The Match of the Day pundits refer to football managers losing the dressing room. Boris Johnson is not in that zone quite yet, but looking around at some of the faces on the backbenches yesterday suggested he might not be far off. Not since the dying days of Theresa May has such a sour atmosphere permeated … Read more
This is, without a doubt, the bleakest moment on Britain’s high streets since the Second World War. Only the demise of Woolworths, in the financial crisis of 2008, comes anywhere near to the tragedy this week as two of the biggest names in British retail have been brought to their knees. Once the grande dame … Read more
Finally MPs, the business community, employees and the rest of the country are discovering a terrible truth. When it comes to the economic impact of the tier levels that will determine the future of enterprise up and down the country during the coming months, the Government is clearly flying blind. Yesterday’s ‘impact statement’ was designed … Read more
For anyone who cares about the countryside, and nature conservation, fixing the mess created by the destructive and wasteful EU system which has governed British agriculture since the 1970s is one of the great opportunities of Brexit. Yesterday, the Government announced its replacement — a seven-year plan with subsidies to encourage farmers to improve ‘the … Read more
Boris Johnson is promising Tory MPs all kinds of concessions to head off a revolt over the latest Covid restrictions. The lockdown will be kept under constant review. Low-risk areas may be shifted from Tier Three to Tier Two. The rules could be relaxed mid-December and abandoned altogether by the end of January. Believe that … Read more
News that David Beckham was suggested for a Sports Minister job has caused much hilarity across the land — but unease in the offices of Whitehall. It has given beleaguered ministers, whose positions are precarious at the best of times, something else to worry about. Something BIG to worry about. Something bigger than the pandemic, … Read more
As the Government jumps from one Covid mishap to another, Labour is frothing at the mouth at the Tories’ use of private companies to solve its logistical problems. In particular, Serco has been singled out by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, for being one of the biggest private provider of Government services. Certainly … Read more
Michael Gove is to the Tory Party what Mikhail Suslov was to the Soviet Communist Party in the 1960s and 1970s. Chief ideologue and brainbox. But whereas Suslov was a hardliner and extreme authoritarian, Mr Gove was, until recently, seen as a social liberal and libertarian. One did not associate him with the expansion of … Read more
The breaking up of a public protest by police is not pretty to see. But there was something particularly unpleasant about the scene I witnessed last week outside the gates of the House of Commons. As I looked out of a window on to Parliament Square, I noticed a group of officers confronting an elderly … Read more
Will Sir Keir’s biography find his Northern soul? Skeletons in the Labour leader’s closet will start rattling, writes ANNA MIKHAILOVA By Anna Mikhailova For The Mail On Sunday Published: 22:01 GMT, 28 November 2020 | Updated: 02:50 GMT, 29 November 2020 Skeletons in Sir Keir Starmer’s closet will start rattling with the news that several … Read more