Tag: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Aa Aa More time, please? UK Prime Minister Theresa May visited heads of state in Germany and France on Tuesday, seeking support for another Brexit delay ahead of Wednesday’s EU summit. The United Kingdom is currently scheduled to exit the EU on April 12 but Mrs May is pushing for an extension to June 30. Trade threat The US is threatening to impose tariffs on $11 billion worth of goods from the European Union in response to European aircraft subsidies. Products targeted in a list released by the US Trade Representative on Monday are largely traditional European products — including cheese, seafood and wine. The US claims that by providing "launch aid" to Airbus, the EU is causing American rival Boeing to lose global market share. Moscow welcome Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Monday that he will go ahead with the controversial purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile system. During Erdogan’s third visit to Russia this year, the Turkish leader vowed to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries despite warnings from US Vice President Mike Pence last week. Pence urged Turkey to back out of the deal, arguing that their NATO membership would be at risk if the transaction is completed.

Aa Aa Brexit prerequisite European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's request for a short Brexit delay on Wednesday. May had asked the European Union for an additional extension for her Brexit plan on Monday night. With the UK scheduled to leave the European Union on April 12, this dismissal from Juncker places additional pressure on the UK prime minister. 'Unwavering ally' Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Dublin on Thursday to discuss the potential of a no-deal Brexit. The two were scheduled to discuss the latest developments between the UK and the European Union. Varadkar has described Merkel as "a strong and unwavering ally of Ireland", and said he looks forward to continuing to maintain a strong relationship with the EU member in light of Brexit pressure. Uniting the right Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right Rassemblement National party, is attempting to establish an alliance between nationalist parties in the European Parliament. In an interview with Euronews, Le Pen said she hopes that nationalist parties will work to protect their nations, stop unfair international competition and eliminate free trade agreements. Election projects from the EU have predicted that far-right, populist parties will gain seats in May's European elections.

Strangely enough, the imminent economic catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit only came second in the reasoning to political assessments. Hence Theresa May’s demand for a short extension until June 30th, which she hoped could avoid that election participation. On the European side, too, electoral considerations carried weight. National leaders want to show their own voters the clear costs of an EU exit, which is much easier with the UK outside. The British minister failed to grasp the extent to which his country’s exit from the European order is experienced by Germany, Ireland and other EU member states as an existential political attack on the foundations of the union, to be withstood at all costs. In sum: politics above prosperity on both sides (albeit with far lower relative costs for the remaining 27 members). The Brussels machinery is utterly ill-equipped to deal with border issues. A border is pure politics: an arbitrary line between us and them. Borders, in other words, cannot be “depoliticised”, not reasoned away thanks to a legal fix or technological trick. Just as light-heartedly, London first pretended the issue could be solved with technology before running into the sand of legal explanations.

Aa Aa Down to the wire UK Prime Minister Theresa May made a last-minute trip to Strasbourg on Monday night where she negotiated legally binding changes to the Brexit agreement that will be voted on by British MPs tonight. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and May promised to find an alternative solution to the highly controversial backstop agreement by 2020 if the deal passes through Parliament. Read the fine print Despite the newly negotiated terms, UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said the “legal risk remains unchanged” over the UK's ability to exit the backstop agreement. The statement came as a major blow to May, who was hoping to appease members of her own party who fear the agreement will permanently trap the UK in a customs union with the EU. Cox added that the House needs to make a "political judgement" on the agreement. 'No third chances' Juncker on Monday night said there will be “no third chance” for a Brexit deal if MPs vote the current version down on Tuesday. If the deal does not pass, MPs will vote Wednesday on whether the UK will leave the EU without a deal in place. In the event that this vote also fails, a third vote will be held on Thursday that will determine if the UK would be open to extending negotiations past the March 29 deadline. Forecasting May What could tonight mean for the future of the UK prime minister? Our panel discusses what might be in store for May.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan went down to an historic defeat in Parliament on Tuesday. Members of Parliament belonging to May's Conservative Party feared that if they voted down her government, it would trigger a general election and open the door to Jeremy Corbyn and his opposition Labour Party taking control of the government. If she can find consensus, she could go back to Brussels and ask for concessions, one of which would likely focus on resolution of a major sticking point in Brexit negotiations — the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Although May insists she won't, she could try to let the clock wind down toward the March 29 deadline to leave the European Union and use the threat of a no-deal Brexit — a prospect most Britons dread because of the economic disruption it would likely cause — to force Parliament to pass a version of her plan. But that would enrage hard-line Brexiteers in her own party and would require support from other parties in Parliament. In short, the prime minister has no good options — only bad and worse. The EU is not happy that Britain's prime minister can't get the Brexit deal — on which both the EU and U.K. agreed — through her own Parliament. Still, Brussels does not want a no-deal Brexit because it would hurt EU economies. The EU and May's government have agreed to what they call temporary arrangements to avoid a "hard" border, at least until the two sides can reach a final agreement. What is the possibility of a second referendum?

