World

UK Conservatives race to replace Boris Johnson

Published

9 months ago

July 8, 2022

The race is on for the Conservative party to replace Boris Johnson after he resigns as the UK’s Prime Minister.

Boris Johnson may have resigned as prime minister of the United Kingdom – but that doesn’t mean he steps out of the job immediately.

When Theresa May announced her resignation on May 24, 2019, she didn’t leave the post until Boris Johnson took over on July 24, two months later.

In his resignation speech, Boris Johnson said he would stay on until his successor takes over.

I want to thank you, the British public, for the immense privilege of serving you as Prime Minister.

I want you to know that from now until my successor is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.https://t.co/T4kJoxmZ8q pic.twitter.com/Hn4rDUV319
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 7, 2022

That process can take months.

This has got several Tory party elder statesmen and many current MPs concerned.

John Major, who was the UK prime minister himself between 1990 and 1997 wrote a letter saying it was “unwise, and may be unsustainable” for Johnson to stay in the top job for up to three months.

“In such a circumstance, the prime minister maintains the power of patronage and, of even greater concern, the power to make decisions which will affect the lives of those within all four nations of the United Kingdom and further afield,”
SIR JOHN MAJOR
UK Prime minister 1990 – 1997

SIR JOHN MAJOR WAS THE CONSERVATIVE PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM BETWEEN 1990 AND 1997

He suggested Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister under Boris Johnson, should serve as interim.

FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Dominic Raab walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, September 22, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

In the UK, however, there is no constitutional process for the deputy PM to take over automatically if the prime minister leaves office, despite what the title implies.

Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party also publicly declared his position.

Starmer vowed a vote of no confidence if Boris Johnson doesn’t leave Number 10 promptly

Boris Johnson is unfit to govern and he needs to go now.

He cannot cling on for months.

If the Conservative party do not get rid of him, then Labour will act in the national interest and bring a vote of no confidence.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 7, 2022

Under Conservative party rules – when a Conservative prime minister resigns, a new party leader election is triggered.

Currently, any candidate that wants to have a chance at leadership needs the support of eight Conservative MPs to stand.

THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER, HOSTING THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AND THE SEAT OF BRITISH GOVERNMENT

Once all candidates have declared (and if there are more than two in the running) the party holds a series of votes until just two remain.

In the first round, candidates must get 5% of the votes to remain in contention. At the moment, 5% means 18 MPs.
In the second round, they must get 10% of the votes to stay in the game (meaning 36 MPs)
If there are any remaining rounds and more than two MPs still in the running, the candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated until only two MPs are left

When only two choices remain, a postal vote to all members of the Conservative party across the nation vote for the next leader.

There is no clear frontrunner to replace Boris Johnson, so predicting outcomes is a gamble.

Any new prime minister would not be obliged to call a general election immediately.

Though constitutionally, the next general election in the United Kingdom must take place no later than January 2025.

World

TikTok CEO testifies as U.S. considers nationwide ban

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2023

Veronica Dudo

FBI says TikTok threatens U.S. national security

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

The hours-long fiery hearing on Capitol Hill was incredibly tense as Chew was grilled by both Republicans and Democrats.

With bipartisan support, both parties are pushing for a nationwide ban on the app which the FBI has said threatens the national security of the United States.

TikTok says it has 150 million America users – almost half the country.

The CEO gave testimony to try and reassure lawmakers and Americans that TikTok is not an agent of the Chinese Communist Party, but critics aren’t convinced.

Chew was bombarded with questions from representatives from both sides of the aisle about the company’s ties to the CCP, security, data storage, well-being, and mental health.

Many lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of answers from the company.

Congress is now weighing a nationwide ban on the popular social media platform amid concerns that it is used to harvest Americans’ information and harm children online.

World

Protests continue across France over pension reforms

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2023

ticker NEWS

Protestors blocked a terminal at an airport and sat on train tracks

The ongoing nationwide protests in France over plans by the government to raise the retirement age by two years saw another day of disruption – events which President Emmanuel Macron has recently compared to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters two years ago.

Protestors blocked a terminal at Paris’s Charles De Gaulle airport.

Protesters also sat on train tracks, and reportedly triggered a brief fire in the yard of a police station in once city.

Protests have been mostly peaceful, but tear gas has been used against them on occasions.

The plan is to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

For comparison, the U.S. is slowly raising its retirement age to 67 and the UK plans to go to 68.

Polls have long shown that a majority of voters in France oppose the move.

Macron earlier in the week said he was standing firm on the law and that it would come into effect by the end of the year.

The government says the change is needed to keep pension budgets from running a deficit – failure would create an annual deficit of about $14 billion by 2030.

World

Prosecutors allege Donald Trump misled people on potential arrest

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2023

ticker NEWS

The move prompted Republicans in Congress to interfere with the course of justice

Manhattan prosecutors say Donald Trump has misled people to expect he would be arrested, prompting Republicans in Congress to interfere with the course of justice.

A probe is currently under way into his alleged hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

On Saturday, the former President said he would be arrested on Tuesday.

This saw three Republicans launching an offensive against the District Attorney, who is a Democrat.

They accused him of abusing authority, while also seeking communications, documents and testimony.

A grand jury hearing evidence in the Stormy Daniels case is yet to issue an arrest warrant for Trump.

The attorney’s office has since sent the committee chairmen a letter.

It says the lawmakers’ accusations “only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation he would be arrested”.

It also confirms the attorney’s office is “investigating allegations that Donald Trump engaged in violations of New York State penal law.”

If indicted, Trump would be the first U.S. President to face criminal charges.