The EU parliament’s Brexit negotiator has warned that talks must close by the middle of 2019 November 22, 2016 The European Parliament's lead negotiators for Brexit talks has warned that discussions with the UK must conclude ahead of MEP election in mid-2019. Speaking after a meeting with UK Brexit secretary David Davis, Guy Verhofstadt said officials had just less than a year and a half to reach a deal if, as expected, Prime Minister [...]
Donald Trump has tweeted that Nigel Farage would do a “great job” as US ambassador, but Downing Street says: we’ve got one already, and he’s excellent November 22, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump has said that the UK's Nigel Farage would make an excellent ambassador to the US, but Downing Street has hit back saying there is "no vacancy". In a tweet overnight, Trump said: Many people would like to see @Nigel_Farage represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States. He would do a [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: Philip Hammond shouldn’t base changes to pensions tax relief on older people’s situation today November 22, 2016 According to some reports, tomorrow’s Autumn Statement could be both the first and last for the new chancellor, because Philip Hammond is said to be in favour of sticking to a single annual Budget. We’ve become used to the biannual format, with a fresh set of policies emerging from the chancellor’s red box twice each year. [...]
The Electoral Commission has opened an investigation into donations received by Ukip November 22, 2016 It's only Tuesday, but this week has already been a rollercoaster ride of emotions for Ukip. After one former leader resigned and another was the subject of a bizarre diplomatic (or "twiplomatic") intervention by Donald Trump, now the Electoral Commission has formally opened an investigation into allegations it misspent EU money. In a statement today [...]
The government has sold off more Lloyds shares November 22, 2016 The government has sold off more of its shares in Lloyds Bank bringing taxpayers' holding in the company below eight per cent. A further plan to sell shares to institutional investors was announced by the chancellor Phillip Hammond in October, ditching plans to offload them to retail investors. "Selling our shares in Lloyds Banking Group and [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond is to announce a £1bn splurge on the UK’s broadband technology November 22, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond will announce more than £1bn of investment for the UK's broadband infrastructure tomorrow. Hammond will make the announcement as part of Wednesday's Autumn Statement, pledging cash towards upgrading existing services and trials of new technology. £400m of the funding will go towards existing fibre broadband providers looking to improve the quality of [...]
Did Theresa May’s “pro business” CBI speech do enough to reassure British companies? November 21, 2016 Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, says Yes. Businesses were feeling a bit unsure of how the Prime Minister viewed them after her speech to Conservative Party Conference last month, but she struck exactly the right tone yesterday, emphasising her support for entrepreneurs, innovators and free markets. Mrs May has been keen [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: Looming dangers demand an urgent rethink of monetary policy in Britain November 21, 2016 A widely-held, but erroneous, view is that low interest rates act invariably as a welcome, unambiguous boost to business, consumers and the economy. Nonetheless, it seems almost incredible that the Bank of England has maintained an emergency rate since March 2009. The granting of (notional) independence over monetary policy to this institution has allowed politicians [...]
His presidency could make or break the US: Would you serve under Donald Trump? November 21, 2016 After 10 days in the United States, and 216 hours or 12,960 minutes talking about the President-elect, how he won, his fiscal stimulus plans, his fraught relationship with the press, his tweets, his controversial comments about women, Mexicans and Muslims, the conflicts of interests, his children, who gets security clearance, his apologies, his friendliness towards [...]
Jeremy Corbyn slams government for not yet sorting out Brexit for businesses November 21, 2016 Government is harming businesses with its "shambolic handling" of Brexit, Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said today. Noting he was surprised to find himself speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference, Corbyn supported the calls for a Brexit which provided a smooth transition for businesses. "We now all face some of the biggest changes [...]