Theresa May warns not to expect a quick Brexit breakthrough as she arrives in Brussels December 13, 2018 Theresa May played down the chances of a Brexit breakthrough as she arrived in Brussels for the latest EU summit. Speaking the day after surviving a vote of no confidence from disgruntled Tory MPs, the Prime Minister said she heard “loud and clear” why the 117 who voted against her are unhappy with her leadership. [...]
A Norway Plus compromise is the worst of both Brexit worlds March 26, 2019 As the Brexit process descends ever deeper into chaos, a simple argument has started to gain ground. Remainers want to remain. Leavers want to leave. So isn’t the obvious way out of this impasse to go for the version of leaving that is closest to remaining? As I write, MPs are due to vote on [...]
Europe has suffered from the stultifying impact of the euro – just ask the Greeks January 9, 2019 One of the entertainments of the holiday period was reading Adults In The Room, the book by Yanis Varoufakis. It describes his time as finance minister of Greece, and his negotiations with the IMF, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission. Varoufakis was only in the job between January and July 2015. He had [...]
Labour’s Magnificent Seven just made a no-deal Brexit more likely February 19, 2019 I am old enough to recall the “Gang of Four” in the eighties, when Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rogers left Labour to set up the Social Democratic Party. We know that all ended acrimoniously, with a reverse takeover by David Steel’s Liberal Party that created the Liberal Democrats. This week, we [...]
Keir Starmer goes rogue in conference speech, refusing to rule out Remain in a new vote September 25, 2018 Remaining in the EU must be an option on the ballot paper in any new referendum, Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said on Tuesday. Speaking at his party's conference, Sir Keir got a standing ovation from activists as he veered away from his planned speech to say staying in the EU could [...]
After blaming MPs for Brexit delay, Theresa May seeks Article 50 extension in Brussels March 21, 2019 If Brexit were a Netflix original series it would be considered one of the greatest dramas ever produced. The enormous cast of characters, the sprawling subplots, the infighting, the defections, the backstabbing – next to it, Game of Thrones would seem like your average kitchen sink drama. Even as Brexit supposedly reaches its finale on [...]
Labour’s childish antics over Brexit are an embarrassment November 20, 2018 The Brexit deal is on the table and the bids to support it, scrap it, or make it utterly redundant are now in full swing. As Theresa May moves forward with her plan to engineer a parliamentary majority for a proposed exit deal, clear political camps have begun to form. The Tory moderates who have [...]
Let America’s radical socialists be a warning to British politics February 12, 2019 It is said that when America sneezes, the world catches a cold. Let us hope that the American left’s recent publication of its “Green New Deal” (GND) won’t be contagious enough to infect Labour here. Just over a week ago, Jeremy Corbyn had an in-depth phone conversation with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the rising socialist congresswoman. The aim, it [...]
Watchdog summons Corbyn and McConnell to meeting over misuse of statistics November 4, 2018 The staff of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell have been summoned to a meeting by the UK’s statistics watchdog over the misuse of stats. Statistics Authority chairman David Norgrove has previously written to the Labour Party over a “lack of published information on sources, assumptions and methods to support statements”. In February [...]
Fixing the rail system means putting passengers first December 5, 2018 The headlines yesterday that Govia Thameslink Rail (GTR) must spend £15m on passenger improvements to hold onto its franchise will be welcome if overdue news for the droves of commuters whose lives were made hell during the timetable chaos earlier this year. The Department for Transport labelled GTR’s performance “unacceptable”, and has not only decreed [...]