UK Politics

The government should extend its plans for high-speed rail across the border to Scotland if it wants to meet its net zero climate goals, rail chiefs have said.A new report says faster journeys between London and Edinburgh and Glasgow will encourage people to shift from domestic flights and car travel – which currently dominate the route.While current plans for HS2 will cut the key north-south journey to less than four hours, planners say speed enhancements north of Crewe are needed to make rail more competitive and reach the “tipping point” of most passengers switching.Taking an hour off the journey and cutting it to about three hours would see people change to rail for 75 per cent of journeys, according to modelling based on the experience with other high-speed rail projects. Just 29 per cent of people take the train when travelling between the cities – far less than between London and Manchester where the journey is only two hours.As well as reviewing evidence from abroad, the report points to the UK’s experience with Eurostar, which “caused a reduction of London-Paris air passengers” despite sharply rising demand for flights on other routes.“Evidence from existing high-speed rail services show significant modal shifts from car and short-haul flight alternatives. In France, for example, the TGV Atlantique route achieved a 66 per cent shift from air to rail (models had predicted just 29 per cent),” the authors said.“Closer to home, Eurostar services reduced air passenger volumes by 50 to 60 per cent on the London to Paris/Brussels routes. In the UK, evidence shows that the tipping point for a modal shift from air to rail lies in the 21⁄2h–41⁄2h range. “Research shows that taking an hour off rail journey times on Edinburgh/Glasgow to London and Edinburgh/Glasgow to Midlands routes would result in rail market shares growing from today’s 30 per cent share of the Anglo-Scottish travel market to 75 per cent.”The research adds: “HS2 together with route enhancements north of Crewe that could provide three-hour London to Glasgow/Edinburgh rail journey times.”The report points out that road transport account for 67 per cent of the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, rail just 1.4 per cent – with longer distance journeys accounting for 30 per cent of vehicle miles and carbon emissions.The government’s integrated rail plan, published in November, was widely criticised for cutting back on plans for east-west rail linking the north and midlands – but left most of HS’s new west coast high-speed rail route intact. Under HS2, trains would run on high-speed tracks as far north as Crewe and then switch to conventional tracks for the remainder of the journey – cutting the journey time from London to Glasgow by 49 minutes from 4:30 to 3:40.Officials at the Department for Transport have previously explored options for reducing journey times to three hours, including building a further high-speed line, or a more piecemeal approach using more limited sections of track to bypass the current slowest sections. The DfT said: “Our Integrated Rail Plan outlines a historic £96bn investment in our railway – delivering high speed rail, faster upgrades and greener, more efficient services across the whole of the UK.“We’ve also invited the Scottish government to help bolster the vital transport links between our nations and are considering recommendations to upgrade the West Coast Main Line north of Crewe, following last year’s Union Connectivity Review.”Jim Steer, the report’s author, said: “The undeniable contribution that HS2 services can make in reducing carbon emissions is substantial and has been under-reported across the years.“Modal shift will happen with HS2, much like it has across the world where high speed rail services have already been provided and integrated with other forms of transport. In this report, we have shown that high speed rail has the unique capability to achieve the modal shift that will be required to reach net zero,” added Mr Steer, who is also a board member at the High Speed Rail Group, which represents industry bodies. Mark Southwell, chief of civil infrastructure at infrastructure planners AECOM, said: “We need to shift to low carbon forms of mobility to limit global warming. As this report demonstrates, the evidence to support a sustainable, low carbon, high speed rail network is compelling.” More

