UK Politics

Labour has taken a nine-point lead over Conservatives, their largest since February 2014, according to a poll.The Opinium survey put Sir Keir Starmer’s party on 41 per cent of the vote and the Tories on 32 per cent as Boris Johnson’s government is plagued by scandals.The poll put the PM’s approval rating at an all-time low, with only 24 per cent approving of the job he is doing running the country, while 59 per cent disapprove. The net approval rating of -35 is by far the worst of his time in No 10. A third of voters approve of the job Sir Keir is doing, compared to 35 per cent who do not, found the survey, commissioned by The Observer.Sir Keir was also the favoured candidate to be PM for the first time since January.The poll found 29 per cent believe the Labour leader would be the best leader of the country, compared to 22 per cent, who said Mr Johnson. The results come at the end of a damaging week for the PM, who has come under increasing pressure over alleged parties held in his flat during lockdown and been accused of lying over the refurbishment of his Downing Street residence.Some 51 per cent of people surveyed said they were shocked by reports of Christmas parties at No 10 during lockdown last year, and 48 per cent said they disapproved of the way the government was handling the Covid pandemic – the lowest since January.It also comes as Mr Johnson faces potentially the largest rebellion of his time as PM, with more than 60 Conservative MPs said to be against the introduction of extra coronavirus measures announced this week.He announced on Wednesday that he would be triggering his winter plan B protocols in a bid to fend off the surge of the omicron variant.Plan B measures include compulsory mask-wearing in most public indoor settings, guidance for employees to work from home, as well as vaccine passports for large venues – the latter being a point of great contention among Tory ministers.Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defence Committee, told Sky News: “I’d strongly urge the government to drop the vote on vaccination passports next week.“It is not the appropriate tactic to impose on a very weary nation at this time.” More

People aged 30 and over will be able to book a Covid-19 booster jab from Monday as the government and NHS scramble to respond to the new omicron variant.The added urgency to the booster programme comes as a new study from scientists advising the UK government has warned that the variant could cause a wave of infections and hospitalisations bigger than last winter’s.Although the scientists say there is still “a lot of uncertainty” about omicron, the worst-case scenario outlined in their paper warns of between 25,000 and 75,000 deaths before April if new restrictions are not introduced.Concerns were voiced this week that the booster rollout was going too slowly, after the number of jabs administered last weekend actually fell compared to the weekend before.But a source at the Department of Health and Social Care said the programme was being speeded up, while health secretary Sajid Javid said the vaccine programme was “accelerating rapidly”.As of Saturday night, anyone over 30 who had their second vaccine dose more than two months ago could make an online booking for a booster, despite the NHS website continuing to say only over-40s were eligible.An NHS spokesperson said its IT system had “started a little earlier in the day to get ready” for Monday’s launch.Omicron is expected to become the dominant variant in England by the end of December, and scientists are desperately trying to establish whether it is more infectious – and if so, by how much – than the delta variant currently in circulation; and separately, whether it can outwit vaccines and antibodies. At a briefing of journalists on Saturday, Dr Nick Davies, who co-led the latest study, told reporters that there was “pretty good evidence of exponential growth” of omicron in the data the scientists had analysed.He said the latest numbers had shown “a very fast rate of increase” and had painted a picture that was “quite concerning”.Dr Rosanna Barnard, from the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who also co-led the work, said: “In our most optimistic scenario, the impact of omicron in the early part of 2022 would be reduced with mild control measures such as working from home. “However, our most pessimistic scenario suggests that we may have to endure more stringent restrictions to ensure the NHS is not overwhelmed. Mask-wearing, social distancing and booster jabs are vital, but may not be enough.”She added: “Nobody wants to endure another lockdown, but last-resort measures may be required to protect health services if omicron has a significant level of immune escape or otherwise increased transmissibility compared to delta. It is crucial for decision makers to consider the wider societal impact of these measures, not just the epidemiology.”New data from the UK Health Security Agency suggests that booster shots give good protection against the new variant, a finding corroborated by the LSHTM’s study.The changes to vaccine-booking eligibility mean that of 7.5 million people aged 30 to 39, 3.5 million will be eligible from Monday.Dr Emily Lawson, head of the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: “Following the updated guidance from the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation), which shortened the interval between second and booster doses, NHS staff are redoubling their efforts to protect the public from the virus.” But she said the health service needed volunteers to help deliver the rollout, and urged more people to come forward.The health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “The Covid-19 booster programme is accelerating rapidly and more than 22 million people in the UK have already received their top-up, securing vital protection ahead of Christmas.“This is our national mission – the most recent data shows boosters are the essential defence against omicron, and we are doing everything in our power to get jabs into arms as quickly as possible.“We are now expanding the offer to over-30s – so please come forward as quickly as possible to get boosted and help our country get ahead in this race with the variant.”The scientists from the LSHTM who carried out the latest study are participants in the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) or the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). They used experimental data to look at how omicron may transmit as the country heads into 2022.The team of researchers estimated that omicron was evading vaccines “by a substantial degree”, and was likely to be anywhere between 10 per cent less transmissible and up to 35 per cent more transmissible than than the currently prevalent delta variant.The scientists said they had taken into account the additional protection afforded by booster doses, but that the picture could be improved if “a very high uptake of booster vaccines is achieved”.The researchers’ findings agree with other studies showing that boosters, and the scale and speed of the booster programme, will have a “large impact” on the outcome.Reacting to the study’s findings, Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Daisy Cooper said the new modelling called on the government to take urgent action to prevent health services from being overwhelmed.“With both Ambulance and A&E services already stretched to breaking point, we cannot afford another huge surge in hospitalisations,” she said. “The Government must act quickly and set out its emergency plans to parliament in the next 72 hours. It must urgently ramp up the booster programme, give frontline NHS staff the additional resources they need, guarantee financial protections for small businesses, particularly in hospitality, and ensure that everyone who needs it can access mental health support during these difficult times.”Labour overnight urged ministers to set up pop-up vaccination centres in supermarkets and shopping centres so that people could get jabbed while doing their Christmas shopping.Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting called for retired doctors to be mobilised with a target of delivering 500,000 boosters a day, and for the immediate opening up of booster appointments to adults across all age groups. “Our best defence against omicron is urgently ramping up the booster programme, but the government is not currently on track to get everyone boosted by the end of January,” Mr Streeting said, adding: “We need to pull out all the stops on this.”A government spokesperson said ministers “continue to look closely at all of the emerging data”.“We’ve been clear throughout that vital vaccines and boosters are our best line of defence against this virus, and that is why we are urging people to come forward as quickly as possible as they become eligible,” the spokesperson said.“Plan B remains a proportionate response based upon what we know, so we encourage everyone to follow the rules by wearing a face-covering, working from home if you can, testing regularly and coming forward for your booster when called.”Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the LHSTM study was “well-designed and clearly presented”, but should be treated with caution because of the preliminary nature of the data.“I suspect these models overstate the risk of hospitalisation and deaths, and the ‘worst case’ scenarios are unlikely to be seen,” he said. “As better data becomes available in coming weeks we can expect these models to be refined.”Meanwhile, Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said that “as things stand right now, the numbers highlighted by the LSHTM modelling group are alarming”.Dr Head said it had been a mistake to lift all Covid restrictions before the vaccine rollout had been completed. He also blamed a global failure not to share enough vaccines with poorer countries.“We don’t know how often this coronavirus can change its clothes and emerge with a new look. Vaccinating the world is a huge demand, and we’ve seen that the world is not up to the task. That is a mistake – increasing equity in the global rollout is in everybody’s interests,” he said. “The coronavirus has not finished with us. A tactic of ‘turning the lights off and pretending we are not in’ is a failed policy.” More

