Is your company in one of the 15 places hit hardest by business rate rises? February 20, 2017 The government has hit back at criticism of a scheduled rise in business rates with a letter to MPs detailing how constituencies will be affected. The figures show the forecast average change in bill for businesses in each of the UK's 650 constituencies – many of the worst-hit locations are in London. Of the 15 worst-hit sites, [...]
Article 50 Bill debates resume with a plea for the House of Lords to remember the Brexit verdict February 20, 2017 The House of Lords has kicked off two days of debate on the Article 50 Bill with a government peer asking lords to remember a “collective sense of responsibility”. The Bill was passed unamended by the House of Commons before parliament went into recess earlier this month. And introducing the Bill in the second chamber [...]
Will Marine Le Pen’s Front National provide Europe with its next big political shock? February 19, 2017 With Marine Le Pen’s hard-right Front National leading the polls just over two months away from France’s presidential election, some have already marked May in their calendars as the next political shock in Europe. Is the result a foregone conclusion and what does it all mean for the UK in any case? Polling Day France [...]
Khan says Trump’s visit should be scrapped over “cruel and shameful” travel ban February 19, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May should scrap plans for US President Donald Trump to visit the UK over his “cruel and shameful” policies, London mayor Sadiq Khan has said. Trump was offered a state visit to the UK just days after being elected, but the plan has proved controversial, with protests erupting over the President's attempts to ban [...]
Scrap UK tariffs on imports and give the UK a four per cent boost in GDP say Brexit-backing wonks February 16, 2017 Scrapping all tariffs on imports into the UK would add as much as four per cent to GDP after Brexit, a group of economists has claimed. A cabal of Brexit-supporting academics argue that the end of all import tariffs would cut prices in the UK and improve both productivity and competition in the UK. The newly re-branded [...]
A senior Tory is leading a cross-party fightback to protect House of Commons speaker John Bercow February 16, 2017 A cross-party group of MPs is riding to the rescue of House of Commons speaker John Bercow, with Tory defence committee chair Julian Lewis at the forefront. Bercow has been facing repeated questions over his impartiality relating to Brexit this week, with some MPs also angered by his public vow to fight against Donald Trump making an [...]
British steelworkers vote in favour of Tata’s reforms to pensions February 15, 2017 Steelworkers in three unions have voted in favour of proposals that will see their pensions benefits cut. The proposals will see Tata Steel pump £1bn into the sprawling Port Talbot steelworks in exchange for workers accepting changes to their pension schemes. More than 70 per cent of the steelworker members of GMB, Community and Unite [...]
Nigel Farage is staying away from the rest of the Stoke by-election campaign, even though it features his successor February 15, 2017 Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is to give the Stoke Central by-election a wide berth, despite the fact that his successor is currently battling to enter parliament in the midlands constituency. Current Ukip boss Paul Nuttall is among the candidates to replace former Labour MP Tristram Hunt, who quit to take over London's V&A museum. However, while Farage [...]
EU parliament votes through landmark Canadian trade deal February 15, 2017 The EU parliament has given the thumbs up to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the EU-Canada free trade deal. The deal, which has been almost eight years in the making, risked crumbling late last year, when the parliament of the Belgian region of Wallonia refused to give it the green light over concerns regarding labour laws [...]
Ministers are mulling the creation of a new generation of free ports once the UK’s customs arrangements are clarified February 14, 2017 Ministers are considering proposals to create a new generation of free ports after the UK's customs status is resolved. Prime Minister Theresa May said last month the UK would seek a new customs agreement with the European Union, with current terms effectively precluding new free ports. However, City A.M understands the creation of ports outside of [...]
