The Weekly Politics Digest!

Hello and welcome back to the latest instalment of the Weekly Digest politics blog – a brief and often wry synopsis of the last week’s political going’s on in N Ireland, U.K. and USA. I held off on publishing earlier in the week, as I was awaiting the outcome of the Sturgeon-Salmond saga in Scotland, among other things. That just means it’s now a bumper, roll over, extra large, double whopper with cheese version this week! In the week that incorporated an uncharacteristically subdued St Patrick’s celebration, Joe Biden still found time to nail his Irish colours to the mast, although he has been reasonably surefooted on the issue of N Ireland, and his support for the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process. If only he had been as surefooted on the steps of Air Force One! 🙈 He will be hoping for no stumbling over the passage of his latest key piece of legislation – the HR1 Act! We’ll swing back round to all of that later, but first let’s catch up on developments in NI and the wider U.K.

In N Ireland this week one of the most intractable of issues has resurfaced. No, it’s got nothing to do with the NI protocol or sectarianism or borders or flags. (Although, I’ll be coming back to flags a bit later). No, it concerns the emotionally charged abortion debate. This is one of those thorny issues that our dysfunctional administration really struggles to deal with. Northern Ireland’s abortion laws changed last March after Westminster opportunistically acted during the absence of devolution, in order to bring NI into line with existing U.K. legislation on the issue. However, full implementation of the legislation here has been painfully and deliberately slow. And now the DUP, which opposed the changes to the abortion laws by Westminster, has proposed a piece of legislation at Stormont seeking to restrict abortions in cases of non-fatal disabilities. The bill passed the crucial second reading stage this week. Sinn Féin abstained but also called on the Health Minister, Robin Swann, to commission full abortion services as required under the regulations. SDLP, UUP and Alliance allowed their MLA’s a free vote of conscience.

It’s almost a year exactly since the UK government introduced the abortion laws that were supported by Westminster MPs but opposed by a number of Northern Ireland parties who accused No 10 of trampling over devolution. The law changes meant abortion laws in Northern Ireland altered significantly last year, but the commissioning of full services has been stalled due to differences within the five-party NI Executive.

So, this week NI Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, decided to take decisive action, given the lack of progress and the fact that both the NI Executive and The UK government face a legal challenge by the NI Human Rights Commission over the issue. Lewis revealed that the U.K. Government will make an unprecedented move to give him new powers to compel Stormont to implement the abortion laws. The move will let him direct Northern Ireland’s Department of Health to commission the services. DUP Leader, Arlene Foster and DUP MP, Jeffrey Donaldson both met with Brandon Lewis to voice their displeasure. Donaldson later said the DUP would “vigorously oppose such steps” and warned that the government “should leave it with the devolved structures to make such decisions”. For his part, the NI Health Minister, Robin Swann, has stated that he is unwilling to authorise full implementation of the legislation without full Executive approval. This may be seen as a bit of a cop out, as he knows full well there will never be agreement on this issue!

As stated here last week, the appropriate marking of the centenary of the formation of the state of Northern Ireland is proving to be predictably contentious. Now a row has erupted over a proposal by Unionist parties to build a stone monument in the grounds of Stormont to mark the centenary year. But the Assembly Commission which runs Northern Ireland’s government buildings, said it had been unable to reach the “required consensus” between parties.

In a joint statement the DUP, Ulster Unionists and TUV parties accused Sinn Fein of a “shameful exercise” in opposing the monument, adding they were “dismayed” at the commission’s decision. However, Sinn Fein said “Unfortunately, the proposed stone has been designed and commissioned by representatives of one tradition and reflects only one political perspective.”

In a joint statement, DUP leader Arlene Foster, UUP leader Steve Aiken and TUV leader Jim Allister said “We are dismayed by the refusal of the Commission to permit this project, which would not have cost the public purse as our respective parties and MLAs were committed to funding it..” “This is the party that talks most about respect for all communities, but when a modest proposal was made on behalf of the wider unionist community it was callously vetoed,” they said.

Interestingly, however, the Social Democratic and Labour Party and cross community Alliance, said they supported the proposal. Surely, Sinn Fein could just have abstained from the decision, if they didn’t want to be seen to endorse it, as has been done with other issues? Exercising their veto on this just comes across as a little petty and vindictive. Of all the centenary proposals this was probably one of the more mundane and fairly predictable ones. Having said that, some might argue that Stormont and its extensive grounds has more than enough exclusively unionist symbols and statues already! Whatever your view, this doesn’t bode well for the rest of the year! 🙈

Education Minister, Peter Weir, was back doing what he does best last week – winding up teachers! After previously promising to give two week’s notice of any further changes to the school Covid regulations/restrictions, he duly ignored this pledge to announce an earlier than planned return to school for years p4-7. He gave primary schools around 4 days notice to plan and prepare for this! 🤦🏻‍♂️ This is on top of asking schools to facilitate the distribution of lateral flow testing kits in schools, as well as manage the stringent assessment process for awarding GCSE and A level grades at Secondary level.

Mr Weir’s name was also mentioned quite frequently during the NASUWT teaching union’s Annual NI Conference last week, which was held online via Zoom. There was mention of Weir’s perceived general failure to defend a profession which has gone out on a limb throughout the pandemic, from the frequent bouts of ill-informed teacher bashing which has been in evidence on some social media sites and talk radio shows. He was also heavily criticised for his dithering and indecision over school closures, failure to provide adequate protection for staff and, in particular, in relation to this year’s p7 transfer test shambles. No matter what side of the academic selection debate you sit on, the prevarication and delay, culminating in eventual last minute abandonment was shambolic and only added to pupils and parents stress and anxiety levels! NASUWT NI President, Angela Wallace, stated in her speech that it was time to consider realistic alternatives to the arbitrary testing of children at the age of eleven. Reference was made to the highly successful academic model in Finland, where there is no academic selection and yet educational outcomes are much better. Now was the time to restructure our education system, said Wallace. Not much chance of that, however, if the Education Minister has anything to do with it as he is, of course, a strong advocate for maintaining academic selection.

And finally for N Ireland, there’s always time for a wee ‘fleg’ controversy! We are hopelessly wedded to our nationalistic symbols and flags, in particular, are like red rags to a raging bull when hoisted in the wrong place or when they’re not being hoisted often enough or at all, for some! It’s complicated! Well, this week saw the U.K. government issuing new guidance regarding the flying of the Union flag on public buildings.

In future the flag will be flown every day on government buildings in Great Britain! Currently, it is flown on around 20 designated days in England, Scotland and Wales, but from the summer it can be flown all the time. However, in N Ireland the flag will continue to be flown only on designated days, as flags and emblems remain such a contentious issue here. In 2012 a decision by Belfast City Council to restrict the number of days on which the Union flag is flown from City Hall sparked widespread protests and disorder.

Predictably, the DUP are outraged, with party leader Arlene Foster speaking out along with Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, among others. Donaldson said it is “bizarre” the UK government is “only deciding in 2021 to fly the Union flag, the flag of our nation, on all government buildings every day”. For Nationalists, there is some irony in the fact that the DUP want absolute parity with GB on things like flying the Union flag, but want to have special opt outs on things like marriage equality or abortion. Whatever your view on this, I’ll wager that this is one reopened sore that is going away anytime soon, no matter what sort of sticky plasters are applied!

Let’s take the ferry to Scotland for a moment, as the bridge is still at the Boris pipe dream stage! A Committee of MSP’s have returned their verdict on Nicola Sturgeon an have concluded that she misled the Holyrood Inquiry into her Government’s botched sexual misconduct probe into Alex Salmond. They ruled by 5 votes to 4, that the First Minister gave an “inaccurate” account of a meeting with her predecessor during the live investigation into allegations of alleged sexual misconduct against him. This Committee ruling had put Sturgeon under considerable pressure to resign and she was facing a motion of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament this week. This may well have gone against her had it not been for the independent investigation by Irish lawyer James Hamilton which concluded on Monday that Ms Sturgeon had not breached the Ministerial Code. He said Ms Sturgeon had given an “incomplete narrative of events” to MSPs, but that he believed this was a “genuine failure of recollection” and not deliberate.

Subsequently, the First Minister survived the dreaded vote of no confidence at Holyrood over her government’s handling of complaints against Alex Salmond. The confidence vote was tabled by Tory MSP Ruth Davidson, who said nobody had taken responsibility for the failures. But in the event, MSPs voted by 65 to 31 to reject the motion, with the Greens backing the SNP and Labour and Lib Dems abstaining. Ms Sturgeon said she “may not have got everything right” in her handling of the matter, but insisted that she “acted appropriately and made the right judgements overall”. All of this comes only weeks before the next Scottish Parliament elections, which will be seen as a litmus test for the SNP’s aspirations for Scottish independence!

It now transpires that Alex Salmond has formed an entirely new Scottish nationalist party, called Alba. A genuine attempt to maximise the nationalist vote in the partially PR based forthcoming election or a petulant and vengeful vanity project? More the latter, I would think! Nicola Sturgeon must be wondering if she can ever remove this particular Alba-tross from round her neck! (See what I did there?)

Coincidentally, the Scottish government has published draft legislation for the holding of a second independence referendum. The SNP says it will attempt to pass the bill if May’s election returns a majority of MSPs who back independence. The other main parties in Holyrood are opposed to another referendum, as is Boris Johnston, of course, who is certain to refuse to grant permission for it. Where’s Mel Gibson when you need him? Constitutional crisis anyone?

The right to protest has been centre stage in the U.K. this week, following controversy surrounding the events at the vigil for the murder victim, Sarah Everard, the anti-lockdown protest in London, then the scenes of violence and mayhem in Bristol at a protest about the right to protest! It did strike me as being a bit ironic that people would try to persuade the government of their right to legitimately protest by rioting! That might be a tad counterproductive, you would think? Having said that, heavy handed policing has been blamed by protesters for escalating the trouble in Bristol. All of these events have occurred amid attempts by the government to legislate against protesting while the coronavirus restrictions continue. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a wide ranging piece of legislation that includes major government proposals on crime and justice in England and Wales. One part of it covers changes to protests.

Concern over the government’s limitation of the right to protest have grown after it emerged that the home secretary, Priti Patel, wants to grant police greater powers to control demonstrations even after the Covid restrictions are lifted. Patel recently described last year’s Black Lives Matter protests as “dreadful” after previously calling them illegal, which probably tells you all you need to know about where she sits on the political spectrum! The Bill being presented to Parliament also includes provisions for much heavier sentencing (up to 10 years!) for the removal or vandalising of public monuments. Some people have pointed to the fact that this contrasts markedly with lower sentences and poorer sentencing outcomes for things like violence against women.

A group of MPs and peers on the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) have fundamentally disagreed with Patel’s attitude to protests, however, stating in a report that the right to protest should be just as fundamental as people’s rights to worship – and should be treated the same in any future lockdowns. Committee chairman Harriet Harman said: “The law on the right to protest during the pandemic has been a mess and the right to protest has not been protected.”

Campaign groups such as Liberty also argue that police already have extensive powers to control or ban protests and arrest individuals who stray from police-imposed conditions. There is growing concern that the government has used the pandemic to suffocate protest. Gracie Bradley, the interim director of Liberty, said Covid regulations passed as emergency laws appear to create a blanket ban on organising and attending protests, which was a disproportionate restriction of human rights. “It’s a failure to prioritise what is the exercise of a fundamental democratic right and one that is all the more important given the government’s propensity to sideline parliament in the course of dealing with this pandemic,” she said. “The government is clearly intent on shielding itself from scrutiny, whether it’s parliament, freedom of information, or protest.”

Policing minister Kit Malthouse said any claim that planned reforms were linked to the temporary ban on protests during the lockdown was “inaccurate.” In a statement, Malthouse added: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy and the government will be in the vanguard of protecting our inalienable right to express our views by nonviolent means. …But this must be carefully balanced with the rights of others to go about their business, and not seek to prevent the operation of our democracy. That is why we undertook some time ago to review the 30 year old public order legislation, to make sure we have that delicate and important balance right.” So, not another opportunistic power grab to restrict people’s civil liberties and restrict legitimate scrutiny of government, then? Why am I not convinced? 🧐

In the same week that Boris Johnston received his vaccine jab, and when the government was gleefully celebrating the successful vaccine roll out thus far, a major rift between the U.K. and EU over vaccine supply is threatening to boil over. The EU is accusing the U.K. of overt vaccine nationalism and selfishness and may even threaten to prevent the export of vaccines produced in the EU to the U.K., if a compromise cannot be reached. This would up the ante considerably and place further strain on already deteriorating relations between the EU bloc and Brexit Britain.

Matt Hancock was also forced into a humiliating climb down last week. Only hours after heralding the success of the U.K. vaccine roll out to date, the Health Secretary had to face the cameras again to reassure the public that the UK remains on course to vaccinate those aged 50 and above by 15 April, despite a NHS letter warning of a “significant reduction” of vaccine supplies from 29 March. “Vaccine supply is always lumpy and we regularly send out technical letters to the NHS to explain the ups and downs of the supply over the future weeks, and what you’re referring to is a standard one of those letters,” Hancock told a press conference. Lumpy? Really, Matt? Is that the best explanation you could come up with? Is that a technical term? 🤦🏻‍♂️

The PM joked this week that “greed” and “capitalism” had been key to the UK’s vaccine success! More a Freudian slip, than a joke, perhaps? The PM made the remark during a virtual meeting with 1922 Committee of right wing Tory MPs this week. But following a speech in London, Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband said the story of the pandemic was not one of greed, but of the British people “looking out for each other.”

Asked about the PM’s comments, the former Labour leader said: “I think it is, sort of, ‘the mask slips’, isn’t it? There is no doubt that Boris Johnston was playing to a very particular gallery when he made the remarks, and they may very well come back to haunt him at some point!

The UK and the European Union have now said they are working together to improve their relationship, after weeks of tensions over Covid vaccine supplies. In a joint statement, they said they wanted to “create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all”. The European Commission had caused widespread consternation earlier in the week as they proposed tougher export controls on vaccines, amid tensions over supplies of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that “blockades” were not “sensible”. The joint UK-EU statement said that “openness and global co-operation” would be key to tackling the pandemic. “We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes co-operation between the EU and UK even more important,” it said. “We will continue our discussions.”

Right, let’s head stateside to catch up on what’s been happening across the big pond. With a depressing regularity, the US chalked up another mass shooting incident last week which some may see as a product of the toxic race relations legacy left festering by Donald Trump!

After ex-President Donald Trump’s ignorant comments about “the China virus” and “kung flu” many Asian Americans feel that they’ve increasingly been targeted for racial abuse and worse. Hate crimes against them are up 150% since Covid-19 reached the US. Asian Americans have been verbally abused and told to go back “home.” Basketball star Jeremy Lin was even called “coronavirus” while playing. In the shooting incident in question, four people were killed at Tan’s Cherokee County spa in Georgia. Four more were killed about an hour later at two spas some 30 miles away in Atlanta. Six of the victims were Asian women, so there was clearly some sort of racial motive. Having said that, this was only one of several mass shootings throughout the USA over the last week or two. All of this prompts the usual questions about the need for more gun control. We know this was something which Joe Biden unsuccessfully tried to initiate while Vice President in the Obama administration. Will he revisit the issue now that the numbers are more in his favour in Congress? Who knows?

As mentioned last week, it’s decision time for the the HR1 Bill in Congress this week and this has prompted President Biden to make a full frontal assault on Georgia’s new voting restrictions, calling them 21st-century “Jim Crow” laws and urging Congress to pass election reform bills. Biden told reporters that the new law is an “atrocity.”

In the statement, Biden called on Congress to pass HR1, or the “For the People Act,” which would reform ballot access and campaign finance. The House passed the bill earlier this month but it faces an uphill battle in the Senate amid intense Republican opposition, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell describing it as “rigging the system.”

Biden also urged Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would bring back Voting Rights Act protections that the Supreme Court previously took down. Fascinatingly, the President has also expressed an openness to scrapping the filibuster for “certain things that are just elemental to the functioning of our democracy, like the right to vote.” Vice President Kamala Harris echoed Biden’s support for Congress to pass election reform, telling reporters that the recent Georgia law was intentionally designed to block “whole populations from voting.”

In response, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger criticized characterizations of the law as intending to restrict voter access, saying that it instead implements new security measures and expands access. Yeah right, Brad! The HR1 Bill is a genuine attempt to prevent any party, state or individuals from distorting the democratic process by restricting voting access to gain political advantage and to prevent discrimination on the grounds of class or race. It is also an attempt to address the bogus claims of widespread voting fraud that were propagated by the Trump administration. It’s about restoring people’s faith in the democratic process! Why would anyone who purports to be a democrat (with a small d!) object to that? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Joe Biden gave his first full on press conference since becoming president this week. Here are the major talking points we can take away from it. Biden was pressed on the renewed influx of migrants seeking entry at the US southern border. His responded by saying that the problems are “cyclical”, made worse by Donald Trump’s administration. Having appointed Vice-President Kamala Harris as the newly named ‘immigration czar’, his policies will aim to “rebuild” he says. Kamala may well see this one as a bit of a poison chalice, given the delicate and intractable nature of this issue. A clever move by Joe to dodge some responsibility, perhaps?

Reporters asked a number of questions about the Democrats threat to remove the filibuster mechanism – a rule that requires 60 out of 100 Senators to pass major legislation. Some Democrats argue this rule should be changed to a simple majority, so the 50 Democrats in the chamber can push through a progressive agenda. Today, Biden said he was open to change but didn’t get into specifics. Well, of course he didn’t! This is a highly sensitive topic, which will require adept political manoeuvring by the Biden administration.

Biden had attempted to set a positive tone from the beginning of the press conference by announcing he would be doubling his initial promise to have 100 million vaccines administered in his first 100 days. “That’s right, 200 million shots in 100 days… no other country has come close to what we’re doing”, he said! This would indeed be some feat if they can pull it off! One would assume Joe has done his homework and they can!

Oh, and when pressed by reporters, Joe didn’t rule out a second term in office, either! Interesting! I think a lot will depend on him staying in good health and fighting fit for the rigours of another bruising election campaign, though!

It was a confident and assured performance from President Biden in his first full press conference since becoming President, in stark contrast to his ascent up the obviously slippery steps of Air Force One. A lot was made of this incident in the press, but having watched the video of the incident, I can honestly say it could have happened to anyone, and he actually handled it quite well, brushing off questions about his age and apparently failing agility with relative ease and good humour. I would argue that falling upwards three times and then bouncing straight up again, is actually quite impressive! A word to the wise, though, Joe – smooth heeled shoes and shiny metal are always a potential recipe for a slapstick mishap! 🙈

On a more positive note and on ground where Joe Biden is clearly more comfortable, there was the annual St Patrick’s Day meeting between the President and the Irish Taoiseach, albeit virtually this year due to Covid.

“Everything between Ireland and the Untied States runs deep,” Biden, told Micheál Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, to kickstart their meeting.

The Irish government sent a bowl of shamrocks to the White House in an effort to maintain a tradition that’s been upheld since the Harry Truman presidency. Biden also attended the annual “Friends of Ireland” lunch traditionally held at the U.S. Capitol, but was held virtually this year. Martin said that the bowl of shamrocks, which sat in between Biden and the screen on which Martin appeared, was a symbol of the “undying friendship” between the two countries. “I know, Mr. President, that St. Patrick’s Day is very special to you as a proud son of Ireland. Equally, I have to tell you, the people of Ireland are so proud of your election,” Martin said, adding that he was eager for Biden to visit Ireland once the pandemic ends and he also hoped to make a trip to the U.S. Biden and Martin went on to discuss Covid-19, security issues and Northern Ireland. Biden emphasised his support for the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement. “On the Good Friday Agreements, we strongly support them and think it is critically important that they be maintained,” Biden said.

In President Biden, we have perhaps the most Irish American president since John F. Kennedy, and his election was greeted with great affection and warmth,” Martin said in an interview with MSNBC ahead of the meeting. “I will be thanking him for his consistent support for peace in Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement,” he said. The tone of the exchange, with Biden’s seemingly unequivocal and unwavering support for the sanctity of the peace agreements, and by implication and extension, his support for the EU position on the imposition of the NI Protocol arrangements, has rankled with some Unionist politicians. However, I don’t really see what else would be expected from this very Irish-American President.

Sticking with foreign policy, it’s been a busy week or two on other fronts, too, what with tentative talks with Chinese officials taking place and the North Koreans throwing a predictable spanner in the works by test firing new ballistic missiles.

US military leaders in the Pentagon have no immediate plans to respond or escalate re N Korea, whether it’s by stepping up joint military exercises with South Korea or by raising the U.S. alert status in the region. Joe Biden said the tests violated U.N. Resolution 1718 and promised to “respond accordingly” to any escalation, but he also left the door open to diplomacy. However, North Korean officials have already rejected repeated outreach attempts from the Biden team, and issued stark warnings urging Washington to refrain from “causing a stink.”

Meanwhile, U.S. relations with China, Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner and perhaps the best hope of pressuring them into talks, are at perhaps an all-time low. China and the U.S., however, are in the midst of a growing political fracture — at odds over everything from trade practices to human rights. The recent talks between US and Chinese delegations in Alaska did not go particularly well, descending into bouts of predictable whataboutery on trade, human rights issues and overt militarism in the South China Sea and pacific region.

“They must stop political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs in any form and refrain from going further down the wrong path. Otherwise, they will get their fingers burnt,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said. As if to underline this, China announced new sanctions against U.S. and Canadian officials in a growing political and economic feud over its policies in the traditionally Muslim region of Xinjiang. China has strongly rejected accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and has launched calls for boycotts and other punishments against foreign firms including retailers H&M and Nike, along with sanctions against foreign government officials and activists whom it says are spreading false information about its policies toward Uyghurs and other minority groups. China announced sanctions Friday against British officials and H&M products were dropped from Chinese websites over their opposition to buying cotton from Xinjiang. Oh dear! It looks like President Biden will have his work cut out to rebuild this fractured relationship with an increasingly emboldened and confident Chinese superpower rival.

