All posts tagged: PMs

Senior Tory Says ‘Crazy’ Way Conservatives Choose PMs Needs To Change

Senior Tory Says ‘Crazy’ Way Conservatives Choose PMs Needs To Change

Published by skeptic

A senior Tory backbencher has called for the Conservatives to change how it selects new leaders when the party is in government. As chair of the backbench 1922 committee, Graham Brady is the one who receives letters of no confidence from other Tory MPs wishing to oust their leader. He has been in the role throughout the last few years, as the party – and the country – has been led by Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Brady told students at Durham University last Thursday that if a Conservative PM leave office, MPs should decide who takes their place. At the moment, grassroots Conservative organisations can choose their successor. That is how Truss first got into office, even though Sunak had more support from MPs. In a recording leaked to The Telegraph this week, Brady said it was “crazy” Tory members could choose a prime minister. He pointed back to former Tory leader Lord Hague’s reform to the selection process in 1997. He changed the process so Tory MPs choose two potential contenders …

Madrid prosecutors ask judge to shelve investigation into Spanish PM’s wife | Spain

Madrid prosecutors ask judge to shelve investigation into Spanish PM’s wife | Spain

Published by skeptic

Prosecutors in Madrid have asked a judge to throw out a preliminary corruption investigation against the wife of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, as the pressure group behind the complaint admitted its allegations may be based on incorrect media reports. Sánchez, whose socialist party has governed Spain since 2018, shocked the country on Wednesday night by announcing that he was considering resigning over what he termed a baseless “harassment and bullying operation” being waged against him and his wife by his political and media opponents. The prime minister said the “seriousness of the attacks” he and his wife, Begoña Gómez, were experiencing had led him to re-evaluate his position, and that he would reveal his decision on Monday. His announcement came hours after a Madrid court opened a preliminary investigation into Gómez’s business affairs, following a complaint made by a pressure group whose leader has links to the far right and which frequently brings legal action against those it accuses of acting against Spain’s democratic interests. The group, Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), has accused Gómez …

Trussonomic lessons: what can be learned from former PM’s book? | Economic policy

Trussonomic lessons: what can be learned from former PM’s book? | Economic policy

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Raw free-market economics is missing in action. Somewhere between its 1980s ascendancy and today, the media, politicians, civil service and even the corporate mainstream abandoned small government and low taxes. At the heart of Liz Truss’s new book, Ten Years to Save the West, the former prime minister reckons this is the reason for Britain’s economic drift, alongside “unelected technocrats” overruling the “wishes of the people”. The UK’s main economic institutions – the Treasury, Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility (a “three-headed hydra”) – come under fire for standing in the way of her project, launched not with an election mandate but a Tory party selection process. However, could there be other lessons from Truss’s 49 days in power – measurable in the shelf life of a lettuce – unacknowledged in a book with more pages? Bond market meltdown “There was no word of warning about any likely issues with the bond markets, and no one mentioned the issues surrounding liability-driven investments.” The trouble is, this does not appear to be entirely …

Irish PM’s St Patrick’s Day talks with Biden overshadowed by Gaza

Irish PM’s St Patrick’s Day talks with Biden overshadowed by Gaza

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US President Joe Biden and Ireland’s Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar walk down the steps of the Capitol, following the Friends of Ireland luncheon, in Washington, US, March 15, 2024. KEVIN LAMARQUE / REUTERS The Irish prime minister’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day visit to the White House is normally a joyful affair – but this year the war in Gaza cast a shadow darker than a rainy Dublin sky. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Joe Biden – who loves to celebrate his Irish ancestry – found themselves having to paper over a deep split over Israel’s handling of the conflict. Varadkar has been one of Europe’s most critical leaders over the situation in Gaza, calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Biden meanwhile continues to send key US ally Israel weapons, while pushing for a six-week truce. Their differences were on stark display on Friday. “The president was very clear that the US would continue to support Israel and to assist Israel to defend itself, so I don’t think that’s going to change,” Varadkar …