Boris Johnson will fight any vote of no confidence brought against him, a senior Downing Street source has said.The prime minister’s press secretary told reporters that Mr Johnson continues to believe he is the best person for the job and intends to lead the Conservatives into the next general election.Mr Johnson’s position is in peril due to anger from Tory MPs over a string of reports of parties at Downing Street during lockdown.At least seven Conservative MPs have called on the prime minister to resign, and there are reports of 20 or more submitting letters of no confidence to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.However, only five have publicly confirmed letters and Sir Graham has not revealed how many he has received. He must order a confidence vote if 54 Tory MPs demand one.To remain leader, Mr Johnson would have to win the votes of more than half of his parliamentary party – currently 180 MPs.Asked whether the PM would fight to save his job if subjected to a vote of this kind, his press secretary told a regular Westminster press briefing: “Yes.”But challenged over whether he would expect to win, she replied: “That is getting into a hypothetical. Our focus is very clear in terms of delivering the ambitious agenda that we were elected on in 2019.“We want to continue to work together as Conservatives to deliver this.”The press secretary said that this was the focus of Mr Johnson’s discussions with backbench Tory MPs, who he has been meeting privately yesterday and today as he battles to shore up his position.She denied reports that the PM was in tears at one of these meetings as he asked what more he could do to remain in post.“I have seen that report. It’s not true,” she said. “He regularly meets MPs. He was doing exactly that yesterday and will do the same today.“The broad message of all of these meetings is to focus on what we’ve delivered for the country so far since we were elected, from getting Brexit done to record investment in local transport and infrastructure to tackling this unprecedented pandemic.“We’ve consistently made tough decisions which have resulted in us being in a position we’re in now. We’ve delivered the fastest booster rollout in Europe, which has enabled us to have the most open economy and the fastest growth in the G7 and enabled us to make the decision we have today about lifting Plan B restrictions.”The current system under which a confidence vote is triggered if 15 per cent of Tory MPs request one was introduced by former leader William Hague.Theresa May was forced to fight a confidence vote in December 2018 and sailed through by 200 votes to 117, only to be forced out of office by more brutal means six months later. The only Tory leader to have actually been forced out by a vote of this kind was Iain Duncan Smith, defeated by 90 votes to 75 in 2003. More

Plan B Covid restrictions are to end in England, with Covid passes no longer required from next Thursday, work from home guidance lifted, and an end to mandatory face-coverings, Boris Johnson has announced.A meeting of Cabinet agreed this morning that the Plan B rules in place since early December will be lifted on their scheduled review date of 26 January.Work from home guidance is lifted immediately and people are no longer encouraged to work remotely if possible.”Having looked at the data carefully, the Cabinet concluded that once regulations lapse the Government will no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere,” the prime minister told MPs on Wednesday.”From tomorrow, we will no longer require face masks in classrooms and the Department for Education will shortly remove national guidance on their use in communal areas.”In the country at large we will continue to suggest the use of face coverings in enclosed or crowded spaces, particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet – but we will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one.”Mr Johnson’s announcement was met with audible shouts of delight from his own party’s benches. The PM also confirmed that some Covid measures would stay in place for now, such as on travel, and the legal requirement for a person who tests positive to self-isolate for five days.But he MPs that “there will soon come a time when we can remove the legal requirement to self-isolate altogether, just as we don’t place legal obligations on people to isolate if they have flu” and that this point would likely be reached before March.”As Covid becomes endemic, we will need to replace legal requirements with advice and guidance, urging people with the virus to be careful and considerate of others,” he said.”The self-isolation regulations expire on March 24, at which point I very much expect not to renew them. Indeed, were the data to allow, I’d like to seek a vote in this House to bring that date forward.”Mr Johnson said that the health secretary Sajid Javid would lay out more details on the government’s “long-term strategy for living with Covid-19” in “the coming days”.This would explain “how we hope and intend to protect our liberty and avoid restrictions in future by relying instead on medical advances, especially the vaccines which have already saved so many lives”, he said, adding: “But to make that possible we must all remain cautious during these last weeks of winter. There are still over 16,000 people in hospital in England alone. The pandemic is not over.”Responding for the opposition, Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “Labour has a plan to live well with Covid and secure our lives, livelihoods and liberties, where’s his?”In reply, Mr Johnson said: “Throughout this pandemic he has been absolutely shameless in veering from one position to the next and he has been wrong about virtually every single important decision. He was wrong about keeping schools open.”If he’s thinks that there’s any political opportunity in opposing it next week, he won’t hesitate to do so, he’s been captain hindsight throughout.” More

