Exclusive: Tories to challenge Liberal Democrats on overspend in St Albans January 29, 2020 Local Conservative party associations are preparing to challenge the Liberal Democrats on the party’s local spending during December’s General Election, with the hope of overturning at least one result. A case is being readied to challenge St Albans, where pro-Leave Conservative Ann Main lost to Daisy Cooper, according to sources close to the matter. A [...]
Javid and Johnson order Cabinet to cut back departments January 29, 2020 Sajid Javid and Boris Johnson have ordered all Cabinet ministers to draw up cuts to their budgets of up to 5 per cent. Despite promising to end austerity, the chancellor has called on departments to come up with options to deliver more cash. Each Cabinet minister has been asked to come up with “radical” options, [...]
British nationals face two week ‘isolation’ from first Wuhan airlift January 29, 2020 The first flight carrying British nationals out of the coronavirus-affected city of Wuhan will depart tomorrow morning UK time, Downing Street confirmed today. Around 200 individuals will be airlifted out of the country with the UK government using a charter civilian aircraft and crew, following BA’s decision to suspend all flights in and out of [...]
Labour’s executive shifts blame for election loss away from Corbyn January 29, 2020 Labour’s executive team has sought to blame Brexit and “four years of unrelenting attacks” on Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s worst performance in 80 years, a leaked document reveals. A report written by election co-ordinators Andrew Gwynne and Ian Lavery and circulated at a meeting of the National Executive Committee, said it would be “unrealistic” [...]
Mike Pompeo jets in to UK as US raises Huawei concerns January 29, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pempeo will arrive in the UK for talks with the government today over its decision to let Chinese telecoms giant Huawei build parts of its 5G network against American advice. The talks are also expected to cover the death of Harry Dunn, another source of tension in the “special relationship” [...]
Has the business world found its purpose? Trust, but verify January 29, 2020 Last week’s Davos carnival was an orgy of virtue signalling. A group of senior executives flew in on private jets to talk about how to tackle climate change. Leaders of companies that have been highly active in lobbying for corporate tax breaks signed a letter calling for higher taxes on the rich if we are [...]
Want to level up the UK? Look at disparity within the regions, not just between them January 29, 2020 It is a truth which has rapidly become universally acknowledged (to borrow Jane Austen’s famous phrase) that the government must deliver for its new supporters in the regions. This is a massive challenge. The gap in income per head, for example, between London and other areas of the country is obviously large. But the firm [...]
Friday marks the end of the beginning of the Brexit battle January 29, 2020 One of Winston Churchill’s many gifts was his ability to summon the force of his rhetoric as a means of divining the feeling of the British nation. His passionate invocations in the dark days of the summer of 1940, when the UK stood alone against the Nazi menace, were masterpieces of fighting spirit, helping to [...]
UK’s botched £46m Brexit ad campaign ‘had little impact’ January 28, 2020 Boris Johnson’s aborted ad campaign urging people and businesses to prepare for Brexit did not have a “significant” impact, according to the public spending watchdog. The government originally pledged £100m for its ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ campaign, promising an advertising blitz across billboards, TV and radio ahead of the 31 October deadline. But the campaign [...]
London to see biggest hit from new immigration system January 28, 2020 London is expected to see the biggest impact from proposed changes to the UK’s immigration system, the influential MAC report has warned. Published this morning, the Migration Advisory Committee has set out a twin-pronged approach for the government to build its post-Brexit framework, deploying a combination of an Australian-style points-based system with a salary threshold [...]