Theresa May defeated on Brexit again as anti-EU Tories desert her in Commons vote February 14, 2019 Theresa May suffered a Valentine’s Day massacre on Thursday when Conservative Brexiters helped inflict a heavy Commons defeat on the government. The Prime Minister lost the support of the European Research Group of Tories after she tried to force her party to back a plan ruling out a ‘no deal’ Brexit. While the motion was [...]
Brexit requires Westminster to demonstrate clarity, compromise and collaboration February 14, 2019 Fewer than 50 days separate us from 29 March, the date that Britain is formally due to leave the European Union. It has been 22 months since Article 50 was triggered, and Brexit strategising and negotiations with Brussels have taken the nation on a journey that few could have predicted. Politically, Britain is currently locked [...]
‘We want a ladder to climb down’; MPs who voted down May’s deal are getting nervous February 13, 2019 Politicians arriving for work in Parliament these days are confronted with a less than perfect view of the Palace of Westminster. The iconic Elizabeth Tower, home of Big Ben, is sheathed in scaffolding as renovation work is carried out. Workers scurry up and down ladders, being careful not to get themselves trapped in positions from [...]
May to give MPs vote on Labour workers’ rights plans after Brexit February 12, 2019 Theresa May today pledged to give MPs the power to decide whether the UK should follow EU rules on workers’ rights after Brexit in a bid to win Labour support for her plan. Speaking in the Commons, the Prime Minister doubled down on her commitment to keep high standards relating to employment law, environmental protections and [...]
Quit nostalgic navel-gazing and get excited for the future February 11, 2019 The thing about the 1970s – if you lived through them – is that they were for the most part dull and dour years, devoid of political and economic energy. And as for the fashion, don’t even go there. Yet there seems to be no shortage of fresh-faced tweets proclaiming those years to be something [...]
May softens up to Corbyn talks as she pleads with MPs on Irish backstop February 10, 2019 Theresa May has moved to break the Brexit deadlock by inviting Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for fresh talks on the UK's membership of a customs union with the European Union. In a letter to the Labour leader, published late last night, May said she was prepared to hold further talks on a permanent customs union [...]
Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger faces no confidence vote as antisemitism row drags on February 8, 2019 Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger is facing a no confidence vote by Labour members in her Liverpool Wavertree constituency amid an ongoing row about antisemitism with the party. Berger has been a prominent campaigner against anti-semitism and has been a magnet for online abuse and threats, to the extent she was given a bodyguard to [...]
Kamikaze Brexiteers may end up in a hell of their own making February 8, 2019 Hell hath no fury like a Brexiteer scorned. From the backlash this week, you would have thought that European Council president Donald Tusk had suggested that the EU get custody of the Queen in the Brexit divorce. “I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a [...]
Donald Tusk talks up Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit plan February 7, 2019 Donald Tusk has backed Jeremy Corbyn’s call for the UK to stay in the EU’s customs union as Theresa May suffered a disappointing day in Brussels. In a letter to the PM, the Labour leader set out the terms on which he would support her on Brexit – including a permanent customs union with the [...]
Editor’s Notes: Corbyn’s short-lived romance with the darling of the US left February 7, 2019 The rising star of the US Democratic party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC, as she is known) said she had “a lovely and wide-reaching conversation” with Jeremy Corbyn earlier this week. For his part, the Labour leader said he wanted to “build a movement to take on the billionaires, polluters and migrant baiters.” On paper, these two [...]