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Angela Merkel and David Cameron are due to meet on Friday to discuss the eurozone crisis further. Tensions between Germany and Britain over how to handle the crisis in the eurozone deepened after allies of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, claimed she would not allow the UK to "get away" with its refusal to back a European financial transactions tax. Speaking ahead of a meeting between Merkel and David Cameron on Friday, the parliamentary leader of her Christian Democratic Union said "Britain had a responsibility to make Europe a success". Volker Kauder, at the CDU conference in Leipzig, said: "I...

Increasingly, it appears we are witnessing the death of democracy and the right of sovereign nations inside the eurozone to govern their own affairs. First the overbearing eurocrats — led by France and Germany — bullied Greece into dropping its planned referendum. Then they forced Prime Minister George Papandreou from office and made it plain that the country’s next leader must be a pro-Brussels technocrat of whom they, rather than the Greek people, approve. Now the power-hungry duo of Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are turning their attentions to Silvio Berlusconi, whom they no longer trust to reduce Italy’s own...

European banks would leave London “in very short order” if Britain voted to exit the European Union, a senior Goldman Sachs executive said in a newspaper interview published on Monday. Michael Sherwood, a vice-chairman at the bank, said the prospect of a British withdrawal was a real worry given Prime Minister David Cameron’s plans to hold a referendum on the subject if re-elected in 2015. … Goldman’s Sherwood predicted European banks would quickly relocate if Britain did sever its EU ties. “Forget what we would do. Every European firm would be gone in very short order,” he was quoted as...

The chemical weapons attack blamed on Bashar Assad’s regime must not go “unpunished”, Boris Johnson warned today. The Mayor of London also piled pressure on David Cameron to hold a second Commons vote to allow Britain to join military action against Assad’s forces. Just weeks ago, Mr Johnson told of his “deep anxieties” about the UK getting involved in the Syrian civil war in which at least 100,000 people have died. However, he said today: “But to use gas for mass murder is a crime that we cannot allow to go unpunished.” Writing in his Daily Telegraph column, the Mayor...

When David Cameron summoned MPs back to Westminster today to debate the Syrian crisis, it was not because the British Prime Minister felt more discussion was needed. ...In a phone call on Saturday, Cameron agreed with President Obama that proof of the regime’s involvement in the chemical attack would merit “a serious response.” ... “There’ll be a clear Govt motion & vote on UK response to chemical weapons attacks,” he tweeted on Tuesday. ...Instead, the 450-minute parliamentary debate that kicked off with a statement by Cameron at 2.30 this afternoon will conclude with a vote on military action only “in...

Suddenly liberals are comfortable with monarchical war-making powers. British prime minister David Cameron has recalled Parliament from summer vacation for a special session on Thursday, where there will be “a clear government motion and vote on the United Kingdom’s response to chemical weapons attacks,” Cameron promised on Twitter. President Obama has a different view. The U.S. government’s Voice of America reports: “Pressed about calls for congressional authorization, White House spokesman Jay Carney Tuesday indicated the president believes consulting with congressional leaders is enough.” Oh my, how liberals have learned to love the imperial presidency they used to so scorn when...

American military intervention in Syria is likely to begin this week, and one thing we know amid the general confusion is that the objective is not to oust Bashar Assad: . .... How the Obama Administration plans to deal with Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons without challenging his grip on power is unclear, but then again, so is everything else about this misadventure. Epitomizing the muddle surrounding the likely attack on Syria was former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair is several months too late. Syria is already a breeding ground for “extremism.” The New York Times reported no...

The UK is drawing up contingency plans for military action in response to the chemical weapons attack in Syria, Downing Street has said. David Cameron will also consider a recall of Parliament when he returns to No 10 later on Tuesday. MPs from all parties have demanded they be consulted before any move to support military action is taken. The suspected chemical attack took place on Wednesday near Damascus, and reportedly killed more than 300 people. Syrian rebels say the Assad government was responsible, but it blames rebel forces - saying footage of the attack was "fabricated". Mr Cameron is...

Britain is planning to join forces with America and launch military action against Syria within days in response to the gas attack believed to have been carried out by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against his own people.

