More than 1,000 laws have been vetted by the Queen or Prince Charles through a secretive procedure before they were approved by the UK’s elected members of parliament, the Guardian has established. The huge number of laws subject to royal vetting cover matters ranging from justice, social security, pensions, race relations and food policy through … Read more
The Guardian’s investigation revealing new detail on the impact of “Queen’s consent” in our legal system marks a significant advance in our understanding of an archaic and mysterious part of the UK constitution. It should prompt grave concerns about the practice’s continued existence. Queen’s consent is a procedural rule, internal to the workings of parliament … Read more
No one would blame Boris Johnson for wanting Covid-19 to be wiped out. The reality is that the disease is here to stay. New, more transmissible, variants have exposed the limits of trying to achieve herd immunity through vaccination. Sars-CoV-2 will be around for years. Viruses evolve usually into less deadlier forms. This time humanity … Read more
The Conservative party is under pressure to investigate a string of remarks about a Jewish MP by its members, including a prospective councillor who tweeted: “Keep the Aryan race going”. Sharon Thomason, who was selected last week as a Tory candidate for Warrington borough council, made the “repugnant” comment to the Labour MP Charlotte Nichols … Read more
The South African coronavirus variant is the single biggest threat facing the UK, the Labour leader has said, amid growing calls for the country to tighten its defences against new variants. Keir Starmer said it was important to “secure our borders” after concerns were raised that the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab may be less effective against the … Read more