Tory MPs hit back over rail fare hike August 14, 2018 The government has come under fire from Tory MPs for hiking train fares amid a growing dispute over the measure used to determine price rises. Transport secretary Chris Grayling said tonight the government will “freeze regulated fares in line with inflation” for the sixth year running, a move that will potentially add hundreds of pounds to [...]
Emergency COBRA meeting to be held after terror attack August 14, 2018 An emergency COBRA meeting is being convened this afternoon, following a terror attack outside Parliament this morning. Armed police officers arrested the man, who drove a silver Ford Fiesta into the security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament shortly after 7:30am, on suspicion of terror offences. He is not believed to be known to police, [...]
Jobs miracle is a real achievement for the UK August 14, 2018 Brexit, Boris and burqas. These are hardly halcyon days for the Conservatives, who – according to the latest opinion poll – trail Labour by two points, despite Jeremy Corbyn’s hapless and controversy-laden leadership. Nonetheless, yesterday held a reminder of a genuinely remarkable achievement that successive Tory inhabitants of Downing Street can point towards – namely, [...]
Bad Apple: Erdogan threatens iPhone boycott after spat with US August 14, 2018 Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of iPhones and other American electronic products yesterday as tensions between the two countries escalated. Erdogan remained defiant amid what he called an “economic war” with the US after Washington imposed punitive sanctions on Ankara. “Whatever we buy from abroad we are going to produce here in [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s approval ratings reach lowest level in a year – but Don’t Know is still the most popular option for PM August 10, 2018 Jeremy Corbyn's approval rating has fallen to the lowest level since May 2017, as the Labour leader fails to grapple with the antisemitism claims dogging his party. A new YouGov poll found just 22 per cent would support him as Prime Minister, compared with 36 per cent of people backing Theresa May. Neither of those [...]
Even the Venezuelan President knows that socialism has failed August 10, 2018 Venezuela is back in the news, with a plot straight out of a Netflix drama storyline. The apparent assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro last Saturday has everything: a drone explosion during the President’s speech, the terrified reaction of his wife captured during a live broadcast, and now a slew of accusations and counter conspiracy [...]
Russia hits out at ‘unacceptable’ US sanctions and warns of retaliation August 9, 2018 Russia is planning retaliatory measures against sanctions imposed by the US over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal, which caused the rouble to fall to its lowest level since November 2016 today. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today that Moscow was starting to work on measures following Washington’s decision to impose sanctions, which [...]
EU27 mull trade-off over Single Market for goods August 9, 2018 Leaders of the EU27 are considering a deal in which the UK could remain in the Single Market for goods without having to compromise on freedom of movement. The Times reports that member states are willing to abandon one of the four freedoms – said to be indivisible – if Theres May accepts more concessions [...]
It’s time for a grown-up conversation about immigration August 9, 2018 Business has been well served by immigration, but even before the word Brexit had worked its way into daily use, it was clear the wider public has a less rosy view of untrammelled free movement. As negotiations have progressed, sectors as varied as healthcare, fruit-picking, hospitality and banking have pressed their own special cases, to [...]
Brexit: City vents at EU’s failure to reciprocate on no deal regime August 8, 2018 The City has vented its frustration at the EU’s apparent failure to grapple with the regulatory challenges posed by a no deal Brexit. Work in the UK has begun on a ‘temporary permissions regime’, allowing EU firms to continue passporting into the country in the event of a hard Brexit, in which scenario there would [...]