Russia will face “serious consequences” if it invades Ukraine, the foreign secretary has warned, following the build-up of tens of thousands of troops at the Ukrainian border.Liz Truss discussed the threat of a Russian incursion into Ukraine during talks on Saturday with her US and German counterparts before a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Liverpool.With US secretary of state Antony Blinken, Ms Truss agreed there would be “serious consequences” for Moscow if troops were sent across the border.According to US intelligence, Russia has stationed about 70,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and has begun planning for a possible invasion as early as next year.US president Joe Biden has spoken to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the leaders of Germany, Italy and France – dubbed the Nato “quint” – twice this week as they discuss how to deal with the threat.A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), said Ms Truss and Mr Blinken “both agreed their support for Ukraine” and “expressed deep concern about the build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border”.“In addition, they said that any incursion by Russia would be a strategic mistake for which there would be serious consequences,” he said.“The foreign secretary and secretary Blinken both agreed on the importance of defending and promoting freedom and democracy, and the need for a unity of purpose from the G7 to achieve this.” More

The Tory candidate for the upcoming by-election in North Shropshire has responded to the Prime Minister getting his name wrong.In an interview with The Daily Mail, Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, a former British Army medical officer and NHS consultant who now works as a barrister, said he “laughed it off”, explaining “I’ve had much worse”.Boris Johnson visited the constituency to encourage support for Dr Shastri-Hurst’s campaign, and misnamed him, calling him “Shastri-Hughes”.Mr Johnson said: “I think we’ve got a fantastic candidate, Dr Neil Shastri-Hughes, who I’ve just been seen contributing already to the life of the community by vaccinating people, he’s a doctor amongst his many other talents and what he’s also going to do is work very, very hard for the people of North Shropshire.“I used to live in this constituency, I used to come shopping in Oswestry, so I know it a bit.“And he’s got all the issues, he understands what needs to be done, to support the NHS to get investment into our hospitals here but also make sure we do things like, dualling the A5, looking at the Oswestry to Gobowen railway line, other projects like that, I think he’s a fantastic candidate.”During the visit, Mr Johnson later referred to the candidate as “Dr Neil” after watching him give vaccinations to members of the public at a pharmacy in Oswestry.The by-election was triggered to replace Owen Paterson after it was recommended by the Standards Committee that he should be suspended from Parliament after 30 days over an “egregious” breach of a ban on paid lobbying by MPs.Later, Mr Paterson announced his resignation as MP for the constituency after a botched attempt by the government to delay his suspension and overhaul the standards system.North Shropshire is generally considered to be an ultra-safe Tory seat, with Mr Paterson having won almost 63 per cent of the vote at the 2019 general election. But in the wake of a series of crisis in government, from the sleaze scandal to the Christmas party furore, bookmakers are now saying the Liberal Democrats are now favourite to win on Thursday. More

