Tories and Labour tied for first time since 2019 as Starmer demands Covid Cobra meeting

Amal Clooney condemns Boris Johnson’s ‘lamentable’ willingness to break international law over Brexit

Government could tighten national lockdown measures

Labour have pulled level with the Conservatives in polling for the first time since 2019, according to YouGov research, amid mutiple crises over Brexit and coronavirus. 

The new poll showed both Labour and the Tories on 40 per cent, with the Lib Dems on 6 per cent, after a series of chaotic weeks for the government.

It came as Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon called on Boris Johnson to hold a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee over the recent spike in coronavirus cases.

Please see below for how the news happened.

[19 September 2020 09:00 · Conrad Duncan]

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of UK politics today.

[19 September 2020 09:09 · Conrad Duncan]

Pressure grows on Johnson to hold emergency Cobra meeting over coronavirus spike

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon have called on Boris Johnson to hold an emergency Cobra meeting over a recent spike in coronavirus cases which could lead to a second national lockdown.

“There is mounting concern about whether we have got the virus sufficiently under control,” Sir Keir said on Friday.

“This is the time for swift, decisive national action. We cannot afford to be too slow.”

He added: “That’s why I’m asking the prime minister to convene a Cobra meeting and to update the country on the measures the government‘s taking to keep the virus under control, including to fix testing.”

Meanwhile, Ms Sturgeon urged the prime minister to hold an emergency meeting over the weekend and said she could not remember the last time she spoke to him.

[19 September 2020 09:24 · Conrad Duncan]

Amal Clooney quits UK envoy role over Johnson’s ‘lamentable’ Brexit bill

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has quit as the UK’s special envoy on press freedom over Boris Johnson’s “lamentable” willingness to break international law over Brexit.

“Very sadly, it has become untenable for me, as special envoy, to urge other states to respect and enforce international obligations while the UK declares that it does not intend to do so itself,” Ms Clooney, who is the wife of actor George Clooney, wrote in a letter.

She added that the government’s Internal Market Bill “threatens to embolden autocratic regimes that violate international law with devastating consequences all over the world”.

Our reporter, Andy Gregory, has the full story below:

[19 September 2020 09:40 · Conrad Duncan]

Dominic Raab’s bodyguard stood down after leaving gun on plane

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab’s police protection officer has been suspended from duties after leaving his gun on a plane at Heathrow.

The Metropolitan Police said an investigation was taking place over the incident, which reportedly occurred as Mr Raab returned from a trip to the US.

It follows a similar incident in February of this year, when former prime minister David Cameron’s bodyguard was removed from operational duties after leaving his gun in a plane toilet.

Our reporter, Clea Skopeliti, has the full story below:

[19 September 2020 09:46 · Conrad Duncan]

Labour’s deputy leader calls for Cobra meeting this weekend

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has urged Boris Johnson to call a meeting of the government’s civil contingencies committee to consider the rise in coronavirus cases this weekend.

“We are deeply concerned with the sharp rise in infection rates. What we have seen over the last six months is the government still can't get the basics right,” Ms Rayner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“The prime minister has to convene a Cobra meeting this weekend. He has to look at the science and the evidence and he has to make sure the measures are in place and a clear communications strategy on that so people can do the right thing.”

She added: “It has been absolutely shocking to see how monumentally they have failed at the testing, tracing, tracking system that they put in place.”

[19 September 2020 10:04 · Conrad Duncan]

Labour pulls level with Conservatives for first time since 2019, YouGov poll finds

Labour has pulled level with the Conservatives for the first time since Boris Johnson became prime minister last year, according to a new YouGov poll.

Polling for The Times showed both Labour and the Tories on 40 per cent, with the Lib Dems on 6 per cent, after a series of chaotic weeks for the government on coronavirus, A-level results and Brexit.

YouGov also found Sir Keir Starmer leading Mr Johnson on who the public thought would be the best prime minister, with 34 per cent opting for the Labour leader and 31 per cent choosing the current PM.

You can find the full polling below:

[19 September 2020 10:25 · Conrad Duncan]

Labour calls on PM to guarantee living wage for social care workers

Labour has called on Boris Johnson to fulfill his promise to “fix” the adult social care crisis in England after promising a reform plan last year.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said it was time for the prime minister to end the delays and bring forward a plan which would guarantee all social care workers a living wage.

Ms Rayner made the demand ahead of her keynote speech for Labour’s four-day online virtual conference, after its annual in-person event was cancelled due to coronavirus.

“On his first day in office the prime minister promised to fix the crisis in social care with a plan he said he had already prepared. Now it turns out that it won't be published until next year,” she said.

“He must publish his plan to fix the crisis in social care without any more delays, and that plan must guarantee all care workers are paid at least the real living wage.”

She said it was “unconscionable” that the average wage for a care worker was just £8.10 an hour, while half did not get the real living wage of £9.30 - or £10.75 in London.

“The prime minister and government ministers have fallen over themselves to clap for our carers and offer them warm words, but applause and empty gestures don't pay the rent or put the food on the table,” she said.

“After all their sacrifice and bravery, the very least that our care workers deserve is a pay rise.”

[19 September 2020 10:41 · Conrad Duncan]

Johnson has one week to sort out test and trace or face 'bleak winter’, shadow health secretary warns

Boris Johnson has just one week to sort out the test and trace system to avoid a “very bleak winter” of rising coronavirus infections, Labour’s shadow health secretary has warned.

Jonathan Ashworth told The Independent that the prime minister needed to move the system away from private companies and into the hands of local public health teams, and provide better financial support for those told to self-isolate for up to 14 days.

“If the current trend continues and we see this exponential growth carry on, then by next weekend we could be in a similar situation to where we were in early March,” he said.

Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has the full story below:

[19 September 2020 11:01 · Conrad Duncan]

Why women will be hardest hit by the end of the eviction ban

Women are disproportionately facing homelessness due to being hardest-hit by the coronavirus crisis, frontline service providers have warned ahead of the end of the evictions ban this week.

The warning came after a report by the University of Exeter found women were almost twice as likely as men to have lost their job during the pandemic, with seven per cent of women made redundant compared to four per cent of men.

“Women who were already struggling to pay rent are now likely to be at the forefront of eviction notices,” one group told The Independent.

Our women’s correspondent, Maya Oppenheim, has the full story below:

[19 September 2020 11:18 · Conrad Duncan]

Video of Labour’s call this morning for Boris Johnson to hold an emergency Cobra meeting over the spike in coronavirus cases can be found below: