: “From now on, our laws will be determined by our elected politicians and MPs will be accountable to the voters who send them to Parliament to legislate on their behalf.”The Canada-style agreement takes back control of our laws, borders, trade, money and waters, ends any role for the European Court and protects the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.”It provides certainty for business, from service providers to our leading world manufacturers – including our car industry – safeguarding highly skilled jobs and investment across our country.”Lord True continued: “We believe the agreement will help unlock investment and protect high-value jobs right across the United Kingdom from financial services through to car manufacturing.”The UK can now regulate in a way that suits the UK economy and UK businesses, doing things in a more innovative and effective way without being bound by EU rules. We will now take full advantage of the remarkable opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world.”Samuel Osborne8 January 2021 11:381610104940BBC receives 500 complaints over NYE fireworks paying tribute to Black Lives MatterThe BBC received 500 complaints over a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement during the New Years Eve fireworks in London, Bethany Dawson reports.The fireworks show, organised by City Hall and broadcast live on BBC One, featured a number of drones creating images of key themes and people of 2020. One of of the images depicted clenched fists synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement. Samuel Osborne8 January 2021 11:22 More

“Here he comes in, he has a good majority and bang bang, bang bang,” he said. “ It reminds me a bit of Churchill in May 1940, within days you had the fall of France, you had Dunkirk, you had the battle of Britain and bang bang bang.”The prime minister, he said, was “coming through this, I would say, in fine style”.The PM’s father’s comments were not met with quite the same level of enthusiasm. “Obviously, you’re his father so you have every right to be very proud of him,” host Ben Shephard said. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayAlso appearing as a guest on the show, former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith criticised Mr Johnson over his decision to pursue French citizenship to enjoy “freedom of movement” that other Britons without a European passport will not be able to enjoy due to Brexit. He suggested that applying for French citizenship was a “sentimental gesture” to his mother, who was born in France.He also said that it was important to not appear “anti-European”. “It’s a little tiny gesture by me to sort of build a bridge,” he said.He said his son was “perfectly aware” of his plans and should be “jolly pleased” by them. More

It seems a lost world now, but for right-wing Britons back in 2016 Donald Trump was the coolest guy around to be photographed with. His shock – in more ways than one – victory prompted frenetic predictions about a new age of nationalist populism. Trump’s victory in November did, after all, follow the equally anti-establishment revolt in the Brexit referendum five months before.In due course, Trump would claim that he predicted Brexit. Rightist politicians and commentators basked in a warm glow of mutual congratulation. Nigel Farage turned up at Trump’s rallies. Michael Gove rushed to New York to interview Donald Trump for The Times, with Rupert Murdoch in the room. He had the obligatory thumbs-up picture taken against a backdrop of framed magazine covers, some real, some fantasies, Gove beaming as though he couldn’t believe his luck. Farage and the rest of the “bad boys of Brexit” had their grinning mugs parked next to Trump’s in the gaudy gilded surroundings of Trump Tower. Farage must have been smiling from ear to ear when Trump publicly asked Theresa May to make him the UK’s ambassador to Washington. It’s fair to say, to borrow a phrase once deployed by Farage, they’re not laughing now.   More

At the start of this century the House of Commons had 12 MPs from ethnic minority backgrounds. This had increased to 41 after the 2015 election, and currently stands at 65 across the main parties in Westminster.  As the protests last summer, against prevailing racism in society as well as the legacy of slavery and imperialism, showed, injustice and discrimination, or the anger it sparks, is still very much with us. And as the campaign for equality looks to the future, there is increased interest in those who had fought for equality in the past through the democratic mandate – often at great cost to themselves.MPs from non-white minority backgrounds were present in the Commons long before communities from the Empire moved here in numbers, some of them achieving positions denied to them in the countries of their birth by the colonial rulers.   More

