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, [...]
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel will be a delegate for Donald Trump May 10, 2016 Billionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is listed on the California ballot as a delegate for Donald Trump. The Silicon Valley giant was one of more than 165 names submitted to the California Secretary of State's office on Monday by Trump's campaign. Read more: Trump says that Khan could be the "exception" to his blanket ban on [...]
Grexit odds shorten as potential debt relief deal brings the bailout saga back into the headlines May 10, 2016 Greece may have edged closer to a deal with its creditors for debt relief, but the troubled Eurozone nation is not out of the woods yet, as bookies say there is a decent chance it could be kicked out of the single currency bloc. Yesterday, Greece's parliament passed controversial proposals to reform its pensions and tax [...]
Niesr wades into Brexit debate with the latest assessment of how the UK economy would fare after Brexit May 10, 2016 The UK economy could be up to eight per cent smaller if it votes to leave the European Union in the upcoming referendum, according to the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr). Brexit "would represent a significant shock to the UK economy," and would leave the economy between 1.5 per cent and 7.8 per [...]