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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2021/jan/18/uk-covid-live-coronavirus-vaccine-boris-johnson-keir-starmer-universal-credit-latest-news-updates
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| UK Covid live: Starmer says PM's decision to abstain on extending £20-per-week benefit uplift 'pathetic' | UK Covid live: Starmer says PM's decision to abstain on extending £20-per-week benefit uplift 'pathetic' |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Latest news: Nadhim Zahawi criticises Sir Keir Starmer’s motion calling for government to abandon plans to scrap uplift to universal credit | Latest news: Nadhim Zahawi criticises Sir Keir Starmer’s motion calling for government to abandon plans to scrap uplift to universal credit |
| Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, made his comments about Labour this morning (see 9.20am) in the midst of a long round of interviews about the vaccination programme. Here are the main points he was making. | |
| Zahawi said that from early March the vaccination programme should lead to a “marked reduction’ in deaths. Expanding on a point also made by Prof Stephen Powis (see 9.45am), Zahawi said: | |
| He also suggested that, because those most at risk of death from Covid were being prioritised for the vaccine, hospital and death numbers might fall faster than case numbers. He said: | |
| He said he was opposed to employees being forced to have a vaccine. Commenting on the plan by Pimlico Plumbers to require all its workers to get vaccinated, he said: | |
| He said offering vaccinations 24-hours a day would be piloted at hospitals in London before the end of January. Later it might be rolled out more generally, he said. He said 8am to 8pm vaccination “works much more conveniently for those who are over 80 and then as you move down the age groups it becomes much more convenient for people to go late at night and in the early hours”. | |
| He said the supply of vaccine was “lumpy” and was the factor limiting the rollout of jabs. He said: | |
| He suggested that when the second phase of the vaccination starts - covering adults under the age of 50 - people like teachers, the police and shop workers would get priority. He said: | |
| Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the vaccine deployment minister, Nadhim Zahawi, for calling Labour’s vote on keeping the £20-per-week universal credit uplift a “stunt”. (See 9.20am.) In an interview on ITV’s Lorraine, Starmer also said Boris Johnson’s decision to order Tory MPs to abstain in the vote was “pathetic” and that lots of Conservatives probably privately agreed with Labour on this issue. | |
| He told the programme: | He told the programme: |
| All eligible care home residents in Newcastle upon Tyne and most of the staff looking after them have received the coronavirus vaccine, the GP leading the project has said. As PA Media reports, Dr Jane Carman said the programme involved seven teams made up of a doctor, nurse and administrator going to each home, working with care staff and completing the task in less than a fortnight. She said none of the residents refused to have the jab. | All eligible care home residents in Newcastle upon Tyne and most of the staff looking after them have received the coronavirus vaccine, the GP leading the project has said. As PA Media reports, Dr Jane Carman said the programme involved seven teams made up of a doctor, nurse and administrator going to each home, working with care staff and completing the task in less than a fortnight. She said none of the residents refused to have the jab. |
| Prof Stephen Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning that the vaccination programme won’t have an impact on hospital admissions or death rates until “well into February”. He said: | Prof Stephen Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning that the vaccination programme won’t have an impact on hospital admissions or death rates until “well into February”. He said: |
| But Powis did say the infection rate had “slowed down” in London. And he said there were early signs that the lockdown was having an effect, although he said thiswould take a week or two to “feed through into hospital admissions, and to begin to take pressure off hospitals”. | But Powis did say the infection rate had “slowed down” in London. And he said there were early signs that the lockdown was having an effect, although he said thiswould take a week or two to “feed through into hospital admissions, and to begin to take pressure off hospitals”. |
| There will be a Commons statement on the police national computer data loss at 3.30pm, which means the debate on the Labour motion on universal credit won’t start until around 4.30pm. Labour is criticising Priti Patel, the home secretary, for sending out her policing minister, Kit Malthouse, to deal with it, instead of giving the statement herself. | There will be a Commons statement on the police national computer data loss at 3.30pm, which means the debate on the Labour motion on universal credit won’t start until around 4.30pm. Labour is criticising Priti Patel, the home secretary, for sending out her policing minister, Kit Malthouse, to deal with it, instead of giving the statement herself. |
| From Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor | From Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor |
| Good morning. This week the government in England is starting to invite people over the age of 70 and people who are “clinically extremely vulnerable” to attend appointments for a vaccination. These are people in the third and fourth priority groups for the vaccine, and the government is taking this step because of the good progress being made in vaccinating everyone in priority groups one and two (care home residents and their carers, the over-80s and health and social care workers). Boris Johnson is expected to visit a vaccination centre today to promote the news. | Good morning. This week the government in England is starting to invite people over the age of 70 and people who are “clinically extremely vulnerable” to attend appointments for a vaccination. These are people in the third and fourth priority groups for the vaccine, and the government is taking this step because of the good progress being made in vaccinating everyone in priority groups one and two (care home residents and their carers, the over-80s and health and social care workers). Boris Johnson is expected to visit a vaccination centre today to promote the news. |
