Markus Andrews

Britain is to begin the next chapter in its relationship with the European Union after Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal cleared parliament and entered into law in a single day with just hours to spare before the end of the transition period.The prime minister said the country’s destiny “now resides firmly in our hands” after the government rushed through approval of a bill to ratify a long-delayed trade agreement reached with European leaders last week.The legislation, which was passed by the House of Commons with an overwhelming majority of 448 votes, averted the possibility of a damaging no-deal exit from the bloc at the eleventh hour. Peers then gave the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill an unopposed third reading before it was announced at 12.25am on Thursday morning that the legislation had been granted royal assent, officially signing the UK-EU deal into law.Despite having formally severed ties with the EU on 31 January, the UK has remained a member of the single market and has been subject to all of the bloc’s rules while Brussels and London thrashed out a trading agreement.With the Brexit transition period due to end at 11pm on New Year’s Eve, Boris Johnson succeeded where his predecessor, Theresa May, repeatedly failed, and convinced Tory MPs to back a deal he had agreed with the EU. In a statement after the deal cleared parliament, Mr Johnson said: “I want to thank my fellow MPs and peers for passing this historic bill and would like to express my gratitude to all of the staff here in parliament and across government who have made today possible.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”The destiny of this great country now resides firmly in our hands. We take on this duty with a sense of purpose and with the interests of the British public at the heart of everything we do.”11pm on the 31st December marks a new beginning in our country’s history and a new relationship with the EU as their biggest ally. This moment is finally upon us and now is the time to seize it.”The Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, suffered a number of resignations from his front bench after he ordered Labour MPs to vote for the deal on the grounds that it was better than a no-deal outcome.  Before the historic vote, Mr Johnson told MPs that the agreement would bring “certainty” for businesses across the country following years of wrangling over the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU.
The move would reassert “global Britain as a liberal outward-looking force for good”, the prime minister said.But the government also faced a backlash for ramming through the 85-page bill, which implements the 1,200-page trade agreement, in a single day.  Labour peer Lord Adonis described the move as a “gross abuse” of parliamentary process and claimed that ministers were treating the public with “contempt”.During the debate, Sir Keir warned that the alternative to the deal struck by Mr Johnson was enabling a damaging exit from the bloc without a trading agreement.  He told the Commons: “Those that vote no are voting for no deal.”“This is the nub of it: those voting no today want yes. They want others to save them from their own vote. Voting no, wanting yes, that’s the truth of the situation and that’s why my party has taken a different path.”
The Labour leader also attacked Mr Johnson for failing to be “straight” with the British public over his incorrect claim last week that there would be “no non-tariff barriers” to trade under the UK-EU agreement, despite the government already admitting that businesses will face additional red tape.But almost a fifth of Labour MPs rebelled by ignoring the order to back the deal, in what will be seen as a blow to Sir Keir’s authority.
Two Labour MPs, Helen Hayes and Tonia Antoniazzi, resigned from their frontbench roles, saying they could not support the agreement.Ms May, who suffered a series of damaging defeats on her government’s Brexit legislation, voted for the agreement but told MPs that she had offered them a “better deal” in 2019.In a swipe at hardline Brexiteers in her own party who judged the success of the deal by the extent to which it frees the UK from entanglement in multilateral organisations such as the EU, she declared: “Sovereignty does not mean isolationism.”However, the Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, condemned the deal as “an act of economic vandalism” and attacked Labour for failing to oppose it.“I am sad to say that the official opposition has been missing in action. I can understand that this might be politically pragmatic for Labour, but it definitely isn’t politically principled,” he said.The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council president, Charles Michel, formally signed the UK-EU agreement, before it was flown to London on a RAF plane for the prime minister to sign.
After clearing the Commons and House of Lords, the bill will now go for royal assent when it will become law.An opposition amendment criticising the “many shortcomings” of Boris Johnson’s trade deal was rejected by peers by 312 votes to 213.A Liberal Democrat attempt to prevent the legislation passing with a so-called fatal amendment was heavily defeated in the House of Lords by 466 votes to 101. More

Life in the UK should be “much, much better” by Easter as coronavirus vaccines gradually restore normality to the country, England’s chief medical officer is said to have told Boris Johnson.The prime minister expressed optimism that people could see more freedoms by spring, depending on the availability of the Covid-19 jabs.Chris Whitty , the chief medical officer, set a target of 5 April for the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, Mr Johnson revealed in an interview with ITV News.But he sought to manage expectations by stressing changes would depend on the success of the tiered lockdown system and that the coming weeks and months would be tough.“Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, set a sort of terminus of 5 April – Easter – when he thought things would be much, much, much better,” Mr Johnson said.
Asked how long lockdown restrictions would go on for, he said it would depend on “how fast we can get the virus under control with tough tiering, with testing that we’re rolling out, the vaccination programme”.
“I’m not going to give you a deadline, but you’ve heard what I’ve said about April – that is the terminus ante quem [before that date],” he added.The PM suggested that date could potentially be earlier if the vaccine programme gathers pace.“If – and it’s a big if – if the tiering can work to bring the virus under control, if the vaccine rollout proceeds fast enough and, in the end, we are able to inoculate to protect those millions, the most vulnerable groups, then there’s a world in which that date could be brought forward – who knows by how many weeks, but that’s obviously what we’re aiming for. I can’t give you that date today,” he said.
Mr Johnson declined to commit to vaccinating 2 million people a week – the rate calculated necessary to prevent a third wave – but said the government would go as fast as it could with rolling out inoculations, saying it depending on how fast they could “crank up” supply.  And he stressed there were still “tough weeks and probably months” ahead for the UK as the new Covid variant spreads across the country and puts hospitals under immense pressure.“But do I think that by the spring things will be much better? Am I succumbing to my optimistic bias? Yes, I do think things will be much better, I do think this country will get through it very strongly indeed, and I do think people will have a great deal to look forward to,” Mr Johnson said. “But are things going to be tough for the next few weeks and months? Yes, they undoubtedly are.”Asked about the potential for a 24-hours-a-day vaccine rollout, Stephen Powis, medical director of NHS England, told journalists: “We’re working in the NHS to roll things out as quickly as possible.”We need the supplies to come through from manufacturers.
“These are still unlicensed products; remember they have an emergency authorisation so it’s important that we do this properly by the book. But we are going as quickly as we possibly can.” More

