Two-thirds of small businesses say government is not on their side, new poll reveals May 16, 2019 Two-thirds of small businesses do not feel the government is on their side, a new survey has revealed in a report calling for a radical shake-up of the tax system. A YouGov poll for the Centre of Policy Studies think-tank shows 62 per cent of small business owners and managers don’t believe those in power [...]
Esther McVey reveals she will stand in the next Tory leadership contest May 9, 2019 Another Conservative MP has joined the race to become the next Prime Minister, with former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey announcing she will stand in the race to succeed Theresa May. McVey, who lost her Wirral West seat in 2015 before being elected as MP for Tatton two years later, revealed this morning that [...]
US says it may reassess intel sharing with allies that use Huawei tech in their 5G systems April 29, 2019 The US government will reassess sharing information with allies that use equipment made by Chinese tech firm Huawei in their 5G networks, a US official said today. “It is the United States’ position that putting Huawei or any other untrustworthy vendor in any part of the 5G telecommunications network is a risk,” said Robert Strayer, [...]
Tory party divided over Huawei’s involvement in parts of 5G network April 24, 2019 Senior Tory MPs have slammed Prime Minister Theresa May’s “short-sighted” decision to allow Huawei to participate in parts of the UK’s 5G network. The Chinese firm will be banned from core parts of the network, but will be allowed to supply equipment to non-core areas such as antennas, despite warnings from UK spooks about flaws [...]
Top Tories give backing to Theresa May until Brexit deal is agreed in parliament April 15, 2019 Top Tories lined up behind the Prime Minister today to say a leadership contest should not be triggered until a Brexit deal is passed through parliament. Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is seen as a contender for the top job along with his predecessor, Boris Johnson, said talk of a leadership contest was a “sidetrack” [...]
MPs urge government to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden April 13, 2019 More than 70 MPs have written to the government asking that Julian Assange be extradited to Sweden should the country request it. Assange was arrested by British authorities on Thursday after leaving the Ecuadorian embassy that he had resided in under diplomatic protection since 2012. Read more: Hammond says parliament likely to vote again on Brexit [...]
Facebook and the tech giants are welcoming government regulation – that’s a panic signal for all of us April 9, 2019 Last year, I met someone who had previously worked for a big tech firm in its “free speech” unit. What had happened to make him come and slum it among us mortals in the (badly paid) policy world? Answer: the unit had been shut down. It’s in this context that you should see the milquetoast [...]
Tory leadership race: Who are the leading candidates? March 29, 2019 Theresa May’s promise this week to step down if her Brexit deal passed parliament made the prospect of a Tory leadership battle increasingly likely. Although May’s deal was defeated in the commons yet again this afternoon, her calamitous premiership looks like it could end at any moment. There are dozens of potential candidates for the top [...]
Majority of businesses not budgeting for increased recruitment costs after Brexit March 24, 2019 More than three-quarters of UK businesses have put no additional funds in place to meet the costs of international recruitment following Brexit. As many as 26 per cent of businesses have already recruited fewer workers from the EU since March 2017, according to research by law firm Shakespeare Martineau. Read more: Time for a migration policy [...]
The UK government should take inspiration from an unlikely source when writing its post-Brexit migration plan March 19, 2019 Another day, another chance for UK politics to reach hitherto unimaginable levels of farce. But while Downing Street reels over speaker John Bercow's characteristically dramatic intervention, it's worth remembering that the government is capable of making a complete mess of many things – not just Brexit. Take immigration, for example. We have a Prime Minister who [...]