Ursula von der Leyen: What kind of EU leader can the UK expect? July 17, 2019 After months of deliberation, the EU parliament has now elected a new successor to Jean-Claude Juncker, the larger than life head of the EU Commission who has been navigating Brexit’s choppy waters since 2016. Ursula von der Leyen, a former German defence minister and key ally of Angela Merkel, will soon lead the Brexit negotiations [...]
Should 160,000 Tories choose our next Prime Minister? Yes, actually June 28, 2019 Discussing the Tory leadership election on Sky News earlier this week, host Adam Boulton asked me why the party members seemed so relaxed about Boris Johnson’s controversial private life. “Isn’t this the party of family values?” Boulton asked. It’s a fair point. Three quarters of the party’s 160,000 members believe that “young people today don’t [...]
Philip Hammond’s virtue signalling on low pay is hypocritical June 7, 2019 Philip Hammond may soon be out of a job. In fact, I would be very surprised if he remains chancellor of the Exchequer for more than a day or two after our new Prime Minister is chosen. Hammond is fond of reminding his critics that his demise has been predicted before. Yet while the Tory [...]
An open letter to the PM: Britain must build Sizewell C — nuclear sits at the heart of a green recovery July 12, 2020 An open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, business secretary Alok Sharma, and chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak We are writing as engineers, nuclear experts, scientists and concerned citizens to applaud your commitment to fighting climate change through energy policy, in particular the commitment to proceed with new nuclear construction at the same time [...]
A bold pro-business Prime Minister should let Liz Truss shake things up June 27, 2019 There’s another month to go until we have a new Prime Minister, but pro-market Conservatives can already start breathing a sigh of relief. For a start, both contenders for the top job have pledged to cut tax. Jeremy Hunt has promised to cut the rate of Corporation Tax from 19 per cent to 12.5 per [...]
Tories and Labour in a spin after disastrous EU election results deliver victory to Nigel Farage May 27, 2019 Theresa May today lamented a "very disappointing night" for the Tories as voters deserted them in their droves for the Brexit party, the clear winner of the EU elections. May, who has pledged to step down as leader on 7 June, said she hoped the results would "focus minds" on finding a Brexit deal in parliament [...]
May presses EU to commit to Brexit backstop changes as parliament vote approaches March 8, 2019 The Prime Minister is set to urge the EU to commit to legally binding changes to the so-called Irish backstop today, as she seeks to get her Brexit deal through parliament. Read more: Theresa May is a home secretary dressed up as Prime Minister Theresa May will say the EU’s decisions can “have a big [...]
Queen’s Birthday Honours: the full 2021 list June 12, 2021 Below the full list of names for this year ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) The Rt. Hon. Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, The Earl Howe. For political and parliamentary service. (Amersham, Buckinghamshire) ORDER OF THE BATH Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) [...]
Could Jacob Rees-Mogg soon be off to 11 Downing Street? April 12, 2019 The Conservative party has a shortage of the political equivalent of rock stars. These are the politicians that the public would not merely recognise (already a rather an elite cohort), but actually might cross the road to ask for an autograph – or, more usually these days, a selfie. Boris Johnson has this star quality, of course. [...]
China ready to open talks with UK on post-Brexit free trade deal, says Jeremy Hunt | City A.M. July 30, 2018 China has signalled it is ready to open discussions on a possible free trade deal with Britain once it leaves the EU, the foreign secretary has said. Jeremy Hunt is on his first overseas visit as foreign secretary after he was appointed to succeed Boris Johnson, who resigned in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit Chequers [...]