UK Politics

Former Conservative Neil Parish has formally resigned as an MP after admitting to watching pornography in the Commons in a “moment of madness”.The MP for Tiverton and Honiton became the focus of a political storm last week after two female colleagues reported him to party whips for watching adult content in the chamber.After initially indicating he would remain in post, Mr Parish announced in a televised interview at the weekend his intention to resign, admitting his actions were “totaly wrong”.He told the BBC that the first time was an accident, claiming he had been looking for photographs of tractors, but admitted the second occasion was “deliberate”.On Wednesday, a statement from the Treasury said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Neil Quentin Gordon Parish to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.”Appointing Mr Parish to the unpaid position is an archaic mechanism which allows him to formally resign as an MP and begin the process of electing his successor.It will now be down to the Tory whips when to move the writ in the Commons – setting the date for the Tiverton and Honiton by-election – after MPs return on 10 May.The ultra-safe Conservative seat in east Devon delivered a 24,000 majority at the 2019 election when Boris Johnson won the largest Tory majority for decades.It comes after another former Tory MP, Imran Ahmad Khan, formally resgined as the MP for Wakefield on Tuesday – three weeks after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.Khan announced his intention to resign on 14 April but did not complete the formalities until last week, meaning he received his full taxpayer-funded salary for last month.A by-election for Wakefield – seat turned blue for the first time since the 1930s at the 2019 general election – is now likely to occur on the same date as Tiverton and Honiton, but there will be intense pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to demonstrated he is able to win back a former ‘Red Wall’ seat.Speaking on Wednesday, the Labour leader said: “We will put up an excellent candidate and what I hope is that Wakefield can have a strong Labour MP that will represent and fight for Wakefield.“Because what we have seen is a disgraced Tory MP who has been completely absent for over a year now, not fighting for his constituents, and Wakefield deserves so much better than that. The sooner we have a Labour MP fiercely defending and representing his or her constituents, the better.” More

Ever since Northern Ireland was founded as a Protestant-majority state a century ago, its governments have been led by unionist politicians who defined themselves as British.But if opinion polls are right, an election Thursday will see Sinn Fein, an Irish nationalist party that seeks union with Ireland, become the largest group in the 90-seat Northern Ireland Assembly. That would give Sinn Fein the post of first minister in the Belfast government for the first time.It would be a milestone for a party long linked to the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group that used bombs and bullets to try to take Northern Ireland out of U.K. rule during decades of violence. And it would bring Sinn Fein’s ultimate goal of a united Ireland a step closer.But it’s not what the party — or voters — want to talk about in a campaign that has been dominated by more immediate worries: long waiting lists for medical care and the soaring cost of food and fuel.“I now ration my heat to one hour a day,” said Sinead Quinn, who set up the group Derry Against Food Poverty to press politicians to act on the cost-of-living crisis. “My entire circle of friends is affected by this. I don’t think you can throw a stone in Northern Ireland and miss a community that being affected by it.”The economic crunch — driven by the war in Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic disruption and Britain’s exit from the European Union — is also dominating election debate elsewhere in the U.K. Votes Thursday to elect local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are a test for beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose popularity has been battered by scandals over lockdown rule-breaking. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein has downplayed talk of a united Ireland in its campaign to focus on bread-and-butter issues.“The things that the public want us to respond to is trying to put money in their pockets to help them deal with the cost-of-living crisis,” said Michelle O’Neill, the party’s leader in Northern Ireland, during a televised election debate on Tuesday. She said she was not “fixated on a date” for a unity referendum.Many voters simply hope the election will produce a functioning government, but that appears unlikely in the short term.Under Northern Ireland’s power-sharing system, created by the 1998 peace agreement that ended decades of Catholic-Protestant conflict, the jobs of first minister and deputy first minister are split between the biggest unionist party and the largest nationalist one.Both posts must be filled for a government to function. The Democratic Unionist Party, which has been the largest in the Northern Ireland Assembly for two decades, has suggested it might not serve under a Sinn Fein first minister.The DUP also says it will refuse to join a new government unless there are major changes to post-Brexit border arrangements, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, that are opposed by many unionists.“The political institutions must be sustainable.” DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said during Tuesday’s debate. “And that means we have got to deal with the big issues that are in front of us, not least the harm that the Northern Ireland Protocol is doing to undermine political stability in Northern Ireland.”The post-Brexit rules have imposed customs and border checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. The arrangement was designed to maintain an open border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, a key pillar of the peace process.But unionists say the new checks have created a barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. that undermines their British identity.The instability has led to rising tensions and sporadic violence, including a week of rioting in Protestant Loyalist areas a year ago. Last month, police were pelted with petrol bombs after a dissident Irish Republican parade in Derry, also known as Londonderry.The British government is pressing the EU to agree to major changes — removing most customs checks — and is threatening to unilaterally stop implementing the rules if the bloc refuses.Negotiations have reached an impasse, with the bloc accusing Johnson of refusing to impose rules he agreed to in a legally binding treaty.Meanwhile, politics in Northern Ireland are changing. More support is going to parties that identify as neither nationalist nor unionist, with young people increasingly rejecting the traditional labels. Polls suggest the centrist Alliance Party is vying for second place with the DUP, another potentially seismic development. Full results of the election, which uses a system of proportional representation, are not expected until the weekend at the earliest.The new legislators will meet next week to try to form an executive. If none can be formed within six months, the administration will collapse, triggering a new election and more uncertainty.Quinn, the anti-poverty activist, said that would be a “dereliction of duty.”“Both communities — all communities and none — are struggling here,” she said. “It’s wider than the usual Northern Ireland flavor of politics, that green and orange tribal dance,” she added, in a reference to the colors associated with nationalists and unionists, respectively.“I’m really hoping that the politicians are listening.”___Lawless reported from London More

