Afternoon summary
- Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, has said he wants to see MPs given a binding vote on the government’s controversial decision to cut the aid budget. In a welcome move for the government, he refused to allow a vote on the topic tonight that would have been binding - because it would have changed legislation. But he has also allowed an emergency debate tomorrow on the topic under the standing order 24 procedure. We have not seen the wording of the motion yet, and even if it calls for the cuts to be reversed, the government could lose the vote but still ignore it - which is what it does when it loses votes on opposition day motions. But Hoyle also said he wanted parliament to take an “effective decision” on this matter - ie, to have a binding vote. (See 5.43pm.) It is not clear yet what he has in mind.
That’s all from me for today. But our coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.
Updated
Speaker grants emergency debate tomorrow on cuts to aid budget
Nigel Evans, the deputy speaker, says the Speaker is satisfied that this is a suitable topic for debate. There are no objections and Evans says Andrew Mitchell has the leave of the house. The debate has been granted. He says it will be the first item of public business tomorrow and last for up to three hours.
Updated
In the Commons Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary, is making his application for an emergency debate on cutting the aid budget tomorrow under standing order 24.
He says parliament has not had its say on the government’s decision to abandon the target of spending 0.7% of national income on aid.
If his amendment calling for the 0.7% target to be reinstated had been put to a vote, he would have won by at least nine votes, and probably 20, he says. He has some experience of this, he says - referring to his past as a government chief whip.
Speaker says MPs should get binding vote on cuts to aid budget
After Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, made his statement about the aid spending amendment (see 4.06pm), Andrew Mitchell used a point of order to ask what MPs could do now to reverse the cuts. Hoyle told Mitchell that he had already raised the possibility of an emergency debate under standing order 24 (S024) on this tomorrow. But Hoyle also indicated that he wanted a binding vote on this.
He told MPs:
I have already expressed my view that the house should be given an opportunity to make an effective - and I repeat, an effective - decision on this matter ...
I share the house’s frustration. It is quite right that this house should not continue to be taken for granted but we must do it in the right way and I believe the government need to respect and need to come forward - I totally agree with [Mitchell] - not only for this house but the country needs this to be debated and aired and an effective decision to be taken.
Boris Johnson has been campaigning today in Chesham and Amersham, where a byelection is being held to elect a successor to the late Cheryl Gillan on 17 June. Gillan, a Conservative, had a majority of 16,223 at the last election.
It was fantastic to visit sunny Chesham and Amersham this morning with our great candidate Peter Fleet.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 7, 2021
He’ll work with me to deliver on the people’s priorities in Chesham and Amersham.
Vote for @pdfleet on 17 June. pic.twitter.com/T1GX2GkqiW
Delta variant continuing to spread across England, data suggests
The Delta variant is continuing to spread across England, data suggests, with a growing area of the north-west among locations affected by the virus.
The variant, also known as B.1.617.2, was first identified in India but is now driving a rise in Covid cases in parts of the UK.
On Friday the UK reported 6,238 daily Covid cases, the highest figure since March, while hospitalisations have also begun to rise. The Delta variant is believed to be both more transmissible than the Alpha variant, B.1.1.7 – first detected in Kent – and somewhat more resistant to Covid vaccines, particularly after just one dose. Early data from Public Health England has also suggested it may also be linked to a greater risk of hospitalisation.
Newly released data from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, which tracks the variants detected in Covid-positive samples through genome sequencing – excluding cases linked to travel – not only confirms the Delta variant dominates in large parts of England, but also suggests cases are growing, particularly in areas neighbouring early hotspots.
According to the Sanger data, in the two weeks to 24 April none of the Covid-positive samples in Chorley or Manchester were found to contain the Delta variant, with one instance detected in Stockport and 43 in Bolton over that period.
But in the two weeks to 22 May the situation had changed: 814.5 Covid-positive samples per week were found to contain the Delta variant in Bolton, compared with 28 in nearby Chorley, 104.5 in Manchester and 18 in Stockport.
In the two weeks to 29 May the situation further evolved, with 837 Covid-positive samples per week containing the Delta variant in Bolton, compared with 41 in Chorley, 246.5 in Manchester and 85.5 in Stockport.
Prof Rowland Kao of the University of Edinburgh, who is also a member of SPI-M, the government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, said it was likely many of the Delta infections were seeded before any specific measures were put into place. He said:
I would note that, even if they had managed to catch it before it has spread beyond the previous core areas, it’s very hard indeed to stop it from spreading unless you completely lock off travel between locations – especially with the knowledge that its potentially so much more transmissible.
