Downing Street: Theresa May will rule out a customs union if no Brexit deal is reached October 12, 2018 Downing Street said today that Theresa May would never agree to a permanent customs union with the EU, as the Prime Minister attempts to set cabinet ministers at ease over the Brexit negotiations. “The Prime Minister would never agree to a deal which would trap the UK in a backstop permanently,” a spokeswoman told the [...]
No-deal Brexit notices: Eurostar trains could stop running after March 2019 October 12, 2018 Eurostar services could stop running between the UK and France, as well as other destinations, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the government warned today. Train services from the UK to destinations like Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Marseille and Rotterdam would be under threat if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, [...]
US flexible working startup Knotel shrugs off Brexit as it opens three new London offices October 12, 2018 US flexible working office space provider Knotel has today revealed it has signed three new central London properties into its portfolio, as it seeks to take advantage of Brexit in cementing its UK expansion. The new offices include a 7,480 sq. ft space across two floors on Great Titchfield Street in Oxford Circus, an 8,395 [...]
Hammond predicts economic boost from ‘Brexit deal dividend’ October 12, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond said today that securing a Brexit agreement with the EU will lift the economy. Speaking in the run up to the Budget later this month, Hammond told the BBC that there has been a “measurable change of pace” in the negotiations between the UK and the EU, adding that the UK could [...]
Going Pacific: The CP-TPP is the perfect trade partnership for post-Brexit Britain October 12, 2018 This week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan added his voice to those calling for the UK to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CP-TPP). This trade agreement between a group of 11 countries that border the Pacific has been identified by the UK’s Department for International Trade as a priority for [...]
DEBATE: Has the Northern Powerhouse run out of steam? October 12, 2018 Has the Northern Powerhouse run out of steam? Emma Revell, communications officer at the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. The Northern Powerhouse hasn’t quite run out of steam but it’s certainly not firing on all cylinders. Rail infrastructure improvements have been shelved, the architects of the Northern Powerhouse (most notably George Osborne and Jim O'Neill) [...]
Mark Carney told to clarify dramatic house price fall warning in case of ‘no-deal’ Brexit October 11, 2018 Bank of England governor Mark Carney needs to clarify whether house prices would be slashed by a third in a 'no deal' Brexit, the chair of the Treasury select committee has insisted. Nicky Morgan has written to Carney asking him to clear up exactly what he told the Cabinet on September 13 during a presentation [...]
Chris Grayling berated as work begins to turn motorway into ‘no deal’ Brexit lorry park without telling residents October 11, 2018 A Tory MP is furious work has begun to turn a motorway in his consistency into a "parking lot" in case of no deal Brexit without him knowing. Tom Tugendhat, Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, berated Transport secretary Chris Grayling for work beginning overnight on the M26. Part of the M26 will [...]
Stockpiling, sterling plunge, and demand slump consequences of no-deal Brexit warns Budget watchdog October 11, 2018 The government’s independent budget watchdog today warned that a no-deal Brexit would likely prompt a wave of stockpiling, plunging asset prices and a slump in demand in the British economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the body tasked with producing economic forecasts based on government policy, warned that increased barriers to trade will have [...]
HMRC boss received death threats after revealing £20bn cost of Brexiters’ customs plan October 11, 2018 The UK's chief taxman received death threats after revealing it would cost £20bn to put in place the hard-Brexiters' customs plan, he revealed today. Jon Thompson, chief executive of HMRC, told MPs the figure in May as he gave evidence on a range of post-Brexit systems. The system, dubbed maximum facilitation, or 'max fac', would see [...]