Yvette Cooper made shadow home secretary in comprehensive Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle November 29, 2021 Yvette Cooper has returned to frontline Westminster politics, after being appointed shadow home secretary in Labour’s comprehensive shadow cabinet reshuffle today. Cooper, a former rising star under Gordon Brown and husband to Labour heavyweight Ed Balls, formerly served as shadow home secretary between 2011 and 2015. Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle also saw David Lammy promoted [...]
Treasury minister warns crypto regulation now ‘more complicated and difficult’ November 29, 2021 Regulating cryptocurrency and stopping fraud is becoming increasingly “complicated and difficult”, according to Treasury minister John Glen. Glen told Westminster’s Treasury Select Committee today that there needed to be a “level playing field” on regulation between cryptocurrency traders and the wider financial services industry in the wake of crypto’s increasing popularity. There is mounting evidence [...]
Westminster standards watchdog calls for ban on MPs working as paid consultants November 29, 2021 MPs should be banned from working as paid political consultants and ministers should need to more clearly record potential conflicts of interest, according to parliament’s internal standards watchdog. A new proposal from the House of Commons’ Committee on Standards also calls for MPs to have written contracts for any outside work that says they cannot [...]
George Osborne calls for Sadiq Khan to have more powers over TfL November 29, 2021 Sadiq Khan should be given more powers by central government to run Transport for London (TfL), former chancellor George Osborne has said. Osborne yesterday said the government should stop “trying to micromanage how [Khan] runs TfL” and “let him take responsibility”. Khan and the Department for Transport are currently locked in negotiations over a fresh [...]
Boris and the blue wall: Can the PM hold the Tories’ new electoral coalition together? November 29, 2021 The story of Boris Johnson’s 2019 General Election landslide was the political realignment that saw swathes of traditional Labour areas turn blue across the North and the Midlands. However, Johnson’s electoral offering and tilt toward the so-called Red Wall may have had unintended consequences on the UK’s political geography. The Conservatives under Boris Johnson are [...]
Labour claims Boris Johnson’s Peppa Pig CBI speech may stop foreign investment into UK November 29, 2021 Boris Johnson’ bizarre speech to business chiefs at the CBI where he referenced Peppa Pig at length and lost his place for 20 seconds could jeopardise future foreign investment into the UK, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. Reeves said that “f***k business”, a quote attributed to Johnson several years ago at a private dinner, [...]
Rail unions to protest outside parliament in bid for more TfL funding November 29, 2021 Transport unions will next week stage protests outside parliament to warn that the capital will “grind to a halt” without long-term financial help for Transport for London (TfL). Wednesday’s protest will see members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) rally against the government’s refusal to offer a long-term funding [...]
Tory by-election candidate says levelling up agenda includes outer London November 28, 2021 The Conservative candidate in an upcoming by-election has claimed the government’s levelling up agenda includes poorer parts of outer London. Old Bexley and Sidcup candidate Louie French told City A.M. that Boris Johnson’s flagship agenda, generally thought to only encompass the Midlands and the North, “completely” includes economically deprived areas of the capital and that [...]
Rebel Tory MP Steve Baker to set up new campaign to push low-tax agenda November 28, 2021 Perennial rebel Tory MP Steve Baker is setting up a new Westminster campaign group to push Boris Johnson to adopt a low tax, small state position in the wake of a series of tax rises. Baker, who has a history of running successful parliamentary rebellions against Tory Prime Ministers, is planning to run a campaign [...]
Javid: England ‘nowhere near’ implementing more Covid restrictions November 28, 2021 The government is “nowhere near” bringing in fresh Covid restrictions like mandatory vaccine passports and working from home orders, according to Sajid Javid. The health secretary said the emergence of the new Omicron variant does not mean Plan B restrictions are imminent and that “people should continue with their plans as normal at Christmas”. It [...]