For Country, For Party

As a Young Conservative, I support our Prime Minister. In opening with that I’m sure I’ve just alienated the entire Labour Party, all 42 Liberal Democrats, and the right wing of the Conservative Party – but they aren’t who I aim to convince. Although I actively campaigned to remain a member of the European Union, I fully accepted the result of the 2016 referendum.

Cognitive Dissonance

The Prime Minister has shockingly called for a snap General Election on the 8^th June, aptly described as a “bolt from the blue” by the Telegraph. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, this requires a two thirds majority vote by MPs, suspending the previous prerogative power to dissolve Parliament at any time. The motion was passed this afternoon by a huge margin of 522 to 13, forcing me to confront a dilemma I have been avoiding for some time.

A Very British Revolution

Parliament has passed the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, with both House of Lords amendments removed. Once given Royal Assent by HM The Queen, it will allow the government to trigger Article 50 in time for the Prime Minister’s own end-of-March deadline and begin the official two-year process of our exit from the Union.

The Lords’ Amendment

My attention was caught by a sidelined comment at Prime Minister’s Questions last week. Focusing on the announced changes to Personal Independence Payment in light of a recent court decision, the Leader of the Opposition claimed it was his party that introduced parity between mental and physical health in the NHS, and suggested the Prime Minister offer her thanks for their doing so.

The Brexit Plan

The government’s objectives for Brexit were finally declared by the Prime Minister in recent weeks. Her long-awaited speech was met with very mixed and often unnuanced reactions, highlighting the lingering societal divisions of the referendum campaign. Ironically, unity struck me as the opening theme of the speech, in sharp contrast to the apparent Brexit mentality of separation.

Qash(qai) Investment

Despite warnings to the contrary during the EU referendum campaign, Nissan delivered some good news last week. In a surprise announcement, it has emerged that the new model of Qashqai will continue to be produced at its Sunderland plant from 2019, along with the first X-Trail model to be built outside of Japan. The decision directly secures 7000 jobs on the site, plus an estimated 28,000 further along the supply chain.

Marmitegate

A very public standoff emerged this week between the UK’s largest supermarket chain, Tesco, and multinational brand giant, Unilever. The supplier attempted to raise its prices by 10%, citing an increase in costs due to Brexit, but Tesco refused to accept the change. Products, most notably Marmite, were withdrawn from its website and began to disappear from store shelves as stock levels fell. It later emerged that Unilever was trying to use Brexit as a smokescreen to cover general price hikes, and the two came to a negotiated solution, but it does foreshadow real problems to come.

NTPG: EU Review

The Northern Tory Policy Group has thus far published two articles in a series on the EU referendum debate, with the first by Philip Davies MP (writing for Leave) and the second by Kevin Hollinrake MP (writing for Remain). The biggest difference I noticed between the two was that, although Davies’ article felt more impassioned, Hollinrake’s was supported much more extensively by statistics and polling from respected independent bodies; perhaps an apt reflection of both campaigns as a whole.

Peace for Our Time

“Prime Minister claims Brexit would lead to World War III!” A tad hyperbolic, no? Despite this, it has raised questions over the scale of the EU’s role in the peace and stability enjoyed by the continent for decades past, and the security implications of the referendum result. I shall therefore, once again, attempt to address them.

Boris Asked a Question

Boris Johnson challenged the Remain campaign to answer five questions in a Facebook retaliation to Jack Straw’s branding of him as a “Putin apologist” over comments he made about the Ukraine conflict. Without invoking Godwin’s Law, I thought I would take a shot at answering them.