Faisal Islam
@faisalislam
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Econ Editor, BBC News. Newsnight presenter. Host award-winning EUref TV interviews & 2017 GE debate. United ST. occasional Eurovision vocalist đ
Joined March 2009
Hello all - Iâm back on here, back in economics and after a few weeks wilfully getting lost in transit, am newly on heređđž, and shortly on air in a new role as Economics Editor of the BBC. first take on data, trade wars, Brexit, fiscal gymnastics. đ
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Japan building revolutionary 177 mile maglev from Tokyo to Nagoya for ÂŁ45bn, 90% in tunnels under mountains as part of integrated Shinkansen systemâŚ. equivalent of London to Manchester (in straight line) in 40 minutes⌠at 310mph⌠.
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Sage epidemiologist Professor John Edmunds asked by Marr if he regrets anything in science advice. immediately replies: . âyes we should have gone into lockdown earlier. it cost a lot of lives unfortunatelyâ. .
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NEW. OBR confirms on record my story from 9 days ago that it prepared a draft forecast for new Chancellor waiting for him on first day at Treasury 6th September, and that an offer for a legally compliant forecast to accompany the mini-budget was rejected.
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V odd this ârace to be PMâ from afar - tax plans that wonât pass this Parliament, Brexit âplansâ that wonât pass Parliament, promise not to have GE - promises being made to tiny selectorate that arenât in hands of winner to deliver. Itâs like a unicorn Grand National.
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Extraordinary scenes at some UK ports - after P&O halted ferries to fire all crew and replace with a third party contractor⌠images circulating of what we are told are handcuff trained security with some wearing balaclavas taking British crew off, after they were fired on zoomâŚ.
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Wants his kids to be doctors? And overfeeds houseguests who are not hungry?
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You canât seriously have posted your supporters literally blocking an ambulance from Guys and St Thomasâ Hospital on an emergency run. Seriously, @andywigmore ? @arron_banks ?.
WATCH | Brexiteers in yellow vests bring Westminster Bridge to a standstill in protest at Theresa May's Brexit sell-out. This is what happens when the Establishment ignores the will of the people. đââď¸ Support us at
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đ . Senior French journo briefed that Macron phoned PM on Friday and said that if UK did not impose serious shutdown measures, French would have no choice but to close border to travellers from UK, & were ready to do so Friday. Says Elysee refers to UK policy as âbenign neglectâ.
Emmanuel Macron a menacĂŠ Boris Johnson de fermer les frontières françaises sâil ne dĂŠcidait pas de mesures sanitaires #coronavirus.
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From Red to Green. The yellow and red was very specifically chosen to connote warning, hazard, emergency around the âstay homeâ message. Red & Green have v different meaning in safety regs.
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Let me tell you just two* stories which might have wider resonance about a special person who we were saying bye to today. Dadu, Mukul, Chow to some, to me. Dad. A few years ago, I spoke at the 500th anniversary of my old school. trying to capture spirit of Manchester.
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Just checking why yesterdayâs slide said 38,489 cumulative deaths, and todayâs says 39,045, an increase of 556. but the daily number is 111. would appear there has been some revisions.
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NEW . Labour Party write to PM and call for him to remove whip from former PM Liz Truss for âspreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about a âdeep stateâ that is to blame for the downfall of her premiershipâ. âspreading such blatant conspiracy theories is incredibly.
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Bookmark this:. The election of the Green Party leader to Parliament with 4 MPs will be more important to the dynamics of this Government than the election of the Reform Party leader to Parliament with 4 MPsâŚ.
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Whilst reporting that some pro Brexit campaigners in yellow jackets were shouting misogynist stuff at Kay and that I was ânot Britishâ and âa rapistâ . well done all who helped create this situation. Good job.
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My friend has been at that amazing Japan-Spain match⌠after qualifying top with an incredible win⌠the Japanese fans are organising a litter pick and tidy up in the standsâŚ
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NEW: INEOS owned by billionaire Brexit backer Jim Ratcliffe officially end plan to build new Grenadier car in UK in Bridgend will be built in Hambach, in France, it announces. .
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Normalisation of words âtraitor/treacheryâ to mean âpeople who disagree with my beliefâ. Not entirely sure how political system is meant to do its job of mediating sustainable democratic compromise in such circumstances. .
