Iran cannot be allowed to win this game of nuclear blackmail July 3, 2019 Nuclear proliferation is often cited by world leaders as one of the greatest threats to our planet’s continued survival. Short of a cataclysmic environmental disaster, it is difficult to conceptualise an event that could cause more damage to global prospects than the detonation of a nuclear device. Yet despite the general abhorrence, this has neither [...]
MEPs pick Italian as new European parliament president July 3, 2019 The European parliament named an Italian social democrat as its new president today to complete a raft of new appointments to fill the highest-ranking roles in the EU. Read more: Meet the neighbours: Christine Lagarde set to front new-look EU leadership David Sassoli, 63, beat three German, Spanish and Czech candidates to the role, which [...]
Erskine May is online – now even you can understand parliament’s arcane rules July 3, 2019 The UK government has allowed the “bible” of parliamentary procedure, Erskine May, to be published online – fully and freely accessible for the first time in the 175-year history of the book. Anyone with an internet connection can now explore the full intricacies of everything that goes on in Westminster, from “Absence, leave of” to [...]
The left’s support for university students is fuelled by political self-interest July 3, 2019 Why do left-wing politicians want to shower money on privileged members of society? In general, university students have a higher intellectual ability than non-students, and often come from more desirable socio-economic backgrounds. But leftists can’t do enough for them. For instance, Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 promised to abolish tuition fees from 2018 onwards. He went [...]
Labour plays down BT renationalisation rumour July 2, 2019 Labour played down rumours yesterday it was looking to renationalise BT in a move that would cost around £30 billion. It was reported that advisers to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were considering a plan drawn up by the Communications Workers’ Union to bring the company back into public ownership. Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell poured [...]
IMF chief Christine Lagarde among surprise picks for EU top jobs July 2, 2019 The heads of EU member last night confirmed their preferred candidates for a raft of top jobs, setting the potential future direction of the bloc for the next five years after weeks of frantic negotiations. Germany’s defence minister Ursula von der Leyen was nominated as the new EU commission president, replacing the outgoing Jean-Claude Juncker. [...]
Pimlico Plumbers boss calls Boris a ‘great champion for business’ July 2, 2019 Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins today defended Tory leadership candidate Boris Johnson as a “great champion for business”. The colourful entrepreneur told City A.M. that he was backing Johnson as the UK’s next Prime Minister, despite taking opposing sides in the Brexit debate. “He’s a fan of business, I know he made that chuck away [...]
Hide and seek? Adventures in Borisland July 2, 2019 No-one who has observed British politics over the past 15 years could possibly think that Boris is shy of the media or dislikes his face appearing on the news. What on earth is going on?
No-deal Brexit would cost UK £90bn, warns Philip Hammond July 2, 2019 A disruptive no deal Brexit could cost the treasury £90bn – far more than is set aside to cope with such an outcome, Philip Hammond warned today. Speaking in the Commons, the chancellor claimed that leaving the EU without an agreement would cause such a hit to the UK economy the £27bn war-chest created to [...]
If there are problems the government can’t solve, unleash the power of entrepreneurs July 2, 2019 Britain must soon learn to wrestle with more responsibility over its domestic policy than it has had since the 1970s. For decades, the country’s financial direction has been increasingly influenced at a European level, but with Brexit looming, our next Prime Minister and his likely-new chancellor must be prepared to grab both existing and newly-available [...]