Brexit pressures are largely to blame for the soaring price of chicken, the British Poultry Council (BPC) has said – rejecting Boris Johnson’s claim it is down to global energy prices.The prime minister said soaring supermarket prices was mainly due to international fuel supply problems on Tuesday, adding: “The cost of chickens is crazy.”But the BPC fired back at Mr Johnson on Wednesday by blaming post-Brexit trade barriers and skill shortages for the spike in production costs.“It is not “mainly fuel” that’s the problem, as PM said in his Good Morning Britain interview. It is everything. Input costs like water, labour, energy and feed are all up,” said a BPC spokesperson on Twitter.Citing “ongoing Brexit pressures”, the industry body added: “Combined with trade barriers, shipping delays for machinery plus a skills shortage (vets and lorry drivers), this all adds a cost that has to be recovered through the marketplace.”Britain’s largest chicken supplier 2 Sisters has predicted that food price rises of 15 per cent will be needed to “even begin to cover the increasing cost of production”.Environment secretary George Eustice acknowledged the price of chicken and other fresh produce would continue to rise – but suggested hard-pressed families turn to “value brands”.Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner responded by tweeting: “Let them eat value cake? The Tories haven’t got a clue.”The BPC said the government had “repeatedly failed to acknowledge” the need for a “fair” system to help UK producers since the Brexit withdrawal deal kicked in last January.The industry body said members had lost £85m in chicken exports to the EU last year because of unreciprocated controls.Poultry chiefs called on the government to strike a veterinary agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules deal with Brussels to allow for a reciprocal removal of checks on products entering the EU from UK.“[Mr Johnson] remarked on the ‘insane’ position people find themselves in in the midst of this crisis, whilst failing to acknowledge the insanity currently wrapped up in blatantly unfair EU-UK trade,” said a BPC spokesperson.They added: “[Members] now will continue to face the burdens, costs and red tape that hinder fair competition until October 2023.”The poultry council is unhappy at the government for scrapping physical inspections on food coming into the UK from the EU until last 2023 – a move announced by Jacob Rees-Mogg last week.BPC chief executive Richard Griffiths, said it “proves that this government is not concerned with the rights and wrongs of fair UK-EU trade” – saying EU traders face a “commercial advantage with no checks and can now expect that luxury until late 2023”.Mr Rees-Mogg, who had previously claimed soaring food costs had nothing to do with Brexit – admitted that the post-Brexit import checks planned for July would have seen prices rise at the supermarket. He described the red tape as “an act of self-harm”. More

