It’ll take blood, sweat and toil, but Brexit can work for the City June 29, 2016 I cannot pretend otherwise: it was with dismay that I watched Thursday night’s EU referendum results unfold. My view that Britain should remain an EU member was less a tactical position than an authentic, passionate and long-held belief, as well as something I felt was firmly in the City of London’s interests. As I watched my [...]
Forget disintegration: The EU hard core is on track for a United States of Europe June 29, 2016 Prior to the referendum result, I thought the EU was at a fork in the road, facing two difficult ways forward: either a gradual fading away, or an existential crisis. Following the referendum, the weight of argument for both has increased. The fading away argument has a number of components. First, the number of member [...]
It’s premature to assume Britain will plunge into recession June 29, 2016 As the dust settles on last week’s referendum, pretty much every verdict I have heard or read agrees that the UK economy faces a period of contraction and the market has moved very quickly to price that scenario in. At first glance, this case is persuasive. There has been clear evidence of deferred investment in [...]
As Jeremy Corbyn clings onto the Labour leadership, is a split within the party now inevitable? June 29, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Labour has been splitting for all my adult life. A difference has always existed between those who understand that there is a spectrum of possible economic and political models, which must exclude a non-market system, and those who do not. This is what the [...]
Four ways the City can shape Brexit to its advantage June 29, 2016 Like it or not, the result was clear. Leave won by about the same margin as Barack Obama over Mitt Romney at the last US presidential election but on an enormous 72 per cent turnout. Apart from house-builders, UK banks have been the worst hit in the FTSE 100 over the past few days of [...]
Does the acquisition of Harris and Hoole from Tesco mean Caffe Nero is entering a new era? June 29, 2016 Last week's announcement that Caffe Nero has acquired in-supermarket coffee chain Harris and Hoole from Tesco sent a strong signal that the brand is committed to modernisation. This is vital in a market where casual dining brands have to fight huge levels of competition and a fast-moving, fickle audience base that will often be swayed by promotions and [...]
City A.M. podcast: After the Brexit vote, what next for the UK economy? June 29, 2016 The die has been cast, and the UK has voted in favour of Brexit. What next for politicians? In a special edition of City AM's podcast, City A.M. digital editor Emma Haslett is joined in the studio by editor Christian May, and guests Jimmy McLoughlin, head of external affairs at the Institute of Directors and [...]
Politicians must show some tactical nous June 29, 2016 Never will you feel more English than when, the day after a crashing defeat, you find yourself debating the state of the country’s footballers. It is a half-century long tradition in this part of the UK, one that we repeat, like clockwork, every two years – except on the occasions when our national team fails to [...]
After rancour in the European Parliament, will the remaining member states look to punish the UK for leaving? June 28, 2016 Brian Klaas, fellow in comparative politics at the London School of Economics, says Yes. As annoying as it is, politicians don’t think like investors. Everybody knows that punishing Britain would be bad for business in Europe and the UK. But Europe’s politicians also know that giving Britain a sweetheart deal that involves all the benefits of [...]
Britain said no to free movement and a Norway-style relationship – but we can still make a liberal Brexit work June 28, 2016 The consequences of the Brexit vote have been brutal for the political establishment. And rightly so given the shock result we saw last week. It highlighted a chasm between the accepted wisdom of Westminster and the position of the majority of people in Britain, and the verdict resets political and policy debates in a number of [...]