90 per cent of Brexit backers want to retain the UK’s current Single Market access, according to a new poll November 16, 2016 A huge majority of voters want the UK to retain Single Market membership according to polling figures released today. Across both Leave and Remain supporters, there is widespread support for the UK staying in the Single Market, pollsters say. But there is a yawning divide between the two groups over immigration, with the Brexiteers – [...]
Arise Lord Farage? Theresa May just refused to rule out a peerage for Nigel November 16, 2016 Theresa May refused to rule out a gong for interim Ukip leader Nigel Farage in Westminster today. Quizzed on the possibility of Farage entering the House of Lords by Scottish National Party MP George Kerevan at Prime Minister's Questions, May said only that “such matters are never discussed in public”. While an appointment may seem unlikely, May's [...]
Prosecco vs Fish and Chips? An Italian minister says Boris Johnson’s Brexit talks are “insulting” November 16, 2016 An Italian minister has pleaded with the British government to “put its cards on the table” over Brexit, complaining that foreign minister Boris Johnson has reduced debate to “insulting” levels. Speaking to Bloomberg, Italy's economic development minister recalled that Johnson had told him Britain would be granted easy access to Single Market “because you don't [...]
Brexit planning is proving “a considerable challenge” for Whitehall, according to a former senior civil servant November 16, 2016 The government has yet to prepare a central plan for Brexit, according to the one of the most senior civil servants at the Foreign Office. Sir Simon Fraser, who served as permanent under-secretary until 2015, told MPs today that he understood drawing up Brexit plans was proving “a considerable challenge”. “The government has not yet [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan backs legal action against Heathrow expansion November 16, 2016 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has stuck by his pledge to stand against Heathrow expansion, saying he will support a legal challenge to the government's decision. He has directed Transport for London (TfL) to provide advice and assistance to affected borough councils, including Hillingdon, Richmond, Wandsworth and Windsor and Maidenhead as they prepare for a joint [...]
The number of deaths might be reducing but terrorism is costing the global economy billions of dollars each year November 16, 2016 Terrorism cost the global economy an eye-watering $90bn during 2015 according to a report by a leading global think tank. The Institute for Economics and Peace today produced its Global Terrorism Index, which revealed the impact terrorism is having on the world's finances. Read more: How nuclear terrorism is a $1bn opportunity for this UK firm Perhaps unsurprisingly, [...]
Trump does not mean the end of liberalism November 16, 2016 We are told the fifth stage of grief (following denial, anger, bargaining, and depression) is acceptance, and for some people in the US and beyond who this time last week found themselves aggrieved by the outcome of the presidential election, the journey to this final step has been swift. “Trumpism could be a solution to the [...]
Article 50 case outcome could delay Brexit, Supreme Court judge cautions November 15, 2016 Brexit could be delayed if government loses its appeal on the Article 50 case, the deputy president of the Supreme Court has cautioned. In a speech in Kuala Lumpur, which was delivered last week but the text not published until today, Lady Brenda Hale mused that, if the appeal did not swing in government's favour, it [...]
Boris Johnson signals UK will leave Customs Union post-Brexit November 15, 2016 Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has confirmed the UK will probably have to leave the Customs Union post-Brexit in an interview published today. Although much of the Brexit debate has focused on what access British businesses can hope to maintain to the Single Market, less attention has been given to whether the UK will continue to be a [...]
As a businessman, Donald Trump knows that success requires compromise: Brexiteers should take note November 15, 2016 With the election of Donald Trump to the White House, we have now experienced political earthquakes on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr Trump’s triumph and the UK’s Brexit vote, both fuelled by public anger, confirm we have moved into a new and much more uncertain political era. Millions of words have already been written [...]