Everyone’s favourite mitt wearing social democrat, Bernie Sanders, wants to make sweeping changes to Medicare and prescription drug policy, and evade the dreaded filibuster in the process. The Vermont Independent is urging his party to force Medicare to enter into negotiations with drug companies and use that revenue to pay for a huge expansion of the entitlement programme. Sanders, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, is aiming to lower Medicare’s eligibility age from 65 to 55 or 60 years old and expand the program to cover dental work, glasses and eye surgeries as well as hearing aids. Those major changes would be rolled into a massive infrastructure bill Democrats are starting to put together that’s likely to include to tax policy reform as well.

Uncle Bernie and his inoffensive mitts seems a nice way to end this week’s blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading? Please feel free to share and do please return again for next week’s instalment. I will be having a few days off over Easter, though, so it might be just the one blog over the next fortnight, depending on any dramatic political developments! What are the chances of getting that slow news week I’ve been craving? That’s all for now, folks! Until next time, stay informed, stay tuned in and stay safe out there! Slán! 👍

Hello and welcome back to the Weekly Digest politics blog. A weekly round up of most of the big stories in the world of politics from N Ireland, U.K. and USA. As the headline would suggest, I’ll be having wry look at those controversial, headline grabbing and distraction inducing claims by Boris Johnston about the feasibility of building a bridge between N Ireland and Scotland. He does indeed need to build bridges but more in the metaphorical sense, perhaps? There has been plenty of other political goings on to keep me exercised this week, too, however! So, without further ado, let us begin right here in our favourite little political backwater – Northern Ireland.

An increasingly rattled DUP, appear to be making overtures to their rival unionist parties about the possibility of entering into a unionist voting pact at the next Assembly elections in 2022. In a statement, Alex Easton, DUP MLA, warned that “unless all unionist parties come together and agree an electoral pact for the 2022 NI Assembly Elections it will be difficult to remove the NI Protocol”. He argued that extra unionist seats could be won in several key constituencies and that there was “a window of opportunity for all unionism’s political leaders to agree an election pact” so that “we can all sing from the same hymn sheet”.

The responses from the other unionist parties, the UUP and TUV, ranged from openly dismissive to very lukewarm. The UUP said: “Unionism should be concentrating its political energy on removing the deeply unfair and disproportionate protocol which is the direct result of the DUP’s disastrous dalliances with Boris Johnson and the ERG.” The TUV, on the other hand replied that it had “outlined a plan of political action necessary to disrupt the protocol which we believe would force a re-think on the issue now but come the next Assembly election TUV will, of course, be encouraging voters to transfer to other parties which take a clear position of opposition to the protocol”.

Even if unionists were to achieve a majority in next year’s election, which is highly unlikely, there is no guarantee that the Irish Sea border would then be removed anyway. In NI, recent electoral pacts have only served to polarise and sectarianise voting between the two main communities. Unionists will need to be mindful that the numbers are beginning to work inexorably against them in a straight sectarian headcount, as the census currently underway should prove beyond any doubt.

As you may be aware, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the existence of the state of Northern Ireland. How to mark this anniversary, as with many things here, is proving to be very difficult and fraught with controversy at every turn. For some, it’s a reason to celebrate, and for some it’s an opportunity to bring people from different communities together to celebrate the common bonds that unite us (there are plenty, believe it or not!). For others, the focus should be on commemoration and reflection, rather than celebration, and for others still, they will not want to mark the anniversary in any way, aside from rueing the state’s existence at all. It is within this context, therefore, that the U.K. government this week announced a programme of events to mark the anniversary. The NI Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis said it would provide an “opportunity for us all to reflect on the history of N Ireland and to take pride in all that this fantastic place has to offer!” Prime Minister, Boris Johnston added – “2021 marks 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland, which has paved the way for the formation of the U.K. as we know it.” He also said the centenary programme would champion young people and also pay tribute to those who worked tirelessly to support the region during the pandemic.

Events will include an international church service involving all of the main denominations, a school tree planting project, a civic event at Belfast City Hall, a reception at Hillsborough Castle, the planting of a specially created centenary rose and a celebratory open air concert event, among other things. Predictably perhaps, it received a warm welcome from political representatives on the Unionist side of the divide but the reception from prominent figures within Nationalism was much cooler. SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood observed that while acknowledging that “there should be space for people to commemorate that aspect of their identity….. for others, partition was, and remains, a traumatic constitutional event that kick started decades of discrimination.” And therein lies the problem. In a place of political, cultural and religious hypersensitivity, where offence can be found and taken at the slightest faux pas, I really don’t envy the job of any government official trying to put this together. We’ve already had controversy around the decision by the NI Office to use the image of poet laureate, Seamus Heaney, in the some of the earlier promotional material, apparently without consulting his family first.

Boris Johnson made a whirlwind visit to N Ireland this week, taking in a number of venues, highlighting the vaccine rollout in Fermanagh and the scientific research work that’s been done at Queen’s University Belfast in the battle against the virus. Mr Johnson was joined by DUP leader, Arlene Foster and Health Minister, Robin Swann at the vaccination centre in the Lakeland Forum in Enniskillen. Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, was conspicuous by her absence, however, after refusing to meet with the PM, after he allegedly refused the request for a joint meeting with O’Neill and SF President, Mary Lou McDonald. He did, however, meet with Arlene Foster, who described their conversation as “frank”. She said she urged him to “stand up for Northern Ireland” and ditch the “intolerable protocol” governing Irish Sea trade post-Brexit! No surprises, there! Mrs Foster claimed Mr Johnson was “in listening mode”. That may be wishful thinking on her part if recent history is anything to go by!

And speaking of that bridge to Scotland. The Irish Sea Bridge, sometimes called the Celtic Crossing by the media, is a rail and road bridge that is under proposal by the UK government, that would span the Irish Sea and connect the island of Ireland to the island of Great Britain. Leaked documents emerged on Tuesday that revealed that Johnson had ordered government officials to explore the possibility of building the bridge. On Thursday, Mr Johnson told some schoolchildren: “[I was talking yesterday] about building a bridge from Stranraer in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland – that would be very good. It would only cost about £15bn.”

Johnson first floated the idea in an interview last year, saying: “What we need to do is build a bridge between our islands. Why don’t we? Why don’t we?” Clearly, he thinks it’s a way to placate Unionists in NI who feel let down by the imposition of the Irish Sea customs border and NI Protocol. It is very coincidental that the topic seems to re-emerge every time their appears to be a pinch point in his relationship with the DUP. A sort of ‘dangling a carrot on the end of a stick’ type ploy! The DUP may need to realise they are never meant to reach the carrot, and even if they do, it’s probably made of plastic anyway!

However, his proposal has drawn criticism, with one retired engineer comparing the feasibility of the plan to “building a bridge to the moon”. Last year, James Duncan, from Edinburgh, raised concerns over the practicality of constructing a bridge across the “stormy” stretch of water – more than 1,000ft deep in places – which would require dozens of support towers at heights “never achieved anywhere in the world”. (Think Eiffel Tower sort of height, or worse!) Bridge builders would also have to navigate Beaufort’s Dyke, a submarine trench in which the Ministry of Defence dumped more than 1m tonnes of unused ordnance following the end of the second world war. Then there’s the regular stormy conditions to think of. I think I’m starting to feel a bit queasy already! 🤢 As London Mayor, Boris authorised feasibility studies, engineer’s reports and consultations into the creation of a now infamous garden bridge vanity project that never materialised, wasting £millions in the process. This project, too, will most likely end up like that. Boris is a bluffer, and worse still, I suspect he is simply cynically playing Unionists, yet again, by using a fantasy bridge to assert his unionist credentials. If this ever happens in my lifetime, I will eat my prized Tottenham Hotspur cap!

Now for two little NI political snippets that may have gone somewhat under the radar this week. First, there was Arlene Foster telling the NI Assembly that Irish language legislation will be brought forward before the next election, and she even ended her statement as gaeilge, by saying “sin é”, meaning ‘that’s it’. What would Gregory Campbell make of it all? He may get even more exercised when he realises that the real story here is the haste with which this legislation is now being pushed through Stormont! Resident Stormont curmudgeon, Jim Allister is also sure to use this against the already under pressure DUP in the run up to the next Assembly election. The second little snippet involves wee Jim and Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill. It was revealed this week, after some Jim Allister probing, that Ms O’Neill had to reimburse the Executive Office to the tune of £119.87 for using her official executive car to attend the funeral of veteran Republican Bobby Storey. Is that story (not Storey) ever going to go away?! 🤷🏻‍♂️

Okay, let’s leave N Ireland and see what’s been going down in Westminster this week. UK trade to the EU plummeted by £5.6 billion as post-Brexit border chaos prompted a huge drop in goods being exported to the continent. Official figures this week confirmed a 41% drop in trade across the channel during January, the first month after the end of the transition period. And they revealed a 2.9% drop in GDP in the same month.

And while officials had previously been hesitant to blame Brexit for the fall in trade, they say today’s figures show evidence that customs disruption was behind some of the fall. “External evidence suggests some of the slower trade for goods in early January 2021 could be attributable to disruption caused by the end of the transition period,” the ONS said. It said the weak figures likely reflected a lull after stockpiling in November and December ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period and it also pointed to a new national coronavirus lockdown in Britain that started in January. “All of these are potential contributing factors to the fall in January trade in goods,” the ONS said. Whatever way you look at it, this is a perfect storm, economically speaking. Could there ever have been a worse time to pursue a hard Brexit? 🤦🏻‍♂️

Michael Gove announced that the UK will postpone border checks on imports from the European Union in order to give businesses more time to prepare for the explosion of post-Brexit red tape. The EU, meanwhile, is just days away from launching legal action against the UK after London said it was unilaterally extending a series of “grace periods” to allow businesses in Northern Ireland more time to adapt to post-Brexit rules. Mr Gove blamed the decision to add further delays on the pandemic, with full border control processes now only beginning on January 1 2022! Mr Gove told MPs that the initial timetable was based on the impacts of the first wave of coronavirus, but that “we know now that the disruption caused by Covid has lasted longer and has been deeper than we anticipated”. There is no doubt that the pandemic lockdowns could not have come at a worse time, economically speaking, but to suggest that it is the sole or biggest contributory factor to the UK’s current trading chaos and subsequent slump, is highly disingenuous! (That’s just a nicer way of saying dishonest!) In truth, it’s a perfect storm of a combination of factors, of which the pandemic is just one. A poorly planned and badly implemented hard Brexit, along with a blind refusal to accept the realities of what a hard Brexit actually entails, has been arguably a much greater contributing factor.

For once, MPs sat in silence this week as they heard Jess Phillips MP, read out a long list of women who have been killed by men in the last year. In what has become a sobering annual event to mark International Women’s Day, the Labour MP read out more than 110 names in a sombre bid to help ensure “the scale of male violence against women can be known”. There was a profound irony in the fact that International Women’s Day occurred in the same week as the grim discovery of the body of Sarah Everard, a young woman who was abducted and murdered while simply walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham, South London. The case attracted huge media interest and has led to an outpouring of sorrow and righteous anger from women’s groups and women of all shades and from right across the political spectrum.

Earlier in the week it became increasingly clear that people up and down the UK wanted to hold vigils for Sarah Everard. Women in London, organising under the Reclaim These Streets banner, approached Metropolitan Police commanders for their cooperation in setting up a socially distanced vigil on Clapham Common in south London, close to where Ms Everard was last seen alive. The police refused to give permission for the event and said a demo would be illegal under the coronavirus lockdown regulations. This resulted in a legal challenge without a clear cut outcome.

As it transpired, then, several hundred people, mainly women, turned up for the vigil in defiance of the police advice. To add to the general unease with the police’s approach to this, there had been severe criticism levelled at the Met for their handling of the Everard investigation, particularly the revelation that the arrested male suspect, a serving Met police officer, was released from custody only days prior to the murder after being charged with indecent exposure! So, the police were already under some pressure. This appears to have been compounded now after distressing scenes as police officers moved in in large numbers to disperse the crowd at the vigil, resulting in a number of violent confrontations and arrests. The vigil had been understandably emotionally charged but very peaceful up until that point. Police tactics have been heavily criticised and there have even been calls for Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to resign. Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, fell short of calling for her resignation but stated that he was disturbed by what he had seen and was shocked at the police handling of the event. He demanded a full investigation! There is indeed a bitter irony in a vigil being held in protest at violence against women at the hands of men, which is then met by an over zealous and heavy handed response by overwhelmingly male police officers against peacefully assembled women! This must go down as an epic fail by the Metropolitan Police, whatever way you look at it!

The political row over the government’s derisory pay offer for nurses and healthcare workers has rumbled on this week. The Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, admonished the Prime Minister after he stated to the Commons chamber that Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer had previously voted against a 2.1% pay rise for nurses. In fact, the Bill containing the measure – which has now been binned after the PM offered just 1% instead, actually passed last year with no dissent from the Labour front bench! However, despite making a claim that is patently untrue, Johnson has refused to retract it or correct the record. His Press Secretary Allegra Stratton claimed the Prime Minister did not need to correct the record because Sir Lindsay, as Speaker, had said it was “clarified”. Sir Lindsay, however, rubbished that suggestion, telling MPs: “All members should correct the record if they make an inaccurate statement to the House.” So, did the PM deliberately make a false claim about Starmer and Labour to the House? In other words, did he wilfully tell lies, to make his political opponents look bad? A model of honesty and integrity, like Boris? Surely not! Perish the very thought! How very dare you even think such a thing! Is that the whiff of some burning pants? 🧐

Starmer, of course, was expected to make hay over the nurses pay offer this week. Politically speaking, it should have provided an open goal for a Labour Party that is still trailing the Conservatives in the latest opinion polls, despite the Tories disastrous handling of the pandemic response, Brexit and the economy. Starmer is desperate for a PR victory. However, despite the widespread public support for the nurses pay claims, Starmer still failed to capitalise on it fully. The Labour leader this week put the row over nurses’ pay at the heart of the party’s local election campaign, vowing to fight for a real pay rise for NHS heroes rather than a below-inflation boost. Keir Starmer has called for nurses to receive a pay hike of at least 2.1% but fell short of backing demands for a higher pay boost demanded by the unions. I think it’s fair to say, he landed a couple of rasping jabs on the Tories this week, rather than any knockout blows!

Another week, another resignation by a government adviser! You’ve probably heard of the so called ‘hostile environment’ adopted by the government towards illegal migrants, which resulted in the Windrush scandal. Well, now we have the LGBTQ+ ‘hostile environment’!

Jayne Ozanne, a key member of the government’s LGBTQ+ advisory panel, has resigned, citing the government’s failure to ban so-called ‘gay conversion therapy’. In a damning statement, Ms Ozanne said LGBTQ+ people feared a return to “the days of Thatcher, the days of Section 28” – and that people didn’t believe the Tory government had their interests at heart.

She said the government considered people arguing for LGBT+ rights were “woke” – and had introduced “a Trumpesque mode of operation where they’re listening to the right-wing evangelicals and those frankly who want to take us back.” “I’ve been increasingly concerned about what is seen to be a hostile environment for LGBT people among this administration.” And she reserved most of her opprobrium for what she called the “ministers for inequality” Kemi Badenoch and Liz Truss, in particular, branding them “ignorant.” Ouch! 🙈

A clearly rattled Equalities Minister, Liz Truss, was stung into responding and said the government will bring forward plans to ban gay conversion therapy “shortly”. Jayne Ozanne welcomed the commitment, but said she wasn’t “holding her breath” on the outcome.

Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, had to rebuff suggestions this week by a former SAGE adviser that his policies had significantly contributed to the second wave of the coronavirus in the U.K. The Chancellor has been criticised for his apparent resistance to introducing stricter lockdown measures last year. And now research has linked his flagship “Eat Out To Help Out” programme to an increase of Covid-19 cases of between 8 and 17 per cent. The Times reported the Sage adviser blaming the Chancellor for his “one-eyed” approach – putting the nation’s finances above the risk to lives. The source reportedly said: “I thought the chancellor was in charge. He was the main person who was responsible for the second wave.” Replying to the comments, Mr Sunak claimed that “at all steps in this crisis we have indeed taken the advice of our scientific advisers”.

And so to America! Let’s see what’s been happening Stateside, shall we? I’ll begin in one of the states that hit the headlines during the presidential election – Georgia!

Georgia’s state Senate on Monday passed an election bill that would repeal ‘no-excuse absentee voting’, among other sweeping changes in the critical swing state. The legislation, which has been championed by state Republican lawmakers, passed in 29-20. It now heads to the Georgia House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass in the coming weeks. The bill is being heavily criticised as disproportionately affecting black voters.

The bill comes as Georgia has become the testing ground for election law changes in the wake of the 2020 election. Republicans in the state, citing baseless allegations of voter fraud pushed by Donald Trump and others, have moved to restrict access to early and mail in voting. Around the country, other Republican-controlled state legislatures are also using the election falsehoods to launch assaults on people’s voting rights. In an obvious bid to counter these voter suppression tactics by the GOP, the Democrats Last week passed HR1, also know as the “For the People Act,” a sweeping government, ethics and election bill aimed at countering state-level Republican efforts to restrict voting access. The legislation would bar states from restricting the ability to vote by mail and, among other provisions, call for states to use independent redistricting commissions to create congressional district boundaries. Then, this week, Presiden Biden signed an Executive Order expanding voting access and directing the heads of all federal agencies to submit proposals for their respective agencies to promote voter registration and participation within 200 days, while assisting states in voter registration under the National Voter Registration Act. Clearly, the ramifications and reverberations of the manufactured controversy around alleged voter fraud in the recent presidential election will be felt and contested for some time to come.

The city of Minneapolis has reached a $27m (£19m) settlement with the family of George Floyd, the unarmed US black man whose death last May sparked protests worldwide. The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to approve the pre-trial settlement, the largest ever awarded in the state of Minnesota. “That the largest pre-trial settlement in a wrongful death case ever would be for the life of a black man sends a powerful message that black lives do matter and police brutality against people of colour must end,” said Floyd family attorney Ben Crump.

President Joe Biden has identified two landmark days on the calendars of all Americans – May 1st and July 4th! By the first date, he wants states to have identified every adult eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine. And if all goes well, sufficient citizens will be immunised by US Independence Day, to allow appropriate celebrations to take place.

This is a highly ambitious target and Biden is taking a gamble; setting dates by which you can be judged is always risky and generally avoided in politics. The pandemic has long confounded expectations and, with the help of new viral mutations, no one can really know when it will end. Still, as with the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill covered here last week, you’ve got to admire Joe’s sheer ambition and can do attitude!

But Biden may not be as far out on a limb as he appears. With a current rate of more than 2 million vaccines per day, he’s easily going to make his initial projection to inject 100 million doses in his first 100 days. At least 69 million Americans have already had one dose of vaccine and more than 37 million are fully vaccinated. Many states may have already expanded the eligibility for vaccines themselves by May 1. That would make Biden’s pledge not seem as risky as it would first appear, as long as the virus itself doesn’t throw him any new curve balls in the meantime!

I wrote about Joe Biden’s Covid Rescue Bill last week, but the $1.9tn landmark piece of legislation of FDR proportions, deserves another mention as it passed its final hurdle in Congress.

The House of Representatives approved the massive economic aid plan 220-211 along predictable partisan lines, with no Republicans voting in favour. Having already passed through the Senate, the relief package just needs to be signed into law by Mr Biden himself. The bill “is about giving the backbone of this nation – the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going – a fighting chance” Mr Biden said. If the record amounts of spending boost the economy – without overheating it – the president could reap the political benefits of a revitalised nation. And because Democrats enacted the legislation with no assistance from Republicans, it may also prove to be an effective stick to beat them with in upcoming elections, particularly those often treacherous mid-terms! Just ask Obama!

Where Joe Biden might be on shakier ground is in his continuing tacit support for Andrew Cuomo, the beleaguered Governor of New York, who faces multiple allegations of sexual impropriety from numerous women. Biden has stated that he will continue working with Cuomo on the pandemic response and other matters, despite finding the recent spate of sexual misconduct allegations against Mr Cuomo “troubling” and “hard to read”. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Mr Biden has not spoken with Mr Cuomo directly since accusations of sexual misconduct and hostile workplace behaviour against the governor have surfaced. “Like everyone who continues to read stories – and new developments seem to happen every day – we find them troubling, the president finds them troubling, hard to read,” Ms Psaki said. “Every woman who steps forward needs to be treated with dignity and respect.” Psaki also stated that the New York Attorney General is conducting an independent review of Mr Cuomo’s actions, which the Biden administration supports.

I’ll end on foreign affairs. Tariffs and trade restrictions won’t be high on the agenda at the first bilateral meeting between Chinese diplomats and President Joe Biden’s team in Alaska, this week, apparently, and Beijing’s poor compliance with the trade deal it struck last year also appears off the table. However, the sides are expected to discuss a number of contentious issues with big commercial consequences, like human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The US State Department has promised a “difficult” discussion that will hit on some trade-adjacent items like technology and the Communist Party’s ongoing repression of ethnic Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, which the U.S. has already labelled a genocide. The Chinese government countered the U.S. narrative, with a Communist Party analyst telling the Global Times “tarrifs will definitely be on the table!” and the issue is “impossible to avoid.” But the state-backed news outlet also acknowledged trade issues won’t be the focus of the meeting, which is “more about the general diplomatic relationship.” The Senate has yet to confirm Trade Representative nominee Katherine Tai, they point out, which could happen as early as this week. The administration likely wants to avoid talking specifics on trade until Tai is in place.

