Britain’s finance and health ministers resigned on Tuesday, in what looked to be the final blow for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s premiership after he had tried to apologise for the latest scandal to dog his administration.

Both finance minister Rishi Sunak and health minister Sajid Javid resigned in what appeared to be a choreographed release of letters to the prime minister, in which both took aim at his ability to run an administration that adhered to standards.

The resignations came as Johnson was apologising for what he said was a mistake for not realising that a former minister in charge of pastoral care was unsuitable for a job in government after complaints of sexual misconduct were made against him.

Both had formerly publicly supported Johnson during months of scandal over his administration’s conduct and a damning report into parties at his Downing Street office and residence that broke strict Covid-19 lockdown rules.

Sunak, who had reportedly clashed with the prime minister in private about spending, said: “For me to step down as Chancellor while the world is suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other serious challenges is a decision that I have not taken lightly.”

“However, the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”

Javid said many lawmakers and the public had lost confidence in Johnson’s ability to govern in the national interest.

“I regret to say, however, that it is clear to me that this situation will not change under your leadership – and you have therefore lost my confidence too,” Javid said in a letter to Johnson.

Former Brexit minister Steve Barclay replaced Javid as health minister while education minister Nadhim Zahawi has been named new finance minister.

In the wake of those two resignations, one of the vice-chairs of Johnson’s Conservative Party, Bim Afolami, also left the government, TalkTV political editor Kate McCann said on Twitter on Tuesday.

And late in the evening, British MP for Cheltenham Alex Chalk joined the string of resignations, stepping down as solicitor general for England and Wales in protest at Johnson’s leadership.

“To be in government … cannot extend to defending the indefensible,” he wrote in a resignation letter posted on Twitter.

Source: REUTERS  

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday that the Scottish parliament would publish an independence referendum bill with a planned date for a vote on secession to take place on Oct. 19, 2023.

Sturgeon said she would be writing to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for permission to hold a consultative referendum, saying it was vital the vote was legal. She said the issue would be referred to the UK Supreme Court.

Voters in Scotland, which has a population of around 5.5 million, rejected independence in 2014. But Scotland’s semi-autonomous government says Britain’s departure from the EU, which was opposed by a majority of Scots, means the question must be put to a second vote.

Johnson and his ruling Conservative Party, which is in opposition in Scotland, strongly oppose a referendum, saying the issue was settled in 2014 when Scots voted against independence by 55% to 45%.

He has previously refused to issue a “Section 30” order to allow a referendum to take place.

Source: REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation for the first time on Wednesday since his centrist coalition lost control of parliament in Sunday elections. “We must learn to govern and legislate differently,” Macron acknowledged in his first public comments following the election setback.

The president said the opposition was ready to work with him on “major” issues and promised measures on inflation, climate change and unemployment sometime this summer. He went on to call on legislative groups to be clear in indicating “how far they are ready to go”.

Macron acknowledged that the parliamentary elections had highlighted social problems in France, but he called on the opposition parties to “leave in-fighting behind” and to move “beyond politics”. The current political impasse should not lead to “stagnation” but to renewed dialogue and a new “willingness to listen to each other”.

He added that he had been re-elected in April on a platform of “ambitious reform”, which he said he plans to carry out. Macron’s Ensemble (Together) coalition emerged as the largest party in the final round of parliamentary elections on Sunday but was dozens of seats short of keeping the parliamentary majority it had enjoyed for the last five years.

Macron’s centrist alliance finished 44 seats short of a majority in the lower house National Assembly as a new left-wing coalition known as NUPES made gains and the far-right party of Marine Le Pen posted its best legislative performance in its history.

The NUPES (New Popular Union) alliance – which brings together the La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), the Socialist Party, the Greens (Europe Ecologie-Les Verts) and the Communist Party under the leadership of eurosceptic far-left figurehead Jean-Luc Mélenchon – more than doubled the score of its combined parties in 2017.

The situation has called into question Macron’s ambitious plans for reform in his second term after his re-election in April – including a controversial measure to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65. It also marks the first time in 20 years that a president has not had an absolute majority in parliament.

Macron has been holding two days of talks with opposition leaders at the Élysee Palace, including with the head of the far-right National Rally party Marine Le Pen, to find a way out of the crisis.

