EU calls emergency Brexit summit to vote on UK withdrawal agreement as Northern Ireland minister quits November 15, 2018 European Council president Donald Tusk set a date for an emergency Brexit summit today to discuss the UK and EU’s draft withdrawal agreement. The meeting, scheduled for 9.30am on Sunday, 25 November, is expected to formalise the UK’s Brexit deal hammered out by Prime Minister Theresa May and EU negotiator Michel Barnier. “Let me say [...]
Brexit deal agreed by cabinet after ‘impassioned’ five-hour meeting November 14, 2018 Theresa May squeaked her Brexit deal through a divided Cabinet on Wednesday in an historic moment for the UK. After a five-hour meeting the Prime Minister emerged from Downing Street at just after 7pm to declare her ministers had backed her controversial proposals on how to withdraw the UK from the EU. The marathon meeting [...]
Fairytale economics will not enchant markets November 14, 2018 In a remarkable break with the economic prudence of the past decade, policymakers in the west are taking their feet off the spending brakes. During the recent midterm elections in the US, President Trump hailed the continuing stream of positive economic data and Democrats’ warnings about the cost of tax cuts failed to cut through. Meanwhile the [...]
Government caves on fixed-odds betting terminal reform in face of parliamentary backlash November 14, 2018 The government has U-turned on delayed changes to fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), bringing forward a widely called-for cap on stakes to April, after the sports minister resigned over the issue. Shares in gambling companies rallied sharply on the news with GVC up 8.1 per cent, Paddy Power Betfair up 7.5 per cent, William Hill up 2.1 [...]
Brexit: Theresa May warned she will lose support of her party over draft deal November 14, 2018 Theresa May was today warned she will lose the support of Conservative MPs if a draft Brexit agreement could see the UK being kept in a customs union with the EU. Veteran Brexit supporter Peter Bone issued the stark warning to the Prime Minister less than two hours before a meeting of the cabinet to [...]
Sterling retreats as markets await Theresa May’s crucial Brexit cabinet meeting November 14, 2018 Sterling sunk back below $1.30 early this morning despite the Prime Minister having reached a draft agreement with the EU over Brexit. The pound rose on the announcement late yesterday but fell back to $1.296 this morning as politicians reacted negatively to the deal. The DUP has cast doubt over Theresa May’s proposed agreement, calling it [...]
Let’s embrace No Deal and get planning for life after Brexit November 13, 2018 There is an anecdote doing the rounds at the moment where an acquaintance of a civil servant jests “I suppose you’re doing your best to stop Brexit!”, to which the official, not knowing that his friend voted Leave and was pulling his leg, replies “You bet I am, and every one of us too”. True [...]
Theresa May forced to back down in row over Brexit legal advice November 13, 2018 Theresa May has been forced to publish the legal advice she receives on her Brexit deal after Labour, the DUP and eurosceptic Tories backed her into a corner. The government backed down in a row over whether the advice from the attorney general – which traditionally remains private – should be given to MPs before [...]
Theresa May to present Brexit deal to emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday November 13, 2018 Theresa May has rolled the dice on a epic Brexit gamble as she presented a draft deal to key members of her cabinet. The Prime Minister invited leading ministers into Downing Street for one-to-one briefings on an agreement struck by negotiators in Brussels. The full cabinet will meet at 2pm on Wednesday to sign off the deal, [...]
Brexit: Theresa May gathers cabinet ministers to discuss draft agreement November 13, 2018 Theresa May has reportedly scheduled an emergency cabinet meeting for tomorrow morning to discuss a draft Brexit deal. Text governing the UK’s departure from the EU has reportedly been agreed at a technical level between negotiators, after a week in which talks have gone on long into the night. Downing Street summoned Cabinet ministers for [...]