British former finance minister Rishi Sunak has announced he is running to replace Boris Johnson, three days after helping to launch the cascade of resignations that brought the prime minister down.
Johnson’s imminent departure has added political uncertainty to an already difficult mix of soaring inflation, slowing growth and industrial unrest, set against a backdrop of war in Ukraine and the United Kingdom’s continuing struggle to adapt to life after Brexit.
Read more at:
UK: Rishi Sunak launches bid to be new Conservative leader | News | Al Jazeera
Showing posts with label Boris Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boris Johnson. Show all posts
7/7/22
Britain: Boris Johnson’s resignation: what is going on in UK politics? - by Ben Quinn
Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, announced on Thursday that he would be stepping down as leader of the ruling Conservatives in the face of a torrent of resignations by ministers and mounting pressure from within the party.
For now he is still prime minister, but his resignation triggers a contest to replace him as head of his party. The winner will become both party leader and prime minister, without the need for a national election.
Johnson had faced growing calls to go, after claims that he lied about the circumstances in which he gave a key role to an ally who was forced to quit last month over accusations that he had groped men.
Johnson’s premiership has been embroiled in months of turmoil – last month he survived a vote of confidence among Conservative MPs – but the prime minister’s undoing was ultimately prompted by the scandal surrounding one of their number.
Read more at: Boris Johnson’s resignation: what is going on in UK politics? | Boris Johnson | The Guardian
For now he is still prime minister, but his resignation triggers a contest to replace him as head of his party. The winner will become both party leader and prime minister, without the need for a national election.
Johnson had faced growing calls to go, after claims that he lied about the circumstances in which he gave a key role to an ally who was forced to quit last month over accusations that he had groped men.
Johnson’s premiership has been embroiled in months of turmoil – last month he survived a vote of confidence among Conservative MPs – but the prime minister’s undoing was ultimately prompted by the scandal surrounding one of their number.
Read more at: Boris Johnson’s resignation: what is going on in UK politics? | Boris Johnson | The Guardian
1/14/22
Britain: Boris Johnson: UK PM told to resign after admitting he attended party during lockdown - Alasdair Sandford
Boris Johnson has apologised over a party held at Downing Street during the first coronavirus lockdown, as he faced MPs at Prime Minister's Questions.
In a heated session in parliament on Wednesday, opposition Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on Johnson to resign.
Some Tory MPs, including Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, have also agreed that the prime minister needs to step down.
Read more at: Boris Johnson: UK PM told to resign after admitting he attended party during lockdown | Euronews
In a heated session in parliament on Wednesday, opposition Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on Johnson to resign.
Some Tory MPs, including Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, have also agreed that the prime minister needs to step down.
Read more at: Boris Johnson: UK PM told to resign after admitting he attended party during lockdown | Euronews
10/20/21
Britain: 'Green is good' says UK's Johnson, wooing Wall Street dollars - by William James-
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced nearly 10 billion pounds ($13.72 billion) of private investment in green projects on Tuesday and courted the “trillions of the markets” in a speech to the world’s top financiers and executives.
The Global Investment Summit in London marks post-Brexit Britain’s biggest push to woo investors, even leveraging the soft power of drinks with Queen Elizabeth at her castle, as it seeks cash and partners to get ahead in the international race for green technology.
“We need urgent government action, but we must mobilise the markets, we must bring in the private sector,” Johnson said in an opening address on meeting the challenge of climate change.
Read more at: 'Green is good' says UK's Johnson, wooing Wall Street dollars - Metro US
The Global Investment Summit in London marks post-Brexit Britain’s biggest push to woo investors, even leveraging the soft power of drinks with Queen Elizabeth at her castle, as it seeks cash and partners to get ahead in the international race for green technology.
“We need urgent government action, but we must mobilise the markets, we must bring in the private sector,” Johnson said in an opening address on meeting the challenge of climate change.
Read more at: 'Green is good' says UK's Johnson, wooing Wall Street dollars - Metro US
7/5/21
Britain Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that his government plans to scrap laws requiring face masks and physical distancing later this month, though he acknowledged that lifting the restrictions will drive surging coronavirus cases even higher.
Johnson said legal controls will be replaced by individual "personal responsibility" when the country moves to the final stage of its lockdown-lifting roadmap. That is scheduled to happen on July 19, though Johnson said a final decision would come on July 12.
Read more at: Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday | CBC News
Johnson said legal controls will be replaced by individual "personal responsibility" when the country moves to the final stage of its lockdown-lifting roadmap. That is scheduled to happen on July 19, though Johnson said a final decision would come on July 12.
Read more at: Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Monday | CBC News
1/4/21
The UK’s European question is far from over – by Kirsty Hughes
As 2021 begins, the European Union and the United Kingdom have a new relationship, underpinned by their trade and co-operation agreement. This fractures, damages and complicates economic, political and social links between the UK and EU. And, alongside the 2019 withdrawal agreement, it ensures there is a customs and regulatory border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland—meaning the fractures go within as well as beyond the UK.
This attempted distancing of the UK from the rest of Europe, in the pursuit of some illusory, right-wing, ‘global Britain’ ideology combined with continuing propaganda around regaining sovereignty, is bound to fail overall. Instead, the UK is moving into the position of being a rather large economic and political satellite of the EU. And while in some ways, as intended by the Brexiters, leaving the EU will certainly weaken EU-UK relations, Brexit will mainly have the result of leaving the UK with less influence, less voice and less say but still hugely dependent on, and interdependent with, its European neighbours
The political and media frenzy around the possibility of deal or no deal was deliberately stoked by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his entourage to encourage headlines of an ultimate UK victory in the talks (Johnson’s cowardice and self-interest always making a deal look the more likely outcome). The stand-off also served to take attention away from the fact that any deal was bound to put up trade and other barriers and to fracture the UK’s part in the EU’s economic and political institutions, and so to damage the UK. But now, in the face of a 1,246 page deal—and much more yet to be negotiated or unilaterally decided (on data, financial services and more)—the reality is laid clearly out for all to see..
Read more at: The UK’s European question is far from over – Kirsty Hughes
This attempted distancing of the UK from the rest of Europe, in the pursuit of some illusory, right-wing, ‘global Britain’ ideology combined with continuing propaganda around regaining sovereignty, is bound to fail overall. Instead, the UK is moving into the position of being a rather large economic and political satellite of the EU. And while in some ways, as intended by the Brexiters, leaving the EU will certainly weaken EU-UK relations, Brexit will mainly have the result of leaving the UK with less influence, less voice and less say but still hugely dependent on, and interdependent with, its European neighbours
The political and media frenzy around the possibility of deal or no deal was deliberately stoked by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his entourage to encourage headlines of an ultimate UK victory in the talks (Johnson’s cowardice and self-interest always making a deal look the more likely outcome). The stand-off also served to take attention away from the fact that any deal was bound to put up trade and other barriers and to fracture the UK’s part in the EU’s economic and political institutions, and so to damage the UK. But now, in the face of a 1,246 page deal—and much more yet to be negotiated or unilaterally decided (on data, financial services and more)—the reality is laid clearly out for all to see..
Read more at: The UK’s European question is far from over – Kirsty Hughes
1/2/21
Britain an "Island" again: How U.K.'s Separation From EU Will Affect The Country
New Year's Eve - the ball drops, the champagne corks pop and the United Kingdom finally officially finishes its divorce from the world's largest trading bloc, the European Union. Brexit has huge consequences for business, travelers and regular people who built lives based on a Europe that spanned the English Channel. This is a big gamble for the U.K., one that started more than four years ago when one of the biggest cheerleaders for Brexit was a former London mayor named Boris Johnson.
Johnson and his fellow Brexiteers had no real plan for how to actually untangle decades of economic and legal integration with Europe. And so a country known for effective, sometimes dull governance was plunged into years of political chaos that cost two prime ministers their jobs; first, David Cameron, the man who called the referendum, even as he urged Brits to vote against it.
From the perspective of a political scientist, you could not have hoped to live through a more interesting time to study the politics of your country. The other thing for me that is fascinating, though, is that many - for many people who supported Brexit, leaving the European Union wasn't an end in itself. It was a means to an end. That is to say if we leave the European Union, then we can, dot, dot, dot. You fill in that blank as you want - become a more activist international player, deregulating the way the European Union would never let us. So actually, the real test of Brexit in many ways is yet to come, which is now you've got that freedom. What the hell are you going to do with it? And how are you going to make people's lives better because of it, despite the fact that you're in charge of an economy that is growing less fast than it would have done had we not left in the first place?
