Daily Update – July 27th

Politics Live

5:30pm – And that’s all from us today! Join us tomorrow for more news and updates.

5:00pm – Interested in a newly growing industry? Check out our features on CBD and the Cannabis industry…

4:04pm – Covid cases still falling, but deaths rise

Some mixed news as covid cases still fall, but deaths rise. Experts still warning people to be cautious.

2:58pm – Gove says unvaccinated are selfish

Michael Gove has called those who chose not to be vaccinated selfish: ‘Ultimately, if you can be vaccinated and you refuse to, that is a selfish act.’

1:56pm – Boris in prison blunder

Boris Johnson has courted controversy with comments about people who are convicted of antisocial behaviour: “If you’re guilty of antisocial behaviour…I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be out there in one of those fluorescent jacketed chain gangs”

11:32am – A great thread here looking at a £2 million project near Marble Arch that hasn’t gone exactly as planned…

11:15am – COP26 lead-up

The UK government’s COP26 spokeswoman announces key ways individuals can reduce environmental impact:

  • Don’t rinse before washing dishes
  • Freeze any left-over bread
  • Walk to the shops rather than drive
  • Recycle shampoo containers

9:46am – Tory worries over narrowing polls

Following on from our explanation of the beating crime plan below, Politico is reporting that the government has brought forward this plan after seeing polls narrow between Labour and the Tories.

Labour has been strong on crime in recent weeks. Starmer’s past as a lawyer puts him in a uniquely strong position to counter the government on a variety of issues and Labour is coming “armed with statistics” showing just how bad the crime rate has become.

Senior Tories are also reportedly worried that all forms of crime appear to be on the rise, and rapidly. There were 2 million reports of anti-social crime last year, the highest in seven years.

9:34am – Pandemic outlook

A longer quote here from Neil Ferguson on the pandemic:

“The effect of vaccines has been huge in reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death and I’m positive that by late September, October time we will be looking back at most of the pandemic.”

9:25am – Leading epidemiologist Neil Ferguson says the pandemic will be largely over by end of September according to the Evening Standard. Oh how we hope he’s right!

9:04am – Crime plan

The government’s crime plan has dominated much of the headlines this morning, but what is the fuss all about?

The Beating Crime Plan aims to cut homicide, serious crime and violence, and improve the police’s capacity to to deal with fraud and online crime.

But some of the methods being touted are highly controversial. Stop-and-search tactics already disproportionately impact BAME people and are being expanded in order to get knives off the streets.

The initiative will also see the creation of league tables for 101 and 999 call answering times so the public can see how quickly their local force is responding to calls for help. Labour leader Keir Starmer called this a “ridiculous gimmick”.

Priti Patel said: “We’re putting 20,000 new police officers on the street, equipping them with new powers to catch criminals and take away knives, and shutting down drug gangs who exploit children and the vulnerable to make money.”

But shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Little wonder that, on their watch, anti-social behaviour is rocketing, there are record low convictions for rape, and violent crime is devastating communities across the country.”

8:30am – Main headlines

And our own headlines of the day are:

  • PM pledges harsher tactics in anti-crime push
  • Education committee warns that children are being ‘left behind’ during the pandemic
  • Ministers cautious despite covid cases falling for a sixth consecutive day

8:20am – Paper Review

Many of the papers are dominated by sporting news after Team GB won three gold medals yesterday at the Tokyo Olympics, but what are the political headlines in the news today?

  • The Guardian: “Ministers urge caution as Covid cases plunge again” – Despite covid cases decreasing rapidly, ministers urge caution after lockdown rules were eased in England.
  • The Daily Telegraph: “Free burglars to wear 24 hour tags” – The Telegraph looks at Johnson’s crackdown on crime.
  • The Times: “PM gets tough on burglars” – A similar story leads The Times as it outlines the plan to extend use of tags, stop-and-search tactics and street cleaning for offenders.
  • Daily Express: “Chief constable rages: Police are nation’s ‘punch bags'” – The Express looks at the numbers of assaults against police officers, with the number given as 20,000 incidents during the pandemic.

8:00am – Welcome back to another day of Politics Live!