Beyond the Westminster bubble, there’s more to politics than Brexit infighting January 16, 2019 “Chaotic useless bickering rudderless floundering humiliated Tories slump to six-point lead over Labour”, tweeted one of the parliamentary lobby’s wittiest members, Matt Chorley, in response to the latest YouGov poll on Monday. Theresa May’s consistent lead over Jeremy Corbyn is one of her key sources of strength as she goes through this turbulent time. Not only [...]
Theresa May’s deputy David Lidington tells Europe: Accept our Brexit deal or face no deal August 29, 2018 Theresa May's deputy David Lidington has warned Europe to accept the Prime Minister's Brexit plan or run the risk of no deal. In a speech to French business leaders this afternoon, Lidington, who effectively serves as May’s deputy alongside his role as Cabinet Office minister, warned it was too late to go back to the drawing board. [...]
Jeremy Hunt hits back at Stephen Hawking over the NHS after the scientist accuses the health secretary of “cherry-picking” evidence August 19, 2017 Stephen Hawking has criticised the government for causing a crisis in the NHS and accused the health secretary of “cherry-picking” research to justify arguments. Jeremy Hunt took to Twitter to deny the claims late last night. Hawking, one of the most renowned scientists in the world, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease when he was [...]
Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson mulls Westminster move August 31, 2018 Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson is mulling a move to Westminster as part of wider ambitions for a bid to become the head of the party. According to The Sun, the popular politician has told friends she may accept a peerage in London and become a Cabinet minister, in order to be taken seriously for a [...]
City watchdog boss rejects calls for financial services deregulation post-Brexit October 2, 2018 The chair of the Financial Conduct Authority today said that the City regulator will not engage in a “race to the bottom” after Brexit in a bid to preserve the UK’s position among global financial centres. Charles Randell said calls for deregulation from some quarters of the financial sector show that “some memories are beginning [...]
How the UK can work with Japan to make the world a safer and more stable place December 4, 2018 The language of diplomacy can sometimes be very general. Diplomats and politicians invoke the idea of “partnerships” and “strong bilateral relations” without making clear to their citizens why they matter or what the benefits might be. Talk about trading opportunities gives a sense of something practical emerging from these sorts of relationship, but trade and investment is just [...]
Hunt: EU must ‘get house in order’ to counter Russian threat to way of life August 21, 2018 Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt is today set to call on the EU to “go further” when it comes to imposing sanctions against Russia, claiming that President Putin’s regime has “made the world a more dangerous place”. The secretary of state will note that allies must “get our own house in order” to meet new challenges posed [...]
UK and Netherlands put Russian military intelligence behind five cyber attacks October 4, 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May, in tandem with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, today said UK and Dutch authorities have identified a number of cyber attacks which came from a network of hackers employed by Russian military intelligence (GRU), including an attack on a UN watchdog. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre, supported by the Foreign Office, said the GRU [...]
Editor’s Notes: Business chiefs can do great things in politics, but what about the pay cut? November 2, 2018 Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has raised the prospect of senior business figures giving up the boardroom and joining the Foreign Office in the service of their country. When I asked a former senior diplomat, with an alphabet of letters after his name, what he made of this proposal he slapped his hands on his head [...]
Austria’s Chancellor tells Theresa May to avoid a ‘hard Brexit’ | City A.M. July 28, 2018 Austria’s chancellor Sebastian Kurz has told Theresa May it is important the UK avoids a hard and disorderly Brexit as the prime minister continued her charm offensive on EU member states. In a trip to Salzbug, May held talks with both Kurz and the Czech prime minister Andrei Babis to sell the appeal of trading [...]