Displaying items by tag: Politics

A second coronavirus wave is expanding fast, and Madrid is the worst-affected place in Spain and indeed in Europe. A row has erupted over a lockdown there. The regional government did not vote in favour of the restrictions, and questioned the legality of stricter curbs on personal movement and social gatherings. Political disputes have angered many Spaniards. Health officials from Spain’s central government and the Madrid region agreed on a set of health metrics that dictate standardised restrictions in cities with a population of 100,000 or more. There are uncontrolled virus clusters in the Spanish capital. Spain has seen more than 748,000 infections and has a confirmed virus death toll of over 31,400. However, experts say all numbers understate the true toll of the pandemic due to limited testing and other factors.

On 21 September the government’s chief scientific adviser said that without further action the UK could see 50,000 new coronavirus cases daily by mid-October, leading to about 200 daily deaths a month later. He stressed the figures were not a prediction but an estimation if nothing is done to curb the current doubling of numbers every seven days. Speedy action is required to bring numbers down: see On 23 September, the day after a Cobra meeting chaired by the PM, new rules were declared: closing pubs, bars and restaurants at 10 pm, and more face masks rules. Fines for breaking rules were increased. The motto ‘Stay At Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives’ has been retired after an intense period of lockdown. Now Boris Johnson wants to ‘save lives, protect the NHS’ and ‘shelter the economy’.

The political agenda has been dominated by the Internal Markets Bill with reading debates and two Commons committee stage days this week. There are two more scheduled for next week amid a gathering storm over the bill in the Lords. Part 5 of the bill gives ministers powers to modify the rules on moving goods from Northern Ireland to Britain, and rules relating to state aid, that would come into force if the UK and EU are unable to reach an alternative agreement. At this critical time, MPs are seeking assurances that the UK will not betray its treaty obligations. Please pray that all debates on Monday 21 September around amendments and the bill's handling of Northern Ireland issues will be led by God’s Spirit, and for Heaven to usher the result through the committee stage the following day.

On 7th September Maria Kolesnikova, a Belarus opposition leader was forced into a van by masked men. She was next seen on 9th September at the Ukraine border where she prevented officials from forcibly expelling her by tearing up her passport and throwing it out of the car window. She is one of three women who joined forces to challenge Lukashenko in August’s election. The other two, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who won 60-70% of votes and Olga Kovalkova, both fled the country. Thousands have been protesting since the disputed vote even though President Lukashenko insisted he will not step down from power. He calls Vladimir Putin ‘big brother’ and is increasingly dependent on Russia for support. In an interview he said that Moscow needs him too, saying, ‘if Belarus breaks, Russia will be next.’ Lukashenko seemed to be saying to Moscow, back me up and Russians won't get any ideas about ousting a long-standing leader through popular protests. Mr Lukashenko will meet Vladimir Putin on 14th September.

The proposed Internal Market Bill was published on 9th September. It addresses the Northern Ireland Protocol - an element of the withdrawal agreement designed to prevent a hard border returning to the island of Ireland. The bill proposes no new checks on goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. It gives UK ministers powers to modify or ‘disapply’ rules relating to the movement of goods that will come into force from 1st January if the UK and EU are unable to strike a trade deal. Mr Johnson defended the bill, saying it would ‘ensure the integrity of the UK internal market’ and hand power to Scotland and Wales while protecting the Northern Ireland peace process. Critics say the move will damage the UK's international reputation after a minister admitted the plans break international law. The EU president is ‘very concerned’ following the tabling of the bill in Parliament, saying such actions ‘undermine trust’ between the EU and UK.

MPs are returning to Westminster with very full inboxes. Coronavirus challenges will be at the forefront of ministers' minds. Jeremy Hunt warned, ‘The situation coming into winter is potentially very perilous’. Pray for the Government to succeed in encouraging a return to something approaching normal while keeping the virus under control. The UK and EU must reach a Brexit agreement by 31 December 2020. But at the end of every round of negotiations, the messages are ‘little progress’ and ‘considerable gaps remain’. Pray for God’s resolution to come to the surface. The furlough programme is winding down, but opposition parties want the scheme to be extended. While furlough was one of the largest schemes, others are also due to come to an end soon, with disagreement between the parties over their ongoing value. Pray for parliament to agree on wise provisions for the 9.6 million who were furloughed.

Montenegro’s election campaign was dominated by divisions over the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church. There have been months of protests since a law was adopted in December allowing the state to seize religious assets when their historical ownership cannot be proved. Consequently the Church urged people to vote against the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). The DPS secured 35% of votes in a tight and bitterly-contested parliamentary election, its worst result since the country won independence from Serbia. Official results show the pro-Serbian opposition alliance on 32.5%, meaning that it could feasibly form a government if it can reach consensus with Montenegro's other two opposition parties. That would see the DPS lose control of power in the Balkan nation for the first time in 30 years. The leader of the pro-Serbian coalition, Zdravko Krivokapic, told supporters, ‘The regime has fallen’. The majority of Montenegrins are members of the Church, while President Djukanovic and his party are accused of having links to organised crime and running the country as an autocracy.

On 18 August, 48 hours of Brexit talks resumed in Brussels. A source close to British negotiators said it would not accept any deal that ‘constrains’ the UK to the EU’s rules and infringes sovereignty. They reiterated that the UK was still seeking a free trade deal with the EU, similar to its agreement with Canada. The source said, ‘We remain committed to working hard to find the outlines of a balanced agreement. Our priority throughout the process has always been the return of our sovereignty.’ Former Brexit secretary David Davis said that fifty civil servants going to Brussels to negotiate was not enough. It ought to be a couple of hundred because there are so many things going on in parallel. We are also negotiating trade with America, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. The Americans and the New Zealanders are complaining we’re not moving fast enough.

At least twelve well-known political opposition figures, veterans, and lawmaker activists have been barred from running in the legislative council elections; the government warned that more hopefuls, including further lawmakers, could still be banned. Hong Kong's pastors are in the spiritual trenches of this growing fight. More than one million Christians are choosing between the ‘blue’ pro-government camp and the ‘yellow’ opposition. Most young churchgoers support the pro-democracy protests. Pray for God to protect and show the pastors His way forward, as they lead the church through the current struggles. Pray for young protesters facing moral dilemmas: ‘As a Christian, violence is wrong, so can I throw bricks? An oppressive government is also wrong, shall I break laws to protest against injustice?’

A year ago Boris Johnson promised to tackle the social care crisis. Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said the PM must honour this pledge, or thousands of elderly people will continue to suffer needlessly and the social care sector will never recover from the hammer blow caused by the pandemic. A huge petition, signed by 110,000 people, was handed in, to put pressure on him to deliver on his promise to provide the decent level of care the elderly deserve. Also the UK Home Care Association, which represents those providing home help, said that unless he acts the vulnerable will continue to receive rationed, underfunded services that are started too late to prevent independence deteriorating. When Mr Johnson became Prime Minister, he said his job was to protect people from the fear of having to sell their home to pay for care costs.