Afternoon summary
- Johnson has told MPs that the work from home guidance for England will be lifted from 21 June, provided Covid cases stay low. (See 4.34pm.)
- But Johnson has also told MPs that the Indian variant is “of increasing concern”. He told the Commons that the variant (B16172) may be “considerably more transmissible” than B117, the so-called Kent or UK variant, which is now dominant in the UK. (However, on Monday Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, also said the Indian variant was less likely to be resistant to vaccines than some of the other variants, like the South African one.)
- Johnson has apologised on behalf of the government for the killing of 10 innocent civilians in Northern Ireland by the British army in 1971. Following yesterday’s inquest verdict, Johnson issued the apology in a private conversation with Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill, the first minister and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland. In a statement about the call No 10 said:
[Johnson] said the conclusions of the Ballymurphy Inquest, published yesterday, were deeply sad and that the events of August 1971 were tragic. The prime minister apologised unreservedly on behalf of the UK government for the events that took place in Ballymurphy and the huge anguish that the lengthy pursuit of truth has caused the families of those killed.
The prime minster restated the government’s intention to deliver a way forward in Northern Ireland that focuses on reconciliation, delivers for victims of the Troubles and ends the cycle of reinvestigations. He stressed the importance of working hard to keep the gains made through the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and of all parties doing their utmost to help the victims’ families find out what happened to their loved ones, so that future generations are not burdened by the past.
- Boris Johnson has had a county court judgment issued against him for a debt that has not been repaid, official records show, placing the prime minister at risk of not only a bad credit rating but potential enforcement action by bailiffs arriving at Downing Street. Downing Street says the court order is “totally without merit”. (See 4.38pm.)
- Tony Blair, the former Labour leader and prime minister, has said the party needs “total deconstruction and reconstruction”. (See 12.15pm.)
- Ed Miliband, another former Labour leader, has said the party should be bolder. (See 10.18am.)
That’s all from me for today. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.
Updated
Drakeford says Labour will govern seeking consensus after being renominated as Welsh first minister
Mark Drakeford has suggested Labour will govern alone in Wales after the Welsh parliament confirmed him as its nominee for first minister.
Labour fell just short of an overall majority in the Senedd after winning 30 of the 60 seats.
In his acceptance speech, Drakeford said:
I will lead a Welsh Labour government. But we will govern in a way that seeks out consensus and will take on board new and progressive ideas – from wherever they come.
Ideas that can improve and enhance what we discuss in this chamber. From coronavirus to clean air; from universal basic income to ensuring young people are not priced out of Welsh-speaking communities.
This will be a government that listens and will work collaboratively with others where it is in the interests of Wales to do so.
Drakeford made it clear the coronavirus crisis is not over.
We are still in the pandemic, which has cast such a shadow on our lives. It has stretched our NHS and the people working within it. It has damaged lives and livelihoods.
This Welsh Labour government will go on tackling coronavirus in the careful and cautious way we have done – by following the science and protecting the most vulnerable in our communities.
And we will lead Wales into a recovery that builds a stronger, greener and fairer future for everyone – no one will be held back and no one will be left behind.
He added: “We will work in partnership with other governments too, across the UK wherever that is conducted with parity of esteem and respect.”
Plaid Cymru’s Elin Jones was re-elected as presiding officer for the parliament.
There were no other nominations for first minister.
The UK has recorded 11 further Covid deaths and 2,284 new cases, according to this afternoon’s update to the coronavirus dashboard. Week on week, deaths are down 22%. But new cases over the past seven days are up 13% on the previous week.
The dashboard also shows that 35% of adults have had both doses of vaccine, and that 67.8% of people have had a single dose.
Mark Drakeford has been reconfirmed as first minister of Wales, at the first meeting of the Senedd since last week’s election, the BBC reports.
Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford backed by Senedd to continue as first ministerhttps://t.co/LhoRWngrhb pic.twitter.com/nDMbzxy1JT
— BBC Wales Politics (@WalesPolitics) May 12, 2021
Earlier David Allen Green, the lawyer and FT legal commentator, posted a thread on Twitter about county court judgments (CCJs) and the story about the PM’s debt. He says that, to get the judgment set aside, Johnson will have to show that he did not owe the money and that he acted promptly. This may be difficult given that the CCJ was issued in October, Allen says. The thread starts here.
CCJs and the PM
— davidallengreen (@davidallengreen) May 12, 2021
- an explanatory thread
1.
And Green has posted this on Twitter following the No 10 statement. (See 4.38pm.)
Note the No 10 spokesperson quote implies that the claim *was* properly served - it was just not dealt with in time
— davidallengreen (@davidallengreen) May 12, 2021
So: Johnson's disorganisation is the likely explanation for the CCJ
Court order against PM over £535 unpaid debt 'totally without merit', says No 10
Downing Street is now saying the court judgment against Boris Johnson for an unpaid debt of £535 is “totally without merit”, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.