The first China summit of Biden’s term will come less than a week after his team moved to solidify ties with Beijing’s regional rivals. Last week, the U.S., Australia, Japan and India signed a symbolic alliance, labelling themselves a ‘Quad’ of democratic nations committed to “promoting a free, open rules-based order,” as well as promoting vaccine production and distribution in Asia. The group is seen as a powerful counterweight to Chinese dominance and aggression in the region.

However, the Chinese government appears unimpressed by Biden’s push, with foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian saying nations should “refrain from forming closed and exclusive ‘cliques.’” The editor of the Global Times was more blunt, saying the pact won’t help “India encroach one inch of China’s territory,” or help “Japan drive away China’s coast guard vessels.” It is a “low-quality strategic construction” that “serves more as psychological comfort,” Well, that’s them told! It would appear that the Chinese aren’t that easily intimidated!

Well, that’s my lot for this week, folks! I hope you’ve enjoyed keeping up to date with what’s been going on in the world of politics in NI, UK and USA albeit through my very particular and tilted lense! Please feel free to share and please do return for next week’s instalment. Until then, stay informed, stay tuned in and stay safe out there! Adios! 👋🏻

Hello and welcome back to the latest edition of my Weekly Digest politics blog, where I try to make sense of the week’s events in the world of politics in N. Ireland, UK and USA! I was asked by a student of politics last week why I don’t also cover the Rep of Ireland, as well? Well, it does get mentioned quite often, where there is obvious overlap but to do it justice on a stand alone basis would mean adding another 2/3 lengthy paragraphs to the blog, which can get fairly unwieldy as it is. The blog was primarily designed with my own A level Politics students in mind, and they only need to cover NI, UK and USA, unfortunately. I do this in my spare time, usually on a Sunday-Monday, and while I enjoy it, I have no wish to be encumbered any more than is necessary. There is also the not insignificant workload from that busy day job to consider! So, apologies to the reader who enquired, the omission is out of necessity rather than preference. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Anyway, back to this week’s blog! It’s been a rather busy week, yet again and, as the headline suggests, involves a lot of number crunching, which isn’t the forte of my hard wired humanities brain, ordinarily! However, I’ve tried my best to cut through all of the Budget bluster to see if the headlines should read – Sweet Sunak or Rotten Rishi? The US was heavily preoccupied with money matters this week, too, what with the passage of the $1.9 trillion (yes, trillion!) Covid Relief Bill in the Senate. I’ll have more on that and other matters later in the blog, but first let’s begin with the still sea border and NI protocol obsessed N Ireland!

Following on from Jacob Rees Mogg’s tacit support for Unionist opposition to the NI Protocol last week, the influential ERG faction of Tory MPs, of which he is a leading member, and which eagerly pushed for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal which they knew would lead to an Irish Sea customs border, are now demanding that the border be removed. Their Deputy Chairman revealed they want the PM to “unilaterally neutralise” the NI Protocol. This does seem a rather strange about turn to me, unless it’s just a case of highlighting their dubious unionist credentials, rather than their usual exclusive English brand of nationalism, purely for the optics. Or, maybe they just sense another opportunity to wind up those dictatorial, faceless bureaucrats in the EU! (Their probable choice of words, not mine!) I strongly suspect there are some political games being played here!

And speaking of the NI Protocol, (there’s no escaping it, at the minute, is there?) events took a potentially sinister turn this week, when the Loyalist Communities Council, representing the views of the loyalist paramilitary groups – UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando, revealed that they no longer support the Good Friday Agreement in a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The letter was also forwarded to the taoiseach Micheál Martin, warning they could no longer support the 1998 peace accord due to the groundswell of anger in loyalist communities over the Irish Sea border created by the Northern Ireland Protocol. David Campbell, chairman of the LCC, told the BBC’s Newsnight programme that Mr Johnson has “reneged on the clear promises he made to the people of Northern Ireland.”

Speaking at this week’s Executive press conference, First Minister Arlene Foster said she did not have advance notice of the letter, despite meeting with the LCC last week. “I had not seen the letter before it went and why would I? – This is a letter coming from the LCC to the prime minister and to the Taoiseach. …..I do welcome the fact that they have said they will use peaceful and democratic means, I very much welcome that.” However, Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill criticised the loyalist grouping and questioned their ongoing existence. “I think the question that needs to be answered is, 23 years after the Good Friday Agreement, why loyalist paramilitary groups still exist,…… I think everybody in political leadership has a responsibility to encourage and to tell these groups to leave the stage. There is no place for them in today’s society.”

Alliance Party MP Stephen Farry, said the move was a symbolic gesture. “I am more concerned at the continued escalation of rhetoric and building of unrealistic expectations that the protocol can be replaced in the absence of a plausible alternative.” “It is also concerning that what is essentially a voice for proscribed terrorist organisations is becoming an actor in a political debate.” When asked about the letter, a clearly unperturbed Boris Johnson said: “I haven’t seen it, I don’t know which groups you’re talking about”….. “I’m sure with a bit of goodwill and common sense all these technical problems are eminently solvable.” The prime minister’s official spokesperson also said he was “fully committed to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement”. However, later in the week the U.K. unilaterally announced a 6 month extension to the Irish Sea border’s grace period. The EU will not want to be seen to take this lying down!

Just a quick footnote, also, on the DUP Agriculture Minister, Gordon Lyon’s, grand gesture of ordering his officials to cease building the border infrastructure at the Irish Sea ports. Acting Attorney General, Brenda King, has ruled that this requires the approval of the entire NI Executive! If he’d read this blog last week, he would’ve known that! 🙄

There is a feeling in some quarters that the DUP are playing with fire here to some extent, by stoking tensions and engaging with this LCC group, thereby legitimising their role in the current political debate around the protocol and sea border. This group, representing loyalist paramilitary groups, may be seen as useful added leverage over the U.K. government and EU right now, by playing on people’s fears of a return to violence, implicit in their withdrawal of support for the longstanding peace accord. However, as those of us who are unfortunately old enough to remember, this could quickly escalate from a political game of bluff into something frighteningly real and depressingly all too familiar! We have been here before with this type of irresponsible brinkmanship. This is a time for cool heads, political pragmatism and good old fashioned common sense! No one really wants to return to anything resembling the bad old days, so let’s not tempt fate, shall we? 🤷🏻‍♂️

TUV leader and Stormont’s arch curmudgeon, Jim Allister, has criticised the Northern Ireland Executive’s pathway to recovery plan as “cliché-ridden”. “We have been given a cliché-ridden algorithm for dither,” Mr Allister said, speaking in the Assembly. “It is not much of a satnav if it does not tell you the route or when you expect to get there….. High-sounding clichés about being data-driven of course are really about providing opportunities to cover Executive indecision and disagreement, but they do nothing to answer the questions that ordinary people have.”

I have to say, and not for the first time in recent weeks, I have to agree with him! (Someone take my temperature!) The so called ‘roadmap to recovery’ resembled something more akin to spaghetti junction. It was as clear as mud! The main problem for many is that it lacked any dates or specific triggers or benchmarks to move from one stage to the next and its five stages do not have to line up across its nine categories. All other parts of the British isles have deliberately avoided this, precisely because it so convoluted and difficult for the general public to follow. At worst, it could be a recipe for non-compliance from a Covid restriction weary population. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Okay, enough of N Ireland! Let’s head over to Westminster and assess the post budget fallout! The key, headline grabbing bits of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget, were the changes to tax, furlough and Stamp Duty. In reality, however, Sunak put off many of the most painful decisions until later and gave businesses a huge tax break for now – one he claimed was the biggest in history. “It’s going to take this country and the whole world a long time to recover from this extraordinary economic situation,” he said. That is why the Budget is one of tax giveaways for the first three years – followed by money being clawed back overall for two. So, here is a selection of the budget highlights/lowlights; –

• The Furlough scheme is extended to September 30 at up to 80% of wages or £2,500 a month. Firms must pay 10% of wages from July and 20% from August 1.
• Covid spending to hit £352bn over two years – or £407bn once other fiscal support is included.
• Income Tax personal allowance frozen at £12,570 until 2025/26 in a stealth tax raid.
• Income Tax 40p threshold frozen at £50,270 until 2025/26 in a similar stealth tax raid.
• Corporation Tax to rise from 19% to 25% in April 2023 for firms with profits over £250k. Taper for firms with smaller profits, down to the 19% rate for 1.4million businesses with profits under £50k.
• Minimum wage to rise by 19p an hour to £8.91 for over-23s from April. It will hit £8.36 for those aged 21-22; £6.56 for those aged 18-20; £4.62 for 16 and 17-year-olds and £4.30 for apprentices.
• Universal Credit extended at current rate until September, after which millions will lose the extra £20-a-week.
• No rise to tobacco duty and all alcohol duties frozen as well for the second year in a row.
• Fuel duty frozen for the 10th Budget in a row – saving drivers but depriving the state of billions over years.
• Any pay rise for NHS workers will have to wait until later in the year, when pay reviews come back. More on the 1% offer for nurses later!
• Stamp Duty cut extended to June 30, saving first-time buyers up to £10k and landlords or those moving up the ladder up to £15k by wiping out tax on home purchases up to £500,000.
• 95% mortgages to return through a scheme that bails out banks but not buyers if things go wrong.
• £408m to help museums, theatres and galleries in England reopen –
• £300m summer sports recovery package (on top of £300m in winter), with “significant chunk” going to cricket.
• New ‘super deduction’ gives firms £25bn tax cut – ‘biggest in modern history’. When firms invest they can reduce their taxable income by 130% of the cost of the investment. A construction firm buying £10m of new equipment could cut taxable income by £13m, rather than £2.6m under current system. It will last the next two years.
• 5% reduced VAT rate for pubs, restaurants and other industries extended by six months.
• 100% business rates holiday continues to the end of June.
• Contactless card payment limit to rise from £45 to £100 later this year.

So, who are Mr Sunak’s winners and losers? Are we all in this together? Well, the Chancellor may be very slick and confident, as his own self-aggrandising Treasury PR video would attest, and that may be enough to glaze over the eyes of the fawning pro-Tory tabloid media, but he is also very adept at the financial sleight’s of hand which will keep his wealthy friends and backers happy. Guardian columnist, Owen Jones claimed on the BBC that the average millionaire would be able to buy 288 bottles of the best Cristal champagne with the money they would save after the cut in the top rate of tax. I’m assuming that’s at least £150-200 pounds per bottle, then! So, anywhere between £50-60,000 in total, depending on where you buy the champagne! 🥂 🍾 (More like £2-3,000, if you buy Lidl champagne, though! 😉)

Boris Johnson promised there would be no return to “austerity” measures to pay off the pandemic debt mountain, but day-to-day spending has been significantly trimmed by a further £4bn. While corporation tax will supposedly be raised to 25% by 2023, big businesses have been gifted a £25bn tax break on investment costs in the meantime. Meanwhile, a cut to universal credit in six months will further strip security away from those already most stricken by the crisis – the unemployed and low paid. A figure of £12bn was lauded for a “green industrial revolution”, but this is a derisory amount compared with Labour’s £250bn commitment, or for what is required in the midst of a climate crisis. You know, that other looming crisis that will be infinitely more existential in its threat level to the human race than the current pandemic? Somewhat surprisingly, Labour’s criticism of the budget was blunted by the fact that they had bizarrely called for no rise in Corporation Tax in advance! In Sir Keir Starmer’s haste to portray the party as being under new, more responsible financial management in order to win back centre ground voters, he has allowed Sunak to outmanoeuvre them and insulate himself from some of their criticisms. In many ways, despite having spent vast sums propping up the economy in recent months, Rishi Sunak is conforming very much to Conservative type. He’s quite prepared to help out big business interests and private enterprise, because he sees that as the quickest way to aid economic recovery and pay the debt down again when there’s an economic upswing. However, for those that rely on the state for welfare, low wage subsidy, free public services etc, I’m afraid they may be in for quite a few more lean years ahead!

Perhaps the most damning aspect of last week’s budget, was the failure to find any more money to reward frontline health service staff in the form of a pay rise. Well, they are being offered a pay rise, but only for a derisory 1%. Opposition MP’s, various trade unions and the Royal College of Nursing RCN, amongst many others, have derided the offer as ‘insulting’ and a ‘slap in the face’ for the heroes of the pandemic! Matt Hancock stood up at the dispatch box in the Commons and sought to justify the miserly rise by reminding everyone that public sector pay has been frozen for everyone else, so offering 1% was indeed a show of the government’s gratitude to frontline health workers! Junior Health Minister, Nadine Dorries, followed this up on the BBC, where she said the 1% was “what we can afford” and argued it’s an “acknowledgement” of their hard work that they’re getting a pay rise at all! The 1% figure, branded ‘the worst kind of insult’ by furious unions, amounts to a real terms pay cut in 2021/22 when inflation of between 1.5-2% is factored in. I suppose there is the fact that this government, this Prime Minister, Health Secretary, and Chancellor have all made huge mistakes during this pandemic that have resulted in £billions being wasted on inflated ppe contracts, a failed track and trace system and have arguably prolonged the pandemic, thereby contributing to the current economic mess. So, why should nurses and health workers pay the financial penalty for that incompetence? 🤷🏻‍♂️

The Chancellor also revealed the details of which areas of England would benefit from the ‘Towns Fund’ this week. This initiative was seen as being a key part of the government’s ‘levelling up’ strategy and one of the core policies which persuaded many of the so called ‘northern red wall’ former Labour constituencies to switch to Tory at the last election. However, this week we saw that the ‘levelling up’ may not be evenly spread! Of the 45 towns benefiting from the £1bn Towns Fund cash, unveiled by Rishi Sunak, 40 have at least one Tory MP. Of the £1bn in newly announced funding, some £886 million will go to towns with Tory seats – 88.6% of the total fund. And around half of the towns are in so-called “red wall” northern seats taken from Labour in the 2019 election – and which Boris Johnson is desperate to keep hold of. One of the towns earmarked for funding is Richmond in Yorkshire, Rishi Sunak’s constituency no less. This is despite the fact that it is by no means one of the more deprived areas on the list. Far from it, in fact! What a coincidence, eh? 🧐

It’s not the first time the Government has been accused of aiming Towns Fund cash at Tory target seats. A National Audit Office report released in July revealed 61 of the 101 towns in the original list were chosen by ministers led by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick – and all but one of these were either Tory-held seats or targets. At the time, Meg Hillier, chair of the powerful Commons Public Accounts Committee, accused the Government of “cherry-picking” which areas received funds. And this week, Keir Starmer said: “I think lots of people would scratch their heads and say ‘what is going on here?’ He also added that it will look “fishy” to the public and it “feels like pork barrel politics”. I think that is undoubtedly true, but is anyone really surprised at this, from a government that has been so brazen in other matters, too? 🤷🏻‍♂️

The other big story that captured my attention in the U.K. this week was the return to school for all pupils in England. While it is a most welcome development for many pupils and their hard pressed parents, it is not without its risks! Even with the dubious testing system which has been hastily rolled out for schools, there is an expectation that a full on return, rather than a more cautious phased return, such as that being implemented in N Ireland, will have a negative impact on the Covid R number. However, both Boris Johnson and Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson have stated that even if it means the R number goes above 1 again, schools will remain open. The problem with this, apart from the obvious rise in positive cases, is that it may delay the reopening of other areas of society and the economy in the worst a case scenario! The government is betting all their chips on the vaccine roll out getting ahead of the virus and cancelling out the threat from school mixing. For all our sakes, I hope they are right! 🤞🏻

So, what about that other carry on up in the Scottish parliament this week, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made her much anticipated appearance in front of a parliamentary committee inquiry? The first minister was confident throughout most of the day and dealt robustly with the majority of the issues, particularly, in her words, the more “absurd” claims of a plot. But questions still remain over some of the details of her meetings with Salmond, which may be seen as a breach of the Scottish government ministerial code. The Scottish Conservatives somewhat predictably wailed for her resignation and for there to be a vote of no confidence, but Sturgeon has rebuffed all such suggestions. No knockout blows were landed on the experienced and assured political operator that Sturgeon undoubtedly is and she is expected to comfortably survive this scandal. However, all of this is taking place just eight weeks ahead of an election to the parliament that could decide whether the country again goes to the polls on the issue of independence from the rest of the UK, and wee Nicola’s nationalist halo may have slipped slightly for some!

As it is International Women’s Day this week, I thought about posting a picture of one of the many inspirational female leaders in world politics, but I’d have to go much further afield than N. Ireland or the U.K., unfortunately! I’ll give NI the swerve here completely. I could mention Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland, of course, but recent events in Holyrood may have tarnished her halo, somewhat. Then there’s Angela Merkel, but she’s not everyone’s cup of tea, either. No, I’d prefer to highlight the remarkable leadership shown in New Zealand by Jacinda Ardern! Now, there is one inspirational lady!

The U.K. Government, by the way, has the lowest percentage of women in senior positions when compared to all other major European states. Just have a look at this picture of a recent cabinet meeting! There’s a lot of unnecessary testosterone, as well as hot air being expelled in that room!

And finally, we go stateside to America, where there is never a dull moment, either, these days!

The biggest news of the week was undoubtedly the passage of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in the Senate, in the first major example of just how crucial that electoral victory was in the Georgia Senate run off. The bill was approved by Kamala Harris using her casting vote as the Senate speaker, after going all the way down partisan party lines. There was one wobble for the Democrats, in the form of longtime independent minded Democrat, Joe Manchin. Senator Manchin objected on the grounds that the huge bill might overheat the economy. It took 11 hours of negotiation and a crucial amendment to come up with the deal. The compromise, however, did not please the more progressive, liberal wing of the party. This, after also surviving a failed Republican filibuster plan to force Senate clerks to read the entire COVID-19 relief bill in an effort to delay getting urgent relief to Americans as long as possible. The reading would have taken up to ten hours. The Democratic-held House aims to pass the bill on Tuesday and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature before a March 14 deadline to renew unemployment aid programmes. The legislation includes direct payments of up to $1,400 to most Americans, a $300 weekly boost to jobless benefits into September and an expansion of the child tax credit for one year. It also puts new funding into Covid-19 vaccine distribution and testing, rental assistance for struggling households and extra funding for schools towards reopening costs.

A proposal from Senator Bernie Sanders to raise the federal hourly minimum wage to $15 from its current $7.25 failed in the Senate after the senator sought to include the measure in the coronavirus relief package. The House of Representatives included the wage hike in its version of its $1.9 trillion legislation. Sanders’ proposal would have gradually raised the minimum wage by $2.25 each year through to 2025. However, all Senate Republicans, seven Democrats and one Independent senator rejected the amendment for a vote of 42-58 against. It needed 60 votes to pass. Sanders and other progressive voices within the party, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) have vowed to continue with their campaign to ‘Fight For $15’!

Despite the compromises and failure to include the $15 minimum wage proposal, the bill has been hailed as a major achievement by most progressives, including Bernie Sanders! Economically, the bill is conceived to get people back to work, pupils back into school and business up and running again by ratcheting up the pace of vaccines. Perhaps more symbolically, it is a statement of intent by Joe Biden that he will use federal power and resources to broaden the social safety net and help Americans from the lowest income demographic. And politically, the bill is popular with many Americans, despite Republican politicians’ opposition. In some ways the bill is the redress of an earlier $1.5 trillion tax cut that represented the sole significant legislative accomplishment of ex-President Donald Trump and mostly benefited wealthy Americans and corporations.

And speaking of Donald Trump! He hasn’t gone away, you know! Former President Donald Trump has made public his plans to target Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, even vowing to travel to Alaska to campaign against her ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. In a statement on Saturday, Trump said: “I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski. She represents her state badly and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be — in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator.” Murkowski, who has held her seat since 2002, has been a longstanding critic of Trump and was one of only seven Republican Senators to vote to convict him in last month’s impeachment trial. She is the only one of the seven to face reelection in 2022, however. This is another clear indication that the ex-President is determined that his political brand retains control of the heart and soul of the GOP (Grand Old Party), by impugning and expelling any dissenters or opponents form its ranks! Whether this leads to all out political civil war within the party remains to be seen, but there certainly may be some turbulent times ahead!

Okay, folks, that’s me for another week! Again, I held off for an extra day on hitting the publish button due to weekend developments in the US Senate, but I felt it was important to get that into this week’s blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading once again. Feel free to share and please do return again for next week’s instalment. I’m still waiting for that slow news week! Is there ever such a thing in the world of politics? Until next week, then, stay informed stay tuned in and stay safe out there! Ciao! 👋🏻

Welcome back to the Weekly Digest politics blog, where I do my weekly roundup of, and give my wry tuppence-worth on, what’s been happening in the world of politics in N Ireland, UK and USA . I try my best to cover as much as possible but I am limited by time and format, so it’s mostly what captures my attention, rather than a complete synopsis of events. Apologies in advance, therefore, for any glaring omissions. Apologies also for another later than usual publication this week. I made the schoolboy error of waiting on the big announcement by the NI Executive scheduled for today, Monday, whereby the roadmap for our exit from Covid restrictions would be revealed. I should’ve known they wouldn’t agree on anything, as this seems to be their standard modus operandi! I do know it’s no way to run a government, that’s for sure! At least Donald Trump didn’t disappoint, making his first public appearance and speech since leaving the White House. Details later! Regardless of the chronically dysfunctional NI Executive’s no show, it has still been another eventful week! So, here I will begin, as per usual.

