Uk politics

Alan Duncan caused a stir on Tuesday when he claimed that one of the reasons for the Brexit vote was working class voters throwing ‘a bit of a tantrum’ over immigration. It’s fair to say that the government minister’s comments have gone down like a cup of cold sick with Brexiteers. But is Duncan really one to lecture on Brexit tantrums? Mr S recalls that Duncan was accused of throwing a tantrum of his own during the EU referendum. After Duncan declared himself a Remain-er, Vote Leave’s Matthew Elliott said the Conservative MP had planned to back Brexit but switched to the other side at the last minute after his request

Conference, Standing here in Manchester it is impossible to forget the sight of this proud city, shrouded in grief, after a pop concert in May. It is impossible to forget the images of the terrified concert-goers … the images of the injured and the dead – some so very young. The toll of those who have been the victims of such violence this year is grim.  It includes those targeted outside Finsbury Park Mosque, and in London Bridge.  It includes the innocent people mown down on Westminster Bridge. It includes Police Constable Keith Palmer who paid with his life in the line of duty, trying to stop that attack. His

The well-known saying goes, ‘there is nothing to fear but fear itself’. This certainly should be the mantra of Brexit. Disruptive as it might be, Brexit should be the reset button for an enterprise economy, a bright new future of growth and entrepreneurialism, open and free markets – in effect a ‘New Model Economy’ – but few are making the case for this. Certainly, the government isn’t. When I became director general of the British Chambers of Commerce over six years ago, one of my first media interviews led me to say that I thought there was no political party in the UK that truly represented business. By that I

After a lacklustre policy announcement on tuition fees followed by a disappointing turn on the Marr show, Theresa May’s Conservative conference has not got off to the best of starts. However, as MPs fume about their leader’s failings, members are at least managing to get excited about one Tory politician… Step forward Jacob Rees-Mogg. This afternoon Moggmentum hit Tory conference. Eager conference attendees started queuing for a Jacob Rees-Mogg fringe event on Brexit an hour before it began. With half an hour to go, the queue was so long it blocked the entrance to the conference centre. Security staff then had to bend it so that the fire exit was