All eyes will be on the hospitalisations as those new rises take hold, ICU occupancy and death rates.
But the current data would reinforce the importance of caution right now.
Dr Jeffrey Barrett, the director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, told the Guardian:
I think we are past the point at which local measures can contain the Delta variant to just some areas in the country. That isn’t to say the intense public health response didn’t help – early hotspots like Bolton look like cases are declining now. It’s probably not feasible to deploy those measures [such as surge testing] at a national level, so it’s now a race to get two doses of vaccine into as many people as possible as fast as possible.
Updated
The government has just updated its coronavirus dashboard, and the figures present a mixed picture.
- Only one new coronavirus death has been recorded. And although the total number of deaths over the past seven days is up on the previous week, it has increased by just 1.7%. Yesterday deaths were down week-on-week, by 1.7%.
-
But the UK has recorded 5,683 more coronavirus cases. It’s the fifth day in a row where new cases have been above 5,000. Previously the UK had not had more than 5,000 cases a day since late March. And the total number of new cases over the past seven days is up 52.9% on the total for the previous week.
Updated
Matt Hancock also told MPs that 52% of adults in the UK had now had two doses of vaccine. He said:
Tomorrow we mark six months since the world began vaccinating against Covid-19 in Coventry hospital and in that time we have vaccinated over 40 million people here in the UK and two billion doses have been delivered across the globe.
As of today 76% of UK adults have been vaccinated at least once and 52% of adults have had two jabs. The pace of the vaccine rollout has been extraordinary, this Saturday alone the team delivered over 675,000 jabs and I’m delighted to be able to tell the house that from this week we will start offering vaccinations to people under 30, bringing us ever closer to the goal of offering a vaccine to all adults in the UK by the end of next month.
Updated
In his opening statement Matt Hancock also presented MPs with fresh data about the effectiveness of two doses of vaccine against the Delta variant. He said:
Despite the rise in cases, hospitalisations have been broadly flat. The majority of people in hospital with Covid appear to be those who haven’t had the vaccine at all.
I want to update the house on some new information that we have on this. As of 3 June our data show that of the 12,383 cases of the Delta variant, 464 went on to present at emergency care and 126 people were admitted to hospital. Of these 126 people, 83 were unvaccinated, 28 had received one dose and just three had received both doses of the vaccine.
The jabs are working, we have to keep coming forward to get them and that includes vitally that second jab which we know gives better protection against the Delta variant.
What Hancock told MPs about getting advice on vaccinating 12- to 17-year-olds
This is what Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told MPs about potentially vaccinating 12- to 17-year-olds:
The house will also be aware that our independent medicines regulator, the MHRA, has conducted a review of the clinical trial data for the Pfizer/BioNTech jab. Having already concluded that the vaccine is safe and effective for people over the age of 16, they’ve also now concluded that the jab is safe and effective for children aged between 12 and 15 years old, with the benefits of vaccination will clearly outweighing any risks.
So I can move confirm to the house that I have asked the JCVI, the committee that advises us on immunisations, to come forward with clinical advice on vaccinating 12- to 17-year-olds, and we’ll listen to that clinical advice, just as we have done throughout the pandemic.
Updated
Andrew Mitchell is applying for an emergency debate tomorrow on cutting aid spending under the SO24 procedure, according to Tom Newton Dunn from Times Radio.
Andrew Mitchell is applying for an SO24 emergency debate now on ODA to be held in the Commons tomorrow, I understand. He expects the Speaker to grant it, and it could run all day. No binding vote on the Govt, but again embarrassing. More on @TimesRadio now.
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) June 7, 2021
This is what Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told MPs about people aged 25 and over in England being invited to get their first vaccination from tomorrow. He said:
From this week we will start offering vaccinations to people under 30, bringing us ever closer to the goal of offering a vaccine to all adults in the UK by the end of next month.
From tomorrow morning we will open up vaccination to people aged 25-29. Over the remainder of this week the NHS will send texts to people in these age groups and of course GPs will be inviting people on their lists to come forward.
And this is what Sir Simon Stevens, the NHS England chief executive, said about the move.
Today is a watershed moment as the world-beating NHS vaccination programme enters the home straight of our race to offer everyone their first dose.
The NHS vaccination programme is a real team effort and it is a testament to NHS teams across the country that we are able to open up to people in their 20s just six months on from delivering that world-first jab to Maggie Keenan.
