Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.
From our UK edition
Labour’s opposition day motion calling on the government not to drop the £20 uplift in Universal Credit has just passed in the Commons – because the government abstained on the vote. This was expected, but what was more of a surprise was that there was a vote at all: no one was there to oppose
From our UK edition
Of all the government ministries grappling with the impact of the pandemic, the Department for Education has probably had the most torrid – and least impressive – time. There is currently no sign that things are improving, either: in the past week, ministers have had to deal with a highly politically-toxic row over the quality of
From our UK edition
12 min listen
The Commons will today see a debate over extending the universal credit uplift. While Thérèse Coffey, the work and pensions secretary, wants the weekly increase to remain, Rishi Sunak wants to replace it with a one-off £500 payment. Isabel Hardman talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about the Tory split.
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson had a few positive things to offer this evening’s coronavirus briefing. Speaking alongside chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, the Prime Minister announced that 3.3 million people had received their vaccines, including nearly 45 per cent of the over-80s. Whitty, meanwhile, had the sort-of good news
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson has previously enjoyed Liaison Committee hearings rather too much, trying to get through the long session with select committee chairs using humour and optimism. Both were in rather short supply on Wednesday, as you might expect given the UK’s current predicament in the pandemic. The Prime Minister covered a lot of ground, and
From our UK edition
13 min listen
Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, has said today that a national voucher scheme for free school meals would return on Monday, after pictures of the food packages being given to children were widely circulated online. Footballer Marcus Rashford said the Prime Minister promised ‘that he is committed to correcting the issue’. Katy Balls speaks to
From our UK edition
One of the many reasons to love winter is that it brings so many wonderful new birds to this country. We might complain about our colder weather and the need to wrap up, but for many migratory birds, this country is a warm haven from their breeding grounds which are often within the Arctic Circle.
From our UK edition
Tuesday’s cabinet meeting discussed the usual topics of Covid and the Brexit transition period, but at the end, Boris Johnson told ministers he had asked Sir Michael Barber to conduct a rapid review of government delivery ‘to ensure it remains focused, effective and efficient’. Downing Street’s readout of the meeting said the Prime Minister told
From our UK edition
11 min listen
Boris Johnson has been criticised for taking a bike ride in the Olympic Park, seven miles away from Downing Street. Should the government make the Covid rules clearer? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
From our UK edition
Matt Hancock spent Monday evening trying to explain a very delicate tension to the public. There’s the good news of the vaccine and his determination that all four of the most vulnerable priority groups will be vaccinated by mid-February. And then there’s the bad news that in the meantime, coronavirus is spreading and we haven’t yet seen
From our UK edition
13 min listen
Chris Whitty said that hospitals will face ‘the worst weeks of this pandemic’ in a broadcast round this morning, as he implored Brits to keep social contact ‘to an absolute minimum’. It comes as the government is considering even stricter restrictions to improve compliance. Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.
From our UK edition
Inevitably, Keir Starmer’s main intervention today has been on Covid, with the Labour leader calling for more restrictions within the next 24 hours. But he made this demand as part of his first major policy speech as leader – and there was more in it than just Covid curbs. Starmer has decided he wants to
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson’s coronavirus press briefing this evening was largely an upbeat discussion of how the vaccination programme is being rolled out, including a look at the logistical side of things with Brigadier Phil Prosser. So far, nearly 1.5 million people have been given the vaccine across the UK, and the Prime Minister said there was
From our UK edition
It is much harder being an embattled minister in the socially distanced Commons than in normal times. There is no group of supportive MPs to arrange behind you, no ability to organise sympathetic noises from the backbenches as you give your statement explaining why you’ve taken a last-minute decision to close all schools when you
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson doesn’t have as angry a Conservative party to deal with as he might have expected after announcing his third national lockdown. The Covid Recovery Group of MPs has largely moved on from opposing further restrictions to putting pressure on the government over its vaccine timetable, meaning any revolt on tonight’s vote will be much
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson this evening tried to give a little more background to why he had called England’s latest lockdown – and why he had confidence that this really was the darkness before the dawn. The Prime Minister told the Downing Street coronavirus briefing (yes, we are back in that sort of lockdown) that more than
From our UK edition
11 min listen
Following the announcement of a third lockdown, a testing regime for arrivals could be put in place. It comes as Michael Gove said there would be announcements in the coming days about ‘how we will make sure that our ports and airports are safe’, and Nicola Sturgeon said ‘urgent’ discussions were underway. Isabel Hardman talks
From our UK edition
11 min listen
This evening the Prime Minister announced a return to the lockdown system for England, coming after Nicola Sturgeon announced similar measures earlier in the day. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about what the measures mean for students, vulnerable groups and more.
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson has announced that England is going into a third national lockdown – but a much stricter one than we saw in the autumn. The government has also been forced to accept that A-levels and GCSEs will not be going ahead this year because all schools will close from tomorrow, save for vulnerable children
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson is coming under increased pressure from Tory MPs on both sides of the Covid debate today. On the one hand, there is former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt calling for schools and borders to close and a ban on all household mixing straight away in order to prevent the NHS from collapsing. On the