May prepares to face MPs after last-minute talks with EU March 12, 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May claimed victory in a last-minute round of negotiations with the EU last night, as she set out new legal guarantees over the controversial Irish backstop protocol. Speaking in Strasbourg after a late-night meeting with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, May claimed a new, legally-binding agreement would sit alongside her withdrawal deal [...]
Forget Brexit, corporate debt is a bigger issue March 11, 2019 As a few of you might have been told many times already, today is the latest Brexit D-Day for the UK, and for Theresa May in particular. Now, despite the fact that I am – at the moment that you are reading this – down on a chilly College Green in Westminster reporting on the latest [...]
Sterling falls as Downing Street admits Brexit talks are ‘deadlocked’ ahead of meaningful vote March 11, 2019 Downing Street has admitted that Brexit talks with the EU have reached a stalemate before Theresa May puts her deal to MPs in another meaningful vote tomorrow, sending sterling to a three-week low. The Prime Minister spent her Sunday night in talks with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker after a last-ditch visit to Brussels by the [...]
Senior Tory MPs urge Theresa May to cancel Brexit vote March 11, 2019 Senior Tory MPs have urged Prime Minister Theresa May to cancel tomorrow’s vote on her Brexit deal amid fears she faces another heavy defeat, the Times has reported. Leading Conservatives have told May she should pull the meaningful vote unless she secures major concessions from the EU. Read more: Brexiters dismiss reports they could swing [...]
The UK’s competition policy must be fit for a world of tech giants and hidden cartels March 11, 2019 Competition is the oxygen of the capitalist system. From Adam Smith on, there have been warnings of the threats to economic health if competition is restricted by would-be monopolists or cartels. In the UK, the system is policed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It rarely hits the headlines except for occasional controversial cases like [...]
If London is to continue to thrive, MPs must take a no-deal Brexit off the table March 11, 2019 There is no denying that trying to sell London to international investors this week of all weeks presents a challenge. Inevitably, uncertainty caused by Brexit has made some businesses more hesitant to commit further to operations in London than they would have been otherwise. Looking beyond the imminent drama in Westminster, however, I have reason [...]
Brexiters slap down reports they could swing behind Theresa May’s deal if she quits by June March 10, 2019 The Tory party opened up a new front in its ongoing civil war tonight after senior Brexiters slapped down reports that they could get behind Theresa May’s Brexit deal if she offers her resignation by June. Brexiters told City A.M. the reports were part of a disinformation campaign by Downing Street to swing MPs behind [...]
Whatever happens with Brexit, the battle for Britain’s future requires some ideological firepower March 10, 2019 Margaret Thatcher, together with her great intellectual ally, Keith Joseph, founded the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) in 1974 to promote the principles of a free society and free-market economics. The rather dry and unassuming name of the organisation is at odds with the enduring influence it has had – and continues to have – [...]
Theresa May faces ‘inevitable’ defeat in parliament unless her deal changes, Brexiters warn March 10, 2019 Two leading Brexiters have warned Theresa May that she faces an "inevitable" defeat in the parliament unless she wins significant changes to the withdrawal agreement. Nigel Dodds, the Westminster leader of the DUP which props up Theresa May's minority government, and Tory MP Steve Baker also warned that a delay to UK's departure from the EU [...]
Billions of pounds available by backing Theresa May’s deal, says Philip Hammond March 9, 2019 Chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond has said getting behind Theresa May's Brexit deal would free up billions of pounds in extra public spending or tax cuts. Hammond also dismissed the importance being placed on the Irish backstop, which could force the UK into an EU customs union in order to avoid a hard Irish border, claiming they are "not [...]