Downing Street says they are going to try to strike out the court judgement that's emerged in the PM's name because it is 'totally without merit'
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 12, 2021
No 10 spokesperson says “An application will be made for an order to set aside the default judgment, to strike out the claim and for a declaration that the claim is totally without merit.”
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 12, 2021
No more detail at this stage tho over what the claim related to, or what happened
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) May 12, 2021
Work from home guidance to be lifted from 21 June provided Covid cases stay low, Johnson says
Guidance to work from home will be lifted on 21 June, Boris Johnson has indicated. As PA Media reports, Johnson told MPs it was “certainly our intention” to take that step at the next stage of the government’s road map for England. PA says:
Encouraging people to work from home where they can has helped drive down the risk of passing on coronavirus, but shops and cafes in town and city centres which rely on office workers for trade have been hit by the change in working patterns.
Johnson said the intention was to change the guidance “provided we stay on track” in efforts to tackle coronavirus.
He told MPs: “We’ll wait until we’re able to say that with more clarity a bit later on because we must be guided by what’s happening with the pandemic. It does depend on keeping the virus down.”
Downing Street would not be drawn on whether the chief scientific adviser (CSA), Sir Patrick Vallance, and chief medical officer (CMO), Prof Chris Whitty, backed the plan.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I can’t speak for the CMO and CSA on this. The government always set out its intention to review this guidance ahead of step four (on the road map).”
Asked what preparations were being made for civil servants to return to their desks, the spokesman said: “I think you are jumping ahead. We will set out our approach nearer the time to provide suitable preparation to all businesses and, indeed, the civil service.”
Updated
Corbyn says blaming him for Labour's losses last week 'bit weak really'
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, has criticised those who have blamed him for Labour’s poor performance in the elections in England last week. Speaking on ITV News’s Calling Peston podcast, he said:
I think it’s a bit rich to start blaming me for stuff that’s been done over the past year that I’ve had absolutely no part of whatsoever.
I do think that dumping on somebody because they’re not there anymore is a bit weak really.
Corbyn attributed some of the losses to “disillusioned Labour voters” switching to the Greens because they felt “the opposition has not been strong enough against the government”. He went on:
Do I take responsibility for it? No. Because we had a set of popular policies in the last manifesto.
Lord Mandelson was one of several figures from the Labour right who cited the legacy of Corbyn as one reason why the party did so badly last week. Mandelson said Corbyn was “still casting a very dark cloud over Labour”.
Updated
The latest edition of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. Jessica Elgot and Gaby Hinsliff dissect what was and was not mentioned in the Queen’s speech on Tuesday. Ailbhe Rea and Ellie Mae O’Hagan look at where the Labour party is headed after very mixed election results. Plus, Peter Walker speaks to Francis Elliot about why successive governments have tried and failed to tackle social care reform.
Updated
Earlier today Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, and Lord McFall, the Lord Speaker, laid wreaths to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the second world war bombing raid that destroyed the Commons chamber. Three members of staff were killed by the attack which took place on 10/11 May 1941, as part of what was the biggest air raid on London during the war.
Hoyle said today:
The Luftwaffe thought they had destroyed our House of Commons and our legislature - but they hadn’t reckoned upon the resilience of our democracy in the face of adversity.
Today we remember the staff that tried to save the palace, and the lives of those who were lost - both here and across the nation.
Updated
In her first speech to the Commons as shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves said the government’s handling of PPE contracts during the pandemic showed that it could be not trusted with public money. This came after she opened her speech saying she regarded showing that she could be trusted with public money as a key test. (See 2.25pm.) She said:
After a decade of Conservative government our public services were underfunded and underprepared for the pandemic that came. A shortfall of intensive care beds, unfilled vacancies in our NHS, a fragmented and underfunded social care system and PPE stockpiles run down despite all of the warnings. This government has allowed the public square to become degraded and now we all know the cost of that.
Instead, £2bn of public contracts have been awarded to companies with close links to the Conservative party. Now we’re led to believe that this is all one ... it’s a massive coincidence that they got those contracts, how did it happen, who knows?
The government, they’re taking the public for fools. Taxpayers deserve that their money is used to best effect, not squandered on contracts that don’t deliver or to line the pockets of friends and donors of the Conservative party. The government says it wants value for money, but it has failed to claw back the millions wasted on contracts that didn’t deliver for the NHS and didn’t deliver for taxpayers either.
Updated
No 10 won't commit to Covid inquiry concluding before next general election
And here are some more lines from the Downing Street lobby briefing.
- Downing Street would not commit to the Covid inquiry concluding before the next general election. Asked if it would finish before the next general election (which has to be at the end of 2024 at the latest, but which could easily be held in 2023), the prime minister’s spokesman said:
The timescale is down to the chairman, that is something that we will want to agree with the chairperson when they are appointed.
Some inquiries have had timescales and, as is sadly the case, sometimes inquiries don’t stick to those timescales, but we will make clear when we set out terms of reference whether there’s a timescale, and obviously we will want to discuss timing with the chairperson as and when we pick them.
