The Prime Minister described, with relish, Prince Philip’s ability to drive “a coach and horses through the finer points of diplomatic protocol”.
“He put his life towards ensuring the success of his wife…may he rest in peace and rise in glory”.
“He’s been there – a symbol of the nation we hope to be at our best. A source of stability. A rock.”
A “unique and idiosynchratic silhouette” – the Duke’s work in designing his funeral vehicle is compared to his work in modernising the monarchy.
“He was, without doubt, the father of the nation. He will surely be missed and impossible to replace.”
The challenges facing the Upper House are immense, but he has the character and the experience to steer us through them.
For us, the key question is: what was Greensill himself doing as an adviser to the Coalition in the first place?
Bagehot’s purely dignified role for the monarchy only works if tireless duty and service are at its heart – as in this case.
If he isn’t the sort of person we should be erecting statues to, then it’s time to do away with statues altogether.
It is by no means the only offender. Such payments show the wrong priorities and are dubious associations.
Further details enclosed.
The former Prime Minister suggests that the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge will be at the forefont of change.
Constitutionally, socially, and symbolically, the monarchy is an institution that binds us together in ways no presidency could.
She has lost a beloved husband and the country has lost one of the most admirable public servants in its history.
“We’re so deeply touched by the number of other people…who also share our loss and our sorrow.”
At: the Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle, Cardiff Castle, Hillborough Castle, Plymouth, Woolwich, Portsmouth and Gibraltar.
In looking to the monarchy’s future, we follow in his footsteps. He was its original moderniser in our times.
Far from being a reactionary as sometimes caricatured, he was always compassionate and open-minded, as well as brave.
That sorrow, more profound than many people had expected, is a measure of the affection and respect in which he was held.
The Prime Minister’s tribute outside Downing Street to the Duke of Edinburgh, who has died at the age of 99.
“Her Majesty said that our country owed her husband ‘a greater debt than he would ever claim or we shall ever know’ and I am sure that estimate is correct.”
The Adam Smith Institute’s new report, Ignorantia Legis, shows the Government how it could stem the bloat of process-focused legislation.
“The Queen has said that the death of her beloved husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, has “left a huge void in her life”. In the monarch’s first reported comments on Prince Philip’s death, she was also said to have described her husband’s passing as a “miracle”. The Queen’s words were relayed by the Duke of York, as he left a church service in Windsor. Her Majesty is understood to have taken huge comfort in the warm tributes that have flooded in from across the globe. Prince Andrew, 61, described the depth of his mother’s grief as he spoke of how she had been coping in recent days. “The Queen, as you would expect, is an incredibly stoic person,” he said. “And she described his passing as a miracle. “She’s contemplating, I think is the way that I would put it. She described it as having left a huge void in her life, but we, the family, the ones that are closer, are rallying around to make sure that we’re there to support her.”” – Daily Telegraph
Comment:
> Today:
> Yesterday:
“Thirsty drinkers have already been queuing for pubs while others got minute-past-minute haircuts and spray tans as Covid rules were relaxed. Today has been dubbed the ‘Glorious Twelfth’ – when beer gardens, shops, hairdressers and gyms will join libraries, zoos and nail salons in reopening. Some eager patrons even rushed to the pubs at midnight as they flocked to the beer gardens the minute restrictions were eased. A long queue was seen outside The Oak Inn in Coventry which is open until 6am, offering pizzas and kebabs throughout the night to the thirsty revellers. Meanwhile at the Kentish Belle in Bexley Heath, groups of six flocked to its 12am opening to make the most of the latest easing in restrictions. Others had different priorities and headed straight to the hairdressers to fix their lockdown hair after months of isolation.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
“Most Britons back vaccine passports if they mean the end of social distancing, polling for The Times suggests. A survey showed strong support for Covid status certificates in every setting except shops, though a significant minority would be reluctant to visit pubs and restaurants if they had to show one, suggesting a threat to hospitality revenues if they were introduced. The government said last week that Covid certificates “could play a role in reducing social-distancing requirements”. Any final decision is months off, so pubs and restaurants will initially open with distancing rules in place such as people from different groups staying at least one metre apart. Polling by YouGov last week found that 61 per cent said they backed certificates being introduced if it allowed venues to lift social distancing, compared with 29 per cent who did not.” – The Times
Comment:
“People in their forties are due to be invited for vaccinations from tomorrow after the government reached its target to offer jabs to everyone in the nine priority groups. Only the late forties are expected to be called first in what sources described as an “easing into” the second phase of the vaccination programme. Government scientists are also considering whether offering priority vaccination to regular travellers who are exempt from quarantine rules would help to reduce the risk of importing dangerous variants. Premier League footballers, hauliers and diplomats are among those who could be vaccinated earlier, in a plan that is understood to be at an early stage of discussion. Ministers promised that 32 million people in the priority groups, which includes everyone over 50 and younger people with chronic conditions, would be offered vaccination by April 15.” – The Times
“David Cameron has broken his silence to concede that it was a mistake to lobby ministers informally on behalf of the financier Lex Greensill. The former prime minister insisted, however, that he had not broken any rules. He also said the value of his shares in Greensill’s collapsed company was “nowhere near” the figures of $30 million and $60 million that have been reported. He said he had “very little to do” with Greensill while in No 10 and met him only twice when prime minister, despite the financier describing himself as a “senior adviser”. The former Conservative leader began working for the Greensill Capital in 2018. It emerged last month that he had directly lobbied Rishi Sunak to give the company a role in the government’s Covid-19 loan scheme.” – The Times
Comment:
“Downing Street is considering intergovernmental talks over rising tensions in Northern Ireland despite concerns that involving Dublin would further inflame unionist anger. Boris Johnson has not ruled out travelling to the province if the disorder continues but any visit might be delayed until the official mourning period for the Duke of Edinburgh has concluded. It comes amid increasing concern in government at the spectre of sectarian violence after more rioting on Friday led to 14 officers being injured. Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, said yesterday that young people were still being “taught to hate”. Northern Ireland’s children’s commissioner said that adults coercing and encouraging young people to commit violence was tantamount to child abuse.” – The Times
Comment:
“It is the norm on the Scottish National party campaign trail to have to fight one’s way towards Nicola Sturgeon through streets packed with admirers and selfie-hunters, some even brought to tears by her proximity. But this is an election like no other. So, on Friday morning – before the death of Prince Philip was announced and political campaigning suspended – Sturgeon arrived at the deserted Whitelee windfarm in East Ayrshire to set out new climate targets in front of a handful of masked reporters and photographers, as the turbines rotated silently behind her. It is less than three weeks since the first minister and SNP leader was cleared of breaching the ministerial code in her meetings with her predecessor, Alex Salmond, following allegations of sexual harassment made against him by two civil servants. A day later, the Holyrood committee investigating the handling of those complaints by her government published a highly critical report that concluded Sturgeon had misled the Scottish parliament, though not knowingly.” – The Guardian
“Pierre Trudeau, the former prime minister of Canada, once noted that his country’s relationship with the United States was akin to finding oneself in bed with an elephant. This might be a strange arrangement but so long as the elephant behaved itself, it need not be an uncomfortable one. If the elephant starts to thrash around, however, everyone else risks being squashed. Well, England is the United Kingdom’s elephant and Brexit is the moment it chose to remind its bedmates that even pachyderms must from time to time be permitted to exercise their prerogatives. If that made life less comfortable for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, then so be it. The littler nations would just have to lump it. There is a logic there but while certain choices may be made on a UK-wide basis their consequences are not necessarily shared equitably. Brexit set new constitutional fires blazing in Scotland and Northern Ireland while also introducing fresh tensions between London and Cardiff. Many of these problems had a common origin: the sense that the voices of the smaller nations were ignored.” – The Times
“A charity has been accused of “pursuing an aggressive political agenda” after it emerged that it had solicited a critical response to the Sewell report on racism before it was published. In an email to supporters of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, Halima Begum, its director, asked them to make short videos “outlining either a racist experience you personally have had, a family member/friend has had, or a statistic outlining the prevalence of racism in the UK”. More than a week before the report’s release, the charity said that it was expected to “downplay the role of structural and institutional racism”. The report said that racism was a problem, but played a relatively marginal role in disparities of outcome among racial groups when compared with other economic and social forces.” – The Times
“China’s cyber regulator has launched a hotline to report online criticism of the ruling Communist party and its history, vowing to crack down on “historical nihilists” ahead of the party’s 100th anniversary in July. The tip line allows people to report fellow internet users who “distort” the party’s history, attack its leadership and policies, defame national heroes and “deny the excellence of advanced socialist culture” online, said a notice posted by an arm of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Friday. “Some with ulterior motives … have been spreading historical nihilistic misrepresentations online, maliciously distorting, denigrating and negating the history of the party,” said the notice. “We hope that the majority of internet users will actively play their part in supervising society … and enthusiastically report harmful information,” it said.” – The Guardian
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