Jeremy Hunt says Brexit deal can still get through parliament if Irish backstop issue is clarified December 28, 2018 Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has said Theresa May’s Brexit deal can get through parliament if the EU clarifies the so called Northern Irish backstop will be temporary. The backstop, an insurance policy to prevent the return of border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland, has been a major sticking point in securing the Brexit divorce [...]
MPs demand ‘meaningful’ vote on all trade deals after Brexit December 28, 2018 MPs have called for the power to veto any trade deals negotiated by the government after Britain leaves the EU. In a move likely to be rejected by a government which has already pushed the so-called meaningful vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal back a month to mid-January, the influential International Trade Committee has demanded [...]
Top EU official: MPs could still approve May’s deal in vote next month December 27, 2018 The likelihood of Britain abandoning Brexit altogether and staying in the European Union has increased slightly in recent months, but there is no public support for a second referendum, one of the bloc’s top officials has said. European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told the Funke Media Group that there is still a chance MPs will vote for [...]
Musk: Tesla superchargers to extend across Europe next year December 27, 2018 Tesla’s supercharger network will extend across Europe next year, the company’s chief executive Elon Musk has said. The charger system, which allows Tesla owners to plug in for 30 minutes for a power boost during their trip, has previously had some black spots in Europe. However, they will now be extended to the rest of [...]
Musk’s Space X finally launches first US national security space mission December 23, 2018 A Space X Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched in the US this afternoon, after four successive failed attempts to carry out the company's first national security space mission. The rocket, which was carrying a satellite worth roughly $500m (£393.7m) built by Lockheed Martin, blasted off from Florida just before 2pm GMT. The satellite's launch was initially planned [...]
Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station faces 12 month delay in latest TfL setback December 22, 2018 The £1.1bn Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station has been delayed by at least 12 months in the latest setback for cash-strapped Transport for London. The two mile spur from Kennington was forecast to open in 2020 but will now not be ready until September 2021 at the earliest, pushing up the project's cost. London mayor Sadiq Khan [...]
Jeremy Corbyn: Brexit will go ahead if Labour win a snap election December 22, 2018 Leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn has said that Brexit would go ahead if Labour won a snap election in the New Year. Corbyn has insisted he would try and secure a better deal with Brussels should Labour take power but refused to rule out a second EU referendum. "My proposal at this moment is [...]
US government is partially shutdown in border wall standoff December 22, 2018 The US government was partially shutdown at midnight on Friday with President Donald Trump's demands for billions of dollars in funding for a border wall not met. Trump insisted on Friday that if the Senate could not reach a deal with the House regarding the wall then a "very long shutdown" would commence. It began going into [...]
Here are all the predictions I got wrong in 2018 December 21, 2018 I should have given up making predictions in June 2017. Three months earlier, I had spoken at a conference on Brexit and suggested that the best way forward for Theresa May would be to call a snap election and strengthen her negotiating hand. I don’t know how the Prime Minister got word of my advice, [...]
Grounded: Gatwick airport remains shut down as Army brought in to deal with drone crisis December 20, 2018 The Army has been deployed to assist with the ongoing crisis at Gatwick airport, which has seen flights grounded since Wednesday because of drones flying near the runway. Drones which have grounded all flights at Gatwick Airport are “highly targeted” and have been “designed to close the airport and bring maximum disruption in the run up [...]