Read more at: How U.K.'s Separation From EU Will Affect The Country : NPR
Johnson and his fellow Brexiteers had no real plan for how to actually untangle decades of economic and legal integration with Europe. And so a country known for effective, sometimes dull governance was plunged into years of political chaos that cost two prime ministers their jobs; first, David Cameron, the man who called the referendum, even as he urged Brits to vote against it.
From the perspective of a political scientist, you could not have hoped to live through a more interesting time to study the politics of your country. The other thing for me that is fascinating, though, is that many - for many people who supported Brexit, leaving the European Union wasn't an end in itself. It was a means to an end. That is to say if we leave the European Union, then we can, dot, dot, dot. You fill in that blank as you want - become a more activist international player, deregulating the way the European Union would never let us. So actually, the real test of Brexit in many ways is yet to come, which is now you've got that freedom. What the hell are you going to do with it? And how are you going to make people's lives better because of it, despite the fact that you're in charge of an economy that is growing less fast than it would have done had we not left in the first place?
Read more at: How U.K.'s Separation From EU Will Affect The Country : NPR
12/14/20
Britain: Boris Johnson, Miles Davis, and Brexit - by Gabrielle Debinski
"Time isn't the main thing. It's the only thing." The words of jazz genius Miles Davis are surely resonating with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who flew to Brussels on Wednesday to iron out a post-Brexit trade agreement before the UK formally leaves the European Union — with or without a deal — on January 1.
For the UK, the stakes are very high. If no deal is reached by January 1, British businesses that have long benefitted from access to the bloc's customs union will find themselves facing massive bureaucratic hurdles and high costs on goods crossing borders.
Read more at: Boris Johnson, Miles Davis, and Brexit - GZERO Media
For the UK, the stakes are very high. If no deal is reached by January 1, British businesses that have long benefitted from access to the bloc's customs union will find themselves facing massive bureaucratic hurdles and high costs on goods crossing borders.
Read more at: Boris Johnson, Miles Davis, and Brexit - GZERO Media
12/12/20
Brexit negotiations: EU leaders close ranks as no-deal talk mounts - by Katya Adler
Normally after big summits like the one we've just had in Brussels, leaders make media statements about their most pressing discussions.
Europe's leaders are keen to clarify they won't personally intervene in the current impasse in trade talks. There'll be no last-minute handshake or "a-ha" moment in Paris, Warsaw or Berlin.
Read more at: Brexit: EU leaders close ranks as no-deal talk mounts - BBC News
Europe's leaders are keen to clarify they won't personally intervene in the current impasse in trade talks. There'll be no last-minute handshake or "a-ha" moment in Paris, Warsaw or Berlin.
Read more at: Brexit: EU leaders close ranks as no-deal talk mounts - BBC News
11/12/20
Britain: Coronavirus: UK records highest daily number of coronavirus cases - by George Parker, Jim Pickard and Alice Hancock
The UK has recorded its highest ever daily number of coronavirus cases and the largest number of deaths since July 1, increasing strains within the Conservative party over how to respond to the resurgence of Covid-19.
Boris Johnson is under pressure from some Tory MPs to take a more “proportionate” approach to new coronavirus restrictions, amid claims that his scientific advisers are engaged in “project fear”.
Read more at: UK records highest daily number of coronavirus cases | Financial Times
Boris Johnson is under pressure from some Tory MPs to take a more “proportionate” approach to new coronavirus restrictions, amid claims that his scientific advisers are engaged in “project fear”.
Read more at: UK records highest daily number of coronavirus cases | Financial Times
10/31/20
England lockdown: Boris Johnson issues new stay-at-home order
England will go into a new monthlong lockdown on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday.
Read more at: England lockdown: Boris Johnson issues new stay-at-home order | News | DW | 31.10.2020
Read more at: England lockdown: Boris Johnson issues new stay-at-home order | News | DW | 31.10.2020
10/20/20
EU-Britain Negotiations-Stalemate: No more trade talks unless EU changes position, Johnson says
There will be no more trade talks with the European Union unless the bloc fundamentally changes its stance on the discussions, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his Greek counterpart in a call on Tuesday.
