Markus Andrews

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightBusiness are holding off bringing goods into the UK from the EU amid fears new post-Brexit border checks will cause chaos. The long-delayed checks have come into effect despite concerns of disruption as well as higher food prices.Under the scheme, animal and plant products which are deemed “medium-risk” or higher will face physical checks at the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel.Importers will have to pay up to £145 to bring some of the products into the country. Richard McKenna, the managing director of Provender Nurseries, in Swanley, Kent, said his business was giving the checks a “wide berth”. Mr McKenna, who gets half of his plants and trees from the EU, said on Tuesday morning “like many businesses, we are giving it a wide berth for a day or two, to experience what is going to go on here, because none of us really know”. Food suppliers have warned that the checks, known as the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), will increase food prices and reduce consumer choice, thanks to “impractical” requirements on businesses.Earlier this month, the Cold Chain Federation warned the government was not listening to experts and would “seriously damage business confidence in the UK and add costs to consumers’ weekly shop.”The Sevington Inland Border Facility near Ashford in Kent, as physical, documentary and identity post-Brexit border checks get underway More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak is facing yet more internal friction in his party, but would replacing him alter the Tories’ fate? With the Tories lagging in the polls, speculation is mounting over Sunak’s future and the party’s prospects — and it appears even the prime minister’s seat is at risk.Now right-wing Conservative MPs are reportedly plotting to replace him with Penny Mordaunt, aiming to swerve defeat in upcoming elections. The plan, “100 days to save Britain,” comes after Dr. Dan Poulter’s defection dealt a blow to the PM. Mordaunt has dismissed the alleged plot as “codswallop,” but if the Westminster whispers are true, a clutch of Conservative big beasts are busy positioning themselves to take over from Rishi Sunak, as our chief political commentator John Rentoul writes.Do you think ousting Sunak so close to a general election would be a mistake? Is Penny Mordaunt a sensible replacement? And if not, who would you like to see take the reins of the Conservative Party?Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments – we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has rushed to defend his disability benefits crackdown, saying only those with “genuine” claims should be eligible for support.After a massive rise in the number of adults reporting disabilities and claiming help through personal independence payments (Pip), the prime minister said those with “less severe” conditions should be engaged in the world of work.The government Green Paper, published on Monday, proposed a reform of scheme payments through changes to eligibility criteria and assessments, including options to require claimants to get clinical diagnosis and a switch away from cash payments.The number of monthly Pip awards for mental health disorders has doubled since 2019, from 2,200 to 5,300, in line with an increase in overall awards through the benefit scheme to 33,000 a month.The annual cost of the payment system is currently at around £22bn, and is forecast to rise by 50 per cent over the next four years as more people, including those with mental health concerns, qualify for the support. But critics have accused the PM of using mental health as a political culture war ahead of Thursday’s local elections, which are set to see the Tories lose hundreds of seats on local councils.In an interview with ITV’s Robert Peston, Mr Sunak said: “The broad thrust of what we’re trying to do is say, hang on, you can’t be making claims based on unverifiable assertions. There needs to be some objective evidence, perhaps medical, so that we can say you are genuinely someone who’s in need of support.”He added: “What we shouldn’t be doing is medicalising the everyday challenges and anxieties of life, and … if they are less severe, they should be expected to engage in the world of work.”When pressed on the hardship that vulnerable people on low incomes would endure without Pip, he said: “That’s why it’s so important that we stick to our plan that’s easing the burden on the cost of living.”Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride and Rishi Sunak have been pushing reform to Pip More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe fact that I would genuinely be an improvement on the last 14 years of Tory government says everything you need to know,” Count Binface tells the Independent.The self-described intergalactic space warrior, who is running for London mayor again after finishing ninth in the 2021 contest, has refused to rule out standing against Rishi Sunak at the next general election.But before then, the independent candidate hopes manifesto pledges include building at least one affordable home and placing a price-cap on croissants strike a chord with voters across the capital.Other flagship policies include renaming London Bridge after Phoebe Waller-Bridge, price capping croissants at £1.10 – 10p more than a previous pledge for £1 pastries – and granting grade one listed status to Claudia Winkleman’s fringe.Mr Binface, who claims to be 5,072 years old, described his pledges as “the best in the business” and that he was “the only candidate with a decent manifesto”.“I love democracy, because it’s so rare in the cosmos, and this important year I want to help celebrate the fact that, in the UK, everybody has the right to stand for election, no matter how idiotic the get-up,” he said.“I’m the only fresh thing on the menu! Nobody else comes close to the suite of policies I’m offering: price-capping croissants at £1.10 – blame Liz and Rishi for the extra 10p –  bringing back Ceefax, replacing the Night Czar with a new Night Mayor, to have headquarters on Elm Street, and much more.”When asked for his opinion on his Tory rival, Susan Hall, the caped politician said: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”“If I have, it went straight out of one auditory organ and right out of the other one because nobody of that name has had any impact on me whatsoever.”The Count went on to say that incumbent mayor Sadiq Khan had done a “decent job”.He continued: “Unlike the two previous incumbents, Ken Livingstone and Boris ‘The Bombshell’ Johnson, Sadiq Khan is not yet a laughing stock figure – so fair play on that front.”Count Binface poses outside Parliament in London (Aaron Chown/PA) More