Politics

Boris Johnson will hold a COVID-19 briefing later today after England entered lockdown for the second time. The prime minister will be joined at 5pm in Downing Street by Sir Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England. No new measures are expected to be announced but the pair will reflect on the new restrictions

European diplomats have been told that there are still “fundamental differences” in the hunt for a Brexit trade deal and that the UK has “blocked” progress in key areas while trying to run down the clock. The EU‘s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, briefed representatives from all 27 member states on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting

A minister has admitted England’s coronavirus lockdown could be extended beyond 2 December. “We’ve got to follow the evidence,” Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told Kay Burley. “If there isn’t to be an extension of this we go back into the tier system anyway, so we’d leave on a regional or local basis. Please use Chrome

England will enter a fresh month-long lockdown from tomorrow after MPs approved the new shutdown. In a House of Commons vote on Wednesday, MPs supported the new coronavirus measures by 516 to 38, a majority of 478. It means that, from one minute past midnight, pubs, bars, restaurants and non-essential shops will close across England

The foreign secretary has told Sky News the UK’s relationship with the United States will go from “strength to strength” whatever the outcome of the election. Dominic Raab said the election is still “too close to call” but that he is totally confident the American system “will give us a definitive result”. US election 2020

Boris Johnson will today urge MPs to approve England’s new lockdown – but the prime minister is continuing to face a backlash from his own Conservative MPs over the fresh shutdown. Following a 90-minute debate on the new national measures, the House of Commons will on Wednesday afternoon vote on whether to give a second

Nicola Sturgeon has called for clarity over whether the furlough scheme will be extended beyond 2 December in Scotland if needed. Scotland’s first minister made the call after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News’ Kay Burley it would be a decision for the chancellor to take after the nationwide lockdown in England ends at

National lockdown number two. It was a policy that two weeks ago, the prime minister not only rejected on the floor of the House of Commons but lambasted Sir Keir Starmer for supporting. So to come to the House Commons on Monday to ask parliament to back a four-week lockdown was always going to be

Rishi Sunak has said the new lockdown restrictions in England will expire on 2 December “as a matter of law”. The chancellor stressed these rules are time limited – and told the BBC the government’s “expectation and firm hope is that the measures put in place will be sufficient to do the job we need”.

Boris Johnson will tomorrow insist the national lockdown in England will end on 2 December, despite a member of his cabinet indicating the new measures could be extended beyond that date. Growing numbers of senior Conservative backbenchers have signalled their opposition to the measures due to come into effect on Thursday, while Labour have said

England is to enter a second national lockdown from Thursday, Boris Johnson has announced, as a second wave of coronavirus cases continues to grow. In a speech on Saturday the prime minister detailed new the new rules which will be in place from 5 November until 2 December. Here is that speech in full: Thank

England is to be placed under stricter nationwide restrictions from Thursday in an attempt to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new measures just after confirmed COVID-19 cases passed the one million mark across the UK. The new restrictions will initially be imposed from 0001 on 5 November until

A second national lockdown. It was something that the prime minister said would be a “disaster” for this country and something he vowed to do “everything in his power” to avoid. But now Mr Johnson is poised to announce exactly that. The measures are still under discussion – with a cabinet meeting planned this afternoon

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News he was “disappointed” in his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s response to a damning antisemitism report – but has insisted there is “no reason for a civil war” in the party. Mr Corbyn was suspended from Labour on Thursday – a move he condemned as “political intervention” –

Days after being involved in a minor road accident which left his car dented and scratched and a Deliveroo cyclist with an injured arm, Sir Keir Starmer is on collision course with the Labour left. But while his car can be repaired and the cyclist’s arm will hopefully heal speedily, the Labour leader is now

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the party and has had the whip removed. A party spokesman said: “In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour