Brexit
Express
ANGELA MERKEL has sensationally scrapped plans to discuss Brexit at a crucial EU summit next week following the latest breakdown in negotiations between the UK and Brussels. The German Chancellor, who currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU council, has removed Brexit from the agenda ahead of a meeting of EU ambassadors on September 2. One EU diplomat said: “Since there hasn’t been any tangible progress in EU-UK negotiations, the Brexit item was taken off the agenda.” The shock decision by Ms Merkel, who has built a reputation in Brussels as a dealmaker, is the clearest indication there will no trade deal between the UK and the EU before the December 31 deadline. Ms Merkel, 66, held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron at his official residence last week. The two European leaders were influential in brokering the historic £750 million coronavirus bailout package for the bloc, but according to one diplomat it is unlikely either would be able to break the current Brexit impasse.
Reuters
A discussion about the negotiations over Britain and the European Union’s post-Brexit relationship has been dropped from the agenda of a meeting of EU envoys next week because the talks have stalled, an EU diplomat said on Wednesday. Earlier, the Guardian reported here that the issue would not be discussed at a meeting of ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states, though diplomats said this referred to a regular meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives due on Sept. 2. EU officials now believe the British government is prepared to risk a no-deal exit when the transition period comes to an end on Dec. 31, and will try to pin the blame on Brussels if talks fail, the Guardian report said.
Fisheries
Express
BRITAIN must not cave in over fishing rights, a Tory MP has insisted, warning to do so would inevitably compromise the UK’s post-Brexit sovereignty. And Daniel Kawczynski said it was crucial for the UK to take back control to prevent the EU “plundering” the nation’s fish stocks. Mr Kawczynski was speaking the day after reports emerged from Brussels suggesting the EU was anticipating the UK to strike a deal over access to UK waters after the end of the year in order to ensure Britain was no longer subject to any of the EU’s rules and regulations.
NHS
Times
The NHS has a “hidden waiting list” of 15.3 million patients who need follow-up appointments for health problems, according to the first analysis of its kind. The official waiting list, which stands at 3.9 million, shows how many patients are yet to have their first hospital appointment after a GP referral. However, the total number who are on hospital books in England and need appointments is not collated centrally. A new calculation, based on freedom of information requests to NHS trusts and seen by The Times, puts the figure at 15.3 million. Although the official waiting list, after initial referral by a GP, has remained at a fairly stable level throughout the pandemic, this has been mainly driven by fewer patients joining it.
Mail
Over 15million patients are currently waiting for treatment on the NHS‘s ‘hidden waiting list’ – nearly four times higher than the official 3.9million, a new report claims. Freedom of Information requests to NHS trusts have put the total number of people yet to have their first hospital appointment after a GP referral at 15.3million. Data show long waits have increased during the pandemic, with the number of patients waiting over a year rising to 50,536 in June compared with 1,643 in January.
Sun
AT LEAST 15.3million patients who need follow up appointments are stuck on a hidden NHS waiting list, a new report claims. The official waiting list currently has 3.9million people on it as it records patients who have not yet had their first hospital appointment after being referred by their GP. New calculations however show the “hidden” waiting list stands at 15.3million as patients await for follow-up appointments for their health problems, reports The Times. The total is four times higher than the official figure and is believed to have ballooned due to the coronavirus pandemic as patients struggle to get appointments.
Scotland
Mail
Public spending per person in Scotland is now almost £2,000 more than the UK average as Scottish Tories claimed the ‘Union dividend’ had dealt a ‘hammer blow’ to Nicola Sturgeon‘s independence plans. Total public sector expenditure for the benefit of Scotland, including both UK and Scottish government spending, has increased by just over three per cent to £81 billion. That is equivalent to £14,829 being spent on public services per person in Scotland, some £1,633 per person greater than the UK average. The spending gap has been largely blamed on the Barnett Formula which is used by the UK Government to figure out how much funding should be given to the other home nations when it decides to spend more or less on something in England.
Guardian
Scotland’s deficit has risen to nearly £2,000 per person after the gap between tax income and spending widened to become more than three times larger than the UK as a whole. Data released on Wednesday showed Scotland’s fiscal deficit rose to £15bn in 2019-20, fuelling a row over the case for independence at first minister’s questions between Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Labour leader, Richard Leonard. Sturgeon accused Leonard of “apeing the Tories” after he said the deficit figures showed why financial redistribution within the UK was needed.
