Daily Update – March 19th

Politics.co.uk Staff

19 March 2021, 8:01am

Politics Live

5:30pm – And that’s all from us for this week! Join us again on Monday for more news, reaction and commentary.

5:11pm – More good vaccine news!

I make it 50% of the UK's 18+ population has now had at least one dose. You know what that means. British adults are now #HalfVaccinated

— Matt Singh (@MattSingh_) March 19, 2021

3:58pm – A demand for Sturgeon to step down from the Scottish Conservatives:

NEW: A resignation ultimatum from @ScotTories.

They argue Tuesday is @nicolasturgeon’s last chance to resign or she will face a vote of no confidence on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/KEODW4BJVF

— Joe Pike (@joepike) March 19, 2021

3:50pm – Just in case this hasn’t been hyped enough.

Analyst David Cowling agrees with me that elections on 6 May could biggest ever outside general election: "I cannot think of any other annual election where so many types were polled on the same day… By my estimate everyone in GB will have a vote of one sort or another."

— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) March 19, 2021

3:06pm – Some good news on a Friday afternoon!

🚨 NEW VACCINES RECORD 🚨

The figure reported today is the largest since the start of the rollout, beating the 609,010 reported on 31st Jan.

— Hugo Gye (@HugoGye) March 19, 2021

2:32pm – With neither side backing down expect this to rumble on for a while:

Scottish Green co-leader @patrickharvie: “I’ve never seen a committee process more compromised by leaks, MSPs pre-judging the evidence, and party politics over-riding the public interest."

— Nick Eardley (@nickeardleybbc) March 19, 2021

1:27pm – This could become an important fighting ground over the next few weeks.

With the mayoral election fast approaching, London residents are split over Sadiq Khan's handling of the pandemic

ALL LONDONERS:
Well 42% / Badly 39%

CON VOTERS
Well 19% / Badly 68%

LAB VOTERS
Well 60% / Badly 26%https://t.co/HR8erHwUHC pic.twitter.com/parmh5ZgvK

— YouGov (@YouGov) March 19, 2021

1:10pm – PM not standing by his man it seems:

Downing Street has slapped down @Jacob_Rees_Mogg over his use of parliamentary privilege to attack a journalist. Spokesman: “These are not comments that the prime minister would have made.”

— Nigel Morris (@NigelpMorris) March 19, 2021

12:55pm – And a chilling reminder of what is going on in China at the moment…

China has begun rounding up and sending the children of Uighur exiles to “orphan camps” where they are forced to speak Mandarin and parrot communist party propaganda, parents claim https://t.co/W2Bky0DVXf

— The Times and Sunday Times (@thetimes) March 19, 2021

12:45pm – Lockdown update from Wales.

The First Minister lays out his plans to further ease lockdown in Wales:

22 March – begin reopening non-essential retail and garden centres
27 March – lift 'stay local' rule, begin reopening tourism and potentially historic attractions

More detail here: https://t.co/CB9pQH2vAE pic.twitter.com/bFhHc1J68f

— ITV Wales News (@ITVWales) March 19, 2021

12:40pm – May not be UK politics but Macron’s approach is certainly raising a few questions:

https://twitter.com/nadinebh_/status/1372888221764440068

11:10am – Khan hits out at the handling of Sarah Everard’s vigil.

Sadiq Khan says he was "quite clear" that he thought the Government and police should ensure the Sarah Everard vigil could take place.

He says what happened in Clapham was a vigil not a protest. He said he was "surprised and angry" by what happened.

— Theo Usherwood (@theousherwood) March 19, 2021

10:48am – Ruth Davidson on the attack today after those revelations:

Whataboutery is what you go to when you've got no defence @RuthDavidsonMSP tells @GloriaDePiero on @TimesRadio – "Nicola Sturgeon knows the rules and if she's broken the rules she has to go." On now.

— Molly Guinness (@mollylguinness) March 19, 2021

9:14am – Insight into the SNP’s tactics for dealing with the Salmond story:

Essentially the SNP's strategy here: rubbish the official parliamentary inquiry report as "partisan from the outset" and focus on the independent inquiry because they think/know/hope it is less harsh on Nicola Sturgeon.

— David Mac Dougall (@davidmacdougall) March 19, 2021

8:15am – So what are the big news stories of the day?