Lib Dems are increasingly confident they can pull off another shock by-election result and deal a fresh blow to Boris Johnson ’s authority. Party chief executive Mike Dixon has told members “something special is happening in North Shropshire” in the run-up to the December 16 ballot triggered by Owen Paterson’s resignation amid a sleaze row . He had been the MP for 24 years and the seat is a Conservative stronghold. In an email to supporters, seen by the Mirror, Mr Dixon claims: “We could pull off something huge here.” Insiders believe the Lib Dems could repeat the feat of June’s Chesham & Amersham by-election , where they overturned a 16,223 Tory majority and won by 8,028 votes. Owen Paterson held the seat for 24 years ( Image: PA) But the challenge is even greater in North Shropshire, where the Tories wield a 22,949 majority. Labour came second in the 2019 election, with the Lib Dems trailing by 6,852 votes. But the Lib Dems came second in this …
UK to use ‘all economic and diplomatic tools’ if Russia invades Ukraine, PM says
The UK will use “all the economic and diplomatic tools at its disposal” to prevent any invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Prime Minister has told other world leaders. Ahead of a key meeting between US President Joe Biden and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Boris Johnson spoke to Mr Biden and other leaders to agree on a “united front”. In the call – which also included Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel – the leaders “reaffirmed their staunch support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity”, a Downing Street spokesperson said. And they added: “The Prime Minister said the UK would continue to use all the economic and diplomatic tools at its disposal to prevent any Russian aggression against Ukraine. A Ukrainian serviceman walks along a trench on the frontline with Russia-backed separatists near the village of Talakivka, Donetsk region ( Image: AFP via Getty Images) “The leaders agreed …
Lib Dems claim they can beat Tories in crunch Chesham and Amersham by-election
Plucky Lib Dems claim they could snatch a Tory stronghold in the true blue Home Counties in a crunch by-election. Boris Johnson has won Conservative plaudits – and a huge Commons majority – by demolishing the Red Wall in Labour's historical heartlands. But support for the Prime Minister has slipped in some traditional Tory seats, including constituencies which voted Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Liberal Democrats believe they could steal one such seat when voters go to the polls in Chesham and Amersham, Bucks, next month. The June 17 ballot was triggered by the death of the sitting MP, former Cabinet Minister Dame Cheryl Gillan, last month. Dame Cheryl Gillan died last month ( Image: Getty Images) She held the seat at the December 2019 general election with a 16,223 majority over the Lib Dems who came second with just 26.3% of votes, compared with 55.4% for the Conservatives. The Tories have held the seat since its creation in 1974 and are …
5 times Tory ministers have denied rule-breaking Downing Street Christmas parties
Ministers are under increasing pressure over claims boozy Christmas parties were held at Downing Street last year - and some of the responses have really stretched credulity. Sources told the Mirror Boris Johnson gave a speech at a packed leaving do in No 10 in November, during the second national lockdown. This newspaper also reported allegations that revellers at an unofficial No10 Christmas bash on December 18 allegedly enjoyed food, drinks and games which went on well past midnight. Millions of people were living under strict Covid rules at the time - with London under Tier 3 restrictions. The following day Mr Johnson announced that Christmas plans had to be drastically scaled back. As Labour MPs demand the Met Police probe whether rules were broken, ministers have faced an avalanche of questions about the alleged festive get-togethers. Here are just some of the questionable responses. 'We followed guidance' Boris Johnson in the Commons ( Image: UK …
Dominic Raab rejects claims of chaotic Afghan evacuation from ‘junior desk officer’ and insists it was success
Dominic Raab has dismissed a whistleblower’s revelations about the chaotic Afghan evacuation as coming from a “junior desk officer” and insisted it was a success. The former foreign secretary hit back at the devastating evidence from Raphael Marshall – but did not deny that only 5 per cent of people at risk from the Taliban takeover received help. Mr Raab called the evacuation a “heroic and herculean effort” which got out 15,000 people and argued any delays were because of the situation in Kabul, not blunders at home. “We did everything we could,” he insisted, describing the UK effort as “a record that those involved, particularly those working on the ground, should be proud of”. He denied he was demoted to justice secretary because of his dismal handling of the crisis in August, or that his job was at risk again because of the whistleblower’s revelations. Recommended Where did Dominic Raab go on holiday? Raab insists he won’t quit …
Conservatism has wrecked this country – just as it was designed to
