Tusk and Johnson to hold Brexit talks at G7 August 22, 2019 Donald Tusk and Boris Johnson are to hold a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit this coming weekend. The European Council President, who once said there was a “special place in hell” for “those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it out safely” will meet the UK [...]
Corbyn convenes Remainer alliance meeting August 22, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn will next week meet with leaders of various opposition parties, as well as senior backbench Tories, as the plan to block a no-deal Brexit gathers pace. The Labour leader has written to 10 MPs, including Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, Tories Dominic Grieve, Oliver Letwin, Guto Bebb and Caroline Spelman, and SNP Westminster [...]
Johnson ‘a known liar’ and Corbyn a ‘coward’, claims Channel 4 News boss August 22, 2019 Boris Johnson is a “known liar”, while he and Jeremy Corbyn are “cowards” who are fostering a decline in democracy, a leading broadcaster has claimed. Using last night’s MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Channel 4 News chief Dorothy Byrne said the drop in politicians holding themselves up for proper scrutiny had become “critical [...]
Should the state pension age increase from 68 to 75 by 2035? August 22, 2019 Should the state pension age increase from 68 to 75 by 2035, as proposed by the Centre for Social Justice? Yes – Patrick Spencer is head of the work and welfare unit at the CSJ. The happy reality is that we are healthier and living longer. In 2017, the proportion of the UK population aged 65 [...]
Boris and Priti don’t quite grasp how complicated ‘ending free movement’ will be August 22, 2019 “Freedom of movement will end” if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October, according to the government. At one level, this is a statement of the obvious – in a legal sense, free movement is an EU concept. Under Theresa May’s deal, which provided for a transition period until December 2020, [...]
Brexit: No deal most likely outcome, says French aide August 21, 2019 The UK will most likely leave the European Union – but still be on the hook for the £39bn divorce bill, a French presidential aide has told AFP. A no-deal Brexit is the “most likely scenario”, the wire reported, a day before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to meet his French counterpart Emmanual [...]
ONS may have underestimated EU migration to the UK August 21, 2019 More people may have entered the UK between 2000 and 2016 than previously thought, it was revealed today, as the Office for National Statistics admitted its net migration figures were flawed. Net EU migration in the year ending March 2016 would be 16 per cent higher under new measurements, announced today, the ONS said. However, [...]
HS2 faces the scrap as Boris Johnson kicks off review August 21, 2019 The controversial HS2 high speed rail line could be scrapped after the government launched a review into the scheme following mounting concerns over its cost and deliverability. Transport secretary Grant Shapps officially kicked off the review into the high speed line, which will connect London to Birmingham from December 2026, and Birmingham to Manchester and [...]
UK government spending surplus shrinks in July August 21, 2019 The UK government earned £1.3bn more in taxes than it spent in July 2019, official figures showed today, a smaller surplus than economists had expected. Read more: Chancellor Javid to simplify’ the tax system in Autumn budget Analysts predicted a £2.7bn surplus in public borrowing in the first figures under new chancellor Sajid Javid, but [...]
Boris in Berlin: PM seeks to woo Merkel after Tusk turns down backstop plea August 21, 2019 Boris Johnson is travelling to Berlin today for his first bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel since taking office, in the hope of breaking the Brexit impasse. The UK Prime Minister will have meet his German counterpart this afternoon, followed by dinner, before travelling to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on [...]