UK Politics

Newly elected Tory MP Louie French gives an acceptance speechTory Party chairman Oliver Dowden has claimed he is “really not terribly worried” about the threat posed by the Labour Party, after Boris Johnson’s Conservatives held their safe seat in the closely watched Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election.Councillor Louie French’s party hailed his victory as “almost unheard of” for a mid-term government, after the count showed a 10 per cent swing to Labour amid low voter turnout in the constituency previously held by former minister James Brokenshire, who died in October of lung cancer aged 53.But Labour’s Ellie Reeves also claimed it was a “remarkable result for us in a Tory stronghold” that if replicated at a general election would see Keir Starmer’s party “within reach of forming a majority government”, while Richard Tice of Reform UK – which came third – claimed the result showed his was now the only party “on the upward march”.Show latest update

1638542628Exclusive: NHS leaders left in the dark over government’s booster rollout planNHS leaders have still not been told how the government expects them to manage a huge expansion of the booster vaccine campaign, nearly a week after the government indicated the move to jab tens of millions of people.One senior NHS director in the West Midlands told The Independent: “It’s a bit of an issue really, saying they’re going to ratchet up the programme. There’s quite a lot toing and froing and we don’t know quite where it is going to land really in terms of the vaccination programme and how it’s going to be delivered.“As with every stage of this we’ll find a solution about how to get the vaccine to people, but the way the government has been doing it has been ham fisted.”Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas and deputy political editor Rob Merrick have the full story here:Andy Gregory3 December 2021 14:431638541596Ofgem removes compensation limit for energy customers left without power for a weekThe energy regulator Ofgem has lifted a £700 cap to allow customers still without power a week after Storm Arwen first struck to be able to claim £70 for each 12-hour period without power.Andy Gregory3 December 2021 14:261638540792Old Bexley and Sidcup was a ‘move on, nothing to see here’ by-election, polling expert suggestsBy-elections are a “rubbish” barometer of wider political sentiment, a polling chief at YouGov has suggested, describing the Old Bexley and Sidcup vote as a “move on, nothing to see here” poll.Anthony Wells suggested that the by-election could have had political significance if there had been a larger shift to Labour, or if Reform UK had performed better – but neither of these things happened to a sufficient extent to represent a threat to Boris Johnson or his party.Andy Gregory3 December 2021 14:131638540357A Labour MP has suggested that Tory MPs appear determined to “filibuster” or “talk out” Kevin Brennan’s private members bill on music streaming to stop it from progressing through Parliament.Andy Gregory3 December 2021 14:051638539859‘I have waited 20 years to get a bill like this’: MP hails music streaming proposalsMPs have been discussing a new bill from Labour’s Kevin Brennan aimed at making streaming more equitable for musicians.Pete Wishart, a former keyboard player in Runrig and Big Country and now the SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said he had “waited 20 years to get a bill like this”.“I have been in the music industry, I have seen exactly what it is. It is a field of dreams. If you make it big, you can escape your background, you can go on to have huge success and huge riches. It is an amazing industry. It is great to be part of,” Mr Wishart told MPs.He added: “We have an opportunity to resolve a really serious situation here today and I really hope the government take advantage of that.”Andy Gregory3 December 2021 13:571638538554‘No plans’ to make jabs mandatory, says No 10Downing Street has said the government has “no plans” to make vaccinations mandatory, my colleague Adam Forrest reports. Asked if jabs could ever be made compulsory – or curbs enforced on the unvaccinated, as Germany is now doing – Boris Johnson’s spokesman told reporters: “It’s not something that we would look to introduce.“You’re aware of the changes we made in terms of social care settings and for NHS workers, given the importance of protecting the most vulnerable in our society. But there’s no plans above and beyond that in that regard.”Tory chair Oliver Dowden had earlier appeared unable to explicitly rule out the prospect of such a move when asked by TalkRadio, saying: “It’s not something that we want to do or plan to do in the United Kingdom. And the reason why we don’t want to and hopefully won’t have to do any of that is because of the booster – people are taking that booster, that is building up the wall again.”Andy Gregory3 December 2021 13:351638537454No 10 refuses to give details of any planned ‘private’ Christmas partiesAny staff parties held at Downing Street over Christmas would be “private