Who’s at the wheel…? As ministers deal with the energy crisis at home! Boris Johnson reportedly flew to Marbella, southern Spain! on holiday. Downing Street did not deny the reports! Kwarteng told Times Radio he remains in touch with the prime minister over! WhatsApp. “I believe he has gone away. I’m not sure where he’s gone! but what I would say is I am in regular contact with him,” the business secretary! said. But he added Johnson has had “a year-and-a-half in which he’s almost! lost his life to COVID, his mother passed away very sadly two or three weeks ago and he may have decided to take a short break. I think that’s something reasonable.”
Nobody — according to Michael Heseltine:
The former Deputy Prime Minister said Johnson’s “boostering” is not good for business, only for the party faithful, claiming the government “is lurching from crisis to crisis.” He told Phillips the U.K. is “heading to a significant increase in inflation which will lead to increases in interest rates.” He did not have nice words for Michael Gove either, branding the leveling up secretary’s conference speech “very disappointing” and short of detail on how the government plans to actually reduce inequalities.
of rationing might be start before Christmas to prevent special database the panic buying of meat, a leading supermarket chain has warned officials, according to the Sunday Times. The government has asked supermarkets to start their Christmas offers earlier than usual to encourage customers to buy over a longer period.
Asylum seekers banned from work: Home
Secretary Priti Patel is resisting plans to allow asylum seekers to work to help tackle the U.K.’s labor shortages, the same newspaper reports. Other Cabinet ministers including Kwarteng and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab are understood to support the proposal. The Home Office worries allowing them to work would incentivize many others to cross the Channel illegally. Under current rules, asylum seekers cannot work while waiting for a decision on their application for asylum.
3. MORE WINTER FUN: This will be the first social media posts: tips to make your brand stand out winter where the coronavirus and the flu will co-circulate together in significant numbers, potentially bookyourlist combining into a mortal combo in those who get the two viruses simultaneously, Jenny Harries, chief executive of the new UK Health Security Agency warned.
Reasons to be extra careful: Early evidence suggests people are twice as likely to die from having the two together than just having COVID-19 alone, she told Phillips. Because of the winter lockdown last year, the U.K. managed to restrain the flu, but this winter the country might be hit by multiple flu strains and people’s immunity will be lower, she warned. People should keep wearing face masks inside, ventilate interiors, wash their hands and get their flu and booster COVID-19 jabs when eligible, she said.
