Six things we know about Sir Tim Barrow, the UK’s new ambassador to the EU January 5, 2017 The Foreign Office moved rapidly yesterday to recruit a new ambassador to the EU, announcing senior diplomat Sir Tim Barrow's appointment within 48 hours of the resignation of his predecessor, Sir Ivan Rogers. But what do we know about the new man? Read more: Former EU ambassador “couldn't be trusted” by ministers says IDS 1. [...]
Don’t touch that dial: Nigel Farage is getting his own radio show January 5, 2017 Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is to present his own nightly radio show from next week. In news likely to interfere with his prospects of becoming the UK's ambassador to Washington, Farage will present an hour-long show from Monday to Thursday on talk radio station LBC. The former Ukip leader – who stood down last summer professing a [...]
Cambridge academics have blasted the Treasury over “Project Fear” Brexit warnings January 5, 2017 A series of dire warnings from the Treasury ahead of last summer's Brexit vote have been called into question by academics at Cambridge, who say leaving the EU could halve net migration. Academics from the University of Cambridge examined official government warnings ahead of the referendum – and said several predictions were “found wanting”. In [...]
The optimal Brexit strategy is really quite simple – if Britain leaves the Customs Union January 5, 2017 Discombobulate means to confuse or disconcert. It’s a word which is likely to become very apt as politicians and the media struggle to define the Brexit strategy between now and the end of March – the deadline for initiating Article 50. For the life of me I can’t work out why everybody seems to be [...]
We won’t close the gender pay gap in the City until we face up to the pressures of having a family January 5, 2017 The Resolution Foundation’s report yesterday on the gender pay gap shows progress for young women graduates, but makes for depressing reading for women approaching their 30s. The pay gap for women in their 30s and 40s has hardly changed in a generation. The report concludes that having children has a “sharp and long-lasting” effect on [...]
Are hardcore Remainers deluding themselves that the government’s Brexit strategy is in crisis? January 5, 2017 Tim Worstall, senior fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, and author of Chasing Rainbows: Economic Myths, Environmental Facts, says Yes. To claim that anyone’s Brexit strategy is in crisis is to misunderstand what a strategy is. It is the goal that you have decided to reach. Britain’s strategy in World War II was the unconditional [...]
MPs and peers are calling for a new, regional visa system January 5, 2017 A cross-party group of 24 MPs and peers is demanding the government investigates a new, regionally-led immigration system for the UK. The panel of MPs, which is led by Labour’s Chuka Umunna, argues that regions and cities should gain control of their own visa rules. This would mimic a system already in place in Canada, [...]
Ex-migration chief recruited to crack down on workplace exploitation January 5, 2017 The former chair of one of an independent migration watchdog has been recruited to lead a government crackdown on exploitation of workers. Sir David Metcalf has sat on the Migration Advisory Committee since its creation in 2007, and will now serve as the first director of labour market enforcement. Metcalf, who was also a founding member [...]
Treasury committee chair calls into question the government’s HS2 figures January 4, 2017 The reliability of the HS2 passenger demand figures have been called into question by the chairman of the treasury select committee. Andrew Tyrie, who has previously questioned the economic justification for HS2, has taken aim at government numbers in letter to transport secretary Chris Grayling. Read more: New franchise will combine HS2 with Inter City [...]
The UK’s former ambassador to Russia has been appointed to replace Sir Ivan Rogers January 4, 2017 Theresa May has found a new ambassador to the EU less than 48 hours after Sir Ivan Rogers resigned from the role. The UK's former ambassador to Russia Sir Tim Barrow will take on the job following Rogers' departure. Barrow served as ambassador to Russia between 2011 and 2015, having previously also served as the UK's [...]