events” that would not be publicly announced, No 10 has said.Speaking amid allegations that Downing Street breached its own Covid rules with a party last Christmas, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “The prime minister has said that there will continue to be festive events in the run-up to Christmas. You’ll have seen earlier this week the prime minister do the switching on of the No 10 Christmas tree lights.”Asked if he would therefore inform reporters if there were plans for a No 10 Christmas party for staff, he clarified: “Obviously, events that happen in No 10 that are private events, we wouldn’t inform you … We obviously wouldn’t set out details of private functions in No 10.”Andy Gregory3 December 2021 13:171638536977Civil servant ‘tried to take own life after racial bullying at work’A civil servant tried to take their own life after “prolonged racial bullying” in a government department, it has been alleged.The Cabinet Office has launched a review of “respect and inclusion” amid accusations of racism as well as unfairness towards disabled staff.And the PA news agency reports that concerns have been raised over a number of years around how black members of staff are treated, with examples given of one black worker being called “boy” in a meeting and the use of the N-word.A spokesman for Boris Johnson said the Prime Minister felt “racism has no role whatsoever in our society”.The PCS union, which represents civil servants, called the accusations “utterly shocking”.PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka wrote to Mr Chisholm last December raising concerns about bullying following the Civil Service People Survey.At that time, he said that “large numbers” of black and ethnic minority staff had complained to the union about prejudice.The union earlier this year said it was considering taking the issue to the Equality and Human Rights Commission after more than 80 staff members had complained about being racially bullied.The Cabinet Office said improvements had been made, and this was reflected in the most recent staff survey.A spokesperson said: “The Cabinet Office does not tolerate bullying, harassment or discrimination in any form. We sought out these experiences precisely to help make our workspace more inclusive.“This is a vital part of our commitment to set a new standard for diversity and inclusion, as set out in the Declaration on Government Reform. While our latest data shows a decline in reported incidents of discrimination, there is always more we can do.”Jane Dalton3 December 2021 13:091638536677PM’s jokes aren’t funny any more for Tory voters, says StarmerKeir Starmer has hailed the by-election result in Old Bexley and Sidcup, saying: “Even for Tory heartland voters, Boris Johnson’s jokes aren’t funny any more.”Jane Dalton3 December 2021 13:041638536055’Vaccine inequality should be a higher priority than the snogging debate’Ministers would be better off addressing global vaccine inequality and nationalism than tying themselves up in knots with mixed messages on what we should and should not be doing this Christmas – such as whether to snog others, argues Andrew Grice:Jane Dalton3 December 2021 12:54 More

Tory chairman Oliver Dowden has attempted to insist Boris Johnson hasn’t “lost any of his star quality” after the party won a by-election in a safe suburban seat, but suffered a dented majority and a 10-point swing towards Labour.Results from the Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election — triggered after the death of the former Conservative cabinet minister, James Brokenshire — showed the party’s candidate, Louie French, won more than half the votes.But with a low turnout, the Tories’ majority was cut from almost 19,000 that Mr Brokenshire won at the 2019 general election, to 4,478.More significantly, the party’s vote share was also reduced from 64 to 51 per cent — down 13 per cent — while Labour’s candidate, Daniel Francis, increased his party’s vote share by around seven per cent.However, welcoming the Tories’ victory, Mr Dowden told Sky News he was “really not terribly worried about Labour”, insisting the vote was a “good result for a governing party mid-term”.He added: “The idea that Labour have made some surge ahead is really for the birds. They’ve actually got about the same vote share as they secured under Jeremy Corbyn in 2017. Keir Starmer couldn’t even be bothered to turn up to the by-election, so I am really not terribly worried about Labour”.Mr Dowden’s remarks come after weeks of divisions within the Conservative Party and Mr Johnson’s leadership over the botched attempt to prevent Owen Paterson’s suspension, scaled back reforms for social care, allegations of betrayal over transport infrastructure, and a shambolic speech to business leaders just last week.Quizzed during a separate interview on Times Radio whether the shine was coming off Mr Johnson, the Tory chairman replied: “When I was up there with Boris he still had the same traffic stopping ability — literally.