Gordon Brown increases the pressure on Iceland
Gordon Brown yesterday entered the fray with regards to the Icelandic banking compensation bill which has been held up by activists in Iceland. The British Prime Minister has threatened "diplomatic war" with Iceland if the government goes back on a pledge to pay £2.3 billion to the UK government. This puts the Icelandic authorities in a very difficult situation because they have lost support of voters in their homeland and are now losing support from their allies overseas.
There is a growing feeling that the Icelandic bid to join the EU could well be at risk as the UK appears set to raise the bar and raise the pressure on the Icelandic president. It was assumed that the compensation bill was a "done deal" but over the last few days it has become apparent that support in Iceland for the government has been rocked by the bill. It will be interesting to see if the authorities have the nerve to go ahead and ratify the bill leaving them open to criticism from Icelandic voters.
This could not have come at a worse time for Gordon Brown with the election around the corner and UK voters hanging on the every word of the authorities.
Share this..
Related stories
Has Gordon Brown been gazumped by EU leaders?
As Gordon Brown was shuffling up next to Barack Obama in the US it appears as though his EU counterparts had hatched something of a plot to discredit the British prime minister. At exactly the time that Gordon Brown was in talks with Barack Obama and suggesting closer links between G20, EU and the US authorities the Czech prime minister was standing to attention in the EU Parliament describing Bar...
Read MoreSports Direct rocked by poor Christmas sales
FTSE 100 retailer, Sports Direct, has issued a warning regarding profits after poor trading over the Christmas period. Shares in the company fell by more than 15 per cent after the warning was issued, dealing a blow to the fashion and sportswear retailer. Originally, Mike Ashley, founder and deputy chairman of the company, had set a profit target of £420m before tax in the year ending Apri...
Read MoreGordon Brown thrown a European lifeline
While the European elections will still be a disaster for the Labour Party, it does appear that the Labour vote is holding up better than many had expected. While we await the official results it is rumoured that the government of the day has managed to secure enough votes to stay ahead of the Liberal Democrats and the UKIP in European elections although yet again the Conservative party will be th...
Read MoreScottish leaders ignore collapse of Flyglobespan
Despite the fact that Scottish Parliament leader Alex Salmond has been championing all causes Scottish over the last few months, neither Mr Salmond or his political opponents took any time out in yesterday's Parliamentary questions session to discuss the issue of Flyglobespan. This reflects very badly on the Scottish parliament which is to all intents and purposes an arena to discuss all things Sc...
Read MoreSavers should take an interest, says Sainsbury's
Nearly 19 million savers have no idea what their rate of interest is, and a whopping £112 billion is held in savings accounts where holders do not know the rate, says Sainsbury's Bank.With some savings accounts now coming with the highest rates of interest the market has seen in the last six years, Sainsbury's is warning savers that they cannot afford to be complacent about interest.Whether peopl...
Read More