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.
The number of people – particularly women – seeking help for domestic violence soared during the coronavirus lockdown. We’ve known that for a while. But there has been an assumption that as lockdown eases, so will the pressure for abuse victims. New figures from the charity Refuge suggest that this assumption is wrong. There has been
Boris Johnson hasn’t had as much authority over his MPs as he might have expected over the past few months. Tonight, after Number 10 failed to install Chris Grayling as its preferred, loyal, candidate as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it has tried to offer a show of strength by removing the Tory
Long before he even ran for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson had developed an unusually strong political brand, to the extent that few bothered referring to him using his surname. Brand Boris inspires and infuriates in equal measure: his supporters have long argued he is able to reach parts of the electorate others can’t, while
Most people consider going for a walk or a run as a sort of optional leisure activity, something you get round to once you’ve been to the shops. But when the government announced its coronavirus restrictions, there it was in its own category of ‘essential activities’: daily exercise. Yes, there have been rows about whether
For years, ministers from successive governments have conducted drills for all kinds of pandemic scenarios. But they never imagined a lockdown. It’s a new tool, and its implications — and side effects — have never been properly tested. So no one really thought about the effect it would have on something like domestic abuse. Before
Matt Hancock has the air of a student who, having boasted about how great their final dissertation will be, has just realised that they have days to research and write the whole thing. When asked if he is going to meet his target of 100,000 daily tests for coronavirus by the end of the month,
Boris Johnson is still officially recuperating from coronavirus at Chequers and is ‘not doing government work’, according to No. 10. But he is starting to do some activities that sound distinctly work-related. He will be having an audience with the Queen over the phone this week, and will also be phoning President Trump on Tuesday
21 min listen
This week’s Audio Reads are from Matthew Parris, who writes about using coronavirus to support your own ideological cause; Isabel Hardman, who reveals the extent of domestic abuse during the crisis; and Toby Young, who is bonding with his new puppy.
For years, ministers from successive governments have conducted drills for all kinds of pandemic scenarios. But they never imagined a lockdown. It’s a new tool, and its implications — and side effects — have never been properly tested. So no one really thought about the effect it would have on something like domestic abuse. Before
One of the problems with the political news cycle, whether in normal times or now, is that politicians believe that making an announcement about a policy problem is all they need to do to tick it off their to-do list. The more complex the problem, the more tempting it is to make an announcement that
In the past few minutes, Priti Patel has launched a public awareness campaign called #YouAreNotAlone on domestic abuse in the lockdown, along with an extra £2 million for domestic abuse helplines and online support. Charities helping domestic abuse victims say the number of calls to their hotlines has risen by around 25 per cent –
After weeks of criticism that personal protection equipment isn’t reaching front line health and care workers, Matt Hancock today launched a ‘PPE plan’ to ensure that gloves, face masks and so on reach hospitals and care homes as quickly as possible. But alongside it, he also issued a curious warning: don’t use equipment you don’t
In times of crisis, we all need someone to direct our anger at. There are some new candidates during this coronavirus epidemic: people who sit down in parks, people who panic bought toilet roll, and police officers threatening to check shopping baskets. But the old staples remain, and top of that list are the selfish,
There are now daily examples of police forces either overstepping the regulations and guidance on social distancing to tell people off who are, for instance, in their own front gardens, or threatening to do so in the near future (see Northamptonshire police desperately trying to blame the media for writing up verbatim what its chief
The government is still refusing to give any details of whether, when and how the current coronavirus lockdown might lift. At this afternoon’s lobby briefing with journalists, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman repeated the line we have heard over the past few days that the government needs to be ‘focused relentlessly’ on ensuring that people
Boris Johnson has been stable overnight and is breathing without mechanical assistance, his official spokesman said this afternoon. He has received standard oxygen treatment and ‘remains in good spirits’. He does not have pneumonia. There have been questions over whether Downing Street had been overly reticent about quite how unwell the Prime Minister has been,
Last night, Downing Street announced that Boris Johnson is now in intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital after his condition deteriorated. He is not on a ventilator currently but has been moved there in case he needs one. This is the statement from No. 10: Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the
On the surface, Keir Starmer’s new shadow cabinet looks like a rejection of Corbynism. Over the past 24 hours, the new Labour leader has sacked most of his predecessor’s allies such as Ian Lavery, Richard Burgon, Shami Chakrabarti and Dawn Butler. But if you run through the list of appointments, and the names of those
Despite many of his colleagues urging him to take a step back and rest now that he is in hospital, Boris Johnson is continuing to receive his red box of papers while being treated for the persistent symptoms of coronavirus. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told journalists this lunchtime that the PM ‘remains in charge
Matt Hancock has threatened that the government will ban all forms of outdoor exercise if a ‘minority’ of people continue to ignore social distancing rules. Ministers had been worrying that this weekend, which is sunny and warm, would see people trying to get around the lockdown by congregating in parks. Yesterday there were reports –
