Johnson’s vision of post-Brexit Britain
22 Sep 2017
In a newspaper article, Boris Johnson made a stand against the pessimism and accusations surrounding Brexit, saying that there are people ‘woefully underestimating Britain and thinking that Brexit isn’t going to happen’. He added, ‘There are some media observers - in this country and abroad - who think we are going to bottle it. I detect scepticism about whether we have the stamina, guts or persistence to do it. They think the Brexit bill will get lost in a House of Commons crevasse or buried in legal proceedings. They think that we will simply despair of finding the way out of the EU and sit down on the floor and cry, like some toddler lost in the maze at Hampton Court. Well, insofar as they doubt our resolve, I believe they are wrong; and I tell you that this country will succeed in our new national enterprise, and will succeed mightily.’ He went on to speak patriotically about Brexit, but his article has divided public opinion.
Parsons Green terrorists
22 Sep 2017
A boy of 17 is the sixth person to have been arrested in connection with the London Underground bomb at Parsons Green on 15 September. He was detained at a 'halfway house' for asylum- seekers, following police counter-terror operations in Dover, Hounslow and Newport. He is the youngest of the suspects being questioned over a homemade bomb blast that failed to detonate fully but still injured thirty people on a packed train during morning rush hour. IS claimed the attack was carried out by ‘soldiers of the caliphate’. The head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism command said, ‘This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place, and searches are continuing at five addresses. Detectives are carrying out extensive inquiries to determine the full facts behind the attack.’
Theresa May at the UN
22 Sep 2017
In a keynote speech at the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister said Britain will continue to be the second biggest contributor to the UN, but warned that 30% of the annual £90 million funding for agencies would be ring-fenced for those showing ‘sufficient results’. She said the UN must change ‘in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century’. This echoed President Trump's earlier message that financial contributions to the UN were now under threat. Mrs May vowed Britain ‘will never let anyone destroy our way of life’, following recent terror attacks. She condemned the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons in Syria and North Korea’s controversial nuclear weapons programme, and warned Donald Trump that withdrawing from the Paris climate change treaty ranked alongside North Korea’s nuclear missile tests as a threat to global security.
Schools break law on RE
22 Sep 2017
Recent research suggests that more than a quarter of England's secondary schools do not offer religious education, despite the law saying they must do so. The National Association for RE Teachers, which obtained the unpublished official data under the Freedom of Information Act, says that missing the subject leaves pupils unprepared for modern life. But the main union for secondary head teachers said many schools covered religious issues in other lessons through conferences, citizenship lessons or assemblies. By law, RE must be taught by all state-funded schools in England, with detailed syllabuses agreed locally. The data showed that 26% of secondary schools were not offering RE lessons; 34% of academies were not offering RE to 11 to 13-year-olds; and almost half were not offering it to 14 to 16-year-olds. As more schools become academies, the problem could escalate.
UK and the Mozambique debt crisis
22 Sep 2017
Liam Fox, secretary of state for international trade, has visited Mozambique, which is in a debt crisis after surreptitiously borrowing from two London-based banks in 2013. The loans remained hidden until 2016: none were agreed by the Mozambique parliament, so they were illegal. Commenting on Mr Fox's visit, the director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign said, ‘The UK needs to take responsibility for the actions of these banks in arranging $2 billion of loans to Mozambique. Credit Suisse should be investigated as to whether it undertook the enhanced due diligence required by UK money-laundering regulations. Furthermore, the Government should act immediately to ensure all loans to governments given under UK law are publicly disclosed when they are given.’
Theresa May condemns modern slavery
22 Sep 2017
Theresa May has told the UN that people need to wake up to the horrors of modern-day slavery, and victims must have confidence to come forward and be given the support they need. She added, ‘Modern slavery will only be defeated by making more people aware of the horrific abuses going on in their own communities’. The Prime Minister has the power to do something about this on the international platform. Two years ago, as home secretary, she brought in the most up-to-date laws in the world to crack down on modern slave-drivers. On 19 September she spoke out in an attempt to secure a global commitment by the UN to acknowledge the scandal and unite with tough action against the perpetrators. She urged leaders ‘to work collaboratively and internationally’, and ‘to look at their own situation’.
EU: Macron demands EU treaty changes
22 Sep 2017
In what will be seen as a kick in the teeth to Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, Emmanuel Macron insisted that the EU should set goals for the next ten years and enforce treaty changes, or risk other member states following Brexit. The French president urged ‘new ambition’, or the Brussels bloc would face the ‘dismantling of Europe’. His comments followed Mr Juncker’s state of the union speech, which included his master plan for greater integration without treaty change. Speaking in New York, Mr Macron warned of difficult months and years ahead for the bloc if it could not shake off its image of overbearing bureaucracy; he said that other countries which are not comfortable with this will leave. Juncker had called for EU integration in the face of rising populism and elections in Italy, Sweden, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, where Eurosceptic parties are gaining momentum.
EU: Theresa May’s Brexit speech
22 Sep 2017
On 21 September, the day before Theresa May delivers her first major Brexit speech in Florence, she met with her Cabinet to discuss her terms for Brexit. The last time she addressed the EU was in January, at Lancaster House, when she set out her original vision for Britain outside the EU. Now, with negotiations deadlocked over the ‘Brexit bill’ and the role of the EU courts, Europe is looking for a major policy intervention. Boris Johnson says the media is talking 'nonsense' about MPs having split allegiances while he and Philip Hammond, at opposite ends of the soft/hard Brexit debate, attempt to present a choreographed show of unity. However, some believe Friday's speech will not generate 'an immediate breakthrough' in Brexit talks.