Analysts have said the most viable solution would be a deal between Macron’s centrist alliance and the conservative Les Républicains, a party on the decline that nevertheless won 61 seats. But after talks with Macron on Tuesday, party leader Christian Jacob ruled out any kind of “pact” with Macron’s alliance and said his party prefers to remain in the opposition.

Macron’s remarks on Wednesday were his first public comments on the election results, a significant setback for a president with an ambitious domestic reform agenda and one who is keen to play a key role in international crises, including the war in Ukraine.

Source: AFP

The moment of truth for the embattled British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson at the end of a day rife with speculation about his political survival.

It’s a result that means Boris Johnson is now a weakened leader and with an uncertain future, although he himself doesn’t think so. But it’s exactly the stuff that matters to people that forced members of his own conservative party to call for a no-confidence vote: lock-down breaching parties held at government buildings at the height of Coronavirus pandemic when families were banned from visiting even dying relatives.

The sticky Partygate scandal played a major role in conservative MPs challenging Johnson’s position, but it was not the only reason.

Things came to a boiling point over the weekend when the prime minister was booed at an event celebrating the Queens 70-year-rule.

And prior to Monday’s vote, allegations of intimidation and arm-twisting by number 10 trying to get conservative MPs to change their minds, and a last ditch effort by the Boris Johnson himself writing to MPs begging for a second chance.

Boris Johnson has survived the confidence vote. But the considerable number of votes against him can pose a serious challenge to his premiership. That’s why some experts say he won’t be able to hold on to power for much longer.

Sourcies

The pomp and pageantry of the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London traditionally takes longer than the speech itself.

But for nine short minutes on Tuesday, Britons were given a glimpse of their future without Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.

Ill health and old age forced the 96-year-old monarch to withdraw from outlining her government’s legislative agenda for only the third time since her reign began in 1952.

Instead it fell to her eldest son Prince Charles, 73, to deputise, in the most important state engagement yet in his record-breaking time as her heir.

When his mother dies, he will be king and opening parliament for a new session will be one of his most important constitutional duties as head of state.

Other than the last-minute change of personnel, there was little to distinguish the ceremony from previous ones in the putative “mother of all parliaments”.

Two mounted divisions of the Household Cavalry regiment formed a “secure passage” for the limousine carrying Charles and his wife Camilla from Buckingham Palace.

The red-coated Queen’s Body Guard of the Yeoman of the Guard — the “Beefeaters” — kept watch. Liveried parliamentary and government officials processed.

A ceremonial search of the cellars of parliament was conducted — a throwback to when a gunpowder plot was foiled before the opening of 1605.

The door of the House of Commons was slammed shut in the path of Black Rod, an official from the unelected upper House of Lords, to symbolise the independence of the elected lower chamber from the monarchy.

One member of parliament was held “hostage” at Buckingham Palace to ensure the safe return of the monarch, another throwback to more troubled times.

Elected members of parliament from the House of Commons are invited to the unelected upper chamber House of Lords to listen to the Queen’s Speech

Elected members of parliament from the House of Commons are invited to the unelected upper chamber House of Lords to listen to the Queen’s Speech Aaron Chown POOL/AFP

Then MPs filed into the Lords, their daywear in contrast to the peers in red and white ermine robes, to listen to the speech.

‘God save the Queen’

Charles, dressed in the ceremonial uniform of admiral of the fleet, complete with a sheathed sword, arrived to a trumpet fanfare.

The Prince of Wales has had a lifetime to prepare, showing no sign of nerves, smiling and occasionally stopping to chat as he made his way to the chamber and the platform bearing the consort’s throne.

Camilla sat to his left and his eldest son, Prince William, 39, to his right, getting his first taste of an occasion he will also have to perform one day.

The raised golden throne of the monarch, who was said to be watching on television from home, was removed. In its place was the crown on a velvet cushion.

At 11:34 am (1034 GMT), Charles began reading his mother’s words, written for her by the government.

“My Government’s priority is to grow and strengthen the economy and help ease the cost of living for families,” he read.

“My Government will level up opportunity in all parts of the country and support more people into work.

“My Ministers will continue to support the police to make the streets safer, and fund the National Health Service to reduce the COVID backlogs.

Queen Elizabeth II, who has been head of state since 1952, was said to have watched the ceremony on television from home.

“In these challenging times, my Government will play a leading role in defending democracy and freedom across the world, including continuing to support the people of Ukraine.”

At 11:43 am it was over. As he left, a military band played the national anthem, “God Save the Queen”.