Officials at Rishi Sunak’s Treasury have admitted holding “drinks” in their office while the country was in lockdown last year.Around two dozen civil servants broke out the booze at their desks on November 25, 2020 – the day of the autumn statement.The chancellor last week denied attending any drinks parties – though he declined to give an answer about what his advisors and officials had got up to.It comes after more than a week of anger over a bash at No.10 at the height of lockdown.The event’s Treasury counterpart took place when non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues were closed.Pubs, bars and restaurants has also been shuttered, and people were told to stay at home unless they could not work from home.It is not clear why the Treasury civil servants felt they their work could not be done remotely.A Treasury spokesperson claimed to the Independent that the department “has followed Government guidance throughout the pandemic”.They added: “We are not aware of any events in breach of Government regulations and the Treasury did not organise an in-person departmental party last Christmas.”But separately, regarding the incident in November, they confirmed to The Times: “In line with the guidance at the time, a number of staff came into the office to work on the Spending Review 2020.”We have been made aware that a small number of those staff had impromptu drinks around their desks after the event.” More

Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, has warned that Russia would face “severe consequences” if it invaded Ukraine.Ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Liverpool, Ms Truss said the UK would aim to damage the Russian economy if it made an incursion into Ukraine, as she prepared to lobby allies during weekend talks to become less dependent on Moscow for cheap gas.During the meeting as part of the UK’s year-long G7 presidency, the Cabinet minister will urge allies from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan to present a united front against “malign” behaviour by Russia.US intelligence officials say Russia has stationed about 70,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and has begun planning for a possible invasion as soon as early next year.Joe Biden has spoken with Boris Johnson and the leaders of Germany, Italy and France – dubbed the Nato “quint” – twice this week as they deliberate on how to deal with the threat.Ms Truss, asked by broadcasters how likely an invasion was, repeated her assertion that it would be a “strategic mistake” for Moscow to send troops across the border, something she wants the G7 to “spell out” over the next two days.“What the G7 meeting this weekend that’s taking place is about a show of unity between like-minded major economies that we are going to absolutely be strong in our stance against aggression, against aggression with respect to Ukraine,” she said.“There will be severe consequences if anything were to happen, but also make sure that we’re building security and economic relationships with like-minded partners, including Ukraine, to protect them in the future.”Ms Truss sidestepped questions about whether there could be a British military response to an invasion, saying only that defence secretary Ben Wallace had been in Ukraine “very recently” as the UK helps to build Kiev’s defence and security capability.A deal struck last month will see UK warships and missiles sold to Kiev.The foreign secretary added that the UK was working with allies to “make sure there would be severe economic consequences” if Russia sent troops into Ukraine.She said Britain would also be pushing for an “alternative to Russian gas supplies” in a bid to establish stronger energy security.“There have been decisions made by the free world in the short term to obtain cheap energy or cheap financing, and that has a long-term cost for freedom and democracy,” the former trade secretary said. “And we can’t make that mistake again.”Over the course of the weekend, the foreign secretary will hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from the G7 countries and the EU, as well as guest countries, such as Australia and South Korea, joining the event at the Museum of Liverpool.On Sunday, she will host plenary sessions on global health security as well as regarding the Indo-Pacific region, with foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations joining the G7 meeting for the first time.It comes after the UK’s integrated review on foreign policy announced a “tilt” towards the Indo-Pacific, in a move seen as aiming to counter China’s growing influence in the region.With the UK on Friday recording the highest number of Covid-19 infections since January, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said overseas attendees in Liverpool would have to take a PCR test before being admitted to the event, with daily testing on site.The gathering will be the second in-person meeting of G7 foreign ministers this year, following a session in London in May, which was chaired by deputy prime minister Dominic Raab before his demotion from foreign secretary to Justice Secretary during the Cabinet reshuffle in September.On Wednesday, Mr Biden said sending US troops to Ukraine in response to a Russian military build-up was “not on the table”.But he warned Mr Putin that there could be “severe consequences” if Russia launched an attack on Ukraine. In such a scenario, US would also provide “defensive” capabilities to Ukraine, he told reporters.Additional reporting by PA More