Health secretary Sajid Javid is to hold a press conference at Downing Street at 5pm today to discuss changes to Covid regulations in England, No 10 has announced.Mr Javid will face questioning shortly after Boris Johnson’s announcement that Plan B restrictions will be lifted at midnight on Wednesday evening next week, removing all requirements for Covid passes in sports and entertainment events and face-coverings in public places.Work from home guidance is lifted immediately and people are no longer encouraged to work remotely if possible.A meeting of Cabinet agreed this morning that the Plan B rules on Covid passes and face-coverings in place since early December will be lifted from a minute past midnight on 27 January.Mandatory face-coverings in classrooms will end tomorrow, while they will remain in place in communal areas of schools until next Thursday morning.“Having looked at the data carefully, the Cabinet concluded that once regulations lapse the Government will no longer mandate the wearing of face masks anywhere,” the prime minister told MPs.“From tomorrow, we will no longer require face masks in classrooms and the Department for Education will shortly remove national guidance on their use in communal areas.“In the country at large we will continue to suggest the use of face coverings in enclosed or crowded spaces, particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet – but we will trust the judgment of the British people and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear one.”Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson denied that the prime minister was sending Mr Javid to host the press conference in order to avoid exposing himself to questioning from the public and press on the “partygate” row and calls from his own MPs for his resignation.“The prime minister has been taking questions both in the House and from the media yesterday,” said the spokesperson.There was no immediate announcement on whether Mr Javid would be joined by scientific and medical experts at this afternoon’s press conference.Mr Johnson’s announcement was met with audible shouts of delight from his own party’s benches. The PM also confirmed that some Covid measures would stay in place for now, such as on travel, and the legal requirement for a person who tests positive to self-isolate for five days.But he told MPs that “there will soon come a time when we can remove the legal requirement to self-isolate altogether, just as we don’t place legal obligations on people to isolate if they have flu” and that this point may be reached before the review date of 24 March.Mr Johnson’s spokesperson told reporters that the timing of the end of self-isolation would depend on the progress of the virus on a range of different measures, such as infections, hospitalisations, serious illness and deaths.The spokesperson said that there were signs of hospitalisations “plateauing or declining”.And he added: “We need to keep the data under review. If the decline continues across a range of metrics, we will be able to move more quickly.” More

Tory MP David Davis tells Boris Johnson to quit: ‘In the name of God, go’Boris Johnson has been called on to quit by former Tory minister David Davis during a dramatic Prime Minister’s Questions.Mr Davis told the Commons he expected his leaders to “shoulder responsibility for the actions they take”, accusing the prime minister of doing “the opposite of that”.“So I’ll remind him of a quotation altogether too familiar to him,” he said. “You have sat there too long for all the good you’ve done. In the name of God, go.”Mr Johnson was also hit by the defection of a Red Wall MP to Labour just minutes before PMQs.Bury South MP Christian Wakeford said the country needed a government that “upholds the highest standards of integrity and probity” but told Mr Johnson “both you and the Conservative Party as a whole have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves”.Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson suggested a no-confidence vote in MrJohnson was now a matter of “when” rather than “if” after 12 more Tory MPs reportedly submitted letters of no confidence on Wednesday morning.Show latest update

