This week we reached a new level of chaos in British politics. With parliament voting down all indicatives vote options, as well as May’s deal for the third time, the Prime Minister was running out of moves.
So that’s how we find ourselves here: with a Prime Minister reaching out to Jeremy Corbyn.
James Forsyth writes in this week’s cover article that the Iraq War, the financial crash, and the expenses scandal may have damaged the public’s faith in their politicians, but the impact of a failure to deliver Brexit will be even worse. The entire process has created an impression of a self-serving enclave of politicians who are interested only in ideological purity – not the interests of the people.
James joins Katy Balls on the podcast with Tim Shipman, Political Editor of The Sunday Times. They discuss what a cross-party Brexit would look like and how much longer we will remain in the EU– that is, if both leaders can agree to a deal at all.
We also ask, is the law always right in accusations of rape and sexual assault when alcohol is involved? On the podcast, Chris Daw QC discusses whether the Britain’s rape laws need to be updated in the age of MeToo, with Sarah Green, Co-Director of the campaign group End Violence Against Women
The number of young women reporting cases of rape, especially at university, have skyrocketed. But hardly any of these cases go to trial. Cases of convictions are even fewer, Chris writes in this week’s magazine. The result is that lives are ruined on both sides.
And last, have your friends ever asked you for charitable donations? Cosmo Landesman laments the rise of online fundraising, which can complicate your friendships. Of course you don’t have to give, he says, but if you don’t give enough, then you will be judged.
He is joined by James Delingpole, who suffers from Lyme Disease, and has used a crowdfunding campaign to raise over £21,000 for treatment. Together they ask if there is a right way to raise money online, and is it ever actually ok to ask your friends for donations?
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