Tuesday, December 22, 2020
The United States (US) approved its second COVID-19 vaccine by Moderna this week, ramping up its initial vaccine distribution and inoculations in America. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) decided to expedite its vaccine approval process and is now on track to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines before the end of the month.
Talks between the United Kingdom (UK) and EU continued this past week. While some progress was noted, a significant breakthrough remains elusive. If a deal is reached in the coming days, accelerated ratification by both the European Parliament and the UK Parliament will be necessary before the UK’s formal exit from the customs union and single market on 31 December.
Dec 22, 2020 00:07 GMTFXStreet News
UK Ministers are reportedly considering keeping schools closed throughout January amid fears that Children might be fuelling the spread of a recently detected strain of Covid-19 that is currently thought to be about 70% more transmissible, reported the Telegraph.
Teaching unions have reportedly been writing to the UK PM demanding that he delay the typical post-Christmas holiday re-opening of schools in early January, citing “growing evidence” that the new variant of the virus infects children more effectively.
Similar concerns are being expressed by UK scientists who advise the government from the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (called Nervtag); the group has raised concerns that higher transmissibility amongst children might explain why the virus continued to spread in some areas during the second lockdown when schools were open despite more adults staying at home.
THE United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 is the third Westminster statute to be passed since 2018 in the face of an explicit refusal of consent (under the Sewel Convention) by one or more of the devolved legislatures. The Act establishes a new legal framework to minimise the impact on trade within the UK arising from potential regulatory divergence between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland after the Brexit transition period ends. The House of Lords Constitution Committee described the Bill as “one of profound constitutional significance” for the UK’s devolution arrangements, and regretted the lack of engagement with the devolved governments in developing the proposals. Both the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) voted to refuse consent to the Bill, and although no formal legislative consent motion was lodged in the Northern Ireland Assembly, in September the Assembly also approved an SDLP motion to reject it.
Article
Highland MP speaks out after being suspended from House of Commons for grabbing the mace as Scottish Tory MSP suggests behaviour was potentially dangerous By Scott Maclennan
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Updated: 12:36, 17 December 2020
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MP Drew Hendry making off with the Mace in the Houses of Parliament.
Highland MP Drew has vowed to always stand up for my constituents after being suspended from the House of Commons for grabbing the mace in protest at the UK Internal Market Bill.
The mace sits on the dispatch box and is the traditional symbol of the monarchâs authority and without it laws cannot be passed nor can the House of Commons meet.