In a televised New Year’s message, Merkel said that facing the pandemic “was and is a political, social and economic task of the century.”“I know that engaging in this historic feat has demanded and continues to demand tremendous confidence and patience of you,” the chancellor said before starting what’s expected to be her last year in office. “I thank you whole-heartedly for that.”Polls have shown high approval ratings for Merkel during the pandemic. The 66-year-old former physicist has taken a science-led, safety-first approach to the public health crisis, though she sometimes struggled to persuade powerful state governors to impose restrictions quickly. Merkel’s government put together massive financial rescue programs at home and helped secure agreement on a European Union recovery package.But she won’t be on the ballot when Germans elect a new parliament on Sept. 26. Merkel, who has been chancellor since 2005, said more than two years ago that she wouldn’t seek a fifth term as chancellor and has repeatedly insisted that she won’t reconsider. Only if the process of forming the next government is very slow will she still be in office in a year’s time.“This is most likely the last time that I will speak to you as chancellor in a new year address,” she said in Thursday’s message, the text of which was released by her office ahead of its broadcast.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“I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say that never in the last 15 years have all of us found the old year so difficult — and never have we looked forward to the new year with so much hope, despite all our worries and some skepticism.”Germany is entering 2021 in a lockdown that appears certain to be extended beyond its current Jan. 10 end date, with new coronavirus cases and deaths related to COVID-19 remaining at worryingly high levels. The country has recorded well over 1.6 million cases so far, including more than 32,000 deaths.“We as a society must not forget how many people have lost a loved one without being able to be close to them in their final hours,” Merkel said. She added that she “can only imagine how bitter it must feel” for survivors who are mourning or fighting COVID-19’s aftereffects “when the virus is contested and denied by a few incorrigible people.”“Conspiracy theories are not just untrue and dangerous — they are also cynical and cruel toward these people,” she said. Germany has at times seen large demonstrations by a small but vocal minority opposing coronavirus restrictions.Merkel said she is constantly grateful for how disciplined and considerate most people are in respecting anti-virus rules, wearing masks and keeping their distance from others.“This attitude among millions of our fellow citizens has spared us some things on our way through the pandemic so far,” she said. “It will also be necessary in the coming year.”“These days and weeks are difficult times for our country…and it will stay that way for quite a while,” Merkel said. “It will still be up to us all for quite some time how we get through this pandemic.” More

The gong comes despite the Tory MP’s prominent role in last year’s controversial shutdown of parliament – as opposition MPs accused No 10 of scheming to avoid scrutiny over its Brexit plans.
Mr Cox advised Boris Johnson’s government that it was legal to prorogue parliament for five weeks in autumn 2019, only for the move to be ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court president Lady Hale dismissed the government’s claim that prorogation was simply a routine step, finding it “unlawful” because it “prevented parliament from carrying out its constitutional role”.
Mr Cox – who branded parliament a “disgrace” and rebutted calls for his resignation in the aftermath of the debacle – was sacked as attorney general in Mr Johnson’s February reshuffle.Among the other politicians recognised in this year’s list, Labour’s Angela Eagle has been made a dame. The long-time MP for Wallasey in Merseyside is known for her work promoting women’s and minority rights.While prominent Brexit-backers such as John Redwood and Iain Duncan Smith were recognised in the new year honours in 2018 and 2019, this year’s list was largely free of controversy.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 weekdayThomas Clarke, former Labour MP for Coatbridge and ex-tourism minister was given a knighthood for his public and political service, while Dr Paul Williams – former Labour MP for Stockton South – was given a OBE for services to parliament and to healthcare.
Among prominent Whitehall figures to be given gongs, Robert Chote, the departing chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, received a knighthood. Katherine Edda Escott, the strategy director at the Ministry of Defence, becomes a companion of the Order of the Bath.
Jonathan McMillen, civil servant in charge of the Syrian Refugee Project at the Department for Communities, has been given a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to refugees.
The project has seen refugees being resettled in the UK since 2015, but the coronavirus pandemic halted the work earlier this year. “Originally we committed to taking up to 2,000, we got very close to that target and I imagine we will be taking more once it is safe to do so,” Mr McMillen said.It comes as Cabinet Office officials confirmed there are no plans to remove the words “British Empire” from the honours system.
Earlier this month, shadow education secretary Kate Green called the system “offensive and divisive”. There were suggestions the word empire could be replaced with “excellence” following the wave of protests inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Welsh actor Michael Sheen revealed on Tuesday that he handed back his OBE so he could air his views about the monarchy and its role in Wales without being a “hypocrite”. More

Bill will now be sent to the House of Lords More

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The European Union’s top officials have formally signed the post-Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom More

Cables under Channel meet 8 per cent of demand – raising threat of higher prices and possible blackouts More