“He tried to enter the campaign HQ at which point a load of teenage boys on the top of a red bus started shouting and screaming out of the window, people charged out from everywhere. I don’t think Boris has lost any of his star quality. But of course the government has to continue to improve its game.”The winning candidate, a local councillor who wore Mr Brokenshire’s rosette on election night as a mark of respect for his predecessor, said the people of Old Bexley and Sidcup had sent “a clear message: they want an MP who will work with the government to deliver on their priorities”.He added: “My focus will now be delivering on those promises that I made during the campaign – get our fair share of London’s police officers, securing more investment for local schools and hospitals, protecting our precious green spaces.”Offering Labour’s verdict on the vote in the south-east London constituency, the shadow solicitor general Ellie Reeves, who helped coordinate the party’s campaign, suggested she was “pleased” with the result.“This is a Conservative stronghold, somewhere that had a 19,000 majority at the last general election and what we’ve seen tonight is that majority being slashed,” she said.“There’s been a 10 per cent swing over to Labour this evening. We’ve been knocking on doors for weeks here and finding many, many Conservative voters that have said actually I’m not going to vote for them this time, I’m going to vote for Labour. More

In the latest iteration of cabinet ministers offering contradictory and unofficial Covid guidance to the public this Christmas, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has let it be known he is passionate advocate of kissing under the mistletoe. The bizarre comments came after No 10 dismissed the freelance suggestion from Therese Coffey, the work and pensions secretary, that there “should not be much snogging under the mistletoe” this festive period. Mr Javid, however, insisted last night: “People can snog who they wish. I’ll certainly be kissing my wife under the mistletoe — it’s a Javid family tradition”. Luckily, parliamentary recess is just around the corner and everyone can, hopefully, take a short break.Inside the bubbleAlongside the inevitable political reaction from the by-election in Old Bexley and Sidcup, Parliament’s Friday sitting is (as it stands) dedicated to private members’ bills, with the Labour MP Kevin Brennan putting forward proposals to update legislation for streaming music. He’s written a piece for The Independent outlining his plans.Daily BriefingTRUE BLUE:  The Conservatives have held on to the safe seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup in last night’s by-election — triggered after the death of the 53-year-old former minister James Brokenshire. The party’s candidate, Louie French, paid tribute to his “good friend” Mr Brokenshire as he was elected MP. But on a cold December day, turnout was low in the safe Tory seat in south-east London and the party’s majority was slashed from almost 19,000 that Mr Brokenshire had in 2019 to 4,478. Perhaps more importantly, the vote share for the Conservatives was also cut from 64 per cent to 51 — down 13 per cent — while Labour’s candidate, Daniel Francis, increased the party’s vote share by around 7 per cent. Labour will today strike an upbeat note, despite the loss, highlighting the party’s highest share in the seat for 20 years. The Conservatives, meanwhile, will be on the airwaves trumpeting the fact they won over 50 per cent of the vote in a parliamentary by-election despite the party being in government for the last 11 years. Something for everyone. Attention will soon focus, however, on the upcoming by-election in North Shropshire, which was announced after the resignation of the Conservative MP Owen Paterson amid a row over sleaze. With Tories appearing more nervous over this vote, it’s certainly one to watch.NON: After the death of 27 people attempting to cross the English Channel last week, the UK government reiterated its offer for British police and border officials to conduct joint patrol on the beaches around Calais to deter migrants making the treacherous crossing. But in a letter to Boris Johnson last night, the French prime minister Jean Castex said we “cannot accept” the presence of UK forces because it would compromise the nation’s sovereignty. Instead, he has urged the Home Office to open legal immigration paths to those who have legitimate reasons to enter the country and promised France would examine other proposals in “good faith” to resolve the crisis. It comes amid the backdrop of an increasingly bitter relationship between London and Paris over the issue of Channel crossings and post-Brexit fishing rights. Just earlier this week, the French magazine Le Canard Enchaîné reported that Mr Macron had referred to the prime minister in private as “un clown” and his administration as a “circus”. There was no immediate response from the Elysée Palace.COVID: How dangerous is the new Omicron variant? Well, according to government advisers, the true threat posed by the variant is unlikely to be determined until the turn of the new year. Experts from