EU referendum: EU businesses say Brexit will hurt them – but they want a tough stance in any post-Brexit trade negotiations May 11, 2016 Business across Europe want the UK and the EU to agree a trade deal in the event of Brexit — but they think negotiators should take a hard line and impose strict duties and tariff barriers to make the UK pay the price for leaving. Two-thirds of listed companies in Germany, France, Italy and Spain said [...]
EU referendum: Business travellers fear Brexit due to delays at passport control May 11, 2016 Concerns over increased airfares and delays at passport control have caused business travellers to feel uncertain about the prospect of Brexit. New research from DCC Forum found growing concerns among business owners over visa applications for entering countries and increased airfares if Britain leaves the EU. Almost one in five business travellers are worried about delays [...]
EU referendum: Boris Johnson wants the UK to back Brexit to stop funding Spanish bullfighting … but we already have May 11, 2016 Boris Johnson wants the money he says Britain would save from leaving the European Union to help fund the NHS, rather than going towards Spanish bullfighting. The Uxbridge MP and former Mayor of London made the claim on BBC Breakfast this morning, as he said a slice of Britain's £8.5bn net contribution to the EU was being pumped into the [...]
EU referendum: Remain or Leave – a matter of war and peace? May 11, 2016 Invoking Blenheim, Trafalgar, Waterloo, the Great War, and the Battle of Britain, as arguments for UK engagement with Europe and the world was provocative and historically questionable, but to use these conflicts to support UK membership of the EU as essential is just daft. This is dishonest Remain-style parody of “Leave”. No one is advocating [...]
MPs paid family members £5,600 more than other members of staff May 11, 2016 Members of Parliament paid connected parties more than £5,000 more than other members of staff in 2014-2015, according to the parliamentary watchdog. According to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), MPs paid connected parties (mainly family members) an average additional full-time equivalent salary of £5,600 over other staff in 2014-2015. The average full-time equivalent salary was £31,350 [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Bernie Sanders snatches West Virginia from Hillary Clinton as Donald Trump cruises towards official nomination May 11, 2016 Senator Bernie Sanders is refusing to go quietly, snatching the West Virginia primary from Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night and forcing her to fight on. Clinton still has a commanding lead in the national race, but with Sanders still taking the odd state here and there, the former secretary of state won't be able to [...]
EU referendum: Gordon Brown joins the campaign arguing EU needs to root out tax havens May 11, 2016 Gordon Brown has become the latest former prime minister to back Britain’s membership of the European Union this morning, calling for Britain to take a leading role in working across the continent to combat the abuse of tax havens. Speaking weeks after the Panama Papers revelations and with just six weeks to go until the [...]
Don’t hold your breath for EU referendum facts May 11, 2016 On the eve of the 1986 Reykjavik Summit between Gorbachev and Reagan, the US President sought the advice of historian Suzanne Massie, who told him of the old Russian saying: “Trust, but verify.” This piece of wisdom, offered to a President at the height of the Cold War, is perhaps the best approach that today's [...]
Tooting By-Election: Simon Hogg favourite to retain the seat in a two-horse race with the Conservatives May 10, 2016 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan simultaneously won City Hall and triggered a by-election by standing down from his job as MP for Tooting. While no candidate has yet been announced the election will take place on 9 or 16 June, and is anticipated to be a two-horse race between Labour and the Conservatives. Local councillor [...]
Energy supply risk if coal-fired power stations shutdown chaotically, MP says May 10, 2016 A Tory MP has called on the government to prevent Britain's coal-fired power plants from closing all at once, potentially leading to an energy supply crunch. The UK has pledged to phase out all of its ageing, uneconomic coal-fired power stations by 2025, however, there are rising fears that these aren't being replaced quickly enough. Nigel Adams, [...]