Labour leadership race: Acting leader Harriet Harman to meet with candidates amid vote infiltration concerns August 25, 2015 Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman has asked to speak to all four leadership candidates amid growing concerns the vote could have been infiltrated by opponents. The private meeting is expected to focus on checking the process to make sure there are no votes made by those who are looking to skew the result. “The meeting [...]
Labour leadership race: 18 per cent of Corbyn supporters voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2010 August 28, 2015 Almost one in five supporters of Jeremy Corbyn voted Liberal Democrat in the 2010 elections, new research from YouGov suggests. A survey of 3,777 eligible voters in the Labour leadership election, undertaken in the first week of August, shows 18 per cent of Corbyn supporters voted for the Lib Dems under Nick Clegg. Read more: Is [...]
Countdown to Christmas 2015: Best meltdowns of the year December 17, 2015 Big, important news events often engenders spectacular meltdowns in response and 2015 certainly saw its fair share of strops. From politicians' car-crash interviews, political parties descending into civil war, the collapse of champions or assaults over a steak, there were plenty of run-for-the-hills type moments. And more than a few where we enjoyed the show. Here are some [...]
Brexit debate: As cabinet ministers demand to campaign for No, will Cameron’s authority collapse because of EU referendum? October 19, 2015 Chris Rumfitt, founder and chief executive of Corporate Reputation Consulting, says Yes Since John Major lashed out at his own cabinet back in 1993, Europe has divided the Conservatives like no other issue. From being a minority pursuit back then, hardline euroscepticism is now the mainstream position within the party. But some cabinet ministers want [...]
Tom Watson: Leaving Labour for Liberal Democrats is “like quitting Beatles for Bananarama tribute band” September 21, 2015 Leaving Labour for the Liberal Democrats would be like "quitting the Beatles for a Bananarama tribute band", Tom Watson has said. Speaking on the Today Programme this morning Watson rubbished claims that a number of Labour MPs were unhappy with the new direction of the party under Jeremy Corbyn. He said: "I don't think anyone [...]
Network Rail could be privatised, says HS1 boss Nicola Shaw September 20, 2015 Network Rail could be speeding towards future as a private company, after the boss brought in to shake up the company following serious failures said privatisation was "on the table". "It can't not be" said Nicola Shaw, speaking to the BBC, about the future prospects of Network Rail, which is responsible for the upkeep of [...]
China’s state visit to the UK: Xi Jingping defends Chinese steel production October 21, 2015 Chinese President Xi Jingping has defended his country’s industrial policies, saying that an overcapacity of steel is a global problem. Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street today, Xi said: “The world is facing the overcapacity of iron and steel, not just the UK.” Blaming the “impact of [...]
Why the advent of an “expert committee” doesn’t make Corbynomics any less scary September 28, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell are desperate to be seen as economically credible. As part of this, on Sunday Labour announced the creation of a new economics committee made up of the economic darlings of the left: Thomas Piketty, Danny Blanchflower, Ann Pettifor, Joseph Stiglitz, Mariana Mazzucato and Simon Wren-Lewis. Make [...]
It is “very possible” airstrikes in Syria could lay the foundation for ground troops, says Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair Crispin Blunt December 3, 2015 It is “very possible” that the House of Commons vote in favour of extending air strikes against the Islamic State (Isis) in Syria could pave the way for the involvement of UK ground troops, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has said. Speaking to City A.M., Crispin Blunt said that while air strikes will [...]
Labour has rejected its own legacy of NHS reform – with sad implications for patients September 14, 2015 "New Labour officially dead and buried", tweeted Daily Politics presenter Andrew Neil as the Labour leadership election results came in. Writing for the Guardian, general secretary of Unite the Union Len McCluskey also interpreted Jeremy Corbyn’s victory as “three parts optimism and one part repudiation of the ‘New Labour’ past”. It is hard [...]