Tag: News Story

STORY

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, made a speech in the Ukrainian Parliament to give his reassurance that Britain will continue to support the country following the attack by Russia. Sunak said:

“President Zelensky, you are an inspiration, and, Volodymyr, I am proud to call you a friend.

President John F Kennedy said of the great Winston Churchill that he:

“Mobilised the English language and sent it into battle.”

Volodymyr, you have done the same…

…and English isn’t even your first language!”

He added:

“We meet today at a difficult moment in the struggle for Ukraine’s freedom.

As always during conflict, there will be difficult moments.

But we must prepare for this to be a long war.

But I believe there is hope for us in the echoes of Britain’s own history.

If 1940 was our finest hour…

….and Ukraine’s was two years ago as you resisted the Russian invasion…

…then perhaps today is more like 1942.

That was a point in the middle of the war…

…when progress on the battlefield was hard…

…the defence industry was under severe strain…

…and populations were becoming weary.

It must have been hard to see the light ahead.

But they stood firm.

And although they did not know it then…

…for all the setbacks and difficulties that still lay before them…

…that was the moment the tide began to turn, and victory became assured.”

RESOURCES

Rishi Sunak’s Speech to the Ukrainian Parliament

24 DECEMBER 1923

Speaking in Elgin, Ramsay MacDonald said he had got his suspicion that between 5 and 8 January there was going to be a serious attempt to wangle the constitution so that the democracy of this country might not have fair play. All he could say was that those people who imagined they could wangle the constitution of Parliamentary government when it suited them or disuited them were very much mistaken.

Raymond Poincaré, the Prime Minister of France, speaking in Courneuve, said the country would never leave the Ruhr until she was paid.

Ballot papers were drawn up by the National Executive of the Associated Locomotive Engineers and Firemen. It is understood that members will vote on the direct issue of acceptance or rejection of the National Wages Board’s award.

STORY

The BBC have made serious allegations about the conduct of Mark Davies, who led the PR campaign to stop the BBC reporting about the ongoing Post Office scandal of the Horizon project. The BBC allege that Davies sought to threaten them not to broadcast a Panorama investigation into the Post Office and claimed he wrote in documentation:

“While we are able to withstand this current level of interest, it is resource intensive. We have made representations to the director of BBC News and Current Affairs”.

The BBC said that their senior management were approached by Davies, noting:

“PR boss Mark Davies fired off complaints to ever more senior managers at the BBC, and expensive external lawyers were hired with public money to send letters threatening to sue Panorama.”

The BBC said that a spokesperson for Davies said:

“Our client was doing his job”.

In an interview transcribed on the Post Office Trial web-site, Davies attacked Conservative MP James Arbuthnot for wanting a deeper investigation, saying:

“It’s an extremely serious charge John and, clearly, we reject it outright and it’s very regrettable some of the things that Mr Arbuthnot has said this morning.”

EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS

BBC News Story

Post Office Trial Web-Site and Mark Davies

STORY

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has confirmed that the UK has made military strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. The Prime Minister said in a statement:

“Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week.  This cannot stand. The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade. We have therefore taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping.”

A spokesperson for the Houthi said that they would not let the attack “go without punishment or retaliation”.

RESOURCES

10 Downing Street Statement

STORY

Paula Vennells, the former CEO of the Post Office, has returned her CBE following a public campaign to remove it over the Horizon scandal. She said in a statement:

“I am, however, aware of the calls from sub-postmasters and others to return my CBE. I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect. I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the subpostmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.”

Vennells led the Post Office during the period when the organisation denied that there were issues with the Horizon computing system which led to tens of individuals being made bankrupt, being sent to prison and losing their families. A petition for her CBE to be removed had already been signed by over one million people.

RESOURCES

Statement from Paula Vennells

STORY

Chris Skidmore, the MP for Kingswood, has resigned the Conservative Party whip and also quit as a Member of Parliament, causing a by-election in his constituency. The former Cabinet Minister said that he was in fundamental disagreement with the Prime Minister’s energy policies, stating:

“We can not expect other countries to phase out their fossil fuels when at the same time we continue to issue new licences or to open new oil fields. It is a tragedy that the UK has been allowed to lose its climate leadership, at a time when our businesses, industries, universities and civil society organisations are providing first-class leadership and expertise to so many across the world.”

Ed Miliband, the Shadow Energy Secretary, said:

“Well done to Chris Skidmore for standing up to this desperate Conservative government. Their irresponsible, reckless attempt to double down on fossil fuels won’t cut bills, undermines energy security and is a climate disaster. That is why Labour will vote against it on Monday”.

RESOURCES

Chris Skidmore Speeches

STORY

The death of Derek Draper, the former political advisor during the Blair administration, has been announced. Kate Garraway, Draper’s wife, said in a statement:

“I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away. As some of you may know he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications. Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed. I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible. Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”

STORY

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has said that it is his “working assumption” that the General Election will take place in the second half of 2024. Speaking to journalists in Mansfield, he said:

“My working assumption is we’ll have a general election in the second half of this year and in the meantime I’ve got lots that I want to get on with. I want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people’s taxes. But I also want to keep tackling illegal migration. So, I’ve got lots to get on with and I’m determined to keep delivering for the British people.”

STORY

Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, has made a keynote speech in which he has set out more of the Labour Party’s plans for the General Election which will likely be held in 2024. Talking of the state of British politics at the moment, the Labour leader said:

“Everyone agrees we are in a huge mess. Services on their knees, an economy that doesn’t work for working people even when it grows, let alone now when it stagnates like right now. Everyone agrees as well – that it’s been like this for a while. That Britain needs change, wants change, is crying out for change. And yet, trust in politics is now so low, so degraded, that nobody believes you can make a difference anymore. Also, that after the sex scandals, the expenses scandals, the waste scandals, the contracts for friends, even in a crisis like the pandemic, some people have looked at us and concluded we’re all just in it for ourselves. A nation that is so exhausted, tired, despairing even, that they’ve given up on hope. A national mood which, if we aren’t successful with our Project Hope, the Tories will subtly seek to exploit.”

He said that he had a new plan for the country:

“I promise a new plan with new priorities, five national missions that will sweep away the era of Tory division, a plan for the long-term.

With higher growth, a reformed planning system no longer blocking the homes, infrastructure and investment we need.

Safer streets, more police in your town, cracking down on anti-social behaviour.

Cheaper bills, with GB Energy, a new public company, using clean British power not foreign oil and gas.

More opportunities for your children, new technical excellence colleges training our kids in the skills they need and businesses want.

Better mental health support in schools, expert teachers in every classroom, paid for – by removing tax breaks on private schools.

And our NHS back on its feet, with a plan to cut the waiting lists, paid for by removing the non-dom tax status. Two million more appointments every year in an NHS clearing the backlog, seven days a week.

And written through this new plan, I also promise this: a total overhaul in how we approach the economy and government.”

RESOURCES

Keir Starmer’s Speech

STORY

HM Treasury has confirmed that the next budget will be held on 6 March 2024, which is likely to be the last before the next General Election. The Office for Budget Responsibility has said that it will also publish economic reports on the same day, with some commentators suggesting that tax cuts in the budget are likely.