- The spokesman said the government had already carried out a confidential lessons learned review of coronavirus. Asked about it, he said:
What you’re referring to is an informal, not public-facing work, that as you’d expect is standard practice for departments to look into ways to continually improve. And that’s been done previously and that’s been done throughout this pandemic.
- He defended the decision not to start the inquiry until next spring. Asked about the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group saying this was too late (see 2.14pm), he said:
The prime minister set out in the house that he understood there will be a number of bereaved families and others who will want this to be done as soon as possible, but the situation we’re in at the moment is that we face a global pandemic with cases higher globally than I think they ever have been.
We’re about to take one of the biggest steps forward in step three, which will involve a lot of unlocking, and that needs to be monitored carefully as we know variants are still an issue of concern and, of course, we will then be going into winter and the usual pressures that places on our NHS.
Therefore it is right to wait until we are out of certainly winter time and hopefully due to the vaccine rollout globally ... we will be in a better position to take this forward because these sorts of inquiries do require a great deal of government time with officials who are currently working on our Covid response.
Updated
People aged 38 and 39 will be able to book their Covid vaccinations from tomorrow morning in England, NHS sources have told PA Media.
No 10 ducks questions about PM's court judgment over £535 unpaid debt
At the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman would not answer questions about the county court judgment against Boris Johnson for a £535 debt. (See 11.18am.) Asked about the story, that first appeared in Private Eye, the spokesman said:
I have seen that report, we are looking into this issue. I can confirm it is nothing to do with the refurbishment of the Downing Street estate, where all such bills have been duly paid either by the government or the prime minister personally.
Asked whether the PM could be trusted with the nation’s finances if he could not manage his own, the spokesman said: “I think our record on the economy is very clear.”
Asked whether there should be concerns about the PM’s personal finances, the prime minister’s press secretary said: “You should not be concerned, no.”
Back in the Commons, Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has finished his speech - a routine catalogue of measures being taken to revive the economy, with Sunak saying the plans were working, and Rachel Reeves is now speaking for Labour. It is her first speech since becoming shadow chancellor at the weekend.
She started by saying that in this job it was essential to show that she could be trusted with the public’s money. That was a test she intended to meet, she said.
As the government publishes its new bill forcing universities in England to promote free speech, the former universities minister Jo Johnson claimed that “self-censorship around China” was the most pressing issue for the legislation to address.
China supplies a large proportion of the UK’s international students, and several universities have recently warned that students and academics face sanctions or scrutiny from the Chinese government, especially for comment on sensitive issues such as human rights abuses involving the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and any recognition of Tibet and its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Johnson, who is also the prime minister’s brother, told a Times Higher Education seminar that “the most important freedom of speech issue facing universities today” involved their relationship with China. He said:
It’s so important that universities can contract with China in full confidence that they are doing so using a common framework that’s established by the sector and supported by their own government, and possibly also in alliance with other governments around the world.
That will enable them to genuinely have freedom of speech and freedom of research in all areas that might touch on China’s interests.
That to me is a genuine and real threat to freedom of speech and I think if the [free speech] bill can perhaps help address that issue too, it will serve a very useful purpose.
On academics being sanctioned by China for their research, Johnson added:
We need to recognise this as an absolutely central issue that touches on academic freedom, freedom of speech, and all of the values which the sector holds dear.
And these threats are predominantly coming from the risks that arise from our research relationship with China and our dependence on Chinese financial flows.
Updated
Starting Covid inquiry in spring 2022 'too late', say bereaved families
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which has been campaigning for a statutory inquiry into coronavirus, has welcomed Boris Johnson’s announcement - but said the inquiry should start more quickly. In a statement Jo Goodman, a co-founder of the group, said:
It’s a huge relief to hear the prime minister commit to the statutory inquiry that bereaved families have been calling for - one with the power to compel witnesses. But there are still further steps needed to ensure we all get the answers we need as a country.
First and foremost any inquiry must involve bereaved families from the start, helping to choose the chair as well as determining the terms of reference. Whilst we welcome the prime minister’s assurances that bereaved families will be consulted on this, the devil will be in the detail.
Secondly, spring 2022 is simply too late to begin. It sounds like common sense when the prime minister says that an inquiry can wait until the pandemic is over, but lives are at stake with health experts and scientists warning of a third wave later this year. A rapid review in summer 2020 could have saved our loved ones who died in the second wave in winter.
We are ready to meet the government to start this dialogue right away and preparations must begin immediately.
Sir Edward Leigh (Con) intervenes during Rishi Sunak’s speech and asks if, in terms of a smaller state, deregulation and lower taxes, “there are any Thatcherites left in government”.
Sunak says he and Leigh agree that the private sector will play a crucial role in the recovery.
Sunak says the GDP figures published this morning show the economic impact of the lockdown was less severe than expected. And he says the Bank of England expects the economy to return to pre-crisis levels by the end of this year.
Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative former international development secretary, asks for an assurance that, in the light of these figures, the government will restore aid spending to 0.7% of national income.
Sunak says although the economy will bounce back, the impact on the public finances will be “much longer lasting”. He says the government wants to return to the 0.7% target “when the fiscal situation allows”.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is now opening day two of the Queens speech debate. He says the plan for jobs is working.
Chris Bryant (Lab) asks how it can be right that firms are allowed to fire workers and then hire them again on worse pay and conditions.
Sunak says the government does not approve of this. The business department is looking at this, he says.
On the World at One Dame Deirdre Hine, who led an independent review into the swine flu outbreak in 2009, said the public inquiry into Covid should be proceeded by a review of the kind she carried out. This would have fewer powers, but would take less time, she said. She said the review could do the “very necessary fast-tracking” work ahead of the full inquiry. She went on:
Looking at what will have to be the terms of reference and the ground it has to cover; I can’t see it reporting in less than two to three years.
The Johnson statement is now over. Shortly the Queen’s speech debate will resume, with speeches from Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor.
Rachel Hopkins (Lab) asks for an assurance that a key aspect of the inquiry will be why people from minority ethnic communities were disproportionately affected. And she asks for an assurance that the inquiry panel will have a diverse make-up, so that these issues are properly considered.
Johnson says he agrees. He says the inquiry will be suitably set up.
Debbie Abrahams (Lab) asks why Johnson told MPs earlier this year Covid contracts had been published when they hadn’t. Will the PM apologise for his miseading comment?
The deputy Speaker, Rosie Winterton, says Abrahams meant “inadvertently misleading”. MPs are not allowed to accuse other MPs of lying.
Johnson just agrees that he is sure that is what Abrahams meant, and leaves it at that.
Felicity Buchan (Con) asks Johnson to confirm that the work-at-home guidance will be lifted from 21 June.
Johnson says that is the intention, provided they continue to keep the virus under control.
Updated
Mark Harper, the chair of the Tory Covid Recovery Group, which represents anti-lockdown MPs, says that, even though some increase in cases is likely over the winter, he would like an assurance that there will be no further shutdowns.
Johnson says there is a difference between flu and a disease that can spread exponentially and overwhelm the NHS. He thinks the link between Covid cases and hospital cases and deaths has been broken. But he says the government needs to keep monitoring this going ahead.
In the Commons Sir Edward Leigh (Con) suggests that test and trace might have worked better if ID cards were compulsory.
Boris Johnson says that Leigh is making an interesting point about data, but that this proposal is “some way off”. (It sounded like a polite way of saying he thought Leigh’s proposal was bonkers.)
In the Commons Cat Smith (Lab) asked Boris Johnson if the Covid inquiry would cover long Covid. Johnson said that was an excellent point and went on:
I’m sure the chairman of the inquiry will want to consider that as we set up the inquiry in due course.
But I certainly don’t exclude that long-Covid could be something the inquiry will want to look at.
Back in the Commons Karin Smyth (Lab) asks about the scope of the inquiry. Will it go beyond the 14-month period of the pandemic, and cover the preparations for a pandemic made beforehand?
Johnson says the inquiry will look at the state of preparedness of the country. He says he cannot imagine terms of reference that would stop it doing that.
The Green MP Caroline Lucas says the Covid inquiry should start as soon as possible.
Glad PM finally accepts need for public inquiry but needs to start ASAP this year not next
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) May 12, 2021
Must be fully independent, cover every aspect of response to Covid including failure to protect care homes & ensure bereaved families get justice @CovidJusticeUK https://t.co/qMI5lo1moD
Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has put out this statement about Boris Johnson’s announcement about the Covid inquiry. He said:
From the failed test, trace and isolate system to the crisis in our care homes Boris Johnson and his government have no end of questions to answer so I welcome this inquiry in spite of it being 13 months after the Liberal Democrats first called for it.
This coronavirus inquiry must have the teeth necessary to hold this government’s feet to the fire on their wrong-doings. Lessons must be learnt from the mistakes that were made throughout this crisis and the government must be held to account for their handling of the pandemic.
Updated
Boris Johnson’s announcement today means that the public inquiry will almost certainly not report until after the next general election.
As the Times’ Chris Smyth says, even a “normal” public inquiry, if it were to start next spring, would be unlikely to wrap up before the end of 2024 - which is the last possible moment for the next general election (which has to take place within five years of the last one).
The average public inquiry lasts two and a half years. This one will surely last longer.
— Chris Smyth (@Smyth_Chris) May 12, 2021
So by starting it in spring 2022, Johnson effectively ensures it does not report until after the next election
But the government is also legislating to scrap the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which says parliaments should last five years, and instead the prime minister will regain the the power to call an election when he wants. Before the FTPA, prime ministers normally did not let a parliament last five years because they tended to pick an election date that suited them best (the first Thursday in May four years after the last one, provided they are ahead in the polls, according to conventional wisdom). That is why there is a lot of chatter at the moment about the likelihood of the next election being in 2023.
