Downing Street denies leaked Brexit timetable November 6, 2018 Reports tonight of a leaked document apparently from the Department for Exiting the EU, which outlined the government’s strategy for revealing a successful Brexit deal to the press and MPs later this month, have been refuted by Downing Street. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office said the document seemed "childish", denying its authenticity: "The [...]
Theresa May emerges from Cabinet meeting insisting she will not agree a Brexit deal ‘at any cost’ November 6, 2018 Theresa May has emerged from a tense Cabinet meeting this morning insisting she will not agree to a Brexit deal "at any cost", despite the clock ticking on reaching a Withdrawal Agreement. The Prime Minister's spokesperson said ministers needed more time to consider possible mechanisms that will prevent the UK from being tied to the European [...]
Facebook blocks 115 ‘inauthentic’ accounts over election interference fears as midterm elections start November 6, 2018 Facebook has blocked more than 100 accounts displaying suspicious activity on the eve of the US midterm elections, raising concerns of voting manipulation. The social network is investigating whether 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts might be connected to Russia’s Internet Research Agency, which was at the heart of attempts to use social media [...]
Trade minister Liam Fox says it is ‘impossible’ to say whether a Brexit deal will be achieved this month or next November 6, 2018 International trade minister Liam Fox has admitted that it is impossible to say whether a Brexit deal can be reached with the European Union in the next two months, as negotiations continued to stall over the Irish backstop. Asked by Reuters whether a Brexit deal will be struck this month Fox said: “That’s impossible for me [...]
UK data watchdog fines Arron Banks’ insurance firm and Leave.EU campaign £135,000 November 6, 2018 An insurance firm owned by Arron Banks, as well as the Leave.EU campaign he founded, face fines totalling £135,000 from the UK's data watchdog. Banks's Leave.EU Brexit campaign and his company Eldon Insurance (trading as Go Skippy) were each given notice of fines of £60,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for serious breaches of the Privacy [...]
DEBATE: With some institutions at risk of bankruptcy, does the UK have too many universities? November 6, 2018 With some institutions at risk of bankruptcy, does the UK have too many universities? Benedict Spence, a freelance writer, says YES. Britain prides itself on its universities for their heritage, academic progress, and economic importance. But undergraduate applications dropped two per cent last year, student debt is rising, and whispers of refunds are starting to [...]
This Living Wage Week, step up to make sure work always pays November 6, 2018 This week marks the anniversary of the campaign for a Living Wage – a cross-party movement of independent businesses, organisations, and people who believe in making work pay. I had the pleasure of speaking at the Living Wage Foundation’s parliamentary reception last week, which celebrated the extraordinary work that has been done so far and [...]
Forget Trump, the midterms are about populism November 6, 2018 When the results of the US midterms start to come in this evening, some here in the UK will roll their eyes and think “what a crazy country”. Others will wonder why Britain and America are such anomalies with Brexit and Trump, and wish that we could be more like, say, Germany. The truth is [...]
From artificial intelligence to quantum computing, Britain is a tech superpower November 6, 2018 Thousands of leaders from across the tech industry are descending on Lisbon this week for the annual international Web Summit. I’m excited to be here to champion the success of British tech to a global audience of investors and entrepreneurs. Britain is unmatched in Europe at producing tech-savvy, billion-dollar businesses. Last week, banking startup Monzo [...]
Truce or dare: A Trump stunt, or the end of the US-China trade war? November 6, 2018 Last Thursday, Donald Trump took to Twitter to tell the world that trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping were “moving along nicely”. His words prompted a rise in Asian stock markets; the Shanghai Composite index climbed by almost 2.7 per cent during trading on Friday, and the Hang Seng surged by about 4.2 per cent, [...]