UK Politics

MPs remaining in the Palace of Westminster while essential restoration work takes place could take up to 76 years with a repair bill reaching £22 billion, according to a new report.The staggering cost to repair the Unesco World Heritage site appears in an initial assessment for action required to save the palace — which requires urgent maintenance and construction work.The study by the House of Parliament Restoration & Renewal Programme found that MPs remaining on the estate for the entirety of the works, with “no transfer”, could come with a price tag of £11-22 billion.With construction work being undertaken during parliamentary recesses, it is estimated the essential work to the Grade I listed building could take between 46 and 76 years.“In this scenario we have assumed an extended recess period (mid-July to mid-Oct), and that there would be no recall to the historic House of Commons Chamber during that period,” the report added.Essential works needed on the estate include the removal of asbestos, reducing the fire risk, renewing pluming, electrics and data cables, improving energy efficiency and a backlog of repairs and conservation to the building itself.Just last week it emerged parliamentary staff and contractors may have been exposed to asbestos — forcing a “temporary pause in construction projects”.In a second scenario — a “partial decant” — business would remain within the Commons chamber “until such a point is reached whereby all operations are transferred to another space within the Palace of Westminster (assumed to be the House of Lords Chamber), to allow the rest of the work to proceed”.The project’s sponsor body and delivery authority calculated this scenario could cost between £9.5 billion and £18.5 billion, taking between 26-43 years.A “full decant”of the parliamentary estate, with MPs being housed offsite in a temporary Commons chamber, however, would cost considerable less — between £7-£13 billion — and last between 19-28 years, the report added.The study also found there would be “a number of key risks” associated with a “continued presence scenario”, including fire safety; compliance with health and safety legislation; noise and vibration; lack of provision for a recall of the House of Commons; and changes to parliamentary business, including ways of working and possible changes to parliamentary procedure.Garry Graham, deputy general secretary of the Prospect union which represents workers in Parliament, said: “It is clear from the report that a full decant will be cheaper, quicker and safer. From a taxpayers and safety perspective, this is the only credible plan.“We cannot allow the faux emotional attachments of some to get in the way of the restoration of the House being achieved safely, expeditiously and in a way that recognises the concerns of staff and achieves value for money for the taxpayer.“I am sure that will be fully supported by the new minister for Civil Service efficiency. To come to any other conclusion would be perverse.” More

Boris Johnson has been accused of dragging his feet on sanctions over Ukraine, after he rejected a Labour offer of support for emergency legislation to crack down on illicit Russian money in the UK.Keir Starmer has called for the immediate escalation of sanctions to hit the Russian economy, such as exclusion from the international Swift money transfer system and halting trade in Moscow’s sovereign debt. He today offered Labour’s help to rush through the Economic Crimes Bill, which was promised in last year’s Queen’s Speech but has been delayed until the next session of parliament.But the prime minister dismissed the offer, telling MPs that “no country is doing more than the UK to tackle this issue”.After the UK’s first round of sanctions on Tuesday were blasted as under-powered, Mr Johnson and foreign secretary Liz Truss have said that tougher measures are under preparation for deployment in case Putin steps up his aggression against Ukraine.However, The Independent understands that it is regarded as inconceivable in Whitehall that the UK will hold back from further measures in co-ordination with US and EU allies.Mr Johnson was this afternoon expected to attend a meeting hosted by Treasury minister John Glen with leading City firms, banks, regulators and trade associations to discuss how future sanctions could operate.Ms Truss today said that “nothing is off the table” in the UK’s efforts to hit the Putin regime hard, and official sources have pointed to measures against the Russian financial defence and energy sectors, restrictions on high tech and blacklisting of oligarchs close to the Kremlin.But Sir Keir told the House of Commons that there should be no further delay in imposing tougher sanctions and implementing the recommendations of the 2020 Russia Report to crack down on Russian influence in the UK financial and political systems. The Labour leader has called on Tories to return around £2bn received from individuals of Russian heritage since Mr Johnson became leader.“At the weekend the prime minister said that if Russia invades Ukraine he will open up the Matryoshka dolls of Russian-owned companies and Russian-owned entities to find the ultimate beneficiaries within,” said Sir Keir.