City Hall at risk of Momentum takeover after Labour changes reselection rules March 14, 2019 City Hall could be targeted by hard-left Labour activists after the party changed rules to make the deselection of moderate candidates more likely. Labour’s governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), voted to change party rules for the Assembly last month, which one Labour Assembly Member (AM) said had sparked a “climate of fear and [...]
The Conservative party needs to rediscover its economic way March 12, 2019 For most people, the Conservative’s 2015 “long-term economic plan” is now a distant memory. But as someone who was deeply immersed in that election campaign, I still sometimes wake up at night reciting its contents. Though much mocked for its repetition, the plan was more than just a catchphrase. From deficit reduction and tax cuts [...]
Holloway prison to be turned into 1,000 homes after £81.5m deal with housing association Peabody March 9, 2019 Holloway prison in north London has been sold to housing association Peabody in a £81.5m deal and will now have more than 1,000 homes built on the site. The former women's jail occupies a 10-acre site and previously held murderers Myra Hindley and Rose West. Read more: Countrywide losses deepen amid housing market slowdown Peabody [...]
Tories would win snap election if called tomorrow, according to latest polling data March 8, 2019 The Conservative party would win a snap general election if it were called tomorrow, according to the latest Yougov poll. Yougov’s latest voter intention survey found 40 per cent of people would vote for the Conservatives, while just 31 per cent would vote for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party. Read more: May presses EU to commit [...]
Theresa May is delusional if she thinks she can win over Labour MPs March 6, 2019 Has the Prime Minister been reading “How to win friends and influence people”, by Dale Carnegie? It would make a change from “The bluffer’s guide to negotiating”. The thought came to mind when I read of Theresa May’s latest attempt to get Labour MPs to support her withdrawal agreement in the vote next week – [...]
Like the myth that the Earth is flat, the socialist conspiracy theory never dies March 6, 2019 The idea that the Earth is flat is a rapidly growing trend on social media. The Flat Earth Society’s Twitter feed has the best part of 100,000 followers. The fact that the planet is a sphere has been known since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. The astronomer Eratosthenes demonstrated it with a simple [...]
Labour suspend Corbyn-ally caught in antisemitism row after pressure from MPs February 27, 2019 A Labour MP who claimed the party had been “too apologetic” about antisemitism has been suspended after a stand-off between leading figures. Chris Williamson. MP for Derby North, made the comments at a meeting of a branch of the pro-Jeremy Corbyn group Momentum in the wake of nine Labour MPs quitting the party last week. After [...]
Labour fails to suspend MP who said party has been ‘too apologetic’ for antisemitism February 27, 2019 A Labour MP who claimed the party had been “too apologetic” about antisemitism is being investigated by the party – but has not been suspended. Chris Williamson made the comments at a meeting of the Sheffield branch of Momentum, the pro-Jeremy Corbyn group, in the wake of nine Labour MPs quitting the party last week. [...]
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 [...]
Sterling rallies as Theresa May prepares to rule out no-deal Brexit February 26, 2019 The Prime Minister is reportedly set to rule out a no-deal Brexit in order to fend off a mass cabinet revolt against her that could see 15 ministers resign, it is reported. Sterling rose to a four-week high against the dollar of $1.319, and a 21-month high of €1.162 against the euro as markets reacted to developments [...]