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Main story: Conservative MPs hope Cummings will go too
Hi, I’m Warren Murray, another Thursday morning, another carefully curated news mix to help you get up to speed quickly.
Lee Cain, one of Boris Johnson’s top advisers, resigned from No. 10 within hours of being promoted to the prime minister’s chief of staff. Differences with Carrie Symonds, the prime minister’s fiancée, are said to have been a factor in his departure. The possible elevation of the communications director is said to have sparked bitter infighting in the prime minister’s office. Critics of the administration have repeatedly cited how tensions between senior members of Johnson’s team, and his refusal to fire Dominic Cummings earlier this year, have hampered the country’s efforts to overcome the pandemic.
Cain, 39, was considered one of Johnson’s most loyal and discreet employees. Friends indicated that Cain had clashed with incoming Downing Street spokeswoman Allegra Stratton. Several conservative deputies expressed their satisfaction with the dispute. One said they would be “over the moon” if Dominic Cummings left too; worked with Cain on the Vote Leave campaign. Another said it was “an opportunity to get old Boris back and free him from the clutches of these people.”
A high-ranking deputy expressed hope that Symonds and his allies would slowly win a battle for influence with the prime minister, rather than Cummings. “Boris must seize this opportunity to go back to being the liberal unifier, fire some of these no-hopers from the cabinet and start a new team.” A Labor spokesman said: “The day the UK became the first country in Europe to report 50,000 coronavirus deaths and the public suffered another lockdown, the Boris Johnson government is fighting like rats in a sack over who gets what. job”. James Slack, the prime minister’s official spokesman and former political editor of the Daily Mail, will take over as communications director.
‘Fig leaf’ – Chinese officials could face more sanctions after the Communist Party disqualified four lawmakers as “unpatriotic” from the Hong Kong legislature, prompting a massive resignation from their pro-democracy fellow MPs. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Beijing had carried out “a new assault” on Hong Kong’s freedoms that were granted under the handover agreement when Britain returned the territory. US national security adviser Robert O’Brien said that China had “flagrantly violated its international commitments … ‘one country, two systems’ is now simply a fig leaf covering CCP policy. [Chinese Communist party] expanding the dictatorship of the one party in Hong Kong ”.
The next president gets down to business … Joe Biden is making good on his promise to begin the transition with or without the help of the Trump administration. The president-elect has appointed his chief of staff: Ron Klain, with whom Biden has worked since the 1980s, including during the presidency of Barack Obama. Pressure is mounting on Trump to concede defeat with several Republican governors among those who condemn his behavior. The loser of the election laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans Day, the only thing he appears to have done in a week other than visiting his golf club and tweeting unfounded claims of voter fraud. Could the president hold on through some kind of constitutional coup? Unlikely …
Nurse charged with eight baby murders – A nurse is due to appear in court today charged with eight counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder following an investigation into the deaths of infants in the neonatal unit at Countess of Chester Hospital. Police said 30-year-old Lucy Letby would appear in Warrington Magistrates Court to face the charges, related to the June 2015-June 2016 period. Letby was arrested for the third time Tuesday as part of an investigation. which started in 2017.
Getting reunion visas is ‘too dangerous’ – Children and adults are forced to navigate war zones, risk sexual violence or imprisonment and pay smugglers so they can exercise their right to a family reunion visa to enter the UK, the UK has said. Red Cross. The documentation must be presented in person and reach the Visa Access Centers (VACs) run by the Ministry of the Interior in countries presenting serious dangers in countries such as Eritrea, Sudan, Iran and Syria. The Red Cross says that people should be able to submit their documentation online and only have to travel to a VAC to receive their visa once approved. The Interior Ministry says it needs to collect biometric data from applicants and run security checks.
