UK Politics

British disability blue badges are no longer being recognised in major holiday destinations across Europe thanks to Brexit, the government has admitted.Automatic recognition for Britain’s 2.4 million blue badge holders – a perk of EU membership – stopped across Europe on 31 December 2020 when the EU transition period ended.Ministers promised to negotiate individual deals with EU countries to recognise British badges, but a year on they have still failed to do so for the most popular destinations.Travellers with disabilities still face uncertainty and inconvenience in countries including France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal – all of which are still in talks with the UK government over the issue.The countries are believed to be resistant to recognising British badges because it is difficult for local officials and parking wardens to verify the authenticity of non-EU badges, a problem EU badges do not have because they are of a common design and part of the same scheme. More than 40 million UK visitors travelled to the missing countries in 2019 before the pandemic hit, accounting for nearly half of all visits abroad by British residents worldwide.With international travel off the agenda for most people due to the Covid pandemic, the issue has so far slipped under the radar. But disability access campaigners said the government was in danger of letting disabled people down and making it harder for them to travel when normal service resumes. The situation is so uncertain that ministers now recommend that anyone with mobility problems travelling abroad should check with the embassy of the country they are travelling to. In a written answer to a parliamentary question seen by The Independent, Transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the government was continuing “to engage in discussions with a number of countries” about the issue.But he declined to comment on the detail of the negotiations, beyond stating that the government “remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for visiting motorists”.Blue badges entitle people with mobility difficulties to use disabled parking spaces. When Britain left the EU, the design of the British badge was changed to remove the EU flag – but along with the redesign went the right for it to be automatically recognised.A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said blue badge holders should now check with the embassy of their destination country before travelling to see what the local policy was. A full list of countries’ policies has also been published on GOV.UK.When The Independent first approached the DfT about the issue, countries that had not said they would recognise the UK badge were marked under the heading “UK blue badge recognised” as “no”. However the page has since been updated and those countries have now been re-marked as “undecided”.Other countries that have not said they will accept UK badges include Slovenia, Romania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, and Lithuania.Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK, told The Independent: “For many disabled people, a car with a blue badge is the only option for being able to leave home. The Blue Badge enables visits to family and friends, trips to shops, restaurants and cinemas, and visits to the doctor or hospital.”She said it was “essential that Government ensures that Blue Badges are recognised across Europe to ensure that disabled people enjoy the same opportunities to travel”.Baroness Sal Brinton, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson in the House of Lords, said: “It is deeply disappointing that the government appear to have let this issue drop down their agenda. “Disabled people already face a huge wave of difficulties others do not when trying to travel, either for work or for a holiday and this is yet another barrier for them.”Baroness Brinton, who herself uses a wheelchair, added: “By failing to secure a reciprocal deal on blue badge use, the Conservatives are letting disabled people down. The UK Government should renew their focus – reaching an agreement is clearly in everyone’s interest.”Some British local authorities also refuse to accept non-UK blue badges from outside the EU. The reasoning given by one north London council is that “disabled badges from outside the EU vary in design and it is hard to verify their authenticity” – a concern at the heart of EU objections to recognising British badges.A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “It has always been the case that disabled drivers should check the local rules in the country they are travelling in before using a disabled parking card abroad.“Negotiations on Blue Badge recognition are ongoing between the UK and individual EU States, and motorists can always contact their embassy for advice or assistance if they need it.” More

David Lammy has apologised for nominating Jeremy Corbyn at Labour’s 2015 leadership election.The comments were made at this year’s Limmud festival, a Jewish event which took place virtually this year between Friday 24 and Tuesday 28 December.Mr Lammy said he “never believed” Corbyn would become leader and called his nomination “a mistake”.The shadow foreign secretary told an audience of around 300 that he was “staggered” that individuals with deeply antisemitic views remain in the Labour Party. The remarks were first reported by Jewish News.“I’ve met some of these individuals and am frankly staggered some are still in the party. But as a lawyer I understand that people appeal and go to court. There is a process, which can feel slow and tortuous sometimes, but it must be undertaken,” he said.Mr Lammy added: “I regret nominating Jeremy Corbyn and if I knew what I do now I never would have nominated him.“I never believed he would become leader. That was a mistake and I am sorry for that.”He also described his belief in a “rainbow coalition approach to politics”, acknowledging the Jewish community for standing “shoulder to shoulder” with anti-apartheid leaders including Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.He continued, praising the Jewish community for understanding “the fascism that was at the heart of apartheid and the pernicious evil of discrimination.”Mr Lammy’s comments were made following a recent survey of Jewish Labour Movement members, which found strong satisfaction with Sir Keir Starmer’s efforts to address antisemitism within the party.Of the 363 respondents, around 70% said Labour was a safe space for Jewish people under Starmer’s leadership, compared with 4% who felt the same under Corbyn.At Limmud, Mr Lammy continued, saying he was “fully behind” Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, but exercised caution: “I don’t believe the overall culture is toxic any more… but until the party is genuinely welcome for everyone, we remain on a journey.” More

