329 items found
The clamour from all sides to intervene in the national rollout of Universal Credit is rising. Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, faces calls to open the country’s chequebook ahead of his budget at the end of the month. Yesterday, Esther McVey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said she accepts many people would be significantly worse off. Today the Times reported…
“The deficit is down by four-fifths” This is similar to a claim Theresa May made in 2017, when she said that since the Conservatives took office in 2010, “the deficit [had] fallen by three quarters as a share of GDP.” In her speech this week, the Prime Minister wasn’t quite so specific, but we’ll assume…
Gary Gibbon
The truth is that this moment was a necessary moment of challenge, but not a decisive one. Politics could all look very different in a few weeks’ time if Theresa May comes back with a deal from Brussels.
Leaving the European Union without a Brexit deal could have “dire consequences” for the British economy, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
Gary Gibbon
Don’t expect all the damage on tax rises to fund the NHS in the Budget this Autumn. Philip Hammond is not planning to spell out the full tax bill for Theresa May’s generosity in one sweep. Government sources say that all taxes are on the table for consideration. Mr Hammond faced a not so subtle…
Gary Gibbon
Looking back through the Commons archive on Heathrow expansion is a bracing experience. Alistair Darling at the Transport Department in 2003 warns that future generations won’t forgive governments “10 or 20 years from now” if they haven’t acted on airport expansion. Ministers like Philip Hammond complain about the damage to local communities if Heathrow is expanded. On and on it goes. Today was…
Gary Gibbon
The former Director of Vote Leave Dominic Cummings has tonight broken a period of silence to call Theresa May’s strategy on Brexit “botched ” and “stupid” . For good measure Mr Cummings sprays his customary political machine gun around some fellow Brexiteers too. He reserves his greatest ire for Mrs May, Philip Hammond and senior officials Olly Robbins…
Gary Gibbon
On Theresa May’s election victory tour, Channel 4 News’ Anja Popp asked her: “Are you tempted to call a snap general election Prime Minister?” Theresa May laughed and said: “No I think we’ll just enjoy this …” before her ad-lib drifted off. One pro-Remain Conservative told me last night’s results were “a bit of a disaster for our…
Gary Gibbon
Theresa May has appointed a new member to the Brexit Cabinet Committee just two days before what could be one of its most decisive meetings.
More complicated, more costly, and no cherry picking the best bits out of a future deal. That’s Donald Tusk’s message to Britain about the post-Brexit world, warning that nothing about it would be “frictionless or smoother”. Already the future of financial services is proving a major sticking point, the Chancellor Philip Hammond insisting again today…
Gary Gibbon
The EU Guidelines published at lunchtime were dismissed by Philip Hammond as the sort of opening bid you would expect from a negotiating partner. Nothing to see here. Move along. The draft guidelines proclaim that there could be a zero tariff agreement with post-Brexit Britain that includes all goods (including, unusually, agriculture and fisheries). That addition of…
The Chancellor Philip Hammond has risked stirring up more Tory divisions over Brexit by suggesting the UK should seek a “middle way” in the negotiations. Yesterday he earned a rebuke from Downing Street after saying changes in relations between Britain and the EU could be “very modest”. But in a speech in Middlesbrough, the Brexit…
Gary Gibbon
David Davis’ speech in Middlesbrough has not been helped by yesterday’s appearance of the EU guidelines for negotiating the Brexit transition. The speech is asking for some concessions from the EU27 which it looks like the government has already won. It’s a bit like the magician saying he’s going to produce the rabbit from the…
Gary Gibbon
David Cameron’s been caught on camera at Davos saying: “Brexit has turned out less badly than we thought.” He describes it as a “mistake” and “not a disaster.” Brexit supporters in parliament and the press are already waving it as proof they were right all along and his referendum campaign was full of puffed up…
A case of how not to win friends and influence people. Instead Boris Johnson earned himself a terse rebuke from Theresa May and the Chancellor Philip Hammond after he let it be known that he would argue at Cabinet for a post-Brexit boost in NHS spending. Those discussions should stay private, said Mrs May. The…