Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna withdraws from Labour leadership race May 15, 2015 Labour shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the race for Labour leadership, he said today. In a statement posted on his Twitter account, the Streatham MP said he had "not found [the leadership race] to be a comfortable experience". "One can imagine what running for leader can be like, understand its demands and [...]
David Cameron and Nicola Sturgeon talk Scottish devolution as PM bids to save the union May 14, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon will meet face-to-face for the first time today since last week’s General Election. The election ushered in big victories for both Cameron’s Conservatives and Sturgeon’s SNP, with the Prime Minister’s party securing an outright national majority and the Scottish nationalists winning 56 of Scotland’s [...]
George Osborne gives Goldman Sachs alum Jim O’Neill top Treasury job May 14, 2015 Former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill has been given a peerage and a top job in George Osborne’s treasury. The chancellor of the exchequer tweeted yesterday afternoon: “I am delighted to confirm Jim O’Neill as the new commercial secretary to the treasury to make devolution and the Northern Powerhouse happen.” https://twitter.com/George_Osborne/status/598855150640472064 Lord O’Neill, [...]
Nigel Farage says he won’t quit as Ukip leader, despite calls to resign May 14, 2015 He resigned, he unresigned, and now some Ukip members want him to resign again. But that won't happen, Nigel Farage revealed during Question Time this evening. As leader of the party, he said the level of support shown to him was “phenomenal”, and that leaving just as David Cameron starts to negotiate Britain's EU membership [...]
Unite boss Len McCluskey says Scottish Labour made Tory victory “certain” May 14, 2015 Len McCluskey, head of the Unite Union, says it is because of Scottish Labour that the Conservatives won the General Election. Speaking to Newsnight, he said party leader Jim Murphy had “made certain” that Labour would lose, and that he should now “leave the scene”. Support for the party plunged across Scotland last week, [...]
Two Russian military jets spotted heading towards UK airspace May 14, 2015 Two Russian military planes were spotted heading towards UK airspace earlier today, but were escorted away by RAF Typhoon fighter jets. "At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into UK sovereign airspace,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence told the BBC. He added that their presence was not considered a threat. [...]
Ukip crisis: The best reactions so far to the Nigel Farage infighting – and that BBC c**t slip up May 14, 2015 Ukip is in turmoil as some very public in-fighting grabs the headlines. We all love a real-life political drama, but this is no House of Cards and that means there may be some ridicule of the embattled party which appears to be imploding. Of course, photoshop (which surely must have become the thing most feared [...]
Devolution bill: George Osborne gives English cities the option to break away from London May 14, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is giving English cities the chance to become more independent from London under a new devolution bill. During a speech in Manchester, his first since the Conservatives' victory at the General Election, he said things should no longer be run just from the capital, and that this “old model” had unbalanced the [...]
Ukip crisis: Party’s biggest donor Stuart Wheeler wants Nigel Farage to resign as aide Matthew Richardson offers his resignation May 14, 2015 Ukip has been sent spiraling into crisis after the party's campaign chief attacked leader Nigel Farage, calling him "snarling, thin-skinned, aggressive". Now Ukip's biggest donor Stuart Wheeler, a millionaire who gave the party £500,000, has called for Farage to resign – again – telling the BBC "If he wants to put himself up in an election [...]
Thousands want Manchester, Sheffield and the north to become part of “New Scotland” May 14, 2015 Thousands of northerners want to break away from the UK, even as chancellor George Osborne announces new devolved powers to cities across the country. More than 12,000 people have signed a petition calling for the north to secede from the UK and join Scotland, creating a "New Scotland" that includes Manchester, Sheffield and some of the country's [...]