Farage: Brexit indecision is putting the UK on the back foot January 3, 2017 Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage has warned that a failure to rapidly move forward with Brexit will harm the UK, especially in the context of the collapse of Italian bank Monte Dei Paschi. Speaking this morning, Farage accused Prime Minister Theresa May of doing "nothing" on implementation since the summer vote. Read More: Monte dei Paschi shares [...]
Labour and the Conservatives can’t stop blaming each other for rising train fares January 3, 2017 London's Labour mayor Sadiq Khan and Conservative politicians are blaming each other for the rising cost of rail travel this morning. Commuters returning to work this week are set to see their train fares rise by an average of 2.3 per cent. And both sides of the political spectrum have gone on the attack this [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s only hope of power may be in an SNP coalition, Labour group warns January 3, 2017 Labour's only hope of power may be to form a coalition with the likes of the Scottish National Party, a leading left-wing group has warned. A report from the Fabian Society this morning has claimed that the party is on track to drop below 200 seats in the House of Commons for the first time since [...]
The year of the vampire: 2017 is when political risk bites back January 3, 2017 “I have never met a vampire personally, but I don’t know what might happen tomorrow.” – Bela Lugosi Perhaps the greatest single indicator that the West no longer rules the world is its constituent nations’ signal inability to solve any of their many festering crises. Gormless, wildly overrated Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany epitomises this [...]
Prepare to refight referendum battles: How Brexit will dominate 2017 politics January 3, 2017 Brexit will completely dominate 2017. The big short-term question is whether the government’s initial negotiating position will be enough to keep Leave campaigners onside, or whether they will feel a pro-EU Prime Minister and chancellor have betrayed them. This depends on the nature of the proposed deal on free movement. Anything other than a major [...]
Trump will bring growth to the United States – but instability to global markets and trade January 3, 2017 Developments in the United States tend to drive global markets. We expect this to hold firm in 2017. This year I expect Trump will bring growth to America, but instability to global markets and trade. Donald Trump’s two key business appointments are aggressively pro-business. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross both come [...]
Will 2017 be one of the best years ever for the United Kingdom? January 3, 2017 Alex Deane, a City of London common councilman, says Yes. We live in a great country – and what’s even better is that our best days lie ahead of us. When historians write the book on 2016, it will be seen as the year in which – despite the doomsaying pronouncements from some who were [...]
Thousands of £250,000 starter homes are about to be built (outside London) January 3, 2017 Housing minister Gavin Barwell has given the green light for the construction of thousands of new starter homes outside of the capital. Built on brownfield sites, the new homes are designed for first-time buyers between 23 and 40 years old, and will be sold at a discount of 20 per cent below market value, with [...]
Quitting the customs union could bring 400k jobs to the UK, Brexit campaigners say January 3, 2017 Quitting the customs union could generate almost 400,000 jobs in the UK thanks to new free trade deals, a pro-Brexit campaign group has claimed. Change Britain said the UK could hope to secure trade arrangements with up to eight nations if able to negotiate its own deals by exiting the trading bloc, although Theresa May's [...]
13 events that will change the world in 2017: Article 50, Snapchat’s IPO, more Libor trials and a vote on Heathrow January 3, 2017 2017 looks like it's going to be a busy one: we're looking ahead to some of the key business and political events already pencilled in for this year's calendar. 1. Supreme court to rule on Article 50 The Supreme Court is due to deliver its ruling on Gina Miller's case this month (Source: Getty) The Supreme [...]