Johnson calls anti-vaxxers ‘nuts’ as fears mount over second wave of coronavirus July 24, 2020 Boris Johnson has described vaccine opponents as “nuts”, as the Prime Minister warned that coronavirus “could come back again” in the winter. “There’s all these anti-vaxxers now,” Boris Johnson told nurses at GP surgery in London today. “They are nuts, they are nuts.” Speaking on the first anniversary of his premiership, the PM said he believes that [...]
Where is the no-deal planning we need to extract a deal from the EU? July 24, 2020 The UK ended its fifth round of negotiations this week, and still there has been no agreement on the principles of a future trading deal — let alone an actual deal. This was all too predictable. The EU is seeking a deal founded in ideology, and the UK simply wants to trade. Back in January, [...]
After a year in the job, Boris Johnson is a disappointment to even his biggest fans July 24, 2020 On the Institute of Economic Affairs’ Live With Littlewood show this week, I was asked to score Boris Johnson’s first year as Tory leader. I am accustomed to being the token left-winger (relatively speaking) on the IEA’s show, which tends to feature economists and journalists who identify firmly on the Conservative right. I was therefore [...]
City figures worried about prospect of Brexit without trade deal July 23, 2020 City of London figures have expressed concern about the increasing likelihood of the UK leaving the post-Brexit transition period without a deal. The latest round of talks wrapped up today, with both sides saying no serious progress was made on the most contentious issues. The two largest areas of contention are still EU fishing access [...]
Face masks mandatory in English shops and supermarkets from Friday July 23, 2020 Face masks will be mandatory at all enclosed public spaces in England from tomorrow, including shops, supermarkets, shopping centres and transport hubs. The new laws will also count for people buying takeaway food and drink from cafes and shops, however you will be able to take your face covering off to eat at this type of venue [...]
Brexit: UK-EU free trade deal ‘now unlikely’ after last round of talks July 23, 2020 It is “now unlikely” the UK and EU will agree to a free trade deal before the 31 December deadline, according to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier. UK chief negotiator David Frost also said a no trade deal exit from the EU’s single market and customs union was a real possibility now, but that [...]
Government announces £100m funding for new coronavirus vaccine centre July 23, 2020 The government has announced it will invest £100m into a new state-of-the-art centre to scale up a potential coronavirus vaccine currently being developed by the University of Oxford, amid mounting fears of a second wave of the virus in the winter. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) today announced it will plug [...]
US senators warn that UK digital sales tax could stop free trade deal July 23, 2020 Senior members of the US Senate’s finance committee have warned that the new UK digital sales tax could be a major barrier to a future free trade deal. Republican Chuck Grassley and Democrat Ron Wyden said the new levy “unnecessarily complicates the path forward for a US-UK trade deal”, while also calling for the UK [...]
Test and trace scheme misses 20 per cent of coronavirus patients July 23, 2020 The government’s coronavirus test and trace scheme failed to gather the contacts of 20 per cent of patients that tested positive for Covid-19, according to the latest official data. The Department of Health said this morning that 80 per cent of the 3,887 people that tested positive for Covid-19 were contacted by the scheme between [...]
Brexit: No progress expected in latest round of UK-EU trade talks July 23, 2020 UK and EU negotiators are expected to announce today that no significant progress had been made in the latest round of Brexit trade deal negotiations. Boris Johnson last month said he wanted the framework of free trade deal agreed between the UK and EU by July, however it looks like this deadline will pass with [...]