Bloomberg Westminster

Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, says his party is unhappy with a possible extension of the Covid pass to hospitality in Wales.

Plus: Emma Revie, CEO of the Trussell Trust, says no-one in Britain should be destitute, as the charity prepares to hand out thousands of food parcels for children this Christmas. She tells Bloomberg Westminster's Caroline Hepker and Yuan Potts the furlough scheme shows just how much the government can do to help people in times of need.

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Holding the Old Bexley and Sidcup seat - even with a reduced majority - is a good result for the Conservatives, says Rob Ford, Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester. In this by-election special, Ford tells Bloomberg Westminster's Caroline Hepker that a comfortable win suggests the party would not face any danger in a general election.

Plus Joey Jones, Senior Counsel for Corporate Affairs at Grayling, says none of the parties should be patting themselves on the back too much. He says that while the issue of sleaze is not a determining factor on the doorstep at the moment, it does lay bare divisions within the Conservatives.

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Jamie Driscoll, the Labour Mayor of the North of Tyne says he regrets the Government's relaxation of mask-wearing rules earlier this year. On vaccines, Driscoll says we need 'boosters not boosterism'.

Plus: Should companies be forced to give up their Covid vaccine patents? Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary of Public Services International tells Bloomberg Westminster's Yuan Potts and Caroline Hepker that the Covax programme has not delivered for poorer nations.

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Labour MP Steve McCabe says his constituents are anxious to get the vaccine booster but there is a persistent level of dangerous online misinformation. After Starmer's reshuffle, McCabe says Labour still has a long way to travel before making an impact.

Bloomberg Westminster's Caroline Hepker and Yuan Potts also speak to Dr. Tony O'Sullivan, co-Chair of Keep Our NHS Public, about their People's Covid Inquiry, which has accused the government of 'misconduct in public office' over the handling of the pandemic.

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Richard Thomson, SNP MP for Gordon, says no-one knows why Scotland has seen most of the U.K.'s omicron variant infections, with community transmission particularly concerning. On the Cambo oil field in the North Sea, Thomson tells Bloomberg Westminster's Caroline Hepker and Yuan Potts that oil and gas are going to be an important part of the energy mix for some time to come.

Plus Bloomberg Opinion columnist Therese Raphael discusses the Covid vaccine booster rollout and Keir Starmer's shadow cabinet reshuffle.

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Stephen Crabb, Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, says he and other backbenchers have confidence in the Health Secretary Sajid Javid's measures against the omicron variant. He also tells Bloomberg's Yuan Potts and Caroline Hepker that the government hasn't found a way to properly address the migrant problems at the English Channel.

Plus Bloomberg Intelligence's Sam Fazeli says England should have enforced mask wearing months ago and should have tested all arrivals from South Africa as soon as the new variant was discovered.

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How has Covid changed the shape of work in the U.K.? Mike Brewer from the Resolution Foundation says there are now more younger women in work after the pandemic drove structural changes to the labor market.

Tony Wilson from the Institute for Employment Studies told Bloomberg Westminster's Yuan Potts and Caroline Hepker there's a 'bubbling crisis' of recruitment and more needs to be done to reach those who've dropped out of the workforce.

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After at least 27 migrants died attempting to cross the English Channel, Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood says the U.K. needs to think strategically to deal with the source of migration. But he tells Bloomberg Westminster's Caroline Hepker that the next decade will only make the crisis worse. And Lucy Mort, senior research fellow at the IPPR, says the U.K.'s ever harsher border policies give people smugglers the initiative.

Plus: Three quarters of British voters distrust MPs, according to Kantar Public's CEO Craig Watkins.

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After a Bloomberg investigation found millions of pounds went to inactive companies, Bim Afolami, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden says the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme was still 'really effective'. He told Bloomberg Westminster's Yuan Potts and Caroline Hepker if mistakes were made, they were honest mistakes.

Plus Bloomberg Opinion Columnist Therese Raphael on the Government's sinking poll ratings and why the U.K. has done a good job on rapid Covid tests.

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After Boris Johnson survives a Commons amendment to this social care plans, Ben Bradshaw, Labour MP for Exeter, says he's unhappy the government has removed protections for older people on low and moderate incomes. He tells Bloomberg Westminster's Yuan Potts and Caroline Hepker, we shouldn't rule out a screeching U-turn.

Plus: Why are so many European countries being hit harder by Covid than the U.K.? Oksana Pyzik from the UCL School of Pharmacy brings us the latest research.

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