Summary of the day
It’s been a fairly quiet day in Westminster, bar Ian Blackford’s announcement that he would be resigning as the SNP’s leader in the House of Commons. Here are all the main events of the day:
Opposition parties in Scotland claimed Blackford’s resignation showed the SNP is “in disarray” as the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, struggles to retain control amid infighting. In a statement, Sturgeon paid tribute to Blackford, who she said has “done an outstanding job in holding the Tory government to account and in promoting the case for independence”.
The former prime minister Boris Johnson announced his intention to stand again as an MP in the next election, expected to take place in 2024. But if an ongoing Commons investigation finds him to have been in contempt of parliament by misleading MPs over lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street, he could struggle to retain his seat in a byelection before then.
Downing Street urged public sector unions planning strikes in the run-up to Christmas to consider the impact on the public and call off their “unnecessary” industrial action. Instead a spokesperson asked that unions return to the negotiating table.
Labour condemned the government for voting down a cross-party opposition amendment in the Lords that would have sought to block future governmental use of “VIP lanes” for suppliers with links to MPs or peers.
In the first electoral test for Rishi Sunak, polls in the City of Chester constituency are open until 10pm to replace the Labour MP Chris Matheson, who resigned in October after allegations of sexual misconduct. Labour is expected to retain the seat – but it’s not a done deal in the swing seat.
Thanks for following today. I’m closing the blog for the evening but we will be back again tomorrow morning.
Updated
The Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh, has been following the visit of an all-party group of MPs to Taiwan:
China accused an all-party group of MPs visiting Taiwan from the foreign affairs select committee of “gross interference” in the country’s internal affairs, marking the third complaint made by Beijing about Britain this week.
The Chinese embassy in the UK said this week’s trip had gone ahead despite “firm opposition” and amounted to “a flagrant violation of the one-China principle” by which Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-ruled and democratic island.
The all-party committee, chaired by the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, arrived on Tuesday and met Premier Su Tseng-chang on Thursday. They are due to meet President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday and hold a press conference.
In disregard of China’s firm opposition, the relevant UK MPs went ahead with their visit to the Taiwan region of China. This is a flagrant violation of the one-China principle and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, and it sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence”.
The multiple challenges to security and prosperity across the globe make constructive ties between democracies, such as those enjoyed by the UK and Taiwan, all the more important
Earlier this week prime minister Rishi Sunak declared that the so-called “golden era” of relations with China is over, although he stopped short of calling Beijing a threat. Separately a BBC journalist was beaten and briefly arrested as he covered an anti-lockdown anti-government protest in Shanghai.
Those developments prompted a lengthy complaint from the country’s foreign ministry who accused the UK of “a serious distortion of the facts” and producing “distorted reports on Xinjiang and Hong Kong”. China’s ambassador to the UK added that the UK was “falsely claiming” that the journalist was arrested and beaten.
Video of the incident shows the journalist, Ed Lawrence, being manhandled by police, before being detained for several hours. The BBC said he was beaten and kicked by police officers, and then taken away in handcuffs.
Kearns said:
It is entirely right that democracies engage in dialogue with one another. Whilst the Chinese Communist Party has chosen to shut down dialogue by sanctioning British MPs, I believe that engaging with, and listening to, our friends across the Indo-Pacific, matters.
Updated
