Brexit Department set to be scrapped in the new year December 19, 2019 The government’s Brexit department is set to be wound up early in the new year. Staff at the Department for Exiting the European Union have been told that the department will be closed, after the UK leaves the EU in January. Read more: Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings eye Whitehall overhaul It is expected that [...]
DEBATE: Is it time to reform the civil service, as Dominic Cummings intends? December 19, 2019 Is it time for a full restructuring of the civil service, as Dominic Cummings intends? YES, says Duncan Simpson, research director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance. The “Rolls Royce” reputation of the civil service has long been in question. From hugely overpriced procurements in defence and transport, to overly-anxious advice on EU exit negotiations, the supposed [...]
Dear Santa, for this Christmas I want the nanny state to get lost December 19, 2019 What is the best thing about Christmas? Presents are nice. Spending time with friends and family is obviously a highlight. But for many of us what truly makes the season is the food. Mince pies, pigs in blankets, Christmas pudding, a snifter of sherry — the festive period is all about indulging. But will we [...]
How the Tories pulled off the best campaign of a generation December 19, 2019 One week on, post-election commentary continues to be dominated by analysis of Labour’s woes. In plummeting to its worst defeat since the Second World War, the party now faces an identity crisis, and the fear is that things can only get worse. This focus on Labour’s existential spiral, however, ignores one side of how the [...]
NHS to be the centrepiece of Queen’s Speech December 18, 2019 Tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech is set to reinforce the incoming government’s commitment to make the NHS its top priority over the next five years. The big ticket item of the state opening of parliament will be a commitment to enshrine in law a multi-year NHS funding settlement, which would guarantee an extra £33.9 billion per year [...]
Trump impeachment vote: When is the vote, and will Trump really be impeached? December 18, 2019 The US House of Representatives is preparing to vote on the prospect of impeaching sitting US President Donald Trump today. Despite a mountain of evidence showing Trump asked Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden, the President has insisted that he did nothing wrong. The House Rules Committee has approved six hours of debate on [...]
Emily Thornberry announces Labour leadership bid December 18, 2019 Emily Thornberry has all but confirmed she will run for the leadership of the Labour Party. Thornberry criticised her party’s decision to agree to an election, which she said was always going to be about Brexit. Read more: ‘You can’t make s**t up about me’: Emily Thornberry launches legal action against ex-Labour MP She said [...]
Tony Blair: Labour must be rescued from the far left December 18, 2019 Tony Blair delivered a scathing verdict on Labour’s 2019 General Election campaign and urged the party’s leadership hopefuls not to “whitewash” the result. “Labour needs not just a different driver, but a different bus,” he said in a speech announcing his institute’s report into Labour’s biggest electoral defeat in modern history. Read more: How Boris [...]
Queen’s Speech: Everything you need to know December 18, 2019 Queen Elizabeth II will make the trip from the palace to Westminster tomorrow to deliver her second Queen’s Speech in less than three months. She will lay out the new government’s agenda in the speech, while also officially opening parliament for a new term. Read more: Queen’s Speech plots path for pensions dashboards and new [...]
After a decade of paralysis, at last the direction ahead for Britain is clear December 18, 2019 What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, as we prepared to ring out the noughties, Britain was in the grip of a financial crisis after an excess of good living had turned sour. Gordon Brown’s government was in its death throes, its desperate economic position highlighted the following year by the outgoing chief [...]