Updated
Government to get advice on whether to vaccinate teenagers within weeks, Hancock says
In his opening statement to the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, also said the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation was considering whether to recommend vaccinating teenagers. He said the advice would be available “in a matter of weeks”.
Updated
Hoyle's statement ruling out aid vote tonight but raising prospect of one tomorrow
Here is the statement from the Speaker, explaining why he was not allowing a vote on the aid spending announcement today and how he was encouraging MPs to apply for an emergency debate on this tomorrow. Sir Lindsay Hoyle said:
Amendments and new clauses which are not within the scope of the bill are out of order. Erskine May states: “The scope of a bill represents the reasonable limits of its collective purposes, as defined by its existing clauses and schedules.”
In this instance, having taken advice from the house’s senior clerks and the office of Speaker’s counsel, I have deemed new clause 4 to be outside the scope of the bill. New clause 4 is therefore not selected and may not be debated today.
I do wish to make a further point.
As we all know, the government has, through our standing orders, significant control over the business the house considers on any given day, and its control is particularly strong when it comes to the initiation of public expenditure.
Under the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, it is the duty of the secretary of state to ensure that the target for official development assistance to amount to 0.7% of gross national income is met by the United Kingdom each year.
Up till now, however, the house has not had an opportunity for a decisive vote on maintaining the UK’s commitment to the statutory target of 0.7%. I expect that the government should find a way to have this important matter debated and to allow the house formally to take an effective decision.
I should say that on an exceptional basis I will consider whether to hear any standing order number 24 applications by 5.30pm today, and the debate to be held tomorrow.
Applications should reach my office by no later than 5 o’clock this afternoon.
Updated
People aged 25 to 29 will be able to book jab from tomorrow, Hancock says
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is making his Commons statement now.
He said from tomorrow people aged between 25 and 29 in England will be able to book a vaccine.
Updated
Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary who tabled the amendment, told the Commons after the Speaker’s statement that he expected his amendment to be passed by between nine votes and 20.
If there is a debate tomorrow, the government will again face defeat. It would not be a vote on legislation, and so technically it would not be binding on the government, but it would be embarrassing for a government to ignore it – particularly one committed to letting parliament “take back control”.
UPDATE: I’ve amended the final sentence to say it would be embarrassing for the government to ignore a vote tomorrow on an SO24 motion saying it should reverse the aid spending cuts, rather than that it would be hard for it to ignore it, because that is more accurate.
Updated
Speaker suggests MPs should get emergency debate on cutting aid budget tomorrow
Hoyle says the amendment is outside the scope of the bill.
But he says he thinks the government should allow MPs to have a vote separately on its decision to cut aid spending.
He suggests this could happen tomorrow – because he invites MPs to propose an emergency debate under standing order 24. An application can be made by 5.30pm today, he says.
If granted (and he has implied it will be granted), it would take place tomorrow.
Updated
Speaker says aid spending amendment won't be put to vote
Hoyle says he wants to make a statement about the amendment.
He said when he became Speaker he said he was committed to transparency, and that he would respect the advice he got from clerks.
The aid spending amendment (new clause 4) has not been selected, he says.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, is about to make his announcement about the aid spending amendment.
Tom McTague’s profile of Boris Johnson in The Atlantic is definitely worth reading in full, but for those of you who have not had time to get through all 7,000 words, here are some of the best snippets.
- Boris Johnson believes “people live by narrative”. He tells McTague:
People live by narrative. Human beings are creatures of the imagination.
- Johnson has been influenced by his grandmother’s advice that what you do is more important than how you do it, McTague writes. He says:
At Downing Street, I heard Johnson repeat a saying his maternal grandmother was fond of quoting. “Darling,” he said, mimicking her, “remember, it’s not how you’re doing; it’s what you’re doing.” Johnson said this was “the key advice.” I asked Johnson’s sister, Rachel, about it. She told me their mother was also fond of the saying. “It’s about being in the moment,” she said, rather than worrying about how things will turn out.
One suspects this explains a lot ...
- Johnson has described himself as a “very, very bad Christian”. McTague says:
A friend of his once told me he suspected that Johnson subscribed to a pre-Christian morality system, with a multitude of gods and no clear set of rules. I put this to the prime minister, but he dismissed the notion. “Christianity is a superb ethical system and I would count myself as a kind of very, very bad Christian,” he told me. “No disrespect to any other religions, but Christianity makes a lot of sense to me.”
- Johnson does not see himself as a nationalist, McTague says. He writes:
[Johnson] told me that he doesn’t think of himself as a nationalist, but he argued that individuals need to feel that they belong, and they shouldn’t be patronised for worrying that their traditions and connections are being eroded.
