Tom Watson leaves shadow cabinet meeting early over second referendum splits April 30, 2019 Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson walked out of a shadow cabinet meeting today in a bust-up over leader Jeremy Corbyn’s position on a second Brexit referendum. Watson denied reports he stormed out of the meeting after copies of the party's EU manifesto document were not shared with the cabinet. Read more: Labour could bypass second [...]
European Central Bank hikes supervision fees by 21 per cent as Brexit takes financial toll April 30, 2019 The European Central Bank (ECB) today increased supervisory fees by 21 per cent as it seeks to cover higher than expected costs to prepare for Brexit. Read more: Euro falls as ECB chief Draghi bearish on Eurozone economy The hike amounts to an estimated €576m charge on banks this year, up from €502.2m in 2018, as a [...]
Juan Guaido urges public and military to join Venezuela uprising against President Maduro April 30, 2019 Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido today called for a military uprising to begin the "final phase of operation freedom" to end the reign of the country's veteran leader President Nicholas Maduro. Read more: See Venezuelan crisis first hand, Colombian envoy urges Maduro's UK backers Guaido, who leads Venezuela's national assembly and has been recognised as President [...]
DEBATE: Should the UK’s judicial system embrace using artificial intelligence in the courtroom? April 30, 2019 Should the UK’s judicial system embrace using artificial intelligence in the courtroom? Emily Foges, chief executive of Luminance, says YES. The explosion of digital information, from social media posts to WhatsApp messages, can lead to cases collapsing in our courts as police and barristers struggle to review evidence in time. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is [...]
Incentives are needed to fix our broken social care system April 30, 2019 If I could choose just one phrase to sum up what politicians and civil servants need to know – the single maxim that should be tattooed on the insides of their eyelids – it would be this: “People respond to incentives.” It’s such a simple idea. But it’s extraordinarily powerful. Whenever something in government – [...]
Theresa May faces fresh coup attempt as grassroot Tories force emergency summit April 30, 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a fresh leadership challenge after grassroot Tories forced an emergency meeting to vote on whether to demand her resignation. May will appear in front of 800 constituency chairmen and senior activists, who will vote on whether to demand she steps down over her failure to deliver Brexit, The Sun [...]
Go to Venezuela and see the humanitarian crisis, Colombian ambassador urges Maduro’s UK backers April 30, 2019 UK backers of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro should visit the South American country to see the reality of the devastating economic mismanagement which has forced millions to flee their homes, according to the Colombian ambassador to the UK. Read more: Venezuela's Maduro calls for gold held in Bank of England to be returned In an [...]
Labour policies will represent ‘revolution’ for UK economy says John McDonnell April 29, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour will unleash an economic “revolution” if it wins power. The Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, who has previously named Soviet revolutionaries Lenin and Trotsky as key intellectual influences, told the BBC he saw parallels with 1979 when Margaret Thatcher swept to power. "Things aren't working for people, so they're [...]
A new book about austerity has put Keynesian economists on the defensive April 29, 2019 Notoriously, economists quarrel about almost everything in their subject. But since the publication of John Maynard Keynes’ General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money in 1936, they are supposed to agree on one point: that increases in government spending boost demand and output, and reductions in government spending depress them. Indeed, according to the theory, a [...]
British voters torn over President Donald Trump’s UK state visit in June April 29, 2019 With President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK in June already provoking fights between politicians, a new poll shows voters are as split as their Westminster representatives. Read more: Corbyn snubs invite to state banquet for Trump Just under half of the UK (47 per cent) is opposed to Trump's visit in June, according [...]