A look back at Mel Stride’s parliamentary career October 23, 2019 The new chair of the Treasury Select Committee is no stranger to the hallowed halls of 1 Horse Guards Road. Mel Stride was formerly a treasury minister for two years under ex-prime minister Theresa May. Read more: Mel Stride unveiled as new Treasury Select Committee chair The former Oxford Union president is best remembered during [...]
Mel Stride unveiled as new Treasury Select Committee chair October 23, 2019 Former Treasury minister Mel Stride has been named as the new chair of the Treasury Select Committee. Stride, the MP for Central Devon, won 263 votes in the race to replace former chair Nicky Morgan, who left the post after she returned to government as culture secretary. The appointment was delayed after Prime Minister Boris [...]
Uncertainty to weigh on economy even after Brexit deal, warns Moody’s October 23, 2019 Uncertainty will continue to hold back the UK economy even if Britain passes Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, credit rating agency Moody’s has warned. Read more: Brexit latest: Brussels edges towards 31 January extension Yesterday’s vote by MPs to in principle approve the deal means “the likelihood of the UK leaving the EU with [...]
Brexit latest: Brussels figures edge towards backing 31 January extension October 23, 2019 Two key Brussels figures have indicated they would back a full extension to the Brexit process, until 31 January. The move comes as Labour confirms that a three month delay would be long enough for the party to back an General Election. Leo Varadkar, Irish Taoiseach, spoke with Donald Tusk this morning, where he backed [...]
Boris Johnson to seek general election if EU opts for longer Brexit delay October 23, 2019 Boris Johnson will press for a general election if the EU moves to delay Brexit until 2020, Number 10 has hinted. The Prime Minister was forced to pause his Brexit bill yesterday after MPs rebutted his attempt to get it through parliament in just three days. Read more: Boris Johnson ‘pauses Brexit bill’s passage after [...]
Facebook vs. democracy: Let’s get serious about disinformation October 23, 2019 On Monday, Facebook announced new measures to help combat the spread of disinformation in the looming UK General Election. Plans include working with fact checkers, tracking the origin of political ads, and doing more to take down content that breaks Facebook’s rules. Read more: The number of deepfake videos online has almost doubled While positive, [...]
Debate: Is the re-election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister good news for Canada? October 23, 2019 Is the re-election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister good news for Canada? Yes – Dr Joe Zammit-Lucia is a co-founder and trustee of Radix, the think tank for the radical centre. Both Justin Trudeau’s re-election and the fact that he will not command a majority are good news for Canada. Canada is essentially a [...]
Until Scotland’s currency puzzle is solved, independence is economically delusional October 23, 2019 The possibility of Scottish independence is back on the political agenda once again. And one question – which currency would an independent Scotland use? – that was crucial in the 2014 referendum has still not been resolved. The informal use of the pound is a very risky option. To see why, the Scottish National Party [...]
We all need a refresher course in how to disagree with civility October 23, 2019 Leavers tend to see their fellow Leavers as intelligent, open-minded and honest, and Remain voters as closed-minded, hypocritical and selfish. In return, Remainers are even less generous in their views of Leave voters. On both sides, only a minority said that they would be happy if their child married somebody from “the other side”, and [...]
Boris Johnson ‘pauses’ Brexit bill after key defeat October 22, 2019 The Prime Minister’s pledge to take the UK out of the EU before Halloween “come what may” has been left in tatters, after MPs blocked a key vote to fast-track his Brexit legislation. MPs voted in support of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB), notably 52-48 per cent in favour, but refused to back the timetable [...]