It isn’t often that life presents us with second chances. Whether it’s not breaking up with that girl who in hindsight you could have married, not flunking that crucial exam, or not crippling your country’s economy and health services with your mismanagement of a pandemic, there are lots of things we would do differently, given the chance. Well, Stacy married Craig, and you didn’t get into Oxford, but for one man, Boris Johnson , that second chance may have just presented itself. The omicron variant is here , but unlike its older cousin it hasn’t taken us by surprise. We haven’t been caught on the back foot this time; no, the omicron variant has announced its presence with all the fireworks and spectacle of an American gender reveal party. The conditions for this new variant to wreak havoc on the UK are close to perfect: it’s winter, right before Christmas, most places are open, and the anti-mask crowd have really stepped up their game in the past few months. But …
Continue Reading about Conservatism has wrecked this country – just as it was designed to →
Under-fire Dominic Raab rejects claim he ‘did fully not understand’ Afghan crisis
Under-fire Dominic Raab has tried to distance himself from explosive whistleblower revelations over the "dysfunctional" and "chaotic" evacuation from Afghanistan. The top Tory, who was criticised for holidaying in Crete as the Taliban swept through the country, said the evidence from Raphael Marshall was "inaccurate in some respects" and dismissed him as a "relatively junior desk officer". Allied forces withdrew from the war-torn country as Taliban fighters advanced - sparking a refugee emergency as worried Afghans tried to flee. Foreign Office chiefs will be grilled about string of alleged failings at the department during this summer’s Afghan crisis later. Mr Marshall, who worked for the Foreign Office during the Operation Pitting evacuation effort, claimed just 5% of Afghan nationals who applied to leave under one UK scheme received help. Members of the British and US Armed Forces working at Kabul Airport in August ( Image: MOD/AFP via Getty Images) Some were …
Theresa May’s Sunday Times interview leaves us with as little understanding of the Prime Minister as we have of Brexit
Has any Prime Minister in the memory of anyone alive inherited a more petrifying, insomnia-causing, ‘what-in-the-name-of-sweet-Lord-Jesus-have-I-got-myself-into-here?’ legacy than Theresa May ? She has only one rival and whether she or Winston Churchill deserves the title is less self-evident than it might appear. Obviously, Britain faced a clearer cut existential threat from forces massing on the other side of the Channel in May 1940, when Churchill slid into No 10 much as May did in July, albeit without the black comedy of several other contenders collapsing like kamikaze dominoes. Yet in some ways the old boy had it easier than May. Firstly, within days of taking office, he had illuminated the path ahead by persuading the inner Cabinet to fight to the death, rather than deal with Hitler to cut an Empire-preserving deal. From that history-shaping moment, whether it led to victory or defeat, he knew in outline what had to be done. ✕ Theresa May backs …
What voters actually want levelling up to achieve is pretty simple
Just what is “levelling up”? The question of how to reduce the profound differences between the affluent southeast and more deprived areas of the north of England and West Midlands has been the biggest policy challenge – Covid-19 notwithstanding – since the 2019 election. After nearly two years of dithering, Boris Johnson used the last cabinet reshuffle to finally focus his government on the problem. It now falls to Michael Gove , he of the famously wide-ranging education reforms, and Neil O’Brian – surely the best ministerial team Johnson has at his disposal – to come up with something tangible before the " red wall " gets to decide whether double down on its 2019 electoral gamble – or to flip back to Labour at the next election. Although another delay in publishing the White Paper on levelling up until January 2022 is not encouraging. Surely answering the “what” question before the “how” would be sensible for Gove et al. Best to ask what would success for …
Continue Reading about What voters actually want levelling up to achieve is pretty simple →
A no-deal Brexit would be twice as damaging for the UK economy as coronavirus in the long term
Will Covid-19 mean that we don’t notice a no-deal Brexit ? The continuing effects of the pandemic may mitigate or obscure – politically or economically – the impact of no deal. Whatever the headline growth figures in early 2021, it will be very difficult to attribute economic outcomes to Brexit. However, assuming a reasonably strong recovery, and that government policies succeed in avoiding persistent mass unemployment, Brexit is likely to have a more significant impact in the long run. Our modelling with the London School of Economics of the impact of a no-deal Brexit suggests that the total cost to the UK economy over the longer term will be two to three times as large as that implied by the Bank of England’s forecast for the impact of Covid-19. No deal will result in immediate and substantial tariff and non-tariff barriers on UK exports to the EU. And the UK will apply the new UK Global Tariff to imports from the EU and other countries with which it does …