Party’s reticence could be connected to the problems, both political and personal, it is facingAt the time of writing, five of the main Northern Ireland assembly parties remain locked in talks at Hillsborough Castle.Even after the departures of Gordon Brown to London and Brian Cowen to Dublin, the parties are still engaged in discussions aimed [...]
Harriet Harman offered a bizarre excuse for the sidelining of Tony Wright’s worthwhile plans for improving Commons procedure”In the midst of all the rancour and recrimination, let us seize the moment to lift our politics to a higher standard,” Gordon Brown declared at the height of the expenses crisis last year. He obviously didn’t mean [...]
Afghanistan’s president says leaders expect to emerge from today’s London conference with a ‘clear agenda’ for the next five yearsBritish troops could remain in Afghanistan for another 15 years, the country’s president Hamid Karzai said today.In a BBC interview before the start of the London conference on the future of Afghanistan, Karzai said that although [...]
If any general election could be said to be a good one to lose, it may be this oneBritain’s unexpectedly fragile return to economic growth has the potential to dent both of the core slogans at any general election. “Don’t let the opposition ruin it,” may ring hollow after six quarters of recession. But so [...]
The great fear in Northern Ireland is that republican dissident paramilitaries fill the political vacuumWell, golly. Northern Ireland’s politicians can’t agree. Forget Groundhog Day – we’ve already had our deja vu. And when they can’t agree, in fly the British and Irish prime ministers to try to sort things out. And after hours and hours [...]
UK PM Gordon Brown backs Afghan plans to talk to moderate Taliban as he takes part in a BBC-organised debate.
Police say ‘all eventualities’ taken into account when planning security for London conference co-hosted by Gordon BrownThe Metropolitan police said that it had taken “all eventualities” into account when planning security for tomorrow’s conference on Afghanistan.The one-day meeting – which will be co-hosted by Gordon Brown, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and the UN secretary [...]
Prime minister says British and Irish governments will publish plans for moving political process forward if deadlock not brokenGordon Brown today gave the parties locked in talks at the Stormont Assembly 48 hours to save power-sharing in Northern Ireland.As he left the province after three days of negotiations, the prime minister warned that the British [...]
As Harman takes the wheel at PMQs, the government looks less roadworthy by the dayLike an abandoned car rusting in a backyard, bits keep falling off this government. Every day it looks more decrepit and less roadworthy. Today Gordon Brown was trying, and so far failing, to rescue power sharing in Northern Ireland. Possibly the [...]
‘Draconian’ restrictions imposed by Gordon Brown as chancellor exceeded government’s powers, say justicesOrders to freeze the assets of five terror suspects, imposed without parliament’s approval by Gordon Brown during his time as chancellor, have been ruled illegal by the UK supreme court.The seven supreme court justices described the sweeping financial powers contained in two asset-freezing [...]