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âWho is Brexit anyway? Who is he?â - our 5 year old at dinner.
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Nah, mate. why are you in mine? Also as a "huge united fan" have you tried telling that to Paul Pogba?
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The extraordinary thing is that the Conservatives are losing seats where Labour didnt even try. In England. In Leave majority areas.
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Full extraordinary @Andrew_Adonis resignation letter from Chair of UK infrastructure commission over EU Withdrawal Bill - âworst legislation of my lifetimeâ for a âUkip allied Brexit . fraught with dangerâ and âindefensible bailoutâ of East Coast Mainline:
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This the IMF telling a G7 member and major shareholder to âreevaluateâ their signature economic policy because it âdoes not recommendâ such packages and will âincrease inequalityâ⌠suggests profound international concern in finance ministries about a global impact of UK crisis.
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Italians have released commemorative âŹ2 coin to say âGrazieâ to its doctors and nurses during the pandemic.
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Always there for you lad đą.
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So, 1 year & 43 weeks after EU referendum, with 300 days until UK becomes a third country under EU law, Government canât decide between 2 options already rejected by the other side of the negotiation, and not backed by business, and for which it may not get Parliamentary support.
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The End. Final @skynews live from Downing St with the people that make it all happen âŚ@KeithHopkins⊠-thanks to all the amazing camera, sound, production, logistical & technical colleagues helping us bring 5 years of political madness to air. Privilege to have been Pol Ed
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Labour GAIN Kensington defeating Boris ally Tory Victoria Borwick, for first time ever. Duke of Cambridge & Daily Mail now have a Labour MP.
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Standing ovation for Starmer after he tells Labour conference that if the PMs deal fails and she refuses a General Election: âoptions must include campaigning for a Public Vote and nobody is ruling out Remain as an optionâ. Feels like a significant moment in UK politics/ Brexit.
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đ¨ .IMF says in statement âWe are closely monitoring recent economic developments in the UK and are engaged with the authorities.â /1.
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24hr UK in auto.- Honda factory shuts on parts shortage ports chaos.- Toyota warns not just on no deal but deal detail/RoO.- Brexit backing billionaire cans Welsh factory plan, picks French plant.- car bosses tell MPs tariffs would see UK car production fall from 1.3-1.6m to 800k.
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Airbus chief exec attacks Brexit âdisgraceâ - no Deal will divert investment and make no mistake other countries want to build wings for aircraft. âAirbus not dependent on UKâ. It did warn about this months ago.
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@MarcusRashford seems to mean accusing someone of doing an apparently virtuous thing, with secret aim of being seen as outward reflection of character rather than good in and of itself . Interestingly, the act of accusing someone of virtue signalling, is arguably itself virtue signalling.
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Many people going through grief at the moment, but his is a positive story of Britain, with strange arcs in history. As a journo I know we can overly focus on extremes, intolerance, & morons. The great mass of people are just extraordinarily ordinary, good & get on, like Dad.
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Taiwan, closest neighbouring country to Wuhan, free of local transmission for 200 days with growing economy in 2020, thanks to . - world class test & trace averaging 20-30 contacts per case.- central distribution of masks & compliance.- border control
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British Social Attitudes Survey author Prof John Curtice: its results, corroborated by polls âis enough to raise doubts about whether, two and half years after the original ballot, leaving the EU necessarily continues to represent the view of a majority of the British publicâ
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My wife contacted Kensington Council to offer a room. How about you?
@faisalislam How many rooms have you and Corbyn let out to help!!.
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@MarcusRashford @England Zero to apologise for - part of the best England team in our lifetimes⌠and an inspiration to kids up and down the countryâŚ. United fans will be happy to have you back and firing us to some trophies, and with this crew and a bit of luck, England will win one in your timeâŚ.
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MORE: info on Way Bank machine internet archive corroborated by info on actual blog sitemap -hat tip @martbrow @exactlyaron and @jonwilliams80. edit that added âcoronavirusâ quote made â2020-04-14 T20:55:20â. So same day he returned to work, after Durham.