Majority of voters want Covid inquiry to start this year, poll suggests
More than half of voters want the public inquiry into the Covid pandemic to start either this summer (39%) or this autumn (17%), new polling from Ipsos MORI suggests. Only 17% back spring 2022, the start date proposed by Boris Johnson, according to the survey.
But this does not seem to affect the voters’ overall perception of the government. On headline voting intention, the Conservatives (44%) have a nine-point lead over Labour (35%) – up from a three-point lead last month. And the proportion of people saying the government has handled the crisis badly is now at its lowest level since last spring.
Updated
Speaker to announce whether vote on aid spending amendment to be allowed at 3.30pm
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, will announce at 3.30pm, in the Commons chamber, whether or not the aid spending amendment will be accepted.
This is from the Independent’s Ashley Cowburn reports.
Lindsay Hoyle will tell MPs whether the Mitchell amendment seeking to restore 0.7% aid commitment has been selected at 3.30pm.
— Ashley Cowburn (@ashcowburn) June 7, 2021
One Tory rebel says it's "50-50".
And these are from my colleague Jessica Elgot.
One rebel Tory tells me they feel quite gloomy - "I think the advice was encouraging but I had a feeling it might be a long shot. If a miracle happens and we get a vote, we'll win, there's no question." https://t.co/EzCK98hGQH
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 7, 2021
It's a difficult dilemma - the amendment might not initially appear to be in scope but the Speaker might be cautious about avoiding a vote on something if it is very clear the will of the House is going one way.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 7, 2021
On the BBC’s World at One Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary who tabled the amendment to restore the 0.7% aid spending target next year, said that reports this morning that his amendment would definitely not be allowed (see 10.38am) were premature.
Mitchell said that he met Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, this morning to argue why it should be allowed and that Hoyle would not be making his decision until a meeting starting at 1.30pm. Here are some of the other points he made.
- Mitchell claimed that the pro-government briefing about his amendment being disallowed was premature, and could be counter-productive. He told the programme:
Certainly, some of the briefing that he’s already made up his mind seeks to trespass on Mr Speaker’s authority. He won’t have liked that very much.
- He said that his amendment was “clearly in order”, because it was allowed on the order paper, and that whether or not it was in scope (see 11.33am) was only one factor to be taken into account. He said other issues could include “parliament’s relationship with the executive” - a reference to the fact ministers proposed cutting aid spending without giving MPs a vote on the issue.
- He said that, if Hoyle did allow the amendment to be put to a vote, he would not have to publish a statement explaining why he was ignoring existing parliamentary conventions. When Hoyle became Speaker, he promised to do this if he took a decision overturning standing orders or breaking “long-established” conventions. Mitchell said that he had been told this decision would not cross that threshold. That suggests the advice from Hoyle’s officials is not absolute, and that it might be arguable that the amendment should be allowed.
- Mitchell said Hoyle should take into account that at the 2019 election government and opposition MPs were all elected promising to keep aid spending at 0.7% of national income.
Updated
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has said that a third Covid wave is expected “later in the summer and into the autumn”, adding: “The more people mix and meet, the more people will fall ill.” But he said the peak would be “much flatter”.
There are 97 cases of the Delta variant in Wales, with a worrying cluster in Conwy in the north.
Drakeford said the government was confident the vaccination programme was breaking the link between Covid and the Alpha variant, first discovered in Kent, but he said it was less clear if the programme suppressed the Delta variant as effectively.
Updated
Photograph: Zed Jameson/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock
Updated
No 10 refuses to condemn England fans booing players for taking the knee
Here is a summary of the key points from the Downing Street lobby briefing.
- Boris Johnson wants to stop using the term “special relationship” to discuss the alliance with the US, No 10 confirmed. (See 1.03pm.)
- No 10 hinted that aid spending could exceed the downgraded target of 0.5% of gross national income when the donation of coronavirus vaccines is taken into account. As PA Media reports, the PM’s spokesman said: “You can expect the PM to set out more details at the G7 this week on the UK’s plans to share surplus doses with developing countries.” Asked if it would be on top of the existing aid budget, the spokesman said: “The £10bn has been largely allocated in the spending plans already set out with regards to ODA funding, but I’m not going to jump ahead of what the PM might say later this week with regards to the commitment.”
