Boris Johnson receives legal questionnaire over partygate from police
More Britons are feeling a cost of living squeeze, a survey has found, as the price of every day items continues to soar.
According to a survey from the Office for National Statistic (ONS), which received thousands of responses, around 76 per cent of adults said their cost of living had increased over the last month.
It represents a significant rise on the 69 per cent recorded in the final two weeks of January.
The most frequently reported reasons continued to be:
- rising food shop prices (90 per cent)
- rising energy bills (77 per cent)
- increases to the price of fuel (69 per cent)
It comes as the Lib Dems are leading the charge to put pressure on the government to publish the full, unredacted version of Sue Gray’s report into the No 10 Partygate scandal.
A “humble address” motion has been backed by all 13 of the party’s MPs, who are calling for the support of others to ensure there are “no more cover-ups and no more lies”.
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Thank you for following The Independent’s live politics coverage today. We’re pausing updates on this blog for the evening, join us again tomorrow for more news from Westminster and beyond.
Tom Barnes15 February 2022 16:14
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Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of everything UK politics…
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 08:01
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Tory MP claims she criticised Boris Johnson for damaging UK’s international reputation ‘by mistake’
A Conservative MP has said she wrote a letter criticising Boris Johnson for damaging the UK’s international reputation “in error”.
Joy Morrissey was appointed to be Mr Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary in last week’s reshuffle, a role which will see her work closely with him.
But there were blushes in Whitehall over the weekend after it emerged that Ms Morrissey had strongly criticised the government for cutting international aid.
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 08:03
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Downing Street staff told conferring over party questionnaire could constitute ‘separate offence’
Staff at Downing Street have been told by the Metropolitan Police that they should not confer with each other when answering a police questionnaire about a series of parties which potentially broke Covid rules.
They have been warned that, should they do this, it could constitute a “separate offence”.
The questionnaires started to be issued late last week and have also been sent to the prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Meanwhile, fresh guidance issued by the Cabinet Office to those who may be contacted by Scotland Yard about the gatherings under investigation, said that they could still “seek legal advice” before responding.
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 08:24
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Wales trials paying universal basic income of £19,200 a year
The Welsh government’s trial of a universal basic income will pay around 500 people £1,600 a month, the devolved administration has announced.
Under the pilot policy some vulnerable young people will be paid £19,200 a year for 24 months from their 18th birthday – the highest rate of any large-scale pilot.
The scheme will be open to all young people leaving care, and extend to double the number of people that had previously been planned.
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 08:55
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Independent tv: Will Partygate be the end of Boris Johnson?
Boris Johnson’s future looks poised on a knife-edge.
Although we have seen an update into the Sue Gray inquiry, the full report is yet to come out, and Cressida Dick, Chief of the Metropolitan Police, has announced the Prime Minister is placed under a criminal investigation for breaching lockdown restrictions.
But, how damaging is partygate to the Conservative party, How many parties took place, and will this be the end of Boris Johnson? The Independent’s political Commentator, John Rentoul, unravels the sordid tale of partygate.
Watch on Independent tv here:
Watch: Will Partygate be the end of Boris Johnson? | Behind The Headlines
Boris Johnson’s future looks poised on a knife-edge.Although we have seen an update into the Sue Gray inquiry, the full report is yet to come out, and Cressida Dick, fChief of the Metropolitan Police, has announced the Prime Minister is placed under a criminal investigation for breaching lockdown restrictions. But, how damaging is partygate to the Conservative party, How many parties took place, and will this be the end of Boris Johnson? The Independent’s political Commentator, John Rentoul, unravels the sordid tale of partygate.
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 09:25
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Keir Starmer calls on Boris Johnson to clamp down on Russian ‘dirty money’
Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson’s Tories of “enabling” Russian influence by turning a blind eye to the use of London by Vladimir Putin’s allies as a venue to launder their “dirty money”.
The Labour leader repeated calls for Mr Johnson to return an estimated £5m in donations from Russian-linked sources and urged the prime minister to clamp down on the “cottage industry” lobbying on behalf of the Putin regime in the UK.
A failure to act now “will only further strengthen Vladimir Putin in his attempts to stalk and menace his neighbours and democracies around the world,” Sir Keir warned.
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 09:55
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London Assembly votes to condemn Priti Patel’s borders bill as ‘racist’ legislation
Priti Patel‘s nationality and borders bill is a “potential racist” piece of legislation and should not go ahead, the London Assembly has said.
A large majority in the devolved chamber backed a motion calling on the Home Secretary to stop the controversial legislation and said it “places Britons of ethnic minorities as second-class citizens”.
Under the law, the Home Secretary would be able to strip any British national of their citizenship “where they are deemed to have claim to citizenship of another country” and where there was a “public good”.
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 10:24
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Keir Starmer urges action to tackle cost of living increase
The leader of the Labour party Sir Keir Starmer has said that it is reasonable for workers to demand higher wages, whilst he urged the UK government to do more to tackle the rising cost of living.
Sir Keir said it is “very difficult” to tell people they are not entitled to ask for a pay increase as the cost of living in the UK rapidly increases.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation reached 5.5 per cent in January, while wages have not kept up with rising prices.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, who took home £575,538 in pay and benefits last year, has suggested that workers should avoid asking for large pay rises so as to avoid fuelling the rise in inflation.
Sir Keir told the Guardian: “It’s very difficult to universally say to people ‘You are not entitled to even ask for a pay rise’.”
The ONS figures, published on Wednesday, showed CPI inflation increased to 5.5 per cent in January, up from 5.4 per cent in December.
It is predicted to hit 7.25 per cent in April, which would be the highest level since August 1991.
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 11:00
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UK inflation hits new 30-year high of 5.5% as cost of living crisis continues
UK inflation has increased to 5.5 per cent, the highest in nearly three decades, amid the tightening cost-of-living squeeze.
The rate of Consumer Price Index inflation hit 5.4 per cent in December and remains at a near 30-year high after rising to 5.5 per cent in January.
It comes as Britain remains in the grip of a tightening cost-of-living squeeze.
Thomas Kingsley has more:
Eleanor Sly16 February 2022 11:45
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-lockdown-parties-latest-news-b2016111.html
