Two senior Scottish Conservatives are said to have threatened to resign if any Brexit deal includes different arrangements for Northern Ireland. Tory leader in Scotland Ruth Davidson and Scottish Secretary David Mundell have written to Prime Minister Theresa May claiming any such arrangement would undermine the UK’s integrity. The BBC reports that both are prepared […]
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Britain’s most senior tax official says he received death threats after revealing that a customs arrangement favoured by Brexit hardliners could cost up to £20 billion. Jon Thompson, boss of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) received two death threats and was forced to review security and change his route to work. They came after […]
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The U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK this summer ran up a security bill of almost £18 million. Policing Trump’s three-day visit cost an estimated four times more than that of the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Sara Thornton, head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said a “significant […]
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Tax rules which exempt the self-employed from paying national insurance are to be scrapped by The Treasury. The targets are a growing number of people who operate as private companies when accepting work. So-called ‘off payroll’ contractors now comprise a third of those claiming to be self-employed, the Treasury estimates. If it continues, the practice […]
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Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has drawn widespread criticism from across the political divide for accusing the EU of ‘acting like the Soviet Union’ over Brexit. Mr Hunt’s remarks, in a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham this week, were described as ‘ignorant and insulting’ by EU leader and diplomats. With the Brexit negotiations […]
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Wales could move towards independence from the UK if it crashes out of the EU without a deal, the new leader of nationalist party Plaid Cymru has warned. Adam Price, who replaced Leanne Wood, told The Guardian last week that no deal would spell economic disaster for the Welsh. He described a hard Brexit as […]
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One of Scotland’s most important historic sites has become a battleground again – this time over plans to build new homes on it. Culloden was where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite rebels were defeated by the Duke of Cumberland in April, 1746. More than 1500 soldiers from both sides still lie there and it is a […]
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The Conservative Party conference started in Birmingham this week with deep divisions over Brexit threatening to dominate the annual event. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy came under fire on the opening day with former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson launching an attack on her in a Sunday newspaper. Backbench MP and leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg […]
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The Government spent £40,000 of taxpayer cash on a two-year fight to cover up how little its Northern Powerhouse minister visited the north of England. Its attempt to hide embarrassing details of James Wharton’s infrequent trips out of London came to light after a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by The Guardian. Mr Wharton had […]
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A new minister has been appointed to ensure that UK food supplies are protected in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Conservative MP David Rutley has been given the brief at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He is a former food industry executive who ran home shopping and e-commerce businesses for Asda […]
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