Political editor, @theipaper. Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg. Get in touch: hugo.gye@inews.co.uk
Jul 8 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Rachel Reeves says in 1st speech as Chancellor that the economy has suffered from "decisions deferred and decisions ducked".
Confirms that she will hold a Budget later this year - date will be announced "in due course".
Labour govt will aim to make "taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible".
Commits to no increase in rates of national insurance, VAT or income tax - basic, higher *or* additional rate.
Aug 10, 2022 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
James Cleverly on Today programme re Truss plans for cost of living: "For the people who won’t benefit directly from tax cuts, she is looking at targeted help."
Another Truss-backing MP going off piste? Or early signs of the supertanker turning around??
Jan 19, 2022 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Boris Johnson confirms at #pmqs that he will shortly set out plans to "ease Plan B and restore our ancient liberties".
Faced with wall of noise from Tory MPs, Keir Starmer jokes: "I'm sure the chief whip has told them to being their own boos."
Oct 19, 2021 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Lots of noise this morning about boosters. True that they are not going as quickly as they should, but it's not as bad as some are suggesting.
Last week there were 1,269,836 boosters administered in 🏴 - an average of 181,405 per day. The previous week it was 161,078 per day.
That's the same rate of daily jabbing as early-mid January, shortly before there was a significant ramp-up of the pace.
53.5% of eligible people aged 80+ have had their booster, and 38.2% of eligible people aged 70-79. So even at current sub-optimal speed, it's making an impact.
Jul 20, 2021 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
I've written up some thoughts for today's @theipaper on how the vaccine rollout - which is now almost our only line of defence against covid - has gone over the past seven months. inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
@theipaper People sometimes say that the UK started well but squandered its lead. This isn't really true: UK has administered more doses per head of population than any comparable country, will be overtaken by Canada but perhaps no others.
Jul 19, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi tells Commons that immunosuppressed children aged 12+, plus those with neurodisabilities and severe learning disabilities, will be offered covid jabs. Most other teenagers will not get the vaccine for now.
Children 12+ who live with someone who is immunosuppressed (but not other clinically extremely vulnerable people) will also get a vaccine, as will anyone who is within 3mths of their 18th birthday.
Jul 19, 2021 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
I'm going to stop tweeting the daily vaccine numbers after today. Will obviously still be covering vaccines (a lot) and will tweet updates from time to time - but I had to stop at some time and 'freedom day' seemed as good a time as ever.
In truth the headline number has become decreasingly meaningful as demand has dwindled: what we're doing now is catching up with 2nd doses for all those already single-jabbed, and trying to eke out demand among those who haven't yet got round to getting their 1st.
54,262 in 🏴 (NB this is two days' worth due to IT issue yesterday)
26,225 in 🏴
For England, this is a slight fall on the figure reported last Friday. The UK number will be higher than last Friday's but that's artificial thanks to the Scotland overcount.
Jan 29, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Vaccines hero Kate Bingham on her reaction to the Novavax success: "When I heard the news last night, I'm afraid I broke the Dry January rule and celebrated with a glass of wine." #r4today
How did UK secure vaccine supplies? Bingham: "We were clearly at a disadvantage in terms of size and buying power so the way we chose to address that was by being nimble, and as co-operative and supportive as we possibly could be."
(no data from 🏴 today due to 'IT issue')
The England figure is a small dip on yesterday, and down around 20% week on week.
Ministers & govt scientists have always said there would be fluctuations, which is fair enough, but frustratingly have refused to explain exactly why these changes are happening.
Jan 27, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Full story now @theipaper: Covid lockdown will remain until at least 8 March, with schools staying closed after half-term inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
UK's scientific advisers will examine the relevant data in weeks beginning 15th Feb, and submit their findings to ministers.
The next week, govt will publish a road map for the 'unlockdown'.
24,728 in 🏴
22,697 in 🏴
This is pretty disappointing. It's the first time we've seen a week-on-week fall in the England figures - a week ago the number was 301,362.
Jan 10, 2021 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Covid-19 hospital patients are less and less likely to end up in an intensive care unit since the start of the virus' 2nd wave.
The fall is particularly sharp among older patients, and in London.
My analysis of PHE data in @theipaper: inews.co.uk/news/analysis/…
As this graph shows, among all age groups the number of ICU admissions as a proportion of all hospital admissions has been steadily falling since week 40 (ie start of Oct).
Figures for 65-74 and 75-84 groups seem to have experienced the steepest decline. inews.co.uk/news/analysis/…
Jan 5, 2021 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
NEW
Boris Johnson says 1.3m people have been vaccinated across UK, 1.1m in England.
650,000 of them are over-80 which is 23% of that cohort.
DAILY UPDATES ON VACCINATION FIGURES ARE COMING FROM MONDAY!
Jan 4, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Matt Hancock tells @LBC that "at the moment" the UK is expecting to receive & administer half a million Ox/AZ doses a week. Claims that will increase in the near future.
Urging public to follow the rules closely, Hancock says: "We've only got a few more weeks of this - we have a vaccine, the cavalry is here."
Govt confirms it will drop funding for NHS staff free parking at hospitals
Ministers resist calls to make emergency scheme permanent inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
Instead of free parking for all staff, DHSC will fund NHS trusts to scrap charges for night shift workers only, plus disabled patients and parents of seriously ill children: inews.co.uk/news/politics/…
Have written for @TheCriticMag on the failure (so far) of Dominic Cummings & Michael Gove to live up to the radical ideas they espouse in their writings & speeches: thecritic.co.uk/dont-do-as-i-d…
Cummings knows that alternative viewpoints within a team make it stronger; yet he merrily purged dissident Tories. thecritic.co.uk/dont-do-as-i-d…
May 29, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
NEW
Newly released Sage minutes reveal that on 13th March, govt scientists warned that 'seeking to completely suppress spread of Covid19' through a full lockdown would lead to a second peak in the virus, even as lockdowns were starting to be imposed across Europe.
'SAGE was unanimous that measures seeking to completely suppress spread of Covid19 will cause a second peak. SAGE advises that it is a near certainty that countries such as China, where heavy suppression is underway, will experience a second peak once measures are relaxed.'
May 29, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Update on new rules for Hongkongers seeking to live/work in UK: Home Office appears to confirm that if China presses on with security law, *all* 2.9m 'British nationals (overseas)' in Hong Kong will be allowed to come to UK whether or not they *currently* hold a BN(O) passport.
Details at homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/05/29/med…. Latest figures show 349,881 people hold BN(O) passports but many more are eligible to apply for one.