The leaders of unionism have united this week to pledge “unified & unalterable” opposition to the Irish Sea border, thereby making it difficult for any of them to renege on their implacable opposition to even a scaled-down version of the border. In a letter to Boris Johnson, they demanded “immediate action”. I suspect this will fall on profoundly deaf ears in Westminster or Brussels. The show of unity will, perhaps give the DUP some political cover, as the predicament unionism finds itself in regarding the NI Protocol and subsequent Irish Sea border is almost entirely of their own making, having enthusiastically endorsed the type of hard Brexit that has made it necessary. The sort of political leverage and clout wielded so smugly by the DUP in the name of Unionism during Teresa May’s tenure, when they rejected her softer Brexit and helped shove her out the door of No.10, has evaporated. As has any sense of goodwill or loyalty from large sections of the Tory Party and wider body politic, not to mention English voters. Long runs the fox, as they say, and the once bushy tailed and nonchalant DUP is now running out of options. As mentioned here last week, there is also a legal challenge being mounted, but the DUP were late to that Jim Allister inspired initiative, too! Wee Jim has played a blinder in outmanoeuvring his beleaguered unionist electoral rivals. Will he be able to sustain it and capitalise on it come the next election, though? That remains to be seen, as he’s seen as a bit of a one man band and it’s doubtful he has the requisite resources or personnel to mount a serious challenge for the unionist crown without some high profile DUP defections!

One source of support in Westminster came from Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said that if unionist MLAs join forces they can get rid of the NI Protocol. Although, they will have to wait until the next Assembly elections and urged them not to bring down Stormont before then. Rees-Mogg, who is Leader of the House of Commons, said: “The unionists, if they unite on this, are able to get rid of the protocol… It has to command a majority in the Assembly in 2024?” This could simply be a clever ruse by the Moog to head off a unionist revolt for now. kicking this particularly toxic can down the road until the next Assembly election, by which time the issues around the NI Protocol may have dissipated somewhat. Will Unionist anger have dissipated by then, though? 🤔

Speaking of solo runs, it looks like the DUP’s recently appointed Agriculture Minister, Gordon Lyons, has embarked upon a significant one! On Friday he halted construction of permanent inspection facilities for post-Brexit checks on agri-food goods arriving from Great Britain. He has also stopped further recruitment of inspection staff for the port facilities and said charges would not be levied at the ports on traders bringing goods from GB into Northern Ireland. Ongoing Irish Sea trade checks, which are taking place at existing repurposed port buildings and other temporary facilities, will continue. His decision relates to ongoing work on new purpose-built inspection facilities at ports like Belfast and Larne. Ironically, this was a move contemplated by his predecessor, Edwin Poots, only for him to back down due to the legal implications. Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill branded the move a “stunt”. Whereas a clearly angry SDLP Minister, Nichola Mallon, called for an urgent meeting of the Executive to discuss the matter. It will be interesting to see if Mr Lyons’ roar is worse than his bite, or will he be reeled back in by the Executive?

All this talk of unionist unity is in stark contrast to the ongoing disunity within the NI Executive, and the entente cordial between the DUP and UUP on the NI Protocol does not stretch to other political matters, it would seem. After seemingly reaching agreement previously on the cautious, phased return of pupils to schools in NI, the DUP Education Minister, Peter Weir, appeared to do a u-turn upon hearing that all school pupils in England would return to classrooms en masse on the 8th March. He was backed by his party leader, Arlene Foster. This appeared to go against not just the opinion of the rest of the NI Executive parties, but also the scientific and medical advice which favours a much more cautious approach. After a subsequent Executive meeting, where the DUP where evidently out voted on the issue, some senior party figures went public with their criticism, some of it quite personal, in yet another example of the complete lack of any semblance of collective responsibility within our mandatory coalition government.

DUP MP, Sammy Wilson, for example, launched a very personal attack on both the Health Minister, Robin Swann and the Chief Medical Officer, Michael McBride over the decision. Easily winning my Twitter Twit of the Week Award, Mr Wilson accused Mr Swann of acting like a “poodle for the unaccountable Chief Medical Officer”.

The disrespectful and derogatory tone of Wilson’s tweet prompted an angry backlash from politicians across the political spectrum. Even the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, while falling short of outright condemnation, sought to distance herself from the comments. Speaking at a press conference in Dungannon, Mrs Foster said she had “full confidence” in Dr McBride, saying he has “worked tirelessly to bring us impartial advice”. “Michael retains and will have my full confidence and that of my party,”. Mrs Foster added that there was a genuine desire to have a debate about the need to get young people back to school, but said Mr Wilson’s tweet was certainly not language she would have used.

Also speaking in a press conference after a meeting of the Executive, deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill described Mr Wilson’s comments as “disgraceful”. “I would totally disassociate myself in any way from that,” she said. “I think that needs to be called out, certainly at political leadership level for being wrong. Perhaps the best response, however, came from the maligned Health Minister, Robin Swann, when he tweeted the perfect riposte to being described as a poodle.

And so to our Scottish cousins, where there hasn’t been much cheer around Holyrood this week! At the time of writing, ex-SNP leader, Alex Salmond, has just given evidence to the Holyrood inquiry investigating the Scottish Government’s handling of the sexual harassment allegations made against him. Salmond alleges key figures in the Scottish political establishment plotted to remove him from public life and that his protege, successor and one time friend, Nicola Sturgeon, misled the Scottish Parliament about her role in the affair. If true, this could well necessitate her resignation as First Minister. This would be a seismic blow to the SNP and maybe even to Scottish hopes for a second independence referendum. Sturgeon claims there is no evidence to back up these claims. She will also be questioned by the inquiry on Wednesday. All this is taking place just a couple of months before the Scottish Parliamentary elections.

The fallout is being watched closely in Westminster with some commentators claiming Sturgeon’s Scotland has been irreparably tainted. With the very future of the Union at stake, Boris Johnson will be desperately hoping for the SNP to implode. Labour too, who elected a new leader, Anas Sanwar, in Scotland this week, is looking at the events in the hope that any decline in Nationalist support could pave the way for its resurgence north of the border and with it the chance to regain control in Westminster. This may be wishful thinking, however, and both could be sorely disappointed! The latest Ipsos Mori poll for STV put the SNP on 52%, the Tories on 23%, Labour 15% and the Lib Dems 5%. It looks like Mr Sanwar has his work cut out!

It promises to be a big week in Westminster, with Rishi Sunak’s much anticipated budget reveal on Wednesday. I’ll steer clear of too much speculation in favour of post-match analysis in next week’s blog, but suffice to say, the Chancellor has big decisions to make on whether or not to raise tax revenue to start paying off the Covid debt. There is huge pressure on him to hold off, both from the Tory back benches but also from Labour, interestingly.

Reluctant to raise money through hiking fuel duty the Chancellor has reportedly set his sights on lifting corporation tax from 19% to 25%. This has created the strange parallel universe where Keir Starmer finds himself siding with the Tory right in wanting to prevent tax rises for big business. The Labour leader has said now is not the right time to raise taxes for families and businesses. This has angered some Labour MPs but won Starmer new friends on the right. Tax rises are inevitable but the general feeling is that the economy will need more stimulus first in order to aid a full recovery. The financial hangover can wait! What we do know is that Sunak is expected to extend the furlough and support schemes in line with Boris’ roadmap and even offer to extend the £20 Universal Credit top up for a further 6 months. It remains to be seen if the man of the moment can pull any other cash rabbits out of his little red briefcase.

In very good news just in, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there was “exciting new data” suggesting that coronavirus vaccines can reduce hospitalisations by more than 80%. Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, he said that one shot of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines works against severe infection among over-70s and significantly reduces hospitalisations. The study, published by Public Health England (PHE) on Monday, also shows that three to four weeks after a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, deaths in the over-80s are reduced by 83%. This is very welcome news for the government’s roadmap recovery plans, new variants notwithstanding! I covered the details of Boris’ Covid recovery roadmap in last week’s blog!

Sticking with Covid related news, the allegations of Tory cronyism in relation to how contracts were awarded simply refuses to go away, much to the government’s frustration. Just this week, it was revealed that outsourcing giant Serco unveiled a £400million boost from Covid contracts and handed its shareholders a £17m proposed reward. Labour said the news will “outrage taxpayers” after the Test and Trace giant celebrated a 75% boost in operating profit last year. Test and Trace – run mostly by Serco and Sitel – was plagued by controversy and heavily criticised for months after failing to reach hundreds of thousands of contacts of people with Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, hinted that School days may be lengthened and holidays shortened to let pupils catch up. The Education Secretary confirmed he is looking at “the whole expanse” of options to help left-behind children, as he announced a short-term, £300m ‘recovery premium’ for catch-up schemes – worth about £6,000 for primaries and £22,000 for secondaries on average. When questioned by Sky News, he refused to rule out either lengthening the school day or shortening the summer break in response to largely media driven moral panic which, while popular with some voters, would prove to be very controversial for many. A government source indicated the two options would be considered by Sir Kevan Collins, the Government’s new catch up tsar, as part of a new review. My immediate observations on this are; firstly, this would be a possible breach of teacher contracts. Teachers, who have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic, have more than earned their summer holiday. Secondly, extending the school day or shortening summer holidays may prove unpopular with many pupils and their families, anyway. Who wants to sit sweltering in school at the height of the summer? The educational benefits of such a move are highly debatable, also. A study carried out in New Zealand after months of school closures following a major earthquake a few years ago, showed that the vast majority of pupils had caught up academically after 3 months of returning to normal schooling. This was despite the fact that there was no remote learning provision while they’d been off for months! It wouldn’t be like Gavin Williamson to be out of touch, have any ulterior ideological motives, or have a propensity to engage in eye catching, populist policy gimmicks, now, would it? 🤔

And so to America, where it’s also been another eventful week, and one which saw the reemergence of Donald Trump back on to the political stage after his brief sojourn at his Mara Lago retreat in Florida! Is the tangerine ex-POTUS shaping up for another tilt at the White House? Worryingly, he definitely didn’t rule it out! 😳

Donald Trump was fulfilling his first high profile public engagement since leaving the White House after his election defeat to Joe Biden. He was a keynote speaker at the annual CPAC Conference, the Conservative Political Action Conference, which is a political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union. I think it’s fair to say he was among loyal friends and devotees. For about 90 minutes, the ex-president continued his airing of the usual grievances that had become synonymous with his campaign rallies before the election, and his attempts to challenge the results even after the US election result was officially declared and ratified. Trump teased the rapturous and somewhat socially distanced crowd with the possibility of a 2024 presidential run, was still maintaining that he won the 2020 election, and listed the GOP rivals he wanted out of the party for criticizing him. He was very keen to take credit for the vaccine roll out in the US, too, even though his pandemic response, with over 500,000 deaths currently, will go down as one of his biggest failings. He also claimed that Joe Biden has made the worst start to a presidency in US history. It was the usual theatrical Trump performance and the crowd loved it! He may well not run in 2024, given that he will be 78 by then, but the MAGA movement and Trumpism he represents is not going away anytime soon. He remains hugely popular with his loyal base, who turned out in big numbers both inside the venue and outside, where they gathered in the usual blaze of colour and cacophonous noise, waving flags and banners! There is a battle taking place to wrestle control of the Republican Party back from Trump. It looks like the GOP establishment may have their work cut out!

It’s been a week of mixed fortunes for Joe Biden. He has faced some criticism of late from within the more progressive left of the Democratic Party for not living up to some of his more liberal election promises, and coming after Democrats had been thwarted by a Senate rule from inserting a raise to the federal minimum wage in Biden’s massive Covid-19 rescue bill. Joe has been attempting to rebuff some of that criticism this week, however. On election eve, Biden promised to be the “most pro-Union President you’ve ever seen!” On Sunday night, then, he took the unusual step of issuing a presidential video backing the right to unionise the workers at an Amazon plant in Alabama, and implicitly warned the online retail giant not to interfere. “Let me be clear: It’s not up to me to decide whether anyone should join a union,” Biden said. “But let me be even more clear: It’s not up to an employer to decide that, either.” That’s fairly unequivocal from Joe, there, I’d say! Quite right, too! Everyone has the right to unionise and seek Union representation in the event of exploitation, bullying or malpractice by an employer, especially one as wealthy and powerful as Amazon. I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t the first time this particular company has faced criticism for the way it treats it’s workforce!

In foreign policy matters it was also a difficult week for Joe Biden, depending on your perspective. He was on the defensive following Friday’s release of a US intelligence report finding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman culpable of the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Now, Biden has already sanctioned 76 Saudis involved in harassing activists and journalists, and plans to recalibrate the US relationship with the kingdom. He’s ending US complicity in the war in Yemen and put a massive Saudi arms sale on hold. He’s also willing to talk to Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran. And merely releasing the report in itself reverses the Trump administration’s previous absolution of the Crown Prince. Biden has named and shamed the Saudis and it’s highly unlikely we will see Saudi royalty visiting the the White House for a while. But don’t be fooled by the seemingly tough stance! President Biden is also facing criticism that he backed down from a vow to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over human rights abuses. New York Times columnist Nick Kristoff said that by not personally sanctioning the crown prince, Biden had “choked” and let a “murderer walk!”

Biden’s predicament is clear. Leaving the moral arguments to one side, his approach recognises the power of a crown prince regarded as impetuous, unpredictable and ruthless by the intelligence services in Washington, but who could soon be the king of a major US ally in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a vital anti-terror partner and remains key to stabilizing oil markets that could scuttle US economic prosperity. Ditching it would make America’s longtime enemy, Iran, more powerful in that region.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has called for an independent investigation led by the Attorney General into allegations of sexual misconduct by New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo. Over the weekend, after another woman emerged with sexual misconduct claims against the politician. It is the third sexual harassment allegation made against Mr Cuomo in recent weeks, who was also accused of inappropriate conduct by two former aides. Other Democrat politicians were also calling for the first time for Mr Cuomo’s resignation, including the Representative for New York’s 4th congressional district Ms Rice, who wrote on Twitter: “The time has come. The Governor must resign.” This can only be regarded as a major embarrassment for the Democrats, coming as it does, after Cuomo had been widely praised for his pro-active stance on dealing with the pandemic in New York State. Some were even tipping him for a tilt at the presidency in the future! 🤦🏻‍♂️

And on that unsavoury note, I think that’s your lot for this week, folks! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. Please feel free to share as you please and by all means come back again for next week’s instalment. Until then, stay tuned in, stay informed and stay safe out there! See you all next week! 👋🏻

Hello, and welcome back to McGuckin’s Weekly Digest, the weekly politics blog which aims to make sense of what’s been happening in the murky world of politics in NI, the U.K. and the USA over the last week or so. I can’t possibly cover everything, as even on a quiet week that would be virtually impossible within this accessible, 10 minute format. The sheer amount of time required would also quite probably lead to me living in my garage/car/garden shed/tent, if you catch my drift? So, in the interests of maintaining blissfully harmonious domestic relations, here is my selective take on this week’s events. Again, I’ve held off on hitting the publish button at the usual Sunday/Monday am slot, as I was waiting to hear the details of Boris Johnston’s so called Roadmap for easing the current anti-Covid restrictions. As always, though, I shall begin in N. Ireland.

DUP Minister, Diane Dodds encapsulated her Party’s current contradictions over Brexit and the Irish Sea border perfectly this week, by performing a dramatic u-turn within 24 hours! It was a 360 degree doughnut any boy racer would be proud of! In the Assembly on Tuesday, Mrs Dodds appeared to reject a proposal highlighted by the SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole, which would reduce the scale of the new internal UK trade frontier. A Swiss-style UK veterinary and plant agreement with the EU to remove many of the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks between GB and NI. Switzerland follows EU rules on agri-food, even though as a non-EU member it has no democratic decision-making power over those rules.

At present, it is only N. Ireland which has to follow EU regulations relevant to the EU’s single market for goods and customs union, but Diane Dodds rejected the suggestion of the whole UK aligning with the EU in a limited way to reduce the scale of the Irish Sea border. The DUP Minister, who is a committed Brexiteer, told Mr O’Toole that “the Swiss-type arrangement that he talks about requires the whole of the UK slavishly to follow EU rules in every respect” and dismissed such an arrangement out of hand.

However, following a political backlash to Mrs Dodds’ comments, culminating in Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken’s interview with Good Morning Ulster on Wednesday, she performed an about turn. Mr Aiken told the BBC that “when she was given the opening to point out that here is something that could help dismantle the Irish Sea border, she seemed to go down the line of we need to be following the hard Brexit path and that is not what we need to do – anything we can do to break down the border is something that we should be doing”. Within the hour, Mrs Dodds appeared on the same programme to state that she would now accept such an arrangement. How strange? Would it be possible that the DUP have adopted a position on supporting a hard Brexit on one hand, yet seeking to dismantle the NI Protocol and subsequent Irish Sea border on the other hand, which is simply incompatible and not accepting of reality? Surely not! 🧐

They haven’t gone away, you know? Not so much a certain Republican paramilitary organisation, but rather the seemingly constant furore surrounding the funeral of a certain former member of said organisation. Yes, the Bobby Storey funeral story was back in the news this week, again! And the BBC’s Stephen Nolan, as well as his increasingly regular sidekick, Stormont’s resident curmudgeon, Jim Allister, were all over it, again! If you remember, Mr Storey’s funeral last June caused considerable controversy due to the large crowds in attendance and the lack of social distancing in evidence. Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, in particular, quite rightly received a lot of criticism for justifying her attendance and actions at the mass gathering. Further to that, there was added controversy surrounding events at the Council run Roselawn Crematorium. Other families were kept at the gates of the facility, while up to 30 mourners were allowed inside to attend the service for Mr Storey. There were accusations that Sinn Fein were effectively allowed to have exclusive control of and access to the facility for the afternoon in question.

So, this week, an independent report, conducted by barrister Peter Coll, into Belfast City Council’s handling of the cremation of former IRA man Bobby Storey, concluded that it found no evidence the service was handled differently due to his connections to Sinn Fein. The report, which runs to more than 100 pages, is also believed to have found no evidence of political influence on council Chief Executive, Suzanne Wylie over the cremation. However, there was considerable consternation at this outcome, and not just from Jim Allister. Many of the relatives of the other families affected were understandably disappointed by the findings. The fact that the investigation had no power to compel witnesses to give evidence or be cross examined leaves it open to accusations of being a toothless, window dressing exercise, or a whitewash, even! Sinn Fein, however, will be more than happy to put this behind them. Nothing to see here, let’s move along now! Well, I’m with the wee curmudgeon on this one, I’m afraid, as I remain to be convinced! 🧐

Finally, for my N Ireland news at least, we have witnessed something quite rare in the recent political history of the state, In a highly unusual act of unity, the leaders of unionism have united to legally challenge the Irish Sea border, via a Judicial Review, arguing rather sensationally that it breaches the Act of Union and the Belfast Agreement.

The judicial review is to be brought at Belfast High Court, although may very well end up in the U.K. Supreme Court, and has been spearheaded by TUV leader and QC Jim Allister, former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib and ex-Labour peer, Kate Hoey. DUP leader Arlene Foster and UUP leader Steve Aiken said later that they would also be supporting the case. An impressive and unprecedented show of unity, indeed!

The applicants will argue that the protocol conflicts with Article Six of the Act of Union (Ireland) Act 1800 which set out the requirement for free trade within the British Isles. They will also state that Stormont cross-community voting is “at the core of the constitutional settlement” flowing from the Belfast Agreement and that for the vote on the protocol to remove that mechanism is unlawful.

In support of the initiative, Arlene Foster said: “Fundamental to the Act of Union is unfettered trade throughout the United Kingdom. At the core of the Belfast Agreement was the principle of consent yet the Northern Ireland Protocol has driven a coach and horses through both the Act of Union and the Belfast Agreement.” However, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood commented that the legal action was “ill-judged and will only further entrench the febrile political environment as well as creating further uncertainty for people and businesses”. On the other hand, Former Ulster Unionist First Minister, David Trimble, said that the protocol has fundamentally undermined the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to which he was the critical unionist contributor. I think the legal challenge may be a tall order and could take months, or longer if it goes to the Supreme Court to reach a conclusion. By then, many of the issues around the new customs border may have been resolved to some degree. Nevertheless, this will be one we may well be returning to in the future. Watch this space!

At the time of writing, Boris Johnson has just announced and published his eagerly anticipated roadmap for the lifting of Covid restrictions in England. Restrictions will be eased from March 8th on a step-by-step basis. A four-stage plan could see England’s coronavirus restrictions finally lifted by June 21st. Overall, the PM is adopting an uncharacteristically cautious tone, perhaps stung by criticism over his fatally gung ho, optimistic approach the last time round.

However, one aspect of the plan causing controversy is the decision to send all school children back to school on March 8th, with no phased return, as recommended by the scientific advisers and as preferred by the other U.K. devolved administrations. There will be provision for pupils to be tested. Pupils in secondary schools and colleges will be asked to use a lateral flow device when they return, and if they test negative, they will be allowed to resume face-to-face classes.

The decision comes despite calls from education unions to adopt a “phased return” of students – similar to in Wales and Scotland where schools began reopening to the youngest pupils on Monday. The scepticism from the unions is understandable. The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) has said its “consensus view remains that the full re-opening of schools is likely to increase the R-rate by a factor of 1.1 to 1.5 (10 per cent to 50 per cent)”. Data published by the Office for National Statistics ONS, also confirmed teaching union fears that teachers have a higher probability of testing positive for Covid than most other occupations, being 5.4% for secondary school teachers, which is even higher than for nurses at 4.8%!

If your mantra is that reopening schools is the priority, this would seem one area where ministers may want to tailor the official advice and provide teachers with the reassurance of a vaccine and therefore remove the central barrier for them returning to work. But that would be too much like common sense, though, wouldn’t it? 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

The hopeful and optimistic overtones generated by the PM’s announcement will have provided a welcome distraction from the other problems that were stacking up at No.10 this week. It’s been an absolute road crash of a week on several fronts.