“Well, Russia has invaded and it’s time to act. If the Prime Minister brings forward the required legislation to do this, he will have Labour’s support, so will he commit to do so in the coming days?”Mr Johnson insisted he was “accelerating” the bill, but said he would not bring it forward from the next parliamentary year, despite it having featured in the agenda for this session.He insisted it was essential for all allies to move in unison in order to avoid opening up backdoor routes for targeted individuals to bypass controls.“We are bringing forward in the next wave of sanctions measures that will stop all Russian banks, all oligarchs, all Russian individuals, raising money on London markets,” he said. “And we are also accelerating the Economic Crime Bill which will enable us in the UK to peel back – in the next session – to peel back the facade of beneficial ownership of property in the UK and of companies.”SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford called on the Conservative Party to return money “raised from Russian oligarchs”.He told the Commons: “The truth is that Russian oligarchs who give the right people in power a golden handshake have been welcomed into London for years. Their activities weren’t stopped, they were encouraged.”But the PM insisted that all donations to Tories came from “people who are registered to vote on the UK register of interests”.Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the Ukraine crisis should mark a “turning point” in the UK’s approach to Russian money.”It’s not right that such huge sums of dark money linked to the Russian regime are allowed to flow through the UK,” said Ms Reeves.”The Conservatives have chosen to delay the Economic Crime Bill, breaking the promise they made to introduce it in this session. This is a mistake and sends entirely the wrong message. The government must think again and immediately speed up action on tackling illicit finance and drawing a line on oligarch impunity in the UK.” More

The UK Government must expand Russian sanctions in what could be the most “critical moment since the Second World War” for the world, Scotland’s First Minister has said.Speaking after a meeting with the acting Consul General of Ukraine, Yevhen Mankovskyi, and Linda Allison, the chairwoman of the Scottish branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Ms Sturgeon said she wants to see “rhetoric matched by action”.On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced what he called a “first barrage” of sanctions against five banks and three individuals linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.Sanctions were also set to be placed on Russian politicians who vote to recognise the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.But the First Minister called for more to be done, saying: “I don’t think that the UK Government is yet doing enough in the form of sanctions,” she told STV News.“We’ve had, rightly and properly, some very tough rhetoric from Boris Johnson and the UK Government in recent weeks, we now need that rhetoric matched by action.“That’s important because this is a critical moment for Ukraine, but it’s a critical moment for the world.“The choice at this moment in history is to hit Putin hard with the severest of sanctions so that he understands there will be consequences for his imperialist aggression, or we don’t do that and he becomes further emboldened.”

This is a moment to stand up for independence, for sovereignty, for territorial integrity and for democracy around the worldNicola SturgeonMs Sturgeon called for Russian broadcaster RT to have its licence revoked, along with more to be done to weed out Russian assets in London.“London is awash with Russian money and the UK Government must target that wealth, those assets, wherever they are and the Russian interests that benefit from those assets and wealth.“They will know where those assets are but there must be a very serious, systematic approach to sanctions and there must be efforts made to ensure that trade is disrupted to make sure that Russia feels that.”The First Minister said it should be the “elite” of Russia that should be impacted by any sanctions and not the citizens.She added that the Scottish Government would support any action against Russian interests in Scotland.The First Minister stressed the importance and severity of the situation on Ukraine’s eastern border – where a reported 200,000 Russian troops have been massing.She said: “This is a moment to stand up for independence, for sovereignty, for territorial integrity and for democracy around the world.“This is probably the most critical moment for the world since the Second World War and time will tell whether the world stands up and defends the values and the principles that we hold dear, or allow people like Putin to ride roughshod over that.”The international community was also urged by Ms Sturgeon not to simply “move on”.“This is a moment where Putin has to be left in no doubt,” she said.“Because what we have seen in the past with Crimea, with Georgia before it, is that the world is aghast for a short time and then it moves on, and Putin is left to consolidate his gains and think that he can continue to act in this way with no consequence whatsoever.”Countries across the world, especially smaller nations, would learn a “hard lesson” if the Russian president were allowed to “get away” with aggression towards Ukraine, the First Minister said.Ms Allison said she was “very disappointed” with the sanctions and that Ukrainians living in Scotland were afraid for the future.“We’re afraid for our family, we’re afraid for our friends, we’re afraid for Ukraine,” she said.“It’s a relatively new country in terms of independence, it’s a beautiful country that’s got so much future so, of course, we’re very, very worried.” More