David Cameron yesterday confessed he found it a “little difficult” to follow Christ’s example and give all his possessions to the poor. Questioned about his religious beliefs, however, the Prime Minister described biblical teachings as “not a bad handbook” for life. …

David Cameron’s decision to hire Lynton Crosby last November as the Conservative Party’s chief political strategist was a brilliant move that has helped revive the Tories’ fortunes ahead of the 2015 general election. Crosby, who helped John Howard win four Australian general elections, has emphasised the importance of focusing on traditional issues that conservative voters actually care about, including immigration, welfare reform, Europe and combating the power of the trade unions. He has shifted the core messaging away from issues that are a turn-off for many Conservative voters, including gay marriage, climate change and foreign aid, all of which are...

A SOLDIER was attacked in an Exeter underpass by a gang who chanted “Lee Rigby” as they kicked him on the floor. The 18-year-old, known as Alexander, has been a member of the Coldstream Guards for six months. But on route to his home in St Thomas, Exeter, he said he was targeted by the hateful mob as he is a serving member of the armed forces. After a period of about two minutes he managed to escape after fighting off but fear his injuries could have been a lot worse. The incident happened at just before 2pm on Wednesday...

Britain's governing Conservative Party has hired U.S. President Barack Obama's former campaign manager as part of its election team ahead of polls due in less than two years, the party said. Jim Messina, a lifelong Democrat, is the latest appointment by Prime Minister David Cameron in a bid to win the party's first overall majority in over 20 years, against a weak economic backdrop and poor poll ratings.

Nigel Farage has pledged to follow the example of Paddy Ashdown and to establish "clusters of councillors" around the country elected on the challenging first-past-the-post system as a first step to winning parliamentary seats at future general elections. In a Guardian interview, the Ukip leader said people would vote for the "real thing" on Europe and immigration rather than support David Cameron who is occupying "our turf" under the influence of the Tory strategist Lynton Crosby. Farage admitted that his party is experiencing something of a "lull" but insisted that it was on course to win next year's European parliamentary...

One in five Conservative Party members are on the verge of switching to the UK Independence Party, a new poll suggests. In a further sign of the schism between the party leadership and the grassroots, more than half do not believe they are respected by David Cameron and his top team. There is also deep-rooted opposition to flagship coalition policies including legalizing gay marriage and protecting the foreign aid budget from cuts. …

The European Union summit on Thursday night was supposed to be a demonstration of European harmony—until British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived. He insisted that the UK budget rebate go untouched, launching hours of pointless debate. … Other summit participants were less than impressed. Cameron is “never happy” when it comes to the EU budget, complained European Parliament President Martin Schulz. The Cameron offensive was particularly surprising given that the European Council and Parliament on Thursday morning had finally reached an important agreement on the bloc’s budget. Following months of at times acrimonious debate among EU member states, a deal...

David Cameron has agreed to change his controversial EU referendum blueprint amid fears the original plans could unfairly produce a “stay in” result. The Prime Minister has bowed to Euroskeptic pressure and revised the crucial “in/out” question to be put to the nation if he wins the next Election. The alteration will see voters asked if the UK should “be” in the EU, rather than “remain” as in the original wording. … Last night, experts said the change could be crucial. Damian Lyons Lowe, of pollsters Survation, said: “The original question set out last month gave us 51 percent in...

British Prime Minister David Cameron says leaders gathering Monday for the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland should reach speedy agreement on trade and tax reforms, and draw inspiration from the host country’s ability to resolve its own stubborn conflict. … Referring to Northern Ireland’s ability to leave behind a four-decade conflict that claimed 3,700 lives, he said leaders of the Group of Eight wealthy nations should be inspired by the setting—the lush lakelands of County Fermanagh—to deliver their own economic breakthrough. … Obama, seizing on that theme, was beginning his trip in the Northern Ireland capital of Belfast, where he’s...

If you've ever had the great fortune of seeing the entrance to a mosque, you'll have noticed that there are two doors: one, the main, huge, is for men, another, small and lateral, for women (as in the picture below of the East London Mosque). Apparently we need "right-wing groups" now in England to protest sexism, because the Left totally condones it. The recently-formed England National Resistance (ENR) felt outraged that the North West Kent Muslim Association’s mosque in Crayford High Street has separate entrances for men and women. Particularly offensive is the fact that this was once a church,...

No.10 rocked by secret love affair: 'Stunned' PM holds crisis talks over fears tryst will 'blow political agenda out of the water' Identities of people involved or details of relationship cannot be disclosed They are middle-aged figures and the affair has now concluded Mr Cameron was ‘stunned’ when told the identities of alleged lovers He ‘immediately realised the importance of the story’, sources revealed 'None of us could believe it when we first heard it' said senior source David Cameron has held crisis talks at Downing Street after being told of allegations of a sensational love affair which has potentially...