The City is braced for a hard Brexit – why aren’t MPs? December 11, 2018 Had things worked out differently we could have woken up this morning to news that MPs voted last night in favour of Theresa May's withdrawal agreement. The transition period was secured, talks would move on to the future trade deal and businesses would breath a mighty sigh of relief. Instead, we rise to find another [...]
China reduces tariffs on US cars to 15 per cent amid signs trade war is softening December 11, 2018 China has agreed to reduce tariffs on US cars from 40 per cent to 15 per cent. Shares in US car firms jumped slightly on immediate reaction to the news. Shares in General Motors were up 2.8 per cent, while Tesla was up 0.7 per cent and Ford 0.65 per cent. Meanwhile, US markets were up slightly [...]
More than half of Londoners would vote for Sadiq Khan in 2020 according to a Yougov survey December 11, 2018 More than half of Londoners would vote for Sadiq Khan in the 2020 mayoral election, according to a new survey, despite concerns over crime rates and affordable housing. A total of 55 per cent of respondents to a Yougov survey said they would vote for the incumbent Labour mayor in the first round of the election, [...]
Sadiq Khan blasts government for ‘forcing London to pay twice’ for Crossrail delay December 11, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) has admitted its fare income will be £2.1bn lower than expected as it battles a "perfect storm" of pressures on its finances. In its business plan for 2019-20 to 2023-24, TfL said a “subdued” economy and a £700m reduction in central government funding for challenges facing the organisation. It said fare revenue [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond rules out relaxing regulations to boost finance after Brexit December 11, 2018 London will remain a global financial centre after Brexit, Chancellor Philip Hammond said today as he ruled out relaxing financial regulation. Hammond said Britain will have a safe, transparent and predictable regulation regime, which will be agile enough to cope with changes in business models, Reuters reported. “I reject the idea that laxer regulation makes a [...]
Emergency Brexit debate: Corbyn tells MPs he will table no confidence vote ‘at appropriate time’ December 11, 2018 Jeremy Corbyn has told MPs he will table a vote of no confidence “at the appropriate time”, as Prime Minister Theresa May meets European leaders today to discuss amendments to the Brexit transition deal. Speaking this afternoon in an emergency debate on the PM's decision yesterday to postpone the so-called meaningful vote on the deal, the [...]
Government’s analysis of Brexit no help to MPs, Treasury committee finds December 11, 2018 The government’s own analysis of Brexit is effectively meaningless as it doesn’t scrutinise the implications of the backstop or the most likely trade deal outcomes, according to MPs. The Treasury Select Committee claim analysis of the withdrawal agreement and political declaration secured by Theresa May last month should not be used by MPs to help [...]
Parliament will get a vote on May’s Brexit deal by 21 January December 11, 2018 The Prime Minister will hold parliament’s delayed vote on her Brexit deal by 21 January, Downing Street confirmed today, according to media reports. Theresa May yesterday postponed MPs’ so-called “meaningful vote” on her draft withdrawal agreement, which was scheduled for today, without offering a new date. But Downing Street said she will stick to the [...]
In comes the king: M&S hires Sainsbury’s veteran Justin King as non-exec director December 11, 2018 Retail chief Justin King has re-joined the Marks and Spencer board as a non-executive director. The former Sainsbury's boss, who is the fourth new hire for the M&S boardroom in the last year, will continue to serve as vice chairman of Terra Firma as he takes on the new role in January. King has built [...]
Nearly 300,000 homes could be built in Greater London above rail tracks, says new research December 11, 2018 Untapped space above London’s railways tracks could pave the way for as many as 280,000 new homes, according to new data that comes amid growing calls to tackle the capital’s housing shortage woes. Almost 2,500 hectares of land on top of Greater London’s train, overground and Tube lines could be freed up, a report by [...]