If nothing else, Brexit has taught us how mediocre our politicians are March 28, 2019 Earlier this year, the BBC Parliament channel briefly became more popular than MTV. Perhaps not quite able to believe how on earth this was all going so badly, a few hundred thousand people tuned in to see what was happening on the green benches for themselves. What they witnessed would have clarified things. Posturing, grand-standing, [...]
Theresa May vows to resign before further negotiations if her Brexit deal is passed March 27, 2019 Theresa May will quit as Prime Minister before the next stage of Brexit negotiations she told her party tonight in a last bid attempt to get MPs to back her deal. Speaking to Conservative MPs in a packed meeting in parliament, May said she was aware her party wanted “new leadership” for any trade negotiations [...]
John Bercow blocks attempt to get round his Meaningful Vote ruling March 27, 2019 John Bercow has given Theresa May another headache after he blocked any attempt to use parliamentary procedures to get round his ruling that the government cannot bring an unchanged Brexit deal back before MPs. The Commons speaker ruled last week that he would only allow a third meaningful vote on May’s withdrawal plan if it [...]
Government firmly rejects ‘Revoke Article 50’ petition despite debate next week March 27, 2019 The government has dismissed the possibility of revoking Article 50 – and thereby cancelling Brexit – despite a petition to do so amassing 5.85m signatures in the last week. The 'Revoke Article 50' petition quickly surpassed the 100,000 signatories needed to be considered for debate in parliament, and is now the best-supported proposal in the history [...]
London house prices start to stabilise after three-year dip March 27, 2019 Signs that London’s house prices could be starting to stabilise emerged this morning, with a new study showing that values picked up slightly in February. According to Zoopla, househunters that have previously held off on deals are seeking out buying opportunities in the capital following weaker house price growth amid the Brexit uncertainty. Read more: [...]
Guy Verhofstadt compares Farage to Blackadder character in European Parliament March 27, 2019 The European Parliament’s outspoken Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt has taken a swipe at the self-styled “Bad Boy of Brexit” Nigel Farage, comparing him to field marshal Douglas Haig from the final episode of sitcom Blackadder. Verhofstadt said he was “surprised” to see the former leader of Ukip on European Parliament duty in Strasbourg, rather than [...]
Bellway hikes dividend as revenues jump despite Brexit knock on confidence March 27, 2019 Bellway posted a double-digit rise in revenues this morning, shrugging off fears of Brexit uncertainty as cheap borrowing, high employment and the government’s Help to Buy scheme all provided a boon for the housebuilder over the last six months. In its interim results for the half-year to to 31 January 2019, the FTSE 250 developer posted [...]
No, the Norway option won’t turn Britain into a vassal state March 27, 2019 Think of all those Victorian statutes which are still good law today: the Partnership Act 1890, for example, or the Bills of Exchange Act 1882. There are many others. All were passed under a legislative system which we no longer recognise – indeed, which is now repugnant to us: no women could vote in elections; [...]
Theresa May’s Brexit plans in tatters as DUP call for long delay over backing her ‘toxic’ deal March 26, 2019 Theresa May’s Brexit plans suffered another setback today as the Democratic Unionist Party said they would prefer to delay the UK’s departure from the EU over supporting her “toxic” deal. Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesman, said his party’s 10 MPs would only vote for the deal if there are “significant changes” to the text [...]
In a logical world, the EU would never risk the fallout of Britain crashing out with no deal at all March 26, 2019 At a dinner the other week, a friend of mine wondered whether Theresa May would have been treated with quite so much patience, forbearance and courtesy by her EU colleagues had she not been a woman. It’s a fair question. Her reportedly dismal performance at the EU summit on 21 March must have been enough [...]