Boris Johnson has secured legislation allowing him to maintain sweeping new lockdown measures for as long as 12 weeks into the spring, resisting pressure from his own MPs to set an end date for the restrictions.While the prime minister won an overwhelming 524-16 majority in a vote in the Commons on Wednesday evening, a series of Tory lockdown sceptics bridled at provisions allowing ministers to keep the full England-wide controls in place to the end of March.Labour backed the prime minister, and the 14-strong Tory rebellion was sharply down from the 55 who opposed November’s second lockdown, in a clear sign of acceptance of the need for action on a day when Covid deaths topped 1,000 for the first time since April.Announcing the curbs on social and economic life on Monday, Mr Johnson said he hoped the vaccination programme will progress fast enough to allow relaxation “by the middle of February, if things go well and with a fair wind in our sails”.But in a statement to the Commons, he said the government will be “extremely cautious” about the timetable, and said only that schools “may” reopen after half-term on 22 February. He cautioned MPs not to presume that a review scheduled for 15 February will tear up controls. And he resisted demands to commit to further votes over the next seven weeks to allow MPs to cut lockdown short if hospitalisation and death rates fall sharply.Mr Johnson warned: “Our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a  gradual unwrapping. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“That is why the legislation this house will vote on later today runs until 31 March – not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then, but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis.“Carefully brick-by-brick breaking free of our confinement, but without risking the hard-won gains that our protections have given us.”The chair of the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group of Conservative backbenchers, former minister Mark Harper, said that the end of March was “too far a distance in the future” for ministers to be given powers to extend lockdown and demanded a vote by mid-February.And Poole MP Sir Robert Syms said the 31 March date was “essentially a blank cheque for three months to Public Health England to do what they wish”.Former minister Sir Desmond Swayne branded lockdowns a “complete failure” and warned that voters would be “back to point a finger of blame” at those responsible for “double-dip recession [and] years of slow growth”.Writing in The Critic magazine, leading CRG member Steve Baker called on the PM for “a clear plan to restore our freedoms in full and fast” to avoid a backlash from voters when it comes to paying the bill for “near-Soviet” state intervention.Health secretary Matt Hancock told MPs restrictions will be reviewed every two weeks, with a legal obligation to remove them if they are no longer deemed necessary to limit the transmission of the virus.And he held out the prospect of relaxations for all groups in society as soon as the vaccination of those most at risk begins to drive death rates down, rather than “coronavirus passports” allowing freedoms only to those who have had the jab.“We will need to see the protection in lived reality on the ground, but we will watch this like a hawk and my aim is to keep these restrictions in place not a moment longer than they’re necessary,” he said.Labour’s backing helped deliver the huge majority and protected the PM from any risk of a Tory rebellion shredding restrictions.But leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government was to blame for the “stay at home” order and the closure of shops, pubs and restaurants because it had been “repeatedly too slow to act” in response to scientists’ warnings of the need to prepare for a second wave this winter.The escalation in cases forcing a third lockdown was “not just bad luck, it’s not inevitable, it follows a pattern”, said Sir Keir.“We had a tiered system that didn’t work and then we had the debacle of the delayed decision to change the rules on mixing at Christmas,” he told MPs.“The most recent advice about the situation we’re now in was given on 22 December but no action was taken for two weeks until Monday of this week. “These are the decisions that have led us to the position we’re now in – and the vaccine is now the only way out and we must all support the national effort to get it rolled out as quickly as possible.”With seven mass vaccination centres due to open in sports stadiums and conference centres next week, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth called for the government to ramp up its programme to as many as 6 million doses a week.The prime minister said he had “no choice” but to plunge England into lockdown on Monday due to figures showing that the new variant of Covid-19 was driving up infections, with one in 50 now infected nationwide. He said: “We are in a tough final stretch made only tougher by the new variant, but this country will come together and the miracle of scientific endeavour, much of it right here in the UK, has given us not only the sight of the finish line, but a clear route to get there.“After the marathon of last year, we are indeed now in a sprint – a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them and every needle in every arm makes a difference.”Some 12 Conservative MPs voted against the lockdown provisions: Sir Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale), Philip Davies (Shipley), Richard Drax (South Dorset), Karl McCartney (Lincoln), Stephen McPartland (Stevenage), Esther McVey (Tatton), Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), Andrew Rosindell (Romford), Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West), Sir Robert Syms (Poole), Sir Charles Walker (Broxbourne) and David Warburton (Somerton and Frome). Tory MPs Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) and Chris Green (Bolton West) acted as tellers for the No vote.The legislation was also opposed by DUP MPs Paul Girvan, Carla Lockhart, Ian Paisley and Sammy Wilson. More

Pupils will receive a set daily number of hours of remote education during England’s new lockdown, the government has confirmed – adding that Ofsted will be able to inspect schools where it has concerns about the quality of education.As the country was plunged into its third national lockdown, schools moved online until at least mid-February for all students except vulnerable children and the children of key workers.On Wednesday, the Department for Education (DfE) said strengthened expectations for remote education would be put in place.Officials said schools will be expected to deliver a set number of hours for remote education for pupils, which will be an increase from what schools have been expected to deliver for students unable to go to class.Gavin Williamson told parliament on Wednesday that Ofsted would enforce legal requirements for state schools in England to provide high-quality remote education during the lockdown.The education secretary sparked anger from unions after saying parents can report schools to Ofsted if they are unhappy with their child’s remote learning provision during closures.“The last thing teachers and heads need right now is the spectre of Ofsted, which has been of neither use nor ornament throughout the pandemic,” Dr Mary Bousted from the National Education Union said. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said schools have spent the last 48 hours “working tirelessly” to put plans in place following the sudden announcement of closures.“It is therefore nothing short of disgraceful that the government should choose today to start threatening schools about the quality of their remote learning offer,” he said.The government said on Wednesday Ofsted will “play an important role in holding schools to account” for the quality of the remote education they provide during lockdown.  Ofsted can inspect schools where it has significant concerns about the quality of education being provided – including remote education – and parents can report concerns to the watchdog having first gone to the school, the DfE said. Ofsted will also carry out spring-term inspections of schools most in need of challenge and support – which will have a strong focus on remote education.“While schools and colleges are closed to most pupils, education remains a national priority”an Ofsted spokesman said. “There are clear requirements about remote learning and our monitoring inspections this term will focus on how well these are being met, to provide reassurance to parents”.Mr Williamson said on Wednesday closing schools was the “last thing” any education secretary wanted. “But the closing of schools for the majority of pupils does not mean the end of their education, and the outlook for schools, parents and young people is far more positive than the one we faced last year,” he said.“Schools and colleges are much better prepared to deliver online learning – with the delivery of hundreds of thousands of devices at breakneck speed, data support and high quality video lessons available.”Additional reporting by Press Association More

