Ministers up the ante over fears Brussels is misrepresenting UK stance August 1, 2018 Government ministers will spend much of August using one-to-one meetings with EU counterparts to press the case for a financial services deal, fearing the Commission has been deliberately misconstruing the UK’s official position. Senior figures including chancellor Philip Hammond and the new foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt have been among those clarifying the stance adopted in [...]
The Tories can’t afford to go to war with business June 25, 2018 For much of the past two years businesses have kept their heads down when it comes to Brexit. For some, Brexit isn’t really an issue, beyond the general economic uncertainty through which the country currently plods. For others, the agreed transitional arrangements (the UK will stay inside the single market and customs union until 31 [...]
May is not a match for Boris – give him a chance to lead October 3, 2018 Boris has spoken, and such was his performance that the moment must come soon where he is given the opportunity to lead the Conservative Party before it faces further humiliation at the hands of the EU leadership, or is ultimately defeated by Jeremy Corbyn and his Momentum mob. Everyone expected Boris Johnson to cover the [...]
The impact of a no-deal Brexit should set off alarm bells for the City’s finance firms August 28, 2018 Last week, the government produced papers assessing the impact of a no-deal Brexit scenario on various sectors, including financial services. It is concerning for the sector that a no-deal scenario is looking increasingly likely. The Bank of England governor Mark Carney ranks this possibility as “uncomfortably high”, while foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt suggested that there [...]
Dominic Raab says good deal ‘within our sights’ as no-deal Brexit documents released August 23, 2018 Brexit secretary Dominc Raab will today insist that "a good deal is within our sights" as he releases the first tranche of the government's no-deal planning documents. The publication of these technical notes comes as a new survey by City heavyweights KPMG suggests that no-deal Brexit would cause a dramatic contraction in consumer spending, with [...]
BMW warns of halt to UK production if it can’t import components from EU after Brexit June 25, 2018 BMW has indicated it could be forced to close its plants in the UK if it is unable to import components rapidly enough from the continent after Britain leaves the EU. Customs manager Stephan Freismuth told the Financial Times: “We always said we can do our best and prepare everything, but if at the end [...]
May confirms NHS boost will come from tax rises June 18, 2018 Taxpayers will have to stump up more cash in order to meet the government’s planned £20bn extra cash for the NHS, Theresa May admitted today. In a major speech given in a north London hospital, the Prime Minister said it was important to “do more than simply give the NHS a one-off injection of cash”, [...]
New Brexit secretary to love-bomb businesses at Chevening August 17, 2018 New Brexit secretary Dominic Raab will tomorrow urge businesses to get behind the government's Brexit white paper after a recent series of comments drove a wedge between industry and Number 10. Around 40 top business figures, including Juergen Maier from Siemens and BMW’s Frank Bachmann, responsible for hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK [...]
Key Chequers Brexit meeting to result in “softest of hard Brexits” as full Cabinet tips balance away from pro-Leave ministers June 27, 2018 Next week’s crunch meeting to thrash out a final position on the customs union is likely to result in “the softest of hard Brexits” after the balance has been shifted away from favouring government’s most ardent Brexiters. While it had originally been planned as a two-day overnight stay at the grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire mansion, the first [...]
Chequers Brexit meeting to result in ‘softest of hard Brexits’ as full Cabinet tips balance away from pro-Leave ministers June 27, 2018 Next week's crunch meeting to thrash out a final position on the customs union is likely to result in "the softest of hard Brexits" after the balance has been shifted away from favouring government's most ardent Brexiters. While it had originally been planned as a two-day overnight stay at the grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire mansion, the first [...]