Post Brexit UK-US trade deal talks still on ice as Biden visits Northern Ireland April 12, 2023 Talks between the US and the UK on a post-Brexit free trade deal are not expected to resume until 2025, according to reports. Prime minister Rishi Sunak and US president Joe Biden are not said to have discussed the matter during a visit to Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday [...]
Labour poll lead narrows to record low in ‘blue wall’ Tory seats April 12, 2023 The Labour Party’s poll lead in a key set of ‘blue wall’ seats in southern England has narrowed to a record low, new polling data has revealed. Sir Keir Starmer’s party is leading the Conservatives by just two per cent among affluent Tory shire constituencies – a joint record low and a six point drop [...]
Liz Truss to criticise high taxes and warn of authoritarian ‘threat’ April 11, 2023 Liz Truss is to renew her advocacy of low taxes in a speech questioning whether western nations are “match fit to take on China”. Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister will suggest the 1980s “Anglo-American” economic model of increased privatisation and limited government is being “strangled into stagnation” in the latest leg of her comeback to the [...]
GCHQ: MI5 to appoint first female spy chief in its 100-year history April 11, 2023 A woman will become the boss of GCHQ for the first time in its more than 100-year history when the current director steps down next month. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced that Anne Keast-Butler has been appointed to succeed Sir Jeremy Fleming as head of the government’s intelligence organisation. Keast-Butler, currently MI5’s deputy director-general, will [...]
UK standalone 5G rollout to be finished by 2030, ministers pledge April 11, 2023 Ministers are set to invest millions in boosting the UK’s connectivity via a nationwide rollout of 5G. All populated areas of the country will be covered by ‘standalone’ 5G – also called ‘5G-plus’, which is not reliant on existing 4G technology – by 2030, the government has pledged. Technology secretary Michelle Donelan today unveiled a [...]
Four-day junior doctor strike could impact ‘patient safety’ April 8, 2023 Up to a quarter of a million appointments and operations could be postponed due to four days of strikes by junior doctors, the NHS Confederation has warned, amid fears over patient safety. Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the confederation, said health bosses were more concerned about the impact of the latest walkout – [...]
Thornberry defends Labour attack ad on Sunak April 8, 2023 Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry has defended a party attack ad claiming Rishi Sunak does not think child sex abusers should go to prison. The shadow attorney general acknowledged there has been a lot of criticism, including that the social media message is “racist”, but she said the critics are “wrong”. Figures on Labour’s left have [...]
Labour steps up attack on Tories ahead of May elections April 8, 2023 Tens of thousands of offenders convicted of serious crimes have been spared jail since the Tories took office, with Labour claiming Rishi Sunak’s party is “on the side of criminals”. The figures highlighted by Labour show community punishments or suspended sentences handed to more than 16,500 adults convicted of child pornography offences and 130 cases [...]
SNP facing biggest crisis in 50 years, says president April 8, 2023 A senior figure in the SNP has said the party faces its biggest crisis in 50 years amid the police investigation into its finances. Mike Russell, the Scottish National Party (SNP) president and a former minister, also said he does not think independence can be achieved “right now”. On Wednesday, former chief executive Peter Murrell [...]
Betting firms face new tax to fund gambling addiction support, leaked report says April 6, 2023 Betting firms may have to pay a new tax to fund support for gambling addicts, according to leaked details of the government’s upcoming gambling white paper. The exact rate has not been specified, but according to a report in The Sun, which published leaked details of the white paper late last night, said it could [...]