What Johnson told MPs about plans for Covid public inquiry
This is what Boris Johnson said about the public inquiry in his opening statement.
Amid such tragedy the state has an obligation to examine its actions as rigorously and as candidly as possible, and to learn every lesson for the future - which is why I’ve always said when the time is right there should be a full and independent inquiry.
So, I can confirm today that the government will establish an independent public inquiry on a statutory basis, with full powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 - including the ability to compel the production of all relevant materials and take oral evidence in public under oath.
In establishing the inquiry, we will work closely with the devolved administrations ...
We will consult the devolved administrations before finalising the scope and detailed arrangements so that this inquiry can consider all key aspects of the UK response.
This process will place the state’s actions under the microscope and we should be mindful of the scale of that undertaking and the resources required to do it properly ...
Should [new variants] prove highly transmissible and elude the protection of our vaccines, they would have the potential to cause even greater suffering than we endured in January. There is in any case a high likelihood of a surge this winter when the weather assists the transmission of all respiratory diseases and when the pressure on our NHS is most acute.
So I expect that the right moment for the inquiry to begin is at the end of this period in the spring of next year, spring 2022.
This inquiry must be able to look at the events of the last year in the cold light of day and identify the key issues that will make a difference for the future.
Free to scrutinise every document to hear from all the key players and analyse and learn from the breadth of our response.
That’s the right way, I think, to get the answers that the people of this country deserve and to ensure that our United Kingdom is better prepared for any future pandemic.
Johnson says inquiry terms of reference and chair to be decided before next spring
Johnson is replying to Starmer.
He says the country has been through a trauma like no other. It is vital that people understand what happened, he says.
He says “we owe it to the country to have as much transparency as we possibly can”.
And he says people want answers “within a reasonable timescale”.
He says he thinks the timing he has set out is right; it would be wrong to get officials distracted by inquiry obligations now.
In response to Starmer’s question (see 12.42pm), he says that setting out the terms of reference of the inquiry, and appointing a chair, will take place before the spring of next year.
(That does not entirely answer Starmer’s question. With a major public inquiry, there is normally a gap of several months, or even longer, between the inquiry secretariat starting work, and the first witnesses giving evidence in public.)
Starmer suggests inquiry should start earlier
Sir Keir Starmer welcomes the announcement of the commission on Covid commemoration.
But he asks why the inquiry can’t start later this year.
I understand a statutory inquiry will take time to set up, but why could it not be later this year? Why could it not start earlier?
He asks Johnson to clarify whether the inquiry will start taking evidence next spring, or whether it will just start preparing to take evidence next spring. Those are different things, he says.
He says the inquiry will have to look at the resilience of the public services, and why those in crowded homes and insecure jobs were hit hardest.
And he says the choice of chair for the inquiry is crucial. He says it should be someone who has full support of everybody.
Sir Keir Starmer asks: Why can the Covid public inquiry not be later this year? Why can it not start earlier than spring 2022?
— ITV News (@itvnews) May 12, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/MYcyAlD2Cz pic.twitter.com/b3nUgpEqdo
Updated
Johnson says commission on Covid commemoration being set up
Johnson also says he is setting up a commission on Covid commemoration.
He says it is important to remember lost loved ones, and honour the heroism of those who saved lives.
Membership of the commission, and its terms of reference, will be set out in due course, he says.
He says he has visited the Covid Memorial Wall opposite parliament and found it very moving.
UPDATE: Johnson said:
There is a solemn duty on our whole United Kingdom to come together and to cherish the memories of those who have been lost.
Like many across this chamber, I was deeply moved when I visited the Covid Memorial Wall opposite parliament. I wholeheartedly support the plan for a memorial in St Paul’s Cathedral, which will provide a fitting place of reflection in the heart of our capital.
I also know that communities across the whole country will want to find ways of commemorating what we have all been through, so the government will support their efforts by establishing a UK commission on Covid commemoration.
This national endeavour above party politics will remember the loved ones we have lost, honour the heroism of those who have saved lives and the courage of frontline workers who have kept our country going, celebrate the genius of those who created the vaccines and commemorate the small acts of kindness and the daily sacrifice of millions who stayed at home buying time for our scientists to come to our rescue.
Updated
Johnson says inquiry will not start until next spring so health officials aren't distracted this year
Johnson says there is a “high likelihood” of a surge in cases this winter.
So the right time for the inquiry to start is next spring, he says.
He says the government is committed to learning lessons before then. There have been 50 inquiries already, he says.
He says no public inquiry would be fast enough to help in dealing with the pandemic this year.
The inquiry, instead, will look at the events “in the cold light of day”, and make recommendations for the future.
It will hear from the key players, and help to ensure the UK is better prepared for a future pandemic.
Updated
Johnson says independent statutory inquiry into Covid to be set up under Inquiries Act
Johnson says the state has an obligation to learn lessons from what went wrong.
