Politics

Despite the Government dismissing a record breaking petition, signed by over four million people, calling for a second referendum over the UK's exit from the EU, over 1,000 UK barristers have now signed a letter stating that the exit from the EU should be decided by parliament. Barristers argue that the referendum result is only advisory as it did not set a threshold for leaving EU. The second referendum petition argued that the margin of victory was too insignificant to trigger...

Something exciting happened on Tuesday night. Four politicians from four big parties (Green, Labour, SNP and Lib Dem), along with Amina Gichinga and John Harris, came together to start building a Progressive Alliance. There should be another general election in the next year. A Progressive Alliance could see Labour, SNP, Lib Dem, Green, Plaid Cymru, Sinn Féin and other parties agreeing not to contest each other in constituencies. The speakers were very clear - this is not about denying the referendum's democratic outcome. A Progressive Alliance is not about fighting Brexit. It's about...

Robin Cook preempted the findings of the Chilcot inquiry more than 13 years ago in his 2003 resignation speech. Tony Blair's first foreign secretary echoed many of the findings of the report released by Sir John Chilcot yesterday. Cook said he "cannot support a war without international agreement or domestic support" and went on to criticise the government for going in to battle without a second resolution from the UN Security Council and without exhausting all other options. He said...

Theresa May, favourite to become the UK's next Prime Minister, nodded off in David Cameron's statement on the Chilcot Enquiry. A video emerged of the front-runner for Conservative Party leadership falling asleep as current PM Cameron made his speech on the monumental report findings. The Chilcot report revealed the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted and that military action at that time was not a last resort. Watch the...

The official Twitter account for the Russian Embassy in the UK posted a picture reading "keep calm but I told you so" following the Chilcot report revelations. Russia stayed out of the Iraq War in 2003, stating that we could not ignore the fact that "substantial progress" had been made since chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed El Baradei first visited the country. Although Russia did have oil interests in Iraq and the country owed...

The Labour Party has gained 100,000 new members since the EU referendum, taking it up to around half a million members. The previous peak under Tony Blair of 405,000 has now easily been surpassed under Jeremy Corbyn's reign, as the outspoken leader appeals to more grassroot supporters. Despite Corbyn losing the faith of Labour MPs it seems the EU referendum has bolstered his popularity among the party's members. Indeed, it is thought the boost in membership has come in a...

Ken Clarke and Sir Malcolm Rifkind have been caught on tape giving an unguarded opinion of the Tory leadership candidates. Michael Gove, Theresa May, Andrea Leadsom, Stephen Crabb and Liam Fox are running to take charge of the Conservative Party, but a scathing review of their policies by Clarke and Rifkind could dampen their chances. The full transcript broken down by candidate is below: On Gove:  Rifkind said:  "I don't mind who wins as long as Gove comes third. As long as...

Support for the European Union in Denmark has surged to new highs with Danish people keen to avoid putting themselves in the "kind of mess the British have created for themselves". A new poll has countered fears that the Scandinavian nation might be the next country to hold a referendum, revealing 69 per cent of Danish people now endorse the country’s membership of the union, up 10 per cent from the week leading up to the Brexit vote. The Voxmeter poll also...

Britain started the process of detaching itself from continental Europe following news that George Osborne plans to slash corporation tax to 15 per cent. The chancellor unveiled a five-point plan to protect the UK economy in the wake of the referendum vote, announcing that we are to remain competitive as an island by becoming more offshore in nature. Osborne says he also wants to secure new investment from China, boost banking lending, attract investment into the North of England and maintain...