Dom gets the front pages that he clearly wanted

Dom gets the front pages that he clearly wanted

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What’ll be the political impact? As expected the appearance by Dominic Cummings before the Commons committee yesterday totally dominates the front pages. The big question is what will be the political impact. That is hard to say at this stage. The Tory peer and elections expert, Lord Hayward. always says that it takes about a fortnight for events that dominate the news to impact on the polls. In any case three weeks today we have real life test with the…

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Following the explosive testimony by Dom Cummings Matt Hancock now betting favourite to be next Cabinet exit

Following the explosive testimony by Dom Cummings Matt Hancock now betting favourite to be next Cabinet exit

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Firstly an apology. I was totally wrong when I predicted yesterday that the Dom Cummings appearance today before MPs would be a damp squib and would not live up to its billing. In fact the event broadcast live for several hours was at times totally compelling and we learned a fair bit about how Johnson’s Number 10 worked and what the dynamics were. It will be referred to many times in the future. We underestimated Cummings whose testimony was reinforced…

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Local lockdowns by stealth – it is all looking rather chaotic

Local lockdowns by stealth – it is all looking rather chaotic

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A big problem with bringing in new lockdowns is that so many people are now vaccinated and don’t feel the same risk or believe that they could be spreaders. The major fact needs to be repeated that in terms of hospitalisations the pandemic has just about been stopped. I live in one of the affected areas and my reading is that it is going to be very difficult to impose and maintain travel bans on a voluntary basis. Many people…

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If controlling hospital admissions is the objective then the pandemic is almost over

If controlling hospital admissions is the objective then the pandemic is almost over

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The lead story in the Telegraph this morning is under the heading “Exclusive: Vaccination won’t mean an end to self-isolating”. This is in sharp contrast to the strategy being followed by the Biden administration in the US where those who are fully vaccinated don’t need to self-isolate if they have come into contact with someone who has had Covid unless they are showing symptoms. This is based on guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Contrast that…

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Choosing Jo Cox’s sister might just be enough to save Labour’s bacon in Batley and Spen

Choosing Jo Cox’s sister might just be enough to save Labour’s bacon in Batley and Spen

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So far we haven’t got a date for the Batley by-election but everything is getting ready for the starting gun to be fired. After Labour’s debacle in Hartlepool, the assumption on the betting markets is that the Tories will find it easy to overhaul be 3.5k majority that Labour had at GE2019. Currently, the Tories are rated as a 66% chance. What could make a difference here is the choice of the Labour candidate, Kim Leadbeater, who is the sister…

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