English council elections: Tories make more gains in the Red Wall May 7, 2021 The Conservatives have won control of four councils and almost 100 new seats across the country, with the party making further inroads in traditional Labour areas in local elections in the North and the Midlands. The Conservatives so far have won Harlow Council in Essex, Dudley Council in the West Midlands, Northumberland Council and Nuneaton [...]
Germany hits back at US patent waiver proposal for Covid-19 vaccines May 7, 2021 Germany has rejected the Covid-19 vaccine patent proposal today, urging that production capacity is key to boosting vaccine output. The country’s health minister said the primary challenge to increasing production volumes of vaccines is quickly and effectively transferring technology. “The main issue is not patent protection but production capacity,” Jens Spahn, said at a news [...]
Now what for Sir Keir Starmer and Labour after crushing Hartlepool defeat? May 7, 2021 Labour’s crushing defeat in the Hartlepool by-election has already sparked recriminations and finger pointing, with the party quickly descending into factional warfare. Labour left MPs have been reasonably quiet about their discontent with Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and his attempt to moderate the party until now, however we should expect to see this change from [...]
Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP expected to emerge again as largest party in Scotland May 7, 2021 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon’s is expected to emerge again as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament after the election, but it wants to win an overall majority of MSPs as it pushes for a second independence referendum – something polls suggest remains in the balance. Results are expected to be announced today [...]
SOX or no SOX? The focus on internal control is here to stay May 7, 2021 | City Talk The UK Government is considering whether to introduce something along the lines of SOX. Regardless of where we end up following the current consultation process, it will almost certainly not be the end of the debate on internal control. More than twenty years have passed since the corporate collapse of Enron. The response of the [...]
‘Super Thursday’ UK elections: What time will the winners be announced? May 6, 2021 Elections have been conducted across the UK today in the biggest electoral test since 2019, with results set to be announced over the next few days. The results will tell us a lot more about the mood of the country, including how much cut through Sir Keir Starmer has had with the UK electorate since [...]
G7 nations urged to boost climate funding for poor nations as Merkel says Germany made ‘fair contribution’ May 6, 2021 Germany and Britain are piling pressure on other G7 nations to boost the funding they provide for climate action in developing countries this decade. Ahead of this week’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue, climate and development experts and former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon had urged Germany to commit to doubling its public climate finance by 2025 to [...]
Early London mayor election in-person turnout just 12 per cent of 2016 May 6, 2021 Internal Labour polling numbers are showing in-person turnout as of noon in today’s London mayor election was just 11.6 per cent of the total 2016 turnout, raising fears among Sadiq Khan’s camp about a surprise defeat. It is expected there will be many more postal votes this year, due to Covid-19, however it is unknown [...]
Five things to look for in the ‘super Thursday’ UK elections May 6, 2021 Around 48m people in the UK will be eligible to vote in elections today in what is being dubbed “super Thursday”. This includes Holyrood elections in Scotland, Welsh Senedd elections, Hartlepool’s by-election and mayoral contests in London, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Tees Valley, Liverpool, West Yorkshire. There will also be more than 100 council elections [...]
British gunboats will continue to patrol Jersey as French fishing boats leave May 6, 2021 Two British naval ships will remain off the coast of Jersey and patrol the waters, after a flotilla of 60 French fishing boats ended their protest this afternoon. Two armed Royal Navy boats, the HMS Tamar and HMS Severn, were sent by Boris Johnson last night to patrol waters around Jersey amid a protest by French [...]