Britain lost faith in its politicians – and then it voted for Brexit February 27, 2019 What do Bill Clinton, the Beano, and moat cleaning have in common? Answer: they all contributed to Brexit. We are about to reach the tenth anniversary of the MPs’ expenses scandal, the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (which I co-founded in 2004), and in 30 days’ time we should be leaving [...]
Anna Soubry urges Tories to put their country first and thwart a no-deal Brexit February 20, 2019 The Conservative party is being infiltrated by former Ukip members bent on ousting sitting MPs they view as traitors over Brexit, ex-Tory MP Anna Soubry warned today. Read more: Conservative split: Three Tory MPs quit party In a devastating attack on her former party, the Broxtowe MP said the Conservatives were now being controlled by [...]
China: How George Osborne’s ‘golden era’ lost its shine February 17, 2019 When former chancellor George Osborne visited China in 2015, he pronounced it the start of a “golden era” of Sino-British relations. Britain threw itself into tens-of-billions of pounds worth of trade deals, Osborne turned a blind eye to a litany of Chinese human rights abuses and President Xi Jinping even joined David Cameron for a pint [...]
Downing Street slaps down Sajid Javid over net migration target January 29, 2019 Downing Street has insisted reducing net migration to below 100,000 is still government policy – despite the home secretary saying there are no more targets. In the Commons on Monday, Sajid Javid was asked if the government was “formally dumping” its longstanding aim of getting net migration into the tens of thousands. The home secretary [...]
With just a dash of flexibility, the Brexit endgame is in sight January 29, 2019 In 1982, three years into Margaret Thatcher’s first term, a monograph was published about the government’s economic progress bluntly titled: “Could do better”. Was it published by the Fabian Society, with its close affiliation to the Labour party? Or perhaps it was released by the recently established Social Democratic Party, formed by people on the [...]
The government’s immigration proposals aren’t perfect but they include plenty to cheer about December 19, 2018 Yesterday, this column predicted that the government's immigration white paper would be a pretty rum Christmas present for business. Today, we have to acknowledge that while the proposals don't satisfy everyone (or more accurately, every sector) there are elements to cheer. The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, is known for a more liberal approach to immigration [...]
Theresa May’s survival as Prime Minister will leave an impact long after Brexit December 18, 2018 Nothing has changed. That was the widely held conclusion from Theresa May surviving her no confidence vote last week. The Prime Minister has kicked the can down the road on putting her proposed withdrawal agreement to parliament. But parliamentary arithmetic is unaltered. Her deal, as it stands, still looks dead on arrival. In the absence of [...]
The next Prime Minister? Six MPs who could succeed Theresa May December 12, 2018 If Theresa May loses a vote of no confidence on Wednesday evening, the starting gun will be fired on who will be the next Prime Minister. With no obvious candidate to succeed her, the race to Downing Street is set to be highly unpredictable. City A.M. looks at six of the most likely candidates: Boris [...]
We have paved the way for the next financial crisis December 6, 2018 Optimists believe that the last decade of roiling financial crisis and austerity is behind us, and that current fears of trade war, Brexit, populism, and market crashes are overblown. They hope for a global economy poised for many years of growth, increasing personal wealth and prosperity, and political stability. Sadly, hope is never a strategy. Realists, [...]
Tech giants criticised for lack of transparency over political lobbying November 26, 2018 Tech behemoths Amazon, Facebook and Google are among the worst companies for failing to offer transparency over their political lobbying efforts, according to Transparency International UK. The organisation's report into corporate political engagement, published today, included assessments of UK companies’ political contributions and lobbying, as well as the so-called revolving door between corporations and politics. Transparency [...]