For example, the High Court ruled that Health Secretary Matt Hancock had acted unlawfully when his department did not reveal details of contracts it had agreed during the pandemic within 30 days of them being signed. The judge, Mr Justice Chamberlain, ruled the failure to do so breached the “vital public function” of transparency over how “vast quantities” of taxpayers’ money was spent. The judgment is a victory for the Good Law Project (GLP), a crowdfunded, not-for-profit organisation that is making a series of legal challenges related to the government’s procurement of PPE and other services during the pandemic. This is really quite damning, and was followed up by an ill advised tv interview, where the Health Secretary was interrogated by Good Morning Britain presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. In the cringe inducing, tetchy exchanges, Hancock refused to apologise for breaking the law and even asserted that people should be thanking “his team” for all the hard work they’ve put in! Humility is clearly not his strong point! He also shrugged off allegations that a mate who used to own his favourite local bar, was awarded a government contract worth millions to produce vaccine vials (test tubes), despite there being no tendering process and despite having no prior experience in this field. Seems legit! 🤔

In other bad news for Boris and another nail in the coffin of open and transparent government, the union representing senior civil servants has announced it is launching a judicial review seeking to “overturn” the PM’s ruling that Home Secretary, Priti Patel, did not breach the ministerial code. The intervention comes after the decision by the Prime Minister last year to completely disregard the findings of an investigation into the Home Secretary’s behaviour written by his independent ethics adviser. Sir Alex Allan, who produced the report and later quit after his advice was overruled, found evidence of bullying and that Ms Patel had not always treated Civil Servants with ‘consideration and respect’. However, in a statement this week, the FDA union said it could not allow the PM to “simply let this issue rest”, as it announced legal action to “overturn” the prime minister’s decision in November. Boris may yet regret standing by his long time ally, Patel, who has been no stranger to controversy as both Home Secretary and previously as International Development Secretary.

And just what has been going on inside No.10 Downing Street over the past week? Just two weeks after Boris Johnson’s senior adviser on ethnic minorities, Samuel Kasumu, resigned complaining of “unbearable” tension within Downing Street (but then was persuaded to stay on), there has been another sudden and seemingly rancorous departure!

The apparent purge of former Vote Leave staffers in Boris Johnson’s inner circle has continued with the departure of Oliver Lewis, a key aide who was appointed to head the No 10 unit devoted to keeping the union together just over a fortnight ago! Lewis, who was head of research at the Vote Leave campaign under Dominic Cummings, also acted as the de facto deputy to David Frost when he negotiated the UK’s Brexit deal. Cummings himself departed suddenly back in November, along with long time ally, Lee Cain. Friends said Lewis had decided to resign, as he felt his position inside Downing Street had become untenable – with one suggesting he had been accused of leaking to the press. However, Michael Gove has been accused of orchestrating the removal of Lewis in an attempt to retain his position at the heart of Government, it has been alleged. The plot thickens! All of these revolving door goings on paint a chaotic picture of life inside the Boris Johnson regime, with Machiavellian plotting and back stabbing a plenty. It really does seem like they’re acting out successive episodes of the satirical comedy drama, The Thick Of It, at times! If you’ve never watched it, it’s on BBC iPlayer, but comes with a bad language health warning!

In other news, Nicola Sturgeon is having a spot of bother with former colleague, friend and Party boss, Alex Salmond, who is due to give evidence to a Holyrood inquiry into allegations that the First Minister was dishonest about meetings she had with Salmond while he was under investigation for sexual harassment. Charges he was subsequently acquitted of. He now feels that former comrades, including Sturgeon, were happy to throw him under the bus, as it were, and he’s not happy about it!

Oh, and Sir Keir Starmer made a keynote speech this week, where he attempted to lay out his vision for the Labour Party in the years ahead and what they would do if they were returned to power. He attempted to invoke the post-war spirit after 1945, when Britain embarked on a massive rebuilding and modernisation programme but also instigated huge social reforms, such as the introduction of the welfare state. His key message was “no return to the old normal”, a direct criticism of a decade of Tory austerity which left the country and NHS woefully ill-prepared for the pandemic. Starmer made plenty of grandiose but quite general pledges, with nothing too specific, which was perhaps the problem. I was left feeling distinctly underwhelmed, to be honest. If Starmer and Labour are to win back the voters trust, he will need to find more of that most unquantifiable of qualities – charismatic authority! I’m afraid we need a bit more oomph, Keir! Luckily, he’s still got a bit of time!

And so to America! It looks like there is a serious conflict under way to wrestle control of the Republican Party in the post-Trump era. Increasingly, there has been a growing movement among Republican fundraisers to try to fight off threats from the Trump-supporting majority, which has maintained its hold on the Republican base, despite Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Though still in a minority, Trump’s critics – and the wealthy donors who are backing them – are working hard on multiple fronts to try to prise control of the party away from those still wedded to the Trump camp.

In particular, Nikki Haley, the ex-Trump UN ambassador who is eyeing a presidential run in 2024, is due to host Zoom fundraisers for her Political Action Committee (Pac), and is expected to draw dozens of big Republican donors attracted to her criticism of Trump during the Senate trial, when Haley said she was “disgusted” and “angry” at Trump’s role in the 6 January riot. Her fundraising Pac, named Stand for America, is expected to also support Liz Cheney and others who voted to impeach Trump. Another intensive effort to try to challenge Trumpism within the GOP is also being mounted by a new Pac called Country First, which was unveiled in late January by the Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of just 10 Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump. Like Haley, Kinzinger was outspoken after the Senate failed to convict Trump, despite heavy criticism from within his own state. These are fascinating developments and it will be interesting to see who ultimately triumphs in the ongoing war over the very soul of the Republican Party.

And speaking of the loyal Trump supporters and enablers within the GOP, one of the most prominent in recent months has been Texas Senator, Ted Cruz. Despite spectacularly falling out with Trump during their bitter rivalry for the Republican Presidential nomination race, Cruz has been accused of very cynically backing Trump in his final months and days in order to secure the support of the Trump base for his next tilt at the presidency. So, it may have come as little surprise to his many political enemies that this political chameleon, who spinelessly runs with the fox and hunts with the hounds, would be found wanting during a major crisis in his home state.

I mean, who takes off to a sunny beach resort in Mexico for a family holiday when your home state is suffering from a freak blitz of snow and ice that left millions without power or running water? Ted Cruz, that’s who! What on earth was he thinking? He has been royally caught out committing a fundamental political error — deserting his constituents in their hour of need. Never mind that the US government strongly advises against travel to Mexico during the pandemic, and Cruz himself warned Texans to stay home due to dangerous weather. Cruz then compounded his woes with a cack-handed effort to retrieve the situation. He jetted back home once his escape to the sun was exposed, and released a statement protesting he was trying to be a good dad because his daughters wanted a trip to Cancun. Cruz doesn’t have a formal role in responding to the storm, but as a senator, he has clout in Washington and could help to generate and mobilize support for his state, as well as obviously offering solidarity to its beleaguered citizens. This may be one that comes back to haunt Cruz in the future and may even dent those presidential ambitions, with any luck!

And speaking of Trump enablers, one of the most significant of all was not a politician but a radio and tv broadcaster by the name of Rush Limbaugh. Some say Rush Limbaugh was Trump before Trump.

The ultra conservative radio icon, who died on Wednesday after a battle with cancer, had spent decades preparing the ground and building the angry Republican base that became the Trump base. Without Limbaugh, Fox News may never have found a foothold either — he basically invented the right-wing propagandizing that now fills the network’s evening schedule. He was a close personal friend of Donald Trump, so his loss will be keenly felt by the ex-president. The more liberal and progressive half of American society and the political sphere will certainly not be mourning his passing, however. Somewhat ironically, Limbaugh died of lung cancer after spending years denying the fact that smoking caused the disease.

Students of US Politics will no doubt be aware of the much maligned practice of pork barrelling which had been a very prevalent means of conducting congressional business until quite recently.

Earmarks, which facilitated the pork barrelling, were simply considered the cost of doing business in Washington. There are legendary tales of pork barrel spending, such as the infamous Bridge to Nowhere, in Gravina Island, Alaska, proposed by Senator Ted Stevens. The bridge was projected to cost $398 million! This and other eye wateringly expensive pet projects got earmarks a bad name, and it was good politics for the conservative House majority to outlaw them from 2011. However, they may be due for a comeback soon. Without backhanders, party leaders struggled to get members to cast tough votes, further cementing an era of gridlock. Now House and Senate Democrats are considering a return of earmarks so members get some credit for sending money home. I can’t wait to see some of the huge, white elephant vanity projects that will emerge from this in a few years!

Meanwhile, the massive scale and scope of the FBI investigation into the invasion of the Capitol buildings have been revealed. Already the number of people who have been arrested, either by the FBI, Capitol police or local Washington DC officers has reached 235 and counting, spanning more than 40 sates. As the investigation widens and deepens, the focus is tightening on anyone considered to have acted as a coordinator of the action in an attempt to take out the ringleaders.

The FBI has set up a special strike force of experienced federal prosecutors who have been given the express instruction to pursue aggressive sedition and conspiracy charges. So far at least 26 people have been charged with conspiracy or assault. At least 10 members of the extremist group the Proud Boys are among the mounting number of those arrested, including the self-declared Proud Boys leader – Ethan Nordean. On the back of mounting evidence of the Proud Boys’ leadership role in the attack, the Canadian government even moved to designate the group as a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, several members of the Oath Keepers, one of the largest far-right militia groups in the US, have also been arrested.

Perhaps an even more worrying aspect emerging from the investigation is the number of current and former law enforcement officers and military personnel who are among them. The roll of dishonour so far includes eight former marine and at least four law enforcement officers who were actively serving in their positions at the time of the 6 January attack. They have since left their jobs. One of the emerging truths that FBI detectives and prosecutors will have to wrestle with is that, despite the substantial presence of white supremacists and military personnel, most of those who have been arrested are what might be described as unremarkable Americans with no previous criminal records or history of extremist behaviour. Now, that is worrying! 😳

Finally, it looks like President Biden may fall short on a key demand by the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party – student debt relief! In the starkest terms he’s used to date, President Joe Biden made it explicit on Tuesday night that he favours only modest student loan debt relief over the more ambitious proposal his progressive base, and party leaders in the Senate, are demanding.

Then, on Wednesday, his White House suggested that even that modest package may not happen. Speaking to reporters at the daily briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden planned to hold off on making any decisions on student loan debt executive action until his appointees at the Justice Department have a chance to review the issue. There is no immediate time frame on that legal review process, which will happen alongside a review by Biden’s domestic policy advisers, she said. This will come as a big disappointment to people like Elizabeth Warren and even Chuck Schumer, not to mention those further to left like Aexandria Ocasio Cortez.

Well, that’s me for another week, folks! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading . Please feel free to share or access the blog back catalogue via McGuckin’s Weekly Digest @ WordPress.com. Until next week then, stay informed, stay tuned in and stay safe out there! Bye! 👋🏻

Hello and welcome back to this week’s edition of the Weekly Digest, the politics blog that covers a selection of the significant political shenanigans and goings on in NI, UK and USA over the last week or so. I am a bit late this week, as I didn’t want to press the ‘publish’ button until completing my analysis of the impeachment trial result in the US Senate. It was also Valentine’s Day on Sunday, so I sensibly opted to give my undivided attention to my long suffering partner, rather than my not quite so long suffering laptop! I know, I’m all heart! With it being Valentine’s Day this week, was there much love and harmony in the air on the political front? Well, what do you think? 🤷🏻‍♂️ As always, I shall begin in the politically romantic vacuum that is NI!

In a glimmer of hope for the disparate elements of unionism in NI who are opposed to the NI Protocol and consequent Irish Sea border, Boris Johnson last week appeared to “cast doubt” on the Good Friday agreement following the EU bloc’s ill-judged and short lived decision to invoke article 16 of the protocol over the distribution of vaccines. The UK has asked for a two-year transition period on core elements to the protocol, including checks on supermarket food supplies from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and demanded a “permanent solution” on chilled meats from GB. Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove also insisted that the UK wanted “urgent resolution” of the problems, and that lengthy technical discussions would not be acceptable. “What is required is political, not technical solutions,” he said.

However, the European Commission has ruled out major changes to the Brexit deal’s Northern Ireland protocol, saying it would not even consider any flexibility unless the UK first meets its obligations under the pact in full. EU Commission Vice-President, Maroš Šefčovič, stated in a letter to Michael Gove that the protocol was “the only way” to protect the Good Friday agreement. He said it was “the solution agreed by the UK and the EU to the significant challenges” posed for the island of Ireland by Brexit, “designed to ensure clarity and predictability for people and businesses while minimising disruption”. The agreement represented “a balanced outcome” and was “a mutually agreed legal obligation”, Šefčovič said – but he warned that it required “full and faithful implementation” and listed several areas in which he said the UK was not complying.

So, after a crisis meeting on Thursday, Gove and Šefčovič had come to an understanding, much to the chagrin of the DUP and other Unionists, and reiterated their “full commitment” to the NI Protocol. A joint statement was issued in which they agreed to “spare no effort” in implementing solutions. They pledged “further joint engagement by the UK and the EU with business groups and civic society in Northern Ireland”. The two politicians agreed to convene the joint committee, which oversees implementation of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, no later than 24 February to provide “the necessary political steer”. The talks came amid mounting tensions over post-Brexit problems in Northern Ireland, and anger in the EU at UK demands for a rethink. There was anger in some EU capitals at what they see as British attempts to exploit controversy over the commission’s brief move to trigger article 16 of the protocol last month by demanding a wholesale rethink of the protocol, which was designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. However, in an embarrassing climb down, the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, had to eat several large slices of humble pie and apologise for the move, saying it was a mistake she deeply regretted, and the commission is working on mechanisms to ensure future EU legislation is double-checked for its impact on Northern Ireland.

Ireland’s Taoiseach (PM), Micheal Martin, called for the EU and UK to “dial down the rhetoric”. Martin said there were “elements the British government could sort out, but likewise on the European side I would say some member states need to cool it as well”.

And speaking of Michael Gove! Mr Gove was involved in Westminster’s most entertaining verbal exchange of last week, when he was accosted by DUP MP, Ian Paisley, over the NI Protocol. The Cabinet Office Minister was challenged in the House of Commons over his unionist credentials. Ian Paisley said the minister had previously “boasted” about singing The Sash (a unionist cultural/musical oddity most likely lost on most of the MP’s present) and urged Mr Gove to take action to protect the union during his meeting with the European Commission Vice-President. Mr Gove acknowledged Mr Paisley’s remarks and confidently revealed that his repertoire extended much further than The Sash! He replied: “I do have a formidable singing record but I can also sing The Fields of Athenry and Flower of Scotland, not to mention Swing Low, Sweet Chariot…”. Also adding “I am a convinced unionist, I do believe in the strength of the United Kingdom, all of us working together, and I look forward to working with him and all representatives from Northern Ireland to ensure our United Kingdom can flourish in the future.” It was a quick witted and sure footed riposte, but I’m sure Ian Paisley and a much more sceptical unionist body politic are not entirely convinced!

Bad enough that the DUP have been copping a lot of flack for their hand in the creation of an Irish Sea customs border, now they’ve been accused of creating an ‘energy border’, too! The Ulster Farmers Union have levelled the accusation at DUP Minister, Diane Dodds.

Last week the Economy Minister announced that she planned to shut the infamous RHI scheme, which closed to new entrants in 2016, and has launched a public consultation with a view to giving a final payment of £35,000 – less than the subsidy which many boilers had been getting annually under the 20-year scheme. Most boilers were installed in agricultural settings, particularly poultry farmers, and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) said that it wanted to see “parity with Great Britain” which still has its own scheme now paying far higher subsidies. The RoI also has a more generous scheme in place, which would place NI farmers at a competitive disadvantage! RHI and it’s ongoing legacy is just the gift that keeps on giving and the monkey that the DUP just can’t seem to shift off it’s back!

Let’s return to London now and see what’s been going on at Westminster and No10! First, the good news for Boris Johnston’s government,

The PM was pictured visiting a health centre to hail the vaccination programme reaching it’s ambitious target of 15 million first doses by Monday. Bravo! 👏🏻👍🏻 When the Government has so tragically mismanaged almost every other aspect of the Covid crisis you can understand why Boris would want to focus maximum attention on this solitary achievement, albeit significant! He will certainly wish to draw attention away from new evidence of blatant cronyism in how £millions of PPE contracts were issued, failure to heed previous scientific warnings to lockdown earlier, failure of track and trace, and now serious question marks around the belated hotel quarantine system.

The Prime Minister needs to tread a fine line, however, and may find himself a victim of his own success. The roll out has emboldened the Tory right in their libertarian crusade for the imminent lifting of the lockdown restrictions. The Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs wrote to Johnson demanding schools in England reopen fully on the 8th March, pubs and hospitality venues by Easter and all restrictions gone by the end of April. The request has been disingenuously framed by their concern at the damage the lockdown has done to children’s education and to people’s mental health. Now, if I was the cynical type, (perish the thought!) I might say these Conservative MPs were less concerned about children’s education and people’s mental health when the Government cut per pupil funding by 8% between 2010 and 2019 and mental health trust funding by 8.25% between 2010 and 2015. Just saying! 🤷🏻‍♂️

Boris Johnston was not so assured at the dispatch box this week, as he was put under the spotlight by the Labour front bench and by the SNP’s Ian Blackford. Questioned by Keir Starmer at PMQ’s, the Prime Minister was typically evasive when he said the British people would have to wait for the Budget on March 3 to find out the future of coronavirus support schemes, including VAT cuts, business rates relief and furlough, beyond April. He also declined to say if the ban on many residential evictions will be extended beyond February 21. And he has not yet confirmed if he will go ahead with plans to cut Universal Credit by £85 a month, almost back to its pre-pandemic levels, on April 12.

Yet when asked by the SNP’s Ian Blackford if he would keep the current Universal Credit rate, to avoid “leaving millions of children out in the cold”, Mr Johnson said: “I must say that I reject entirely what the right honourable gentleman has just said. I do not believe that any Government could have done more to help the people of this country throughout this pandemic, and we will continue to do so.” Apart from dodging the question entirely, obviously any capacity for self-reflection and humility is severely limited with Boris! Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner was having none of it, as you might expect, and said: “The Prime Minister’s incompetence has led to the worst death toll in Europe and the worst economic crisis of any major economy.” Well, quite!

It was also revealed this week that a firm owned by a family associate and friend of Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, was awarded a Government contract for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) worth £14.4 million, without any tendering process! In the event, the shell company, CH&L Ltd, was unable to fulfil the contract and the deposit paid by Hancock’s department was returned to the Government. However, it does raise further, serious questions about the cronyism at play around the whole procurement process!

Director, Frances Stanley is also director of Newmarket Racecourse, based in Hancock’s West Suffolk constituency, and has direct links to the local MP. Her husband, Peter Stanley, also in the horse racing business, donated £5,000 to Hancock’s office in June 2019. Frances Stanley appears to have worked with Hancock on various projects related to Newmarket. The minister has received substantial funding from individuals linked to the sport, with estimates suggesting he has fundraised nearly £70,000 from horse racing benefactors. Dido Harding, appointed by the Government to run the UK’s highly dubious testing and contact tracing programme, also holds a board position at the Jockey Club – alongside Peter Stanley. All very cosy indeed!

In this context, it is worth remembering that the Government, controversially, allowed the Cheltenham horse racing festival to go ahead in mid-March last year, attracting more than 250,000 visitors, and was widely viewed as being a COVID-19 super-spreader event. The UK entered a nationwide lockdown just 10 days after the festival. Conservative donors have won contracts worth a staggering £881 million during the pandemic so far. This is an issue that is not going away for Matt Hancock or the government any time soon, it would appear! In fact, some MPs have taken up the case and two weeks ago a ‘Crony Bill’ was introduced to the House of Commons by Scottish National Party MP, Owen Thompson. If passed, the legislation would ensure that MPs can interrogate ministers about any personal, political or financial connections they may have to a company that is awarded a Government contract. It will be interesting to see how the government side votes on this one! They wouldn’t want to be seen to be hiding anything or blocking the very reasonable demand for transparency, now, would they? 🤔

Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, was also facing heavy criticism this week after announcing what appeared to be a huge and much needed investment in upgrading or replacing defective or dangerous cladding from high rise buildings. Jenrick claimed the £3.5bn scheme is “the largest ever government investment in building safety”. He immediately faced an angry backlash, however, because as always, the devil was in the detail!

The new scheme will guarantee that private leaseholders face “no costs” for cladding removal or remediation but only in buildings over 18 metres, or six storeys high in England. There was fierce criticism, therefore, for “arbitrarily” leaving out people in smaller blocks and making them pay. Flat owners in blocks of four to six storeys – or 11 to 18 metres – will have to take out a loan to remove cladding, which will be repayable at up to £50 a month for “many years”. The £50-a-month loans will remain with the flats themselves, not individual owners, meaning new buyers will have to factor them in when they decide to take on a leasehold flat. This could lower prices. The loans will be “long term” and “low interest”, Mr Jenrick said – but he failed to set a time after which they would expire. And there is still no answer to other key questions – including how quickly the problem will be solved, and how long people will be left paying for “waking watches” to farcically check their home is not currently on fire.

This all comes three and a half years after flammable cladding tragically claimed the lives of 72 people in Grenfell Tower and which is still subject to an ongoing inquiry. How many Grenfells does it take, you wonder, before the government steps up and takes full responsibility for this huge problem?

Right, let’s head over to the USA where there has really only been one story dominating the headlines this week. Yes, it’s the impeachment trial of ex-President Donald Trump! By now we know the sadly predictable outcome, as the Senate vote fell well short of the two thirds required to convict. It wasn’t for the want of trying, however, on the prosecution team’s part. Although the trial only lasted a few days, a lot of evidence and testimony, arguments and counter arguments were put forward. The second day of the ex-President’s second Senate trial, in particular, was harrowing, as Democratic impeachment managers re-created the terror of the Capitol insurrection. It was also illuminating, as they constructed a clear timeline showing a long-term effort by Trump to prime his supporters to reject his election loss, by whatever means necessary!