- The spokesman refused to condemn football supporters who booed England players taking the knee. He said that the PM was urging people to “get behind” the England team, but that he also respected the right of people to protest peacefully. Asked whether Johnson believed that taking a knee showed support for the political aims of the Black Lives Matter movement, the spokesman said:
The prime minister’s spoken on the record on this issue before. On taking the knee, specifically, the prime minister is more focused on action rather than gestures. We have taken action with things like the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities and that’s what he’s focused on delivering.
- The spokesman said Johnson was “supportive” of Oliver Dowden’s comment this morning accusing the ECB of going “over the top” by suspending the bowler Ollie Robinson from international cricket over racist and sexist tweets posted in 2012 and 2013. Here is Dowden’s own tweet on the matter.
Ollie Robinson’s tweets were offensive and wrong.
— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) June 7, 2021
They are also a decade old and written by a teenager. The teenager is now a man and has rightly apologised. The ECB has gone over the top by suspending him and should think again.
- The spokesman said data emerging this week would be crucial in deciding whether all Covid restrictions in England can be lifted on 21 June as planned. He said:
There still remains that there is nothing in the data currently to suggest step 4 can’t go ahead at the earliest date. But we do need to look very closely at the data over this coming week, which will be crucial to decide and really to get a sense of the data, particularly on hospitalisations and whether or not the excellent vaccine rollout programme has sufficiently severed that link between the increase in cases, which we always expected to happen, particularly after step 3, and that subsequently leading to hospitalisations and deaths.
At the briefing the spokesman seemed to place particular emphasis on the word “currently”.
- The spokesman said there were no plans to reduce the time between first vaccines and second vaccines for the under-50s.
- The spokesman did not deny reports that ministers over-ruled a recommendation from the Joint Biosecurity Centre last week for Malta to be added to the green list for travel.
Updated
No 10 confirms Johnson wants to stop using term 'special relationship' to describe US alliance
Boris Johnson does not like the term “special relationship” to describe the UK’s alliance with the US, Downing Street has confirmed.
At the No 10 lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson confirmed this was Johnson’s view, and did not deny that Johnson viewed the phrase as “needy” and “weak”.
The claim was first made in the Atlantic profile of Johnson by Tom McTague published today. (See 12.14pm.) McTague wrote:
In an early phone call with Joe Biden, an aide told me, Johnson said he disliked the phrase special relationship after the president used it. To Johnson it seemed needy and weak.
Asked if this was true, the spokesperson claimed that this was a view Johnson has expressed before. He said:
The prime minister is on the record previously saying he prefers not to use the phrase but that in no way detracts from the importance with which we regard our relationship with the US, our closest ally.
The spokesperson did not deny that Johnson had described the phrase, which has been used by leaders from Winston Churchill onwards, as needy and weak. Asked about this, the spokesperson just repeated that Johnson preferred not to use the phrase.
Asked if Johnson wanted the media to stop using the phrase, the spokesperson replied:
I don’t think the prime minister would entertainment the prospect of trying to tell the media what to say.
Although Johnson may have expressed reservations about the phrase before, these have never been well-publicised and it did not stop the White House using the phrase when it briefed on Joe Biden’s first conversation with Johnson after be became president.
The two men will meet for the first time this week, as Johnson hosts the G7 in Cornwall, and it will be interesting to see if they can get through it without deploying the phrase again.
I will post more from the lobby briefing soon.
Updated
All over-18s in Wales to be offered Covid vaccine by start of next week, Drakeford says
All over-18s will be offered a Covid vaccine by the start of next week, the Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has said.
Figures published today show 2.18 million people, or 86% of the adult population in Wales, have had a first dose and almost 1.25 million people have had a second dose.
Take-up is higher than 90% for first doses in all people over 60; in healthcare workers; care home residents and staff and all those who are extremely clinically vulnerable.
Drakeford said:
I am very proud to say that Wales has one of the best Covid vaccination programmes in the world.
We will make the offer of vaccination to all eligible adults six weeks ahead of schedule and we expect to reach 75% take-up across all priority groups and age groups a month ahead of target.
This is a remarkable achievement and a tribute to the hard work of all those involved in the programme – to all those doing the complex work of planning behind the scenes and to the thousands of people vaccinating and helping to run the clinics across the country.
Updated
We’ll hear about the fate of the Tory rebel amendment on aid spending at 1.30pm, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.
Decision expected 1.30 https://t.co/rPnEhRocGN
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 7, 2021
There will be two statements in the Commons this afternoon before the debate on the the advanced research and innovation agency bill starts.