Haitian PM’s resignation paves way for uncertain transition

Haitian PM’s resignation paves way for uncertain transition

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Haitians call for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry outside the Marriott Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 8, 2024. RICARDO ARDUENGO / REUTERS After several days steeped in a wave of violence, the outcome seemed inevitable, and many in Haiti were impatient to see it happen. Ariel Henry, the unpopular transitional prime minister who was sworn in to lead the country in July 2021, announced his resignation in an address dated Monday, March 11, and posted on social media shortly after midnight on Tuesday. “The government I lead, after tonight’s cabinet meeting, has agreed to set up a transitional presidential council,” said the 74-year-old leader, in Haitian Creole. Read more Subscribers only Crisis in Haiti prompts thousands to flee to Dominican Republic The members of this transitional council “will be appointed after an agreement between different sectors of national life,” continued Henry, a former neurosurgeon who had been appointed as prime minister by President Jovenel Moïse two days before the latter was assassinated. It is not yet known when Henry, who has …

Downing Street Mocked For Lack Of Evidence On PM’s Mob Rule Claim

Downing Street Mocked For Lack Of Evidence On PM’s Mob Rule Claim

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Downing Street has failed to provide any evidence to back up Rishi Sunak’s claim that there is a “growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule” in the UK. The prime minister made the extraordinary allegation as he met with police leaders to discuss the wave of protests which have taken place over the war between Israel and Hamas. At a briefing for political journalists this morning, the PM’s spokesman was repeatedly asked what Sunak had based his claims on. While he was able to point to specific examples of disruption caused by protesters, he could not explain why the prime minister believes most people now believe Britain’s entire political system is now under threat from lawless groups. The spokesman said: “In recent months we’ve witnessed attempts to hijack legitimate protest and subvert the democratic process, MPs have been threatened and had their family homes targeted, council meetings have been repeatedly disrupted and in some cases abandoned, constituency fundraisers have been over-run. “The PM was also referring to incidents like the blocking of Tower …

Ofcom launches investigation into PM’s appearance on GB News

Ofcom launches investigation into PM’s appearance on GB News

Published by Sam

Ofcom has launched an investigation into Rishi Sunak’s recent appearance on GB News. The prime minister answered questions on a range of topics from an audience on the show, but complainants alleged that no alternative view was offered. During the broadcast, presenter Stephen Dixon said the questions were being asked by undecided voters and had not been seen in advance by Mr Sunak or by GB News. Politics Live: Labour shifts tone on Israel In a statement, the UK’s communications and broadcast regulator said: “We have received around 500 complaints about the programme which aired on GB News on 12 February 2024. “We are investigating under Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code which provide additional due impartiality requirements for programmes dealing with matters of major political controversy and major matters relating to current public policy. “Specifically, Rules 5.11 and 5.12 require that an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight in such programmes, or in clearly linked and timely programmes.” The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Mr …

Rishi Sunak: Ofcom launches investigation into PM’s appearance on GB News | UK News

Rishi Sunak: Ofcom launches investigation into PM’s appearance on GB News | UK News

Published by skeptic

Ofcom has launched an investigation into Rishi Sunak’s recent appearance on GB News. The prime minister answered questions on a range of topics from an audience on the show, but complainants alleged that no alternative view was offered. During the broadcast, presenter Stephen Dixon said the questions were being asked by undecided voters and had not been seen in advance by Mr Sunak or by GB News. Politics Live: Labour shifts tone on Israel In a statement, the UK’s communications and broadcast regulator said: “We have received around 500 complaints about the programme which aired on GB News on 12 February 2024. “We are investigating under Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code which provide additional due impartiality requirements for programmes dealing with matters of major political controversy and major matters relating to current public policy. “Specifically, Rules 5.11 and 5.12 require that an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight in such programmes, or in clearly linked and timely programmes.” The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Mr …

The Red Flag Signs Your PMS Is Something More Serious

The Red Flag Signs Your PMS Is Something More Serious

Published by Sam

If you get periods, you may have experienced premenstrual syndrome (PMS). This is a set of symptoms, including mood swings, headaches, and even spots that some people experience before their period. The phenomenon is common enough to have made its way into common parlance ― but we recently spoke to Dr. Samantha Wild, Women’s Health Clinic Lead and GP at Bupa Health Clinics, about premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PMS’s more severe sister. Shortened to PMDD, the condition affects “Between two and eight women in every 100,” Dr. Wild says. Its “symptoms are similar to PMS but much more severe and often last longer than PMS,” she shared ― explaining that the condition can be really hard on patients’ mental health, making them feel much more “angry, anxious and irritable.” What are the signs it’s PMDD rather than PMS? “The timing and severity of your symptoms will indicate whether or not you have PMDD,” Dr. Wilde says. Irritability, anger, or aggression may be symptoms of PMDD, alongside experiencing a very low mood or depression. Individuals with PMDD …