LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 30: Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister's Questions on October 30, 2019 in London, England. Last night, MPs voted 438 to 20 votes in favour of holding a General Election on Thursday 12th December 2019. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 30: Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister's Questions on October 30, 2019 in London, England. Last night, MPs voted 438 to 20 votes in favour of holding a General Election on Thursday 12th December 2019. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 30: Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister's Questions on October 30, 2019 in London, England. Last night, MPs voted 438 to 20 votes in favour of holding a General Election on Thursday 12th December 2019. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 30: Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister's Questions on October 30, 2019 in London, England. Last night, MPs voted 438 to 20 votes in favo

UK parties hope to channel Brexit discontent into win at winter polls


Damien McElroy
  • English
  • Arabic

Rivals of Boris Johnson on Wednesday pinned their hopes on projections that millions of voters would switch their loyalty to parties opposed to leaving the EU, as the country prepares for its first winter election since the 1920s.

After the overnight announcement that a general election had been set for December 12, Britain braced for a contest expected to depart sharply from business as usual.

Campaigning is due to end days before the winter solstice and comes in the run-up to Christmas, when airwaves are dominated by an advertising war and venues for events are hard to book.

The backdrop is a sharp division in the electorate between Leave and Remain voters over the issue of Brexit.

Market researcher Ipsos Mori said Brexit had displaced the health service and immigration as top issues for many voters.

Mr Johnson had an opportunity to try out his campaign punchlines during a clash with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The prime minister said he had been blocked from delivering Brexit and wanted a majority government to meet the latest deadline Jan 31.

“Leadership means standing up for the people of this country, for our police, for our NHS, and for our economy,” Mr Johnson said.

“And above all it means getting Brexit done. The time for protest is over. It’s time for leadership.”

Labour countered that it could also achieve Brexit by giving voters a second referendum with a choice between “a sensible Leave deal or Remain”.

“A Labour government will be on your side, while Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, who think they’re born to rule, will only look after the privileged few,” Mr Corbyn wrote in a newspaper editorial on Wednesday.

At the launch of a tactical voting campaign, the anti-Brexit pressure group Best for Britain unveiled the results of a poll of 46,000 voters to bolster its argument that Remain voters could deprive Mr Johnson of a majority.

Its figures show he is on course to win 364 seats, a majority of 40. It argues that if two in five anti-Brexit voters switch parties, it would cost the Conservatives 87 seats and help to ensure an alternative government.

Dominic Grieve, a former Cabinet minister, said he would run against his old party to hold his seat. He said tribal loyalties had broken down under the pressure of Brexit.

Accusing Mr Johnson of “mendacity”, he said the Conservative leader had purged the party of its moderates.

As he spoke, the party leadership refused to restore Amber Rudd, a former home secretary. It said Ms Rudd failed to give sufficient assurances of her future loyalty.

At least 57 MPs are stepping down from the 650-strong body before the campaign.

With the political runes so hard to read, analysts have sought to define the swing voters that could propel Mr Johnson back to Parliament.

Onward, a right-leaning think tank, said the party should appeal to blue-collar workers who prize economic and social security above all else.

“This requires a pivot for the Conservative Party," its report said. "We argue for the government to articulate a new political philosophy which we call Conservatism for the Common Good."

That would entail greater investment in public services, a focus on higher-paid jobs, boosts for regional towns, especially in northern England, and new housing policies.

Labour sees this as threat to its reputation as the party of working-class voters.

It is pitching a radical socialist government pouring more money into the NHS, nationalisation of utilities and much higher taxes on the biggest earners.

The two main political parties face a fierce challenge from the Liberal Democrats and the newly formed Brexit Party.

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to cancel Brexit, which could win over Labour voters outraged at the party’s ambiguous stance on EU membership and Conservative supporters who backed Remain in the 2016 referendum.

The Brexit Party, led by Nigel Farage, is wooing working-class Labour voters who want out of Europe.

Mr Grieve predicted that voters on all sides would hate Mr Johnson’s deal when they saw it debated.

“This is a terrifyingly bad deal for our country’s future,” he said.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research think tank released estimates that said under Mr Johnson’s deal, the economy would be 3.5 per cent smaller than if the UK stayed in the EU.

That would leave a £70 billion (Dh330.88bn) economic black hole by 2030.

The study said a no-deal Brexit would be even more damaging, making the British economy 5.6 per cent smaller at the end of the decade.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Sri Lanka v England

First Test, at Galle
England won by 211

Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs

Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27

Ukraine%20exports
%3Cp%3EPresident%20Volodymyr%20Zelenskyy%20has%20overseen%20grain%20being%20loaded%20for%20export%20onto%20a%20Turkish%20ship%20following%20a%20deal%20with%20Russia%20brokered%20by%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey.%3Cbr%3E%22The%20first%20vessel%2C%20the%20first%20ship%20is%20being%20loaded%20since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20war.%20This%20is%20a%20Turkish%20vessel%2C%22%20Zelensky%20said%2C%20adding%20exports%20could%20start%20in%20%22the%20coming%20days%22%20under%20the%20plan%20aimed%20at%20getting%20millions%20of%20tonnes%20of%20Ukrainian%20grain%20stranded%20by%20Russia's%20naval%20blockade%20to%20world%20markets.%3Cbr%3E%22Our%20side%20is%20fully%20prepared%2C%22%20he%20said.%20%22We%20sent%20all%20the%20signals%20to%20our%20partners%20--%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey%2C%20and%20our%20military%20guarantees%20the%20security%20situation.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENever%20click%20on%20links%20provided%20via%20app%20or%20SMS%2C%20even%20if%20they%20seem%20to%20come%20from%20authorised%20senders%20at%20first%20glance%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAlways%20double-check%20the%20authenticity%20of%20websites%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EEnable%20Two-Factor%20Authentication%20(2FA)%20for%20all%20your%20working%20and%20personal%20services%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOnly%20use%20official%20links%20published%20by%20the%20respective%20entity%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDouble-check%20the%20web%20addresses%20to%20reduce%20exposure%20to%20fake%20sites%20created%20with%20domain%20names%20containing%20spelling%20errors%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')

Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

The%20Boy%20and%20the%20Heron
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayao%20Miyazaki%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Soma%20Santoki%2C%20Masaki%20Suda%2C%20Ko%20Shibasaki%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The finalists

Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho

Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson

Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid

Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)

Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

While you're here
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
%3Cp%3E1.%20Singapore%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Switzerland%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Denmark%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Ireland%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Hong%20Kong%0D%3Cbr%3E6.%20Sweden%0D%3Cbr%3E7.%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E8.%20Taiwan%0D%3Cbr%3E9.%20Netherlands%0D%3Cbr%3E10.%20Norway%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Titan Sports Academy:

Programmes: Judo, wrestling, kick-boxing, muay thai, taekwondo and various summer camps

Location: Inside Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Telephone:  971 50 220 0326

 

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYango%20Deli%20Tech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERetail%20SaaS%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESelf%20funded%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE APPRENTICE

Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mountain%20Boy
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If%20you%20go
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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE