Politics

The M20 could be turned into a giant lorry park under proposals slipped out in a written parliamentary statement on “road haulage”. With customs delayed expected following Britain's exit from the European Union ministers are putting together contingency plans for delays and stoppages of cargo into and from the continent. Operation Stack, which has been used dozens of time when disruption has hit Channel ports, could become a mainstay solution in the South East of England, with a no-deal likely...

Mark Carney, governor of the bank of England has indicated that Brexit has already hit the UK economy and it hasn’t even happened yet. Carney said that Brexit has taken two per cent off the size of the economy in the UK and has left each household £900 worse off. He described this amount as “a lot of money.” The Bank of England boss has compared forecasts from before the referendum, assuming that remain had won the national vote. Carney...

More US schoolchildren have died this year than members of the country's military, The Washington Post has revealed. Following the deadly shooting in Houston on Friday new figures show that classrooms in the US are more dangerous than battlegrounds as the country comes to grips with a spiralling gun crisis. Ten children were killed at Santa Fe High School last week, bringing the total number of deaths to almost 30. A total of 22 school shootings have occurred so far this...

John Bercow is just 6/4 to step down as Speaker of the House of Commons this year and now priced at 16/1 to follow Ed Balls’ lead and switch politics for pirouettes by signing up for Strictly Come Dancing. Under fire for comments condemned as “completely unacceptable” by government ministers, Bercow’s future as speaker is on very thin ice and he could be looking for a new job by the time Parliament sits after their summer break in September. Bercow...

In a desperate attempt to appeal to those closer to the cradle than the grave, the Tories are trying to widen their appeal to millenials. One idea that was floated was a discount deal at high street restaurant chain Nando's. However, a spokesman for Nando’s told said: “As a brand we have no political affiliations and we are not considering this.” The Tories will need to go back to the drawing board to get more people to join the party....

We were trying to steer clear of the whole boring gammon controversy: whether it is racist to call the roaring pulmoan-ary purple-faced middle aged men bellowing stuff like “just-get-on-with-it” about Brexit on Question Time gammon-coloured or not. Especially when Kathy Burke nailed it: But then Matthew Hankins just wrote this amazing anthem for gammon coloured men, and the ham-fisted pig’s ear that seduced them and tucked them up like pigs in blankets: Boris Johnson. Slightly altering the words of Pulp’s...

As the date to leave the EU comes ever closer another company is jumping ship before Brexit actually begins. This time it is Thomson Reuters who have said they will shift their foreign exchange derivatives trading to Ireland. The outfit will relocate to Dublin so they can continue to do business within the EU. There are fears of a mass exodus of companies, especially in financial services, in the run up to Brexit. A spokesperson said: “Thomson Reuters has commenced...

The Home Office are telling couples who they have refused the right to remain to use "modern channels" to maintain their relationship. According to campaigners, the ministerial department responsible for immigration is refusing thousands of people the right to remain in the UK each year and telling families that while they will be separated, the existence of phones, messaging apps, Facebook, and other internet modes of communication makes the distance immaterial. The new policy is designed to head off judicial challenge...

Mapped: Revolving Doors between UK Government and the Energy Industry DeSmog UK have investigated the undue influence of climate science denial and the fossil fuel industry on Britain's energy and climate policy since 2014. From the latest research on connections between energy industry figures and those in position to influence policy on the industry and tackling pollution and climate change, DeSmog UK has made this handy and sinister map of the connections between former government officials and the fossil fuel and other energy companies...