Weekly Roundup - 28/01

Your Comprehensive Guide to This Week's UK Politics Events.

The Covid Inquiry heads to Scotland

At this week’s Covid Inquiry in Scotland, it became clear that the Scottish government deliberately deleted WhatsApp messages to avoid scrutiny. Chief medical officer, Gregor Smith, admitted that he told colleagues to delete messages every day, and that erasing his own messages became a ‘pre-bed ritual’.?

First Minister Humza Yousaf, Health Secretary during the pandemic, apologised for the WhatsApp messages saga. This apology would be acceptable, if Yousaf had not said last October that he had retained all WhatsApp messages and was ready to hand them over to the Covid Inquiry. Moreover, messages emerged between Yousaf and Professor Jason Leitch in June 2021, showing that Yousaf admitted to ‘winging it’ in his response to the pandemic. He also asked Mr Leitch for advice on how he could personally bend the government’s face mask rules.

Messages also show that senior civil servants and ministers were actively deleting messages to avoid facing Freedom of Information requests. These FOI requests allow anyone to access information held by public bodies, and is integral to the government’s accountability to the public. Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to appear at the inquiry on Wednesday 31st January, and according to the inquiry has “retained no messages whatsoever”. The Scottish government was constantly critical of Boris Johnson’s response to the pandemic, and yet it appears that the SNP were just as bad.

Sunak's Rwanda Plan rejected by the Lords

Peers in the House of Lords backed a motion that urges the government not to ratify the Rwanda treaty. The motion passed by 214 votes to 171. The International Agreements Committee listed 10 issues with Rwanda’s asylum system, and thus argued that the treaty should be delayed until these are rectified. In short, the Lords believe that Rwanda unsafe, contrary to the government’s new Safety of Rwanda bill, and that its asylum systems are inadequate. The vote is not binding on the government, but could still delay the implementation of the Rwanda plan even further, as well as giving further legitimacy to rebel Tory MPs.

This debacle has highlighted the inherent democratic deficit of the House of Lords. The fact that this unelected and appointed body can delay legislation passed by the House of Commons is dumbfounding. In reality, these unelected peers should not be there at all, and their job certainly isn’t to delay or reject the will of the democratically elected chamber. The Rwanda scheme looked destined to fail from the start, but Sunak has triumphantly pushed on with this futile and unworkable policy, digging deeper and deeper into taxpayers pockets.

Read more here.

UK pauses funding to UNRWA

The UK government has paused its funding to the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), after Israel alleged that 12 of it’s members participated in Hamas’ 7th of October attacks. Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, said that the allegations were “extremely serious” and that it was “quite right that we suspend payments to them”.?

Other countries have also paused funding to the UN’s aid agency this week, including the USA, Italy, Australia and Canada. If it is true that UN members participated in Hamas’ awful attacks in October, governments should maintain aid to Palestinian civilians through other means. Avoiding collaboration with anybody associated with Hamas is a sensible decision. Politicians have rightly emphasised that the people of Gaza are victims of Hamas too, and thus that innocent Palestinians should be aided with all means necessary.

Sadiq Khan begs for votes from Lib Dems and Greens

With the London Mayoral election less than 100 days away, Sadiq Khan has urged Lib Dem and Green supporters to lend him their vote. London’s mayor is clearly aware of his unpopular record, and knows his aspirations for a third term hang in the balance.?

Lib Dem candidate Rob Blackie rejected Mr Khan’s appeal, and argued that he needed a “serious liberal challenger”. He went on to say that “Instead of getting on with the difficult business of governing our city, he has issued press release and press release and blamed everyone but himself for London's failures”. The campaign will likely be dominated by ULEZ backlash, the knife crime epidemic, public transport, and trust in the Metropolitan Police.?

This election will no longer use the Supplementary vote system and instead will use the?First Past the Post system, which is used at general elections. The former system allowed Londoners to select 2 candidates, with a first and second preference, whereas FPTP allows voters to choose one candidate only. Khan claims that the Conservative government changed the voting system and introduced mandatory voting ID to give Susan Hall a better chance. This argument is highly tenuous as everybody in London is eligible to receive a free ID from their local council. ID was required to watch London’s New Year firework display, which Khan claimed ownership of, despite being funded by taxpayers expense. So by Khan’s logic, ID should be required to watch fireworks, but not to vote in a city-wide election.?

Sadiq Khan is not a popular mayor, particularly since the radical expansion of ULEZ to the entire Greater London area. His polling lead is reflective of a national anti-Tory backlash, and not of Londoners' affection for his leadership.

USA to station nuclear weapons in the UK again

Pentagon documents reveal that nuclear warheads will be housed at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. This is the first time since 2008 that the USA has housed nuclear weapons on British soil, as it was believed then that Cold War tensions had cooled. 15 years on, the US government clearly feels that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, further deterrence is necessary. The warheads at the base will be three times stronger than the 1945 Hiroshima bomb. Russia has called it an “escalation” and warned that it would be met with “compensating counter-measures”.??

In recent weeks, NATO countries have warned their citizens to prepare for conflict with Russia. General Sir Patrick Sanders, head of the British Army, warned that the British Army was too small, and that the public would be called up to fight if there was a war with Russia. This decade could see a renewal of peak Cold War tensions, with the Russia-Ukraine war still ongoing, US and UK air strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the constant fear of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.?

Government considering restrictions on vape flavours

The government is considering restricting vapes to just four flavours, in a bid to discourage children from becoming addicted to nicotine. Rishi Sunak has previously stated that the marketing of e-cigarettes, with its bright and colourful packaging, along with the sweet flavours, are appealing to young people. While it is true that vaping can be a great way for smokers to quit, those who don’t smoke need to be discouraged from vaping, particularly children. The long term consequences of vaping are largely unknown, but they are unlikely to be positive, and several studies already link them to various lung and cardiovascular diseases.?

The King’s speech in November promised restrictions on the sale of vapes. The government is expected to announce new legislation to tackle this growing problem, and it is imperative that they do so, considering that 1 in 5 children have tried them. The appeal and availability of vapes must be reduced, as it is currently far too easy for teenagers to acquire them.