Coronavirus

Boris Johnson has been warned by more than 50 Tory MPs that his handling of the coronavirus pandemic could “send the North into reverse”. A group of northern Conservative backbenchers, led by former northern powerhouse minister Jake Berry, has written to the prime minister expressing their concerns. The Northern Research Group (NRG) wants Johnson to […]

Readers have their say on the silence of Baroness Dido Harding, who is overseeing the government’s test and trace scheme. I can’t help wondering why, if Diana ‘Dido’ Harding is that capable, confident and articulate (“Test of her life”, TNE #215), she doesn’t seem to do more media interviews: after all, who better to report […]

Welsh secretary Simon Hart has accused the media of concocting a scandal surrounding England’s contract tracing system as he dismissed claims it was an “abject” failure on national television. Hart struck a defensive tone with Sky News’ Andrew Boulton who confronted him over dire test and trace figures. “To use Boris Johnson’s words, the government has quite happily […]

James O’Brien has delivered a scathing assessment of the government’s coronavirus response and claimed the pandemic has exposed just how out of touch with reality leaders have become. The national radio host accused the government of underestimating the impact of Covid-19 is having in communities across the UK. “The contradiction of telling us for months that it was all […]

Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre was the biggest winner in the government’s cultural bail-out scheme in England, with a whopping £999,999 coming its way. This made it the envy of far more acclaimed, but less generously supported venues, such as the Bristol Old Vic, and, in London, the Almeida and the Kiln, where the great Indhu Rubasingham, […]

Lockdown is, for almost everybody, a new phenomenon that has created feelings of anxiety about a range of issues, particularly how to deal with the threat of the virus itself. Covid-19 is an invisible threat from which the best protection appears to be to hide – perhaps in the hope that it will go away.  […]

The minister behind coronavirus negotiations with Andy Burnham and other Greater Manchester leaders was unable to say whether gyms would remain open under the region’s new restrictions. Communities and housing minister Robert Jenrick appeared to have no idea if gyms would remain open under Tier-3 restrictions coming into force on Friday, despite being involved in lockdown […]

The former head of Whitehall said there were “legitimate” questions about the government’s preparedness for the coronavirus outbreak while taking a swipe at Dominic Cumming’s lockdown-breaking trip to Durham. Lord Mark Sedwill, who stood down last month as cabinet secretary, said Whitehall did not have all the “exact measures” in place to deal with the pandemic. […]

Greater Manchester has been forced into following Tier 3 coronavirus controls after talks between the government and regional leaders concluded without an agreement. The region’s mayor Andy Burnham held last-ditch talks with Boris Johnson earlier on Tuesday aimed at securing additional financial support for his consent on new restrictions. But communities secretary Robert Jenrick said the discussions […]

Matt Hancock has come under fire from Downing Street after he was pictured not wearing a face mask while travelling in a ministerial car. According to new rules, anyone travelling in taxis and private cars are required to wear a face mask or be hit with a £200 fine which could extend to £6,400 for repeated breaches. […]

A Labour politician has lashed out at Boris Johnson and asked how he expected people to live on two-thirds of the national minimum wage if he struggled on his £150,000-a-year salary. Denton and Reddish MP Andrew Gwynne has slammed the prime minister for allegedly complaining about his salary. According to the Sunday Mirror, Tory MPs are gearing up […]

Labour’s Jacinda Ardern has declared victory in the New Zealand elections, after receiving a boost from her successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The elections had been delayed from September, but were pushed back to October due to concerns over a flare up in Covid-19 cases. Her party has been campaigning wit the slogan “Let’s […]

Boris Johnson appears to have got his coronavirus rules wrong again after advising single parents they may not be able to see their children if their area goes into heightened restrictions. The prime minister told a father living in a different county to his son “there may be restrictions”, despite all levels of Covid-19 controls […]

Boris Johnson has said the UK is developing the capacity to manufacture millions of new fast turnaround tests for coronavirus in a move not yet replicated by any other country in the world. The prime minister told a No 10 news conference that some of the saliva tests could deliver results in just 15 minutes. […]

Nicola Sturgeon has said she feels “deeply frustrated and depressed” by the prospect of a no-deal Brexit while the UK is still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.  The first minister said coronavirus should have “100% of our time and energy”. Sturgeon was asked about the risks of a no-deal exit from the EU at the […]

Channel 4 is to host a debate on whether or not there should be a second national lockdown to curb coronavirus cases.  Politicians, doctors, scientists and business owners will take part in the programme, chaired by Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy. The broadcaster’s head of news and current affairs Louisa Compton said: “As the […]