| But this development will be at least partially overshadowed by a Commons row about what the government is doing to protect those facing worsening poverty because of the pandemic. Today is one of the days allocated for a debate on an opposition motion and this evening MPs will vote on a motion tabled by Sir Keir Starmer saying the government should abandon plans to scrap the £20-a-week uplift to universal credit announced when the pandemic started. The increase was only meant to be temporary, and making it permanent would cost around £6bn a year. | But this development will be at least partially overshadowed by a Commons row about what the government is doing to protect those facing worsening poverty because of the pandemic. Today is one of the days allocated for a debate on an opposition motion and this evening MPs will vote on a motion tabled by Sir Keir Starmer saying the government should abandon plans to scrap the £20-a-week uplift to universal credit announced when the pandemic started. The increase was only meant to be temporary, and making it permanent would cost around £6bn a year. |
| Johnson has ordered his MPs to abstain on the motion. That means the Labour motion will pass, which will be embarrassing for the government – although not binding on it. Ministers can, and do, ignore motions passed by the House of Commons if they are not related to legislation or Commons procedure. But Johnson has calculated that this will be less embarrassing then sending his MPs through the lobbies to actually vote against retaining the increase. Johnson has still not said what will happen from April when the uplift comes to an end. An announcement is due in the budget in March. | Johnson has ordered his MPs to abstain on the motion. That means the Labour motion will pass, which will be embarrassing for the government – although not binding on it. Ministers can, and do, ignore motions passed by the House of Commons if they are not related to legislation or Commons procedure. But Johnson has calculated that this will be less embarrassing then sending his MPs through the lobbies to actually vote against retaining the increase. Johnson has still not said what will happen from April when the uplift comes to an end. An announcement is due in the budget in March. |
| Here is our overnight preview story, highlighting research from the Resolution Foundation thinktank saying “the withdrawal of the extra £20 on universal credit (UC) and working tax credits (WTC), due to expire in April 2021, and the expected increase in unemployment of 900,000 in 2021-22 as the [furlough scheme] comes to an end, together mean that typical non-pensioner household incomes are projected to fall by 0.4% in 2021-22.” | Here is our overnight preview story, highlighting research from the Resolution Foundation thinktank saying “the withdrawal of the extra £20 on universal credit (UC) and working tax credits (WTC), due to expire in April 2021, and the expected increase in unemployment of 900,000 in 2021-22 as the [furlough scheme] comes to an end, together mean that typical non-pensioner household incomes are projected to fall by 0.4% in 2021-22.” |
| This morning Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, dismissed the Commons vote as a “political stunt”. He told Sky News: | This morning Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, dismissed the Commons vote as a “political stunt”. He told Sky News: |
| Zahawi’s reliance on this line of attack is indicative of the weakness of the government’s stance on this issue. Debating and voting on policy is exactly what the Commons is there for. It is hard to see how it is inappropriate. | Zahawi’s reliance on this line of attack is indicative of the weakness of the government’s stance on this issue. Debating and voting on policy is exactly what the Commons is there for. It is hard to see how it is inappropriate. |
| Here is the agenda for the day. | Here is the agenda for the day. |
| 12pm: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing. | 12pm: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing. |
| 12.15pm: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, holds her daily coronavirus briefing. | 12.15pm: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, holds her daily coronavirus briefing. |
| 12.15pm: The Welsh government is expected to hold a coronavirus briefing. | 12.15pm: The Welsh government is expected to hold a coronavirus briefing. |
| 2.30pm: Dido Harding, head of NHS Test and Trace, gives evidence to the Commons public accounts committee. | 2.30pm: Dido Harding, head of NHS Test and Trace, gives evidence to the Commons public accounts committee. |
| After 3.30pm: MPs begin the debate on the Labour motion opposing the proposed cut to universal credit. | After 3.30pm: MPs begin the debate on the Labour motion opposing the proposed cut to universal credit. |
| 5pm: A UK government minister is expected to hold a press conference. | 5pm: A UK government minister is expected to hold a press conference. |
| Politics Live is now doubling up as the UK coronavirus live blog and, given the way the Covid crisis eclipses everything, this will continue for the foreseeable future. But we will be covering non-Covid political stories too, and when they seem more important or more interesting, they will take precedence. (The debate on universal credit is somewhere in between. It is not directly relevant to Covid, but it is about the economic consequences of the pandemic.) | Politics Live is now doubling up as the UK coronavirus live blog and, given the way the Covid crisis eclipses everything, this will continue for the foreseeable future. But we will be covering non-Covid political stories too, and when they seem more important or more interesting, they will take precedence. (The debate on universal credit is somewhere in between. It is not directly relevant to Covid, but it is about the economic consequences of the pandemic.) |
| Here is our global coronavirus live blog. | Here is our global coronavirus live blog. |
| I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. | I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. |
| If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow. |