MPs urge government to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden April 13, 2019 More than 70 MPs have written to the government asking that Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden should the country request it. Assange was arrested by British authorities on Thursday after leaving the Ecuadorian embassy that he had resided in under diplomatic protection since 2012. Read more: Hammond says parliament likely to vote again on Brexit [...]
Facebook and the tech giants are welcoming government regulation – that’s a panic signal for all of us April 9, 2019 Last year, I met someone who had previously worked for a big tech firm in its “free speech” unit. What had happened to make him come and slum it among us mortals in the (badly paid) policy world? Answer: the unit had been shut down. It’s in this context that you should see the milquetoast [...]
Tory leadership race: Who are the leading candidates? March 29, 2019 Theresa May’s promise this week to step down if her Brexit deal passed parliament made the prospect of a Tory leadership battle increasingly likely. Although May’s deal was defeated in the commons yet again this afternoon, her calamitous premiership looks like it could end at any moment. There are dozens of potential candidates for the top [...]
Majority of businesses not budgeting for increased recruitment costs after Brexit March 24, 2019 More than three-quarters of UK businesses have put no additional funds in place to meet the costs of international recruitment following Brexit. As many as 26 per cent of businesses have already recruited fewer workers from the EU since March 2017, according to research by law firm Shakespeare Martineau. Read more: Time for a migration policy [...]
The UK government should take inspiration from an unlikely source when writing its post-Brexit migration plan March 19, 2019 Another day, another chance for UK politics to reach hitherto unimaginable levels of farce. But while Downing Street reels over speaker John Bercow's characteristically dramatic intervention, it's worth remembering that the government is capable of making a complete mess of many things – not just Brexit. Take immigration, for example. We have a Prime Minister who [...]
UK home secretary Sajid Javid warns tech giants over footage March 16, 2019 Home secretary Sajid Javid has warned social media companies to "clean up their platforms" after the attack by a gunman in New Zealand, killing 49 people at two mosques, was live streamed on Facebook. Javid told these firms they would face the "force of the law" if they did not more, with the video lasting 17 [...]
DEBATE: MPs are about to get a pay rise – but do they deserve it? March 4, 2019 MPs are about to get a pay rise – but do they deserve it? John Oxley, a Conservative commentator, says YES. MPs will soon earn £79,468. It’s far more than most people, but still not enough to lure the most talented individuals into our legislature. An ambitious and highly capable graduate in the City or [...]
UK cannabis firm Jacana blazes a trail to possible London listing February 28, 2019 Cannabis firm Jacana is “considering” a stock market flotation this year after raising $20m (£15.08m) in private investment in 2018. Read more: England lock George Kruis has high hopes for cannabis oil business Serial entrepreneur Alexandra Chong, the company’s co-founder, said “all options were on the table” in terms of funding, as Jacana seeks to expand [...]
Tory MP Alberto Costa leaves government after Brexit amendment to protect EU citizens February 27, 2019 A Tory MP has left the government after proposing an amendment aimed at ensuring rights for EU nationals in the UK and Britons across the 27 EU member states, even in the case of a no-deal Brexit. Read more: Britain lost faith in its politicians – and then it voted for Brexit The Prime Minister’s [...]
Shamima Begum has got what she wanted: a one-way ticket out of British society February 21, 2019 We should shed no tears for Shamima Begum. Britain’s Islamic State (IS) poster girl has been splashed across various newspapers and on numerous media outlets on account of her re-emergence in a Syrian refugee camp, four years after she voluntarily left these shores for the embrace of IS. It turned out that Begum – now with [...]