Read more at: No more trade talks unless EU changes position, Johnson says | Reuters
Read more at: No more trade talks unless EU changes position, Johnson says | Reuters
10/11/20
Britain: Brexit poll: Brits say leaving EU without a trade deal would be bad - by Adam Payne
- Nearly two-thirds of Brits believe leaving the Brexit transition period without a trade deal with the EU would be a "bad" outcome for the UK, a new poll has found.
- The survey shared exclusively with Business Insider, found strong opposition to a no-deal outcome in every part of the UK.
- The highest level of opposition was in Scotland, where polls suggest growing support for independence.
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently described no deal as a "good outcome" and last weekend said the UK would "prosper mightily" in the event of widespread disruption.
Brexit poll: Brits say leaving EU without a trade deal would be bad - Business Insider
9/18/20
‘Britain: Trumpite’ Boris Johnson wants EU to fail, former British diplomat says - by Denis Staunton
‘Britain’s former ambassador to the European Union Ivan Rogers has predicted that Britain will leave the post-Brexit transition at the end of this year with no deal, describing Boris Johnson as a Trumpite politician who wants the EU to fail.
“Johnson
and his team persuaded themselves that the EU would be so panicked that
they would give in eventually. And it didn’t happen. Boris didn’t, I
believe, start off as a true no dealer, but he seems now formally in the
camp with Dominic Cummings: ‘to hell with it, we should walk away’,” Sir Ivan told The Irish Times.
“He
is quite Trumpite in method; he was always fascinated by Trump and his
strategy to take the other side by surprise and destabilise it.”
Read more at:
Trumpite’ Boris Johnson wants EU to fail, former British diplomat says
9/11/20
Britain: Boris Johnson's premiership is a calamity for Britain - and he knows it - by Peter Osborne
He was a joy to work for, a fine editor and a loyal colleague with the quickest mind I had ever encountered.
Over the last few months I have found myself trying to reconcile the exhilarating and generous individual I knew so well back then with today’s prime minister of Britain.
A prime minister who shamelessly lies to parliament, who misled the Queen over the prorogation of parliament, who wages permanent war on the independent civil service and who turned his back on Britain’s international obligations by pledging to tear up his own Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.
It’s as if we are talking about two different people. Johnson of the Spectator stood up for the rule of law, for British institutions, for the union, for the international order and for the honest politics which as prime minister he daily subverts.
Back then he had a sophisticated understanding of policy - one which disdained simple solutions. We would have lucid discussions of complex issues, either in weekly conferences or at the famous Spectator lunches.
Boris was sunny, liberal, optimistic and pragmatic. So how did Johnson of the Spectator turn into the man who trashes Britain’s reputation by ripping up international agreements?
I acknowledge Middle Eastern readers will have allowed themselves a hollow laugh by this stage, given Britain's record in the region. The betrayal of the Arabs after World War One. The invasion of Iraq. The abuse of the UN Security Council resolution in Libya. The extraordinary rendition and torture. A blind eye to Israel’s violations of international law and being complicit in Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
Read more at:
Boris Johnson's premiership is a calamity for Britain - and he knows it | Middle East Eye
Over the last few months I have found myself trying to reconcile the exhilarating and generous individual I knew so well back then with today’s prime minister of Britain.
A prime minister who shamelessly lies to parliament, who misled the Queen over the prorogation of parliament, who wages permanent war on the independent civil service and who turned his back on Britain’s international obligations by pledging to tear up his own Withdrawal Agreement with the EU.
It’s as if we are talking about two different people. Johnson of the Spectator stood up for the rule of law, for British institutions, for the union, for the international order and for the honest politics which as prime minister he daily subverts.
Back then he had a sophisticated understanding of policy - one which disdained simple solutions. We would have lucid discussions of complex issues, either in weekly conferences or at the famous Spectator lunches.
Boris was sunny, liberal, optimistic and pragmatic. So how did Johnson of the Spectator turn into the man who trashes Britain’s reputation by ripping up international agreements?
