Parliamentary tory party

Boris Johnson has left the door open to U-turning over the paltry 1% pay rise for NHS staff after fury from thousands of nurses. The Prime Minister stressed the process was still ongoing as he was grilled on a visit to an NHS vaccine centre in north London. It now means Mr Johnson and Gavin Williamson have both failed to rule out U-turning - and implementing a higher pay rise - after an independent review body reports back later this year. Asked if he could look nurses in the eye over the paltry sum, or whether a U-turn was possible, Mr Johnson told reporters: "I’m massively grateful to all NHS staff and indeed social care workers who’ve been heroic throughout the pandemic. “What we’ve done is tried to give them as much as we can at the present time. The independent pay review body will obviously look at what we’ve proposed and come back.” Nursing unions have set up a fighting fund for possible strike action after the below-inflation rise emerged in government documents on … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson opens door to NHS pay rise U-turn – as even Tory voters demand it

Labour will vote against the Tories' £8bn-a-year stealth raid on Income Tax this week, a Shadow Cabinet Minister revealed today. Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy said the party would try to block plans to freeze income tax thresholds until 2026. The challenge is unlikely to succeed as Boris Johnson has a working Commons majority of more than 80 seats. The move marks a swift U-turn days after Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds indicated the party would support the freeze. Ms Dodds said on Thursday that it would have been wrong for Rishi Sunak to impose the freeze "right now", but it will only kick in from April 2022. She added: "In the future, we're not going to oppose change to that personal allowance, the freezing of it that the Chancellor set out for the future. "Because actually what the Conservatives have done around this previously has benefited the best-off most. And they've not for example backed low income families with social security in the way they needed … [Read more...] about Budget 2021: Labour to vote against stealth Income Tax raid on families in U-turn

Boris Johnson is getting a £9million White House-style 'situation room' to command terror emergencies and military operations. The state-of-the-art bunker in the basement of the Cabinet Office will have huge display screens allowing the PM to track events in real time. It will be known as the Situation Centre, or SitCen, and should be up and running this summer - with claims it will reduce the time taken to brief ministers from 'weeks to minutes'. The plan is a centrepiece of the huge defence, security and foreign policy review due to be unveiled by Mr Johnson on March 16. The project has been highlighted after it emerged that £2.6million has been spent on an overhaul of No9 Downing Street to stage US-esque televised press briefings. Meanwhile, a major row is raging over claims Mr Johnson's official flat above No11 is having an upgrade overseen by his fiancee Carrie Symonds, with the cost feared to be around £200,000. No10 sources told the Sunday Times coronavirus had … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson will get £9m White House-style ‘situation centre’ to command terror emergencies and military operations

China's claim to Taiwan is an "insurmountable red line," the Chinese foreign minister warned the US administration led by President Joe Biden on Sunday. Wang Yi was speaking at an annual news conference during the meeting of the National People's Congress, China's annual parliamentary session. Wang addressed other aspects of the tense US-China relationship during the news conference. The top minister vigorously defended the Chinese stance on controversial Hong Kong electoral reforms and human rights abuses in Xinjiang. He also covered European relations and Myanmar. Wang Yi defended China's stance on controversial issues such as Hong Kong electoral reform China on Taiwan "The Chinese government has no room for compromise or concessions on the Taiwan issue," Wang said on Sunday. "We urge the new US administration to fully understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue" and "completely change the previous administration's dangerous practices of "crossing the … [Read more...] about China warns US not to cross ‘red line’ on Taiwan

Switzerland voted on Sunday on whether to ban "full facial coverings" in public places. The referendum comes after years of debate, following similar bans in other European countries, such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Switzerland operates a system of direct democracy that has allowed the vote to go ahead. Any topic can be put to a national vote as long as it gathers 100,000 signatures in the country of 8.6 million people. Polls had indicated that a slim majority supports the move. What the ban would mean Under the proposal, nobody would be allowed to cover their face completely in public — whether in shops or the open countryside. There would be exceptions, including places of worship. Watch video 01:43 Share Mixed reactions to Germany's first liberal mosque Send Facebook Twitter reddit EMail Facebook Messenger Web Whatsapp Web Telegram linkedin Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2f48C Mixed … [Read more...] about Swiss await result of Muslim ‘burqa ban’ vote