End of austerity? Chancellor fast-tracks spending review ahead of Brexit deadline August 8, 2019 Sajid Javid is making his first major intervention as chancellor, with a move that could turn on the spending taps in Whitehall. The Treasury has begun a fast-tracked spending round for all government departments, which will be completed in September, well in advance of the looming Brexit deadline of 31 October. Once complete, departments and [...]
Free ports could turn Brexit to our economic advantage August 6, 2019 One of the most exciting shifts in policy under the new government has been its whole-hearted embrace of free ports. But many people are still puzzled by what they are. In a nutshell, free ports are areas which are within the UK, but outside its customs borders. So you can bring your goods into the [...]
UK to create up to 10 freeports to boost trade after Brexit August 2, 2019 The UK is planning to create up to 10 freeports to boost trade after Brexit, it said today. New Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is committed to taking the UK out of the EU by 31 October, floated the idea during his campaign for the Conservative leadership. The government said ports and airports around the [...]
A truly radical and pragmatic Prime Minister would let parliament get a cat August 2, 2019 Parliament is infested with vermin. According to an internal report seen by the MailOnline, the Westminster war on mice is being lost, despite £111,498 spent on pest control last year. As political conundrums go, this one has an obvious solution: allow cats on the parliamentary estate. Lots of them. Practical, inexpensive, and ruthlessly effective, this [...]
Government now assuming a no-deal Brexit and increased borrowing July 28, 2019 Michael Gove has said today that the new government will “operate on the assumption” of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October. Read more: Tories get ‘Boris bounce’ in polls but pledge to focus on Brexit Meanwhile, the chancellor’s deputy, Rishi Sunak, today insisted that Britain can pay for the costs of no deal with extra [...]
Tories get ‘Boris bounce’ in polls but pledge to focus on Brexit July 28, 2019 The Conservatives have received a ‘Boris bounce’ in the polls just days after picking their new leader and prime minister. Read more: Boris Johnson ‘absolutely’ rules out pre-Brexit general election New PM Boris Johnson has earned the Tories a 10 point jump in a poll for the Mail on Sunday, and a six point boost [...]
Boris Johnson assembles his quickfire cabinet July 24, 2019 Boris Johnson oversaw one of the most brutal cabinet culls in UK political history tonight, replacing a string of big-name MPs with some of his closest supporters. Within hours of arriving in Downing Street Johnson had appointed Sajid Javid as chancellor, Dominic Raab as foreign secretary, Priti Patel as home secretary, and Liz Truss as [...]
Tory leadership vote: How the second round ballot works June 18, 2019 Tory leadership hopefuls face another hurdle in the race to become the next Prime Minister when a further round of voting takes place today. Who are the Tory leadership contenders? With 114 MPs backing him, Boris Johnson is guaranteed a place in the final two, where he will face either: Michael Gove Sajid Javid Jeremy [...]
Britain’s small businesses deserve a simpler, fairer tax system May 21, 2019 “When you look after small business,” Sajid Javid said last week, “you look after Britain”. But too often, he admitted, the government has focused its attention elsewhere – big government finding it easier to talk to big business than small. Britain has an enviable record of company creation. Indeed, alongside our stellar job creation rates, [...]
The Conservative party conference was more SOS than Dancing Queen October 4, 2018 You have to hand it to Theresa May: after last year’s conference fiasco, it took guts to go onstage yesterday jiving to Abba’s Dancing Queen. In the end, her speech wasn’t bad. She has never been the kind of messiah-type figure who can bewitch a hall with her “authenticity” like Jeremy Corbyn, nor a charisma-soaked [...]