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Dominic Grieve deselection campaign being led by someone who not only stood against him as Ukip candidate in GE 2017, was a UKIP local council candidate and local branch chairman of Ukip, but also stood for the UKIP National Executive Council in 2016. now a Conservative.
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Errrm. Itâs Joe Bidenâs actual campaign tag line launched two months ago???
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BXP results make a new Tory leader backing No Deal by Oct 31st position almost certain. But. 9.1 million people just voted for parties explicitly against No Deal (LD/G/L/CH/SNP. ) . vs 5.8m explicitly in favour. (BXP+Ukip) /1.
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Someoneâs ordered a jumbo Christmas tree that is so massive that half the broadcast positions in Downing Street wonât have any view of the Number 10 door. Which will only matter in the blisteringly unlikely event of a major political crisis here in the next fortnight.
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In 4 months, Cabinet Brexiteers have gone from:. 1. No Transition to a 2 year transition .2. Parallel trade talks to non-parallel talks.3. No ECJ transition jurisdiction to No ECJ over new rules.4. Go Whistle" to ÂŁ20bn.5. ÂŁ20bn to ÂŁ40bn.
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Conservative leadership front runner Boris Johnson just said that the EU will give a better deal because: âThey will rapidly come to see that they have a new Government with a new mandateâ. But actually the same Parliament, and the same lack of majority.
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When asked by Marr about whether stories about plans to stockpile food for a âNo Dealâ were correct, Brexit Secretary Raab said it was an unhelpful âselective snippet thatâs made it into the pressâ. which suggests Yes.
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In the new Cabinet⌠Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury, Manchester, appears to be Labourâs equivalent of Eton⌠(it was threatened with closure when my sister was there in the 80s⌠and then rebuilding was only funded by selling the playing fields to a ten pin bowling alleyâŚ
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staggering someone who trades on patriotism - actively lobbies world not to visit our great country. Tourism employs 3.1m - 1 in 10 Britons.
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Chair of @UKStatsAuth writes to @borisjohnson to express "surprise and disappointment" at his "clear misuse of official statistics" re ÂŁ350m
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This is the sort of EU27 backing that Ireland has been getting this week - Mark Rutte Dutch PM talking to UK reporters in Davos: . âBackstop wasnât our ideaâ . [ie UKs too] Given UKs red lines âitâs only thing on the tableâ. âwhat concessions do UK actually want?â
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New @SkyData snap poll:. Of the three Brexit outcomes Theresa May says are available, would you prefer a) her deal, b) no deal or c) no Brexit?. No Brexit 54%.No deal 32%.Her deal 14%.
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So. It is Project Fear bad that the Bank of England Gov says a No Deal is âuncomfortably highâ whereas itâs fine Liam Fox says itâs 60:40, and itâs good that we prepare for No Deal, but Project Fear to publish preps that might scare public, but good to publish plans scaring EU27.
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No Drone is better than a Bad Drone.
Police tell BBC News they âcannot discount the possibility that there may have been no drone at allâ.
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Hate to break this to you, but Chrysler is formally known as Fiat Chrysler as it was bought out of bankruptcy by the Italians Fiat.
@faisalislam Good !! Step it up ! LET the GERMAN cars rust in the Ports !!!! Buy Chrysler.
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UPDATE: all four UK Chief Medical Officers agreed that Covid Alert Level should remain at 4 at their meeting last Thursday, against the PMâs expressed âhopesâ it would be lowered. More on #bbcnewsSix
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Rather massive elephant in room on politics of the car⌠is how coming Parliament will legislate to replace ÂŁ28bn a year in fuel duty (given electric cars donât use petrol/diesel, and new ones banned from 2030) with some other tax on motoring⌠. Much bigger than LTNs and UlezâŚ.
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Bercow basically ensuring that this Parliament selects the next Speaker, his successor.
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German and Italy are ramping up production of medical ventilators to meet expected peak epidemic demand. They cost $17k each. Italy getting army involved in helping production line. As far as Iâm aware UK has one small manufacturer of ventilators - that had 40% market share.
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This is what I asked about yesterday - why has the âpeople testedâ column been âunavailableâ on a daily and cumulative basis for a week now (they have supplied the ânumber of testsâ data in that time) đđž
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Luxembourg PM Bettel gestures towards empty podium where PM Johnson hasnât appeared for planned press conference after meeting, Incredible perhaps, but certainly no Hulk.
