Brexit

Malcolm Turnbull must be staring at UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s poll numbers with vaulting envy. The Britain Elects polling average puts the Conservatives at 47 per cent primary vote at the time of writing, giving her a potential majority of up to 130 seats – up from David Cameron’s working majority of just 12. In stark contrast, Turnbull’s latest

There has already been much debate about British Labour’s election manifesto commitment to re-nationalise the UK’s energy, rail, water and postage networks as well as Conservative promises to increase the minimum wage, introduce new protections for workers in the ‘gig economy’ and support the domestic shale gas industry. Are Labor’s plans a retreat to the 1970’s or a preview of

Divorce is never easy. And a divorce after 44 years of unhappy marriage is harder still. Navigating the settlement, splitting the assets, untangling lives while remaining on speaking terms takes the moral fortitude most of us are not blessed with. But that is what will be required of British Prime Minister Theresa May and her European Union counterpart, Donald Tusk,

If June 23, 2016, marked the beginning of the end of Britain’s membership of the EU, today marks the end of that beginning. Now the two-year negotiating period for Britain to leave the EU begins. Over the next two years, Britain will focus on the size of its divorce settlement with the EU, as well as on a UK-EU free

Theresa May confirmed in her landmark speech at Lancaster House earlier in the month that Brexit really does mean Brexit. Britain will be leaving the economically strangling common market protectionist racket and seeking opportunities across the world. This, however, was not welcomed by all. Green MP and co-leader Caroline Lucas has complained that May is “hoping for far flung countries

Last month in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as US president, Julia Baird the host of ABC TV’s The Drum wrote a revealing article in The Sydney Morning Herald. She blamed the election result on things such as the public no longer believing in facts, a lack of trust in the media and “experts” being ignored. Baird despaired of

In Reflections on the Revolution in France published in 1790, Edmund Burke concluded that “A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation”. That’s exactly what we learned in 2016. If the politicians won’t change the system, voters will change the politicians. The phenomena of Brexit and Donald Trump smashed the so-called political “centre”

The stench of elite hatred for democracy is sifting through the streets of London. The courts have ruled against the Government’s ability to implement the clear democratic will of the people. Meanwhile, Remainers disparage those who voted for Brexit as uneducated and uninformed, tricked by a campaign of deceit, and voting against their supposed best interest. They show an absolute

Australia’s cultural, social and political history is entwined with Britain’s. We share a language, the Westminster democratic system, the common law and a respect for diversity, individualism and freedom. Australia’s modern incarnation was defined by British colonisation. As former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott put it last week, during a discussion of Anglo-Australian trade relations at the UK Conservative Party

Theresa May is Britain’s new prime minister. Should we “Keep Calm and Carry On” or hit the panic button? The initial reaction from markets and the British political establishment has been a collective sigh of relief. Markets and institutions value certainty of political leadership and they reacted positively when May became PM. May triumphed when the other candidate for the