Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says his party would axe formal tests for English primary schools, known as Sats. He claimed they left many children in tears or made them vomit with stress and said scrapping the tests would be one of the first acts of any Labour government. The pledge was met with cheers from […]
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The former UKIP leader Nigel Farage called for a ‘democratic revolution’ in British politics as he launched his new Brexit Party. He told an audience in Coventry today that if the UK took part in May’s European elections, they would be his new party’s first challenge. But he said the party’s primary aim was to […]
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Chancellor Philip Hammond said today that Britain needs to focus on issues other than Brexit, with economic growth a top priority. Speaking in Washington, where he is attending IMF and World Bank meetings, Hammond said it was is time to ‘get Brexit off the table.’ He said crucial economic decisions needed to be taken and […]
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The Virgin brand could disappear from the UK rail network after the Government banned its business partner from a trio of franchise bids. Virgin’s boss Sir Richard Branson said he was ‘devastated’ that Stagecoach had been ruled out of the race to run three rail lines. Stagecoach has a 49 per cent stake in Virgin […]
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The UK could end up staying in the EU if MPs reject Prime Minister Theresa May/’s proposed Brexit deal in January, one of her ministers has warned. Pro-Brexit international trade secretary Liam Fox says there is a ’50-50 chance’ of the UK remaining if MPs vote down Mrs May’s deal. He told the Sunday Times […]
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The government is spending more than £100m on chartering ferries as a precaution in the event that it leaves the EU in March without a Brexit deal. French, British and Danish operators have been handed contracts worth a total of almost £108m in an attempt to avoid congestion at Dover after a no-deal departure. The […]
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The Home Office has come under fire over a social media message telling EU nationals they must apply and pay for the right to remain in the UK after Brexit. In a Twitter post two days after Christmas, they were warned they would need to register for settled status to continue living here after December […]
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England’s 5p plastic carrier bag charge is to be doubled to 10p, Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced today. The levy will also be extended to all shops, including smaller outlets which supply 3.6-billion single-use plastic bags to customers each year but are currently exempt. Schools in England are also going to be told to do […]
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Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is reported to have expressed ‘very deep concerns’ about Chinese firm Huawei’s role in upgrading the UK’s mobile network. His comments came after the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, had questioned why Huawei were involved with the country’s new 5G network. Alex Younger said the US, Australia and New […]
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Business investment is having its worst run since the economic crash of 2008, new figures out today have revealed. Data published by the Office for National Statistics showed that investment declined for the third consecutive quarter between July and September. The 1.1 per cent fall on the previous quarter comes after a number of leading […]
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