Two major statements from 3.30:
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) June 7, 2021
1. Covid Update - @MattHancock / @JonAshworth
2. Education Recovery - @GavinWilliamson / @KateGreenSU
The Atlantic’s Tom McTague has published a 7,000-word profile of Boris Johnson, partly based on multiple interviews with him. McTague has summarised some of his key findings in a Twitter thread starting here.
NEW: I’ve spent the last few months in and out of No.10 speaking to the PM and his team, trying to get a grip on who he is and what he’s trying to do for this month’s @TheAtlantic cover. Read my profile of this most elusive and formidable storytellers👇1/ https://t.co/Zcn6HZERaV
— Tom McTague (@TomMcTague) June 7, 2021
People from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds have the lowest rates of receiving a second dose of Covid-19 vaccine among all ethnic minority groups in England, PA Media reports. PA says:
Among people aged 70 and over, 82.4% of people from a Pakistani background with a first dose of vaccine were likely to have received a second dose by 9 May, along with 82.7% of those from a Bangladeshi background.
The equivalent rate for people identifying as white British is 96.3%.
The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also suggest 84.0% of people identifying as black African who had received a first dose of vaccine went on to receive a second dose, along with 87.0% of those identifying as black Caribbean.
Updated
These are from the BBC’s Iain Watson with the latest he’s learned on the fate of the Tory rebel amendment on aid spending.
Following meetings this morning Senior @conservatives rebels on #aid are convinced the Speaker is yet to make up his mind on whether he'll accept the amendment / he won't announce his decision until this afternoon -though govt seems confident he will say it's not 'in scope'
— iain watson (@iainjwatson) June 7, 2021
No10 are making it clear that while they believe the aid amendment is not in scope, they have Not had a steer from the Speaker on what he will decide, and are awaiting -like the 'rebels' and the rest of us - his decision this afternoon
— iain watson (@iainjwatson) June 7, 2021
Updated
Covid-19 case rates are rising in more local areas of the UK than at any point since early January, with numbers increasing in almost all parts of north-west England, London and Scotland, PA Media reports. PA says:
The figures come as health secretary Matt Hancock indicated ministers at Westminster were open to delaying the easing of restrictions in England scheduled for June 21, while the Scottish government has paused a relaxing of rules in parts of central Scotland.
The rise in rates has yet to be mirrored by a steady increase in Covid-19 hospital cases, however, with the latest data showing patient numbers have climbed slightly to levels last seen at the end of May.
Nearly three-quarters of local areas of the UK (283 out of 380) recorded a week-on-week rise in Covid-19 case rates for the seven days to 2 June.
This is the highest proportion since 6 January.
In just under half of these places (134), the rise was small enough to be in single figures.
But a growing number of areas are recording sharp jumps in rates, some of them large enough to push them above the symbolic level of 100 cases per 100,000 people
When using a seven-day average to flatten out fluctuations in the data, 256 of 380 local areas in the UK are currently recording a rise in rates - the highest number since 10 January.
Updated
And this is from one of Hannah White’s colleague at the Institute for Government thinktank, Alice Lilly.
If the Speaker is indeed still considering whether to allow the amendment to the ARIA bill today, while the government is briefing that he has been advised it is out of scope and won't be selecting it, then one might imagine that the Speaker might be a bit cross about that
— Dr Alice Lilly (@aliceolilly) June 7, 2021
These are from Hannah White, the parliament specialist at the Institute for Government thinktank and a former Commons clerk.
My understanding is that quite a lot of work has gone into ensuring that the new clause is in scope and the rebels are confident based on the advice they have received. https://t.co/5O1VeHgYc0
— Hannah White (@DrHannahWhite) June 7, 2021
Of course selection at Report stage is always a matter for the Speaker who is advised by the clerks. It’s a technical decision although with very political consequences.
— Hannah White (@DrHannahWhite) June 7, 2021
Boris Johnson was calling some of the Tory MPs planning to rebel on the aid spending amendment asking them to back the government, the Evening Standard’s Joe Murphy reports.
Exclusive: PM is this morning phoning foreign aid rebels to try halt revolt in Commons
— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) June 7, 2021
(PM intervention DESPITE multiple reports that Speaker @LindsayHoyle_MP is to pull the plug on the vote. Is someone trying to bounce the Speaker...?)https://t.co/7l8sEm6EX5
Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary who tabled the rebel amendment on aid, told Sky News that he had been told by the Speaker that no decision has yet been taken about whether it will be allowed.
