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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Brexit: Theresa May warned she will lose support of her party over draft deal November 14, 2018 Theresa May was today warned she will lose the support of Conservative MPs if a draft Brexit agreement could see the UK being kept in a customs union with the EU. Veteran Brexit supporter Peter Bone issued the stark warning to the Prime Minister less than two hours before a meeting of the cabinet to [...]
Sterling retreats as markets await Theresa May’s crucial Brexit cabinet meeting November 14, 2018 Sterling sunk back below $1.30 early this morning despite the Prime Minister having reached a draft agreement with the EU over Brexit. The pound rose on the announcement late yesterday but fell back to $1.296 this morning as politicians reacted negatively to the deal. The DUP has cast doubt over Theresa May’s proposed agreement, calling it [...]
Let’s embrace No Deal and get planning for life after Brexit November 13, 2018 There is an anecdote doing the rounds at the moment where an acquaintance of a civil servant jests “I suppose you’re doing your best to stop Brexit!”, to which the official, not knowing that his friend voted Leave and was pulling his leg, replies “You bet I am, and every one of us too”. True [...]