He says an independent statutory inquiry, set up under the Inquiries Act 2005, will be set up. It will have the power to compel the production of evidence, and will take evidence from people in public under oath.
He says the government will consult with the devolved administrations on how it works.
He says it will take time to do this properly. People may have to testify in public for days. And so we must not inadvertently distract the people on whom we depend in the struggle against the disease.
The end of the lockdown is not the end of the pandemic, he says.
Johnson says Indian variant 'of increasing concern'
Boris Johnson starts by saying that the patience of the British people, and the vaccination programme, have reduced Covid deaths to their lowest level since July.
He says lockdown in England is being further eased on Monday.
But he says the government is still cautious, partly because of the Indian variant, which is “of increasing concern”.
Sky’s Sam Coates says there will be an inquiry announcement.
Governemnt to announce public inquiry into Covid from Spring 2022 - but they are going to consult on terms of reference.
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) May 12, 2021
It will be held under 2005 Inquiry Act which gives wide ranging powers
Boris Johnson's statement to MPs on Covid
Boris Johnson is about to make his statement to MPs on Covid.
According to ITV’s Robert Peston, Johnson may announce details of the public inquiry. Peston says:
According to a source, the prime minister has decided to confirm the timing of the inquiry so that he is seen to be taking the initiative, rather than reacting to potentially damaging disclosures due to be made by his estranged former chief aide Dominic Cummings, who is giving evidence to MPs on the health and science committees on 26 May.
Updated
Labour needs 'total deconstruction and reconstruction', says Blair
The New Statesman is running Tony Blair’s essay under the title: “Without total change Labour will die.” Blair used to make a similar case when Jeremy Corbyn was the party’s leader, but with the party now being run by someone whose politics are closer to Blair’s, the argument is probably more compelling.
The essay is definitely worth reading in full, but here are some of the key points.
- Blair says Labour needs “total deconstruction and reconstruction”. He says:
The Labour party is now scratching its collective head and wondering why the replacement of an extremist with someone more moderate isn’t achieving the miracle renaissance. It is even asking whether Keir is the right leader.
But the Labour party won’t revive simply by a change of leader. It needs total deconstruction and reconstruction. Nothing less will do.
- He says Starmer needs a “compelling economic message”. He says:
At present, Labour expresses perfectly the progressive dilemma. Corbyn was radical but not sensible. Keir seems sensible but not radical. He lacks a compelling economic message ...
Equally, “spend more” is a weak slogan when the Tory government is already spending around record levels. And the inheritance from the 2019 Labour manifesto – a £1tn programme – is a huge albatross, accompanied by the usual misguided argument from the left that the individual items poll well (they always do, but it’s their cumulative effect which is deadly).
- Blair says it is a mistake for progressives to just ignore “culture war” issues. He suggests that if progressive moderates do not engage in debate on culture issues, they end up being defined by the stance of their radical allies. He says:
Keeping your head down isn’t a strategy. There is a big culture battle going on. Progressive folk tend to wince at terms such as “woke” and “political correctness”, but the normal public knows exactly what they mean. And the battle is being fought on ground defined by the right because sensible progressives don’t want to be on the field at all. The consequence of this is that the “radical” progressives, who are quite happy to fight on that ground, carry the progressive standard. The fact that it ensures continued rightwing victory doesn’t deter them at all. On the contrary, it gives them a heightened sense of righteousness, like political kamikaze.
Blair suggests people like Starmer should make a virtue of moderation.
People like common sense, proportion and reason. They dislike prejudice; but they dislike extremism in combating prejudice. They support the police and the armed forces. Again, it doesn’t mean that they think those institutions are beyond reproach. Not at all. But they’re on their guard for those who they think use any wrongdoing to smear the institutions themselves. And they expect their leaders to voice their own opinion, not sub-contract opinion to pressure groups, no matter how worthy.
The correct course for progressives on culture questions is to make a virtue of reason and moderation.
And he says Starmer has allowed himself to be defined on cultural issues by the “woke” left. He says:
And the cultural message, because [Starmer] is not clarifying it, is being defined by the “woke” left, whose every statement gets cut-through courtesy of the right ...
On cultural issues, one after another, the Labour party is being backed into electorally off-putting positions. A progressive party seeking power which looks askance at the likes of Trevor Phillips, Sara Khan or JK Rowling is not going to win.
- He suggests Labour should embark on some sort of collaboration with other progressive parties. He says:
Without the diverting drama of speculation around new political parties, we need a new progressive movement; a new progressive agenda; and the construction of a new governing coalition.
The construction of this new progressive movement should start with an open dialogue between like-minded Labour and Lib Dem members and the non-aligned.
- He says technological change is the biggest challenge facing politics today. He said this should be an opportunity for the left because “it is a challenge tailor-made for the progressive cause. It requires active government.” But he says conventional leftwing policies are not the solution.
