Parliament offered “deal or no deal” Brexit vote before terms are considered by the European Parliament February 7, 2017 Parliament will be able to vote "deal or no deal" on the final terms of the Brexit negotiation before it is presented to members of the European Parliament, the government has conceded. MPs had been pushing for a "meaningful" ballot on the deal ever since Prime Minister Theresa May announced a vote will take place [...]
What did Parliament decide on Article 50 and Brexit last night? And what will they discuss today? February 7, 2017 The government last night defeated four amendments to the Article 50 Bill, but with debate today kicking off around lunchtime, what's the state of play in the House of Commons? Today's Debates This afternoon will be focused on two different categories of amendments. Firstly the Commons will discuss tweaks to an offer of a vote on [...]
Green belt reform drops off the agenda as ministers issue long-awaited housing proposals February 6, 2017 Ministers have steered away from a liberalisation of building on so-called green belt land, despite acknowledging the worsening housing crisis in many parts of the country. The government had been expected to introduce reforms to free up protected land, but proposals released today after months of delay have instead abandoned any reference to easing restrictions. Instead, [...]
Theresa May issues MPs with a fresh warning against “obstructing” Brexit February 6, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has issued MPs with a fresh warning against any attempts to frustrate or "obstruct" Brexit. Speaking ahead of a new round of House of Commons debates on the Article 50 Bill, May told MPs that the UK's European allies want to begin negotiations. "So do I and so does this House, which last week voted by [...]
Commons speaker John Bercow says he is “strongly opposed” to Donald Trump addressing Parliament February 6, 2017 House of Commons speaker John Bercow has come out against US President Donald Trump addressing the Houses of Parliament on a state visit this year in an extraordinary intervention. More than a quarter of MPs have already signed a motion stating that Trump should not be offered the chance to make such a speech during his time [...]
It’s the return of the Article 50 Bill – MPs to begin three more days of Brexit debate February 6, 2017 MPs will kick off three days of Brexit battles in the House of Commons later this afternoon, as they fight it out over attempts to amend the Article 50 Bill. The bill – which grants the government the power to begin divorce proceedings with the EU – was backed overwhelmingly at the "second reading" stage by MPs last [...]
A quarter of MPs say Donald Trump shouldn’t be allowed to make a prestigious speech on his state visit February 6, 2017 Just over a quarter of the UK's MPs have now signed a motion calling for US president Donald Trump to be barred from making an address in the palace of Westminster during his state visit this year. Trump has already been invited to the UK by Prime Minister Theresa May, with a date for his arrival yet to [...]
The UK is facing a “workforce crisis” if immigration levels fall, according to this consultancy February 6, 2017 Cutting migration into the UK will leave the country facing a “workforce crisis”, according to a new analysis from consultancy Mercer. Modelling different scenarios after Brexit, the firm found that even keeping net migration at current levels will fail to stem the challenges of the UK's ageing working population. Reductions in the size of the UK's [...]
British smokers are switching to e-cigarettes faster than anyone else in Europe February 6, 2017 Britons are switching from cigarettes to electronic alternatives faster than anyone else in Europe. Since 2013, one person has switched from traditional smoking to so-called vaping every four minutes in the UK, according to new research from EY. And now more than 2m British people vape, a total of 4.2 per cent of adults. By contrast, the [...]
Ancient woodlands will be offered boosted planning protection under Sajid Javid’s housing plans February 6, 2017 Ministers will bring in new protections for England's woodlands as part of the housing white paper. Communities secretary Sajid Javid will tomorrow lay out plans that will put some of the UK’s forests on par with green belt land. The Woodland Trust had raised concerns that more than 700 ancient woods are threatened by development ranging from housing [...]
