Politics
Over 50,000 people demand Richard Branson’s Virgin Care to hand back £328,000 Surrey contract dispute payout
A huge row has broken out in Surrey after Virgin Care was handed a £328,000 payout after taking legal action against six Surrey clinical commissioning groups, Surrey County Council and NHS England, reports the Get Surrey. Virgin Care lost out on a lucrative contact to provide healthcare in the county and was able to sue over contractual issues, after missing out on the bid. Local residents have launched a campaign to get Virgin care, owned by Richard Branson, “return the...
Stephen Hawking joins fight to prevent Jeremy Hunt privatising the NHS
Professor Stephen Hawking has joined a lawsuit aimed at preventing greater privatisation of the National Health Service. The revered professor, who has been vocal about the dismantling of the NHS, added his name to legal action seeking to prevent the establishment of "accountable care organisations" (ACOs) in the NHS, which threaten to ration certain resources within the system. Trade Union BMA has warned the ACOs ‘risk the potential for non-NHS providers taking over the provision of care for entire health economies’. But Health Secretary...
Philip Hammond blames sluggish productivity on more disabled people in the workforce
Philip Hammond blamed sluggish productivity on more disabled people in the workforce in today's treasury select committee. Responding to high high levels of unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, he said: “It is almost certainly the case that by increasing participation in the workforce, including far higher levels of participation by marginal groups and very high levels of engagement in the workforce, for example of disabled people – something we should be extremely proud of – may have had an impact on overall productivity...
Calls for David Davis to resign as impact assessment lies are laid bare
David Davis has been called to resign over lies about the Brexit impact assessments. The Brexit Secretary was today forced to admit that the government has not assessed the impact of Brexit for different sections of economy to the EU select committee. He said assessments across several industries were never carried out because "the range of different outcomes is too wide". But the revelations are in stark contrast to what he said in front of the same committee in December 2016. On...
David Davis’s humbling confession is just this Monty Python scene – without the music
David Davis's appearance in front of the Brexit select committee to explain the whereabouts of the impact assessments this morning is Monte Python's Cheese Shop Sketch without the music, social media observers have pointed out this morning. The Brexit secretary was forced to admit to the EU select committee that the government hasn't done any impact assessment of Brexit on particular sectors of the economy. Reeling off various industries such as automotive and financial services, he said: "The answer would be...
Ten ways in which Theresa May’s Government is failing Brexit voters
The EU referendum and the question of whether we sever ties from union with our neighbouring countries has divided both politics and households. Nothing could persuade many die-hard Europhiles that remaining in the EU might be a better option for the UK. Britain Thinks found 37 per cent of Leave voters are 'Die-hards' who want out of the EU at any cost. However, this implies that 63 per cent of the 17.4m, like myself, who voted to leave the EU (16.1m voted...
Could Remain areas be given special measures on Brexit?
A deal on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has thrown up the possibility that Remain areas could be given special measures on Brexit. According to a draft text seen by RTE News there will be no “regulatory divergence” on the island of Ireland following the EU divorce, which means parts of Britain could get special dispensation. Nicola Sturgeon and Sadiq Khan are leading calls for other parts of the UK to be given special measures such as remaining part of...
UK concedes on “regulatory divergence” – Uniting Ireland and putting hard border on mainland
The UK will concede that there will be no "regulatory divergence" on the island of Ireland, according to a draft text seen by RTE News. Late last week Ireland’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister said he had been in talks with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party on the subject, saying a Brexit deal on the Irish border question is “doable”. The government repeated its demand for an assurance from the UK that there would not be any regulatory divergence between Northern...
Brexit UK faces sluggish growth as global economy is “firing on all cylinders”
There has been a stark warning from Britain’s largest business group about the future of the UK economy. The CBI has said that the UK will face a sluggish period of growth at the same time the global economy will enter a strong and positive economic outlook. The Eurozone will also benefit from a good period of growth. The UK’s GDP is likely to rise 1.5 per cent in 2017 and 2018 and then slowing to 1.3 per cent in...