Theresa May says Britain should be a leader in free trade as she moots deals with five G20 nations September 5, 2016 Theresa May has said leaders of five G20 nations have expressed willingness to explore free trade deals with the UK in the aftermath of Brexit, although none of the nations are among the UK's top trading partners. May said the leaders of South Korea, Mexico, Singapore and India had all expressed a desire for talks to lift trade [...]
Downing Street has ruled out a points system for migration, despite senior ministers pushing the idea during the Brexit campaign September 5, 2016 Theresa May has scotched any chances of the UK moving to a new points-based set of rules of migration, aping a system already in place in Australia, overruling plans proposed by some of her senior cabinet ministers during the Brexit campaign. May was already issuing cautious noises on the plan overnight, telling reporters at the [...]
Second EU referendum legally possible, politically improbable September 5, 2016 Remainers (or Leavers having second thoughts) hoping for another punt at the EU membership vote might want to cover their ears now – the legal eagles have some bad news for you. A second referendum is legally possible, but politically, highly unlikely, lawyers have reminded people ahead of this afternoon's parliamentary debate. The debate, which will take [...]
Britain would have left the EU even if it had voted Remain September 5, 2016 Counterfactuals are the ugly stepsister of political risk analysis, neglected and scorned in equal measure because – as they deal with events that have never occurred – they can never be definitively assessed. We find this all more than a little amusing, as the first rule of any world-class analyst is humility, that nothing (good [...]
The chancellor’s fiscal reset is a golden opportunity to slash living costs through tax cuts and planning reform September 5, 2016 Philip Hammond recently said that he may use the Autumn Statement to “reset” fiscal policy. That is a welcome sentiment because it suggests the chancellor sees before him a golden opportunity to transform the tax system. With Parliament returning, we are likely to see the government start to formulate and publicise more detailed economic policy [...]
Is Nicola Sturgeon deluded over her chances of getting Scottish independence? September 5, 2016 Alex Deane, managing director at FTI Consulting and City of London common councilman, says Yes. The SNP thrives on the perpetual prominence of the independence question. But their raison d’etre would disappear with another vote – either because they won, when they would become irrelevant, or because they lost, when their cause would wither for a [...]
Sadiq Khan will tonight vow to push Theresa May for “creative” solutions to secure Single Market access September 5, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan will tonight vow to push Theresa May's government for “creative” solutions to secure Single Market access for the UK's financial services sector. Speaking to an audience of City bigwigs at the annual Lloyd's of London City dinner, Khan is expected to name protecting the financial services sector as the number one priority in [...]
Businesses losing EU workers as May refuses to guarantee residency status September 5, 2016 Prime minister Theresa May has again refused to guarantee the long-term status of EU citizens living in the UK, provoking ire from MPs, as a new poll shows that a sizeable proportion of EU staff have already quit their jobs, or intend to, because of Brexit uncertainty. A survey of 800 firms that employ EU [...]
Everything you need to know about tomorrow’s EU referendum rules debate September 4, 2016 The online petition questioning the EU referendum rules – or the so-called second referendum petition – reaches parliament tomorrow, with a debate scheduled in Westminster Hall for the afternoon. The petition, which was started by Leave supporter William Oliver Healey roughly a month before the vote even took place and has received more than 4m signatures, called on [...]
More than half of Corbyn backers say British spies are conspiring against the Labour leader September 4, 2016 More than half of Jeremy Corbyn supporters believe that British spies are working to undermine the Labour leader, according to new figures. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey suggested in late June that intelligence agencies could be using “dark arts” against the current Labour leadership. And now the latest polling figures show the idea has become [...]