Ken Clarke warns ‘fed up’ Tory MPs could quit the Conservative party February 20, 2019 Tory veteran Ken Clarke has said MPs from his party are "very fed up" and could contemplate defecting to the newly formed Independent Group. Clarke, a pro-EU MPs, told the BBC this morning: "Certainly some members of parliament are getting very fed up. There are some, I think – not including me – who probably [...]
Theresa May will travel to Brussels with the EU still not budging on the backstop February 19, 2019 Theresa May will travel to Brussels on Wednesday for a meeting with Jean Claude-Juncker after the EU once again ruled out fundamental changes to the Brexit deal. However, negotiators from both sides are currently working on a new legal text relating to the Irish backstop plan aimed at winning support from the UK parliament. Brexit [...]
Labour’s Magnificent Seven just made a no-deal Brexit more likely February 19, 2019 I am old enough to recall the “Gang of Four” in the eighties, when Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rogers left Labour to set up the Social Democratic Party. We know that all ended acrimoniously, with a reverse takeover by David Steel’s Liberal Party that created the Liberal Democrats. This week, we [...]
Honda: What’s really hurting car manufacturers? February 19, 2019 Business secretary Greg Clark yesterday took a stand for Britain’s car manufacturers, saying Honda’s move to close its Swindon factory shows the urgent need to strike a Brexit deal. “Decisions like Honda’s this morning demonstrate starkly how much is at stake,” he said. “A situation in which our manufacturers do not have the certainty they [...]
Asda sales growth falters amid competition probe into Sainsbury’s merger February 19, 2019 Asda today reported a slowdown in sales growth in the fourth quarter as it waits for the green light over its planned merger with Sainsbury’s. The supermarket chain, which is owned by US grocery giant Walmart, posted a one per cent rise in like-for-like sales excluding petrol in the three months to the end of [...]
Slowdown in retail investment as Brexit uncertainty puts sellers on hold February 19, 2019 Investment in retail property tumbled by several billion pounds last year, as owners of high street stores, retail parks and shopping centres showed a reluctance to sell at discount prices despite uncertainty over Brexit and a swathe of industry-wide pressures. A gap in price expectations between buyers and sellers of retail property is causing a [...]
Jeremy Corbyn warned of more Labour defections as MPs ‘think hard’ about future February 19, 2019 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been warned that more of his MPs will jump ship unless he listens to their concerns over Brexit and anti-semitism. Ian Austin, Ian Murray and Tom Watson were among the MPs sounding the alarm bells today following the decision of seven Labour MPs to quite the party to form a [...]
Beyond the bottom line: UK asset managers aren’t ready for new stewardship rules – should we be worried? February 19, 2019 From questionable corporate incentives to excessive risk-taking, there were plenty of red flags that should have warned asset managers of the impending financial crisis in 2008. And yet, many turned a blind eye, ultimately choosing to risk people’s pension savings for the sake of short-term gains. Since then, codes of practice have been introduced around [...]
Want a more future-focused government? Climate action is just the start February 19, 2019 The reaction was predictable. Last week’s Climate Strike by schoolchildren was met with an inane debate about whether or not the pupils were right to “play truant”. This dialogue of the deaf was a missed opportunity. Politicians should take seriously the protesters’ demand that they “recognise that young people have the biggest stake in our [...]
A real Labour split won’t guarantee a surge in sterling February 19, 2019 Investors who are predicting a sterling rally if there if a full-blown split in the UK’s opposition party are likely to be sorely mistaken. The Labour party has leaned increasingly to the left since Jeremy Corbyn took the reins in 2015. Many currency experts have warned about his policies, saying that they fear a Labour [...]