UK ready to walk away from Brexit trade talks over state aid demands August 30, 2020 The UK has said it will walk away from post-Brexit trade talks if Brussels does not drop its demand to align with EU state aid rules. UK Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost has told his counterpart Michel Barnier that the UK is not willing to compromise on this point as the potential of a no-deal [...]
Labour draws level with the Conservatives in new polling August 30, 2020 Labour has clawed back a 26-point poll deficit to draw level with the Conservatives, after a number of policy U-turns and PR disasters for Boris Johnson’s government. New polling from Opinium/The Observer has Labour and the Tories at 40 per cent of the vote, just five months after Johnson had given his party a 26-point [...]
Rishi Sunak considers £30bn in post-Covid tax hikes August 30, 2020 Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans to implement £30bn in tax rises to plug the budget black hole left by the government’s coronavirus response. The measures reportedly under consideration include raising corporation tax and capital gains tax, breaking the pension triple lock guarantee and cutting foreign aid. The Sunday Times reports that this would include [...]
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe resigns for health reasons August 28, 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has confirmed his resignation due to his deteriorating health, sparking a fall in Tokyo stock prices and a rise in the yen. “I cannot be prime minister if I cannot make the best decisions for the people. I have decided to step down from my post,” Abe told reporters. The 65-year-old [...]
Who gets to shape what comes next? After Covid, power in the UK must be decentralised August 28, 2020 We are all coming to terms with the impact of Covid-19 on our prosperity and life chances. We are relearning how we live, how society functions, and what and who we value most. We are learning how Covid has impacted our communities, and with that has come a realisation of injustices that exist in our [...]
Four more years? Trump’s campaign begins at the Republican convention August 27, 2020 Most casual observers will have noticed little from the Republican National Convention beyond the odd social media clip of a screeching Kimberly Guilfoyle or teary-eyed Donald Trump Jr. While many will laugh off the bizarre and sometimes frightening rhetoric – Guilfoyle’s speech in particular would not be out of place at a Pyongyang military parade [...]
Germany axes plan to speak about Brexit at high-level EU summit August 27, 2020 Germany has scrapped plans to discuss post-Brexit trade deal negotiations at an upcoming EU ambassadors summit as there has not been enough progress. Brexit was due to be a major point of discussion at the 2 September summit, however EU officials are reportedly increasingly pessimistic that the UK will leave on a no-deal basis on [...]
Sir Ed Davey elected as leader of the Liberal Democrats August 27, 2020 Sir Ed Davey is the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after defeating challenger Layla Moran in the party’s leadership contest. Davey, who was the bookies’ favourite, beat Moran by 42,756 votes to 24,564 in what was the highest ever turn out for a Liberal Democrat leadership contest. Davey conceded in his victory speech that [...]
Unrest grows among Tory MPs over series of Boris Johnson U-turns August 27, 2020 Senior members of Boris Johnson’s government are reportedly disgruntled about the growing number of policy U-turns coming from Downing Street. Yesterday’s U-turn on face masks in schools marked the 12th policy about face the government has made since the start of the coronavirus crisis in March. Twelve senior Conservatives told the Financial Times about growing [...]
Coronavirus: Government to pay low income workers in self-isolation August 27, 2020 People on low incomes who are forced to self-isolate due to coronavirus will receive payments from the government as part of a new scheme. From Tuesday people who claim universal credit or working tax credit and cannot work from home will be entitled to up to £182 — equivalent to £13 per day. The scheme [...]