It took Britain 12 years to join the EU – don’t expect the break-up to go much faster August 8, 2016 Theresa May was only a little girl when Neil Sedaka’s plangent song “Breaking up is hard to do / Now I know / I know that it’s true” was a Number One hit. Britain has announced it wants to break up with Europe, but it is turning out to be a harder to do than [...]
Voting for Hillary Clinton is the last thing I ever thought I’d do. But this is our moral test. August 8, 2016 “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke Every time I come to London, my good friend Dan and I make a point of seeing one of the city’s peerless museums together, as an enjoyable way to break up the monotony of the endless meetings I [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May wants to end the ban on new grammar schools August 7, 2016 Theresa May is planning to end the ban on new grammar schools in the latest mark of her rein as Prime Minister. The Conservative leader is looking at abandoning the ban that was imposed on selective schools nearly 20 years ago by Tony Blair in 1998, a change opposed by opposition parties. Labour leadership contender [...]
Labour leadership race: Owen Smith could face fresh blow as members excluded from voting take challenge to High Court August 7, 2016 Labour leadership contender Owen Smith could face a setback tomorrow as a judge rules on whether party members excluded from leadership election should be given the right to vote. The case was sparked after Labour's National Executive Committee decided that full members could not vote in the leadership election between Jeremy Corbyn and Smith if they [...]
Frack yeah: Homes near shale gas sites to cash in August 7, 2016 Homeowners near sites where shale gas exploration is taking place will be able to cash in under new government proposals. Residents close to fracking sites could benefit directly from a share of as much as £1bn, new Prime Minister Theresa May has said. The shale wealth fund, set up under George Osborne, promises up to 10 [...]
MPs to leave Parliament for six years while it gets a face-lift August 6, 2016 MPs are set to clear out of Parliament while it gets refurbished over a six-year period. According the The Times, politicians will be leaving their historic headquarters and moving into the Department of Health at Richmond House, where MPs will not be able to buy booze. The building is owned by financiers from the Middle East [...]
Donald Trump finally backs US house speaker Paul Ryan August 6, 2016 Donald Trump has ended his political stand-off with Paul Ryan, endorsing the US House speaker in a speech on Friday. The Republican presidential nominee had previously said he would not back Ryan's bid to become re-elected as House Speaker, but reversed his position at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, saying: "We may disagree on a [...]
Should Philip Hammond call an early Autumn Statement? August 5, 2016 The mighty economic salvo unleashed by the Bank of England yesterday has heaped pressure onto the government to pull its weight in supporting the UK economy in the wake of the Brexit vote. Mark Carney, George Osborne, the Labour Party and a host of analysts and businesses called on the chancellor Philip Hammond to step up [...]
Bank rate cut: Property investment crowned winner while savers lose out August 5, 2016 The Bank of England launched a massive stimulus package yesterday in a bid to save Britain from recession. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to slash interest rates to an all-time low of 0.25 per cent. Take a look at the winners and losers of the rate cut: WINNER: Property investment The cut to interest rates is [...]
Bremainers, Cameron aides and Shami Chakrabarti get honours August 4, 2016 Former chancellor George Osborne topped the list of David Cameron’s resignation honours today, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn raised eyebrows with his nomination of Labour anti-Semitism report author Shami Chakrabarti. Cameron’s resignation honours rewarded “Bremainers” and many of his inner circle. Osborne has been made a Companion of Honour for political and public service, while former [...]