it s wednesday, 31st january. our main story. scotland s former first minister, nicola sturgeon is due to give evidence about the decisions she took during the pandemic, when she appears before the covid inquiry today. ms sturgeon, who led the scottish response to the coronavirus outbreak is expected to face questions surrounding lockdowns, and missing whatsapp messages as the inquiry continues sitting in edinburgh. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. 1,044 positive cases were reported yesterday. nicola sturgeon was at the helm throughout scotland s pandemic response. as head of the scottish government, she was the key decision maker and first in the firing line when things went wrong. we will have made mistakes on all aspects of the handling. now about to be questioned on that handling and how decisions the truth, the whole truth. the former first minister s closest political ally amongst those who admitted texts between the pair no longer exist. are those t
Road and bus projects in the north, the midlands and across the country. The speech was widely seen as an opportunity for the Prime Minister To Revitalise his party ahead of a general election expected next year. Political editor chris mason reports. Manchester this lunchtime, and the Prime Ministers warm up act his wife. Rishi and i are each others best friends, and i could not imagine being anywhere else to show my support to him. Rishi sunak began by thanking her, his daughters, his parents as he drew a link between himself and margaret thatcher. This conservative party, the party of the grocer s daughter and the pharmacist s son, will always be the party of enterprise, the party of small business. He said hes taken a look at how Government Works since he became Prime Minister, and not liked what hes seen. It isnt anger, its an exhaustion with politics. Weve had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one. As for taxes, they will come down,
It is my responsibility. It is myjob. I do not regret negotiating. Our government is designed to find compromise. I dont regret my efforts to build coalitions and find solutions. I was raised to solve problems, not create them. The ousting of the speaker follows months of fractures and in fighting in the republican party. This was brought to a head over the weekend when Kevin Mccarthy secured a funding deal with the democrats to avoid a Us Government shutdown. That deal was highly criticsed by hardline members of the party including matt gaetz, who Accused Mccarthy of doing a side deal with democrats over funding for ukraine. The house is now in recess until a vote on his replacement takes place next week. Republicanjim jordan of ohio has already thrown his name into the ring for the position of leader, as has House Majority leader steve scalise, with more names expected in the next few days. Meanwhile, the Interim Speaker has ordered former House Speaker nancy pelosi and her deputy to
For the coming uk election. Is it enough to change the political weather . Way to school in croydon last week. For a vigil. Hello. Rishi sunak delivered his most important speech as Prime Minister today, with the promise the country, would see the real him. A Leader Setting out what he believes, including being willing to take the toughest decisions. Well at the conservative party conference, he set out a number of key policies, on education and health. But the most controversial idea had been flagged for weeks, the scrapping of the High Speed Rail Line from birmingham to the north of england, and he made the announcement, in manchester. It was an ambitious project to link up the country, but costs spiralled and the plans were hacked back, with the eastern leg of hs2 scapped two years ago. Then today, came confirmation that the birmingham to Manchester Route would also die, along with the line to east midlands parkway. The big question, what would become of the money saved . The answer
With the north of england and the East Midlands. But costs spiralled and it was scaled back. The eastern leg of h52 was cancelled two years ago. Now birmingham to manchester has also been scrapped, as well as the line to East Midlands parkway. Well be getting reaction from all along the network tonight. Our transport correspondent katy austin is in birmingham, our north of england correspondent danny savage is in leeds, but first lets go to our Political Editor chris mason in manchester. Sophie, for at least three weeks the plug has been poised to be pulled on a big chunk of hs2. Today, it was yanked out. The Prime Minister acknowledged it was a controversial decision, but he insisted it was the right call, even though there are plenty, including in his own party, who think it is a huge mistake. And all of this on a day of big announcements from rishi sunak. Manchester this lunchtime, and the Prime Ministers warm up. Rishi and i are each other s best friends, and i couldnt being anywhe