Using previously unseen footage of the mob invasion of Capitol Hill, Raskin’s prosecution team showed senators remarkable scenes of then-Vice President Mike Pence being hustled to safety only yards away from rioters who wanted to hang him. Mitt Romney —the only Republican Senator to vote to convict Trump during his first impeachment trial — was saved from running directly into the mob by a Capitol Police officer. Many of the watching senators looked deeply shocked, including Republicans who had spent years abetting Trump’s abuses of power. Not shocked enough, however, to vote to convict! Why not, you may well ask? How could any Senator with an open mind and clear conscience ignore such startling, disturbing and overwhelming evidence and opt to vote against conviction? Well, it’s all about political expediency and self-preservation, I’m afraid. We are still dealing in the realpolitik of a bitterly divided United States.

Although seven Republican Senators did vote with their conscience and declared the ex-President guilty, this fell well short of the 15 that would have been required. No GOP politician who wants a future can afford to rattle the cage of Trump’s most fervent supporters. The political machinations on display were both telling and fascinating. Presidential hopefuls like Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas were always guaranteed to continue with their long-standing appeasement of their former rival. The influential Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell voted to acquit Trump, but then later issued a damning speech condemning him. The Kentucky Republican was a test case of how political expediency overruled any sense of principle. McConnell will need Trump voters to reclaim the Senate in the 2022 mid-terms and therein lies the perennial conundrum.

Of the Republicans who voted to convict, two are close to retirement. Only one will face voters next year — Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has a fairly independent power base in Alaska, anyway, and has been no stranger to opposing GOP radicals. One surprise vote to convict, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, may have figured that memories of his disloyalty to Trump will have faded by the time he runs again in 2026. So, you begin to see the stark reality, the GOP may have shaken off Trump, but they are still beholden to his extensive base and what they represent. The MAGA movement, including its more extremist tendencies, is going nowhere anytime soon!

And what of President Joe Biden amidst this political theatre playing out in the Capitol? Well, Biden quite sensibly kept it all at arms length and did not allow it to distract him from quietly but determinedly dealing with the more pressing tasks at hand in the Oval Office.

On the most pressing of all issues, the pandemic response, the Biden White House announced it was consulting with Amazon and other tech giants with “logistics and technical expertise” to help get the vaccine out to Americans. Biden’s administration has to consider new and innovative approaches as it struggles with the messy logistics of a vaccine rollout in the geographically vast United States.

President Biden also connected domestic with foreign policy, after making a lengthy 2 hour phone call to Chinese premier, Xi Jinping. In open and frank exchanges, they had wide ranging discussions on a number of contentious issues. The mere fact that they are communicating effectively, however, and have already formed the basis for a mutually respectful working relationship should be seen as a hugely positive development. Trump’s blundering diplomacy had set back US-China relations by decades!

After the meeting Biden warned that China will “eat our lunch” if America doesn’t “step up” its infrastructure spending. An area where China has been very proactive and his left the US trailing in its wake. President Biden also discussed several other points of friction with the Chinese President during his call. The White House said he voiced “fundamental” concerns about Beijing’s “coercive and unfair” trade practices, as well as concerns over China’s crackdown in Hong Kong and treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang. He also raised China’s increasingly assertive posture toward Taiwan and the country’s lack of transparency over Covid-19, said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Mr Xi maintained a hard line on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan, calling them matters of “sovereignty and territorial integrity”. He told Mr Biden confrontation would be a “disaster” and the two sides should re-establish the means to avoid misjudgements, China’s foreign ministry said. Although US – Chinese rivalry is here to stay, this phone call hopefully marks a positive step on the road to more measured and constructive diplomatic relations between the two superpowers going forward. All in all, this was a good week’s work for President Biden, who looks set to keep up the busy schedule and sense of positive momentum achieved in his first weeks in office. To use a well worn colloquialism from your ancestral homeland, Joe – ‘keep ‘er lit!’

Well, that’s me for another week, folks! Once again, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading and feel free to share. As always, it only remains for me to say – stay tuned in, stay informed and stay safe out there! Until next week, then, zai jian! 👋🏻

Hello, and welcome back to Blog 22 of the Weekly Digest politics blog, where I try to make sense of the preceding week’s political going’s on in N Ireland, UK and USA. The political fallout from last week’s shenanigans around the EU’s threat to trigger Article 16 showed no signs of abating, we had another local Twitter twit (there’s always guaranteed to be at least one!) embroiled in a racism controversy, as well as a crazy, Q-anon supporting Congresswoman causing a stir. Never a dull moment!

We begin with everyone’s favourite curmudgeonly MLA, Jim Allister. Even if you don’t agree with wee Jim’s politics, and many don’t let’s be honest, I think we can all agree that he is a very effective member of the NI Assembly. This week he secured the final passage of the Functioning of Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which was introduced by the TUV leader a year ago in response to the cash for ash scandal. Remember that?

It creates one entirely new criminal offence – of a minister or spad sending official information to someone for the improper benefit of any person. The bill also makes ministers both legally accountable and responsible for their spads (Special Advisers), brings spads under the civil service code, allows the standards commissioner to investigate complaints against ministers, caps spad pay and reduces the number of the first ministers’ spads from eight to six. Furthermore, it attempts to prevent Sinn Féin circumventing the law by appointing ‘super spads’, constrains ministers’ royal prerogative powers, and creates a legal duty to keep records of when spads and ministers are lobbied. However, a second criminal offence in the bill’s original wording – which could have jailed ministers, spads or civil servants who evaded scrutiny by using private electronic devices or email accounts – had already been voted down by the Assembly at an earlier stage. Despite this, it was a praiseworthy attempt by Mr Allister to apply some retrospective scrutiny and accountability to one of the notoriously shady areas of local politics – the role and powers of Special Advisers! While he may have been motivated by his need to embarrass his political rivals, the DUP, Jim is undoubtedly a stickler for doing things by the book. So, credit where it’s due! Well played, Jim! 👏🏻

And speaking of the DUP? The largest Unionist party in NI is still at the centre of the ongoing furore over the Irish Sea customs border. There has been a serious damage limitation exercise in progress this week, with lots of the party’s big beasts hitting the airwaves, hogging the current affairs tv schedules and filling column inches in a concerted effort to divert blame for the more unpalatable out workings of the hard Brexit they vociferously campaigned for in the first place. The EU were heavily criticised at the beginning of the week by DUP leader, Arlene Foster, for their heavy handed threat to trigger Article 16 of the NI Protocol. Article 16 of the protocol part of the deal allows the EU and UK to choose to suspend any aspects they consider are causing “economic, societal or environmental difficulties”. The EU announced it would trigger the clause and introduce the export controls on its vaccines entering Northern Ireland in a bid to prevent the region becoming a backdoor for jabs to be sent to the UK. It later reversed this decision, but ironically, unionist parties in NI, particularly the DUP, have been urging the UK government to use Article 16 to reduce checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

The DUP then aimed it’s opprobrium at the Irish government. In a statement released on Tuesday the party stated; “As the largest unionist party at Stormont, we also intend to send a strong signal to the government of the Republic of Ireland that north-south relationships are also impacted by the implementation of a protocol which they supported.” The DUP’s Westminster leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the party “cannot continue in a normal relationship” with Dublin on matters related to the protocol. In practical terms, this could mean the DUP boycotting meetings of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC), and other north-south meetings that are focused on the operation of the protocol. In reply, an Irish government spokesperson said the protocol was “negotiated and agreed between the EU and the UK, and approved by Westminster”. They also reaffirmed their commitment to work constructively to resolve outstanding issues relating to the protocol. Mind you, Sir Jeffrey, without a merest hint of irony, also said this week that he was at a loss when it came to examples of ‘an internal border within a country that separates one part of the country from the other’. Somebody clearly wasn’t listening during his Irish history lessons!🤦🏻‍♂️

All of this tempted Boris Johnston onto the twittersphere in response.

Fine, but quite possibly hollow words from the compulsively disingenuous Prime Minister. Clearly the DUP aren’t the only ones seeking to deflect responsibility and blame for the need for a NI Protocol in the first place. All of this comes amid alleged ‘heightened tensions’ within the PUL/loyalist community over the protocol and Irish Sea border. Threatening and sinister graffiti has appeared in several locations, targeting customs officials and even Leo Varadkar, the Irish Tánaiste. (Dep PM). The DUP have been accused of deliberately stoking tensions for their own political ends and to apply more pressure on the U.K. Government. This has been criticised as being highly irresponsible by some of the other parties in NI. The Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill said the DUP was “whipping up hysteria” while others were “calling for calm and resolution”. Deputy leader of the Alliance Party, Stephen Farry, stated – “We should be working together to maximise derogations and flexibilities.”

And so to my Twitter Twit of the week! Well, there is probably only one contender, to be honest, and that is DUP MP, Gregory Campbell. Gregory is no stranger to controversy. Remember the outrage a few years back at his ‘curry my yoghurt’ comments in the Assembly chamber in a mocking pretence at speaking Irish? Well, I think he may have just topped that! Here is his tweet! Brace yourselves!

I actually don’t know where to begin with this one! The fact that Gregory went out of his way to take offence at an episode of a programme about gospel singing (let’s remember where gospel singing originated for a moment – mainly within the enslaved black population in the southern states of America!) because it predominantly featured black people is deeply worrying. Or at least, it should be! I genuinely fail to understand his logic and I genuinely despair at the barely concealed racism on display here. The fact that this comes from a democratically elected representative in NI should be a source of shame and embarrassment for all of us. However, most depressingly, this probably won’t unduly affect his vote at the next election one iota! Welcome to Northern Ireland! 😕

That seems a fitting juncture to leave NI behind and head across the Irish Sea border. Anything to declare? (sorry, I couldn’t resist!) Again, the big good news story is the vaccine roll out. 12m people have now received their first dose. This is undoubtedly very impressive, but don’t let it distract us totally, as the Tory government would like, from the still gut wrenching daily death toll and the sheer numbers of Covid patients swamping the hospital wards all over the U.K. Over 9000 people lost their lives to this dreadful virus in the last week alone!

It should be remembered that this current government has presided over a catalogue of mistakes regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Their response throughout has been characterised by procrastination, indecision, ineptitude and even alleged corruption. Arguably, that continued this week as it was revealed via a leak to The Times that Boris’ top scientists in SAGE warned over two weeks ago that closing borders, or forcing all arrivals into hotel quarantine, were the only ways to completely stop new Covid variants coming into the UK. SAGE said “reactive, geographically targeted” travel bans couldn’t be relied upon to stop variants like those in South Africa and Brazil reaching the UK. The incendiary leaked minutes are said to be from a meeting on January 21. This has now taken on added significance with the release of a scientific study showing that the Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine is less effective against the so called South African variant. Downing Street hit back against the story today, saying the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) did not directly advise Boris Johnston to shut the borders. Why am I not convinced? 🤔

There has also been more allegations of highly lucrative, Covid related contracts being handed out to private companies without tendering this week.

Boris Johnston has been accused of wasting taxpayers’ money on “unreliable” rapid Covid tests imported from China for use by Test and Trace. Despite the Prime Minister’s praise for Britain’s biotech industry, his government is on course to pay well over £1bn to American firm Innova Medical Group for huge supplies of its Chinese-made lateral flow tests. The 30-minute Innova tests have attracted criticism from some scientists and public health officials for their low levels of accuracy. Up to 40% of Covid cases were missed in one pilot study. British manufacturers’ own rival tests have reported a much higher accuracy, as well as being expected to deliver lower costs. Yet record numbers of the Innova tests are being flown into London by Virgin Atlantic Cargo jets on a daily basis from Chinese port city Xiamen, where the devices are manufactured on behalf of the US company. Therefore, it is likely to mean that Innova – which has already been paid more than £950m for tests bought in 2020 – has secured well over £1bn in taxpayers’ cash. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic airline has also been given contracts worth more than £8m to fly the tests from both Xiamen and Shanghai to the UK in January, February and March, according to recently published contracts. A nice little earner, if you’re well connected, eh Richard?

In other bad news for the government, it has been revealed that there has been a 68% fall-off in exports during the Jan period when compared to last year, and about 65%-75% of vehicles that had come over from the EU were going back empty because there were no goods for them to return with, due to hold-ups on the UK side, and because some UK companies had either temporarily or permanently halted exports to the EU. According to the House of Commons library, UK exports to the EU were £294bn in 2019 (43% of all UK exports) while UK imports from the EU were £374bn (52% of the total). The overwhelming majority of exports to the EU from the UK go through ports rather than by air. As part of the Brexit arrangements, the government decided to offer a six-month grace period, meaning the full range of physical checks would not be needed on imports until July.

Trade experts said part of the reason for the sharp fall in exports was the coincidence of Brexit and the pandemic. But several heads of trade bodies fear worse is to come. Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said: “As we look to April through to July what really worries me is we face a perfect storm.” … “The full Brexit crisis that we were predicting could well come into effect at that point.”

In recent weeks hundreds of UK companies have decided either to halt exports to the EU or to set up warehouses or subsidiaries within the EU so they can distribute goods more easily. Ministers say most of the Brexit-relating issues facing businesses are “teething problems”, although Michael Gove has accepted that those affecting Northern Ireland are more serious. “We do not recognise the figure provided on exports.” …”We will continue to work constructively with the RHA as we adjust to our new relationship with the EU and seize the opportunities of Brexit.” Here we go! He’ll be invoking the misty eyed imagery of those Brexit sunlit uplands again. Don’t you just love the unbridled, blind optimism of the Brexit mindset? 😳🤦🏻‍♂️

In yet another embarrassment for the government this week, we were reminded that millions of people still languish in homes that are effectively death traps because of dangerous cladding. Labour labelled the revelation “extraordinary”, as they declared that up to 11 million people may live in such potentially unsafe properties, some of whom have been forced to declare bankruptcy after receiving huge bills for remedial works and fire patrols. An Open Democracy investigation revealed that the government has even been accused of an attempted cover-up; the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government reportedly told local authorities that it was “appropriate” to block freedom of information requests about high-rise buildings covered in potentially dangerous aluminium cladding. All of this comes despite the ongoing inquiry into the Grenfell Tower catastrophe highlighting the potentially devastating consequences of using such cheap, inflammable materials. The more cynical among us may suspect that the apparent government inaction may have something to do with the fact that it mainly only affects people from the lower socio-economic groups, ie, the poor!

Finally, it has been revealed that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering tax increases for tech firms and online retailers such as Amazon that have seen a massive hike in profits during the pandemic, according to reports. Treasury officials are believed to be consulting tech firms and retailers to discuss how an “online sales tax” would work, according to leaked emails seen by the Sunday Times. Meanwhile, the Downing Street policy unit is also planning an “excessive profits tax” on companies whose profits surged because of the Covid-19 crisis, the newspaper said. However, neither tax rise is expected in the March budget, but they could arrive later this year. Although this makes perfect sense, the government has been traditionally loathe to take on these multi-national behemoth corporations in the past regarding taxation, so I remain healthily sceptical about this. As they say, the devil is always in the detail!

So, what’s been happening over in America this week? We were due a quiet, slow news week, surely? Well, not entirely!

In a dramatic and fairly unprecedented move, the Democratic-majority House of Representatives on Thursday voted to remove controversial congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee membership in the legislature. She has, therefore, been removed from the Education, Labor and Budget Committees.

Greene, from Georgia, has publicly supported the QAnon conspiracy theories and used violent rhetoric towards Democratic leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Ilhan Omar. In an unprecedented censure, 219 Democrats and just 11 Republicans voted in favour of her removal, while 199 Republicans voted against. “No member ought to be permitted to engage in the kind of behaviour that Representative Greene has and face zero consequences,” Democrat House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the chamber. Republicans, meanwhile, criticized the vote with members of leadership warning of possible political retaliation should they regain power. “This vote today sets a dangerous precedent for this institution that Democrats may regret when Republicans regain the majority,” said senior Republican Liz Cheney. Cheney said that while Greene’s comments were deplorable, Democrats “have no business determining which Republicans sit on committees.” Committees in the US Congress are designed to be bipartisan no matter who is in office, with each party typically choosing who to assign to which positions.

Shortly before the vote, Greene addressed the House. She apologized for some of her most contentious past comments — for instance saying that school shootings were staged hoaxes, or that no planes had hit the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. “These were words of the past, and these things… do not represent my values,” she said. “I was allowed to believe things that weren’t true and I would ask questions about them and talk about them. And that is absolutely what I regret.”

That’s quite the turnaround, given that only recently she was videoed harassing a school shooting survivor, David Hogg, in the street! Hogg was a survivor in February 2018, when a 19-year-old gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and opened fire, killing 17 students and staff. After the ordeal, a shocking video emerged online of Ms Greene harassing him in the street. In the now-deleted footage she is seen telling him he is “trained – like a dog” and is “an idiot”. The students of Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, reached global prominence with the March for Our Lives protest and Hogg has emerged as prominent voice calling for tighter gun controls in the USA. Greene did not apologise for berating him, nor for seeming to endorse calls for political violence against Democrats. Shockingly, Greene had “liked” Facebook posts that endorsed the execution of Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, before her congress bid. What a charming, compassionate and caring individual she really is! And how noble and ethical of the GOP (Republican Party) to continue to stand by her and justify and legitimise her deeply unpleasant views! A clear indication of just how entrenched and rancorous US politics has become, unfortunately! 🤦🏻‍♂️

In a US election footnote, a New York judge has ruled that Republican Claudia Tenney defeated US Rep. Anthony Brindisi by 109 votes in the nation’s last undecided congressional race. In a blow to Democrats, who have seen their majority reduced in the House of Representatives, the ruling by Judge Scott DelConte should clear the way for Tenney to be sworn in as the representative for central New York’s 22nd Congressional District, barring emergency intervention by a state appeals court. She previously was the district’s representative for one term, until she was defeated by Brindisi in 2018.

Finally, the focus of the new Biden administration switched to foreign policy this week, an area where President Biden has been keen to stake his considerable wealth of experience and expertise, garnered over many years working on foreign policy committees and serving as VP to Obama for eight years.

In his first major foreign policy speech as President, Joe Biden took significant steps on pulling support for the war in Yemen, sending out a signal about defending LGBTQ rights around the world and removing Donald Trump’s draconian caps on refugees. But on the thorniest of issues — Russia, China, how Biden will honor his vow to save global democracy and what he will do about nuclear programmes in North Korea and Iran, there was a little more ambiguity and less concrete plans outlined, perhaps understandably. For now, it seems, talking tough on not “rolling over” to Putin and sending a destroyer through the Taiwan Strait will have to serve as statements of intent. Thursday’s speech seemed to be more of a setting of the scene for Washington’s philosophical pivot away from “America First” and towards a more traditional stance.

However, perhaps the most significant line in Biden’s speech was not about the rest of the world — it was about America. “There’s no longer a bright line between foreign and domestic policy. Every action taken in our conduct abroad, we must take with American working families in mind,” Biden said, confirming the views of foreign experts who doubt the US appetite to resume its dominant global role.

Oh, just one more thing before I go! If you are drinking tea or coffee right now I’d advise you to put it down, as there’s a reasonable chance you may splutter it all over yourself upon reading this. Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner (and Trump’s son-in-law) and his deputy, Avi Berkowitz, have been nominated for the Nobel peace prize for their role in negotiating normalisation deals between Israel and four Arab nations known as the “Abraham Accords”. I kid you not!

The two former aides to ex-President Trump were nominated by American attorney Alan Dershowitz, in his capacity as a professor emeritus of Harvard Law School. Dershowitz defended Trump in his first impeachment trial last year and told the Wall Street Journal on 20 January that the Senate should dismiss the article of impeachment against the former president, as he was no longer in office. Now, before you throw your hot beverage at the nearest wall in disgust, it might be worth bearing in mind that there are around 300 nominees for the prestigious prize, so their chances are probably pretty slim, to be honest. Aren’t they?🤔😳

I’m afraid that’s your lot for this week, folks! I’m fairly sure there will have been something significant that I will have overlooked, but it’s actually quite hard to collate so many different political news stories and roll them all into one, neat ten minute read on a weekly basis. So, bear with me if there are any glaring omissions! Until next week, then, stay informed, stay tuned in and stay safe! Over and out! 👋🏻

Welcome to the 21st of my Weekly Digest politics blogs, as published via WordPress.com. Any notions that 2021 was going to be less fraught, less frantic or less unpredictable than the unprecedented nature of 2020, are being well and truly dispelled by now. We are only at the end of January and there has been so much eye popping political news already in my selected jurisdictions of N. Ireland, U.K., and USA. This last week has been no exception, so there is no rest for the wicked, as they say! As always, I will endeavour to make sense of it all and offer an opinion or two, which not everyone will agree with, obviously. Hopefully, I can avoid the necessity for any litigation, at least! 😇 As per usual, I shall begin with N Ireland politics.

One year after devolution was restored in N Ireland, the Executive Committee has finally got around to broaching the subject of producing a Programme for Government. A Consultation has been launched on the proposals which will run until March, which will be followed by a Draft Programme that will be debated and voted on, before the actual document is ready to be implemented. Even allowing for pandemic disruption, the political and bureaucratic wheels turn very slowly on the Stormont train. Needless to say, there is nothing overly ground breaking on offer and many of the most contentious and difficult issues on the ‘to do list’ are either conspicuous by their absence or have received the ‘constructive ambiguity’ treatment. NI politicians have turned the avoidance of making difficult decisions into something of an art form, it seems!

Of course, we all know that the NI Assembly often works in strange ways. It’s not your typical kind of legislature, after all. In fact, as a consociationalist form of government, founded on the principle of power sharing in a post-conflict society, it is quite unique. Perhaps this is why we had this week’s absurd spectacle of MLA’s debating decisions/actions that have already been taken and implemented by the ruling Executive. Laws which had already been made by Executive Order, in essence, with no democratic debate or vote. This time around it was in relation to the decision to implement further lockdown restrictions around the Christmas period. No, not for next Christmas, it’s for the one that’s just passed. Yes, that’s right, NI MLA’s spent a day debating decisions and legislation that have already been implemented! This is a practice which has become almost routine, and most in the chamber appear to just wearily accept it. However, People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll denounced it as “the nonsensical charade whereby we are expected retrospectively to give approval to or discuss regulations that have long been implemented and, in some cases, are out of date. There is no real semblance of oversight, transparency or accountability.” Ah, oversight (scrutiny), transparency and accountability! These are not concepts with which our political leadership in NI are overly conversant, at times, it would seem!