Elon Musk has been asked to attend a hearing of the UK parliament to explain his plans for Twitter.The billionaire bought the influential social network for $44 billion USD last month and has said he could change some of its policies.Now the chair of the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee has written to the Tesla boss to ask him to attend a hearing “in the near future”..In a letter dated 29 April Tory MP Julian Knight said: “My committee has noted your proposed acquisition of Twitter and we are interested in the developments you propose.”Mr Knight said the committee was particularly interested in Mr Musk’s plan to roll out verification for all users, which he said “echoes our calls on the UK government as part of proposed legislation, which we hope will restore the UK’s public trust in digital platforms”.The chair added: “I therefore wish to take this opportunity to invite you to speak before our committee and discuss your proposals in more depth. “I know you have expressed your wish that critics remain on Twitter and this may present and opportunity to address any critiques in public.”Mr Musk said on Tuesday that “commercial/governemnt” users may have to pay a “slight cost” or fee to continue to use the platform. He said the network would “always be free for casual users”, however.The billionaire has said he could introduce new features such as an “undo tweet” button and hinted he could roll back content moderation policies. More

A Conservative MP facing bankruptcy proceedings following action by the HM Revenue & Customs has been more time to raise money by a judge.The case of Adam Afriyie, the Tory MP Windsor, was heard in the specialist Insolvency and Companies Court after the HMRC filed a bankruptcy petition against him.Judge Sally Barber approved a plan to give the MP more time to sell his “main private residence” to help pay his debts, saying the case would be reviewed in three months.The judge was told that the property set to be sold Mr Afriyie had a mortgage of about £3m.Details of the amount Mr Afriyie is said to owe to the HMRC and others did not emerge. The court heard that there were a number of creditors, but that the main creditor was the tax authority.News of possible bankruptcy proceedings involving Mr Afriyie first emerged in late 2019. In November last year it emerged that HMRC has filed a petition for bankruptcy against him in a dispute related to “past business interests”.The backbencher said in November that he was challenging the HMRC’s petition and hoped the matter could still be resolved without bankruptcy.Mr Afriyie, who has held his seat since 2005, said: “I will of course pay any tax that is due.”The MP set up the IT firm Connect Support Services in 1993. But the firm went into insolvency in 2017 – having reportedly substantial mounted up debts with HMRC.Connect Support Services is a creditor in Mr Afriyie’s bankruptcy case, according to The Guardian, which first reported on the HMRC’s petition last year.Any MP with a bankrupt restriction order must step aside under parliamentary rules – sparking speculation that Mr Afriyie may have to step aside in his Windsor seat.Earlier this year the Lib Dems announced Julian Tisi as the party’s parliamentary candidate to contest Mr Afriyie seat in preparation for any potential by-election.But Mr Afriyie insisted he would fight the next contest: “Let me be clear. There is not going to be a by-election in Windsor before the next general election,” he said in January.The MP, who is in his 50s, did not appear at Tuesday’s hearing, but the judge heard from a lawyer representing him.A background section on his website says: “Adam is known for his thoughtfulness, honesty and plain-speaking style.“Born in 1965 to a white English mother and a black Ghanaian father, Adam was brought up by his mother in social housing in South London.” More

Voters across the UK will head to the polls on Thursday 5 May for another round of local elections.More than 4,000 council seats in England are being contested, 1,200 in both Scotland and Wales and all 90 seats of the Northern Ireland Assembly in contention.Most of those seats were last fought in 2018, when Theresa May was still prime minister, Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Vince Cable were her challengers, Britain was still in the European Union and both the coronavirus pandemic and war in Ukraine were inconceivable to most.Now, with lingering anger over “Partygate” compounded by the eruption of new Westminster sleaze allegations and concern over the cost of living crisis only growing, the public is widely expected to cast its ballots as a verdict on Boris Johnson’s scandal-ridden leadership.Around 48.8 million people have registered to vote, according to the Office for National Statistics, with the deadline passing on 14 April in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and on 18 April in Scotland.Here is everything else you need to know about your voting status ahead of Election Day 2022. More

