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 [...]
Airbnb took a big swipe at Trump in its very last minute Super Bowl LI advert #WeAccept February 6, 2017 Airbnb has taken a swipe at Donald Trump's controversial travel ban with an advert at one of the most watched TV events of the year – the Super Bowl. The tech company aired a 30 second spot in prime time promoting diversity and featuring its own employees "We believe no matter who you are, where [...]
It’s the return of the Article 50 Bill – MPs to begin three more days of Brexit debate February 6, 2017 MPs will kick off three days of Brexit battles in the House of Commons later this afternoon, as they fight it out over attempts to amend the Article 50 Bill. The bill – which grants the government the power to begin divorce proceedings with the EU – was backed overwhelmingly at the "second reading" stage by MPs last [...]
A quarter of MPs say Donald Trump shouldn’t be allowed to make a prestigious speech on his state visit February 6, 2017 Just over a quarter of the UK's MPs have now signed a motion calling for US president Donald Trump to be barred from making an address in the palace of Westminster during his state visit this year. Trump has already been invited to the UK by Prime Minister Theresa May, with a date for his arrival yet to [...]
British business leaders urge government to improve the UK’s lagging infrastructure February 6, 2017 Two thirds of British business leaders think that the UK’s infrastructure is worse than other developed economies, according to a Lloyds Bank survey released today. Only 8 per cent of the 77 boardroom-level executives who responded thought that the national infrastructure of the UK was better than that of other countries. The results of the [...]
Jeremy Corbyn is wrong: The system isn’t rigged February 6, 2017 Jeremy Corbyn began the new year embarking on something of a rebrand, with aides describing how the Labour leader would move to emulate Donald Trump. This wasn't about any policy shifts, rather the strategy was to borrow from the US President's playbook of straight-talking, honest-tweeting, anti-establishment positioning. It's an approach that sees Corbyn and his [...]
London is a monument to the benefits of openness and internationalism February 6, 2017 "London is open”. This much-publicised campaign, launched by mayor of London Sadiq Khan and garlanded with column inches and broadcast coverage, is doing a great job of communicating the fact that the world’s greatest city wants nothing to do with the protectionism that seems to be appearing elsewhere in the world. We stand as a [...]
Well-meaning state interventions are making childcare increasingly unaffordable for many parents February 6, 2017 A couple of weeks ago an all-party Parliamentary Group report warned that many nursery schools may have to close, and called for a financial bailout from our beleaguered government. It was only the latest demand for extra state spending: in the last few months the CBI, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Welsh government, the [...]
As Labour Party splits over leaving the European Union intensify, can the party survive Brexit? February 6, 2017 Andrew Hawkins, chairman of ComRes, says Yes. The Labour Party is setting new standards for “normal” and “shambolic”, the Article 50 farrago being merely the latest milepost in what for many Labour MPs is a living nightmare. The Party is in an appalling mess but ironically its refusal to implode is evidence that it is [...]