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@MarcusRashford @RomeluLukaku9 Looked pretty solid from the PSG end too. slightly blew our cover though. đđ˝
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Weirder and weirder. @jwiechers put blog through Internet archive machine and reference to coronavirus, quote on coronavirus was not in the version of blog saved on Way Back MAchine on Apr 9 2020 . but is there this month.
Cummings said he warned about i.a. corona virus in 2019. Thing is, he didn't. References to SARS and corona virus were added to his blog post on pandemic risks sometime between April and May of this year.
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The world hinges on the word of the Attorney General. It doth arrive:.
@jonsnowC4 Bollocks.
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#Salzburg latest . PM: itâs my Chequers Deal or No Deal.Tusk: EU27 agree Chequers âwill not workâ.Dutch PM: Netherlands is more prepared than UK for No Deal.French PRes: UK politicos who sold Brexit are âliarsâ. The hills are indeed alive. .
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NEW. Ports chaos has shut Honda motor factory due to parts shortage. Honda confirmed to employees production âwill not run on Wednesday 9 December due to transport-related parts delaysâ. - situation monitored with view to restart production as soon as possible.
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Cummings today: âLast year I wrote about the possible threat of coronaviruses and the urgent need for planningâ. appears to be reference to this blog. actually about biolab accidents and giving a âRed Teamâ ÂŁ1m to test security including honey traps .
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Chuka Umunna now listing the number of time the eurosceptics have rebelled against the Government. Davis - 90 times, Fox - 19 times, Leadsom - 7 times, Redwood - 17 times Jenkin - 95 times, Cash - 100+ times.âNone of these people can lecture people seeking to do the right thingâ.
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Thank you for so many lovely comments. Delighted to take Economics Editor role next year, following in footsteps of BBC legends. â ď¸ tho. Iâve done Global Financial Crisis, Eurozone crisis, now 5 year rolling political crisis. They do appear to stalk me.
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Here's the video of the Benn/Davis exchange on No Deal Brexit - tariffs, health cards etc, that I was tweeting about
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Japanese ambassador in Downing Street unusually candid after PM meet with Nissan, Toyota, Honda etc:.âIf thereâs no profitability of continuing operations in UK no private company can continue operations. simple as that. this is all high stakes all of us need to keep in mind.â.
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Sainsburys chief actually understands behavioural science in email to customers: âmore food and other essential items coming to us from manufacturers. if we shop just for food we and our families need, there will be enoughâ. way to calm shoppers is to reassure on availability.
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NEW.Internal pharma industry memo obtained by BBC: .No Deal Brexit stockpiles âsignificantly reduced and/or used up entirelyâ by Covid pandemic. Warns Govt with âless or 0 product to allow for stockpilingâ needs to now start & pay for one & ferries/ planes. On @bbcr4today shortly.
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NEW: Fishing groups decry failure to strike 2021 deal with Norway as a âdisgraceâ & âdisasterâ. UK Fisheries group say Government was âunable even to maintain the rights we have had to fish in Norwegian waters for decadesâ. Say Norway will continue to export cod here tariff free.
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NEW / EXCL - breaking on #bbcnewsten and News online ⌠Vauxhall owner Stellantis tells Government to renegotiate Brexit deal signed by Boris Johnson as it confirms for first time its UK electric car exports will not qualify for TCA from January as wont meet origin requirements.
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So sad - medics specifically in the age range most dangerous for them personally - sacrificing themselves to try to save others. .
đŽđš 14 doctors in Italy lost their lives due to the coronavirus. We must NEVER FORGET who have died in the frontline of this emergency. #COVID19 #COVID2019italia
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NEW: đ¨ . *Bank of England raises interest rates by 0.5% to 1.75%, biggest rise in 25 years, .*as it predicts an even higher peak in inflation of 13 (THIRTEEN) %. đ¨ Bank predicts recession starting this year lasting as long as financial crisis (5 quarters), as deep as 1990s.