Related video: Speaker tells MP not to raise Boris Johnson’s comments about Muslims in parliament Boris Johnson could reshuffle his ministers in July if he survives the Partygate scandal, according to one well-placed MP who told The Independent: “Boris is someone who rewards loyalty and there are a lot of people who very noticeably failed to show it.”Those loyal to the prime minister believe the delay in publishing Sue Gray’s final report into lockdown-breaking events at No 10 has helped divert attention away from the campaign to oust him – and that he will survive a confidence vote by MPs, even if he is fined by police.It comes as it was revealed that a Metropolitan Police officer responded to a silent alarm accidentally set off during one of the parties, but failed to take any action. Deputy Met Police Commissioner Steve House told the London Assembly police committee that an officer involved in the incident “has been spoken to” as part of the ongoing probe. Asked why the officers assigned to protect Downing Street had not prevented alleged lawbreaking, Sir Steve responded: “If we find officers knew what was going on and should have intervened we will follow up on that.”Show latest update

1645627914ICYMI: PM condemns Salmond’s appearances on Russia TodayBoris Johnson condemns Alex Salmond’s appearances on Russia TodaySam Hancock23 February 2022 14:511645626311No 10 defends donations from people of Russian originAt PMQs today, the Tories were once more upbraided by opposition politicians for accepting donations from people of Russian origin. In response, Boris Johnson’s press secretary said the necessary due diligence was in place.She added: “The Conservative party does not accept foreign donations, that’s illegal.”“I would make the point that there are people in this country of Russian origin who are British citizens, many are critics of Putin, so it’s wrong and discriminatory to tar them all with the same brush.”Her comments come as the west warns Mr Putin could order a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Rory Sullivan23 February 2022 14:25164562571181% of Independent readers think Covid restrictions should not be endingAll remaining coronavirus restrictions – including the need to self-isolate after a positive test result – will be dropped from midnight under the prime minister’s “living with Covid” strategy.More than 80 per cent of Independent readers believe this is the wrong decision. One reader commented: “We are only just beginning to learn about the long-term effects of even mild infections of this NEW, complex disease. What we already know is concerning both for individuals & their families, & for NHS.”Rory Sullivan23 February 2022 14:151645624991UK at risk of Russian cyberattack amid Ukraine crisis, warns Patel A Russian cyberattack against the UK is likely because of Britain’s support for Ukraine, Priti Patel has said.Speaking the day after the British government imposed sanctions against five Russian banks and three individuals linked to the Putin regime, Ms Patel said the UK’s position will probably lead to “consequences” at home. “I think it’s fair to say, right now, when we are in what is – quite frankly – open conflict, criticising, rightly so, calling for Putin to stop all the activity around Ukraine, it comes with consequences to us,” the home secretary said. “The risk is alive. And on that basis, we are absolutely stepping up everything that we need to domestically,” she added. Rory Sullivan23 February 2022 14:031645624271Exclusive: Boris Johnson ‘lining up revenge reshuffle’ if he survives PartygateBoris Johnson could be planning a revenge reshuffle in July if he survives the Partygate scandal, The Independent understands. Referring to the prime minister’s recent troubles, one well-placed MP said: “Boris is someone who rewards loyalty and there are a lot of people who very noticeably failed to show it.”The comment comes as an exclusive Savanta Comres survey forThe Independent showed the Tories trailing Labour by 7 points. The poll also revealed that only 35 per cent of Tory voters consider Mr Johnson their top choice as leader.The Independent’s political editor Andrew Woodcock has this exclusive: Rory Sullivan23 February 2022 13:511645623551Met Police responded to alarm triggered during Downing Street party but took no action, force confirmsA Metropolitan Police officer responded to a silent alarm set off by mistake at a Downing Street party during lockdown, the force has confirmed.Sir Steve House, the Met’s deputy commissioner, said the person involved had spoken to Sue Gray as part of her investigation into lockdown breaches. He added that the Met will also speak to them. “If we find officers knew what was going on and should have intervened we will follow up on that,” he said.Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden reports: Rory Sullivan23 February 2022 13:391645623058UK firms hit by record £4.5bn in customs duties as Brexit begins to ‘bite’ Moving away from PMQs…UK business paid a record £4.5bn in custom duties in the 12 months to 31 January, new figures show. This equates to a 64 per cent rise from the previous year, according to the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. The jump was caused by new requirements after Brexit. “Over the past year, customs duties have been a hugely significant additional cost for many businesses,” said Michelle Dale, senior manager at the company, adding that increased post-Brexit costs were “really biting”.