Parliament must have a role in scrutinising Brexit negotiations, according to House of Lords report July 22, 2016 Parliament should scrutinise the negotiations, including those about trade, on the UK's withdrawal from the EU, the House of Lords has said. The Lords EU Committee has said the withdrawal process is arguably the “most important task that the government has undertaken since the Second World War”, and all aspects should be effectively scrutinised. In a report, Scutinising [...]
Theresa May and Francois Hollande have agreed to retain existing borders, but the French president has maintained that Brexit talks must begin ASAP July 21, 2016 Theresa May and Francois Hollande have agreed to retain UK border controls in Calais, despite the latter repeating his demands for Brexit talks to begin “as soon as possible”. In the build up to the referendum, French politicians had called for the Le Touquet agreement, which allows the UK to maintain border checks in France, to be [...]
Provincial England has taken over Westminster – and it’s put state intervention back in vogue July 21, 2016 The EU referendum paved the way for the industrial strategy now defining Theresa May’s first weeks in office. Why? Because the provincial English working class and lower middle class forced the country out of its status quo and administered a huge shock to the system. Politicians are realising that options they never previously considered are [...]
Swedish group trumps Trump with UK offshore wind farm near his golf resort July 21, 2016 A wind farm, which had been opposed by controversial US presidential candidate Donald Trump, got given the go-ahead today. Swedish energy firm Vattenfall confirmed it will invest £300m in the 11-turbine wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen. It will take 100 per cent ownership of the project, having bought Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group's 25 per cent [...]
Melania Trump’s speech was too banal to be plagiarised: Political wives excel at vomit-inducing cliches, but business is worse July 21, 2016 When Melania Trump claimed that she wrote her infamous speech at the Republican National Convention herself, I believed her. So bad was that speech. Apparently, Ms Trump’s mother had taught her to work hard, be true to her word and respect other people. To paraphrase Janan Ganesh’s recent article on Theresa May’s first speech as [...]
The UK is owed more than £300,000 in unpaid parking fines from embassies and foreign missions, according to the Foreign Office July 21, 2016 Foreign embassies owe a total of more than £300,000 in parking fines, according to figures published by the Foreign Office today. In addition to more serious offences, almost £500,000 of fines were levied through 2015, with just £161,328 either paid or waived by local councils, Transport for London and the City of London. In a [...]
Foreign officials avoided charges for 11 serious crimes including people trafficking last year, the FCO has revealed July 21, 2016 Foreign diplomats avoided 11 serious criminal charges last year, including people trafficking and taking indecent photographs of children. Figures published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office today show that “diplomatic immunity” had been invoked to avoid charges for the offences, which could otherwise have landed the perpetrators in prison for more than 12 months. Saudi Arabian nationals [...]
The UK’s pensions lifeboat remains buoyant on Brexit and BHS, despite rising claims values July 21, 2016 The UK's pensions lifeboat remains optimistic on its prospects, despite facing the potential rescue of two substantial schemes and uncertainty generated by Brexit. In figures published today, the Pension Protection Fund reported a £4.1bn surplus for the year to 31 March, up from £3.6bn. The collapse of BHS earlier this year means the PPF is currently assessing [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign launch: Here’s what he said about business July 21, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn delivered a confident speech today as he launched his campaign to retain his place at the helm of the party. In a good mood, Corbyn announced that he would fight to rid the UK of its 21st century "five ills" of inequality, neglect, prejudice, insecurity and discrimination. His speech included a dig at [...]
Treasury Committee chair Andrew Tyrie demands airports update from new chancellor Philip Hammond July 21, 2016 New chancellor Philip Hammond is facing demands from parliament's influential Treasury Committee to publish more information on the government's arguments for airport expansion. Committee chair Andrew Tyrie has written to Hammond, and accused his predecessor George Osborne of "obfuscation and delay". In his letter to Hammond, Tyrie said: "For nearly 40 years, there has been much talk, but [...]