The next Prime Minister must be more than a one-trick Brexit pony June 14, 2019 The starting gun has fired and Boris Johnson is far out ahead in the race to be the next leader of the Conservative party. Brexit is of course everyone’s priority, but a new report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) reminds us that there are other pressing challenges for the incoming Prime Minister to [...]
Boris Johnson says ‘long way to go’ in Tory leadership race after first round victory June 13, 2019 Boris Johnson has a commanding lead in the Tory leadership election after the first round of voting with backing from 114 Mps. Johnson’s 114 votes puts him past the 105 votes needed to reach the final round. He tweeted: “Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative & Unionist Party for your support. [...]
Don’t ignore the powder keg sitting on the EU’s doorstep June 13, 2019 Two decades since 50,000 Nato troops entered Kosovo, the region on the EU’s eastern doorstep remains a potential powder keg. This week has been dominated in the UK by the launch of the Conservative leadership contest and the drama over who is to be the next Prime Minister. But it also marks 20 years since [...]
Remainers rejoice, a second referendum seems almost inevitable June 13, 2019 What a noisy week in politics. The Tory leadership contest is now fully underway, with contenders trying to out-Brexit each other with their visions of how to get Britain out the EU. There’s even been the threat from some Brexiteers to prorogue parliament, much to the outrage of many. But there are some Remainers watching [...]
MPs urge China to respect Hong Kong freedoms as protests turn violent June 12, 2019 MPs have called on the government to put pressure on China to respect the rights of Hong Kong protestors as demonstrations against proposed law changes grew violent. Police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors, who fear that the law, which would allow extradition to mainland China, could target political opponents of Beijing [...]
The Brexit Party ‘at risk’ of accepting illegal donations, watchdog finds June 12, 2019 The Electoral Commission has ruled that the The Brexit Party is at high risk of collecting illegal donations through its online platform. The commission visited Nigel Farage’s party’s office last month to review its online donation system. Read more: The Brexit Party genie cannot be stuffed back into the bottle It found that the platform, [...]
Boris Johnson warns further Brexit delay will spell Tory general election defeat June 12, 2019 Boris Johnson will officially launch his Tory leadership campaign today as one poll suggests he would comfortably win a general election as Prime Minister. Johnson, seen as the frontrunner among MP’s, Tory party members and bookmakers, will tell supporters the UK must leave the European Union on 31 October and that further delays would spell [...]
Trump’s bluster shows why we need a rethink on world trade June 12, 2019 Helicoptered in to London and driven around in The Beast – an armoured limousine – what will the US President have seen during his state visit to the UK? A man who famously eyes up every opportunity, Donald Trump saw a weakened UK, lost in the Brexit escape rooms and vulnerable to the dark arts [...]
These are the four criteria for judging the next Tory leader June 12, 2019 And then here were ten. Nominations closed for the leadership of the Conservative Party on Monday. What had appeared to be turning into a grand melee – where it appeared easier to identify which Tory MPs were not running rather than were, so prolific was the announcement of candidatures – instead became a manageable scrum. [...]
Michael Gove has come back before and he can do it again June 12, 2019 When the front pages of weekend newspapers began to spill online last Friday night, I realised a story I had been working on for a year was about to explode. ‘Gove: My cocaine confession’ was the most stark headline, accompanied by the first instalment of a serialisation of my unauthorised biography of the environment secretary. The book [...]