Labour Party
Huffington Post
Jeremy Corbyn’s office ordered that a raft of “moderate” Labour MPs should be stripped of extra campaign funding in the 2017 general election, a senior former party official has revealed. Patrick Heneghan, who was executive director for elections and campaigns, said that he was asked to withdraw top-up spending earmarked for deputy Tom Watson, Yvette Cooper, Rachel Reeves and a string of other MPs seen as critical of his leadership. The 14-strong “hitlist” – seen by HuffPost UK – also included current shadow cabinet ministers Kate Green and Bridget Phillipson, Tony Blair’s successor Phil Wilson, ex-minister Caroline Flint and former leadership hopefuls Dan Jarvis and Angela Eagle. Heneghan was instead given an alternative list of MPs who should benefit from special central campaigns cash, including close Corbyn allies John McDonnell, Ian Lavery, Andy McDonald, Jon Trickett and veteran leftwinger Paul Flynn.
Quarantine
Telegraph
Coronavirus sufferers and their contacts will be paid to quarantine themselves amid signs that increasing numbers are refusing to self-isolate because of financial worries. People on low incomes who test positive for Covid-19 will be paid £132 for their 10-day isolation period, while people who have come into contact with them will receive £182 for 14 days of isolation. The scheme will, for now, only apply to people living in areas with local lockdown restrictions, and will be trialled in the North West before an expected rollout to other high-risk areas.
BBC News
Workers on low incomes in parts of England where there are high rates of coronavirus will be able to claim up to £182 if they have to self-isolate. From Tuesday, those who claim Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit and cannot work from home will be able to get the money – equal to £13 a day. The benefit will be trialled in parts of north-west England first. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the payment “goes nowhere near far enough”, adding people need “full pay”. Employed or self-employed people who test positive for the virus are required to isolate for 10 days, so those eligible for the extra money will get £130.
Sun
BRITS told to self-isolate will be given £182 to encourage them to stay at home – even if they don’t have coronavirus. Eligible people who test positive or are told to quarantine by Test and Trace will be handed £130 by the State for their 10-day period of self-isolation. And members of their household, who then have to do the same for 14 days, will be entitled to a payment of £182. It is thought people aren’t following the advice to quarantine if they or a family member are ill over fears they need to earn money. The scheme is set to be introduced in areas with high rates of infection, to stop panicked workers continuing to clock in to get paid.
Independent
People on low incomes asked to self-isolate because they or a contact have tested positive for coronavirus will be paid to stay at home, under plans announced by the government. The new means-tested benefit, which will only be paid to people in designated outbreak areas, is worth up to £182 for a 14-day isolation period and is being introduced with the aim of ensuring people can afford to miss out on work. Local government leaders have previously warned that some people who need to self-isolate are avoiding doing so because they cannot afford to lose out on their wages and cannot work from home.
Mail
Britons ordered to self-isolate to combat coronavirus will be paid up to £182 by the State to encourage them to stay at home. Ministers fear some people will feel obliged to turn up for work even if they or family members test positive for Covid-19. The money will be paid to those in areas with high rates of infection, such as parts of the North West or Midlands, who receive Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit. The scheme is targeted towards those on lower salaries, such as cleaners and factory workers, who cannot work from home – as well as the self-employed, including taxi and delivery drivers.
Local lockdown
Yahoo News
Officials will meet on Thursday to decide whether local lockdowns should continue in England, as the Government confirmed it will compensate those who have to self isolate with payments of up to £182. The next announcement on restrictions in parts of Greater Manchester, east Lancashire and west Yorkshire is due to take place after a meeting on Thursday of the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), chaired by Health Secretary Matt Hancock and England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty.
The economy
Telegraph
Millions could face a brutal autumn after the City watchdog announced an end to mortgage holidays at the same time as the taxpayer-funded furlough scheme is axed. Covid-hit workers will no longer be able to demand a break from mortgage payments beyond Oct 31, following a change to rules set out by the Financial Conduct Authority. The furlough programme, which pays up to 80pc of wages for workers unable to do their jobs, will end on the same day – potentially triggering mass redundancies as firms sack staff who they can no longer afford. It means Nov 1 could be the day when the true extent of the economic havoc wreaked by Covid is finally revealed.
Return to work
Times
Fears are growing over the future of city centres after the latest figures show that the number of workers returning to offices has not increased since June. Some city centres have even had the numbers back at their desks fall as staff take their August holidays. Analysis of mobile phone data shows that early this month 17 per cent of people had returned to work in the 63 biggest cities, the same proportion as at the end of June. The headline figure masks regional variations. More people have returned to offices in towns such as Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where 40 per cent of staff are back.
BBC News
Fifty of the biggest UK employers questioned by BBC have said they have no plans to return all staff to the office full-time in the near future. Some 24 firms said that they did not have any plans in place to return workers to the office. However, 20 have opened their offices for staff unable to work from home. It comes as many employees return to work from the summer holidays with the reality of a prolonged period of home working becoming increasingly likely.