UPDATE: Andrew Mitchell tells Sky the Speaker's not made a final decision on the aid amendment yet [WATCH] https://t.co/CvSS1oAqyI pic.twitter.com/pKbphfhkYg
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) June 7, 2021
But Tory sources are briefing that Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, is being strongly advised that the amendment should be rejected.
Why is rebel Tory aid amendment set to be disallowed?
We have not had official confirmation yet that the rebel Tory aid amendment will not be allowed, but this is what is being briefed by reliable sources this morning. The decision is related to the Commons concept of the “scope” of a bill.
This is what Erskine May, the Commons procedural rule book, says about scope.
The scope of a bill represents the reasonable limits of its collective purposes, as defined by its existing clauses and schedules. In particular cases, difficult questions of judgment may arise. The scope of a bill, particularly of a bill with several purposes, may be wider than its long title, although the long title may help to determine the scope. Conversely, a bill with a single purpose may have a narrow scope even though the long title is apparently wide (for example, ‘a Bill to amend a certain Act’).
Amendments are not allowed if they are out of scope.
But deciding whether or not an amendment is within scope is not straightforward. An amendment to a clause may be inadmissible because it is not relevant to that clause, but it might be acceptable if tabled in a different form (as a new clause) because it is within the scope of the bill as a whole. And, as a bill goes through parliament, its scope can widen; one amendment may push the door open for others.
And at least two stages are involved in deciding if an amendment is in scope. If it clearly isn’t, the clerks will not allow it to be tabled (printed on the order paper). But getting an amendment onto the order paper does not mean it will be put to the vote because the Speaker takes the final decision ahead of the debate, on the advice of clerks. This morning they have reportedly told him the aid amendment is inadmissible. Their advice, like government legal advice, is strictly private, but one test is whether passing an amendment would change the nature of the whole bill. Passing this amendment would effectively turn the advanced research and innovation agency bill into the aid spending bill, and so getting it accepted was probably always a long shot (although the MPs behind it had no incentive to admit it).
The Speaker can decide to over-rule the advice he gets. John Bercow did this during the Brexit process, generating huge controversy. But when Sir Lindsay Hoyle was elected to replace him, he promised to show more respect for existing convention, and said that if he ever did divert from current procedure (as Bercow did), he would publish a statement explaining why. It is not something he has ever had to do.
Updated
Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s story about the advice that the rebel amendment on aid spending should not be put to a vote.
Here is more on the decision from the Speaker.
This is from the Times’ Steven Swinford.
A bid by more than 30 Tory MPs to reverse foreign aid cuts is highly unlikely to go to a vote
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) June 7, 2021
Clerks have advised amendment is 'completely out of scope' and would set a dangerous precedent for all future spending
There is also 'strong legal advice against it
And this is from the Telegraph’s Lucy Fisher.
BREAKING: Planned Tory rebellion in Commons today aimed at reversing foreign aid cuts has been thwarted.
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) June 7, 2021
Clerks have determined the rebels' amendment is "completely out of scope" of ARIA Bill & their unequivocal advice is that it should not be called.
Tory rebellion over aid spending set to be averted as amendment ruled not in scope
Boris Johnson no longer faces a Commons revolt tonight because the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has decided not to call the amendment on the grounds that it is outside the scope of the bill’s purpose, my colleague Jessica Elgot reports.
Parliamentary procedure saves Boris Johnson - the aid rebellion will not happen today - the amendment is not in scope. Bitter disappointment for many.
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) June 7, 2021
Updated
Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, told Sky News this morning that cutting the aid budget was not in the UK’s interests. She said:
The government is making a real mistake, they’re about to go into the most important week in many, many months, the G7, with a major plank of global Britain in tatters.
[Boris Johnson] could change his mind, he could reverse this, he could just admit that cutting global aid in the middle of a pandemic is the wrong thing to do. It’s short-sighted, it’s not in Britain’s interest and he could solve this very quickly.
Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, restated his opposition to the government’s cut in aid spending in an interview this morning. He told BBC Breakfast:
It’s a life-and-death issue, we’re actually deciding who lives and who dies, particularly at this point where if we withdraw the money for vaccination it’s the equivalent of pulling away the needle from a kid or from an adult who is sick who needs the vaccination, a 90% cut, for example, in support for polio vaccination.
There has been an all-party consensus, all parties, for 25 years that we need 0.7%, we need to play our role in the world by being one of the leaders in aid and, really, this is not the right time to pull things away because basically this is when the poorest countries need help most.
