08 December 2016 Week in Brief: UK Courts SUPREME COURT: The Government’s appeal to the Supreme Court, against the High Court decision that Parliamentary approval is required before notice is given to leave the EU under article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, began on Monday. The case turns on whether the supremacy of Parliament… Continue reading Issue 83: 2016 12 08: Week in Brief: UK
Tag: EU
Issue 82: 2016 12 01: Week in Brief: UK
01 December 2016 Week In Brief: UK Government BREXIT NEGOTIATIONS: Guy Verhofstadt, the chief EU negotiator on Brexit, has suggested that, following the UK’s secession from the EU, individual Britons should be able to pay an annual fee in return for personal EU membership, an idea unlikely to appeal to “leave” MPs. According to reports in… Continue reading Issue 82: 2016 12 01: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 82: 2016 12 01: Renewing the EU (John Watson)
01 December 2016 Renewing the EU Is Mr Verhofstadt beginning the thinking? By John Watson Just suddenly, between the gathering crowds, a shaft of light. Some will think that Guy Verhofstadt’s suggestion that British Nationals should be able to belong to the EU by paying an individual subscription, much like belonging to a club I… Continue reading Issue 82: 2016 12 01: Renewing the EU (John Watson)
Issue 80: 2016 11 17: Why 2016? (John Watson)
17 November 2016 Why 2016? What has triggered the “interesting times”? By John Watson Some children want to become engine drivers. Others want to become political pollsters. But those inclining to the latter career have traditionally been put off it by their parents. You need to be good at maths, for one thing. You need… Continue reading Issue 80: 2016 11 17: Why 2016? (John Watson)
Issue 80: 2016 11 17: Week in Brief: UK
17 November 2016 Week in Brief: UK Government BREXIT STRATEGY: A memorandum leaked to The Times, and said to have been written by a consultant from the accountancy firm Deloittes, indicates that civil servants are struggling to produce an exit strategy in time for the giving of the Article 50 notice in March of next… Continue reading Issue 80: 2016 11 17: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 80: 2016 11 17: Nigel Farage (Lynda Goetz)
17 November 2016 Nigel Farage Fascist, racist, self-publicist or voice of the people? by Lynda Goetz In an interview with Henry Mance, political correspondent of the FT, back in April, in the different world we inhabited before Brexit, Nigel Farage, leader of the populist party UKIP, apart from being true to form in consuming vast… Continue reading Issue 80: 2016 11 17: Nigel Farage (Lynda Goetz)
Issue 79: 2016 11 10: Enemies Of The People? (John Watson)
10 November 2016 Enemies Of The People? What Mrs May needs to do now By John Watson For those who thought that there was a limit to the amount of nonsense that could be talked over a few days, the reaction to the Divisional Court’s decision in the Article 50 case must come as a… Continue reading Issue 79: 2016 11 10: Enemies Of The People? (John Watson)
Issue 78: 2016 11 03: The Nissan Deal (John Watson)
03 November 2016 The Nissan Deal Driven by the Devil. By John Watson It would be nice, of course, to be Jehovah but as vacancies do not often arise in the divine sector, perhaps it would be better to go for the rather more modest post of Business Secretary. Not quite as good in the… Continue reading Issue 78: 2016 11 03: The Nissan Deal (John Watson)
Issue 76: 2016 10 20: The Brexit Debate (John Watson)
20 October 2016 The Brexit Debate Should we have one? By John Watson To scrutinise or not to scrutinise, that is the question. Should the Government have to publish a White Paper setting out its strategy for the Brexit negotiations? To keen Europhiles like Mr Clegg, discussion in Parliament represents a braking mechanism, something which… Continue reading Issue 76: 2016 10 20: The Brexit Debate (John Watson)
Issue 75:2016 10 13:Week In Brief UK
13 October 2016 Week In Brief: UK Government politics BREXIT TERMS: A cross party group of MPs including Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband, Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer, Nicky Morgan and Anne Soubry is pressing for Parliamentary scrutiny of the Brexit terms. This would be a practical problem for the government who are anxious to… Continue reading Issue 75:2016 10 13:Week In Brief UK
Issue 74: 2016 10 06: Week in Brief: UK
06 October 2016 Week in Brief: UK Government Policy BIRMINGHAM: Normally party conferences are for the benefit of activists, with back-slapping aplenty and occasionally some fancy oratory. The rest of the world raises a weary eyebrow and takes little notice. The Conservative party conference this year is different because it provides the first insights into… Continue reading Issue 74: 2016 10 06: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 71: 2016 09 15: Week in Brief: UK
15 September 2016 Week in Brief: UK Foreign Affairs LIBYA: A report of the House of Commons Defence Committee has heavily criticised David Cameron’s role in the 2011 bombing campaign in Libya. Stating that the then Chief of Defence Staff, Lord Richards, disassociated himself from the claim that the operation was in the national interest,… Continue reading Issue 71: 2016 09 15: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 70: 2016 09 08: The Bounce Back In Activity (John Watson)
08 September 2016 The Bounce-Back In Activity A revival, or just maths? By John Watson Supporters of the England cricket team are entitled to celebrate its triumph over Pakistan in the Fifty Over version of the game. Records have fallen; the numbers are terrific; open the champagne! Despite the self-satisfied smiles on the faces of… Continue reading Issue 70: 2016 09 08: The Bounce Back In Activity (John Watson)