UK set to halt US tariffs in bid for post-Brexit trade deal December 9, 2020 The UK has broken ranks with the EU and is set to suspend tariffs against the US over subsidies, in an attempt to broker a post-Brexit trade deal. There has been a long battle between the US and the EU relating to state subsidies for aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing. The World Trade Organisation last [...]
Starmer swerves question of whether Labour will vote for a Brexit trade deal December 9, 2020 Sir Keir Starmer has refused to answer whether Labour will vote for a potential post-Brexit trade deal in what is becoming a shadow cabinet row. Starmer said Labour would vote “in the national interest” if Boris Johnson can close a UK-EU trade deal and bring it to parliament before 31 December. Media reports this week [...]
UK extends commercial tenant eviction ban until March December 9, 2020 The UK’s ban on commercial property eviction has been extended today to March 2021. Housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced that this will be the final extension of the business eviction ban, after it was originally supposed to end in September this year. A statement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the [...]
Climate Progress Dashboard: Will a Biden Paris U-turn inspire action? December 9, 2020 | City Talk The latest update to our Climate Progress Dashboard suggests the current pace of change will result in temperatures rising by 3.8°C above pre-industrial levels. The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) would have taken place in Glasgow, Scotland, this month if it was not for the coronavirus pandemic. Global leaders were expected to [...]
Michael Gove insists there will be ‘no border in Irish Sea’ in Brexit divorce deal December 9, 2020 Michael Gove has defended an agreement secured yesterday on the Northern Ireland Protocol, insisting that any Brexit trade deal will not result in a border in the Irish sea. The Cabinet Office minister yesterday struck an “agreement in principle” with his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic on post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border. The UK agreed [...]
Brexit: Boris Johnson to meet EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels TODAY December 9, 2020 Boris Johnson will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this evening in Brussels for showdown Brexit talks. The pair will be briefed by their respective chief negotiators tonight about the outstanding issues holding up a trade agreement, before trying to hammer out a last minute deal one-on-one. Last night von der Leyen [...]
Use furlough scheme to help sick employees isolate, says think tank December 9, 2020 The government should use the furlough scheme to encourage more workers to self-isolate at home, as the current statutory sick pay regime does not go far enough. Self-isolating has continued to be a major factor used to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus throughout the pandemic, with all those with coronavirus symptoms urged to [...]
Brexit: City of London lobby slams EU for damaging confidence in UK financial services sector December 9, 2020 The City of London’s most influential lobby group has hit out at the EU for politicising decisions on the UK’s financial services sector’s access to Europe post-Brexit. The CityUK chief executive Miles Celic told a Westminster committee today that Brussels has created uncertainty for Square Mile firms through the “regrettable politiicsation” of the equivalence assessment [...]
Britain ditches controversial Internal Market Bill clause in Brexit divorce deal December 8, 2020 The government will ditch parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that would have seen the UK break international law, after reaching an “agreement in principle” on Brexit divorce issues. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said he was “delighted” to have reached a compromise with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovicon on post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border. [...]
‘Step forward for your country’: Matt Hancock urges Brits to get coronavirus vaccine December 8, 2020 Matt Hancock has told Britons to “step forward for your country” and get the coronavirus vaccine, as the NHS today started the largest vaccination programme in British history. “Today marks the start of the fight back against our common enemy coronavirus,” said the health secretary told the Commons this afternoon. “And while today’s the day [...]