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A health minister has denied there is a “plan C” to control COVID-19 by restricting household gatherings in England at Christmas if hospital admissions get worse.

Edward Argar told Sky News it is “not something I’m aware of” after reports claimed Whitehall officials are considering not allowing members of different households to meet in each other’s homes – as was the case most of last year.

The plan, the reports said, would be imposed if COVID-19 cases continue to rise towards Christmas and the government would want to minimise the economic impact by keeping shops, pubs and restaurants open.

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Javid: No need for ‘Plan B’ yet

But Mr Argar told Sky News’ Kay Burley: “I checked it out and I’m told that is not a story with foundation.

“Of course as a government, as we’ve done with Plan B, we look at alternatives and ways that you might, if you needed to, start easing that pressure [on the NHS] but the specifics that are mooted in it, about limiting household mixing, about going back, is that it isn’t something that’s being actively considered.

“There is no intention to reinvent lockdown, one of the reasons we did it last year is we didn’t have the vaccine and earlier this year it was still being rolled out.

“We also didn’t have these treatments – remdesivir and these treatments we announced yesterday – which prevent people going into hospital, so that’s what’s changed.

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“But the key message is get your jabs when you’re invited.”

He reiterated the health secretary yesterday urging anyone eligible to come and get their booster jab as concern grows over the slow uptake.

Sajid Javid told a news conference: “We’ve come so far, thanks to the efforts of so many, but with winter ahead we can’t blow it now.”

He warned of a “narrowing gap” between the vaccine preventing hospital admissions and deaths and said the public must “play their part, not just to save lives, but to keep your freedoms too”.

The health secretary said “Plan B” – mandatory vaccine passports, face coverings and work from home advice – will not be implemented yet but the government will “be staying vigilant”.

The NHS Confederation and the British Medical Association (BMA) has called on the government to implement Plan B now, with BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul claiming the government has “taken its foot off the brake”.

People aged 50 and over, and those aged 16 and over with a health condition that puts them at high risk from COVID-19, are being sent invitations to get their booster jab as winter comes.

But many have said they have not received their invitations, however, Mr Argar said if they have not and they had their last jab six months and a week ago they should go onto the NHS’ booster booking website or call 119.

The website, confusingly, still says eligible people can only book online if they have been contacted by the NHS.

As UK COVID-19 cases rise again, Mr Javid also suggested people should meet outdoors where possible, wear masks in crowded areas and make more use of lateral flow tests.

On Wednesday, 49,139 cases were reported – a 17% rise in a week – and Mr Javid said that could reach 100,000 a day.

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Rishi Sunak criticised for ‘surprise’ honours list including major Tory donor Mohamed Mansour

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Rishi Sunak criticised for 'surprise' honours list including major Tory donor Mohamed Mansour

Rishi Sunak has been criticised for announcing a “surprise” round of honours – including a knighthood for a major donor to the Conservative Party.

It was announced on the Thursday before the Easter bank holiday weekend that Mohamed Mansour was being knighted for business, charity and political service – he had given £5m to the Tories in 2023 and is a senior treasurer at the party.

A number of Conservative MPs were also made knights and dames.

Politics latest: Michael Gove predicts election date

Labour’s chair, Anneliese Dodds, said Mr Sunak‘s nominations were “either the arrogant act of an entitled man who’s stopped caring what the public thinks, or the demob-happy self-indulgence of someone who doesn’t expect to be prime minister much longer”.

Asked by Sky News if Labour would rule out giving donors honours if they were in government, Ms Dodds said giving money should not be an “automatic pass”.

Following the announcement, Mr Mansour said: “This award is the greatest honour of my life. I am thrilled and hugely grateful.

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“This award would have meant so much to my father and mother. I wish they could have lived to see this day. This honour is for them, for the values they taught my siblings and I and for everything they did for us.”

Downing Street sources highlighted Mr Mansour’s work supporting charities – including financially backing a memorial to those who died due to COVID.

Speaking to Sky News, Conservative peer and polling expert Lord Robert Haywood said the public would be “unhappy” with the move.

