Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke issue Brexit delay warning February 23, 2019 Three cabinet ministers have warned that they will vote to delay Brexit if parliament does not approve a deal soon. Business secretary Greg Clark, work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd and justice secretary David Gauke told the Daily Mail that they would defy the prime minister and vote to extend Article 50 if no deal [...]
Government departments spend more than £100m on Brexit consultant contracts February 23, 2019 The UK government has contracted outside help on Brexit in deals worth £107m since the 2016 EU referendum. The majority of that money has been spent on consultancy work, with more than £90m given to companies specialising in those services ahead of the UK’s exit from the European Union. There are six companies receiving contracts [...]
‘Lose, lose, lose’: Ireland reveals emergency laws in case of no-deal Brexit February 22, 2019 Ireland has revealed a package of emergency laws in case of a no-deal Brexit, warning that if no agreement is reached it would result in a "lose, lose, lose" for the UK, the European Union and Ireland. Dublin plans to push the new laws through parliament within the next few weeks amid the increasing threat [...]
China invites chancellor Philip Hammond to visit despite war of words over British patrols in Pacific February 22, 2019 The Chinese foreign ministry has said it would welcome a visit from the UK government's chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, just a day after he said that relations with China had been affected by talk of Britain deploying a warship in the Pacific. Read more: Defence firm BAE plugs £20m into artificial intelligence on UK [...]
Labour MP Ian Austin quits ‘broken’ party, saying he cannot ask people to vote for Jeremy Corbyn February 22, 2019 Ian Austin has quit the Labour party this morning, in another blow to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. However, the Dudley North MP said he does not plan to join the Independent Group, an alliance of 11 Labour and Tory MPs who have abandoned their parties citing a “failure of British politics”. Read more: Eighth MP quits Labour [...]
Bernie ‘socialist’ Sanders is the Democrats’ worst enemy February 22, 2019 Take a seat, Democrats, your messiah for the 2020 presidential race has arrived, in the form of socialist septuagenarian Bernie Sanders. If you thought that you’d seen the last of Sanders after he lost to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primaries, think again. The 77-year-old Vermont senator is back, launching his campaign on Tuesday and [...]
DEBATE: Is the timing now right for a new centre party like the Independent Group to flourish? February 22, 2019 Is the timing now right for a new centre party like the Independent Group to flourish? Ben Kelly, commentator for Reaction, says YES. There is no doubt that the odds are stacked against a new centre party, but it’s a case of “if not now, when?”. The far left has completed a successful top-down takeover of [...]
Everyone deserves to feel like they belong in our great city February 22, 2019 Division is not a new phenomenon. Historically, our city has in the past experienced unbearable, seemingly irreconcilable differences. Nevertheless, London’s unique history and success have always been built not just on free markets, but on the free movement of people and an openness to those who are different from us. That is as true now as [...]
The emergence of the Independent Group offers a ray of hope for economic liberals February 22, 2019 As a free market liberal, I’m becoming more cynical by the day. After all, there seems to be something close to universal agreement across the major political parties for state interference (i.e. energy price caps), the nanny state (i.e. the sugar tax), and increasing the tax burden (admittedly by varying degrees), which is already at an [...]
Finally, the Tories have tackled the UK’s deficit February 22, 2019 Credit where it’s due, Philip Hammond has finally conquered the deficit – albeit several years after his predecessor George Osborne originally promised to have done so. While the government is still spending more money than it generates, the UK’s rate of borrowing is considerably below pre-crisis levels. In its analysis of yesterday’s borrowing figures the [...]