A box office approach to leadership could yet break the Brexit deadlock July 31, 2019 A week into Hurricane Boris, and the impact of its arrival shows no signs of abating, nor does its box office appeal. Godfather style, a trail of bodies litter the Conservative backbenches, victims of the “Night of the Blond Knives” as one newspaper called it. The ancien regime has been largely replaced by Vote Leave [...]
DEBATE: Are the citizens’ convention on UK democracy proposals a good idea to restore faith in politics? July 31, 2019 Are the citizens’ convention on UK democracy proposals a good idea to restore faith in politics? Eliot Wilson, chief writer at Right Angles and a former House of Commons official, says YES. “Politics is broken.” That’s been the mantra for years now, at least since the expenses scandal of 2009. There has been a terrible [...]
What the mayor-turned-Prime-Minister can do for London July 31, 2019 Boris Johnson is the first Prime Minister to have served as mayor of London. He gets London: he knows what make our city a success and understands the challenges we face. And that’s why his premiership is a great opportunity for our city. With the right approach, Boris can help to fill the leadership vacuum [...]
A gender equality lesson for the new cabinet from the world of academia July 31, 2019 There has been much discussion on the gender and ethnic composition of Boris Johnson’s cabinet. The Channel 4 Fact Check site calculates that 33 MPs are entitled to attend cabinet. Of these, six – 18 per cent – are from an ethnic minority background. According to the 2011 Census, 14 per cent of the UK [...]
Government urged to act to secure ‘home ownership dream’ July 31, 2019 The government has been urged to act to help first-time buyers as new forecasts revealed that by 2026 just a quarter of people aged between 25 and 34 will own their own home. A report by Santander found that home ownership within that age bracket will have dropped from 55 per cent 20 years ago, [...]
Boris Johnson at odds with Leo Varadkar over Irish backstop July 30, 2019 Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar are at odds over how to solve the Brexit impasse, with Leo Varadkar stating that the EU was united in its insistence that the withdrawal agreement could not be reopened. The Prime Minister held a phone call with Varadkar today, in which the two leaders discussed Brexit. [...]
Sterling tumbles further as PM pledges Brexit ‘no matter what’ July 30, 2019 Sterling hit its lowest level since March 2017 today as new Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to take Britain out of the European Union on 31 October “no matter what”. Read more: ‘Doomsday narrative’: Sterling hits 28-month low on no-deal Brexit fears The pound plunged below $1.22 to hit $1.215 this morning, a drop of [...]
Alastair Campbell says he does not want to rejoin Corbyn’s Labour July 30, 2019 Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell has said he does not want to rejoin the Labour party after he was expelled for voting for the Liberal Democrats in May’s European elections. Campbell, a former political journalist who served as the former Prime Minister’s chief press secretary until 2000, said he did not want to [...]
Sterling plunges below $1.22 as no-deal Brexit fears batter currency July 30, 2019 Sterling fell further overnight to its lowest level since March 2017 as worries over a no-deal Brexit under Boris Johnson’s government deepened. The pound plunged below $1.22 to hit $1.2146 this morning, a drop of almost 0.6 per cent against the dollar as analysts warned GBP is coming close to “uncharted waters”. Read more: Sterling [...]
The Club of Former Prime Ministers welcomes its latest member: Theresa May July 30, 2019 With Boris Johnson parading into Downing Street and the drama of the chopping and changing of cabinet, it’s easy to forget that Theresa May too has acquired a new role: former Prime Minister. It is a peculiar position to be in. One is freed from the constraints of parliamentary ambition, but also chastened by the [...]