The coronavirus pandemic will magnify the impact of a no-deal Brexit, new research suggests.  The Institute of Directors (IoD) has warned of a potential “double hit” from Covid-19 and leaving the EU without a trade deal. A survey of almost 1,000 company directors found only one in 10 does not believe the pandemic will magnify […]

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has snapped at a BBC News host over the line of questioning over coronavirus lockdowns.  The minister appeared on BBC Breakfast to answer questions on Andy Burnham;s resistance to the North West of England being considered for the harshest Covid-19 restrictions from government. When the questions turned to the prospect of a circuit […]

Bosses of outsourcing giant Serco have indicated they expect their profits to soar in 2020, with the company’s finances exceeding its expectations due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The company said it was an indication of high customer satisfaction, despite it leading the Test and Trace system, which has just recorded its worst ever week. In a […]

Pubs chain boss Tim Martin has criticised the media and politicians as the Wetherspoon firm sunk to its first loss in 36 years.  The loss is the first time the chain has sunk into the red since 1984, with Martin criticised those who reported that the company was considering withholding wages at the start of […]

Jacob Rees Mogg has blamed Welsh “socialists” rather than government inaction for a new Covid-19 border with England. Rees-Mogg said the Senedd had imposed an “unconstitutional” border between England and Wales when it introduced a travel ban on people coming into the country from virus hotspots across the UK. Answering a question on whether the travel ban […]

Like many of you, I’ve made some new discoveries over the course of this virus-beset year. I read, both on social and ‘regular’ media, of people finding new hobbies, new TV shows to box-binge, new podcasts to follow, new books to read. I myself have stumbled upon something rather wonderful, something I perhaps didn’t realise […]

EU president Ursula von der Leyen was forced to abandon a high level summit after 30 minutes after a member of her team tested positive for coronavirus. Von der Leyen was in a room with all 27 EU heads of state before rushing out “as a precaution”. The president had spent time greeting leaders in […]

Dido Harding seems to make a habit of taking on roles for which, on paper, she is unsuitable. At private school, she was captain of the basketball team despite her diminutive stature. “At 5ft 3 inches she was captain which just seems ridiculous when most basketball players these days are 6ft 10,” recalls an old […]

Radio presenter James O’Brien has called out the duplicity of Brexiteers – who support the UK leaving the European Union at any cost – now opposing a national lockdown to protect the economy. Speaking on his LBC Radio show, O’Brien told listeners: “The people on the wrong side of history insist we can’t have circuit-breaks […]

James O’Brien has delivered an excellent rebuke against a Telegraph columnist who said lockdown does not stop deaths, it only postpones them. The LBC radio presenter was taken back by a tweet from the journalist Allison Pearson who said the country had become “anti-science”. “Out of all the stupid things in stupid land that have been have […]

Other than the group of shrieking conspiracy theorists who tried to break into the German parliament the other weekend after an anti-lockdown protest went awry, it seems most Germans do actually trust their government.All around the world, the pandemic has raised questions about how much voters trust their leaders – and by international standards, the […]

Matt Hancock has been berated online for misrepresenting the French president’s comments about England’s Test and Trace system.  The health secretary tweeted on Wednesday evening that Emmanuel Marcon had “complimented” the nation’s Test and Trace programme. “Tonight parliament endorsed & president Macron complimented our Test & Trace. Massive thanks to my team & all those […]

When Boris Johnson announced Tier Three restrictions for the Liverpool City Region earlier this week it appeared that one of the longest running battles in British politics had been brutally re-opened: The Tory party versus Merseyside. The Region’s mayor Steve Rotheram rejected the suggestion that he had agreed with government plans to lockdown saying the […]

A week is a long time in politics. In this Covid crisis – it’s a lifetime. Or more accurately, it’s the difference between life and death. Tragically, this government’s inability to act swiftly has led to untold thousands of deaths. They dithered in March. And now we know if Boris Johnson had instructed the full […]

A government minister has struggled to defend the pay of some private contractors behind the ailing NHS Test and Trace system. A report by Sky News revealed the government is paying contractors from the Boston Consulting Group around £7,000 a day to help with the coronavirus test and trace system. Up to 40 consultants were paid […]

If the definition of insanity – apocryphally attributed to Einstein, though he never said it – is repeating the same thing and expecting different results, then the definition of idiocy must surely be facing an existential crisis and doing… nothing. Coronavirus was an international crisis in March and remains an international crisis seven months on. […]