By Steve Parkhurst, Senior Editor, USDR.
Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.
6-26-18
The EU Withdrawal Bill has received Royal Assent (video)
The Speaker announces the news in the Commons to cheers from the Conservative benches.
Farage’s Brexit concession and the absurdity of banning private polls
We’ll probably never know Farage’s motive for the repeated concessions on referendum night
What is Jeremy Hunt up to?
‘What you can see is someone who has the instincts of a Brexiteer, but the cautious pragmatism of a Remainer, which is where I think the British people are.’ This is how Jeremy Hunt tried to sell Theresa May’s leadership on the Andrew Marr sofa this Sunday. After a choppy few weeks for No. 10, the Health Secretary made clear that he felt May was still the right person for the job of Prime Minister.
No law is too draconian for Britain’s public health brigade
The government’s childhood obesity strategy is the most draconian interference in our food since rationing
6-27-18
Global issues often seem a world away – but it is in Britain’s interest to tackle them
The Democratic Republic of Congo is under pressure to contain the latest deadly Ebola outbreak, but we are much better prepared now than during the 2014 West Africa epidemic that claimed more than 11,000 lives.
TUC and CBI release rare joint statement as cabinet tensions flare into the open over issue
Reforms briefed to unions would mean fewer MPs needed to nominate candidates
Sweeping changes to Labour rules would ‘ensure left-wing successor to Corbyn’
A left-wing successor to Jeremy Corbyn would be “virtually guaranteed” under new plans to overhaul Labour party rules, it has been claimed.
Evening Standard comment
Two views of freedom from the Tory thinkers; Supreme Court right on civil partnerships being available for all couples
6-28-18
Britain ‘heading for worst possible Brexit’ over freedom of movement, warns Theresa May’s former top aide
Britain risks signing up to the worst possible Brexit deal, Theresa May’s former chief of staff has warned as it emerges several Cabinet ministers want freedom of movement to effectively continue after Britain leaves the European Union.
The establishment: a revolving door between government and big business
Some people in Westminster treat talk of “the establishment” with derision, but if you want to know what the establishment is, then look no further than the revolving door between government and the private sector.
Why the Year of Engineering should matter to Conservatives – and are we making the most of it?
As the son of a plumber who ran his own local business for several decades, I know that such technical professions can be extremely rewarding.
The EU Summit
The UK may want the EU summit to be about that post Brexit relationship, but much of the time will be taken up with the rest of the EU trying to stitch together a new migration policy. That will be followed by a meeting of the Eurozone Heads with Germany wanting to reinforce the austere disciplines of the scheme against possible challenges from Italy and others. The rows over migration may make the issues over the Euro more intractable and fractious.
6-29-18
Gyimah must look beyond universities to tackle student welfare challenges
From schools at one end to the job market at the other, many of the driving forces behind the student mental health crisis aren’t vice-chancellors’ to solve.
What is the UK’s worst nationalised industry?
In the 1970s when as a young man I first became critical of nationalised industries, I identified there main features of them I did not like. They were bad for their customers. They usually overcharged them, with high rates of price increase. They failed to innovate or hit high standards of customer service. They were bad for their employees. You had a high chance of losing your job if you worked for the nationalised steel or coal or rail businesses, as they went through redundancy programme after redundancy programme. They were bad for taxpayers, as they racked up huge borrowings and losses which required taxpayer subsidies and write offs on a large s cale.
Iain Dale: A betrayal, a contortion, a rash, a shambles, a schism, a squabble. What’s the best collective noun for Cabinet ministers?
And: One Greg Clark. Two Vince Cables. Eleven Germans going home. 100,000 Remain protesters. 17 million Leave voters. Plus: Meanwhile, Javid gets on with his job.
6-30-18
The genius of Adam Smith, who knew there could be no such thing as value-free economics
In the days before economics had been identified as the dismal science, there lived a genius called Adam Smith (1723-90), a philosopher who treated economics as part of a much wider inquiry into human nature.
Sad to say, Britain’s national anthem is a miserable dirge. Let’s replace it
As it is, ‘God Save the Queen’ cannot hope to challenge the glory of La Marseillaise
7-1-18
Our mission goes beyond Brexit – to comprehensively renew politics in this country
Prime Minister Theresa May writes in the Telegraph today.
Beneath the surface, the Conservative Party is rebuilding its campaigning machine
The 2017 election revealed years of neglect. But finally the party is turning things around
Even winning the World Cup won’t help Theresa May lift the negativity around Brexit
Prime ministers want to be associated with football when it’s going well for England, but it’s more significant for politics when it’s going badly
7-2-18
If Cabinet Ministers aren’t prepared to listen to business, they should consider their position
Saying “f**k business” is the kind of lack of understanding I’d expect from our Marxist-sympathising Shadow Chancellor – not from a Conservative Foreign Secretary.
What sort of Tory campaign is needed for the 2020 election for Mayor of London?
The focus is on the choice of candidate. But the first consideration should be what the message should be and how it can be conveyed.
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Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst