Thursday, February 13

Day: June 26, 2016

What now? How leaving the EU will affect our everyday lives
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

What now? How leaving the EU will affect our everyday lives

    I’m heading on holiday to France in a few weeks’ time. Has our Brexit vote changed anything in practical terms? Currency volatility at one stage pushed sterling to a low of €1.20, 15% less than the rate that families travelling to the continent for their summer break received last year. It then recovered to €1.25, meaning that anyone who spent £500 on holidays last year will now have to spend another £68 to get the same amount of euros post-Brexit. I have been considering studying abroad (within Europe), but have not yet made a decision. Will I be able to do that now? Undergraduates in England pay the highest tuition fees in the world, leading to some going to cheaper European universities. The National Union of Students has said that the effect of Brexit could lead to vis...
Brexit: Half of Labour top team set to resign
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Brexit: Half of Labour top team set to resign

    Up to half of the shadow cabinet is set to resign in a bid to force Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to step down, the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg understands. It follows Corbyn's sacking of shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn. Shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander has said that she is resigning "with a heavy heart". Corbyn faces a vote of no confidence over claims he was "lacklustre" during the EU referendum - but sources close to Mr Corbyn said he would stand again.On the sacking of the shadow foreign secretary overnight, a Labour source told the BBC Mr Corbyn had "lost confidence" in Mr Benn. Benn, who is to appear on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show shortly, said there was concern about Mr Corbyn's "leadership and his ability to win an election". He added: "There is no confidence t...
Brexit to cause immigration surge as 500,000 East Europeans will rush in before borders close
ENGLISH, Europe

Brexit to cause immigration surge as 500,000 East Europeans will rush in before borders close

    Britain faces an influx of 500,000 East European ¬migrants because of Brexit. They are predicted to rush into the UK over the next two years before our borders are closed. The stark warning comes from ¬former Immigration minister Phil Woolas, who served under Gordon Brown’s ¬premiership. Brexit reaction and in-depth analysis on our dedicated page Mr Woolas, 56, says: “Every time the UK Government announces a cap on immigration, thousands rush in before the deadline. “Would-be immigrants see that the door is about to slam. So they bring forward their plans and a last-minute rush heads for the UK. In the Home Office, they call it the fire sale.” Mr Woolas, former Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, added: “I faced the same problem in 2008 when the last Labour governme...
EU referendum petition signed by more than 2.5m
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

EU referendum petition signed by more than 2.5m

    More than 2.5 million people have signed a petition calling for a second EU referendum, after the vote to leave. It has more signatures than any other on the parliamentary website and as it has passed 100,000, Parliament will consider it for a debate. The UK voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48% in Thursday's referendum but the majority of voters in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backed Remain. David Cameron has previously said there will be no second referendum. On Friday he said he would stand down as prime minister by October following the leave result.A House of Commons spokeswoman said the petition was created on 24 May. There were 22 signatures on it at the time the referendum result was announced. She said the petition site had temporarily gone down at one poin...
What have we done: teenage anger over Brexit vote
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

What have we done: teenage anger over Brexit vote

    As the result of the EU referendum became clear, the poll's divisive effects across generational lines became highly visible online. Some of the most visceral reaction to the Leave vote came under two related hashtags: "Not in my name" and "What have we done" shot into Twitter's top trends list on Friday morning and were used more than 20,000 times combined. Twitter does not reflect the general population's view. The social network's demographic skews much younger than the UK's population as a whole. Pre-vote polls indicated that young people were more likely to vote Remain, and thus many commenters using the hashtags were decrying the result. What does the term Brexit mean? It is a word that has become used as a shorthand way of saying the UK leaving the EU - merging the ...