“The cost of tariffs and extra paperwork is causing serious difficulties for many businesses, who are already struggling to stay profitable in the face of mounting pandemic-induced costs,” she added.Adam Forrest has more details here: Rory Sullivan23 February 2022 13:301645622229Watch: Speaker tells MP not to raise PM’s comments on Muslims in parliamentSpeaker tells MP not to raise Boris Johnson’s comments about Muslims in parliamentSam Hancock23 February 2022 13:171645622198PM slammed for misquoting Covid employment figures – againIn another update from this week’s PMQs, Full Fact reports:Sam Hancock23 February 2022 13:161645622044Labour reminds Commons PM will correct record on AbramovichAnd finally, Labour’s Chris Bryant makes a point of order to remind MPs Johnson is going to correct the record over what he said about Roman Abramovich yesterday (see my post from 11.04am). Bryant says this is unprecedented, and points out it has taken a Russian billionaire to get the PM to correct the record.That’s it for PMQs this week, the Commons is now emptying out. Sam Hancock23 February 2022 13:14 More

Boris Johnson loyalists believe he is lining up a revenge reshuffle in July if he escapes unscathed from the Partygate inquiries and May’s perilous local elections.Emboldened by the delay in publishing the final report into alleged lockdown-breaking gatherings at No 10, supporters of the prime minister believe the wind has gone out of the sails of moves to oust him, and that he will survive a confidence vote by MPs even if he is fined by the police.One well-placed MP predicted that, if so, he would move against those he feels have undermined him. They told The Independent: “Boris is someone who rewards loyalty, and there are a lot of people who very noticeably failed to show it.”There was little to nurture loyalist hopes of a Johnson recovery in an exclusive Savanta Comres survey for The Independent, which showed Conservatives trailing the opposition on 33 per cent compared to Labour’s 40 – a single point up on the low of 32 recorded in the pollster’s political tracker index.Little more than a third (35 per cent) of Conservative supporters viewed the prime minister as their top choice for leader.A massive 63 per cent of voters said Mr Johnson was doing a “bad job” as PM, against just 31 per cent who said he was doing well. Even among Tory voters, 42 per cent said he was performing badly.But the poll confirmed a belief among his supporters that the PM will be protected from removal by the lack of an obvious replacement for opponents to rally around.Among Tory supporters, he remained well ahead of his nearest rival, Rishi Sunak, who was favoured as leader by 23 per cent, with much-touted alternatives Liz Truss (4 per cent), Jeremy Hunt (7 per cent) and Sajid Javid (4 per cent) all trailing “someone else” (20 per cent) as the first choice.Among voters in general, Mr Johnson on 18 per cent was almost neck and neck with Mr Sunak (17 per cent), with Ms Truss (4 per cent), Mr Hunt (7 per cent) and Mr Javid (6 per cent) again far behind.Johnson loyalists who spoke to The Independent accepted that their leader still faces a challenge to hold onto his job, particularly if he is handed a police fine, is found personally culpable in the Partygate report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, or the Tories suffer a drubbing at the local elections on 5 May.But one Tory MP said that even if one of these moments of peril does result in Sir Graham Brady receiving the 54 letters needed to trigger a vote on Mr Johnson’s leadership, there is growing confidence that the prime minister can win it – as did his predecessor, Theresa May – by securing the votes of more than half of the parliamentary party, which at present equates to 181 of the party’s 360 MPs.“It’s a very high bar to reach, and it would take a greater degree of organisation than the rebels have shown so far,” they said.And the May polls could be a blessing in disguise for the PM, as they involve seats – particularly in London – that were last fought at the high point of Jeremy Corbyn’s electoral fortunes in 2018, meaning that Labour will face a tough challenge if it hopes to make significant gains.“We’ll certainly take a hit in May,” said the MP. “But actually we may not lose that many seats in numerical terms because we’re starting from a fairly low base. [Mr Johnson] can take a few hundred losses without it being terminal, especially if he’s just won a confidence vote.”And they added: “If he gets through both of those, I think we can expect a reshuffle, and it won’t be kind to those who failed to step up when he was under threat.