Source: AFP

Prince Charles will replace his 96-year-old mother Queen Elizabeth II at Tuesday’s ceremonial opening of the UK parliament, Buckingham Palace said Monday, citing the monarch’s ongoing mobility issues.

“The Queen continues to experience episodic mobility problems, and in consultation with her doctors has reluctantly decided that she will not attend the State Opening of Parliament,” the palace said in a statement on the eve of the pomp-filled event.

“At Her Majesty’s request, and with the agreement of the relevant authorities, The Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on Her Majesty’s behalf,” it added, referring to her eldest son and heir to the throne, Charles.

The palace added that the Queen’s eldest grandson, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and next in the line of succession, would also attend the elaborate State Opening of Parliament ceremony.

As head of state, the Queen usually presides over the annual event, reading out her government’s legislative programme in an address from a gilded throne in the House of Lords.

But Buckingham Palace had not confirmed her attendance in the run-up to this year’s spectacle, which culminates in the so-called Queen’s Speech at around 11:30 am (1030 GMT) on Tuesday.

The monarch has rarely been seen in public since spending an unscheduled night in hospital in October last year, and has complained of difficulties standing and working, as well as a bout of Covid.

She has missed only two state openings during her record-breaking 70-year reign, in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and then Prince Edward.

She has cut back on numerous public appearances in recent months, and last week the palace announced she will not attend this summer’s royal garden parties, usually a regular feature in her yearly diary.

The monarch recently returned to Windsor Castle after a week-long break on her Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, where she marked her 96th birthday in private on April 21.

Royal tradition since the 18th century has also seen the monarch have a second, official birthday, typically celebrated in warmer weather in June.

This year’s official birthday coincides with her Platinum Jubilee, and four days of public events from June 2 to 5 to mark her record-breaking 70th year on the throne.

Source: AFP

Emmanuel Macron was re-elected as the president of France on Sunday with more than 58 percent of the vote. As international leaders offered their congratulations, rival political parties say they are preparing to do battle ahead of French parliamentary elections in June.

European Council chief Charles Michel, as well as the prime ministers of Belgium and Luxembourg, were among the first to congratulate Macron, followed by many of the bloc’s 27 leaders. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said French voters “have sent a strong vote of confidence in Europe today,” adding: “I am happy that we will continue our cooperation.”

Political parties in France led by La France Insoumise (France Unbowed or LFI) and Rassemblement National (National Rally or RN) are preparing to battle it out in legislative elections on June 12 and 19.

French voters head to the polls on Sunday in the second and final round of the country’s presidential election, with President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen facing off in a rematch of their 2017 duel.

Macron, 44, topped the first round of the election on April 10 with 27.8% of votes cast. The pro-European incumbent is aiming to become the first president to win re-election since Jacques Chirac in 2002.

Le Pen, who took 23.1% of the first-round vote, is making her third run for the presidency. The 53-year-old nationalist leader is hoping to become the first woman to hold the job.

First exit polls are expected at 8pm Paris time (GMT+2) when the last polling stations close in Paris and other cities. Until then, French media are barred from quoting candidates or publishing polls to ensure they don’t influence voters.

Some 48.7 million are registered to vote, though pollsters have warned that turnout could be lower than in the first round, when one in four abstained from voting.

Source: France 24

Britain will send migrants and asylum-seekers who cross the Channel thousands of miles away to Rwanda under a controversial deal announced Thursday as the government tries to clamp down on record numbers of people making the perilous journey.

“From today… anyone entering the UK illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 may now be relocated to Rwanda,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a speech near Dover in southeastern England.

“Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead,” Johnson said.

He called the East African nation with a sketchy human rights record “one of the safest countries in the world, globally recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating migrants.”

Johnson was elected partly on promises to curb illegal immigration but has instead seen record numbers making the risky Channel crossing.

He also announced that Britain’s border agency would hand responsibility for patrolling the Channel for migrant boats to the navy.

“The Royal Navy will take over operational command from Border Force in the Channel with the aim that no boat makes it to the UK undetected,” Johnson said, announcing extra funds for boats, aircraft and surveillance equipment to help detain people-smugglers at sea.

“This will send a clear message to those piloting the boats. If you risk other people’s lives in the Channel, you risk spending your own life in prison,” he said.

More than 28,000 people arrived in Britain having crossed the Channel from France in small boats in 2021.