And speaking of accountability. It would appear that the issue of mass attendance at Republican funerals is one that is determined to run and run. This week we were made aware of yet another such funeral taking place, displaying blatant disregard for the current Covid restrictions. Several members (not senior) of Sinn Fein were present, stirring the still fermenting pot of disquiet over the events at the funeral of senior Republican, Bobby Storey, last year!

The problem remains that to ordinary members of the public, it shows a lack of political leadership on the Republican side and a failure to take responsibility and set an example. It was hypocritical of Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou McDonald to take such fulsome roles in a mass funeral, attended by thousands, and then expect people to listen to them when appealing to them to adhere strictly to the Covid rules. It also appears as though the police are at best impotent, and at worst complicit in actions which are openly spreading Covid. The fact that the PSNI took more than five months to investigate Ms O’Neill and other senior Sinn Fein members present at Bobby Storey’s funeral, despite overwhelming evidence of what happened, and the PPS still not having decided whether to bring charges does nothing to convey the seriousness of the situation or the fact that compliance is required due to the imminent threat to life of coronavirus transmission at such gatherings!

This week’s Twitter twit? It has to be Ex-DUP MLA, Nelson McCausland, who triggered quite the storm on Monday when he tweeted “the fascinating story of Becket Cook”. Mr Cook is a gay man in Hollywood who had achieved success as a set designer in the fashion industry. In an apparent endorsement of highly controversial ‘gay conversion therapy’, Mr McCausland referred to a story being shared about Mr Cook publicly renouncing his homosexuality after turning to God. McCausland tweeted; “A powerful testimony of a life changed by God and some important insights into the whole ‘gay movement’ from someone who has been there.” While Mr McCausland is entitled to his personal views, no matter how objectionable some may find them, it is the fact that even though he may no longer be a frontline politician, as a member on the Board of the Education Authority, he is still very much a public figure with some influence over education policy, potentially. There have been calls, therefore, from a variety of sources for him to resign from this influential post! I doubt he will go without a fight!

And so to arguably the biggest story of the week, which has N Ireland at its centre, but involves the EU, plus the U.K. and Irish governments. Yes, it’s the Astra Zeneca vaccine row which has exploded on the continent and has managed to engulf little old NI in its blast radius! In one act, the EU has managed to achieve something quite remarkable and unprecedented in the political history of NI, that is a unanimity of outrage and disapproval right across the political spectrum here! Arlene Foster saw her angry reaction to the EU’s invoking of Article 16 of the NI Protocol almost matched by Nationalist politicians of various hues and even the Irish government. Everyone on the island of a Ireland seemed unanimous in their condemnation of the arbitrary and seemingly knee jerk action by the EU. Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol is the part of the deal that allows the EU and UK to choose to suspend any aspects they consider are causing “economic, societal or environmental difficulties”.

On Friday evening the EU announced it would trigger the clause and introduce the export controls on its vaccines entering Northern Ireland in a bid to prevent the region becoming a backdoor for vaccines to be sent to GB. This immediately attracted widespread criticism from all quarters, including all five Executive parties and the Irish Government. Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster was the most forthright, describing it as “an absolutely incredible act of hostility” that created a hard Irish border, which may have been over egging it a little, while Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in a tweet: “The [Northern Ireland] Protocol is not something to be tampered with lightly, it’s an essential, hard-won compromise, protecting peace and trade for many.” Some commentators did remark upon the contradictory position of Mrs Foster, whose party has been calling on the British Government to do the very same thing due to the trading difficulties arising from the post-Brexit Irish Sea border. We really do live in strange and confusing times, especially if you’re in the DUP, it would appear! Mind you, the EU could be accused of some rank hypocrisy here, too, having previously lectured the UK government about respecting the Irish Protocol – which was painstakingly drafted during Brexit negotiations. Their knee jerk action was later withdrawn after a conciliatory telephone conversation between Boris Johnston and EU President, Ursula von der Leyen.

The entire sorry episode has been viewed as an unfortunate mistake by the European Commission, borne out of frustration at what they viewed as unfair vaccine distribution. In truth, however, their ire should be directed at the company manufacturing the vaccine, rather than the UK. Last summer the EU agreed to buy up to 400m doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, but the company later said that due to problems at one of its EU factories, supplies would be reduced by about 60% in the first quarter of 2021. The U.K. based arm of their manufacturing output seems unaffected, however. The unseemly spat has prompted the World Health Organisation to issue a warning to all countries to work together and avoid any kind of Covid nationalism. The reality is, the world does not go back to any kind of normality until all of humanity has equal access to vaccines, which is lost on some, as we can see from the U.K. tabloid headline below.

The U.K. is significantly ahead of the game in terms of vaccines administered when compared to other countries and Boris Johnston got a further boost this week with good news on yet another vaccine. The Novavax vaccine which is 89.3% effective against the virus and 85.6% effective against the more transmissible UK variant has been unveiled – and Britain has 60 million doses ordered. The Novavax worked against the disease variant first identified in Kent, which has proved to be up to 70% more infectious, the Department of Health said. It is believed to be less effective against the South African variant, however. Despite this, this is undoubtedly good news for the U.K. The jab still needs approval from the UK regulator, but if approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency – 60 million doses will be delivered to the UK in the second half of this year. Manufacturing of the drug would take place on Teesside.

Boris Johnston badly needs a win on the Brexit front right now, too, and so it was announced to great fanfare this week that he has launched an ambitious bid for Britain to join one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in Asia. Formal talks on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership will start later this year. Johnson said: “One year after our departure from the EU we are forging new partnerships that will bring enormous economic benefits for the people of Britain.” The club includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, Malaysia and Peru and was worth £111 billion in U.K. trade last year. No10 says the move is a key part of the Government’s plan to build new international trade deals outside the EU. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “This will create enormous opportunities for UK businesses that simply weren’t there before.” Well, that’s not entirely true, is it? As part of the EU trading bloc, which has existing trade agreements in place, the U.K. had full access to those markets in Asia already. This may eventually reap more dividends, but the extent of any added benefits will be debatable. A UK government study in 2018 suggested that trade deals with non-EU countries and blocs such as China, India, Australia, the Gulf countries and south-east Asia would only raise British GDP by a total of 0.1-0.4 per cent over the long term. (Source – Financial Times) Never let the bald facts get in the way of a good news story, though, eh?

He may need the blue passport some day soon for travelling to Scotland, too! Johnston made the journey north this week, in order to make the case for the preservation of the Union by using the vaccine roll out as a stand out example of the benefits of staying together. In a remarkable coincidence, the Department for Business announced production had begun of a new Covid vaccine at a site in West Lothian. The only problem is, Boris Johnston is not particularly welcome north of the border these days. In fact, he is politically toxic and any intervention in the independence argument by him is guaranteed to back fire and be counter productive. And so it proved! Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, questioned whether his trip to a Scotland was necessary in the current situation, saying it was not an essential journey. A recent poll for the BBC found just 19% of Scots thought Johnson had handled the pandemic well. By comparison, 74% judged Sturgeon to have done well.

Boris is inextricably linked to a deeply unpopular Brexit and its dire economic consequences for Scotland, to the point it is noticeable Mr Johnson is steering away from even making the economic case for staying in the union. This argument carried some weight when deployed ahead of the 2014 independence referendum, but not now! It is harder to make the case if you championed leaving a union despite all the evidence showing it would leave you economically worse off. What a shocker!

Okay, let’s head stateside to see how Joe Biden has been getting on with his ambitious agenda. Is he still hitting the ground running or is the positive momentum showing any signs of slowing down already? Joe Biden’s ambitious plans to fight climate change, in particular, were front and centre this week. To be a success on this front, though, Joe will have to tread carefully. Climate politics is changing in the United States. The growing influence of younger voters has made climate change a top issue, particularly among liberals, but increasingly among swing voters and the more enlightened Republicans, too.

Abroad, Biden must regain some international credibility, despite the US’ constant u-turns every time power switches between Republicans and Democrats. On the domestic front, the White House needs to tackle the argument head on that doing even the minimum about climate change will destroy the economy and US jobs, before it can think about passing permanent legislation. President Biden launched offensives on both fronts as he signed Executive Orders that pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters and direct every layer of government to combat global warming. Meanwhile, his new Climate envoy, the ex-Secretary of State and environmental campaigner who played a big role in the Paris accord, set out on his mission to restore US credibility overseas. Biden also plans to hold a climate summit for world leaders in April to build momentum for global climate talks in Glasgow in November.

However, Biden cannot leave a real legacy on combatting climate change just by signing orders that a future Republican president can wipe out with his pen. He needs to oversee the passage of new laws on cutting emissions and financing a new green economy. So he needs to win the argument first, which is why he made this statement in the Oval Office on Wednesday; “Today is climate day at the White House, which means that today is jobs day at the White House,” portraying green energy innovation not as a threat to American workers but as a massive opportunity.

President Biden also signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday to reverse restrictions on abortion access domestically and abroad, imposed and expanded by the Trump administration. The memorandum will “reverse my predecessor’s attack on women’s health access,” Biden told reporters during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office. The memorandum also directs the Health and Human Services Department to immediately move to consider rescinding the Trump administration rule blocking health care providers in the federally funded Title X family planning program from referring patients for abortions, according to the Biden administration. This will undoubtedly come as a blow to the more socially conservative Republicans in Congress.

Meanwhile, left leaning Representative Alexandra Ocasio Cortez (AOC) has been involved in a spat with prominent right wing Republican Senator, Ted Cruz. In a rare act of solidarity, but for entirely different motivations, Cruz had endorsed Ocasio-Cortez’s call on Twitter for a congressional hearing about the decision by the online trading platform Robinhood to restrict trading in GameStop shares. But while welcoming the chance to work across party lines on the issue, Ocasio-Cortez had harsh words for Cruz.

“I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.”

Ocasio-Cortez is one of several key political figures to publicly blame Cruz for his role in inciting the deadly violence on Capitol Hill on 6 January. Seven Democratic senators have filed a formal complaint, urging the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Cruz, along with the Missouri senator Josh Hawley, because of their determined efforts to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election. Ted needs to be careful! AOC, is a member of the so-called ‘Squad’, a group of very liberal, young, female, ethnically diverse, recently elected representatives who form an unofficial bloc within Congress and make for formidable adversaries. The group also includes Ilhan Omar, a Muslim representative who drafted the recent articles of impeachment against Trump.

Finally, an update on what’s happening with Trump’s impeachment trial. Well, there’s good news and very bad news on that front. Firstly, the good news; Former President Donald Trump’s five impeachment defense attorneys have resigned from his legal team only days before his trial is set to begin, amid a disagreement over his legal strategy. It was a dramatic development in the second impeachment trial for Trump, who has struggled to find lawyers willing to take his case. Trump is clinging to his election fraud charade and suddenly finds himself without legal representation. He can’t even call upon his long time legal representative, Rudy Giuliani, as they had a very public falling out recently over what Giuliani claimed were unpaid legal fees. So, is it all going wrong for team Trump? Well, maybe not!

Now for the very bad news! Nearly every Senate Republican declared on Tuesday that putting a former president on trial for impeachment is unconstitutional, indicating that the House’s case against Donald Trump is almost certain to fail. After only five Republican senators voted with Democrats, some in the new majority are signalling they’d like to quickly focus their attention elsewhere. If it wasn’t obvious before, they say, it’s now clear the GOP isn’t going to convict Trump!

Well, that’s me for another week, folks! Once again, it looks like there’s no such thing as a slow news week anymore! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading? Please feel free to share and come back next week for more insight into the murky yet fascinating world of politics in NI, UK and USA! In the meantime, stay tuned in, stay informed and stay safe! 🤓👍

Welcome to Blog No20 of my Weekly Digest. A politics blog, which tries to makes sense of the past week’s events in N Ireland, UK and the USA. It’s been another big week in the world of politics, particularly in the US, where we had a mercifully incident free Presidential inauguration like no other. This was the week that Americans waved goodbye to the most divisive and controversial President since Nixon. Or, did they? 🤔 There is also plenty to report nearer home, too, so stick around to read my tuppence-worth on what’s been happening. As always, we begin right here in N Ireland.

I’ll start with a story about the NI Victims’ Payment Scheme, often referred to as the Trouble’s Pension, which was set up to provide money for people who were badly injured during the Troubles, with pension style payments of between £2,000 and £10,000 a year for the rest of their lives. Upon their death a spouse or carer would still get the payments for a further 10 years. Applications for the process are expected to open in March and the scheme has been estimated to cost up to £800m over its lifetime. Apart from wrangles over the definition of what constitutes a victim and Sinn Fein complaints that some Republican victims have been overlooked, the scheme has been broadly welcomed across the political spectrum. It has been very regrettable, therefore, that it’s implementation has been dogged by legal challenges and delays for various reasons. When the legislation for the scheme was finally approved in Westminster everyone affected thought it would only be a matter of sorting through the administration of the scheme. However, in the latest setback for victims and their families, another row has emerged around who is going to pay for it – Westminster or Stormont!

NI Executive ministers argue that as the scheme was passed by Westminster, it should produce the funding. However, speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, NI Secretary, Brandon Lewis said: “We must make sure progress is not diverted – this is a devolved matter and devolved matters are funded by the block grant. (The block grant being the pre-agreed amount of money NI receives from the UK Exchequer each year, worked out via a mechanism known as the Barnett Formula.) Inevitably, there has been quite an adverse reaction to Mr Lewis’ comments from NI politicians. Baroness O’Loan – a former Police Ombudsman for NI – accused the UK government of a “dereliction of duty”. Lord Dodds of the DUP and Baroness Ritchie of the SDLP, as well as Lord Empey (UUP) – also raised their concerns about the delay in resolving the funding dispute.

Needless to say, the victims themselves have been left angry and disappointed, yet again, at this political prevarication. On Tuesday the victims’ group the Wave Trauma Centre said it was “outraged” by the dispute between Stormont and Westminster. Alan McBride from the group said victims had been treated “disgracefully” due to a “long, long road of delay and deny” by politicians. Well, indeed! I think it’s time the UK Government stepped up to the plate on this one, to be honest. Perhaps, the Troubles victims have also become the unfortunate victims of Tory weariness at what they see as the constant fiscal profligacy and ‘begging bowl’ antics of the NI Executive over things like NAMA and RHI and that extra cash gleaned from the DUP-Tory Confidence & Supply arrangement under Teresa May? However, that should be no excuse to treat victims of the Troubles in this way! I think I’ll give the last word on this to Stormont Justice Minister, Naomi Long.

Just when we thought a semblance of togetherness and collegiality had broken out in the Office of First and Deputy First Ministers, what with the resumption of joint press conferences to deal with the heightened Covid threat, up pops that hoary old elephant in the room, the border poll! Who the heck brought that up now? Well, a former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, that’s who! Plus, a well timed opinion poll on the matter!

George Osborne wrote this week in the London Evening Standard. – “By unleashing English nationalism Brexit has made the future of the UK the central political issue of the coming decade. Northern Ireland is already heading for the exit door,”….. “By remaining in the EU single market, it is for all economic intents and purposes now slowly becoming part of a united Ireland. Its prosperity now depends on its relationship with Dublin (and Brussels), not London. The politics will follow,” he added. Osborne then stuck the boot in. “Northern Irish unionists always feared the mainland was not sufficiently committed to their cause. Now their short-sighted support for Brexit (and unbelievably stupid decision to torpedo Theresa May’s deal that avoided separate Irish arrangements) has made those fears a reality.”…. “It pains me to report that most here and abroad will not care,” he said. Ouch! Osborne’s remarks come at the same time as a survey on the prospects of a border poll, commissioned by the Sunday Times, which found that 51% of people in NI want a referendum on Irish unity in the next five years.

Predictably, Osborne has been roundly criticised for his remarks in unionist circles. East Belfast DUP MP, Gavin Robinson dismissively stated – “He can be as rude as he likes but he is yesterday’s man,” ….. “He is clearly motivated by internal Tory frictions and he is clearly trying to settle some old scores with colleagues for whom he has no regard. I don’t put a lot of store in what he has said.” He agreed, however, that unionists needed to gather themselves to meet the challenges ahead. And this centenary year of the NI state was the time to do it. UUP leader, Steve Aiken, was also scathing of Osborne’s remarks.

Meanwhile, DUP leader Arlene Foster has said a potential vote on a united Ireland would be “absolutely reckless”. “We all know how divisive a border poll would be, and for us in Northern Ireland what we have to do is come together to fight against Covid, and not be distracted by what would be absolutely reckless at this time.” Equally predictable perhaps was Michelle O’Neill’s response….

The coronavirus pandemic has meant our MLA’s and MPs have had to adapt to a new way of working, often setting up office in their homes rather than at Stormont or Westminster. However, that hasn’t stopped them claiming thousands of pounds in expenses. Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority figures for the 2020-21 financial year show MPs across the UK had claimed over £9 million as of January 6th.

Ian Paisley was the UK’s fifth most expensive MP, setting the taxpayer back more than a quarter of a million pounds. He was followed on the list by his party colleague, Jim Shannon. North Antrim MP Paisley cost a whopping £253,824 last year, while Stangford MP Shannon cost £252,298, according to the figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance. A DUP spokesman said: “All claims were properly approved by the authorities in line with their parliamentary duties. Both MPs use these allowances to provide a first-class constituency service.” Worth every penny, then, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Speaking of MP’s, there has been some important activity in the House of Commons over the last week. Not least, the vote on a key amendment to the Trade Bill. The House of Lords proposed an amendment to the trade bill that would have required future trade agreements to be scrutinised by parliament, with a view to ensuring standards are retained. However, the key amendment fell on Tuesday night by 353 votes to 277. The new post-Brexit arrangements for food imports and food production standards in the UK would allow ministers to make significant changes to existing food safety regulations without consultation. The government has vowed not to allow the import of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, but has refused to sign those pledges into law, interestingly! It’s a good job the current government has proved to be entirely trustworthy in all matters of ethical integrity, then, isn’t it? 🤦🏻‍♂️

In another significant Commons vote, Labour’s non-binding motion pressing the Government to maintain the temporary increase in Universal Credit was approved by 278 votes to zero, after Boris Johnson ordered his MPs to abstain. Tory MPs have come under fire for ignoring the vote on extending a £20-a-week uplift to millions of families. The Prime Minister did suffer a mini backbench rebellion during the symbolic vote, as Tory MPs, mainly from the so-called red wall northern constituencies, lined up to criticise the planned cut. Labour leader, Keir Starmer, also slammed Conservatives for their cowardice in snubbing the vote, tweeting: “They didn’t even show up”. The move will hit 5.7million low income families – 39% of whom already have a jobs. The PM is under growing pressure to reverse plans to slash the monthly benefits allowance on April 12. Remember, this is a man who recently complained that his £161,401 PM’s salary wasn’t enough to live on, but who is now resisting the extension of a £20 per week uplift to families on the breadline, in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic! Empathy may not be his strong point, me thinks!

In other news from the Commons, the powerful Public Accounts Committee was giving NHS Track and Trace chief, Baroness Dido Harding, a grilling this week. She defended spending £1,000 a day each on over 900 consultants from Deloitte. Yes, you read that correctly! Harding told the PAC Committee she felt it was “appropriate” to bring in external help in “extreme emergency circumstances” such as that faced by the country during the coronavirus crisis. And David Williams, the Second Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care also insisted private companies are not profiteering. The top civil servant said the cost and effectiveness of work by consultants such as Deloitte on England’s test and trace scheme is closely monitored. Well, that’s a relief! I’m sure £1000 per consultant, per day, is remarkably good value for money, really, given how ‘world beating’ the entire enterprise has been! 🤦🏻‍♂️

The Government have also come under increasing pressure this week to initiate a plan to reopen schools at the earliest opportunity. A group of backbench Tory MP’s, in particular, have become increasingly irked at the lack of progress or realisation of any discernible plan for an education restart. Hapless Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has refused to say what plans have been made, if any. Teaching union chiefs believe vaccinating staff, alongside testing kids for coronavirus, is key to fully reopening schools. The NASUWT teaching union have launched a ‘Vaccinate to Educate’ campaign.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries told the Commons Education Select Committee she was unable to rule out schools staying shut after February half-term, saying it was not a “fixed date”. Dr Harries also controversially claimed teachers were at no greater risk from Covid than other professions – although they are in the workplace while many others are at home, educating key workers’ children. However, the National Education Union revealed that the average rate of infection is 1.9 times higher among primary and secondary teachers than the general population – and twice as high for special school teachers. For teaching assistants and other staff, it is three times higher in primary schools and almost seven times higher in special schools. Five times more pupils are attending England’s schools than during the first lockdown. Statistics showed 21% of pupils were attending state primary schools last Wednesday, which is well up on the figures during the first lockdown.

Finally, before I depart the UK for the US, Boris Johnson has faced criticism this week over his slow decision making throughout the pandemic, after it emerged he overruled Priti Patel’s call in March to close Britain’s borders. The Home Secretary has admitted that the UK should have acted sooner last year to protect the country from new cases of coronavirus arriving and was quite happy to throw Boris under the bus for it, so to speak. Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance also claimed he had been “pushing continuously” to go earlier and harder with restrictions to get on top of the virus. In what many will interpret as a direct criticism of Johnson and the Government, he added: “Waiting and watching simply doesn’t work”. It looks like the blame game recriminations have started early. Watch this space, as this may get ugly!

And so to America and a bright, new dawn! In his inauguration speech, Joe Biden struck the perfect note and tone. The overall key themes that I took away from it were unity, democracy and hope. In fact, he used the word ‘unity’ 8 times in his 21 minute speech! He also used the word ‘democracy’ 11 times! To overcome the challenges that America faces and to “restore the soul of America,” Biden said, requires more than words. “It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy. Unity. Unity.”

Emphasising the immense challenges that lie ahead, Biden stated; “We face an attack on our democracy and on truth. A raging virus, growing inequities, the sting of systemic racism, a climate in crisis…we will be judged, you and I, by how we resolve these cascading crises of our era.” ……….. “We have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibilities.” “Together we will write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity not division, of light not darkness.”

The supremely well crafted speech continued with a series of statements beginning with the words ‘here we stand’, again emphasising unity of purpose and togetherness in the face of adversity. “Here we stand in the shadow of the Capitol dome, completed amid the Civil War when the union itself was literally hanging in the balance. Yet we endured. We prevailed. ……..And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of this democracy, to drive us from this sacred ground. It did not happen. It will never happen. Not today. Not tomorrow, not ever. Not ever.” “This is a great nation,” Biden continued. “We are good people. And over the centuries, through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we’ve come so far…Through civil war, the Great Depression, world war, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice and setbacks, our better angels have always prevailed.” Biden said America faces an historic moment of crisis and challenge. “Unity is the path forward,” he added. There’s that word unity again!

“This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope of renewal and resolve through a crucible for the ages. America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge. ……. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

The 46th President also paused in his inaugural address to pray for the more than 400,000 people in America who have been killed by Covid-19, a sign that the days of ignoring the coronavirus’s threat were over. He went to Arlington National Cemetery with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, reconvening the club of past presidents in a show of respect for his office. The sort of respect that has been sadly absent for the last four years!

And let’s not overlook the show stealing contribution of America’s first youth poet laureate, 22 year old Amanda Gorman. Remember that name! She addressed the inauguration with a poem written for the political moment, describing “a force that would shatter our nation” and the work Americans must do to rebuild and reconcile. She was magnificent and represented a very different America from the unrepresentative one that was foisted on us during the previous weeks.

A celebratory musical evening followed Mr Biden’s inauguration ceremony earlier in the day, with musical contributions led by Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez. Gaga led the way, superbly singing the US National Anthem and Lopez sang a medley of This Land is Your Land and America. And it didn’t end there. We were treated to a smorgasbord of rock and Hollywood royalty, including cameos by Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Dave Grohl, and Katy Perry among others, performing her greatest hit in front of actual fireworks!

Tom Hanks, many people’s choice of fantasy President, added some gravitas with his reassuring, dulcet toned speech. Although, I did think it might be a shame for him to have survived all that time on that deserted island, only to die of exposure on the steps of the Capitol building! He looked foundered, as we say! There was clearly a determination to inject as much razzmatazz and stardust as possible (and no one does razzmatazz like the Americans!) into the proceedings to make up for the unfortunate and unprecedented restrictions surrounding this inauguration. And it worked! It was fabulous!

And as for Trump? Well, I don’t want to dwell on him too much, for this was very much Joe’s moment, despite Trump’s best attempts to try to steal the limelight one last time! President Trump, as he still was, set off from the White House early in the morning for the very last time, but did so without the customary military send off. A tradition denied to him by the Pentagon. Instead, he had arranged his own event at a military base en route to his home at the Mar a Lago Resort in Florida. With it being so early in the morning, coupled with the exclusivity of the location, it was a modest and select gathering who patiently waited in the cold for the outgoing President and First Lady to arrive. There was something appropriately tragic and a little pathetic about the whole scene. After all the bluster, Trump went off into the Florida sunset with something of a whimper!

Once the inauguration formalities were over, President Joe Biden didn’t waste any time in purging the policy legacy of Donald Trump, such as it was, from America’s government and the political psyche. Every single action on Biden’s first day in office was a repudiation of the last four years of mayhem — from an inaugural address that promised to “defend the truth” and stressed healing over “American carnage” to a flurry of restorative Executive Orders. The removal of any personal artefacts of the Trump aberration from the Oval Office, including his favoured bust of Winston Churchill, was an obvious sign that America was very much under new management! As President Biden sat in the big boss chair for the first time, he made it clear it wasn’t just for a photo call, but to get down to business!

Biden signed 17 executive orders that represent the start of an aggressive plan to unpick the Trump presidency. With a stroke of the pen, the US headed back into the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization, and rescinded a ban on travellers from mostly Muslim nations. Biden wore a mask in the Oval Office and mandated face coverings in all US federal buildings. President Biden also vowed to “manage the hell” out of the pandemic — as he revealed that the previous administration had unbelievably left no plan for rolling out the Covid-19 vaccines. And he has an ambitious team of nominees appointed and ready to get things done. There is indeed a fresh wind blowing through that famous old office, blowing away the stagnation and stench of four years of chaos, ineptitude, alleged corruption and division. After a four year term of policy by tweet, Washington is back to its old normal already, as if it were all just a bad dream.

That seems like a very good note to end on for this week! I didn’t even write anything about the impending impeachment trial, but that can wait until next week as we let it play out in the Senate. Thank you, for reading and feel free to share! Until next week, then, stat tuned in, stay informed and stay safe out there! Take care! 🤓👍

Welcome back for another instalment of the Weekly Digest, as published via WordPress.com. My roundup of what’s making the news and catching my eye in the world of politics in N Ireland, the UK, and US of A! It’s been a relatively quiet week by comparison to the tumultuous week or two previously. For the most part, we are still dealing with the fallout from recent events, whether that be due to the Covid crisis, or the dramatic events at the Capitol in Washington DC. So, let’s have a look at what’s been going on this week, beginning as always, in N Ireland.

The DUP have been going big on the NI Protocol this week, with several senior figures calling on the UK government to invoke Article 16 in order to have the current trading arrangements halted. Now, allow me to re-cap and explain the current trading arrangements in NI post-Brexit. The UK officially finished its formal separation from the EU on 31 December, 2020. Since then there has been some disruption to trade across the Irish Sea border. Northern Ireland remains in the EU single market for goods and will continue to enforce EU customs rules at its ports. The Irish Sea border means that most commercial goods entering NI from GB require a customs declaration. A three-month “grace period” means that supermarkets currently don’t need to comply with all the EU’s usual certification requirements, but this will run out in April.

Edwin Poots, the DUP NI Agriculture Minister, went into full doom merchant mode, when he told the BBC Nolan Show that difficulties around the new Irish Sea customs border could mean schools and hospitals would not be able to get supplies “in a few months’ time”. Mr Poots said NI was in an “outrageous situation” due to the Northern Ireland Protocol. “That is a major crisis and I have raised this with Michael Gove. (UK Cabinet Office Minister) Seriously, are we going to have a situation where our hospitals and schools are not able to feed the children at school, they (the hospitals) are not able to feed their patients?” Edwin’s DUP colleague and their Westminster leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, publicly backed him on the BBC’s The View programme and said there would be another meeting with Cabinet Minister Michael Gove to discuss the issue on Friday.

However, Poot’s comments were challenged in several quarters as being hyperbolic scaremongering, bearing scant relation to the facts. Alliance deputy leader and North Down MP Stephen Farry, for example, accused Mr Poots of “scaremongering on steroids”. “There is no prospect that we are going to see a complete collapse of the food supply in Northern Ireland, it is just not going to happen,” he said. SDLP deputy leader and Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, agreed and also said Mr Poots was scaremongering.

So, who’s right? Well, let’s hear from the various horses mouths, as it were. In a statement released on Thursday, the Department of Health said it had only experienced “some minor delays”. It added that a small number of products have had to be substituted with equivalents, “but this is only for a temporary period”. And a spokesperson for the Department of Education said that it had received “no indication from its suppliers of a disruption to the supply chain that would impact on the delivery of school meals”. Added to that, the Henderson Group, which owns the Spar chain of shops in N Ireland, clarified that it is experiencing “some delays” as opposed to shortages. Furthermore, a company spokesperson said it has been engaging with Mr Poots’ department and other bodies to ensure disruption to its supply chain is minimal. This would appear to directly contradict Mr Poots’ very dramatic assertions! The DUP outrage and hyperbole was clearly on display in the House of Commons this week, too, where Ian Paisley railed against the unfortunate Minister at the dispatch box, Michael Gove! – Paisley told the Commons: “I must ask, what did we do to members on those benches over there to be screwed over by this protocol? “It has ruined trade in Northern Ireland and it’s an insult to our intelligence to say it’s a teething problem.” Gove accepted that “more needs to be done” to ensure that the protocol works correctly!

Perhaps, all of this has more to do with the DUP’s concerted campaign currently to deflect attention from the fact that they were amongst the most vociferous supporters of and campaigners for a hard Brexit? A Brexit which they mistakenly assumed would cement economic and political links with GB and accentuate the existence of the border between north and south on the island of Ireland. It could be argued they have grossly miscalculated and are now fighting a desperate rear guard action to deflect and divert blame for inadvertently weakening the union, rather than strengthening it!

As if to confirm the shifting of emphasis from east-west to north-south, (at least economically) Stena Line has moved one of its flagship ferries from Belfast to Rosslare in what it has called a “Brexit-busting move”. When the new Stena Embla arrived in Belfast on 2 January amid great fanfare, the company assured us it would be concentrating on transporting freight between Belfast and Liverpool. However, in a dramatic about turn, on Wednesday the company tweeted that it would be deployed on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route, thereby prioritising the RoI to mainland Europe trading route. Is this a sign that our economic and trading axis is tilting in that direction more permanently?

In a rare show of unity and display of collective responsibility, the First and Deputy First Minister’s of NI met up in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, this week in order to give a joint press conference on the ongoing Coronavirus crisis here. Mrs Foster and Ms O’Neill last appeared together after an Executive meeting on December 10 and this was the first opportunity to quiz them together since the new Covid-19 restrictions were introduced. It came as the Department of Health confirmed the death toll has now exceeded 1500, at the time of writing. There are approximately 751 Covid patients in hospitals across Northern Ireland, with 55 in intensive care and 38 requiring ventilation. Hospitals are at 99% occupancy. A total of 149 care homes are also still dealing with outbreaks of the virus, despite being prioritised in the vaccine roll out. Amid further dire warnings from NHS staff on the frontline that doctors and nurses and hospital resources were stretched to the limits, a representative of the BMA in NI this week said their members were both exhausted and traumatised by the magnitude of the second wave compared to the first. One doctor in the Mater Hospital in Belfast even expressed grave concerns about the oxygen supplies running low! There is no doubt that we are at a critical moment in the fight against this virus.

On a positive note, Arlene Foster did allude to the fact that the all important ‘R’ number had gone down, from 1.8 to 1.1, which was encouraging. NI is also ahead of the rest of the UK in regards to its vaccine roll out, which is a testimony to the dedication of all of those involved and to the Health Minister, Robin Swann, who has maintained a reassuring air of calm and competence throughout the crisis, to be fair to him. He will, perhaps, be one of the very few within the Executive to emerge with a lot of credit when this is all over and the reckoning begins.

And so, dispensing with the need for customs declarations, let’s head across the Irish Sea. Were it not for the worsening Covid crisis, the immediate impact of Boris Johnson’s trade deal with the EU would be dominating the news agenda and attracting even more negative headlines for the government than they are at present. As it is, we have barely noticed that the Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis admitted this week she had not read the full treaty…. because she was too busy with nativity preparations! Or that the fishing industry is struggling to export to its largest market and its representatives have threatened to dump rotting, unsold fish in Downing Street. Some Scottish trawlers have even resorted to off-loading their catch in Denmark! Or that Jacob Rees-Mogg blithely dismissed their concerns by saying the key thing is they are now “British fish and are all the better and happier for it!” Then there are the farmers, who are deeply concerned about their futures due to the loss of EU subsidies. Or there’s the report that the price of a Ford Fiesta may cost up to £1,700 more because of post-Brexit tariffs. Or the deep unease within the music industry concerning their rights to tour and perform freely throughout Europe. Add to that the controversial ending of the popular Erasmus programme, which allowed UK students to study anywhere within the EU. Or the fact that the Prime Minister this week threatened to trigger Article 16 of the agreement – the right to take unilateral action – because of the disruption to goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. I haven’t even scratched the surface yet! I could mention the hauliers who are drowning in additional paperwork amid port delays, or the manufacturing sector and export companies, disgruntled NI Unionists, or the financial sector in the City of London. The list of those who are not feeling the love for Brexit right now is long and growing! To use a fishing analogy, there are many who will be wondering if they’ve been stitched up like a kipper! Those sunlit uplands seem a long way off, not that you would think it to hear the PM and his cabinet colleagues, who have obviously been briefed to talk down any notions of a Brexit crisis. It’s just a few teething problems, it’ll be fine once it has all bedded in, etc. Are they sure? I do hope they are fully prepared to accept the consequences and responsibility for it if all goes horribly Pete Tong?

And it may get worse! Fury is also mounting at Boris Johnson’s apparent plans to ‘rip up’ workers’ rights in the new, post-Brexit landscape. Something they always denied was part of the rationale for Brexit in the first place. In fact, the Prime Minister had said he would go even further than EU laws to protect workers in the UK. Yet this week the Financial Times revealed officials have looked at changing the 48-hour limit on the working week, known as the ‘working time directive’. Officials also looked at tweaking rules around breaks and scrapping the need to factor overtime into holiday pay, or the need for firms to report working hours. The leaked proposals, while not confirmed, official policy or put to Cabinet, are genuine.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng – who in 2012 said Brits “are among the worst idlers in the world”, working “among the lowest hours” – today insisted “we are not going to lower the standards of workers’ rights”. But neither he nor Downing Street denied the plans had been looked at, or ruled out putting them into action in future. Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband said No10’s “silence” on the specific plans “speaks volumes” – and branded the plans a “wrecking ball” to hard-won rights. He added: “These proposals to rip up workers’ rights should not even be up for discussion, and Labour will fight tooth and nail against them if Ministers pursue this course of action.”

In the space of a few months Marcus Rashford has twice shamed the Government into climbdowns. First, he forced a u-turn from ministers into providing free school meals during the holidays and now he has highlighted the need to improve the quality of food parcels being delivered to children. It might be argued that Keir Starmer and the opposition should be holding the government to account over this, rather than a footballer? Well, they are! Starmer actually raised the issue before Rashford did, but that’s the power of celebrity for you! Households with children who would normally qualify for free school meals have been given the option of parcels to prepare at home as the schools closed in favour of remote learning. But there has been a furious backlash after parents shared photos of the paltry portions sent out. As you can see from the pictures below, some of the food parcels being sent out were very basic indeed.

Interestingly, a private company was given the multi-million pound school lunches contract without tendering for it. That company is Chartwell, part of the Compass catering group. As well as providing catering to the education sector, Compass Group also supplies food to sports and leisure facilities, hospitals and care homes, defence and offshore companies and private companies. The company’s outgoing chairman is Paul Walsh. Walsh is a former member of David Cameron’s business advisory group, and is thought to have donated more than £10,000 to the UK Conservative party. British businessman Dominic Blakemore, 51, has been CEO of Compass Group since January 2018 and reportedly earns £4.6m a year. I wonder would they be happy to receive a lunch food parcel like the one below?

Labour have been having some issues north of the border in Scotland for some time now, and have struggled to stay relevant with the increasing dominance of the SNP. This week, Richard Leonard has resigned as Scottish Labour leader, saying it is in the best interests of the party for him to stand down. Mr Leonard said he believed speculation about his leadership had become a “distraction”. And he said he would be stepping down with immediate effect. His resignation comes just months ahead of the Scottish Parliament election, which is scheduled to be held in May. Mr Leonard had been leader of the party for three years after succeeding Kezia Dugdale. Polls have suggested that many Scottish Labour supporters struggle to recognise him, and he is closely associated with former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Scottish Labour had dominated politics in Scotland for decades, but is currently the third largest party at Holyrood behind the SNP and Conservatives. And Mr Leonard’s critics had questioned whether he was capable of turning the party’s fortunes around. His decision leaves Scottish Labour looking for its fifth leader since the independence referendum in 2014 – with Johann Lamont, Jim Murphy and Kezia Dugdale all having held the job since then.

Finally, let’s go stateside! It’s official! Trump is now the only President in US history to be impeached twice, after Wednesday’s historic vote in the House of Representatives. Somewhat worryingly, however, quite a few Republicans still lined up to defend the indefensible and still voted against impeachment. The US may soon be rid of the most divisive President in living memory, but the bitter political divide he leaves in his wake shows no signs of dissipating. Now Trump’s fate is in the hands of the Senate — and more directly in those of another longtime enabler, Mitch McConnell. The Republican majority leader has finally broken with Trump by signalling that he might actually vote to convict in the subsequent Senate vote. If he does, other Republicans might join him to construct the two-thirds majority needed to convict. By then, Trump would be an ex-president – but, importantly, he could be barred from running for office ever again and his name will be accompanied by a historic black mark.

However, there is another issue for the incoming Biden administration to consider in all of this. Since a presidential trial takes precedence over other business, the Senate would effectively use up days or weeks trying to convict an ex-President who will already have left office. This would delay Biden’s hopes of hitting the ground running and quickly passing legislation to save the economy and speed up Covid-19 vaccinations. It would also prevent him from moving on from the attention grabbing Trump circus.

It would appear that Trump’s name is already mud with many. Since the deadly riot in Washington last week, companies across America have come out against President Donald Trump and other Republicans who sought to block the formal certification of the presidential election results. New York City is taking steps to cancel its contracts with the president, the PGA of America is relocating its 2022 golf championship from Mr Trump’s golf course, and other firms with ties to Mr Trump’s private businesses, such as e-commerce platform Shopify and Signature Bank, have said they are closing his accounts. Meanwhile, Fortune 500 firms from Marriott and Disney to Dow Chemical have halted certain political donations, citing the violence. Twitter said it was permanently barring Mr Trump from its platform, while YouTube, Facebook and others announced suspensions in response to calls to shut off his megaphone and cut the publicity oxygen supply. All of this combined will hurt the narcissistic, attention craving Trump and impede on his ability to communicate effectively with his base. It will also hurt him financially at a time when he may need all the financial help he can get, just as the debts and subpoenas are mounting up! He is said to have raised over $200m from his support base since the election to pursue the bogus electoral fraud cases and help pay off his election debts. He will be desperate to stay connected to this gullible revenue source!

Joe Biden’s top aide said the incoming US president would sign about a dozen Executive Orders on his first day in office. Biden’s Chief of Staff, Ron Klain, said in a memo to new White House senior staff that the Executive Orders would address the pandemic, the ailing US economy, climate change and racial injustice in America. “All of these crises demand urgent action,” Mr Klain said. “In his first ten days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world,” including, it is expected, for the US to rejoin the Paris climate accord and reverse Mr Trump’s ban on entry of people from certain Muslim majority countries. “President-elect Biden will take action – not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration – but also to start moving our country forward,” Mr Klain said.

Mr Biden, finds his in-tray overflowing with a number of huge challenges. The US is fast approaching 400,000 deaths from the Covid-19 crisis and logging well over a million new cases a week as the coronavirus spreads out of control. The economy is ailing, with ten million fewer jobs available compared to the start of the pandemic. With this in mind, Biden announced plans this week to seek $1.9 trillion to revive the economy through new stimulus payments and other aid, and plans a blitz to accelerate America’s stumbling Covid vaccine roll out.

In echoes of another disgraced presidency, that of Richard Nixon, Trump hasn’t exactly been compliant with the law requiring that Presidential records be preserved. Apparently, he has been ripping up documents before binning them, forcing White House records staff to retrieve them and spend hours taping them back together. White House staff quickly learned about Trump’s disregard for documents as they witnessed him tearing them up and discarding them. The White House Chief of Staff’s office told the president that the documents were considered presidential records and needed to be preserved by law. About 10 records staff ended up on tape duty, at one point. The first document he taped back together was a letter from Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, about a government shutdown. The president also confiscated an interpreter’s notes after a meeting with Russian President, Vladimir Putin – where topics were believed to have included Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

As the USA looks forward to this week’s presidential inauguration like no other, due to a combination of the threat of violence and coronavirus, the security services have issued warnings of a continued high threat level from Trump supporting extremists. Washington now resembles a militarised zone in Iraq or Afghanistan, rather than the capital of the United States. The military, police and security services have belatedly switched on to the very real and present threat from domestic right wing terror groups and are determined that the inauguration passes off without incident. The tense and nervy atmosphere hasn’t been helped by the arrest of one individual attempting to gain entry into the inauguration zone with a handgun and 500 rounds of ammunition. The heads of each US military branch on Tuesday issued a joint statement condemning last week’s insurrection and reminding service members of their duty. “We witnessed actions inside the Capitol building that were inconsistent with the rule of law. The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection. As Service Members, we must embody the embody the values and ideals of the Nation. We support and defend the Constitution.

The president has finally accepted that his term is about to end and he has to leave the White House. He doesn’t want to leave quietly, though, and is said to favour a lavish, military style leaving ceremony at exactly the same time as Biden’s inauguration. Always trying to be the upstager and spoiler in chief, right to the bitter end. In a blow to Trump’s aspirations, however, the Pentagon is set to break with tradition and not hold an armed forces farewell tribute to the president. To do so would be entirely inappropriate under the circumstances. Donald Trump should be leaving the White House via the back door without any fanfare to embark on his hoped for retirement in ignominy. With any luck, he might also get a residency in one of the US’ fine penal establishments, eventually!

Thank you, for continuing to read, follow and share my Weekly Digest politics blog. If you’ve just tuned in for the first time, whether by accident or by design, you’re very welcome! I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s instalment? Be sure to call back next week for the post-inauguration edition! In the meantime, stay tuned in, stay informed and stay safe out there! Bye! 👋🏻