The difficult vaccine debate we've shied away from
The Prime Minister only has himself to blame for the public outcry over 70-year-olds being vaccinated when there are still…
The EU's remaining Brexit stumbling block
Here is the fundamental stumbling block to a free trade deal, one that the Prime Minister has just confirmed in…
Deal or no-deal? The choice is Boris Johnson's
If you voted for Brexit, did you think it was a state of pure and perfect national independence, or did…
Inside the no-deal reasonable worst case scenario
I’ve been passed the government’s ‘reasonable worst case scenario planning assumptions to support civil contingencies planning for the end of…
Covid is a nightmare for libertarian Tories
These are confusing times for all of us. But for small-government libertarian Tories, Covid-19 is all their worst nightmares compressed…
The truth about me and Dominic Cummings
It is such a relief that Dominic Cummings has gone. Not for the sake of the country or the government…
The Bank of England's terrifying economic projections
The Bank of England includes as one of its ‘conditioning assumptions’ in its forecasts today that the Bank Rate –…
How strict will the new Covid restrictions be?
I have a few points to make about the new three tier system to be announced today for restricting our…
Ministers close to closing northern pubs and restaurants
We are at a critical moment in the second surge of coronavirus. Ministers, scientists and officials are deeply concerned about…
Why won't the UK vaccinate the whole population?
In British COVID vaccine taskforce head Kate Bingham’s interview with the Financial Times, where she says that vaccinating the whole…
Brace yourselves for more Covid lockdown restrictions
I’ve been bombarded with emails and messages from data scientists who firmly believe that the trend to Covid-19 infections, based…
With scientists divided, it's time for politicians to decide
Later today, the ONS coronavirus survey will confirm that Covid-19 is on the march again everywhere, not just in regional…
A tighter lockdown could be two weeks away
Significant further restrictions on our freedom to mix with people, in social or work settings, could be introduced in a…
Tory faith in Boris is wavering
Having won that 80 seat majority for his party in December, it is really quite an achievement by Boris Johnson…
Could the Lords reject Boris’s Brexit bill?
A senior Tory tells me the House of Lords will turn the Salisbury-Addison convention – which says the upper house…
A Brexit question Boris Johnson must answer
The question for Boris Johnson is why he signed a Withdrawal Agreement that gives the EU the power to decide whether…
Boris Johnson's Brexit dilemma
The penny seems to have belatedly dropped for Boris Johnson. He can have a no-trade-deal relationship with the European Union…
Why Boris thinks no deal might be worth the pain
You may wonder why on earth a Tory government led by Boris Johnson, the heirs to Thatcher for goodness sake,…
Oxford's Covid-19 vaccine is showing positive signs
I am hearing there will be positive news soon (perhaps tomorrow) on initial trials of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine that…
Is Leicester going to see England’s first local lockdown?
The first local lockdown – and therefore a test of whether local lockdowns will be effective in suppressing coronavirus outbreaks…
Dominic Cummings has become a symbol of a very British inequality
Dominic Cummings knows all about how perception damages public confidence in political parties. Here he is in June 2017: ‘People…
Dominic Cummings has a human shield: Boris Johnson
The rule of modern politics, let’s call it Trump’s first law, is that if you are being attacked for apparently…
Why Dominic Cummings' departure may only be a 'matter of time'
Dominic Cummings’s role in government no longer looks sustainable, as members of the cabinet and Tory MPs turn against him…
Why didn't Boris act sooner against coronavirus?
It is too easy to become obsessive in whole or partial lockdown. And my obsession for weeks now is why…
Two big gaps in Boris Johnson's lockdown statement
There were three messages in Boris Johnson’s address to the nation, and quite a lot of important gaps. The messages…