This new world doesn’t require a Big State per se, but a strategic and active one which is good at solving problems and good at promoting social inclusion and economic dynamism at the same time. It will challenge all those who don’t adapt to change, including big business with a conventional centralised mentality, or trade unions which can’t get to grips with mobilising workers in the new economy. A myriad of small firms and the self-employed will be central not peripheral to the future...
The thinking of the new left radicals across the west – which is really the rediscovery of 1960s Marxist-inspired left policy by a new generation – is largely redundant to answering the challenge. Public ownership of industry, “free” university tuition, much heavier regulation – all of these traditional solutions, as well as being politically challenging, will not materially impact people’s lives in anything like the manner of technological change, and may be regressive if they reduce the power of social mobility and social aspiration ...
You can literally go through the policy catalogue, from crime to defence to the environment, and in every case the potential of technological change is enormous and revolutionary. This is the future. But you can’t organise the future with a playbook from the past.
- He says the challenge facing Labour and the Liberal Democrats “cannot be overstated” because progressive parties around the world are in decline.
- He says progressives should not take too much comfort from Joe Biden’s election victory in the US, because that was “a heavy reaction not so much against the policies as the comportment of Trump”.
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Starmer lacks 'compelling economic message', says Blair
In an article for the New Statesman Tony Blair, the Labour former prime minister, has said Sir Keir Starmer lacks a “compelling economic message”. Blair says:
At present, Labour expresses perfectly the progressive dilemma. Corbyn was radical but not sensible. Keir seems sensible but not radical. He lacks a compelling economic message.
This is one argument in a lengthy essay. I will post more on it shortly.
Court says Boris Johnson has not paid debt of £535
My colleague Peter Walker has more on the £535 country court judgment against Boris Johnson. (See 10.49am.)
Confirmed. Boris Johnson has a county court judgement against him for an unpaid debt of £535, from October last year. He still hasn't paid it. pic.twitter.com/mHmSIyFwTU
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) May 12, 2021
Hats off to whoever at @PrivateEyeNews first had the idea of searching his name/address on the register of county court judgements.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) May 12, 2021
While he does live above No 11, and "Boris" isn't his legal first name, the details would have been entered by the creditor, as far as I understand the process.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) May 12, 2021
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Gordon Brown, the Labour former prime minister, told Times Radio this morning that he did not think Boris Johnson understood the problems facing the union of the United Kingdom. He said:
The problem for Boris Johnson is, I think he had one sentence in his speech yesterday, the Queen’s Speech, about the union itself.
I don’t think he’s thought about it, I don’t think he understands it, I think he’s got to start beginning to understand it.
He’s a historian, he must remember that Lord North was the prime minister who lost America and that’s all he’s remembered for, if Boris Johnson becomes the prime minister who loses Scotland and sees the end of the United Kingdom, that’s all he will be remembered for.
We need to give some attention to this issue, and we need to do it pretty urgently.
This week Brown said that his thinktank, Our Scottish Future, will start campaigning for reform “to make the UK more acceptable to all of its constituent parts”.
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According to Private Eye, there is a county court judgment against Boris Johnson in relation to an unpaid debt of £535. This is from the Mail’s Jason Groves.
Boris Johnson money worries latest, via @PrivateEyeNews. Unpaid debt of £535 has landed the PM with a county court judgment pic.twitter.com/Y9RtOlo4ak
— Jason Groves (@JasonGroves1) May 12, 2021
We may (or may not) find out more at the No 10 lobby briefing later.
Photo ID plan for voting 'nothing to do with party interests', Eustice claims
George Eustice, the environment secretary, has declined to say whether the government will abandon plans to require voters to show photo ID at polling stations. Asked about figures showing that more than 2 million people might be penalised under these rules, he just stressed that there would be consultation on the plans.
In response to a question on the Today programme, he also dismissed suggestions that the move was intended to suppress the non-Tory vote. He said:
We are a government that is bringing forward legislation to protect the integrity of our electoral system and to prevent electoral fraud.
You mentioned earlier that older people allegedly potentially find it harder to have photo ID - well in other fora, you’ve put it to me that older people are more likely to vote Conservative.
So it is clearly nothing to do with party interests, it’s about integrity of the electoral system.
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UK economy rebounds in March after rapid Covid vaccine rollout
A rapid rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine across the UK’s four nations lifted GDP by 2.1% in March, helping prevent a steep fall during the first three months of the year, according to official figures. My colleague Phillip Inman has the story here.
Labour should be bolder, says Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary and former Labour leader, has also been talking about how his party needs to do better. He was doing a morning interview round this morning (he is speaking at the end of the Queen’s speech debate later), and here are the key points he made.
- Miliband said Labour needed to be bolder. He said:
We propose a £30bn green infrastructure plan, absolutely we should be doing that.
We should be bolder, of course we should be bolder.
Thinking about the country is the right thing for our party in the following sense, which is this country needs big economic change, that’s what Keir Starmer believes in, that’s what he talked about in his Queen’s speech yesterday.
He believes we are an unfair, unequal and unproductive country, and that’s got to change.
We are likely to hear a lot more on this topic from Miliband in the next few weeks, because next month he is publishing a book called Go Big: How to Fix our World.
Miliband’s thinking on this topic may have been partly influenced by US politics in recent years because after the election of Donald Trump in 2016 he concluded that there were three lessons from what happened for progressives. He said it showed voters favoured big solutions, leaders who were political outsiders, and parties that understood nationalism/patriotism. Although Miliband did not say it at the time, his own leadership of Labour failed on all three of these criteria. Starmer does not really tick any of these boxes either yet (although he is trying to make Labour sound more patriotic). But Boris Johnson arguably passes on all three (although, with Brexit done his latest big idea, levelling up, is little more than a slogan.)
- He said Labour collectively had to show what it stood for. Asked why the party did not do better in the elections last week, he said:
I’ll tell you what my explanation is.
We had our worst election results since 1935 in 2019, that we have a mountain to climb, that Keir Starmer has provided new leadership, he has put the remain-leave argument behind us, but we all have a collective responsibility to show exactly what we stand for going forward.
Absolutely we do, leadership is a collective endeavour and we all have a job to do, and there are massive things to fight for in our country.
Miliband’s point about Labour’s need to show what it stands for echoes what Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, said in her interviews yesterday. (See 9.23am.)
- He said it was not time to “blow the final whistle” on Starmer’s leadership. He said:
What I’m interested in is what we do now. You don’t blow the final whistle on the match a third of the way through the match, which is where we are probably in this parliament; we go out and we fight for what we believe in.
That’s what we’ve got to do as a party - look to the country, as Angie Rayner is saying.
- He criticised the Queen’s speech for not including an employment bill or adult social care reform. On social care he was particularly critical. He said:
Where is the plan? As well as not having a financing system we have got to have a proper investment in social care going forward. We have got to start paying our social care workers decently.
What we have seen in this pandemic is our key workers - who do some of the most important jobs in our country - often paid the least.
Social care is the worst example. We should at least be paying them a living wage.
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Boris Johnson has urged the Israelis and Palestinians to “step back from the brink” in the light of the escalating conflict in the region. He has just posted this on Twitter.
I am urging Israel and the Palestinians to step back from the brink and for both sides to show restraint. The UK is deeply concerned by the growing violence and civilian casualties and we want to see an urgent de-escalation of tensions.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 12, 2021
Voters did not know what Starmer stands for, says deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner
Good morning. There is no PMQs today - there is never one straight after the state opening of parliament - but Boris Johnson will be in the Commons at lunchtime giving MPs a statement on coronavirus. Much of it will replicate what he told the nation on Monday at his press conference, but ITV’s Robert Peston says that he wants to settle the terms of the Covid inquiry quickly and that we might even get an announcement about that today.
In the meantime, the Labour party’s post-election postmortem continues, and overnight we’ve had reports or write-ups of three interviews given by Angela Rayner, the deputy leader who emerged from the weekend’s botched reshuffle with an enhanced job. Being able to give an interview ostensibly highly supportive of your leader, while also making harsh criticisms, is quite a skill, but Rayner pulled it off very successfully. Here are some of the things that she said about Labour’s performance to date.
Keir’s done a very good job of being a constructive opposition. And he’s tried to do that. And the challenge that we face now is about what do we stand for? And what we put forward? And that’s what I heard on the doorstep. It was: ‘Well, okay, Keir Starmer is not Jeremy Corbyn, the party’s on the new leadership, what do you stand for?’
- She said that in the past Labour had used a “patronising” tone with voters. She told ITV:
I’ve talked about the patronising tone that we have sometimes, and I’ve felt that as a working class girl. We don’t want people to do things for us, or tell us what to do we want the empowerment to do things for ourselves ... I think at times we’ve had the tone wrong, yes.
We’ve got to offer something that speaks to our voters post-pandemic that focuses on jobs and security, and looking out for our area and being proud of it.
We failed to be able to articulate that in those areas we had austerity and significant cuts and the government has delivered piecemeal investment, little bits here and there, but taken it out of the areas where the greatest need is ...
What do we mean by improving things? For me it’s pay rises, it’s rights at work, it’s ending outsourcing so our public services are for the public and not for profit, it is bringing back industry and green jobs into areas that have been hammered. That’s it in a nutshell.
It’s about not talking fluffy language, it’s actually making sure that you have got a decent, secure job that pays you well and that you can get a home and look after your family.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10am: Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, gives a speech to the National Cyber Security Centre.
After 12pm: Boris Johnson gives a Commons statement on Covid. There is no PMQs today because ministerial question sessions have not started yet.
After 1.30pm: Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Rachel Reeves, the new shadow chancellor, speak at the start of the resumption of the Queen’s speech debate.
3pm: Mark Drakeford is due to be confirmed as Wales’s first minister when the Senedd meets for the first time in Cardiff after last week’s election.
Politics Live has been a mix of Covid and non-Covid news recently, and that will probably be the case today. For more Covid coverage, do read our global live blog.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
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