While some non-political figures – like director Christopher Nolan – were also knighted, it’s the political acts that will draw attention.

Mohamed Mansour, who has been knighted by Rishi Sunak. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Mohamed Mansour, who has been knighted by Rishi Sunak. Pic: Reuters

Lord Haywood said: “I think people don’t like it, there’s no question about that.

“The problem is that you’ve got people who are genuine philanthropists who also give money to a political party, and that’s where the line isn’t differentiated.”

He added that he was “really surprised” by the timing of the list – but it probably doesn’t say anything about the timing of a general election.

Normally, honours are granted at New Year’s on the monarch’s birthday, or after the resignation of a prime minister, although this is a convention not a rule.

The timing of the announcement, while parliament is in recess, has also raised eyebrows – although sources suggested the timing was linked to the need to make appointments to the Privy Council, including the new Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething.

Tory MP Philip Davies was one of the Conservative MPs to be made knight. He is known for hosting a television show on GB News with his wife, fellow Conservative MP and minister Esther McVey.

Ex-sports minister Tracey Crouch will become a dame having run a review into reforming the UK football system, and farming minister Mark Spencer will also become a sir.

Treasury Select Committee chair Harriett Baldwin – a Conservative MP – will also become a dame.

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Away from politics, Mr Nolan and wife and producer Emma Thomas have been handed honours following the release of award-winning biopic Oppenheimer.

Dr Demis Hassabis, who co-founded Google’s DeepMind AI business, was also made a knight.

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Labour can’t ‘turn taps on’ for struggling councils, Sir Keir Starmer warns at local election launch

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Labour can't 'turn taps on' for struggling councils, Sir Keir Starmer warns at local election launch

Sir Keir Starmer has warned that Labour “can’t pretend that we can turn the taps on” to help struggling councils if he wins the next general election.

The Labour leader was speaking in Dudley at the launch of his party’s campaign for the local elections on 2 May, which are taking place against the backdrop of a bleak financial picture for councils across the country.

One in five council bosses have said they think it’s likely or fairly likely they will go bankrupt in the next 15 months, while the Local Government Association, which represents local authorities, has said there is a £4bn funding shortfall over the next two years.

Asked by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby whether he would “commit that money”, Sir Keir replied: “Councils of all political stripes are struggling with the lack of funding they’ve had over a prolonged period.

“And we need to turn that around – we will do that.”

Politics latest: Starmer asked if he’s a ‘Tory in disguise’

Although he did not promise additional funding, he did suggest funding settlement arrangements could be altered to help councils – suggesting one-year settlements had been detrimental to councils’ budgets.

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“I think there is scope for different kinds of funding settlements,” he said.

“Talk to any council leader and they’ll say the one-year settlements are very difficult for us because we can’t spend money effectively and as well as we should.

“So it’s hard because there isn’t enough money. It’s even harder because it’s a one-year settlement. We can change that around with a three-year settlement.”

The shadow hanging over Labour policies is the dire state of public finances


Rob Powell Political reporter

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnews

While Sir Keir Starmer’s local election launch contained little new in the way of policy, it was still one of the clearest outlines of what drives the Labour leader as a politician and what would propel him in government.

Put simply – it is about restoring pride in the places people live and injecting a sense of integrity back into the workforces of those areas.

In a theme we’ll likely see returned to throughout the general election campaign, Sir Keir used the language of football to sketch this out – referring to the Potters of Stoke, the Glassboys of Stourbridge and the Hatters of Stockport.

Pride of place linked with the integrity of work given form through the plain-speaking language of football.

None of these identified problems are new.

This is the well of angst that lay behind the Brexit vote. This is the concept of ‘left behind’ communities Theresa May vowed to address. This is the problem to be solved through Boris Johnson’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.

So why should voters believe that this leader will prevail when so many others have failed? On this, there is still a considerable blank space. The answer being given today is devolution.

If local people are given more power over how to spend their money, this argument goes, they will spend it better and waste less.

