It has been a week since Boris Johnson entered the door of 10 Downing Street as the UK’s new prime minister.
The new PM has also been holding talks with political leaders across Britain. Today, he has been meeting with the five main Stormont parties in a bid to restore the power-sharing government in Belfast.
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As Johnson gets into the swing of things, the Tories are celebrating a “Boris bounce” in the polls, with an Opinium survey for The Observer giving the party a gain of seven points in the past fortnight - putting the Conservatives two ahead of Labour. And Johnson has a 21-point lead over Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn when it comes to stong leadership credentials.
But it hasn’t been completely plain sailing for the nation’s new leader. The pound has sunk to a 28-month low, and hundreds of people gathered in Russell Square, central London, for a “Fck Govt Fck Boris” protest last week, with critics pointing out that he came to power on the votes of less than 100,000 people.
Johnson’s pledge to deliver Brexit by 31 October has also fuelled fears that the UK will have to leave the EU without a withdrawal agreement in place, with neither the PM nor the bloc looking likely to compromise over the Irish backstop.
In an added headache for the new PM, Nigel Farage has suggested that the Brexit Party will “vigorously oppose” him if he backs anything less than a no-deal exit. “For this reason, we are preparing for an autumn general election,” Farage says in an article for The Daily Telegraph.
Click on the gallery above for images of Johnson’s first week.
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Should Labour break manifesto pledge and raise taxes?Today's Big Question There are ‘powerful’ fiscal arguments for an income tax rise but it could mean ‘game over’ for the government
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Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’The Week Recommends Tate Modern’s ‘revelatory’ show includes 250 works examining Nigerian art pre- and post independence
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To the point: the gender divide over exclamation marksTalking Point 'Men harbouring urges to be more exclamative' can finally take a breath – this is what using the punctuation really conveys
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Five takeaways from Plaid Cymru’s historic Caerphilly by-election winThe Explainer The ‘big beasts’ were ‘humbled’ but there was disappointment for second-placed Reform too
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Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strongTalking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
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The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rightsThe Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
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Does Reform have a Russia problem?Talking Point Nigel Farage is ‘in bed with Putin’, claims Rachel Reeves, after party’s former leader in Wales pleaded guilty to taking bribes from the Kremlin
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The Liberal Democrats: on the march?Talking Point After winning their highest number of seats in 2024, can the Lib Dems marry ‘stunts’ with a ‘more focused electoral strategy’?
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Is Britain turning into ‘Trump’s America’?Today’s Big Question Direction of UK politics reflects influence and funding from across the pond
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Behind the ‘Boriswave’: Farage plans to scrap indefinite leave to remainThe Explainer The problem of the post-Brexit immigration surge – and Reform’s radical solution
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What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
