• The Metropolitan Police have announced a formal investigation into alleged lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street, dealing a heavy blow to Boris Johnson's authority as he faces fresh calls to step down as British Prime Minister over the 'partygate' scandal. Getty Images
    The Metropolitan Police have announced a formal investigation into alleged lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street, dealing a heavy blow to Boris Johnson's authority as he faces fresh calls to step down as British Prime Minister over the 'partygate' scandal. Getty Images
  • A protester in Parliament Square, London. PA
    A protester in Parliament Square, London. PA
  • Armed police officers walk past the gathered media outside No 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning. PA
    Armed police officers walk past the gathered media outside No 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning. PA
  • Mr Johnson holds up a birthday cake - baked for him by school staff - during a visit to Bovingdon Primary Academy in June 2020. The prime minister is facing new allegations of breaking coronavirus rules after it was reported that a gathering to wish him a happy birthday was held inside No 10 during the first nationwide lockdown. PA
    Mr Johnson holds up a birthday cake - baked for him by school staff - during a visit to Bovingdon Primary Academy in June 2020. The prime minister is facing new allegations of breaking coronavirus rules after it was reported that a gathering to wish him a happy birthday was held inside No 10 during the first nationwide lockdown. PA
  • Mr Johnson is driven from Downing Street. Reuters
    Mr Johnson is driven from Downing Street. Reuters
  • A plane flies over Elland Road stadium in Leeds with a message directed to Mr Johnson during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Newcastle United. Getty Images
    A plane flies over Elland Road stadium in Leeds with a message directed to Mr Johnson during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Newcastle United. Getty Images
  • The prime minister seems unimpressed as Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament. AFP
    The prime minister seems unimpressed as Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament. AFP
  • Labour MP for Bury South, Christian Wakeford, who defected from the Conservative Party earlier that day, attending Prime Minister's Questions. AFP
    Labour MP for Bury South, Christian Wakeford, who defected from the Conservative Party earlier that day, attending Prime Minister's Questions. AFP
  • David Davis, Conservative MP for Haltemprice and Howden, quoted a comment made to Neville Chamberlain before his 1940 resignation as prime minister, telling the beleaguered Mr Johnson: ‘I will remind him of a quotation all too familiar to him ... 'in the name of God, go'.’ AFP
    David Davis, Conservative MP for Haltemprice and Howden, quoted a comment made to Neville Chamberlain before his 1940 resignation as prime minister, telling the beleaguered Mr Johnson: ‘I will remind him of a quotation all too familiar to him ... 'in the name of God, go'.’ AFP
  • Dominic Cummings, former adviser to Mr Johnson, speaks to the media outside his home. Getty Images
    Dominic Cummings, former adviser to Mr Johnson, speaks to the media outside his home. Getty Images
  • Mr Johnson looks as if he is feeling the pressure on a visit to Finchley Memorial Hospital in London. Getty Images
    Mr Johnson looks as if he is feeling the pressure on a visit to Finchley Memorial Hospital in London. Getty Images
  • The shuttered constituency office of Mr Wakeford in Radcliffe, Bury, after he switched his party political allegiance. Getty Images
    The shuttered constituency office of Mr Wakeford in Radcliffe, Bury, after he switched his party political allegiance. Getty Images
  • Mr Wakeford looks on during a visit by Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to Bury. Getty Images
    Mr Wakeford looks on during a visit by Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to Bury. Getty Images

What is the the 1922 Committee? Backbenchers who hold key to Boris Johnson's future


Thomas Harding
  • English
  • Arabic

Key to Boris Johnson’s fate in the coming hours or days will be whether the point is reached when 54 Conservative MPs hand letters of no confidence to the 1922 Committee.

While a significant blow to his authority, the letters in themselves will not be enough to unseat the British prime minister.

They will trigger a vote of confidence on his leadership, with a simple majority required from the 360 Conservative MPs to keep or remove him from office. Indeed, if the numbers reach close to the 180 needed for dismissal, Mr Johnson may regard this as significant enough to resign.

Thus the vote in itself is a moment of extreme jeopardy and unpredictability, especially given that 101 MPs rebelled against the lockdown rules vote just before Christmas.

What is the 1922 committee?

Unique to the Tories, the 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, was set up in 1923 to represent backbenchers from the 1922 election intake of MPs.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. PA
Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. PA

Its day-to-day role is to support MPs who are not in government and it meets every week when the Commons is sitting.

But the “trade union” of MPs can wield exceptional influence by effectively backing or sacking its leader, either when in opposition or in power.

It was to the 1922 Committee that Mr Johnson appealed before the lockdown vote in December to win MPs over. The sign of his ebbing authority came after so many listened to but then rejected his pleading.

Sir Graham Brady, 54, has been its chairman since 2010 and it is to his corner office on the fourth floor of Portcullis House, the MPs workplace adjacent to Parliament, that at least seven MPs have publicly stated they entered to hand in their papers.

Why do 54 letters matter?

If the 54 is reached, Sir Graham will oversee the process of a leadership ballot. The last time he did so was in December 2018 when Theresa May was challenged during her excruciating attempts to push Brexit through Parliament, with Mr Johnson among the ringleaders pushing for her downfall. She survived the vote by 200 to 117, and the rules meant she could not be challenged for at least another 12 months.

Despite that ruling, by May 2019 she had resigned after a collapse in support from her Cabinet.

A few months later, Mr Johnson replaced her after an election contest, whereby, following a series of ballots, MPs selected two candidates for election among the Conservative members.

Sir Graham Brady has been the 1922 Committee chairman since 2010. Getty Images
Sir Graham Brady has been the 1922 Committee chairman since 2010. Getty Images

Up against the honourable, capable but not quite as charismatic Jeremy Hunt, Mr Johnson won 92,000 members' votes to his rival's 46,000 and became Conservative leader and thus prime minister.

That the Conservative leadership elections are being discussed so intently once again demonstrates the extraordinary transition from less than three months ago, when Mr Johnson looked untouchable, to the diminished figure who conducted a painful 15-minute interview with Sky’s political editor on Tuesday.

When will the confidence vote happen?

The “partygate” allegations of Downing Street drinking sessions breaching the very lockdown rules it set could yet unseat Mr Johnson. All attention is now on the publication of the report by Sue Gray, the civil servant in charge of investigating the parties.

It will be for MPs to judge whether the opprobrium towards Mr Johnson justifies a letter to the 1922 Committee. But that ominous figure could yet be reached before Ms Gray’s report is published in the coming days.

A cabal of the 2019 intake of MPs, labelled the “Pork Pie plotters” because one of its members represents Melton Mowbray, home to the snack, might yet tip the balance to reach 54.

The latest Channel 4 News polls published on Wednesday show Labour leading by a significant 11 percentage points. The opposition's standing was further enhanced when Christian Wakeford, a Conservative MP from 2019 “Red Wall” intake defected to Labour.

Mr Johnson could soon find himself standing awkwardly in a Westminster corridor awaiting his fate, much like Mrs May did three years earlier. He will not be counting on her sympathy – or her vote – if it comes to that.

How is Boris Johnson fighting for his job?

The prime minister has opened a number of fronts in his defence, including a series of policy announcements, under the banner “Operation Red Meat”, designed to appeal to party members.

They include a proposal to scrap the BBC licence fee, which funds the service and is regularly a target of Conservative ire.

Planned reforms to the asylum system are also going through Parliament, which are designed to be tough to appeal to the pro-Brexit anti-migration faction, but which are also criticised as breaking international laws on the rights of asylum seekers.

With his reputation harmed by the sour taste of the lockdown rules being broken, Mr Johnson has apologised for lapses in judgment. He can also use the good news fillip of lockdown restrictions being lifted as a weapon in the fight to keep his job.

If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

RESULT

Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)

Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule

Thursday December 27

Men's quarter-finals

Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm

Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm

Women's exhibition

Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm

Friday December 28

5th place play-off 3pm

Men's semi-finals

Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm

Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm

Saturday December 29

3rd place play-off 5pm

Men's final 7pm

LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES

Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)

FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm

Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm

Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm

Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm 

Thursday

Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm

Sevilla v Roma  (one leg only)  8.55pm

FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm 

Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm 

MATCH INFO

Schalke 0

Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')

Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)

WHAT ARE NFTs?

     

 

    

 

   

 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

 

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

MATCH INFO

Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

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Updated: January 19, 2022, 3:24 PM