Labour’s Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, described the Met Police’s investigation into alleged Downing Street parties as “a truly damning reflection on this nation’s highest office”. Rayner told Michale Ellis, the paymaster general, that “the country have made up their minds”, and asked him “when will his party catch up?” Ellis responded by saying the details…
Ian Hislop says standards in British public life are “very depressing”, as he denounced the lobbying culture of MPs in a standards committee session this afternoon. Asked by the standards committee chair, Chris Bryant, how MPs were doing on standards in British public life, Hislop complained they were “not good”. The editor of Private Eye…
Julian Knight has told Colin Graves to ‘put up or shut up’ as he accused the former Yorkshire Country Cricket (YCCC) chair of interfering in the running of the club. The chair of the digital, culture, media and sport, committee read out a letter from the club’s former chairman, Roger Hutton, accusing Graves of “substantial…
The housing secretary Michael Gove has argued that developers should “pay the price” for the cladding scandal, as he set out the government’s plans to fix the crisis in the House of Commons this afternoon. Gove told the Commons “it is morally wrong that they [leaseholders] should be the ones asked to pay the price.”…
While the Palace of Westminster is usually a serious place discussing important issues, occasionally a few jokes and mistakes slip into the debates. With work from home issues, a football tournament and several high-profile gaffes, 2021 threw up plenty of comedic moments. From Rayner to Rees-Mogg, relive some of the quirkiest and funniest moments…
Labour MP Pat McFadden asked ‘where is the chancellor?’ today in an urgent question to the House of Commons. Querying why Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, was in California, the MP for Wolverhampton South East said: “Why did he decide to proceed with a trip to California on Tuesday, when it was already…
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the Omicron variant poses “the most significant threat we’ve had since the start of the pandemic”. Appearing in front of a transport committee on the threat of Omicron to international travel, Dr Harries warned the new numbers behind the spread of the…
Labour’s shadow justice secretary Steve Reed has labelled the government’s proposed changes to the Human Rights Act as ‘a dead cat distraction’. Speaking to the Commons, Reed said: “It’s a dead cat distraction tactic by a government that doesn’t know how to fix the criminal justice system that they’ve broken and is desperate to divert…
Labour MP Andy McDonald gave an emotional speech today during a Private Members’ Bill debate on access to medical cannabis. Speaking in the House of Commons, the MP for Middlesborough said: “We were confronted with our beloved Rory locked in status. And I recall so vividly calling the ambulance and having him whisked off to…
Yvette Cooper has clashed with Priti Patel over the so-called ‘borders bill’ today in the House of Commons. In her first appearance at the despatch box as shadow home secretary, Cooper accused the home secretary of “letting vile people traffickers and criminal gangs off the hook” and said her speech was “a lot of rhetoric…
