Revive that entrepreneurial spirit and get Britain building again February 8, 2019 Politicians have recently become fond of talking about how to tackle our alarming housing crisis. Yet little is delivered – and what is achieved focuses on inflating demand, with schemes like Help to Buy which do nothing to address the underlying supply shortage. In the third quarter of 2018, building on 46,930 new homes began [...]
Donald Tusk talks up Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit plan February 7, 2019 Donald Tusk has backed Jeremy Corbyn’s call for the UK to stay in the EU’s customs union as Theresa May suffered a disappointing day in Brussels. In a letter to the PM, the Labour leader set out the terms on which he would support her on Brexit – including a permanent customs union with the [...]
Editor’s Notes: Corbyn’s short-lived romance with the darling of the US left February 7, 2019 The rising star of the US Democratic party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC, as she is known) said she had “a lovely and wide-reaching conversation” with Jeremy Corbyn earlier this week. For his part, the Labour leader said he wanted to “build a movement to take on the billionaires, polluters and migrant baiters.” On paper, these two [...]
Theresa May refuses to take no for an answer in Brexit backstop talks February 7, 2019 Theresa May has said she will continue to fight for changes to Brexit backstop protocol, despite being told by EU it is not up renegotiation. The Prime Minister travelled to Brussels on Thursday for a series of meetings designed at kick-starting a fresh round of talks to break the impasse in negotiations. Read more: Juncker [...]
France recalls ambassador from Italy as diplomatic row escalates February 7, 2019 France has recalled its ambassador from Italy as relations between the two countries hit a post-war low. In a statement issued on Thursday, the French foreign office claimed the country had been the subject of “baseless attacks and outrageous statements” from the Italians. The spark for the recall appears to have been a meeting between [...]
Brexit latest: Juncker refuses to reopen Brexit negotiations in ‘robust’ talks with May February 7, 2019 Brexit cannot be renegotiated, insisted European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker today at a meeting with the Prime Minister described as “robust but constructive”. However, UK and EU negotiators will continue to search for a path through parliament for Theresa May’s Brexit deal as they seek to save the agreement, the leaders said today. Read more: [...]
If Trump reaches a hand across the aisle, Democrats would be wise to take it February 7, 2019 For a brief moment on Tuesday evening, the customary rancour of US politics was set aside in a most unusual spontaneous display. To everyone’s surprise, President Donald Trump’s delayed 2019 State of the Union speech – which had itself become a political football in the struggle between a Democratic House of Representatives and a Republican [...]
DEBATE: Should schools start later to help teenagers be more productive, as MPs will debate on Monday? February 7, 2019 Should schools start later to help teenagers be more productive, as MPs will debate on Monday? Will Williams, wellbeing adviser to the OECD, says YES. We must take steps to reverse the sharp decline of our children’s mental wellbeing, and starting the school day later would be a brilliant start. Teenagers should be afforded the opportunity [...]
Millennium Bug lessons: Stop Brexit stockpiling February 7, 2019 UK manufacturers are stockpiling raw materials at the highest rate since figures were first collected 27 years ago. While it might look like a sensible response to uncertainty, this kind of Brexit anxiety will have long-term implications for supply chains and for the UK economy as a whole, regardless of what happens in the negotiations. “Demand [...]
No, Nissan’s move is not proof that Brexit will be a disaster February 7, 2019 I should have known better. In my last column, I tempted fate and wrote about the good economic news which the UK continued to experience, wondering out loud if Brexit could bring any bad news. Then it happened with one word: “Nissan”. No sooner had it been announced that production of the Nissan X-Trail would not, [...]