Work and Pensions secretary Esther McVey adds to growing list of Brexit resignations November 15, 2018 Esther McVey, secretary for the Department of Work and Pensions, has resigned this morning over the government's proposed Withdrawal Agreement from the European Union. McVey's exit follows the departures of both Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and Northern Ireland minister Shailesh Vara this morning. Additionally, junior education minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Brexit under-secretary Suella Braverman have stepped down. [...]
Dominic Raab resigns as Brexit secretary, calling withdrawal agreement ‘a very real threat’ to the UK’s integrity November 15, 2018 Dominic Raab resigned as Brexit secretary this morning, calling the UK's withdrawal agreement "a very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom". Sterling plunged to 1.285 against the dollar in reaction to the news. Raab, who helped negotiate the UK’s withdrawal agreement with Brussels, added that the Prime Minister’s proposed deal breaks promises [...]
Sterling falls as Theresa May receives her first ministerial resignation over her Brexit deal November 15, 2018 Sterling fell this morning after a minister announced his resignation over the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal, which won the backing of the cabinet last night. Shailesh Vara, a minister for Northern Ireland, informed Downing Street of his resignation this morning, saying the deal leaves the UK “in a half-way house with no time limit” on [...]
EU calls emergency Brexit summit to vote on UK withdrawal agreement as Northern Ireland minister quits November 15, 2018 European Council president Donald Tusk set a date for an emergency Brexit summit today to discuss the UK and EU’s draft withdrawal agreement. The meeting, scheduled for 9.30am on Sunday, 25 November, is expected to formalise the UK’s Brexit deal hammered out by Prime Minister Theresa May and EU negotiator Michel Barnier. “Let me say [...]
The City wants to cheer May over the line November 14, 2018 The Outline Political Declaration on the Future Relationship was published alongside the legalistic 585-page Draft Withdrawal Agreement and while everyone picks over the latter, the former has put a modest spring in the step of City groups. In the Political Declaration, a mere seven pages, the UK and EU set out their commitments to “preserving [...]
Brexit deal agreed by cabinet after ‘impassioned’ five-hour meeting November 14, 2018 Theresa May squeaked her Brexit deal through a divided Cabinet on Wednesday in an historic moment for the UK. After a five-hour meeting the Prime Minister emerged from Downing Street at just after 7pm to declare her ministers had backed her controversial proposals on how to withdraw the UK from the EU. The marathon meeting [...]
New Crossrail boss to be paid £45,000 more than predecessor Simon Wright amid ongoing project troubles November 14, 2018 Incoming Crossrail boss Mark Wild is set to earn £415,000 – a £45,000 increase on the earnings of his predecessor, Simon Wright. Wild, the current managing director of the London Underground, will retain his Transport for London (TfL) salary of £285,000 on top a non-consolidated allowance of £130,000 for his role as Crossrail CEO. He [...]
Fairytale economics will not enchant markets November 14, 2018 In a remarkable break with the economic prudence of the past decade, policymakers in the west are taking their feet off the spending brakes. During the recent midterm elections in the US, President Trump hailed the continuing stream of positive economic data and Democrats’ warnings about the cost of tax cuts failed to cut through. Meanwhile the [...]
US midterm elections: Is gridlock good? November 14, 2018 | City Talk Further tax cuts unlikely but will Trump strike a deal on trade? Keith Wade, Chief Economist, says: “The midterm elections restored some faith in opinion polls with the Democrats taking the House of Representatives and the Republicans holding the Senate. Conventional wisdom has it that a gridlocked Congress is good for markets as it prevents [...]
Government caves on fixed-odds betting terminal reform in face of parliamentary backlash November 14, 2018 The government has U-turned on delayed changes to fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), bringing forward a widely called-for cap on stakes to April, after the sports minister resigned over the issue. Shares in gambling companies rallied sharply on the news with GVC up 8.1 per cent, Paddy Power Betfair up 7.5 per cent, William Hill up 2.1 [...]