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6 Dec, 4 tweets, 2 min read
On the UN Climate Change Conference, which the UK is hosting next year, it has become increasingly unsustainable for Alok Sharma to be its PART-TIME president, ministers tell me, when US president-elect @JoeBiden has appointed John Kerry as America's FULL-TIME negotiator. As...
I understand it, @BorisJohnson would dearly love @David_Cameron to take over from Sharma. But Cameron can't, on principle, because he is hopping mad about Johnson cutting the commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid. Another fine mess
PS a source close to the PM tells me that the PM does not in fact want David Cameron to be COP26 president. Which is not what well-placed sources told me. But I am very happy to record the disclaimer! For what it's worth, that is not quite the same as saying the PM is happy...
to continue with Sharma as part-time president

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Robert Peston Profile picture
8 Dec
There is a ton of contradictory stuff flying around about what @MichelBarnier says is the EU's bottom line for fair competition in any free trade agreement with the UK. As I understand it, what follows is the EU's position. For the "level playing field commitments" there...
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Read 13 tweets
Robert Peston Profile picture
8 Dec
When shaping policy to protect us from Covid-19, the government relies on data from @ONS to provide the scientific basis for its actions. The weekly @ONS coronavirus survey is supposed to be the information gold standard - and in particular it underpinned...
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Robert Peston Profile picture
2 Dec
It is worth watching deputy CMO Jonathan Van-Tam explain why the COVID 19 vaccines have come to market in 9 months, compared with 10 years for a typical vaccine - because he is in essence indicting capitalism and the market economy. His entire argument is that...
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Robert Peston Profile picture
27 Nov
I normally defer to @CER_Grant on all things EUish. But my London and Brussels sources give me a different version of the obstacles to that never-quite-reached free trade agreement. I am told there is a potential deal in view on fishing, but that on state aid,...
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Robert Peston Profile picture
27 Nov
In order for the global economy to avoid a slump as a result of premature fiscal consolidation by UK and other developed economies, it would be incredibly helpful if the G7 and other wealthy nations could collectively convert their incremental Covid debt into...
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Robert Peston Profile picture
25 Nov
Cutting the aid budget from the symbolically important 0.7% of national income to 0.5% seems weird for a PM who said Brexit was about creating Global Britain - and when the UK is about to chair the G7 and COP26. Not at all clear why @BorisJohnson wants this fight...
especially with his own party. This is what @David_Cameron said about the plan to @Telegraph on Saturday: “Abandoning the .7 target for aid would be a moral, strategic and political mistake. Moral, because we should be keeping our promises to the worlds poorest...
not breaking them. A strategic error, because we would be signalling retreat from one of the UK’s vital acts of global leadership. And a political mistake because the U.K. is about to chair the G7 and important climate change negotiations”. Since the 0.7% is law and...
Read 4 tweets

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