“Schoolchildren have become the pandemic’s “forgotten victims”, Tory MPs have warned Boris Johnson, amid a growing backlash against plans that could keep classrooms closed until Easter. A dozen Conservative MPs, including the former Cabinet minister Esther McVey and Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, have backed a campaign by the parents’ pressure group UsforThem to fully reopen schools. They argue that the schools shutdown means education has become an “optional extra”, with the gulf between the most disadvantaged children and their wealthier peers growing “by the day”. At the same time, the pressure on parents who are trying to hold down full-time jobs while also acting as teachers “is simply becoming too much”, they say, meaning schools should reopen now.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today:
“According to government data released on Sunday, a total of 6,353,321 people in the UK have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. A further slew of vaccination centres are due to open on Monday to speed up delivery of the jabs. These include at the Crick Institute in London, the Blackpool Winter Gardens, Lancaster town hall, Bath racecourse and the Black Country Living Museum, where scenes for the TV show Peaky Blinders were filmed.” – The Guardian
>Yesterday:
“Rishi Sunak has thrown his weight behind plans to force everyone entering Britain to quarantine in a hotel to prevent new coronavirus strains jeopardising the mass vaccination programme. Amid growing support for the proposal among members of the cabinet, the chancellor is understood to have concluded that the economic cost of the move is outweighed by the risks of the present travel restrictions. A decision on tightening border rules is due to be made by Boris Johnson tomorrow at a meeting of the government’s Covid operations committee. Two senior government sources said that the prime minister was becoming “more swayed” by the need to take decisive action.” – The Times
>Today: Liam Fox on Comment: Are we really going to close down the global economy every time a new virus emerges?
>Yesterday: WATCH: Nick Thomas-Symonds – Labour “would have acted more quickly” on border protections
“Scotland’s first minister has insisted she did not mislead parliament about when she learned harassment allegations had been made against her predecessor Alex Salmond. Nicola Sturgeon said “false conspiracy theories were being spun” about her involvement by Mr Salmond’s supporters. A Holyrood inquiry into how the government handled the allegations against Mr Salmond is under way. She said she expects to give evidence to the inquiry in the coming weeks. The BBC’s Andrew Marr asked Ms Sturgeon how she responded to Mr Salmond saying that parliament had been repeatedly misled, and that evidence she gave to the inquiry was “simply” and “manifestly untrue”…Her interview came after the inquiry announced it would use legal powers to seek documents from the Crown Office.” – BBC
>Yesterday: WATCH: Sturgeon – “I didn’t collude with Salmond and I didn’t conspire against him”
“Reports in The Sunday Times state that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has held talks with the former Labour prime minister around both the Conservatives and Labour’s plans to thwart the SNP’s push for independence. Mr Brown is leading a review of Labour’s policy position on the constitution which could suggest a federal system with new powers for Holyrood and is expected to return its recommendations within 18 months…The talks come as Downing Street has reportedly stepped up its attempts to tackle the SNP’s dominating support, with plans to fight the Holyrood elections without promising further constitutional concessions…The paper also reports plans to challenge the “woke left view” that Scotland’s union with England is a residue of empire and highlight the diversity within the UK Government cabinet. ” – The Scotsman
“DUP leader Arlene Foster has said a potential vote on a united Ireland would be “absolutely reckless”. She was speaking after a poll commissioned by the Sunday Times in NI found 51% of people want a referendum on Irish unity in the next five years. Speaking to Sky News, the first minister said “we all know how divisive a border poll would be”. Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill said there was an “unstoppable conversation under way” on the issue.” – BBC
>Yesterday: WATCH: “It is very disappointing” to see talk of constitutional politics “during a time of national crisis”, says Foster
“Boris Johnson plans to promote a raft of female ministers in a reshuffle aimed at addressing his ‘woman problem’. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is set to be handed a more senior Cabinet post after impressing the Prime Minister. Junior ministers Kemi Badenoch, Lucy Frazer, Gillian Keegan and Victoria Atkins are also seen by No 10 as rising stars….An analysis by the Sunday Times found Downing Street has put up only one female Cabinet minister to answer questions on either the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show or Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday since the start of the first lockdown on March 23….Miss Truss and Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey were notably absent despite both holding high-ranking roles….The influential Conservative Home website said it was ‘inexplicable’ that Downing Street was not using Miss Coffey more on television.” – Daily Mail
“A new “anti-woke” version of the Citizens Advice service to support workers threatened by the culture wars launches today. The organisation, “Counterweight”, will “support people at work, school, and university who feel isolated and under threat from the imposition of anti-liberal policies and ideas,” its founders said. The service was conceived by Helen Pluckrose, a British author who became concerned about the imposition of “unconscious bias training” and other forms of woke “critical social justice ideology” in the workplace.” – Daily Telegraph
“Police are investigating three cases of MPs’ expenses fraud — but Commons chiefs refuse to say who is involved. The incidents involve one serving MP, one aide and one former MP. The suspects’ blushes have been spared on privacy grounds. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority annual report states only that the investigations are ongoing. It is understood that one of the cases relates to the ex-Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson. Last year, he paid back £30,000 having said some expenses were paid “in error”.” – The Sun
“White wine loving Brits are set for joy as a free trade deal with New Zealand is just weeks away, The Sun can reveal. Round three of talks start today with trade officials confident an agreement will be wrapped up before Easter – handing a welcome to boost to British businesses and for Sauvignon Blanc drinkers. Wine imports will be cheaper while we will send the Kiwis more gin with overall trade between the two nations worth nearly £3billion in 2019. The deal could see tariffs slashed on car exports – worth £200 million in trade alone – and busses, with a third or Kiwi coaches made in Leeds or Falkirk.” – The Sun
“Donald Trump led “an attack on the very foundation” of American democracy and must be tried by the Senate for the sake of “truth and justice”, the Republican senator Mitt Romney has said. The Senate trial will be triggered by the delivery, expected today, of the article of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives, which accuses Mr Trump of inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6.” – The Times
“The modern Left – in Britain as well as America – cannot hope to overcome division. They, as much as the nativist and populist Right they so despise, are often the very source of the discord. For blaming people on the basis of their own immutable characteristics for the misfortunes of others, for discriminating today to compensate for the discrimination of yesterday, for attacking the traditions and institutions that many hold dear, for policing thought, word and deed with such vindictiveness and zeal, the Left cannot be the unifiers they claim to be. And that will remain the case until they finally ditch their divisive dogma.” – Nick Timothy, Daily Telegraph