I acknowledge Middle Eastern readers will have allowed themselves a hollow laugh by this stage, given Britain's record in the region. The betrayal of the Arabs after World War One. The invasion of Iraq. The abuse of the UN Security Council resolution in Libya. The extraordinary rendition and torture. A blind eye to Israel’s violations of international law and being complicit in Saudi war crimes in Yemen.
Read more at:
Boris Johnson's premiership is a calamity for Britain - and he knows it | Middle East Eye
7/1/20
Britain: Johnson warns Israel against plans to annex part of West Bank
Britain: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has
urged Israel not to go ahead with the annexation of part of the occupied
West Bank, saying it would be illegal and "contrary" to the country's
interests.
Read more at:
Johnson warns Israel against plans to annex part of West Bank - BBC News
5/16/20
Brexit: EU-UK talks: 'disappointing' progress, says Barnier
COVID-19, with both chief negotiator Michel Barnier and the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson being personally affected.
In the meantime, a June deadline for significant progress is looming, and key arguments remain unresolved. Questions remain over fishing rights, how closely the UK will stick to EU regulations and allowing a role for the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice.
More bumps in the road came this week, as the EU Commission opened infringement proceedings against the UK for failing to comply with free movement rules. While the UK said the EU was at risk of breaching the terms of the Brexit agreement over British expats registering to stay in the EU.
Read more at:
EU-UK talks: 'disappointing' progress, says Barnier | Euronews
In the meantime, a June deadline for significant progress is looming, and key arguments remain unresolved. Questions remain over fishing rights, how closely the UK will stick to EU regulations and allowing a role for the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice.
More bumps in the road came this week, as the EU Commission opened infringement proceedings against the UK for failing to comply with free movement rules. While the UK said the EU was at risk of breaching the terms of the Brexit agreement over British expats registering to stay in the EU.
Read more at:
EU-UK talks: 'disappointing' progress, says Barnier | Euronews
4/7/20
Britain: Coronavirus: PM Boris Johnson spends night in intensive care after his symptoms worsen
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is
spending the night in intensive care at a central London hospital after
his coronavirus symptoms worsened.
Mr Johnson has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise "where necessary", a spokesman added.
The prime minister, 55, was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital with "persistent symptoms" on Sunday evening.
The Queen has been kept informed about Mr Johnson's health by No 10, according to Buckingham Palace.
World leaders - including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron - have expressed their support for Mr Johnson.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said the prime minister was given oxygen late on Monday afternoon, before being taken to intensive care.
The move means the prime minister is closer to a ventilator - which takes over the body's breathing process - although it is understood he is not on one.
Read more at: Coronavirus: Boris Johnson spends night in intensive care after symptoms worsen - BBC News
4/5/20
Britain: Boris Johnson admitted to hospital with coronavirus
Move follows rumours that prime minister’s condition had been worsening at home.
Read more at :
http://eu-digest.blogspot.com/2020/04/dutch-flower-industry-continues-to.html
Read more at :
http://eu-digest.blogspot.com/2020/04/dutch-flower-industry-continues-to.html
2/27/20
Britain:The mouse who roars- as Biritain-EU start exit negotiations : "We will walk away if no deal likely in June, Johnson warns EU – by Benjamin Fox
The mandate states that the outline of a deal should be in place at a June summit “and be capable of being rapidly finalised by September”.
“If that does not seem to be the case at the June meeting, the government will need to decide whether the UK’s attention should move away from negotiations and focus solely on continuing domestic preparations to exit the transition period in an orderly fashion,” it says.
The UK has threatened to walk away from Brexit trade talks and head towards WTO trading terms with the EU if a draft deal is not in place in June, according to the mandate published by Boris Johnson’s government on Thursday (27 February).
The mandate states that the outline of a deal should be in place at a June summit “and be capable of being rapidly finalised by September”.
“If that does not seem to be the case at the June meeting, the government will need to decide whether the UK’s attention should move away from negotiations and focus solely on continuing domestic preparations to exit the transition period in an orderly fashion,” it says.
Note EU-Digest: Boris Johnson is playing a dangerous game, with some European politicians calling him " the mouse who roars"
Read more at: We will walk away if no deal likely in June, Johnson warns EU – EURACTIV.com
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