EU leaders meet to mull over potential candidates for top jobs May 28, 2019 EU leaders are meeting in Brussels today to mull potential candidates for the organisation's top jobs, including the head of the commission, currently held by Jean-Claude Junker. The EU heads meet a day after results came in for the EU parliamentary elections, in which centrist mainstream parties lost ground to smaller parties including nationalists, liberals and greens. [...]
P&O Ferries sues government for £33m over Eurotunnel settlement fallout May 28, 2019 P&O Ferries is suing the government for £33m over its decision to settle a challenge against its no-deal Brexit ferry contracts. P&O wants the government to cancel the £33m it paid out to rival operator Eurotunnel, which challenged the Department for Transport's (DfT) decision to award a contract for ferries in a no-deal Brexit to [...]
Tony Blair: Jeremy Corbyn made ‘same mistake’ on Brexit as Theresa May May 28, 2019 Tony Blair has blamed Jeremy Corbyn's lack of clarity for Labour’s disastrous performance in the European elections, saying he made the “same mistake” as Theresa May in trying to “sit on the fence” on Brexit. Read more: Alastair Campbell expelled from the Labour Party Despite admitting to having voted Labour “without any great enthusiasm” on [...]
Alastair Campbell expelled from the Labour Party May 28, 2019 Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell has been kicked out of the Labour Party. Campbell, who helped mastermind Labour’s 1997 general election landslide victory, revealed on Sunday he voted for the Lib Dems in the European elections as he supported the party’s anti-Brexit stance. He took to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon to confirm he [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit two-year high following Brexit extension May 28, 2019 The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases in the UK reached a two-year high in April, a survey showed today, suggesting the country’s housing market may be recovering from a recent slowdown. Read more: Mortgage approvals fall as lending to businesses also drops UK banks approved 42,989 mortgages in April, the highest figure since [...]
Norwegian fund KLP bans investments in alcohol and gambling May 28, 2019 Norway’s largest pension fund has pledged to ban investments in alcohol and gambling stocks today as it ramps up efforts to divest from 'vice' stocks. KLP, which controls roughly $80bn (£63bn) in assets under management, is severing its ties with casino groups, brewers and cigarette companies in its latest sustainability drive. Read more: M&G Investments [...]
Jeremy Hunt calls no-deal Brexit ‘political suicide’ as Matt Hancock backs ‘mission critical’ Brexit May 28, 2019 Tory leader hopeful Jeremy Hunt has warned that a no-deal Brexit would be “political suicide” as heavyweights set out their stalls ahead of next month’s party leadership contest. Read more: Brexit party storms ahead in EU elections as voters shun Labour and Tories Instead of pushing for the UK to crash out of the EU, [...]
As Brexit rages, the European project unravels before our eyes May 28, 2019 While the London foreign policy commentariat obsesses over the pathetic soap opera that is Brexit, it almost entirely misses the obvious and strategically vital point next door: the European project is in irretrievable decline, becoming increasingly peripheral to any serious global geopolitical discussion. The just-concluded European elections, which have underlined the rise of populism and [...]
Narendra Modi’s India can be a valuable partner for Britain in tumultuous times May 28, 2019 Last week, we witnessed two momentous elections, and two nations at a crossroads. In the UK, the country engaged in a strategic game of votes in the European elections, and Theresa May met her inevitable fate as the latest victim of Brexit. In India, Narendra Modi won the largest democratic election to ever take place, [...]
Sluggish economic growth to continue as demand for lending falls May 28, 2019 The UK economy’s sluggish growth shows no signs of letting up, with all three major lending classes set to grow less than two per cent this year, new figures have revealed. Despite an uptick in real incomes, demand for consumer credit is forecast to grow just 1.6 per cent this year and two per cent [...]