Johnson tells Pence: No deal on NHS – or chlorinated chicken September 5, 2019 Boris Johnson has told the US Vice President that the NHS will not be “on the table” during post-Brexit trade talks. Speaking as he welcomed Mike Pence to Downing Street today, the Prime Minister told journalists: “The National Health Service is not on the table as far as negotiations go.” He also joked: We’re not [...]
Prime Minister to seek election again next week September 5, 2019 MPs on both sides of the house are readying themselves for a second attemp by the Prime Minister to trigger election, after an unsuccessful last night. Boris Johnson failed to get a two-thirds majority as required under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, after Labour whipped its MPs to abstain. Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg [...]
Sterling rallies against dollar to pass $1.23 as Boris grapples with Brexit September 5, 2019 Sterling has broken through the $1.23 barrier today as traders’ shorts are being squeezed amid a GBP rally. Read more: Prime Minister’s election plan scuppered as Labour holds out until Halloween Confidence in the currency has reversed over the last two days as it recovers from hitting a 34-year low earlier this week. The pound [...]
Ministers prepare new finance council to support post-Brexit lending to SMEs September 5, 2019 Ministers are reportedly set to launch a finance council to support lending to small and medium sized business (SMEs) post-Brexit, following complaints the government has not done enough to help prepare the firms for the UK leaving the EU. Read more: Bill to block no-deal Brexit a ‘chink of light’ for business, says CBI The [...]
Jo Johnson quits Boris Johnson’s Tory party to spend less time with his family September 5, 2019 Boris Johnson’s brother has quit as minister and MP, saying he is “torn between family loyalty and the national interest”. Jo Johnson resigned as universities and science minister this morning, citing “unresolvable tension” for the decision. He will stand down as MP of Orpington at the next election. Read more: Boris Johnson’s first PMQs: The [...]
Ex-Labour MP Luciana Berger joins Liberal Democrats September 5, 2019 Former Change UK MP Luciana Berger has joined the Liberal Democrats. The former Labour MP who moved to the newly-former party this year said she would now serve under Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson as the party is “the strongest party to stop Brexit, fight for equality and a fairer country”. Read more: Boris Johnson’s [...]
Sajid Javid’s spending spree puts Tories’ record at risk September 5, 2019 Less than a year has passed since Theresa May danced on stage at the Tory party conference and told party activists that the era of austerity was officially over. The announcement was not received well by the Treasury at the time, where Philip Hammond was still trying to eliminate the government’s annual deficit. Read more: [...]
CBI: Bill to block no-deal Brexit a ‘chink of light’ for business September 5, 2019 The head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that progress made yesterday towards passing a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit represents a “chink of light” for businesses in the UK. However Carolyn Fairbairn warned that “the clock is still ticking”, telling the BBC “the cloud has not gone away” for firms [...]
Downing Street calls today ‘first day of election’ despite failure to pull trigger September 5, 2019 Downing Street has called today the “first day of the election campaign” despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to trigger a snap election in parliament last night. Johnson’s office told Sky News that the PM will begin his campaign to win an election today after opposition MPs resisted his call for a 15 October vote. [...]
DEBATE: Would a no-deal Brexit really be bad for business? September 5, 2019 Would a no-deal Brexit really be detrimental for British business? YES, says Dinesh Dhamija, an entrepreneur and a Liberal Democrat MEP for London Crashing out of the EU with no deal will plunge us into 10 years of trade negotiations. That means even more uncertainty – and uncertainty is a cancer for business. Already, foreign [...]