John Major privately admitted that he did not believe the IRA could be defeated militarily, a newly-published memo from a 1992 meeting in Downing St has revealed.According to the Irish Government’s memo, the ex-prime minister also warned that if the republicans thought Britain was afflicted with “battle fatigue”, they were wrong.The comments were made during a meeting in February 1992 between Mr Major, the newly-elected Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and other senior Irish ministers.The discussion in No 10, which came a matter of weeks before the UK general election, was held in amongst a series of talks between the main political parties in Northern Ireland.“Do you think we can defeat the IRA?” the Taoiseach asked Mr Major directly.The prime minister responds: “Militarily that would be very difficult: I would not say this in public, of course, but, in private, I would say, possibly no.”The record reveals the frustrations held by both the British and Irish governments over the lack of progress made following previous talks.Early efforts on the Irish side to have Sinn Fein included in future settlement negotiations also unfold throughout the conversation had between the two leaders. “My own impression is that the talks are not getting anywhere,” Mr Reynolds said.The Prime Minister, referring to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, replied: “Peter Brooke thinks they have some life.”The Taoiseach responds: “I would say that here… but not outside”, adding he believed the IRA were “serious” about making peace after Sinn Fein published Towards a Lasting Peace just days earlier.Mr Major said: “If we pursue that, we could run into very serious opposition here: you know that more bombs are threatened in Whitehall. If they are serious, they are certainly going the wrong way about it.”“They will not get peace by putting bombs in Whitehall – rather the opposite. Why do they behave as they are now behaving if they want peace?”Mr Reynolds then tells Mr Major that “they always do that”.The IRA had launched a mortar attack on 0 Downing Street during a Cabinet meeting in 1991, a year before the meeting from which the memo was taken.Mr Reynolds continued: “Before a cessation of violence, they always become more active. They always like it to appear that if a ceasefire comes about, then they have not acted from weakness.”“Is there any way in which we could look at the language, with a view to moving things along?” Mr Reynolds asks, seemingly in reference to the Sinn Fein document.The British prime minister said: “I know Gerry Adams and one or two others are involved in this. They think we are suffering from battle fatigue. They’re wrong. They could be engaged in a very cynical game.”Further on into the meeting, the Taoiseach said he thinks “peace may well be in sight”, but warned that the two governments were dealing with “divided community.”“We must draw up structures to accommodate these differences; and these structures must command confidence. I am talking about the longer term – there is no instant solution,” he said.John Major replied: “We cannot suddenly move to an end product but we are walking down a path – and we can’t stop: we can’t stop talking – or walking.“Twenty two years is a long time: there are a lot of dead bodies in between.”Mr Major told the present parties: “I have the misfortune not to be an Irishman but I understand the importance of symbolism. We must be prepared to do unconventional things.” More