Mail
Boris Johnson must do more to get office workers back at their desks, a senior business leader says today. Carolyn Fairbairn warns commercial centres risk being permanent ‘ghost towns’. Writing in the Mail, the director-general of the CBI says getting staff back into offices and workplaces is as important as the return of pupils to school. ‘The UK’s offices are vital drivers of our economy,’ says Dame Carolyn, who speaks for almost 200,000 firms. ‘They support thousands of local firms, from dry cleaners to sandwich bars.
iNews
Boris Johnson’s pleas for civil servants to their return to their offices have fallen on deaf ears with the majority expected to work from home until the end of the year and beyond. The Government had been hoping that a steady return of officials to Whitehall and regional offices around the United Kingdom would help city centre businesses struggling to recover from the coronavirus lockdown. But only around one-fifth of civil servants are thought to be back at their desks and the First Division Association (FDA), which represents senior officials, forecast that the rate would “probably get to 30 or 40 per cent over time”.
Education
Times
Almost all teachers say their pupils will need extra support to catch up when they are back at school, according to a report published today. The survey of 45,000 pupils, parents and teachers from almost 300 schools reveals the scale of the challenge as schools reopen. Pupils are already back in Scotland and those in England and Wales will start to return next week. Ninety-nine per cent of teachers believe that children will need extra help to regain lost ground, according to the report by Edurio, which carries out surveys for schools.
Bug killer
Sun
A CHEMICAL found in insect repellent kills the virus that causes Covid, a study by Britain’s defence laboratory shows. Citriodiol, derived from lemon eucalyptus, is found in Mosi-guard Natural, which costs about £7 for a 75ml bottle. But the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory said more tests were needed to pinpoint the ideal concentration. Troops were issued with the spray as it was known to kill other corona-viruses. It is not sufficient protection alone and is used with face masks and hand-washing. In some experiments it killed the bug completely. Citriodiol is found in Mosi-guard Natural, which costs around £7 for a 75ml bottle. But the scientists warn: “We have no data relating the concentration applied experimentally to the latex to that resulting from a spray and rub application of Mosi-guard on human skin.”
Metro
A product found in insect repellent can kill a strain of coronavirus that triggers the Covid-19 virus, according to a military study. Research by scientists at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has suggested that insect repellent that contains Citriodiol could be used to help tackle the virus, reported Sky News. It is understood that Citriodiol – found in repellents such as Mosi-Guard and others – has already been found to have killed other types of coronavirus. Soldiers were sprayed with a repellent that contained the product, in a bid to see if it could offer an extra layer of protection against the virus.
Europe
Telegraph
The lead expert at the body co-ordinating Europe’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic says he expects to see a “continued resurgence” of cases across the continent this winter but is “optimistic” that deaths will not spike again dramatically. In an interview with The Telegraph, Sergio Brusin, principle expert at European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said the “horrible scenes” witnessed as the virus overwhelmed hospitals in March and April were unlikely to be repeated because of improved health care capacity and planning across Europe. “The resurgence in cases will go for quite a few months. [But] it will probably never get to the same level as the first big wave in Spring”, said Mr Brusin.
Social care
Mail
The colossal cost of care in Britain has left two-thirds of homeowners over 50 worried about how they will pay their way in later life. In a damning indictment of the spiralling costs faced by many, nearly half of people aged over 50 with their own home think they will have to sell their property in order to be able to pay for their own care. Over 50s in the West Midlands and the North East of England are most concerned about the prospect of having to sell their home to pay for care in later life, while Londoners are the least worried, Nationwide’s latest research suggests. The cost of residential care has risen to around £33,000 a year and in the last 20 years over 330,000 people have had to sell their home to ensure they can keep up with the payments.
Planning
Times
Ministers are reviewing an algorithm at the centre of planning reforms after a backlash from Tory MPs. Under the changes to planning laws, local discretion over the rate of housebuilding will be removed and central government will “distribute” an annual target, at present 337,000 a year, between local councils that will be required to designate enough land to meet the target. Analysis by Lichfields, a planning consultancy, has suggested that outside London much of the new housing will be concentrated in Conservative local authority areas in the suburbs and the shires, rather than in town centres.
Climate change
Mail
Extinction Rebellion has dropped extreme claims about the end of humanity from a climate change film narrated by Keira Knightley. The London-based producer Serena Schellenberg admitted there was insufficient evidence to support apocalyptic claims ‘human extinction is a real possibility’ and ‘climate breakdown is already killing 400,000 people every year’. Climate scientists warned against ‘crying wolf’ as they disputed the claims, reported The Times. The film Climate Crisis and Why We Should Panic, launched on social media last year, featured the outlandish statements in the closing minutes.
Wheat
Times
Shoppers face paying more for a loaf of bread and a kilogram of flour amid predictions of the worst wheat harvest for 40 years. Farmers say that the wet autumn and dry spring have reduced the yield from their land by up to 40 per cent. Some millers have increased the price of flour by 10 per cent and warn that further rises are possible because the wholesale cost of wheat has risen by 12.5 per cent since the end of June. Higher flour prices can feed through to higher bread prices, although intense competition between supermarkets over the cost of staples could help to limit any increases.
