Nicola sturgeon

Theresa May cannot say she has not been warned. Brexit poses a mounting threat to the unity of the UK. Nor can she dispute the eminence of those who have been doing the warning. During the referendum campaign in 2016, John Major counselled that a British exit could “tear apart” the UK. This past summer, Gordon Brown argued Britain was at serious risk of “being permanently paralysed by seemingly irreparable divisions”. These are serious voices. To the unwary, their warnings might seem to have been directed at receptive ears. Few serving prime ministers express their commitment to the union more often or more clearly than May. She calls it her “beloved union”. Last week, at her party conference, she called it her “precious union”. It would be wrong to doubt the sincerity of such words. But the impact of Brexit on the union is now more threatening than ever, and May seems to possess a wholly inadequate armoury of words, ideas and actions to … [Read more...] about Now Brexit really is threatening to tear the UK apart

Theresa May has informed the European council that she will trigger article 50 on Wednesday 29 March, but European sources have made clear that Britain could be forced to wait until June to embark on formal talks. The prime minister’s decision to name the date on which the two-year Brexit clock will start ticking down came as her official spokesman also quashed speculation about an early general election. Instead he made clear that the government’s focus was set to turn solidly towards the country’s EU exit, which is now guaranteed to be complete by the end of March 2019. The president of the European council, Donald Tusk, responded quickly to say that he would distribute his draft response to May’s letter among the leaders of the EU27 within 48 hours of next Wednesday. But sources made clear that it would take “four to six weeks” for the other 27 countries in the EU to reach consensus and start the more formal process. May’s decision to spell … [Read more...] about UK to trigger article 50 on 29 March, but faces delay on start of talks

Theresa May has drawn a decisive line under the David Cameron era with a sweeping reshuffle that saw several of his key ministers, including justice secretary, Michael Gove, sacked, and her own handpicked team rewarded with cabinet posts. Conservative MPs, some of whom had seen the former home secretary as a continuity candidate who would build incrementally on the record of the Cameron governments, were stunned by the radical reboot. May began the day in her Westminster office, holding a series of one-to-one meetings with ministers she had decided to replace, including Gove, the education secretary, Nicky Morgan, and the culture secretary, John Whittingdale. She later moved to Downing Street, where senior Conservatives came and went throughout the day to be told their fate. In total, six of Cameron’s ministers, including the former chancellor George Osborne, have been shown the door since Wednesday night. Big winners included Justine Greening, who will run a new beefed-up … [Read more...] about Theresa May’s decisive reshuffle draws line under Cameron era

Boris Johnson is back on the campaign trail after a one-day break with a speech in which he will call for the end of "groundhoggery" on Brexit and make a lewd attack on Jeremy Corbyn.Visiting an electric vehicle manufacturer in the West Midlands, he will claim the Conservatives will drive a clean energy revolution to tackle climate change.But a highly personal attack on the Labour leader and his use of a word that relates to a sex act - in an advance trail of his speech - is bound to attract strong criticism.Issuing a plea for a Tory majority in the election, Mr Johnson will say: "If we can get a working majority we can get parliament working for you, we can get out of the rut. We can end the groundhoggery of Brexit."We can honour the wishes of the people, or else we can waste more time, at the cost of a billion pounds per month, and have two more referendums, one on Scotland and one on the EU - an expense of spirit and a waste of shame, more political self-obsession and onanism. … [Read more...] about General election: Boris Johnson calls for end of ‘groundhoggery’ on Brexit

Ask voters in former Labour strongholds why they left the Labour Party, and they almost always reply: "I didn't - the party left me."Some blame Jeremy Corbyn for taking the party too far to the left. Others blame Tony Blair for taking the country into the Iraq War.But the unifying theme is that voters no longer feel that the Labour Party are standing up for them or for Scotland, and they are very happy to give their support to the party they identify as caring about their national needs - the SNP.The Labour fall in Scotland has been as almost as swift as it has been dramatic.Less than 10 years ago, in the 2010 general election, it scooped 41 out of Scotland's 59 Westminster seats - even as the party lost power across the UK. Reaching a nadir of just one solitary MP in 2015, it staged a minor comeback in 2017, winning seven seats.But those new Labour constituencies have wafer thin majorities over the SNP. And across Scotland the party are still in third place behind the Tories, who have … [Read more...] about General election 2019: Why Labour is lost in the middle in Scotland