We should mourn the immeasurable social and economic damage lockdown has inflicted on this country July 1, 2020 I knew it was coming. The torrent of media coverage looking back on 100 days of lockdown like a grossly nostalgic showreel. Carefully crafted articles painting a picture of British resilience and togetherness, celebrating the nation’s bravery and enjoyment of the simple things. I regret to inform you that I will not be spending my [...]
British public ‘increasingly concerned’ about lockdown lift this weekend June 30, 2020 The British public are increasingly concerned that Boris Johnson’s plans to reopen pubs, restaurants, cinemas, galleries and hairdressers this weekend are premature, according to new research, after scenes of crowded beaches sparked fears that the infection rate in the UK could rise. The Prime Minister’s announcement last week that hospitality businesses in England are set [...]
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey calls for government to scrap IR35 tax reforms June 30, 2020 Acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has tabled an amendment to parliament in a bid to quash the government’s planned IR35 tax reforms. Davey has attached an amendment to the government’s finance bill, set to come before the House of Commons tomorrow, asking for the mooted taxation changes to be scrapped in order to protect [...]
Truss claims there is ‘no set timetable’ for UK-US trade deal June 30, 2020 International trade minister Liz Truss has assured that there is “no set deadline” for a trade agreement between the UK and US, after backlash yesterday over US animal welfare standards cast doubt on the government’s ability to secure a quick deal. In a statement, Truss said the government had made it clear that there is [...]
DEBATE: Did Boris Johnson’s ‘Build, build, build’ speech succeed in rebooting his premiership? June 30, 2020 Did Boris Johnson’s speech succeed in rebooting his premiership? John Oxley, a Conservative commentator, says YES. Boris is back in business. He has mastered his own recovery from coronavirus and is now ready to tackle the nation’s. It is a challenge he would have never expected when he entered Downing Street, and an important evolution [...]
Barnier confirms UK has missed Brexit equivalence assessment deadline June 30, 2020 EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has confirmed claims that the UK has not completed necessary equivalence assessments by today’s deadline, marking a blow to the UK’s efforts to determine the City’s access to EU markets after Brexit. Valdis Dombrovskis, a European Commission executive vice-president, yesterday said the UK had so far answered only four of [...]
Oliver Dowden flags potential government U-turn on Huawei’s 5G role June 30, 2020 US sanctions on Huawei may result in the Chinese telecoms giant being frozen out of the UK’s 5G network, according to culture and digital secretary Oliver Dowden. Dowden said today that the government was “clear eyed” about the security risks Huawei pose in helping build 5G infrastructure and flagged a potential U-turn on their involvement. [...]
Huawei: Johnson vows to protect UK from ‘hostile vendors’ June 30, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has beefed up his rhetoric on Chinese tech firm Huawei, warning China that he will protect British infrastructure from “hostile state vendors”. Johnson has faced mounting criticism over his deal with the Chinese firm allowing Huawei to produce 35 per cent of the UK’s 5G infrastructure. Senior figures from both sides [...]
Sadiq Khan slams Johnson’s New Deal for ‘failing to grasp’ scale of economic crisis June 30, 2020 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has slammed Boris Johnson’s pledge to pump £5bn into British infrastructure, saying the government has “fundamentally failed to grasp” the scale of the economic challenges facing the UK. In a major speech this morning, the Prime Minister set out government plans to inject billions into a new infrastructure project to [...]
EU removes US, Brazil and Russia from ‘safe visitors’ list June 30, 2020 The US, Russia and Brazil are excluded from a list of safe countries to travel to or accept visitors from, passed by EU member states this afternoon. Those featured on the list have now gained approval for business or leisure travel to a number of countries, which will come into effect tomorrow. The list of [...]