Fifty rebel Tory MPs form anti-lockdown Covid Recovery Group November 11, 2020 Dozens of rebel Conservative MPs have formed a new backbench group to protest the imposition of new lockdown restrictions across the country. Former chief whip Mark Harper and ex-Brexit minister Steve Baker will head up the new Covid Recovery Group (CRG) as chairman and deputy chairman. Harper has also recruited prominent senior backbenchers including Sir [...]
BAE Systems slightly lifts profit forecast as orders beat expectations November 11, 2020 BAE Systems slightly raised its earnings forecast for the full year, with the defence company saying demand for its products had remained high throughout the Covid-19 crisis. In an update to the stock exchange this morning, the group kept its full-year guidance for sales and cashflow unchanged, but said it now expects earnings per share [...]
Rebel Tory MPs launch anti-lockdown campaign group November 11, 2020 Dozens of rebel Conservative MPs have launched a new group aimed at blocking the rollout of another national lockdown. Former chief whip Mark Harper and Brexiter Steve Baker will lead the new Covid Recovery Group, while Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 committee, is also a member. The group will argue for a [...]
‘A horror story’: Brexit and Covid halt international trade for UK SMEs November 11, 2020 Already suffering from the impact of a domestic lockdown, the UK’s SMEs have also been forced to halt international trade this year. The dual hit of Brexit and Covid uncertainty has seen 1.5m small businesses pause international imports and exports in 2020, according to research by fintech Currensea. For many SMEs international trade is the [...]
Joe Biden calls Boris Johnson in second diplomatic call as President-elect November 10, 2020 Boris Johnson has scored a diplomatic victory by being the second world leader to speak to President-elect Joe Biden since his victory in the US election. The pair spoke for 20 to 25 minutes from 4pm, after Biden made his first call to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday. Biden reportedly then rang French President [...]
Editorial: A week that offers good news for the capital November 10, 2020 It’s hardly a 200 watt halogen bulb, but word of a potential vaccine does at least provide a flicker of light at the end of this interminable 2020 tunnel. After a year of unrelentingly negative headlines, it counted as unalloyed good news. Not just for our fight against the virus, but for the capital too. [...]
90 per cent of UK trade not covered by free trade deals post-Brexit November 10, 2020 Only 10 per cent of all UK cross-border trade will be covered by current free-trade agreements after 31 December, City AM understands. Fifty-two countries currently have free trade deals in place with the UK for the end of the Brexit transition period. These agreements account for only 10 per cent of the UK’s total cross-border [...]
New law to probe foreign takeovers to be unveiled this week November 10, 2020 A new law which will enable ministers to scrutinise foreign takeovers of companies deemed of national importance will be published on Wednesday. Sky News reported that the National Security and Investment Bill will list 17 sectors of strategic significance that will need governmental approval for transactions. Sources told Sky that these would include nuclear energy, [...]
City is in denial about post-Brexit trading: MHA MacIntyre Hudson November 10, 2020 With less than two months until the Brexit deadline, Alison Horner, indirect tax partner at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, believes trading with Europe after Brexit, deal or no deal, will be more challenging than many businesses are currently realise or even willing to admit. “Due to Covid-19 the majority of British companies involved in exporting to [...]
House of Lords defeats Boris Johnson’s controversial Brexit bill November 10, 2020 The House of Lords has rejected Boris Johnson’s controversial Brexit bill that could potentially breach the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and break international law. Peers voted to remove two clauses from the Internal Market Bill, which deal with the status of Northern Ireland after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December. The legislation will now [...]