Tag Archives: Britain

The Guardian reports: Tens of thousands of demonstrators are taking to the streets across Britain and outside the gates of Downing Street in protest against Boris Johnson’s move to suspend parliament. Crowds brandished banners pledging to “defend democracy”, chanted “stop the coup” and waved EU flags in London in a bid to resist the parliament shutdown. Demonstrators are massing at …

Yahoo News reports: Boris Johnson has said legal challenges to his decision to prorogue Parliament are making the prospect of obtaining a deal “less likely”. The Prime Minister hit out at his critics on Friday morning following the news that a bid by a cross-party group of more than 70 politicians to overturn the suspension had been refused by a …

Sky News reports: The Queen has approved Boris Johnson’s request to suspend parliament from the middle of next month, which will restrict MPs’ ability to block a no-deal Brexit. In a move prompting a furious political row, parliament will be prorogued in the week beginning 9 September until 14 October. This is the date on which a new Queen’s Speech …

The BBC reports: The government has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after MPs return to work in September – and only a few weeks before the Brexit deadline. Boris Johnson said a Queen’s Speech would take place after the suspension, on 14 October, to outline his “very exciting agenda”. But it means the time MPs have to …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson has said the chances of a Brexit deal are “touch and go” – having previously said the odds of a no-deal Brexit were “a million to one”. In a BBC interview at the G7 summit in France, he said it “all depends on our EU friends and partners”. When pressed on the chances, he said: …

The Associated Press reports: Britain’s government is planning to pressure social media companies to do more to fight misinformation on vaccines following a spike in measles cases. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that while the country had a great record on fighting measles, things were suddenly “going in the wrong direction,” with 230 new measles cases in the first …

NBC News reports: Britain’s Prince Andrew is once again trying to distance himself from disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. “The Duke of York has been appalled by the recent reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement emailed to NBC News on Monday, referring to the prince by his royal title. “His Royal Highness deplores the exploitation …

The Guardian reports: The UK will be hit with a three-month meltdown at its ports, a hard Irish border and shortages of food and medicine if it leaves the EU without a deal, according to government documents on Operation Yellowhammer. The documents predict severe extended delays to medicine supplies and shortages of some fresh foods combined with price rises as …

The BBC reports: A bus driver has been suspended after he allegedly refused to drive a bus supporting Pride events. He reportedly told passengers in Norwich: “This bus promotes homosexuality and I refuse to drive it.” Rainbow numbers were used on the bus in a nod to the Pride flag. Go East Anglia, which runs Konectbus, said the driver had …

Reuters reports: The United States would enthusiastically support a no-deal Brexit if that is what the British government decided to do, U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said on Monday during a visit to London aimed at reassuring Britain over UK-U.S. ties. Bolton told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that President Donald Trump wants to see a successful British exit …

The Independent reports: The pound fell again on Friday after shock figures revealed UK economy shrunk for the first time since 2012 as the country lurches closer to recession and a calamitous no-deal Brexit. Sterling was down 0.3 per cent against both the dollar and the euro on the back of news that GDP unexpectedly contracted 0.2 per cent in …

Politico Europe reports: Voters in Scotland would vote for independence from the United Kingdom, a new poll has suggested. The survey by Michael Ashcroft for Holyrood magazine is the first since March 2017 showing support among Scots for breaking up the union. Of the 1,019 voters polled, 46 percent said they would vote for independence and 43 percent said they …

The Guardian reports: Nigel Farage has described Donald Trump’s “go back” comments aimed at four congresswomen of colour as “genius”. The US president’s racist remarks were widely condemned after he told the four Democrats known as the Squad to return to the “broken and crime infested places from which they came”. But the leader of Britain’s Brexit party praised Trump’s …

The New York Times reports: Boris Johnson has been British prime minister for barely a week, and the honeymoon appears to be over. His Conservative Party lost a special election, cutting his working majority in Parliament to just one seat at a critical moment for the country. The narrow defeat in a previously Conservative-held district, the Brecon and Radnorshire area …

Reuters reports: Britain is doubling spending on preparations for a no-deal Brexit this year as Prime Minister Boris Johnson sets his sights on leaving the European Union with or without a divorce deal at the end of October. Johnson’s finance minister Sajid Javid has set aside an extra 2.1 billion pounds of new spending to stockpile medicines, hire more border …

Reuters reports: The British pound tumbled on Tuesday as investors bet Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit brinkmanship with the European Union could trigger a messy divorce that would sow chaos through the world economy and financial markets. Sterling crashed through trading barriers, falling to a low of $1.2120 in overnight trade, the lowest since March 2017. The pound has lost …

Mashable reports: John Oliver is back from his three-week hiatus, and while we wouldn’t say all is right with the world now Last Week Tonight has returned, it’s certainly a relief to watch Oliver let fly on some things that are wrong with the world as only he can do. This week, it’s new U.K. Prime Minister Boris “Britain Trump” …

The Guardian reports: Boris Johnson is “turbo-charging” preparations to leave the EU without a deal on 31 October as his government’s number one priority, according to several senior cabinet ministers. The new prime minister sent out cabinet ministers for interviews across newspapers and broadcasters this weekend as part of a publicity blitz about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. Their …

The Independent reports: Four teenage boys have been charged with an aggravated hate crime over a homophobic attack against two women on a London night bus, the Metropolitan Police has said. Melania Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend Chris were hospitalised with facial injuries and left covered with blood after the assault on 30 May. The couple had been travelling home …

Reuters reports: Boris Johnson used his first speech as prime minister to vow to lead Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 “no ifs or buts”, warning that if the European Union refused to negotiate then there would be a no-deal Brexit. Johnson, who has been hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as Britain’s Trump, is sending the …