Boris Johnson’s government has ruled out further Covid restrictions in England before the new year, leaving the country at odds with other parts of the UK where curbs have been tightened to tackle the Omicron variant.Health secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that the prime minister had decided not to bring in any fresh measures this week, but said ministers would look again in January at whether more controls were needed.“There will be no further measures before the new year,” Mr Javid told reporters on Monday. “We won’t be taking any further measures. Of course people should remain cautious as we approach new year celebrations.”The prime minister said added that he would “continue to monitor the data carefully.”However, Mr Johnson was warned that the NHS could soon be “overwhelmed” by the rise in Covid cases, as the trade union for hospital doctors said it was “ludicrous” not to bring in further measures immediately.Daily Covid case numbers hit record highs in England and Scotland over Christmas, figures published on Monday showed, while the number of Covid patients in London hospitals increased by almost 50 per cent within a week.The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) said it was time for Downing Street to bring in fresh restrictions – including limits on household mixing and table service only in pubs and restaurants.“We would definitely propose that there is a more precautionary approach taken – we should be doing something more,” HCSA president Dr Claudia Paoloni said on Monday, adding that it would “take very little” to overwhelm the health service in the weeks ahead.The decision not to impose restrictions beyond the plan B measures already in place in England comes after Mr Johnson was briefed by England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance on infections and hospitalisations.The latest data shows a clear increase in Covid bed occupancy over the past week. Across England, a total of 8,474 patients were in hospital with the disease on 27 December, compared to 6,688 a week before – a 27 per cent rise.And in the capital, the hotspot for the Omicron variant, bed occupancy has surged by almost 50 per cent over this time frame, increasing from 1,819 to 2,640.Dr Julia Patterson, chief executive of the campaign group Every Doctor, told Sky News: “This government has chosen not to act early with the Omicron variant … There seems to be a reticence to listen to experts, which is deeply concerning – we’ve seen this so many times before.”Ian Higginson, vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the current number of staff absences from Covid in NHS emergency departments could soon “push us over the edge”.He told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “Our members, those who got back to us, were pretty emphatic that they are suffering significant staffing issues right now. We’re worried that something is going to have to give.”However, Conservative MPs welcomed the news that there would be no recall of parliament to push through further legal restrictions this week.Tory lockdown sceptic Andrew Bridgen said: “The reason we’re not having any further restrictions is because the data just doesn’t support it … What’s happened in Wales and Scotland is an overreaction.”Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said it would “not be a cop-out at all” for Mr Johnson to offer strengthened guidance on socialising rather than legal restrictions, adding: “I think that would be a very sensible way to go forward.”Restrictions on hospitality and large events have been brought in elsewhere in the UK, with the Scottish government ordering nightclubs to be shuttered from Monday while hospitality businesses will need to return to table service only if serving alcohol.Asked why Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had chosen to tighten up restrictions ahead of the new year celebrations, Mr Javid said: “It’s for each country that makes up the UK to decide how it wants to go forward.”He added: “When we get into the new year, of course we will see then whether we do need to take any further measures, but nothing more until then at least.”Labour said people “will be relieved” to see no new restrictions, but urged the government to “come forward with a plan” to keep the NHS running and schools open through the latest wave.Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, called on the government to publish all the latest data on hospitalisations and NHS staff absences “so that the public can be reassured that they are genuinely following the data and scientific advice and that Boris Johnson is not simply capitulating to his own opponents in the Tory party”.England saw its highest-ever daily total of Covid cases on Christmas Day, when 113,628 cases were recorded. A further 103,558 cases were recorded on Boxing Day and a further 98,515 cases confirmed on Monday, following a lag in the data over the festive holiday.Scotland also hit its highest number of Covid cases since the start of the pandemic after 11,030 cases were confirmed for Boxing Day. First minister Nicola Sturgeon said that while the rate of hospital admissions with Omicron is lower than previous strains, rising cases will “put inevitable further strain on the NHS”.Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency announced 45,307 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant. The number of deaths in England of people with Omicron variant rose to 39, while hospital admissions with Omicron in England rose to 407.Mr Javid said the Omicron variant was now growing so fast that it accounts for 90 per cent of all new Covid cases. The health secretary said that since the government had learned of Omicron its strategy had been to “buy time”, adding that the best form of defence was vaccination. More

Members of the House of Lords pocketed nearly £15m in taxpayers’ cash from daily allowances and expenses over the last year, new figures show.Peers claimed £13.2m for their daily allowance between August 2020 and July this year, according to research by the House of Commons library.The unelected politicians in the upper chamber claimed a further £1.7m in expenses, despite proceedings being done remotely during much of the period.The SNP said the “ludicrous sums” showed why the Lords should be abolished – accusing Labour of backing away from previous promises to replace it with an elected second chamber.Analysis by Nicola Sturgeon’s party found that, with 22,140 speeches made by peers last year, an average of £674 was claimed per contribution in allowance and expenses.“The unelected House of Lords is a permanent stain on our democracy,” said Pete Wishart, the SNP’s shadow Commons leader.“Taxpayers up and down the country will rightly feel aggrieved that their taxes are being spent – in ludicrous sums – on an undemocratic, outdated system,” he continued.“Only by achieving independence can we finally rid ourselves of this toxic, undemocratic system once and for all.”Peers do not take a salary for their role, but can claim a £323 allowance for each day they attend in person or £162 if they join the work of the Lords remotely.In the run-up to the 2019 general election, the then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to get rid of the “undemocratic anachronism” and replace it with an elected second chamber. But his successor, Sir Keir Starmer, has yet to formulate a clear position on the future of the Lords.A Lords spokesperson pointed out that the latest annual figures represented a reduction in the total amount claimed on the previous year, “due to changes to working practices” during the pandemic.“The House of Lords is a busy and effective chamber, scrutinising and improving laws that affect all of us and holding the government to account,” a spokesperson said. More

