It’s time for Theresa May to use her secret Brexit weapon: business October 17, 2018 Two weeks ago, I was in Birmingham among my fellow Conservatives awaiting Theresa May’s closing conference speech. I expected her to take a strong stance on the Chequers-based plan for Brexit and finally call upon her most valuable and underused supporters – business leaders – to champion her vision, not least because I and my [...]
Chomping at the bit: The race is on to be the next Tory leader October 17, 2018 There will be no deal this week. It was intended, then hoped for, but a Brexit deal is now as far away as it has ever been. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that there will be a late capitulation, the mother-of-all-compromises by Downing Street, presented as a victory for all [...]
Donald Tusk: No grounds for optimism on Brexit deal October 16, 2018 There are no grounds for optimism that a Brexit deal can be struck this week, European Council president Donald Tusk has warned just a day before a crunch summit. Speaking on the eve of EU leaders gathering in Brussels, Tusk called on Theresa May to put forward “concrete proposals” on how to break the deadlock [...]
Why a Canada-style Brexit deal is unlikely October 16, 2018 Brexit is now less than six months away. Yet somehow, a deal feels further away than it did just a few weeks ago. The stakes are fairly high. Models estimate that GDP will shrink by much as eight per cent. Some of the damage has already been done via the corrosive effects of uncertainty and anticipation of a [...]
Theresa May tells Cabinet to ‘stand together’ over her Brexit plan October 16, 2018 Theresa May told her Cabinet to “stand together” in order to get a Brexit deal with the EU today during an extended meeting of her top team. Ministers debated the PM’s negotiating stance for two and a half hours on Tuesday morning, just a day before May will once again try to sell her plans [...]
Theresa May’s new merger powers would be a hostile takeover by the state October 16, 2018 Back in July 2016, Theresa May launched her campaign for leadership of the Conservative party by promising radical action on foreign takeovers of British businesses. In the wake of Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury and Pfizer’s failed bid for AstraZeneca, May promised to defend workers and local communities from transient shareholders who, she said, were more [...]
Ignore the chancellor, we don’t need Chequers to end austerity October 16, 2018 I generally presume cynicism in politicians’ arguments. But Philip Hammond implying a Chequers-style relationship with the EU is needed to “end austerity” was shocking in its brazenness. Ahead of the October Budget, the chancellor has echoed Theresa May in suggesting that looser government spending is just around the corner. Their calculation seems to be that [...]
No deal ‘more likely than ever’ says EU as Theresa May is given another chance to sell her Brexit plan October 15, 2018 Theresa May will be given one final chance to sell her Brexit plan to the EU on Wednesday – with a warning from Brussels that no deal is “more likely than ever before”. European Council president Donald Tusk has invited the Prime Minister to address her EU counterparts in a bid to persuade them to [...]
Theresa May refuses to set end date for when the UK will leave the EU customs union October 15, 2018 Theresa May today repeatedly refused to guarantee when the UK would stop being part of the EU’s customs union if a trade deal wasn’t completed by December 2020. Speaking to MPs 24 hours after Brexit talks seemed to breakdown in Brussels, the Prime Minister was asked to set a date for when her so-called ‘backstop’ [...]
Stand up to EU ‘bullies’, Boris Johnson tells Prime Minister after Brexit negotiations stall October 15, 2018 Boris Johnson today called on the Prime Minister to push back against the EU “bullies” following the collapse of Brexit talks between the UK and the bloc. The former foreign secretary claimed that negotiations are in the “moment of crisis” and warned that Theresa May must “stand up to bullies” as he applies pressure to [...]