Theresa May says UK will not take up upcoming presidency of the European Council after Brexit vote July 20, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May has said that the UK will not take up its scheduled presidency of the European Council in the wake of the Brexit vote. The presidency will instead go to Baltic state Estonia. It was due to succeed the UK at the start of 2018, but will get bumped up six months, [...]
Labour wants to force a vote on the Charter for Budget Responsibility July 20, 2016 The Labour Party is hoping to push the government to throw out the Charter for Budget Responsibility. During an opposition day debate in the House of Commons later today, Labour will call on the government to drop their "now discredited" fiscal charter, requiring the government to reach a budget surplus by 2019/20. The motion is: "That this [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May sets off to Germany on first overseas diplomatic trip July 20, 2016 After her first instalment of Prime Minister's Questions, Theresa May will jet off to Berlin for talks she hopes to be "frank and open" with Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Prime Minister has said that maintaining strong trading links is vital to ensuring Brexit is a success. On Thursday, May will then make her way to [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Donald Trump gets official Republican nomination July 20, 2016 The long-time presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has now become the official nominee after state delegates tallied his votes. As Tuesday night drew on, state delegates took it in turn to count up the votes that Trump had secured in his against-all-odds ascent toward the top of American politics. Having crossed the threshold of 1,237 [...]
National Audit Office slams government’s decision to scrap carbon capture scheme July 20, 2016 The National Audit Office (NAO) today slammed the government's decision to scrap support for carbon capture storage (CSS) technology, a move it says will cost the taxpayer billions. The scheme would've helped the UK meet its green targets by removing and storing CO2 from coal or gas-fired power stations. Read more: Shell says UK energy demand set to fall [...]
BT needs to be open about Openreach aims July 20, 2016 When it comes to Openreach, the arm of BT that runs the UK's cables, fibre and network infrastructure, the telecoms giant is hovering outside the door of the last chance saloon. On the eve of a pivotal decision on the future of Openreach, MPs on the culture and media select committee have upped the ante [...]
A free market think tank has called for corporation tax to be scrapped as part of reforms to “reboot” Britain July 20, 2016 A controversial free-market think tank says that Britain must slash corporation tax to zero, scrap farmers' subsidies and encourage immigration if the UK is to make a success of leaving the European Union. A new report from the Adam Smith Institute argued that the Brexit vote is a chance to “reboot” Britain, and tackle long-standing [...]
Nick Clegg makes return to frontline politics as Lib Dems’ head of Brexit July 20, 2016 Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will make a comeback to frontline politics as the Liberal Democrats' chief Brexit spokesperson. The MP for Sheffield Hallam stepped down as leader of the party following the Lib Dems' near-wipeout at last year's general election. But with so much government policy to scrutinise, his replacement Tim Farron has called on [...]
Angela Eagle pulls out of Labour leadership race July 19, 2016 Angela Eagle has pulled out of the Labour leadership challenge, paving the way for Owen Smith to take on Jeremy Corbyn in a head-to-head fight. The former shadow business secretary, who was the first to announce she would challenge Corbyn, was in second place at the end of the first day of nominations from Labour MPs by a [...]
Boris Johnson facing bruising questions as John Kerry seeks to reaffirm the special relationship July 19, 2016 Boris Johnson has had a bruising encounter in one of his first major outings as foreign secretary, facing repeated questions on his remarks about senior US officials as he stood alongside US secretary of state John Kerry. Johnson and Kerry met in London today to discuss the special relationship between the US and the UK, [...]