A DECISION HAS BEEN TAKEN ! ….. Wow, I am truly impressed, yet it comes from the German Chancellor rather than our Government’s PM ! – Never mind, it is a decision taken upon the UK’s future. – It is not anti democratic, and it receives my Thanks ! ….. The decision is only to not have Brexit discussed, but it might show our people what a decision comprises of !
The British Fishing Waters ‘War’ is fast approaching, and our dumb-nut Government keeps telling themselves that ‘All will be well’ ! – PM Johnson who is known to have the highest regard for Winston Churchill, is in fact following Neville Chamberlain’s lead. – No preparation given for the obvious future ! – National humiliation awaits, with the gallows waiting for Johnson’s political future ! – Yet he continues to be blind to the obvious !
As I have said many times now, if you intend to deliver Sovereignty, it is necessary to TAKE IT ! – This is not an item that will be given to us, and force must be an option ! – Sovereignty covers so much more than fish. – It marks the return of what is ours, and our decision to ensure it is taken by right of Law. – Do it correctly and this matter will be dealt with and closed quickly !
Everything the EU/Germany do from now until 31st Dec is to keep us under the thumb of the ECJ to enforce the ‘level playing field’ to STOP Bonanza Brexit Britain becoming a Beacon for others to follow out of the EU because then the entire project will be finished – For Merkel and the EU Empire a Pied Piper Britain renders all their past and future efforts worthless.
The ‘NHS Waiting Lists’ issue will be the next MSM ‘raw meat’ with which to ‘tear apart’ the Govt once the ‘back to school’ issue fades away and is no longer ‘newsworthy’ as we have seem with ventilators, lockdown, PPE. ICU beds, testing, 2nd wave…………..
That NHS Waiting Lists would soar is so obvious, what would you expect when you effecrtively shiut down hospitals and NHS services to ‘save the NHS’? ;
A poor harvest? Perhaps they should stop putting food-derived alcohol into fuel.
JF
Rule Britannia etc at the last night of the Proms was always taken by me as a manifestation of the Nation’s objection to the EU and their increasingly Totalitarian regime
I say always, but it was increasingly so as the chains became more and more evident.
I’m sure there was a growing objection by the remain conspiracy to get rid of them
I canceled my TV licence on July 31 and got an email acknowledgement. Today I get an email reminding me to renew by August 28 with link to do so. When I examined it it had a hotmail address and said my post code was included to show authenticity. It was not. It’s a swindle. Watch out for this scam.
Michael, The TV Licensing authority in Darlington don’t send out emails when you cancel the TV licence. If you telephone them and answer their questions they make a decision straight away as to whether you need a licence or not and then send confirmation in writing. They send me a confirmation letter and also a refund for the past year which I hadn’t asked for. In my case I don’t have a TV at all and I told then someone could come and if they wished to. I think if you are honest and open with them and cooperate and are not obstructive, you are more likely to succeed.
Colin You will probably still recieve reminders every year no matter how many times you contact them to say you do not need a licence. People move house regularly and so they send out reminders automatically if an address does not have a licence.
Why not just throw every piece of communication from the BBC in the bin Never open them however much you are tempted. You have no legal obligation whatsoever to respond to them under any circumstances. If they turn up on the doorstep politely say ‘good-day’ and close the door. Never engage in conversation with them. NEVER, EVER invite them into your house, that is tantamount to submission to this disreputable organisation we wish to see the back of. They have no right to demand entry whatsoever.
Jake, It isn’t the BBC itself who collects the TV licence fees, but another agency on their behalf. TV Licensing informed that I will not receive any demands for payment, and so far that has been the case. It was they who refunded me monies paid this past year, and surely wouldn’t have done that only to bombard me with demands for payment via the post. However they did inform me that I would have to go through the process again in 2 years time
Thanks jake. That is more or less what I’ve been doing/intend to do. Colin I’m afraid the days are past when it pays to be open, honest, and polite to these bureaucratic bodies.
The news today just goes to prove that Angela Merkel is a strong leader by taking the Brexit issue of the agenda for a meeting between ambassadors. Can you really imagine our own prime minister acting in the interests of our country and putting an end to these futile trade negotiations, and force a clean break from the European Union. He is so damn weak it beggars belief. He is an utter waste of time. Please Boris resign your position now and allow somebody with a bit of gumption, common sense, positivity, decisiveness, with some get up and go, who is prepared to act in the country’s interests to take over and sort out the unholy mess that you have created. My Conservative Party membership card is on the verge of being binned forever. Only been a member since February, but Johnson has been a massive let down.
Is the Barnett Formula an early version of an algorithm?i
Now not fit for purpose, that’s assuming it ever was