Commons speaker John Bercow has defended his controversial Trump intervention February 7, 2017 House of Commons speaker John Bercow has defended his controversial intervention over Donald Trump speaking in Westminster. Bercow faced criticism after telling MPs he would fight any plans for Trump to address MPs and peers within the Palace of Westminster. However, speaking to MPs in the House of Commons, Bercow maintained he was “commenting on a matter [...]
More than 90 per cent of European goods could clear customs within seconds after Brexit February 7, 2017 Customs clearance for European goods in the aftermath of Brexit could still take just seconds if the UK secures tariff-free trade with the continent, one of the UK's most senior customs officials has said. Addressing parliament's Treasury committee earlier today, an HMRC official said that while tariff-free trade with the EU would require customs declarations, the manner and [...]
Is speaker John Bercow an embarrassment to the House of Commons for refusing to allow Trump to address parliamentarians? February 7, 2017 Alex Deane, a City of London common councilman, says Yes. In some ways this question is redundant as John Bercow has been a standing embarrassment to our Parliament since he became speaker, lavishing great chunks of cash on, well, his own comforts immediately after being elected – mostly by mischievous Labour MPs, but without the [...]
Parliament offered “deal or no deal” Brexit vote before terms are considered by the European Parliament February 7, 2017 Parliament will be able to vote "deal or no deal" on the final terms of the Brexit negotiation before it is presented to members of the European Parliament, the government has conceded. MPs had been pushing for a "meaningful" ballot on the deal ever since Prime Minister Theresa May announced a vote will take place [...]
What did Parliament decide on Article 50 and Brexit last night? And what will they discuss today? February 7, 2017 The government last night defeated four amendments to the Article 50 Bill, but with debate today kicking off around lunchtime, what's the state of play in the House of Commons? Today's Debates This afternoon will be focused on two different categories of amendments. Firstly the Commons will discuss tweaks to an offer of a vote on [...]
Government should let us make free choices, not subsidise our productivity February 7, 2017 Often the most misguided ideas in politics sound the most innocuous. If we were to hear a minister say that the government wanted to ensure that “every man or woman achieved their full potential”, it would be tempting to nod along unthinkingly. Who could disagree with such a positive-sounding goal? The problem is that things [...]
Green belt reform drops off the agenda as ministers issue long-awaited housing proposals February 6, 2017 Ministers have steered away from a liberalisation of building on so-called green belt land, despite acknowledging the worsening housing crisis in many parts of the country. The government had been expected to introduce reforms to free up protected land, but proposals released today after months of delay have instead abandoned any reference to easing restrictions. Instead, [...]
Theresa May issues MPs with a fresh warning against “obstructing” Brexit February 6, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has issued MPs with a fresh warning against any attempts to frustrate or "obstruct" Brexit. Speaking ahead of a new round of House of Commons debates on the Article 50 Bill, May told MPs that the UK's European allies want to begin negotiations. "So do I and so does this House, which last week voted by [...]
Commons speaker John Bercow says he is “strongly opposed” to Donald Trump addressing Parliament February 6, 2017 House of Commons speaker John Bercow has come out against US President Donald Trump addressing the Houses of Parliament on a state visit this year in an extraordinary intervention. More than a quarter of MPs have already signed a motion stating that Trump should not be offered the chance to make such a speech during his time [...]
Ireland: Brexit’s forgotten frontier February 6, 2017 Theresa May crossed the Irish Sea last week for a quick meeting with her Irish counterpart, Enda Kenny, to discuss President Donald Trump. Well, according to the official agenda she was actually there to talk about Brexit. Yet you wouldn’t have guessed it from the subsequent press conference in which every single question from the [...]