James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
12 min listen
The government has announced that 23 per cent of over 80s in England have now received their first dose of the Covid vaccine. With Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock aiming to give 13.5 million people the jab before the middle of February, will that be enough to end lockdown restrictions? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy
11 min listen
Following the announcement of a third lockdown, a testing regime for arrivals could be put in place. It comes as Michael Gove said there would be announcements in the coming days about ‘how we will make sure that our ports and airports are safe’, and Nicola Sturgeon said ‘urgent’ discussions were underway. Isabel Hardman talks
Everything now turns on how quickly the vaccines can be rolled out. When this lockdown ends – and when all the restrictions can be lifted – depends on how fast people can be immunised. Last night, Boris Johnson set the state the target of having vaccinated 13 million people by the middle of February so
11 min listen
This evening the Prime Minister announced a return to the lockdown system for England, coming after Nicola Sturgeon announced similar measures earlier in the day. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about what the measures mean for students, vulnerable groups and more.
16 min listen
Boris Johnson today said there was ‘no question’ that the government would announce tighter coronavirus restrictions, as case numbers continue to surge. It came after health secretary Matt Hancock said this morning that the existing tier system is ‘no longer strong enough’. What will further restrictions look like? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and
There is a sense of grim inevitability this morning that even tighter Covid restrictions are coming very soon. On his media round this morning, Matt Hancock has been emphasising that the new variant means that the ‘old tier system… is no longer strong enough’ and that the only thing that can stop the spread of
18 min listen
After four and a half years, Brexit has finally happened with a free trade deal passed. But with Scottish independence hotting up and the pandemic not yet finished, the government faces more challenges in the very short term. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about what’s coming next.
After all the parliamentary drama of the past four and a half years, the final Commons phase of Brexit is passing with remarkably little drama. Boris Johnson knows his agreement will be voted through this afternoon and, following the European Research Group decision, with nearly universal Tory support. Johnson’s speech was upbeat, as he sought
This country will end the Brexit transition period with a zero tariff, zero quota deal with the EU. Four and a half years after the Brexit vote, the issue that has so convulsed British politics is settled. We are still awaiting the text of the deal. But from what both sides have said it is
16 min listen
A Brexit deal has been reached. Negotiations over fisheries continued into the early hours of Christmas Eve, and Boris Johnson finalised the agreement with Ursula von der Leyen at 1:44pm. The PM said the treaty resolves a ‘question that has bedevilled politics for decades’, while the EU Commission President said it was ‘time to leave
Tonight we are still waiting for confirmation that a Brexit deal has been done. But the noises coming out of both London and Brussels are optimistic — something would have to go wrong for there not to be a deal. However, it currently looks like there will be one more late night in Brussels before
The Brexit waiting continues. The negotiators are still talking but, according to one of those close to the negotiations on the UK side, things are ‘still pretty stuck.’ There is, as RTE’s Tony Connelly reports, a deadline of Christmas Eve on the EU side. But it would now be a surprise if a deal came
13 min listen
At yesterday’s press conference, Boris Johnson said there were just 170 lorries queuing in Kent to cross the Channel. Today, there are expected to be around 1,500. The government is continuing discussions with France to get freight moving again, but will Boris be blamed for the hold-up? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy
On Sunday night another Brexit deadline passed; the European Parliament had said it would need to see a deal by then if it was to pass it by the end of the year. But the negotiations are still going on. Multiple papers are this morning reporting a new British offer on fishing. The Guardian’s Brussels
13 min listen
Speaking alongside Patrick Vallance and Grant Shapps, Boris Johnson said we could expect ‘a very, very different world for this country from Easter onwards’. But will the new Covid strain derail the easing of restrictions? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth.
This country faces a crisis over the next few weeks. Covid cases are rising rapidly in the UK — there were more than 35,000 new cases yesterday, the largest number recorded during the pandemic and almost double the number a week ago. It seems likely that this rapid rise is, in part, a result of
12 min listen
Christmas has been cancelled, after all. In London and parts of the South East, new Tier 4 restrictions mean that households will not be able to mix indoors; whereas in the rest of the country families can only get together on Christmas day. Does this government suffer from consistently over-promising? Katy Balls talks to James
Throughout the Brexit talks it has been declared that the deal wouldn’t fall over fish. But that is now looking increasingly likely. The two sides remain far apart on the subject and time is running short. Fishing is not the only issue, there are still some disagreements over the Commission’s desire to exempt itself and
14 min listen
Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen spoke last night in another attempt to push the Brexit discussions forward. Statements released after call made clear that fishing rights remain the last serious hurdle – but will negotiators let it sink a deal? James Forsyth discusses with Katy Balls.
Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson spoke this evening to try and give the negotiations a shove. The statement that the Commission president has released after their call makes clear that fishing is now the biggest obstacle to a deal. She says ‘big differences remain to be bridged, particularly on fisheries. Bridging them will