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NEW.Not a great surpriseâŚ. Standard & Poors announces UK sovereign rating now on negative outlook from AA rating due to ârising risks to UK fiscal position⌠sizeable budgetary loosening announced Sep 23rd risk a substantial widening of the U. K. 's fiscal imbalancesâ.
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UK medicines pricing clearly on US side of table. This video from January is US Pharma industry lobby telling US trade negotiators that US-UK trade deal is âan important opportunityâ to deal with âartificially depressed pricesâ in UK - âdictatedâ via our âprimary payerâ system
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Russia blocks UK post Brexit WTO tariff carve up plan. This was exactly one of the pre referendum Cameron Government Brexit warnings.
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Jeremy Corbyn receiving rapturous applause from Opposition benches, as bemused Conservatives watch on as Commons returns:
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my experience of Kwarteng is that he would not be someone to go quietly, or take one for the team, especially in a situation where he was literally enacting the signature policy of the PM. Indeed senior financiers here in DC were of the impression he would âtake her with himâ đ.
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NEW: Sky News obtains under Freedom of Information 30 studies on Brexit impact by local councils across the UK making contingencies and expressing concerns as Brexit clock ticks down, from social care, to food/medicines availability, border checks, to âsocial unrestâ.
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Blimey - of the 693,000 payrolled jobs lost over past pandemic year. 611k or 88% have been lost to under 35 year olds.
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Labour MP in a 60% Leave area said he has 10 times as many people who have signed the Revoke petition in his constituency versus writing letters to him to back No Deal, that he has been open to be persuaded by PM, but calls never came - will now vote for Kyle-Wilson amendment.
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Here is ÂŁ500 block of cheddar destined for Canada from the Wiltshire warehouse of Coombe Castle. At moment 0% tariff under UKâs participation in EU-Canada trade deal. After No Deal will be hit with a *ÂŁ1200* tariff, after Canada chose not to roll over UK deal. 245% tariff đ§ /1
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Soap kills COVID-19 - the molecular chemistry of why: it breaks down the lipid (fat) layer and breaks the virus apart. Soap kills Coronavirus.
1/25 Part 1 - Why does soap work so well on the SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus and indeed most viruses? Because it is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. A two part thread about soap, viruses and supramolecular chemistry #COVID19
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Mcdonnell hits back at Conservatives after Corbyn childcare costings gaffe: "The only numbers in the Tory manifesto are the page numbers"
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This is serious for PM - someone who was one of her ministers until last month, who backed her in 2016 saying she is not acting in national interest.
Downing St has stopped selling the PMs flawed deal. Instead we have displacement activity designed to distract from last weeks failed renegotiation. And a concerted attempt to discredit every plausible alternative as they run down the clock. This is not in the national interest.
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Observerâs Toby Helm asks a question about Cummings and to Van Tam: Should people in authority give a lead and obey the rules?. JVT says heâs happy to answer (unlike CSO/CMO).âIn my opinion the rules are clear and always been clear. In my opinion they apply to allâ. .
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This is the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill Impact Assessment, dated 21 October 2019:. It contains the Governmentâs own expectations at time the Brexit deal was done of the border/ checks required within UK, in the Irish Sea as a result of the PMâs deal:
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Basically exactly what medics were screaming from rooftops about âmitigationâ not supression strategy. we donât have the critical care capacity even of Italy. question is that now we are trying to suppress, would that not have worked better a week ago?.
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Wow. Tusk announces in Dublin that Irish Government gets formal veto over Brexit sufficient progress - he will consult with Varadkar to sign off any move to next phase
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Wembley Way, United vs Palace 1990 - me, my brother and friendly random Palace fan. And 26 years on. #FACupFinal
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Who is he?.- went to Eton.- went to Oxford.- was in Bullingdon.- ran London.- became Foreign Secretary .- was considered great orator, writer & historian.- became PM.- lost his first vote as PM.- eventually got bored with politics. Itâs Archibald Primrose, the Earl of Rosebery.
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Nah mate - why are you in my country? And use your real name you utter gutless coward
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PM couldnât tell @NickFerrariLBC how many trade deals are ready to go. and seems to be focusing on lamb exports . 94% of UK lamb exports go to EU.
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Effigy of Donald Trump and his wall, to be burnt at Lewes Bonfire Night celebrations. Unclear who paid for it:
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