1642603854Some Tory MPs starting to withdraw no-confidence letters, reports saySome Tory MPs have now withdrawn their letters of no confidence sent to 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady, according to reports.My colleague Adam Forrest has these comments from Red wall Tory Jonathan Gullis, the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North:“What I’m hearing from colleagues is that a number of [MPs], particularly 2019-ers, are actually starting to withdraw those letters.“I hope those MPs in my intake take a pause for breath, contact Sir Graham … and withdraw their letter.“I’ve not been told any direct names – but I’m being told names are being withdrawn.”Mr Gullis said the Tory reaction to Christian Wakeford’s defection to Labour was “complete and utter disgust”, and called for a by-election in his Bury South seat.Chiara Giordano19 January 2022 14:501642603254PM ‘isn’t prioritising saving lives’, say bereaved familiesMy colleague Adam Forrest has these comments from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which has added its voice to those calling for Boris Johnson to quit.Dr Saleyha Ahsan, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said: “Whilst the prime minister removes public health protections in the hope of saving his own skin, 438 families have tragically lost loved ones to Covid in the last 24 hours.”“He isn’t prioritising saving lives and, even if he was, no one would take him seriously. “How can anyone think that this is how life or death decisions should be made? The prime minister has shown he’s unfit for office and should resign.”Chiara Giordano19 January 2022 14:401642602654Labour MPs branded ‘hypocrites’ for not speaking out as council boss remains in £190k job despite partyLabour MPs who have failed to speak out against a council boss who broke lockdown rules by throwing a party in Whitehall have been branded “hypocrites”.Kate Josephs, the chief executive of Sheffield City Council, hosted leaving drinks in December 2020 to toast the end of her previous job leading the government’s Covid Taskforce.Our North of England correspondent Colin Drury has the full story:Chiara Giordano19 January 2022 14:301642602042Sajid Javid to hold press conference to discuss changes to Covid restrictionsHealth secretary Sajid Javid is to hold a press conference at Downing Street at 5pm today to discuss changes to Covid regulations in England, No 10 has announced.Mr Javid will face questioning shortly after Boris Johnson’s announcement that Plan B restrictions will be lifted at midnight on Wednesday evening next week, removing all requirements for Covid passes in sports and entertainment events and face-coverings in public places.More on this from our political editor Andrew Woodcock below:Chiara Giordano19 January 2022 14:201642601795Boris Johnson will fight to save job in confidence vote, says No 10Boris Johnson will fight any vote of no confidence brought against him, a senior Downing Street source has said.Follow our breaking story for more on this:Chiara Giordano19 January 2022 14:161642601429Watch: Boris Johnson says No 10 party questions are ‘wasting people’s time’Boris Johnson says No 10 party questions are ‘wasting people’s time’Matt Mathers19 January 2022 14:101642600829Watch: Keir Starmer cracks ‘bring your own boos’ joke during rowdy PMQs exchangeKeir Starmer cracks ‘bring your own boos’ joke during rowdy PMQs exchangeMatt Mathers19 January 2022 14:001642600229Labour: No need to hold byelection in South Bury, party claimsA Labour spokesman indicated the party’s leader believes there will be no need to hold a by-election in Bury South following Christian Wakeford’s defection.Asked if, as far as Sir Keir Starmer is concerned, there is no principle requiring anyone who defects from one party to another to stand for re-election, the spokesman said: “Correct.”On whether Mr Wakeford will face a trigger ballot in the coming months, the spokesman said: “We’ll set out all of the process, obviously, once we’ve had a chance to speak to people, the relevant people that vote in the local party and nationally, and we’ll happily set out the process at that point. But I don’t want to pre-empt that now.”Matt Mathers19 January 2022 13:50164259962989% chance of no confidence vote in PM, sports betting community saysThere is now an 89 per cent chance that the PM will receive a vote of no confidence from MPs, according to an online sport betting community.The Online Betting Guide, which provides tips to gamblers, cites odds saying there is “89% confidence from bookmakers that a vote of no confidence will be triggered.“Bookmakers are certainly confident in a vote of no confidence, with them offering odds of 3/25, giving it an 89% likelihood of it happening,” it adds.Matt Mathers19 January 2022 13:401642599066‘Good riddance to bad rubbish’Tory MP Lee Anderson has said “good riddance to bad rubbish” as he lashed out at Christian Wakeford’s decision to defect to the Labour Party.”I guess if anybody was going to defect it would be Christian Wakeford,” he said.”I say good riddance to bad rubbish,” he added in a disparaging tone as referred to his ex-colleague as “wokeford”.Meanwhile, reports say Labour’s latest recruit has been in talks with the party about switching since before Christmas – before the rush of calls for the PM to go but after the first partygate report emerged.Matt Mathers19 January 2022 13:31 More