Around 90 percent of those were male and three-quarters were men aged between 18 and 39.

The Rwanda plan swiftly drew the ire of opposition politicians who accused Johnson of trying to distract from his being fined for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules, while rights groups slammed the project as “inhumane”.

Ghana and Rwanda had previously been mentioned as possible locations for the UK to outsource the processing of migrants, but Ghana in January denied involvement.

Instead, Kigali on Thursday announcing that it had signed a multi-million-dollar deal to do the job, during a visit by British Home Secretary Priti Patel.

“Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence” in the East African nation, Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said in a statement.

“This is about ensuring that people are protected, respected, and empowered to further their own ambitions and settle permanently in Rwanda if they choose,” said Biruta.

The deal with Rwanda will be funded by the UK to the tune of up to 120 million pounds ($157 million, 144 million euros), with migrants “integrated into communities across the country,” it said.

Backlash

Refugee Action’s Tim Naor Hilton accused the government of “offshoring its responsibilities onto Europe’s former colonies instead of doing our fair share to help some of the most vulnerable people on the planet”.

“This grubby cash-for-people plan would be a cowardly, barbaric and inhumane way to treat people fleeing persecution and war,” he said.

Detention Action said that those sent there would “likely face indefinite detention under a government notorious for violent persecution of dissent.”

“At the same time, the UK currently gives asylum to Rwandan refugees fleeing political persecution,” the advocacy group said in a statement.

Scotland’s Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the plan showed that the Conservative government was “institutionally racist”.

The government “rightly provides asylum and refuge to Ukrainians fleeing war, but wants to send others seeking asylum thousands of miles away to Rwanda for ‘processing’,” Yousaf tweeted.

Australia has a policy of sending asylum seekers arriving by boat to detention camps on the Pacific island nation of Nauru, with Canberra vowing no asylum seeker arriving by boat would ever be allowed to permanently settle in Australia.

Since 2015 the UK has “offered a place to over 185,000 men, women and children seeking refuge (…) more than any other similar resettlement schemes in Europe,” Johnson said.

According to the UN refugee agency, Germany received the highest number of asylum applicants (127,730) in Europe in 2021, followed by France (96,510), while the UK received the fourth largest number of applicants (44,190).

Source:  AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron improved on his 2017 score in Sunday’s first round of the presidential election. But he goes into the April 24 run-off with a starkly diminished reservoir of votes in what large swaths of the country have come to see as a choice of “the lesser of two evils”.

Macron trounced the same far-right candidate in a lopsided contest five years ago, but polls are pointing to a much closer race this time amid widespread dismay at a rematch voters have long said they didn’t want.

Following the first round, Macron is on course to beat Le Pen by 54% to 46%, according to a projection by pollsters Ipsos-Sopra Steria for FRANCE 24. Other polls have suggested the gap could be as narrow as two percentage points. In any case, Macron is polling well below the 66% he won in 2017 against the very same opponent.

In Sunday’s first round, the incumbent president trailed Le Pen in every age category except the over-65s, who voted massively in his favour. Without their support, he wouldn’t even be in the run-off. But the inability to generate enthusiasm among younger voters is just one of Macron’s problems after five troubled years in office and a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by the war in Ukraine.

“Macron’s reservoir of votes is extremely weak,” said Martial Foucault, head of the Cevipof institute in Paris, noting that rivals from the mainstream whose supporters are most likely to rally behind him have been all but wiped off the political map.

“The scores of the Socialist Party (1.7%) and Les Républicains (4.8%) suggest many of their supporters already voted tactically in the first round. And the more ‘Macron-compatible’ among them gave their votes to the incumbent,” Foucault told FRANCE 24. While Macron can also count on the support of voters who backed the Greens’ Yannick Jadot (4.6%) and the Communists’ Fabien Roussel (2.3%), “we’re talking about a very limited pool of voters”, Foucault added.

At the other end of the spectrum, Le Pen can reasonably expect to pick up most of the 7.1% of voters who backed her far-right rival Éric Zemmour and the 2.1% who went for nationalist right-winger Nicolas Dupont-Aignan – with both candidates throwing their support behind her on Sunday night. Their combined total brings the far right’s tally to an unprecedented 32.5% – underscoring a profound shift in the French electorate and pointing to a substantial reservoir of votes for Le Pen ahead of the April 24 run-off.

Source: France 24