July 25, 2019July 25, 2019 by Crimson Tazvinzwa

Boris Johnson forms his government

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Boris Johnson’s dream cabinet could be the most amazing thing ever
But it probably won’t be. Still, we can hope, eh?///Mirror

Boris Johnson has chosen his top team after moving into Number 10 as Britain’s new prime minister

Three of the four great offices of state (Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary) are held by the children of immigrants, two are held by children of refugees//CRIMSON TAZVINZWA/

Sajid Javid is Chancellor, Priti Patel is Home Secretary, Dominic Raab is both Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State
Michael Gove becomes Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, his fifth Cabinet job. Matt Hancock remains Health Secretary and Gavin Williamson is Education Secretary. Amber Rudd remains Work and Pension Secretary and Geoffrey Cox stays as Attorney General.
Jacob Rees-Mogg becomes Leader of the House of Commons
Grant Shapps is appointed Transport Secretary and Alok Sharma is International Development Secretary.
Ben Wallace is Defence Secretary, Steven Barclay remains Brexit Secretary, Liz Truss is promoted to International Trade Secretary, Andrea Leadsom is Business Secretary, Nicky Morgan is the new Culture Secretary. Robert Jenrick has been appointed Housing Secretary, Robert Buckland is Justice Secretary, Alun Cairns keeps his position as Welsh Secretary.
Jeremy Hunt has left the government after reportedly turning down the offer of Defence Secretary.
Twelve or more Cabinet ministers have been sacked or resigned. Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox, Greg Clark, Damian Hinds, James Brokenshire, David Mundell, Chris Grayling and Jeremy Hunt are no longer in government. Earlier, Philip Hammond, David Lidington, David Gauke and Rory Stewart pre-emptively resigned from the Cabinet.
Immigration minister Caroline Nokes and Commons Leader Mel Stride have been fired. Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright have also reportedly been removed.
Three of the four great offices of state (Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary) are held by the children of immigrants, two are held by children of refugees.
The new Cabinet will meet for the first time at 8.30 tomorrow morning (if Boris can get up on time).

Coffee House will be back tomorrow with even more analysis, and the latest on Boris Johnson’s new government//JAMES FORSYTH

52.6368778-1.1397592

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May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by Crimson Tazvinzwa

BREXIT, EU elections: Key to Labour victory on May 23rd is the contrasting “nasty nationalism of Brexit Party”; Tom Watson

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott chatted to youngsters using a climbing wall Credit: Danny Lawson/PA

Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson believes the key to Labour’s vote holding up on May 23rd is portraying the election as a choice between the “nasty nationalism of the Farage Brexit Party” and “the tolerant, compassionate outward-looking patriotism of the Labour Party”/Sienna @siennamarla

Cross-party Brexit talks resumed Monday… again.

More than five weeks after the negotiations first began, you might have assumed they would only be ongoing because at least one participant thought progress was being made. But that’s not the case.

I believe there has been a genuine desire on both sides to come to an agreement, yet – as I’ve said before in this email – both leaders have been constrained by their parties.

While Brexiteers were naturally always opposed to the idea of softening of Brexit to win Labour votes, Theresa May has now also been advised by more Remain-y cabinet ministers previously supportive of the talks to pull the plug according to The Times. Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, et al. reckon it is now time for government-sponsored indicative votes. (Whether the Prime Minister goes down that route or launches directly into the riskier withdrawal agreement bill process remains to be seen. The latter could be more successful as explained here.)

On the Labour side, Keir Starmer has gone public with his view that no Brexit deal can get through the Commons without a referendum attached, as this is a red line for so many Labour MPs. And describing Labour as the “remain and reform party” (a characterisation not recognised by multiple frontbenchers, nor the leader), Tom Watson repeated the Shadow Brexit Secretary’s estimated parliamentary arithmetic this morning. The government was never going to grant the wish of a public vote, so the notion of a Labour-Tory deal has been successfully quashed by PVers.

Labour’s deputy leader has been stepping up his calls for the party to shift on Brexit in the run-up to the European elections taking place in just 10 days. Last week, we reported on the second Future Britain Group meeting, which saw Watson set out a campaign strategy and express concerns about the possibility that Remain-supporting Labour voters will abstain on May 23rd. Today, he will deliver much the same message at a memorial lecture for the late former leader John Smith.

“If John was alive today… I have no doubt that he would have taken a stand very similar to that of his deputy, Margaret Beckett, and backed a People’s Vote as a way out of this destructive mess,” Watson will say at the Fabian event.

He believes the key to Labour’s vote holding up on May 23rd is portraying the election as a choice between the “nasty nationalism of the Farage Brexit Party” and “the tolerant, compassionate outward-looking patriotism of the Labour Party”.

The hope is that this approach also plays into the ‘Farage paradox‘. The latest poll shows the Brexit Party getting more votes than Labour and the Tories combined, however.

Sienna @siennamarla

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April 28, 2019April 28, 2019 by Crimson Tazvinzwa

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond to decide on future of 1p and 2p coins

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Chancellor decides on the future of 1p and 2p coins after he called them “obsolete”; BBC News

Chancellor Philip Hammond will this week rule on the future of 1p and 2p coins, a year after he called them “obsolete”.

In his Spring Statement in 2018, a Treasury consultation about the mix of coins in circulation appeared to pave the way for the end of both of them.

A swift reverse by the Prime Minister’s official spokesman declared there were no plans to scrap the copper coins.
The Treasury has declined to comment on a report that there will be a reprieve.
But it confirmed that “the result of the review will be announced shortly”.

The Mail on Sunday quoted a government source as saying: “We will confirm the penny coin won’t be scrapped.”

Penny definitions

Pretty penny: considerable sum of money
Penny dropped: something was finally understood
Penny-dreadful: a cheap, often lurid, book or magazine
Penny-pinching: miserly
Penny-wise: Careful and thrifty in small matters
Source: Collins English Dictionary

That Treasury consultation document said surveys suggested six-in-10 of UK 1p and 2p coins were only used once before being put in a jar or discarded, while one-in-12 were thrown into a bin.

The value of the 1p coin has also been reduced by inflation so, in effect, the 1p coin is now worth less than the halfpenny when it was abolished in 1984.

Among many of those who support the continuing use of copper coins, the belief is that retailers would simply round up prices to the nearest 5p if copper coins were scrapped.

But writing on the Bank of England’s blog, Bank Underground, staff members Marilena Angeli and Jack Meaning last year argued that – even if this happened – it would have little or no effect on the cost of living, as measured by inflation.

They also argued that the growth of non-cash payments – particularly contactless cards – meant that shoppers could still be charged the exact amount when paying by card.

Thirdly, the duo quoted figures showing that only 12% of prices ended with 99p, with a falling number of items now priced at, say, £1.99.

Many countries – including Canada, the home of Bank of England governor Mark Carney – have ditched their low denomination coins. Australia, Brazil, and Sweden are among many others to do so.

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Category / Philip Hammond

Boris Johnson forms his government

Boris Johnson has chosen his top team after moving into Number 10 as Britain’s new prime minister

Three of the four great offices of state (Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary) are held by the children of immigrants, two are held by children of refugees//CRIMSON TAZVINZWA/

BREXIT, EU elections: Key to Labour victory on May 23rd is the contrasting “nasty nationalism of Brexit Party”; Tom Watson

Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson believes the key to Labour’s vote holding up on May 23rd is portraying the election as a choice between the “nasty nationalism of the Farage Brexit Party” and “the tolerant, compassionate outward-looking patriotism of the Labour Party”/Sienna @siennamarla

Cross-party Brexit talks resumed Monday… again.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond to decide on future of 1p and 2p coins

Chancellor decides on the future of 1p and 2p coins after he called them “obsolete”; BBC News

Penny definitions

Boris Johnson has chosen his top team after moving into Number 10 as Britain’s new prime minister

Three of the four great offices of state (Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary) are held by the children of immigrants, two are held by children of refugees//CRIMSON TAZVINZWA/

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Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson believes the key to Labour’s vote holding up on May 23rd is portraying the election as a choice between the “nasty nationalism of the Farage Brexit Party” and “the tolerant, compassionate outward-looking patriotism of the Labour Party”/Sienna @siennamarla

Cross-party Brexit talks resumed Monday… again.

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Chancellor decides on the future of 1p and 2p coins after he called them “obsolete”; BBC News

Penny definitions

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