Bookmakers have narrowed the odds on chancellor Rishi Sunak replacing Boris Johnson as prime minister following days of damaging revelations about gatherings at Downing Street. Website Oddschecker, which complies the odds of leading British bookmakers, has the odds of Rishi Sunak being named the next Prime Minister at 7/4, a slight improvement in his chances. Odds for the foreign secretary Liz Truss however have changed further, with the likelihood of her taking the top job shortened from 10/1 to 5/1.Betting agent Ladbrokes however have kept Liz Truss’s odds at 11/2, just under the chancellor who stands at 11/8. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is the next favourite, according to Ladbrokes, with his chances at 7/1 – neck and neck with Labour leader Keir Starmer. Bookmakers are in agreement however that Boris Johnson is likely to be pushed out of his job as prime minister in 2022. Mr Johnson is now odds-on to be replaced this year, according to betting firms Coral and Labrokes. “Our betting indicates the PM is unlikely to see out the year in No 10”, said Coral’s John Hill.Ladbroke’s odds of Boris Johnson being ousted in 2022 are currently 1/5. Jessica O’Reilly of Ladbrokes said: “With letters of no confidence seemingly being written left, right and centre, Dominic Cummings back on the prowl and Rishi Sunak’s refusal to back the PM, it leaves Boris Johnson’s future under serious threat and we’ve been left with little option but to slash the odds accordingly .”The betting agent’s odds are at 16/1, 20/1 and 20/1 for Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Sajid Javid respectively. The figures come as a poll of London voters published on Wednesday showing that the Tories were a startling 32 points behind Labour in the capital, according to the Evening Standard. The YouGov poll also showed that two thirds of Londoners believe that the Prime Minister should resign. Support for prime minister Boris Johnson has also collapsed in Red Wall constituencies, according to new rapid polling. Labour now has an 11-point advantage over the Tories in the area, according to the poll of 518 people conducted by J L Partners. More

David Davis has dramatically called on Boris Johnson to quit, telling him: ‘In the name of God, go’.The former cabinet minister became the most senior Conservative to demand his resignation over the ‘partygate’ scandal, intervening during prime minister’s questions.“You have sat there too long for all the good you have done,” Mr Davis said, reviving a quote first attributed to Oliver Cromwell.The direct attack on his former Brexit ally drew gasps in the Commons chamber, after Mr Johnson said questions about the 20 May 2020 party were “wasting people’s time”.Moments earlier, he had suffered the devastating blow of one of his ‘Red Wall’ MPs – Bury South’s Christian Wakeford – defecting to Labour.The Commons microphone picked up the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, muttering to himself under his breath: “What a day.”Mr Johnson had put up a fighting performance in the chamber, repeatedly declaring he will not resign ahead of the crucial report by civil servant Sue Gray, who is investigating the controversy.But Mr Davis then piled on the pressure, as more Tory MPs submit letters demanding a vote of no confidence – with 54 required to trigger that contest.“I expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take. Yesterday, he did the opposite of that,” the former Brexit secretary rose to say.“So, I will remind him of a quotation which may be familiar to his ear: Leopold Amery to Neville Chamberlain [at the outbreak of the Second World War].“You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. In the name of God, go.”Speaking outside the Commons shortly afterwards, Mr Davis pointed to Mr Johnson’s disastrous interview, on Tuesday, in which he said “no-one warned me” the party would break Covid rules.“It’s not what I expect from a leader. Up until now I had been supporting him…but it’s not leadership,” he told journalists.“Leadership means shouldering responsibility even when it’s blame. And he didn’t do it. Yesterday’s interview was an attempt to escape responsibility, not to shoulder it – and that is a test of leadership.”A tweet put out in 2018 by Nadine Dorries, the close Johnson ally and culture secretary, was revived, in which she said: “David Davis is ex-SAS. He’s trained to survive. He’s also trained to take people out.”But a defiant Mr Johnson later told MPs: “I haven’t sat here quite long enough, indeed nothing like long enough, in my view.”He also let slip that the Sue Gray report – which is crucial to his chances of surviving the partygate controversy – will not be published until “next week”, prolonging the agony for the Tory party.The senior civil servant had been expected to finish her work before the end of this week – but her task has grown with further allegations about lockdown-busting events.As he faced Labour accusations of “absurd and unbelievable” claims about what he knew about the parties, Mr Johnson told MPs to wait until “next week”, for the verdict to be delivered. More