Hello there, I'm Thomas Kingsley and welcome to The Independent's Inside Politics newsletter. New nurse strikes. New teacher strikes. New Metropolitan Police scandal. The new year is already proving difficult for Rishi Sunak's government and if Blue Monday couldn't have been any more depressing, tensions between Westminster and Holyrood are bubbling as the prime minister activated section 35 for the first time in history to block Scotland's new gender recognition bill. Elsewhere, the UK is still reacting to the news that Boris Johnson is releasing his first memoir. What will it be called? Will Partygate feature extensively? All will be revealed in due course, we hope. |
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Inside the bubble Cabinet meets this morning. The Commons sits from 11.30 with questions to Grant Shapps's business department, followed by debate on the Online Safety Bill. Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, speaks at the Institute for Government at noon. |
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Sunak makes historic block against Holyrood Rishi Sunak has clinched a lot of firsts as prime minister, but his latest sees him activate section 35 to block Scotland's new controversial gender recognition law. Ministers said the bill would have a "chilling" effect on single-sex spaces, including schools, and an adverse on other protections such as equal pay. Different gender recognition regimes north and south of the border would also risk "more fraudulent or bad faith applications", the government said. The move led to accusations trans people are being used as a political football and fears that the decision would lead to a rise in support for Scottish independence. Ms Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister, vowed her government would defend the legislation, warning: "If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be first of many." Scottish secretary Alister Jack said that those going through the process to change their legal sex "deserve our respect, support and understanding". He insisted his decision was "about the legislation's consequences for the operation of GB-wide equalities protections and other reserved matters". Read the full story here. |
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Strike mania Strikes remain a persistent issue for the government as teachers across England and Wales have voted to strike over the next two months. Nine out of 10 members of the National Education Union (NEU) voted for the action and the union passed the 50 per cent ballot turnout required by law. The NEU announced there would be seven days of walkouts between now and mid-March, but said any individual school will be affected only on four days. The guidance calls on headteachers to "take all reasonable steps to keep the school open for as many pupils as possible". Meanwhile, nurses have announced that they will escalate their already unprecedented strikes next month, accusing Rishi Sunak's government of failing to start negotiations on pay for the current financial year. As nurses prepare to walk out again this week, the Royal Colleges of Nurses (RCN) union declared that further industrial action will take place on 6 and 7 February if no progress is made by the end of January. These strikes will involve staff across a huge 73 NHS trusts in England and Wales – far more than the 44 in December and 55 in January, which the union's general secretary Pat Cullen previously described to The Independent as the largest of their kind in the world. Read the full story here. |
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On the record Arabella Pike, publishing director at HarperCollins' William Collins imprint, on the release of Boris Johnson's memoir: "I look forward to working with Boris Johnson as he writes his account of his time in office during some of the most momentous events the United Kingdom has seen in recent times." |
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From the Twitterati Nicola Sturgeon, after the Scottish secretary said the UK government is using section 35 for the first time to block Scotland's controversial Gender Recognition bill: "This is a full-frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and it's ability to make it's own decisions on devolved matters. @scotgov will defend the legislation & stand up for Scotland's Parliament. If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be first of many." |
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