UK to respond with “swift and robust action” to any Chinese aggression March 13, 2023 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Chinese posturing over Taiwan risk creating a world “defined by danger, disorder and division”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned today. Britain is committed to “swift and robust action” to counter any threat to UK national interests from China, according to an updated blueprint for the UK’s foreign and defence [...]
Britannia, Unchained from reality will be the ideological legacy of Liz Truss October 21, 2022 A month ago, just days into her premiership, I wrote that unless Liz Truss learnt to deliver a decent speech, she would be sunk. The prognosis was, it transpired, accurate. But my diagnosis was incomplete: her woeful speechmaking was just one of many political comorbidities. Her primary ailment was ideology. Liz Truss is an ideologue, [...]
Explainer-in-brief: The French ready to go down under for submarines November 18, 2022 French president Emmanuel Macron said this week that the submarine deal with Australia was “still on the table”, following conversations with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese at the G20. The $90bn deal fell through last year – sparking a diplomatic crisis of sorts between the two countries – when Australia ditched it to form a [...]
Solicitor General Alex Chalk follows Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid and resigns as Tory MP cannot ‘defend the indefensible’ July 6, 2022 Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk has confirmed his resignation as Solicitor General. In a letter to Boris Johnson, Mr Chalk said it was “with great sadness” he was quitting the post but added he could not “defend the indefensible”. He wrote: “To be in government is to accept the duty to argue for difficult or even [...]
Partygate: Minister says people want ‘professionalism and competence’ from government May 31, 2022 Brits need to see the government display “professionalism and competence” in the wake of the partygate scandal, trade minister Penny Mordaunt has told City A.M. Mordaunt, who was touted in January as a potential future Tory leader, said “the really essential issue [about the Gray report] is about our ability to restore trust” and to [...]
Israel-Hamas war: UK aid to Palestinians ‘protected from misappropriation’, Cleverly says October 24, 2023 The foreign secretary today confirmed no UK aid money goes to the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the West Bank territory.
Falling UK debt interest may allow room for tax cuts, Jeremy Hunt says December 22, 2023 Lower levels of UK debt interest may allow room for the government to cut taxes, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said.
Tory MPs threaten revolt over plans to criminalise rough sleeping April 1, 2024 Ministers are facing a revolt from Conservative MPs over plans to criminalise homelessness, reports have suggested.
UK-Germany: No post-Brexit youth mobility scheme but defence deal at ‘heart’ of treaty August 28, 2024 A new UK-Germany treaty will have a fresh defence agreement “at its heart”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he insisted there are no “plans” for a youth mobility scheme. The Prime Minister spoke at the German chancellery in Berlin alongside Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a press conference to announce the launch of talks for [...]
Morning after bruising vote: Tory grandee William Hague tells damaged Boris Johnson to exit No 10 now June 7, 2022 Boris Johnson has experienced such a “level of rejection”, more than any of his predecessors, and should quit the premiership immediately, former Conservative leader William Hague said this morning. “While Johnson has survived the night, the damage done to his premiership is severe,” Lord Hague wrote in The Times. Tory MPs voted by 211 to [...]