Tag: Featured

    David Cameron will resign as Prime Minister on Wednesday saying that he leaves Britain a "stronger country" with a "thriving economy and more chances to get on in life". Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Cameron says "it has been a privilege to serve the country I love" as he attempts to shift the focus of his legacy away from Brexit. He will address the Commons for the final time as Prime Minister where he will highlight his record as a reforming Conservative who introduced same-sex marriage and commitment to spending on foreign aid. He will then make a speech in Downing Street standing alongside his wife, Samantha, and their three children before leaving No 10 for the final time before heading to Buckingham Palace to formally resign. On Tuesday he chaired his final Cabinet m...

    She's a vicar's daughter who's a fan of Geoffrey Boycott, kitten heels, colourful clothes and cooking. She drinks Earl Grey tea, has more than 100 cook books and lives in the same picture postcard village as George Clooney. Theresa May, who will be 60 in October, suddenly finds herself poised to become Prime Minister two months earlier than she expected. She will have Cabinet appointments to make, favours to repay and a Conservative Party badly split by the EU referendum to unite. But she will do all those in her usual unflappable manner, without fuss and with the steel and determination she has shown in her six years as Home Secretary. At her side, more than ever as she prepares to move into Britain's most famous address, 10 Downing Street, will be her loyal husband Phili...

    The FTSE 100 index burst into bull market territory after Theresa May emerged as successor to David Cameron, providing a further boost to surging stocks on both sides of the Atlantic. Within minutes of Andrea Leadsom announcing that she was leaving the field clear for May to become leader, the index of Britain’s biggest listed companies rose to the point where it had gained more than 20% since February’s low – the technical definition of a bull market. The FTSE100 has now risen by 1,145 points since it hit a 2016 nadir of 5537 on 11 February, when investors were anxious about the low oil price and threat of global recession. Share prices had already been supported by growing speculation that the Bank of England is ready to cut interest rates from 0.5% to 0.25% on Thursday ...

    I’m not even sure I should be writing this. I am, after all, a childless woman. Do I have enough of a stake in the future of our society to have an opinion? Can I really get my head around the complex, emotionally knotty issues of the day when my childless state means I’m incapable of understanding anything as profoundly as a mother can? I only ask because Andrea Leadsom – the woman who until yesterday was our potential future prime minister – seemed to be worrying about my ability to care. Her comments that she was more “directly” involved in the future of our country because she had children, while Theresa May had none proved to be the final nail in the coffin of her putative leadership bid. I wasn’t particularly surprised. Remarks like Leadsom’s go far beyond the usual ...

    The chancellor, George Osborne, will urge US investors not to turn their backs on Britain as he begins a world tour aimed at building new trade ties outside the European Union. Osborne will meet senior figures from Wall Street in New York on Monday during the first of several missions to major economies to discuss the ramifications of Brexit on trade links. “Britain and the US have been at the forefront of open trade in the last 200 years and pursuing a stronger relationship with our biggest trading partners is now a top priority,” the chancellor said. Osborne hopes to use the New York visit to present the referendum vote as a “golden opportunity” for US investors to forge an even stronger relationship with Britain, the Treasury said in a statement. The US is already the l...

    Leadsom came in for criticism from party colleagues Andrea Leadsom has dropped out of the Conservative leadership race, clearing the way for Theresa to be named Britain’s next Prime Minister. It follows a torrid week for the Tory leadership contender who came under attack from senior Conservative colleagues for her incendiary comments on Theresa May’s childlessness. In an interview this morning Ms Leadsom said that she felt she was “under attack, under enormous pressure”. “It has been shattering,” she added. There are suggestions, however, that the party would need to find an alternative to Ms Leadsom to allow the 150,000 party members a proper choice. The junior energy minister, who was a vocal campaigner and voice in the Leave campaign during the European Union referendu...

    A Conservative MP received an early diagnosis for Lyme disease after talking with a constituent about the infectious illness. Michelle Donelan, MP for Chippenham, believes she was bitten by a tick a week ago. The 32-year-old said she ignored the resulting rash until she researched the symptoms after discussing the level of care for Lyme disease. Ms Donelan told the Gazette & Herald: "I knew that I wasn’t well, I had the rash for a week and it was getting worse but I thought nothing of it. On Friday I held my surgery and had a chap come in and he wanted to talk about level of care and Lyme disease. I did a bit of research on it and saw the symptoms and that’s how my rash looked. She posted on Facebook, she has been receiving treatment at Bath's Royal United Hospital, jo...