“Boris is someone who rewards loyalty. There are a lot of people who very noticeably failed to show loyalty when the stories about parties were appearing. Jacob (Rees-Mogg) and Nadine (Dorries) and some others were out there [in TV and radio interviews] again and again, but there were others at ministerial and PPS level who were notable by their absence. I think some of them will be regretting their decisions come July.”The MP declined to identify potential victims of a revenge reshuffle.Sunak and Truss have both been accused of being “on manoeuvres” courting support in case of an eventual leadership battle – and Sunak’s disavowal of the PM’s smear linking Sir Keir Starmer with Jimmy Savile was viewed by some as disloyal. But few in Westminster believe the PM would move against the pair, who are viewed as being among his more successful ministers. Despite polling evidence of deep voter anger over Downing Street parties – including a recent survey for The Independent which found 75 per cent think he should quit if fined – some supporters believe he could survive a fixed penalty notice from police.One cabinet minister told The Independent: “The parties certainly come up on the doorstep. There’s no doubt people are cross about them. But it isn’t changing the way they say they’ll vote.“As far as my constituents are concerned, he delivered Brexit and he delivered the vaccine and that’s good enough for them.”The minister added: “I personally don’t think he’ll get fined. There is a high bar for the cops. Even if he does, I think he can ride it out. The Tory mood in the House was completely different after the Covid statement.”With the final Covid restrictions lifted and tensions over Ukraine dominating the political agenda, Johnson supporters are increasingly doubtful that rebels can revive the momentum that earlier saw confidence letters in double figures sent to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.MPs who spoke out against Johnson’s leadership came from different groups – Red Wall newcomers anxious for their slim majorities in formerly Labour seats, veteran Tories with One Nation sympathies and former ministers chafing at being confined to the backbenches – with no organised plot to unite them, they said.Meanwhile, the “Operation Save Big Dog” alternative whipping system has been so successful that activity on its WhatsApp support group has dwindled because members feel it is “job done”.One MP said the furore had helped the PM establish a corps of firm supporters: “There wasn’t really a Johnsonite group before all this, but funnily enough the Partygate affair has created one.”Today’s poll showed Sir Keir having some success eating into the Tory vote, with 13 per cent of 2019 Conservatives now saying they would back Labour, against just 1 per cent who backed Sir Keir’s party at the last election moving the other way.But 45 per cent said Sir Keir was doing a bad job as leader of the opposition, against 35 per cent who said he was doing well.Mr Sunak won a positive rating for his performance as chancellor, with 46 per cent saying he has done well, against 39 per cent who rated him badly. And views on Sajid Javid’s performance as health secretary were evenly split 41-41.- Savanta ComRes questioned 2,201 British adults between 18 and 20 February. More

Parliament is “not the appropriate place” to be raising concerns about Boris Johnson’s comments about Muslims, the Speaker has said.At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday Labour MP Imran Hussain said that Mr Johnson was “no stranger to derogatory remarks about Muslim women”.As if about to ask a question, Mr Hussain continued and said “let me ask the prime minister…” before he was cut off by the Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle. Sir Lindsay said: “This is not the appropriate place to be raising that”, and moved onto another MP without asking Mr Johnson to answer the question or allowing Mr Hussain to continue. The Labour MP for Bradford began his question by raising concerns about Mark Spencer, the MP who has been appointed Commons leader despite being under government investigation for alleged Islamophobia, which he denies. But when he turned to the prime minister’s own record he was cut off by the Speaker. Mr Johnson has previously in 2018 described Muslim women as looking like “bank robbers” and “letterboxes”.In 2019 Tell MAMA, an organisation which documents instances of racism against Muslims, reported a 375 per cent increase in attacks in the week following after Mr Johnson’s comments, some “directly referenced Boris Johnson and/or the language used in his column”. The Speaker did not elaborate on his reasoning for cutting off Mr Hussain, but a spokesperson for the House of Commons authorities toldThe Independent: “Mr Speaker was following the convention set out in Erskine May that Members should not make accusations about the conduct of other Members as a ‘sideswipe’ as part of a question. “In other words, any accusation about a Member’s conduct should only be done in the form of a substantive motion, and not just in passing.”But the decision prompted instant criticism. The Labour Muslim Network said: “Thank you to Imran Hussain for raising the issue of Islamophobia in the House of Commons today. It is absolutely shameful that this important issue was shouted down by Conservative MPs and dismissed by the House of Commons Speaker.”Ali Milani, who was Labour’s parliamentary candidate against Mr Johnson at the 2019 election, said: “Good on Imran Hussain, shame on the Commons Speaker [Linsay Hoyle]”.Following the exchange, Mr Hussain said: “Today I raised the serious issue of Islamophobia at the top of the Conservative Party.”I was silenced in Parliament, but they can’t stop me speaking out against this Government’s disgusting racism – so I ask here: If you can’t call out Islamophobia at PMQs then where can you?” More