Politics
Theresa May vows to leave customs union whatever her Government’s own Brexit damage studies show that means for Britain’s economy
In an interview on her trip to China Theresa May told Sky political editor Faisal Islam that she will take Britain out of the Customs Union - even if that does make Britain poorer - as her own government’s leaked studies have shown. The Prime Minister was keen to stress the trade agreements she had secured on her visit for British businesses, but the Sky political presenter immediately pointed out that these were agreements that had been made with Britain...
Boots charge NHS £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that sell for £2
Boots the chemist is charging the National Health Service obscene amounts of money for products that sell for a fraction of the price in-store. A Times investigation has revealed that the high street chain has charged the NHS as much as £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that others have sold for less than £2. Boots sent a £1,579 bill to the health service for one 500ml tub of a specially made cream for patients with skin problems in 2016, the...
Brexit minister apologises for entertaining Jacob Rees-Mogg conspiracy theory on Brexit data
Steve Baker was forced to formally apologise to the House this morning for entertaining a conspiracy theory put forward by Jacob Rees-Mogg. The Brexit minister said he was sorry for not challenging a damaging claim that Treasury officials are attempting to influence Brexit policy. Mr Baker said on Thursday the accusation was "essentially correct", leading to headlines such as the one below in right-leaning press outlets. But he told MPs the next morning: "As I explained yesterday, I considered what...
“Our country deserves no less”-Tory minister denies May’s claim her Brexit damage studies can be ignored
@BenGelblum As Tory donors turn against Theresa May and she runs out of Conservative colleagues leaping to her defence, one of her ministers has been rebuked by the Chief Tory whip for asking an obvious but embarrassing question: "whether a government could legitimately lead a country along a path that the evidence and rational consideration indicate would be damaging." If the facts suggest Brexit will leave the country poorer, should Theresa May still be pretending otherwise and pursue a course...
“Why are we cutting our border force? Why are we cutting our police?”-Watch David Lammy tell Parliament about the tragic consequences:
@BenGelblum With Britain's police budgets set to lose £700m a year, amid rising crime, and yet more cuts planned for border forces, parliament today heard of the tragic consequences of less money to fight a growing drug-fuelled gang crime epidemic. Knife crime is not being driven by minors and teenagers. It is being driven by organised criminals exploiting children, arming our young people and fighting turf wars over a £12bn drugs market, Tottenham David Lammy told the House of Commons,...
PMQs – ‘Coalition of cavemen’: Corbyn stand-in Thornberry hits out at Tories for denying 16-year-olds the vote
Feisty Emily Thornberry stood in at PMQs today, for Jeremy Corbyn, with David Lidington standing in for the PM as she in China. Thornberry said that the DUP and Tories were a “coalition of cavemen” because of their opposition to lower the voting age to 16, which all other main parties support. A concern for the Conservative Party is that 16-18 year-olds might be less likely to vote for their party. As the lively debate continued Thornberry said there was...
Brexit woes – Merkel mocks Theresa May’s attempts to negotiate Brexit
Journalists were left “laughing uproariously” after Angela Merkel poked fun at May’s poor attempt to negotiate a post-Brexit deal. She said that she felt trapped in a loop with May since the Brexit vote back in 2016. Merkel made her comments in a “secret” press briefing, during the World Economic forum in Davos. The ‘secret” details were leaked by Robert Peston, who said Theresa May repeatedly asked Ms Merkel to “make me an offer.” Ms Merkel said that when she...
UK’s poorest households forced to skip meals because they can’t afford to put food on the table
Benefits cuts and freezes has resulted in the poorest households in the UK being forced to skip meals because they can't afford to put food on the table. Damning new research by the End Hunger UK coalition of charities has revealed rising food prices and austerity are driving "hidden hunger" in Britain, with a third of the UK’s poorest households skipping meals because they cannot afford to buy food. More than half of adults across all income groups, ages and household sizes...
Theresa May U-turn on PIP – the main disability benefit set to cost the taxpayer £3.7billion
Every single disabled person receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) is to have their claim reviewed, the Department for Work and Pensions has admitted in an embarrassing climbdown set to cost the tax payer an estimated £3.7billion. A total of 1.6 million claimants of the main disability benefit will have their benefits reviewed after a court verdict found that people with mental health conditions were being discriminated against unfairly. The Government have confirmed that 220,000 people with mental health conditions will...