the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) believe “the worse the problem is going to be, the earlier we will know” – but it’s expected to take a month before data indicates whether omicron will drive a surge in hospitalisations among the vaccinated. It comes after more than 40 cases have been identified in the UK while the country recorded a total of 53,945 positive cases of Covid on Wednesday, according to government data. In more positive news, The Times reported that booster jabs “massively” strengthen the body’s defences against Covid as the government seeks to ramp up the programme in the coming weeks.FURLOUGH 2.0: Amid the uncertainty over the Omicron variant, debate has inevitably turned to whether more restrictions are needed (a la Christmas parties, snogging under the mistletoe), ministers are also being told they must rapidly restart the furlough economic support programme if further measures are imposed. TUC general secretary, who helped negotiate the original furlough scheme with the chancellor, said that ministers must be ready to step in to provide “immediate financial support” for jobs at “a worrying and uncertain time for workers and businesses”. After enduring three lockdowns, it is perhaps not surprising the public appears to have little appetite for further draconian restrictions, according to a new YouGov poll. It shows 68 per cent are opposed to the closure of pubs, 61 per cent against banning people from meeting outside their household indoors and 56 per cent also opposed to brining back the “rule of six” rule for outside gatherings.ON THE CONTINENT: In a significant ramping up of measures in Germany, the outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel announced that people who are not vaccinated will be excluded from non-essential stores, culture and recreational venues in an effort to curb Covid infection rates. After Austria announced it was planning compulsory vaccinations for all a fortnight ago, the German chancellor also spoke in favour of the measure, telling reporters on Thursday: “Given the situation, I think it is appropriate to adopt compulsory vaccination”. Asked about the issue on the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme recently, however, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, stressed it was not something Britain “would ever look at” — despite mandating jabs for social care workers and NHS staff from the spring.On the record“We don’t want people to cancel such events and there is no government guidance to that end.”PM’s official spokesperson when questioned on Christmas partiesFrom the Twitterati“Watch the full interview folks … Don’t kiss with people you don’t know… government working exceptionally hard with NHS and the Jabs Army to get boosters in arms so we can all enjoy a proper Christmas knees up.”Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey doubles down on her advice not to kiss strangers as Covid cases riseEssential readingAndrew Grice, The Independent:Therese Coffey gets her tongue in a twist over snogging guidelinesCathy Newman, The Independent: Domestic abuse will now be treated like knife crime. Quite right, too.Anoosh Chakelian, The New Statesman:My dad fled Lebanon for a new life. He found dry land, but others aren’t so luckyBel Trew, May Bulman, The Independent: Britain promised to take in these Syrian families. Instead, they’re scavenging through bins to surviveSign up here to receive this free daily briefing in your email inbox every morning More

Unite has decided to slash its funding for the Labour Party as a union official says the party needs to “talk about” and “defend workers”.Currently Labour’s biggest union donor, Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, told the Guardian that they would continue to £1 million in affiliation fees to the party.In an interview with the publication, Ms Graham said that “there’s a lot of other money that we use from our political fund where, actually, I’m not sure we’re getting the best value for it”.When she took on the role after replacing Len McCluskey in August, Ms Graham promised to “completely refocus” the union.“I will be a general secretary for the workers, for my members,” she said at the time.It comes after she refused to attend Labour’s annual conference in Brighton this year as she said current industrial disputes would have to take priority.The latest move threatens to deepen the divide between Unite and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, despite a Labour source saying “Relationships with the unions are good.”They added: “Unions have always funded campaigns and causes for their memberships.”Ms Graham told the Guardian: “The fact that I am being quite robust is because Labour needs to talk about workers, needs to defend workers and needs to defend communities.”She told the newspaper that money would instead be funnelled into projects which would “set the pace” for Labour to follow.She did not reveal how much funding would be cut by. More

Veteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge has announced she will not stand at the next general election, calling the decision a “tough” one to make. In a video message, sent to her local Labour Party in Barking, the former cabinet minister said she had “loved the job” but that after 27 years, she will be “standing down from Parliament”.Giving a nod to her colleagues, she continued: “I wanted to thank you all for the warmth, the friendship, the support and the love you have shown me down the years.“We have done fantastic things together.”The 77-year-old was elected as Barking and Dagenham’s MP in 1994, and went on to serve in several ministerial posts. She also enjoyed a stint as chair of the Public Accounts Committee.Dame Margaret said her proudest moment was beating then-British National Party (BNP) leader Nick Griffin in the 2010 election, describing it as the “biggest, biggest success and the biggest moment in my life”.She said she would always remember a speech when she “told them to pack their bags and go”, adding it was “still absolutely stamped on my heart as a massive moment”.The mother-of-four was elected to parliament in a 1994 by-election, when John Major was prime minister, before being appointed as junior minister for disabled people four years later. She was then promoted to be minister for universities in 2001, and subsequently became the first children’s minister in 2003. From there, she held a series of ministerial positions including her role as minister of state for culture and tourism, which she stayed in from 2007 until Labour left government following the result of the 2010 election.Dame Margaret, who had been a notable critic of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in recent years, said in her video message that the party was now very different to when she became an MP.She became embroiled in a public spat with Mr Corbyn in 2018, over allegations and her own experience of antisemitism in the party and Labour’s response to complaints about this.An investigation was launched, and then dropped, when Dame Margaret – who is herself Jewish and lost family members in the Holocaust – accused Mr Corbyn of being a “racist and an anti-Semite” over his handling of the controversy. After the probe was abandoned, she said “going after me instead of addressing the issue was wrong”.Fellow Labour MPs were quick to send their well-wishes to Dame Margaret, after the video message in which she made her departure announcement was shared on social media this evening. “Courageous, driven, and full of love and laughter – Margaret Hodge is a brilliant friend and it tugs at my heartstrings that she’s standing down,” Peter Kyle, Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland secretary, tweeted. “But if anyone’s earned a change of pace it’s her!” More

Conservative backbencher Stephen McPartland has registered new advisory work worth £60,000 a year, despite a series of scandals over MPs’ financial interests.Several MPs have stepped down from outside roles following the Owen Paterson debacle and increased scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest from consultancy work.However, Mr McPartland’s consultancy business – McPartland Consulting Ltd – has recently begun receiving £5,000 a month from MBU Capital Group, according to the latest entry on the register of members’ interests.The Tory MP updated his interests on 26 November after his company began providing “strategic advice” to the investment firm on 1 November.The MP for Stevenage, who is listed as the unpaid director of McPartland Consulting Ltd, already earns £4,000 a month as a non-executive director for retailer Furniture Village.Three other Conservative MPs have ditched advisory positions in the wake of last month’s furore over second jobs, the latest register has revealed.Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith gave up a £20,000 post with a health group, while Julian Smith dropped energy sector roles worth £144,000 a year and former health minister Steve Brine quit work worth £20,000 a year with a pharmaceutical firm.All of the roles came to an end within days of Boris Johnson’s own 16 November call for a ban on consultancy and advisory work after his botched attempt to save ex-Tory MP Owen Paterson from punishment for paid lobbying.There is no suggestion that any of the MPs doing advisory work had breached rules in the way that Mr Paterson was found to have done by parliament’s sleaze watchdog.The Committee on Standards recommended a series of reforms to clean up standards earlier this week – including an outright ban on MP providing paid parliamentary advice, consultancy or strategy services.Under the reforms proposed, MPs could face investigation for launching “excessive” personal attacks online and the rules around ministers’ gifts and hospitality could also be tightened.On Thursday Labour MP Chris Bryant, chair of the committee, said the proposals must be considered all at once and not “piecemeal”.His committee will consult before putting a final report to the Commons for a decision early next year.The Independent has approached Mr McPartland for comment. More