Britain is due to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019, but the terms of the departure remain unclear. In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper ahead of her party's conference, May took aim at those who have scorned her "Chequers" Brexit proposals, accusing them of "playing politics" with Britain's future and undermining the national interest. "Unlike the prime minister I campaigned for Brexit," said Johnson, the bookmakers' favorite to succeed May. May says her "Chequers" proposals are the only viable option, but EU leaders have said parts of them are unacceptable and many Conservative lawmakers have threatened to vote down a deal based on May's blueprint. Japanese carmaker Toyota on Saturday warned that leaving without an agreement would hit its production and that jobs would ultimately be at risk. "We need to have a deal. "We aren't pretending there aren't alternative proposals that we would look at," he told the Sun newspaper. Fears over no deal As Conservative lawmakers and party members began arriving in Birmingham, central England, for what is expected to be a fractious party conference that starts Sunday, many have said the Chequers plans are dead and should be torn up. However, Toyota became the latest high-profile business to warn that leaving the world's biggest trading bloc without any trading agreement could add costs and cripple output at plants that rely on the just-in-time delivery of tens of thousands of components. Sadly, I think that would reduce the number of cars made in the U.K., and that would cost jobs."

Given that this country is made up, more or less equally, of men and women, things would undoubtedly be fairer, not to mention calmer, if more women were on board. Handout - Getty The problem was, her pairing partner reneged on the deal and voted. Any woman would need a very understanding partner and family to do the job. Also, any MP is opening themselves up to the line of fire and a lot of personal criticism — which multiplies for female MPs. It’s no wonder women are put off entering politics. But if we want true equality then more women need to go into Westminster and the culture needs to change. Getting more women into politics is a no brainer. But also, who are these men that think that they can just grab a woman’s behind just because they want to? So why shouldn’t she take him back to court? I’m sure the diet is good for her – but who wants to add years to your life if those years are going to be so, well, dull?

Summary Disunity over Brexit is leading to the treachery of long knives among British Prime Minister Theresa May’s fellow Tories. Polls suggest that voters disfavor a party purge of Mrs. May and expect a general election to decide themselves on the UK leadership. More significantly, historical precedent suggests that hung parliaments don’t last long before political treachery leads to an early vote. Polls show that the Conservatives and Labour are closely matched, though they lean toward Labour. Today’s Labour Party is not Tony Blair’s Labour party, and it is reasonable to expect that British equities will dive were Labour to assume power. The current maneuvering over Brexit is looking a lot like the classic treachery of long knives that periodically disturbs the political peace of the British Isles. Hung parliaments don’t last very long before such treachery leads to new elections. Current polling suggests a general election could lead to a Labour Party victory which this brief podcast (3:01) suggests would bring about an unprecedented intrusiveness in the economy from which investors will likely flee.

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Just hours after Donald J. Trump mistakenly sent an angry tweet intended for the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, to a random woman named Theresa May Scrivener with only six Twitter followers, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, offered a vigorous defense of his action. “The President may have attacked the wrong Theresa, but all Theresas represent a real threat,” Sanders said. Doubling down on the new White House policy against women named Theresa, Sanders said that attacking women with the same first name as the British Prime Minister “sends her a powerful message.” “If you attack every woman named Theresa, you are obviously including Theresa May in that,” Sanders told the press corps. “Why is this so hard for you people to understand?” Sanders said that Trump’s war on Theresas would extend to women who spell their name “Teresa,” including Teresa Giudice, a cast member of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” and Mother Teresa, the late Catholic nun and missionary. “He is taking the threat of Theresas very seriously,” she said. “It will be handled.” While Sanders put the best face on Trump’s decision to send an angry tweet to the wrong Theresa, behind the scenes White House officials were scrambling to make sure that he had imposed sanctions on the right Korea.