Vulnerable people at risk of long-term unemployment will be left without help because of delays and cuts to “levelling up” funding, experts are warning.Michael Gove has been alerted to “a loss of services” after a long-promised Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) – to replace EU grants lost because of Brexit – was slashed by almost £2bn over 3 years.The fund had already been delayed for one year – costing poorer areas of the UK around another £1.5bn – triggering criticism that development projects have been put at risk.Now the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) has warned that the work of organisations to find jobs for “the most vulnerable in society” is also under threat.They include school leavers, disabled people and over-50s, who receive extra help to develop skills and prepare for the world of work – previously funded from the lost EU grants.In a letter, to Mr Gove, the levelling up secretary – seen by The Independent – the ERSA demands answers on when the SPF will finally get underway and on the scale of any cuts.Otherwise, “some providers of important services will be lost because of this ongoing uncertainty”, Elizabeth Taylor, the group’s chief executive, has written.She tells Mr Gove: “This could lead to some of the most vulnerable in society no longer receiving the help they need. It is of paramount importance that this does not happen, particularly in a post-Covid economy when support is needed most.”Key unanswered questions include what cash will be set aside for work schemes, whether local bodies will help control the fund, or whether Mr Gove will make “all the key decisions”, Ms Taylor says.There is also evidence that money is being diverted to other projects, including an existing programme to improve adult numeracy skills.Ms Taylor added: “European funding has long-since been embedded in employability contracts, going back to the 1980s.“It has always been able to reach people who weren’t actively involved in the labour market, for whatever reason, and it’s been able to respond to local skills and employment challenges.“We still don’t know when the new Shared Prosperity Fund will start. My concern is that if this is allowed to drift, we will start losing providers in employment support.”The funding pot is seen as crucial to the long-promised strategy to “level up” the country – Mr Johnson’s stated mission for his premiership – which is itself mired in delay and confusion.It is now expected in late January, but is unlikely to include any extra funding and is expected to focus on everything from cutting crime to restoring “pride” in local communities.The ERSA, representing 274 organisations ranging from multinational companies to local charities, has been raising fears about the threat to job schemes from the removal of EU structural funds for two years.The Budget revealed the SPF will receive just £2.6bn over 3 years – not the £4.5bn without Brexit – after already being delayed until 2022, 15 months after the UK left the EU.South Yorkshire will lose a further £900m, and Tees Valley and Durham £750m, over six years that they were in line to receive having become relatively poorer since the last spending round.The government had pledged to match the lost EU funding after Brexit – to “tackle inequality and deprivation” – but has been accused of breaking that promise.But a government spokesperson defended diverting cash to the Multiply adult numeracy programme.“It’s right for this to be delivered as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which ramps up to £1.5bn per year in 2024-25,” the spokesperson said. More

Boris Johnson has been warned his party is set to lose more than 100 seats if he fails to curb public anger over sleaze, with five cabinet ministers on course for defeat at the next general election.A major new poll and constituency-by-constituency analysis shows the Conservatives’ majority would be wiped out, leaving Labour the largest party in a hung parliament.Labour is on 41 per cent – six points clear of the Conservatives, who are on 35 per cent – according to the huge Survation survey of 10,000 adults carried out on behalf of campaign group 38 Degrees.This could see the Tories winning 255 seats, a net loss of 111, while Labour would return 309 seats – just 11 short of a majority, according to multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) analysis.Mr Johnson is one of the cabinet members projected to lose their seats in the analysis. The others on course for defeat are environment secretary George Eustice, Scottish secretary Alister Jack, Welsh secretary Simon Hart, and Cop26 president Alok Sharma.The survey revealed that older voters and those in rural areas were most likely to be concerned by the recent sleaze scandals and lockdown party allegations that have engulfed No 10.“Given that older voters are ordinarily much more likely to vote Conservative, this shows the potential for accusations of sleaze to shift votes by depriving the Conservatives of this important electoral bulwark,” said Prof Christopher Hanretty of Royal Holloway University, who helped carry out the MRP analysis.Of 40 crucial “red wall” Tory seats in the north of England and Midlands, only three – Dudley North, Morley and Outwood, and Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland – are projected to be held by Mr Johnson’s party.And the party faces electoral wipe-out in Scotland, where the SNP is on course to win all of the Conservative Party’s seats – including Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross’s Moray constituency.A separate Focaldata poll published on Sunday gave Labour an eight-point lead over the Tories and indicated they would win a majority.But polling guru Sir John Curtice cautioned against over-interpreting the strength of the opposition’s poll lead over the past few weeks, saying Sir Keir Starmer’s party has yet to gain voters’ trust.“We are talking about a collapse in the Tory vote, not a revival of the Labour party,” he told the i. “The point is that Labour still have to make any kind of significant advance in their own popularity. This is all about the Tories going down the tubes.”It comes as a major Tory donor questioned whether Mr Johnson should be replaced. “What really concerns me is this sleaze issue and him not standing firmly enough against what’s gone on,” John Caudwell, the founder of Phones4U, told The Observer.“I was unbelievably disappointed when I heard him almost defending and … trying to find an out for Owen Paterson. I’m not sure he can survive this, and I’m not even sure he should survive it.”Foreign secretary Liz Truss is Tory supporters’ favourite to replace Mr Johnson if he departs No 10, according to the results of a survey published on Monday by the ConservativeHome website. An online poll showed 23 per cent backing for Ms Truss as the next party leader, ahead of 20 per cent support for chancellor Rishi Sunak. More