God save the date – Britain is expected to be treated with an additional day off in 2022 to mark the Queen’s 70th birthday on the throne. Instead, the May holiday weekend will last four days starting Thursday, June 2, 2022 to allow for what is billed as a “blockbuster” celebration of the Platinum Jubilee. Following a tradition dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria, a Platinum Jubilee Medal will be awarded to people who work in the public service, such as personnel in the armed forces and emergency services.
Podcast Today in Focus: Can Friendship Triumph Over Politics?
Karen Ward and Karen Cotter live in the city of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. There is one thing they really disagree on: politics and, in particular, Donald Trump. Despite all that distinguishes them, these two women have become close friends and believe there is a way to heal the political rift that has torn so many communities apart in the past four years.
Can friendship triumph over politics?
Lunchtime Reading: Why Intersectionality Matters
Kimberlé Crenshaw, a lawyer and one of the most influential black feminist legal theorists in the United States, founded “intersectionality,” the idea that different forms of discrimination, such as sexism and racism, can overlap and compound each other. From police brutality to sexual harassment, she fights to ensure that the experiences of black women are not ignored. So why are your ideas being denounced?
Sport
Ninety-two hopefuls will line up for the Masters at Augusta with the sport of golf nervous about what will happen if Bryson DeChambeau proves that this iconic course can be dismantled for power. Gareth Southgate says Greg Clarke had no choice but to resign his position as FA president after making comments that were “not acceptable” on Tuesday. Joe Gomez has suffered an injury at St George’s Park in preparations for today’s friendly between England and the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.
Professional footballers have been left in the dark during the pandemic, and female players’ unions in 47 countries (69%) reported that communication from clubs and leagues has been poor or very poor. Former captain Dylan Hartley was a surprise addition to England’s training bubble on Wednesday when Eddie Jones’s team stepped up preparations for their first fall Nations Cup game against “brutal” Georgia. Wales fired their defense coach, Byron Hayward, after a first home loss to Scotland in 18 years on Halloween, but of the players who started at Llanelli that afternoon 14 have kept their places for the first Nations Cup game. Fall Friday against Ireland in Dublin. And British Cycling has fired the coach tasked with helping Jason Kenny become Britain’s most successful Olympian in Tokyo next year for serious misconduct after “repeated warnings that his behavior did not meet expected standards.”
Deal
Britain’s low- and middle-income households are “sleepwalking into a debt crisis” after a sharp increase in emergency loans to cope with the Covid-fueled recession. Debt charity Stepchange found that household loans and arrears linked to the coronavirus pandemic have soared 66% since May to £ 10.3bn. The number of people who are in debt has nearly doubled to 1.2 million since March. The FTSE 100 is set to drop 1% when it opens later this morning. The pound is at $ 1,321 and € 1,122.
The papers
The splash of the third edition in the guardian It is “Downing Street in crisis after a key Johnson adviser resigned.” Our previous leader on the cover was the government admitting that millions can receive vaccines that are less effective if they become available more quickly than the most promising versions. the Telegraph has “PM advisor resigns in power battle number 10” and in the Times is done as “Brexiteer resigns to number 10 after power struggle”.
“For the love of God, let them hold hands” – the Mail campaigns for Christmas family reunions for nursing home residents, while “Meltdown at No. 10” is a puff on top, with a picture implicating Carrie Symonds in Cain’s departure (“Carried away” could have been a start there, well). “Vaccine safe enough for my mother” says the Mirror, a sentiment expressed by Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer. In a dubious move the Meter goes with “Van-Tam: jab for mam”.
the I He has more advice from Van-Tam: “Save vaccines for the NHS” – he said they should be distributed as needed and not sold privately, so the rich can’t jump the line. the Sun I put a few words about TV celebrities in a bag, shook it, and this headline fell: “The only Wales is Essex. the Financial times has a story we’ve covered here: “Sunak Reviews Goals of Raising Capital Gains Tax to Increase Coffers.” Phrases like “review goals” and “increase coffers” are probably in the keyboard shortcuts in the FT.
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