Could a ‘circuit breaker’ STILL happen at half-term? Claims Cummings and Gove back a broad crackdown

Could a ‘circuit breaker’ STILL happen at half-term? Claims Dominic Cummings and Michael Gove back a broad crackdown in badly-affected ‘urban areas’ over school half-term Gove and Cummings said to be pushing for two-week closure from October 26  Would affect only parts of England with the worst coronavirus levels But faces opposition from Chancellor Rishi Sunak … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Furious Manchester mayor Andy Burnham threatens to take legal action

 Manchester and Lancashire could be put under Tier 3 lockdown after the Government’s ‘Gold command’ taskforce scientists signed off on the harsh measures The Mayor of Greater Manchester has threatened to take legal action against the Government as the Prime Minister prepares to put his region into the strictest level of local coronavirus lockdown along … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Furious Manchester mayor Andy Burnham threatens to take legal action

 Manchester and Lancashire could be put under Tier 3 lockdown after the Government’s ‘Gold command’ taskforce scientists signed off on the harsh measures The Mayor of Greater Manchester has threatened to take legal action against the Government as the Prime Minister prepares to put his region into the strictest level of local coronavirus lockdown along … Read more

Chancellor Rishi Sunak warns circuit-breaker lockdown could cost jobs and close businesses

Rishi Sunak has warned a ‘blunt’ circuit-breaker national lockdown could cause ‘permanent damage,’ to UK jobs and firms.  There are growing calls, particularly from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, for a two-week circuit breaker to be implemented as a means of slowing the Covid-19 infection rate. Manchester and Lancashire could well join Liverpool under Tier … Read more

HENRY DEEDES watches Boris Johnson on form at Prime Minister’s Questions

For a man with his head stuck in a vice, wedged between the wails of bankrupt business owners and the raging howls of the science community, Boris Johnson delivered a highly competent performance at PMQs yesterday. Words not uttered often in this column, admittedly. But he was stolid and authoritative.  Class clown gets serious. Team … Read more

HENRY DEEDES watches Boris Johnson on form at Prime Minister’s Questions

For a man with his head stuck in a vice, wedged between the wails of bankrupt business owners and the raging howls of the science community, Boris Johnson delivered a highly competent performance at PMQs yesterday. Words not uttered often in this column, admittedly. But he was stolid and authoritative.  Class clown gets serious. Team … Read more

Manchester and Lancashire ‘should be added to harshest Tier Three lockdown’

Boris Johnson stepped back from immediately placing the capital into the second Very High risk group as he outlined the nation’s new triple-tiered lockdown system this afternoon Manchester and Lancashire could be put under Tier 3 lockdown after the Government’s ‘Gold command’ taskforce scientists signed off on the harsh measures.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set … Read more

Manchester and Lancashire ‘should be added to harshest Tier Three lockdown’

Boris Johnson stepped back from immediately placing the capital into the second Very High risk group as he outlined the nation’s new triple-tiered lockdown system this afternoon Manchester and Lancashire could be put under Tier 3 lockdown after the Government’s ‘Gold command’ taskforce scientists signed off on the harsh measures.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set … Read more

DAN HODGES: Flip-flopping Sir Keir Starmer must find his spine – and fight the lockdown lunacy 

When is Sir Keir Starmer going to grow a pair? ‘The shine is starting to come off,’ a Shadow Minister complains.  ‘It’s all very well showing you’re competent. But there are times when you need to roll up your sleeves and attack.’ Labour’s leader is not attacking, but pirouetting. On the Rule of Six. On … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Sir Keir Starmer accuses Boris Johnson of ‘serial incompetence’

Sir Keir Starmer today blasted Boris Johnson’s ‘serial incompetence’ as he accused the Government of ‘bobbing all over the place’ over its handling of the coronavirus crisis.  The Labour leader claimed the Prime Minister had bungled the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and accused him of committing ’13 or 14 U-turns’ so far. Speaking at … Read more