MPs urge government to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden April 13, 2019 More than 70 MPs have written to the government asking that Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden should the country request it. Assange was arrested by British authorities on Thursday after leaving the Ecuadorian embassy that he had resided in under diplomatic protection since 2012. Read more: Hammond says parliament likely to vote again on Brexit [...]
Hammond says parliament likely to vote again on idea of second Brexit referendum April 12, 2019 Philip Hammond has said it is “very likely” that parliament would have the idea second referendum put before it again and that he expected the government to strike a deal with Labour in the next couple of months. Read more: Hammond: Firms have buried their heads in the sand over no-deal Brexit Speaking in Washington, where [...]
Boris Johnson breached press rules over inaccurate no-deal Brexit support claim, Ipso finds April 12, 2019 Boris Johnson breached standards guidelines when he claimed that a no-deal Brexit was “by some margin preferred by the British public” to other options, the press regulator today ruled. Read more: CBI expresses 'deep concern' at prospect of Prime Minister Boris Johnson The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) condemned Johnson’s statement in his weekly column [...]
Brexit party: Nigel Farage launches new pro-Leave party with Jacob Rees-Mogg’s sister as MEP candidate April 12, 2019 Nigel Farage today launched his Brexit party as the UK prepare for the prospect of taking part in European elections three years after voting to leave the EU. Read more: CBI boss backs 2nd Brexit referendum if MPs can't 'get their act together' Jacob Rees-Mogg’s sister, Annunziata Rees-Mogg, was confirmed as the new party’s first [...]
Another chapter ends in the surreal adventures of Julian Assange April 12, 2019 It is false and defamatory to suggest that Julian Assange lives, or has ever lived, in a basement, cupboard, or under the stairs. The same applies to suggesting that the Wikileaks co-founder filed a lawsuit against Ecuador over laundry, used a skateboard in the Ecuadorian embassy, or failed to look after his cat. And so, [...]
DEBATE: Should individuals be held accountable for the failure of the Garden Bridge project? April 12, 2019 Should individuals be held accountable for the failure of the Garden Bridge project? Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, says YES. When £53.5m is spent on a project, including £43m from the public’s pocket, and there is literally nothing to show for it, some very fundamental questions have to be answered. I fundamentally [...]
Liz Truss is right to hit the brakes – HS2 would put us all on the train to nowhere April 12, 2019 The bogeyman of politics may be ousted for good, if the chief secretary to the Treasury has anything to say about it. I’m not referring to our Halloween Brexit, but rather High-Speed 2 – a follow-on from the first high-speed rail project, mapping a fast route from London to Birmingham, with branches to Manchester and Leeds [...]
Could Jacob Rees-Mogg soon be off to 11 Downing Street? April 12, 2019 The Conservative party has a shortage of the political equivalent of rock stars. These are the politicians that the public would not merely recognise (already a rather an elite cohort), but actually might cross the road to ask for an autograph – or, more usually these days, a selfie. Boris Johnson has this star quality, of course. [...]
Labour’s desire for the Bank of England to control UK house prices is disastrous and illogical April 12, 2019 The Bank of England should be responsible for boosting the UK’s productivity, according to the Labour party, which wants Threadneedle Street to dictate how banks lend money to businesses. Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, Labour also wants to keep RBS nationalised in order to direct its lending; turn Post Offices into [...]
CBI chief calls for second Brexit referendum if MPs can’t ‘get their act together’ April 11, 2019 Another EU referendum should be held if MPs are unable to “get their act together” and sign off a Brexit deal, the president of the CBI has insisted. Speaking after the EU granted a second delay to the UK’s withdrawal from the organisation, John Allan said going back to the public could well be the [...]