Minister plays down prospect of possible compromise ahead of threatened Tory revolt over aid spending
Lucy Frazer, the solicitor general, was on the morning interview round on behalf of No 10 and, when asked about the prospect of ministers trying to “buy off” tonight’s planned rebellion by promising to restore the aid cuts next year (see 9.21am), she played down the prospect. When this proposal was put to her, she told the Today programme:
It’s good to have the flexibility [ie, the option of spending less than 0.7% of national income on aid]. Interestingly, in the legislation as it stands [the bill enshrining the 0.7% target], it does commit to 0.7%, but it does recognise in that legislation that if the economical fiscal circumstances change, then it is open to the chancellor to change that spending.
She also stressed the cut was temporary. She told Sky News:
Even without the 0.7% this year we will be investing 10 billion and that is really important, but we are in the middle of a pandemic. What we’ve said is of course international aid needs to be spent but we’re going to temporarily cease the 0.7% and bring it back when fiscal circumstances allow.
Boris Johnson warned he will lose if MPs vote on reversing cuts to aid budget
Good morning. Tonight MPs may get the chance to vote on an amendment to the advanced research and innovation agency bill to restore the 0.7% aid spending target next year and, if they do, the Tory rebels supporting it are confident that the government will lose. That is what one of their leaders, David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, told the Today programme this morning. Asked if he was confident that that the government would lose if there were a vote, he replied:
Yes, I’m pretty sure. I am certain that there’s a majority of people who want the government to change this policy. Of course the whips do their worst. But I think they will still win.
Here is my colleague Patrick Wintour’s overnight preview story.
And this is what Patrick tweeted on this this morning.
One has to wonder at incompetence of a govt going into the week of the G7 that provides a bill at Report Stage for Mitchell to try to overturn the aid cuts. He has signalled his intentions for months. The Speaker may yet not select Mitchell amendment, but political damage is done
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) June 7, 2021
But that does not mean a defeat is inevitable. In fact there are three outcomes that are all quite possible. They are:
1) Ministers could “buy off” the rebels by promising to reverse the aid cut next year. They have already said that the cut (from 0.7% of national income to 0.5%) is only temporary, but there are suspicions that by this Boris Johnson means temporary in the sense that income tax was temporary when William Pitt introduced it to fund the Napoleonic War.
2) The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, may decide not to put the amendment to a vote. Commons officials have allowed the amendment to be tabled, which suggests that it is within the “scope” of the bill (ie, not irrelevant to the topic it covers). But that does not automatically mean it will be selected, even though a large number of MPs want it put to the vote. The Speaker also has to make a judgment about whether it is relevant to the purpose of the bill, and if he concludes that it isn’t - because it would effectively turn a science research bill into an aid spending bill - he can reject it.
3) The government could push the amendment to the vote, and lose. Although this would be embarrassing for Johnson, there would be two consolatory bonuses: it would stop this issue overshadowing the G7 summit later this week, and it would reinforce Johnson’s claim to be a leader championing the wishes of the public (voters overwhelmingly support the aid spending cut) in the face of obstruction from a supposedly out-of-touch parliament.
There are two other outcomes that are less probable.
4) The government could push the amendment to a vote without offering any compromise - and squeak a narrow win.
5) Ministers could abandon the bill altogether.
The final option is highly unlikely although, given that the only person in government who was truly committed to setting up the advanced research and innovation agency was Dominic Cummings, Johnson must find the idea tempting. (One reason why he was willing to cut aid spending in the first place, despite the Tory manifesto saying it should stay at 0.7%, was because higher aid spending was a policy associated with David Cameron, another of his arch rivals.)
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The ONS publishes figures on vaccination rates amongst the over-70s by class.
10.30am: Dr Bola Owolabi, director of health inequalities for NHS England, speaks at a seminar on about vaccine confidence amongst people from African, Bangladeshi, Caribbean and Pakistani backgrounds.
12pm: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing.
2.30pm: Matthew Rycroft, permanent secretary at the Home Office, gives evidence to the public accounts committee about the Windrush compensation scheme.
2.30pm: Priti Patel, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
2.30pm: Sir Keir Starmer gives a speech to the GMB conference.
After 3.30pm: MPs begin debating the remaining stages of the advanced research and invention agency bill. The amendment requiring the government to restore the 0.7% aid spending target next year may be put to a vote before 10pm.
Politics Live has been a mix of Covid and non-Covid news recently, and that is likely to be the case today. For more Covid coverage, do read our global live blog.
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UPDATE: I have amended the paragraph starting 2) to say the fact that the clerks allowed the bill to be tabled suggested the amendment was in scope, rather than confirmed it. See 11.33am for more on this.
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