EU working to improve Irish border backstop proposal, Barnier says September 18, 2018 The European Union has softened its approach to the Irish border backstop "insurance policy" arrangement, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said this evening, in a push to effectively complete the Brexit deal within the next month. Speaking in Brussels ahead of a summit of EU leaders in Salzburg tomorrow and Thursday, Barnier confirmed that work was ongoing to improve the offer to Britain and said [...]
Time for the government to set out the details of its post-Brexit immigration policy September 18, 2018 Inch by inch, the government is creeping closer to a new immigration policy. With the publication yesterday of the Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) report, there are no reasons left not to set out a vision for this complicated and contentious area of policy. The expectation is that Theresa May will use her speech to [...]
Sir Vince Cable’s ‘erotic spasm’ gaffe overshadows his Lib Dem conference speech September 18, 2018 Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable overshadowed his own conference speech by stumbling over his words during a key attack on Brexit. In a much-trailed line, the former Business Secretary was due to describe the vote to leave the EU as an "erotic spasm". However, the 75-year-old failed to rise to the occasion at the [...]
First State Investments transfers funds to Dublin ahead of Brexit September 18, 2018 First State Investments will move European Union client assets from the UK to Dublin in preparation for Brexit. The firm, which has 11 offices worldwide including one in The City, will also set up management company operations in the Irish capital next year to continue serving EU investors regardless of the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. Read [...]
UK and US should have mutual recognition of financial sectors on ‘day one’ of a post-Brexit trade deal, says new report September 18, 2018 The UK and US should seek an immediate system of mutual recognition to deepen trade in financial and professional services, according to a new report produced by policy experts from both sides of the Atlantic. The proposal is one of a range of suggestions put forward by a group of 11 think tanks in a [...]
Labour has faced crises before, but this is uncharted territory September 18, 2018 After a summer of turbulence, the Labour party conference will get underway in Liverpool next week. The stories swirling around the run-up centre on the current maelstrom of fanatical support for Jeremy Corbyn, the increasing despondence of moderate MPs, accusations of antisemitism at the heart of the party, all against a backdrop of online discussion [...]
Honda Europe presses for frictionless trading post-Brexit but vows to keep Swindon plant September 18, 2018 Honda Europe today said a no-deal Brexit would hurt its competitiveness at its plant in Swindon, but that it has no plans to relocate from the UK. Speaking to Radio 5 Live, senior vice president of Honda Europe, Ian Howells, said: "Really it hasn't come up that we would actually have to look at putting Swindon [...]
If Chequers falters, the answer to Brexit is the EEA, not no-deal September 18, 2018 The Prime Minister has come out fighting this week, announcing both to the Conservative party and to the country that it is her Chequers deal for Brexit, or no deal at all. Her efforts should be supported. Brexit requires a pragmatic, economically realistic, and constitutionally secure solution, so I support the government’s endeavours to reach [...]
Crispin Odey makes hurried correction to report he wants to enter British politics September 17, 2018 Prominent hedge fund manager Crispin Odey today issued a hurried denial that he intends to swap the world of high finance for front-line politics after a report that he was considering trying for public office. Odey, founder of Odey Asset Management, was reported by Financial News to have expressed an interest in entering political life, [...]
Brexit: EU has let ‘cat out of the bag’ over Irish border solution, claims Theresa Villiers September 17, 2018 The EU has been accused of letting the "cat out of the bag" after a leaked Brussels document suggested technology could solve the Irish backstop issue in the Brexit talks. It has been reported the EU chief's negotiator Michel Barnier is prepared to accept technology could be used to monitor goods moving between Northern Ireland and mainland [...]