Brexit where is boris johnson

Boris Johnson has branded a US Supreme Court judgement to deny legal abortion rights to millions of women as a "big step backwards". The Prime Minister weighed in over the court's decision to strike down Roe v Wade, which will allow individual states to ban terminations. The landmark 1973 judgement recognised a woman's constitutional right to abortion and legalised it nationwide. But justices today overturned the ruling after deciding the original judgement was wrong because the U.S. Constitution makes no specific mention of abortion rights. It is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of US states. The seismic move immediately triggered waves of anger across the globe, and campaigners from both sides took to the streets in Washington. ( Image: Getty Images) The Prime Minister waded into the row at a press conference in Kigali, Rwanda, where he is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Asked about the decision, Mr Johnson … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson brands US Supreme Court abortion ruling a ‘big step backwards’

Boris Johnson vowed not change his behaviour following a double drubbing in crucial by-elections in a bizarre series of broadcast interviews. The Prime Minister said the idea that he would undergo a “psychological transformation” following the embarrassing defeats was “not going to happen.” And he indicated he thinks serious questions about his ethical conduct “doesn’t matter.” “As a leader you have to distinguish between the criticism that really matters and the criticism that doesn’t,” he told the BBC during a trip to Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). He claimed the public were “heartily sick of hearing about me and the things I'm alleged to have done wrong.” And he told Sky News his party suffered the crushing defeats because “people were absolutely fed up hearing about things I stuffed up, this endless churn of stuff, when they wanted to hear what is this guy doing." The PM is visiting Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson insists he won’t change and criticism of his behaviour ‘doesn’t matter’

Britain will boost defence spending by billions of pounds but still cut thousands of troops from the Army, Boris Johnson said today. Speaking at the NATO Summit in Madrid, the Prime Minister said the UK would lift cash for the armed forces from 2% of GDP to 2.5% by the end of the decade. Based on current figures, the pledge would amount to an extra £55.1bn by 2030, it is understood. But he did not spell out fully how. Grilled by the Mirror, he vowed to press on with cutting the Army by 9,500 soldiers - leaving an Army of just 72,500 soldiers while bolstering their gear. And he refused to back down from dropping the Tory manifesto pledge to raise defence spending "by at least 0.5% above inflation every year of the new Parliament”. It comes after a Cabinet row over defence spending amid the war in Ukraine , with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace calling publicly for it to rise from the middle of the decade. Boris Johnson made the comments at the Nato summit in Madrid … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson pledges to raise UK defence spending to 2.5% – but only by 2030

Vladimir Putin has made more than 30 nuclear threats since Russia invaded Ukraine , Boris Johnson has said. Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari, in an interview that will air at 7am tomorrow, the Prime Minister said a peace agreement to end the war was possible, however. Asked how many threats to deploy nuclear weapons, the Prime Minister accused Moscow of "sabre rattling", saying: "There's an analysis that I think has been done by somebody recently, a think tank, that they’re looking at about 35 mentions or perhaps it's a little bit more now, of that issue. "But I think it's very, very important that we shouldn't allow ourselves to be side-tracked by this kind of sabre-rattling, because fundamentally, what Putin is trying to do is to reframe this. It's about Russia versus NATO. "It's about a stand-off of that kind. It's not. It's about his attack on an entirely innocent country, with conventional weapons, with artillery, bombardments with planes, shells and so on. Prime … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin has made over 30 threats to deploy nuclear weapons, says Boris Johnson

Former Tory pensions minister Ros Altmann is calling on Boris Johnson to reduce the minimum pension age to 61. If the PM accepts her plan it would mean anyone with 45 years of national insurance contributions but unable to work because of ill health would be able to retire five years early on a reduced state pension. Under the present system one in seven 65-year-olds have been pushed into poverty because the pension age is now 66 for both men and women. That will go up to 67 in 2026. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed 100,000 older people fell below the poverty line in 2020 as 700,000 65-year-olds had to wait the extra year before getting pension payments worth £142 per week. Under Baroness Altmann’s scheme those who could not continue working would qualify for a pension of around £84 a week instead of having to rely on jobless benefits. Those who could show shortened life expectancy would be able to claim the full whack. The plan could be paid for from the … [Read more...] about Ex-Tory minister urges Boris Johnson to reduce minimum pension age to 61

Partygate looks like it may well be over, but its hangover hasn’t left Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It came to grip him at a moment he would have wanted it least, as he stepped into St Paul’s Cathedral with his wife for the Thanksgiving ceremony on the platinum jubilee of the Queen. Boris Johnson was booed vociferously by large numbers in the crowd outside, though it must be said that a substantial number also cheered his arrival. All leaders, democratic ones anyhow, live with a degree of popularity among some people and the lack of it among others in the hope that higher numbers of the first kind shall sustain them through their term in office and take them into the next. But leaders are not usually booed in public because they were not the first leader of choice for everyone. The booing of Boris Johnson spoke active resentment among a large number of people, and ‘people’ are dangerously synonymous with voters. Boris Johnson does not just face a significant extent of … [Read more...] about London View: Partygate Over But Boris Hit by the Hangover

Boris Johnson’s “illegal” law to scrap parts of his own Brexit deal passed its first hurdle last night - despite outrage from some Tory MPs. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill won a ‘second reading’ in the Commons by 295 votes to 221, and will now get detailed scrutiny in Parliament. It was carried through on Tory and DUP votes while Labour , the Lib Dems, SNP and other opposition parties voted against. Theresa May said it was not “legal under international law” and did not “maintain the standing of the UK in the eyes of the world”. Ex-Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell said it “brazenly breaks a solemn international treaty”, adding: "It trashes our international reputation, it threatens a trade war at a time when our economy is flat and it puts us at odds with our most important ally." And Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said it was “a failure of statecraft and it puts at risk the reputation of the United Kingdom. The arguments … [Read more...] about How your MP voted on ‘illegal’ Brexit Bill – full list of 72 Tories who failed to back it

Captain Tom Moore, who became a national hero in Britain after raising more than 33 million pounds ($40 million) for health workers in the run-up to his 100th birthday, is to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth on Friday, Buckingham Palace said. The World War Two veteran raised the record sum for the National Health Service by painstakingly completing 100 laps of his garden with the aid of a walking frame in April. The following month it was announced he would become "Sir Tom" after a special nomination from Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Although other investitures have been postponed because of the coronavirus, Buckingham Palace said the ceremony would take place on Friday at Windsor Castle where the 94-year-old monarch has been sheltering during the COVID-19 pandemic with her husband Prince Philip, 99. The palace said the ceremony would take place in private with Moore accompanied by members of his family. "I hope she’s not very heavy handed with the sword," Moore quipped when … [Read more...] about Queen to Knight Record-breaking UK Fundraiser Captain Tom on Friday

A medical trade union in Britain will lobby the government to provide ‘free’ abortions for Americans in the wake of the repeal of Roe v. Wade . In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue of abortion to the state level, the UK’s British Medical Association trade union will lobby its government to provide free abortions to all foreigners — including Americans — whether their own country will pay for the procedure or not. British taxpayers, presumably, would pick up the bill. Members of the British trade union also agreed to publicly condemn the U.S. court’s ruling, joining the likes of so-called ‘Conservative’ Party Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who previously lambasted the move as a “big step backwards”. According to a report by The Telegraph, the BMA approved a motion that would allow it to push the British state to “support the provision of free and safe abortion care to all nationals seeking this in the UK, without … [Read more...] about UK Should Offer Americans Free Abortions After Roe v. Wade Repeal

Britain was ahead of the US in establishing women's reproductive rights. The ground-breaking Abortion Act, first promoted as a private members bill by the future Liberal Party leader David Steel, was passed by parliament in 1969. It was a centrepiece of the "swinging sixties", when Britain was setting the pace for social reform and, according to the poet Philip Larkin: "Sexual intercourse began. In nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me) - between the end of the 'Chatterley' ban. And the Beatles' first LP." The development of the pill was another significant factor in "women's liberation". British voices led the outcry against Pope Paul VI's 'Humanae Vitae' in 1968 banning contraception for Catholics. On issues of social and sexual freedom, the tide has not turned in the UK. Britain's pregnancy term limit for abortion of 23 weeks and six days is longer than many equivalent countries. It is 14 weeks in France and 12 in Germany. … [Read more...] about No turning back: Adam Boulton on the abortion divide between UK and US