As government plays down its threat to abolish the House of Lords over Article 50, is it time for it to go anyway? February 10, 2017 Chris Snowdon, director of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. There was a time when the House of Lords defended our ancient liberties against mendacious governments. The whole idea of unelected politicians is problematic. In a perfect world, we would have democracy and liberty but, if I may speak candidly, so [...]
Opponents to President Donald Trump’s travel ban have a reason to celebrate February 9, 2017 US President Donald Trump has been dealt a fresh blow, as the court-ordered suspension of his controversial executive order to ban passport-holders from seven majority-Muslim countries entering the US has been upheld. Following the ruling, Trump tweeted: “See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake.” A US federal appeals court has just unanimously upheld a [...]
A Tory MP has tabled a no confidence motion in John Bercow over his controversial Donald Trump intervention February 9, 2017 The role of House of Commons speaker John Bercow is under threat after a Conservative MP tabled a "no confidence" motion. James Duddridge has been a vocal critic of Bercow's Donald Trump intervention, in which the speaker vowed to fight any invitation for the US President to address MPs and peers in Parliament. Read More: Commons speaker John Bercow [...]
Jeremy Corbyn kicks off his latest reshuffle by promoting John McDonnell’s deputy February 9, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is beginning to rebuild his front bench following some high-profile resignations, with Treasury number two Rebecca Long Bailey stepping up to cover the business sector. Long Bailey served as shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, but will replace Clive Lewis as shadow business secretary. Always a high profile patch, the business remit has [...]
Optimism growing over “make or break” steel pensions vote ahead of next week’s result February 9, 2017 Optimism is increasing over a "make or break" vote for the future of British steel, with a result expected to be announced as soon as Wednesday. Members of GMB, Unite and Community are still being balloted over proposals that will see Tata Steel pump £1bn into the sprawling Port Talbot steelworks in exchange for workers accepting [...]
Apple boss Tim Cook has spent the day meeting the PM and Mayor of London February 9, 2017 Apple boss Tim Cook, arguably the most important man in tech, has spent the day meeting with British politicians. He started a whistle stop tour of the UK by heading to Glasgow, where he picked up an honorary degree from its university yesterday. And this morning he headed to 10 Downing Street for a chat with [...]
Donald Trump will visit the UK around June, according to the Metropolitan Police February 9, 2017 US President Donald Trump's state visit could be just months away, according to Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. Speaking on LBC, the capital's top policeman said the visit would be "around June". Trump's invitation to visit the UK has been a source of huge controversy in the UK, with MPs set to debate the [...]
Theresa May is perceived as the best performing Prime Minister for 20 years February 9, 2017 It seems the honeymoon isn't over for Prime Minister Theresa May, who is performing better in the public eye than any of her predecessors for the last 20 years, according to new figures. In a survey of more than 2,000 Britons, Opinium found 39 per cent said May was doing a good job. Only Margaret [...]
We must take a wrecking ball to political correctness to achieve our true economic potential February 9, 2017 Just how big is the size of the state in the UK? A simple question you might think. Surely all you need is a numerator (a tax or public spending measure) and a denominator (a GDP measure)? Divide one by the other and hey presto there’s your size measure – as a proportion of GDP. [...]
Scandal-hit Francois Fillon could gift Marine Le Pen the French presidency February 9, 2017 His campaign is in serious crisis, but Francois Fillon – candidate of the centre-right after a convincing victory in the primaries – said on Monday that he will continue to fight to become the next President of France despite a scandal engulfing him and his family. Trying to save his campaign, he apologised to the French [...]