A-level and GCSE results will be decided by teacher-assessed grades this year after the exams were cancelled because of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, education secretary Gavin Williamson has announced.  The move is designed to avoid the chaos seen last year when an algorithm downgraded the results of tens of thousands of pupils.  A resulting outcry forced ministers to perform a high-profile U-turn, but not before the computer programme had created misery for many.  Labour accused the cabinet minister of “incompetence” over its handling of schools, which were closed across England on Monday night just hours after Boris Johnson declared them safe.  Just last week Mr Williamson himself said: “I’m confident that we won’t be moving into a national lockdown situation because the tiering structure is the right place to be.”Announcing the new plans, Mr Williamson told MPs he was unveiling “the contingency plans I had prepared but had hoped (I would) never had to implement”. He vowed not to “let schools be closed for a moment longer than they need to be”. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayBut he conceded exams could not go ahead as planned this year. A form of teacher-assessed grades would ensure grades are awarded “fairly and consistently”, he said.He told the Commons: “While the details will need to be fine-tuned in consultation with (the regulator) Ofqual, the exam boards and teaching representative organisations I can confirm now that I wish to use a form of teacher-assessed grades, with training and support provided, to ensure these are awarded fairly and consistently across the country.”
In August Mr Williamson bowed to intense pressure from pupils, parents and even other ministers to upgrade hundreds of thousands of A-level and GCSE results.
The system, introduced at short notice after the coronavirus pandemic cancelled last year’s exams, used an algorithm which had downgraded four in 10 teacher-assessed marks.  In the end pupils had their original grades restored, but too late for many to take up their original first choice of university course last year, even after ministers removed a cap on the number of places. Mr Williamson also told MPs that this month’s exams for technical qualifications could go ahead but added that no college should feel pressured to offer them. But he said the government would not proceed with primary schools SATS exams this year. He also confirmed that free school meals would be available while schools are closed and said there would be “extra funding” to pay for them. One student, Mana Ali tells The Independent she wants an option to be able to sit exams in 2021. She was planning to resit her A-levels last year before they were cancelled – and had been revising to take them this year instead.
“I am resitting to prove what I am capable of hence why I want to sit my exams and not rely on Centre Assessed Grades,” she says. More

The Brexit deal for Northern Ireland is an “unmitigated disaster” and should be suspended, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said.At a hearing of the Commons Northern Ireland committee on Wednesday MPs heard evidence from hauliers and retailers about the problems the new arrangements were causing compared to EU membership.MP Ian Paisley Jr, the DUP’s communities spokesperson who sits on the committee, said: “They’ve basically told us that the protocol and its workings, on day six, is an unmitigated disaster. “That’s one of the reasons I was against it, because I think a blind man on a galloping horse could have told you it was going to be an unmitigated disaster.”Mr Paisley argued that the UK should invoke Article 16 of the agreement, which allows for its suspension in the case of “serious” economic, social, or trade disruption that is “liable to persist”.Conservative MP Simon Hoare, who chairs the committee, described the suggestion as “slightly eccentric”.It comes amid revelations that some British businesses have stopped delivering to Northern Ireland because of the extra  bureaucracy Brexit has created.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayNo business group giving evidence at the committee on Wednesday endorsed the suggestion that the Northern Ireland protocol should be suspended, though many painted a picture of a very difficult situation.”Before you invoke Article 16 you need a realistic alternative that’s going to work. You can’t just walk away from this,” said Seamus Leheny, policy manager at Logistics UK, which represents freight operators. He added: “I think to invoke Article 16 you’d create more problems compared to what we’re facing today.”Mr Leheny warned that some lorries were being held at customs control for six to eight hours crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for not having the right paperwork.And he said some declarations that the government had pledged would take around 30 seconds to process were actually taking as long as 12 hours.
Before you invoke Article 16 you need a realistic alternative that’s going to work. You can’t just walk away from thisSeamus Leheny, policy manager at Logistics UKOther operators were completely unaware of many entry requirements, and one had had to teach itself how to fill in a customs declaration by watching a YouTube video. And a support scheme for traders that the government had pledged would have 70 staff was left with just four people answering telephones on the opening weekend of the new arrangements.”There’s people ringing the call centre looking for assistance, it’s ringing off the hook – it seems like they’ve been overwhelmed,” he said.Mr Leheny added: “It’s the lack of preparation on the Great Britain side… everything from [small and medium enterprises] right up to blue chip companies.”One large manufacturer in Great Britain had 15 lorryloads of food to go to Northern Ireland this week. “Not a single one of them could move because when the lorries arrived there was no customs declaration. “The operator quite rightly said there’s no point me lifting these because I’ll simply be detained or refused entry to board the ferry at Cairnryan or Liverpool.” More