Peering through the Brexit haze: What we know so far September 16, 2019 One of my favourite intellectual exercises that we use in my political risk firm is what we call “seeing through the fog”. When a long-standing geopolitical topic seems to resemble nothing so much as King Minos’ labyrinth, senior staff and I repair to a good wine bar and spend an afternoon not talking about all [...]
John McDonnell pledges crackdown on City ‘enablers’ of tax avoidance September 15, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has vowed to clamp down on City advisers engaged in promoting tax avoidance schemes, calling for hefty fines and even jail terms under a future Labour government. McDonnell directed his fire at “big accountancy firms” which he called “enablers” of tax avoidance, the term used to describe legal efforts to minimise [...]
Lib Dems vow to scrap Brexit if they win general election September 15, 2019 The Liberal Democrats have vowed to cancel Brexit if they win a majority at the next general election. Members of the party today voted in favour of a motion to revoke Article 50 – the mechanism that allows the UK to leave the EU – if they emerge as the largest party in a national [...]
Sadiq Khan: Revoke Article 50 to end the Brexit ‘panic’ September 15, 2019 Sadiq Khan has said Article 50 should be revoked to “take away the panic” of leaving the EU on 31 October. The London mayor also said the Labour party was the “party of remain” and that in any second referendum on Brexit it should campaign to stay in the EU. Read more: Tom Watson pushes [...]
Sam Gyimah is the latest MP to join the Liberal Democrats September 15, 2019 Former Tory MP Sam Gyimah has become the latest MP to join the Liberal Democrats. The former Tory leadership hopeful was one of the 21 Tory MPs to have the whip removed for supporting a bill to block a n o-deal Brexit last week, which became law on Monday. Read more: Liberal Democrats to vote [...]
Liberal Democrats to vote on policy to revoke Article 50 at annual conference September 14, 2019 The Liberal Democrats’ annual conference begins on Saturday in Bournemouth and leader Jo Swinson will attempt to convince party members to back a new policy to scrap Brexit. Swinson claims the UK is a mess as a result of the 2016 referendum and would seek to revoke Article 50 without a second referendum. Read more: [...]
David Cameron criticises ‘appalling’ behaviour of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove during Brexit campaign September 14, 2019 David Cameron has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Michael Gove of behaving “appallingly” during the 2016 EU referendum campaign. Speaking to the Times ahead of the release of his memoir, Cameron criticised the prominent figures of the Leave campaign and other Tory members for “trashing the government”. “Over the issue of whether or not [...]
Boris Johnson says he ‘won’t be deterred’ from Brexit on 31 October September 13, 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted he “won’t be deterred by anybody” from taking the UK out of the EU on 31 October. Johnson said he was “cautiously optimistic” of securing a deal a Brexit deal, but reiterated his vow that the UK would leave by the Halloween deadline “whatever happens”. Read more: Boris Johnson [...]
Met Police drop investigation into Arron Banks and Nigel Farage’s Leave.EU September 13, 2019 The Brexit campaign backed by British millionaire Arron Banks and Nigel Farage will face no further criminal investigation into the spending return it submitted. Leave.EU was one of the campaigns supporting Brexit during the 2016 EU referendum. While police accepted there were “some technical breaches of electoral law”, they said there was “insufficient evidence to [...]
Boris Johnson to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for Brexit talks September 13, 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday to discuss Brexit. It will be the first time the pair have met for face-to-face talks since Johnson became Prime Minister in July. Read more: John Bercow vows ‘creativity’ to stop Johnson dodging Brexit delay Downing Street has confirmed the [...]