The shadow hanging over all this is the dire state of the public finances. Or to put it another way, what many places need is cold hard cash.

The fiscal constraints Labour appears to be wrapping around itself means that money is not there though.  Squaring that circle will be the central tension within both this local election campaign and the coming race for Downing Street.

He added: “I can’t pretend that we can turn the taps on, pretend the damage hasn’t been done to the economy. It has. The way out of that is to grow our economy.”

At the end of last year, councils told residents they should be prepared for reduced services and tax rises due to increasing cost and demand pressures.

In Birmingham, where the Labour-run local authority declared bankruptcy after being hit with a £760m bill to settle equal pay claims, council tax will rise by 21% over the next two years while £300m in cuts will be brought in over the same period.

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Why are councils going bankrupt?

At the campaign launch, Sir Keir said it was “unforgivable” the Tories did not follow through on their pledge to level up left-behind areas of the UK and said he had hoped to launch “a different election campaign here today” but could not because the “prime minister bottled it”.

The Labour leader said Rishi Sunak wanted “one last drawn-out summer tour with his beloved helicopter” and added: “We need to send him another message, show his party once again that their time is up, the dithering must stop, the date must be set.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt claimed Labour’s local election launch was a “smokescreen” and that when it was in office the party “devolved no powers to local authorities”.

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Sir Keir Starmer speaks of ‘frustration’ at Boris Johnson’s ‘unforgiveable failure’ to level up – but says idea was ‘right’

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Sir Keir Starmer speaks of 'frustration' at Boris Johnson's 'unforgiveable failure' to level up - but says idea was 'right'

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted Boris Johnson was “right” to propose levelling up but said he was “frustrated” by the former prime minister’s “unforgivable” failure to deliver.

The Labour leader also claimed the policy, which defined Mr Johnson’s premiership, was “strangled at birth” by his successor, Rishi Sunak.

Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the launch of Labour’s local election campaign in Dudley, Sir Keir said “the idea” of levelling up that was put before the electorate in 2019 by Mr Johnson was “right”.

But he added: “What that requires – and this is where I get frustrated – is if you really believe that… I’m afraid you’ve got to roll your sleeves up, you’ve got to put a plan on the table, you go the hard yards.

“And so what is unforgivable about Boris Johnson is, having made that the focus, he didn’t do the hard yards of delivery and that’s why people feel even more let down.”

Politics latest: Starmer asked if he’s a ‘Tory in disguise’ – as he accuses Rishi Sunak of ‘bottling’ election

The Labour leader was equally critical of Mr Sunak, whom he said had “strangled levelling up at birth because he wouldn’t put the funding behind it – and we know what the consequences are.”

However, despite criticising the Conservatives for their failure to put money behind the policy, Sir Keir refused to commit any new funding to local councils, which are straddling an estimated funding gap of £4bn over the next two years.

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Starmer pushed on council funding crisis

He told Rigby his party “can’t turn on the spending taps” for cash-strapped local authorities but that funding settlements could be made longer to provide more stability.

“If we stabilise the economy, that will reduce inflation,” he said. “That’s been a big drag for councils.”

Another change Sir Keir put forward was a ban on no-fault evictions, which he said added to the “strain” on councils which then have to find alternative accommodation.

The ban on no-fault evictions is one of a number of measures that have been held up in the long-delayed Renters Reform Bill, which Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, has been accused of watering down to appease sceptical backbenchers.

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How Tory MPs could oust PM – and who could replace him

But Mr Gove said the Labour leader “couldn’t be more wrong” with his assessment of the government’s record.

“We are the party that’s been leading on levelling up for years now,” he said.

“The areas of the country in the Midlands and the North that Labour neglected for decades have had an infusion of cash and a power surge thanks to this Conservative government.

“We’re the people who’ve given power to mayors in the Tees Valley and in the West Midlands, who’ve had a decisive impact on raising wages, levering in investment, empowering local communities.

“Labour are late to this game and also they come with nothing new to say. No new money, no new powers, no plan at all.”

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