Sir Keir Starmer has said police in Durham have not contacted him again after closing an investigation into an alleged breach of lockdown rules.The Labour leader has been under pressure from Tory MPs over the beer and takeaway meal he and team consumed during a campaign meeting last April in a Durham constituency office.Although he appeared to avoid the question of whether or not Durham Constabulary had been in contact again on Tuesday, Sir confirmed on Wednesday they the force had not been back in touch.Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, he said of the police: “I think they put out a statement last week saying they’re not reinvestigating, and they haven’t spoken to me.”Defending the takeaway meal on 30 April, he said the Labour team had “got on with their work” and again insisted that no Tier 2 rules in place at the time were broken.Starmer also denied an electoral pact with the Lib Dems and refused to commit to reversing the government’s hike in national insurance, saying Labour “can’t possibly set out in detail what we will do” this far from a general election.But he received the toughest grilling over the so-called “beergate” saga. “Restaurants and pubs were closed, so takeaways were really the only way you could eat,” the Labour leader told GMB.Sir Keir added: “So, this was brought in and at various points people went through the kitchen, got a plate, had some food to eat and got on with their work.”At the time of the gathering, non-essential retail and outdoor venues including pub gardens were open but social distancing rules, which included a ban on indoor mixing between households, remained in place.Durham Constabulary has been asked by Tory MP Richard Holden to reconsider their assessment that no offence was committed during the meeting. The force has acknowledged receipt of his letter.Enough food to feed around 30 people was reportedly at the campaign event in Labour MP Mary Foy’s constituency office. “Did all 30 really go back to work after they finished their biryanis? If not, they have breached the rules and police should investigate,” Mr Holden tweeted.However, barrister and Covid regulation expert Adam Wagner has said it the takeaway meal could be viewed as “reasonably necessary for work”.But Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said there is a “world of difference” between the industrial scale of rule-breaking at No 10 and Labour leaders’ so-called “Beergate” saga.“Durham has been clear, there’s no case to answer. It didn’t break the rules and the Tory mudslinging is to try and distract from the rule-breaking at No 10 but also from the cost-of-living crisis,” she told BBC Breakfast.Meanwhile, Starmer told GMB that he still believed that the hike in national insurance was “wrong tax at the wrong time”, but would not spell out how he would match the expected extra annual revenue raised by the health and care levy.“We will set out our plans when we get to the election in full, we’ve set out the principles that we will apply, it will be a fair taxation system, particularly for working people. At this stage two years out, I don’t know what the state of the economy will be.” More

Cabinet minister George Eustice has suggested that struggling families use value brands to save money, but ruled out a windfall levy on oil and gas firms by arguing that fossil fuel giants pay enough tax already.The environment secretary said prices would continue to rise at the supermarket and will “undoubtedly put pressure” on household budgets amid the cost of living crisis.Asked what hard-pressed families could do, he told Sky News: “Generally what people find is going for some of the value brands, rather than own-branded products they can actually contain and manage their household budget.”Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner responded by tweeting: “Let them eat value cake? The Tories haven’t got a clue.”Mr Eustice claimed that “the price of food in and of itself doesn’t necessary cause poverty”, but acknowledged that the combination of “very sharp rise in energy costs” and other price hikes were placing a huge burden on people.However, the minister insisted that oil and gas companies already paid enough tax as he rejected growing calls for a levy on their windfall profits. “We need to see them investing,” said Mr Eustice.BP announced on Tuesday that its underlying quarterly profits more than doubled to £5bn thanks to the rocketing cost of crude. But Mr Eustice said the company already makes a “significant contribution”.It comes as Boris Johnson’s government comes under growing pressure to provide more support to ease the pressure on household finances.On Tuesday the prime minister pointed to the £200 “rebate” loan set out by the chancellor Rishi Sunak earlier this year – but admitted it isn’t going to be enough immediately to help cover everybody”.Mr Eustice conceded the £200 rebate was simply a “loan” – but insisted it will help people pay bills this year.Defending the chancellor over the failure to provide more help with bills, he said: “We can’t just keep borrowing huge amounts more money. … There’s a real risk inflation would rise further still.”The environment secretary was also asked about the case of 77-year-old ITV viewer called Elsie – who travels on buses all day to reduce her bills.“In that particular case, I really would advise the woman would be to go to the local authority and try to get some support from that Household Support Fund – it’s what it’s there for,” Mr Eustice said.The minister conceded the £200 rebate for energy bills was simply a “loan” – but insisted it will help people pay bills this year.Asked if BP and other oil and gas firms pay enough tax, he told Sky News: “For now, yes. And that’s why we’ve chosen not to do it [a windfall tax].”He told Sky News the situation would be kept under review but “for now we judge that, yes, it is right that these oil companies pay more and they already do pay more – the headline rate of income tax or corporation tax is already 10 per cent higher.”The minister added: “Nothing’s ever obviously ruled out, the tax system is kept under constant review, we have two key fiscal events a year.” More