EU referendum: Civil service not allowed to help Brexit campaigners but can help ministers arguing for the UK to remain in a reformed European Union February 23, 2016 Civil servants are not going to be allowed to help ministers make a case for Brexit, sparking allegations that the "establishment is lined up in favour of EU membership". The six ministers campaigning for the UK to leave the EU, including justice secretary Michael Gove and leader of the Commons Chris Grayling, will be unable [...]
EU referendum: Mayor of London Boris Johnson and former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna row during phone in March 15, 2016 Mayor of London Boris Johnson and former business secretary Chuka Umunna have hit out at each other over the EU during a LBC phone in. The Conservative and Labour politicians told one another to "man up" as they entered into a heated exchange about the UK's relationship in the EU. Johnson said that it is [...]
Is it too late for the Tories to win the General Election? Watch Michael Gove answer yes April 14, 2015 Michael Gove has been caught in a classic slip of the tongue on the General Election campaign trail. The BBC's political reporter Chris Gibson asked the Tory big beast: Too late to win the election? Gove's response was, to say the least, not on message. I suspect Michael Gove may have misheard me or has [...]
EU referendum: Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis says Mayor of London Boris Johnson is right about lack of democracy in the EU March 3, 2016 Mayor of London Boris Johnson is right in stating the European Union has a democratic deficit, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said. While Varoufakis wants the UK to stay in the EU, he said that when Johnson declared support for Brexit "he said, quite correctly, that Brussels is suffering from a serious lack [...]
EU referendum: Tim Montgomerie, co-founder of ConservativeHome, quits Conservative party over Prime Minister’s stance on the European Union February 18, 2016 Tim Montgomerie, co-founder of grassroots ConservativeHome website, has announced he is quitting the Conservative party over Prime Minister David Cameron's position on the European Union. The influential Tory wrote in the Times that he would not be joining another party, but wouldn't be giving any more time, money or love to the "Cameron project". He wrote [...]
EU referendum: Prime Minister David Cameron rejects suggestions from mayor of London Boris Johnson and others that there could be two referendums February 22, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected suggestions that a "leave" vote in the forthcoming referendum on Britain's relationship with the European Union would lead to a second referendum, in an attack on London mayor Boris Johnson and other eurosceptics. Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, Cameron said that campaigning for the UK to leave [...]
Seven reasons Brexiteers are wrong to think EU exit negotiations would be easy April 29, 2016 Some eurosceptics think that Brexit negotiations would be a piece of cake. But if Britain decides to leave the EU, it will have no choice but to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. That will set in motion a complicated procedure that puts the departing member state at a disadvantage. The Leave [...]
EU referendum: Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith says staying in the EU exposes UK to terror risk February 21, 2016 Staying a member of the European Union will make the United Kingdom more vulnerable to terrorist attacks, Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has warned. Duncan Smith said that a lack of control on the UK's borders is a critical issue, and that Paris-style attacks could be more likely to take place if the UK [...]
Lessons from the Tories: How to debate diplomatically March 1, 2016 Ten days after David Cameron secured his EU renegotiation, and the Tories are already at war. From divorce jibes to warnings of threats to national security, opening salvos have given way to heavy shelling, with the positions of the “remain-ians” and the Brexiters becoming more entrenched. Differences of opinion are useful in any organisation. But [...]
EU referendum: Full text of letter signed by FTSE 100 bosses backing Prime Minister David Cameron’s reform efforts is leaked February 22, 2016 It was first reported over the weekend that up to half of Britain's biggest businesses will voice their support for Prime Minister David Cameron's campaign to keep the UK in the European Union by putting their names to an open letter backing the reforms Cameron secured in Brussels last week. Now it looks like the full text [...]