Featured News

August 6, 2018

So, can you ignore Donald Trump?

It’s a rhetorical question, of course, but there is a context in which it is worth asking. That context is Brexit, writes Geoff Kitney. When…

Will May put country or party first?

Where charity stops and exploitation begins

Britannia makes waves with £20bn ‘down-payment’

Barclays eyes Scotland as post-Brexit base

Brexit’s law of unintended consequences

Immigration: the ugly face of Brexit and beyond

Italian storms darken European horizon

Riverford farms plants idea of staff ownership

May 8, 2018

‘Dialogue of the deaf’ proves an expensive exercise

Post-Brexit trade policy and whether or not the United Kingdom wants to remain in the European Customs Union, has not sparked the informed debate it…

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May to let Europeans stay under no-deal Brexit
Europeans will be granted the right to stay in the UK if there is a no-deal Brexit under a unilateral act by the government. Theresa May will take the “moral high ground” and allow EU migrants to continue to access the NHS and claim benefits because the rest of her government’s contingency plans for an acrimonious departure from the bloc rely “on the availability of existing labour”. The offer would apply regardless of whether British migrants in European countries are granted the same rights by the EU, according to The Telegraph. It will be contained in the first tranche of more than 80 papers detailing contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit in different sectors, which the government will publish on Thursday. The Times, August 20

North Sea production recovery fuels fears of tax blow in Budget
The UK Treasury is set to miss out on billions in tax revenues from higher oil prices this fiscal year, as a result of tax changes that are coming under scrutiny following a recovery in production in the North Sea. Oil prices have risen above $70 a barrel this year for a sustained period for the first time since prices fell to below $30 in 2016. In sterling terms, prices have risen even further because of the weakening pound. But according to FT analysis, UK tax revenues from the North Sea will not reach even a quarter of the amount raised in 2010 – when prices were last near this level for a prolonged period – when adjusted for lower expected production volumes. Financial Times, August 20

Brexit and interest rates sap confidence
Business leaders are more pessimistic about the outlook for the economy than at any point this year, polling suggests. Concerns over Brexit negotiations, rising interest rates and trade tensions have contributed to the downbeat mood, according to the Institute of Directors. Its monthly confidence tracker, which records optimism or pessimism, dropped to a score of -16 per cent in July as negative views outweighed the positive. The survey’s results have been on a downward slide since April, when optimism outweighed pessimism to give a positive score of 3 per cent after progress was made in Brexit talks. The Times, August 20

British manufacturing output slips to ninth
Britain’s manufacturing industry has fallen to ninth in the world behind France, reversing a recovery in its performance since the financial crash. The UK’s total manufacturing output stayed ahead of Brazil and Indonesia but slipped below France and remained well adrift of Germany in fourth position and Italy in seventh at the end of 2016. The figures show a troubling decline in the UK’s international standing after the Brexit vote and emphasises the uphill task of regaining its position of seventh achieved in 2007. China kept the top spot ahead of the US and Japan while South Korea and India were fifth and sixth respectively. The Guardian, August 20

Greece emerges from bailout programme
Greece has successfully completed a three-year eurozone bailout programme worth €61.9bn (£55bn; $70.8bn) designed to tackle its debt crisis. After the biggest bailout in global financial history, totalling more than €260bn, the country will be paying loans off for several decades. But for the first time in eight years, it can borrow at market rates. As a condition of the loans, the government was forced to introduce deeply unpopular austerity measures. BBC news, August 20

Vast majority of over-55s fail to save for old-age
Just one in 10 people over the age of 55 have put aside money to pay for care in old age, according to new research published today by consumer group Which? The research comes just one day after it emerged that the government is mulling a new “care ISA” to tackle the crisis in social care provision. Ministers will publish a long-awaited green paper on social care later this year, floating several alternative proposals for raising the money needed to tackle the funding gap for elderly care. The government says there are now half a million more people over the age of 75 than there were in 2010, and there will be 2m more in 10 years’ time. Financial Times, August 20

Lowest-paid parents ‘can’t afford basic lifestyle’
Low-earning parents working full-time are still unable to earn enough to provide their family with a basic, no-frills lifestyle, research suggests. A single parent on the National Living Wage is £74 a week short of the minimum income needed, according to the Child Poverty Action Group. A couple with two children would be £49 a week short of the income needed, the charity said. But this was better than last year, when couples were £59 a week short. BBC news, August 20

Fraud fears as hospitals lose patient records
NHS hospitals lost nearly 10,000 patient records last year, according to figures released under freedom of information laws. The mislaid records, both paper and electronic, prompted concerns over the implications for patient safety and data security. Experts warned that sales of such records on the dark web and cases of identity fraud were increasing, making better protection of patients’ data “urgent”. Campaigners said that not having a full record available during a consultation could make it harder for doctors to make an accurate diagnosis or prescribe the correct medication. The Times, August 20

PepsiCo strikes $3bn deal to buy SodaStream
PepsiCo has agreed to buy SodaStream, the Israeli maker of home fizzy drink dispensers, for $3.2bn, just weeks after the US consumer group announced that its chief executive Indra Nooyi would step down later this year. The acquisition of the health-conscious soda maker is a clear indication that Pepsi’s incoming chief executive, Ramon Laguarta, plans to continue developing the company in a similar direction as his predecessor. SodaStream fits with Pepsi’s broader strategy under Ms Nooyi’s 12-year leadership, during which she switched the company’s focus from sugary sodas to healthier snacks and beverages. Financial Times, August 20

Australian PM dumps key climate policy to stave off leadership revolt
Australia’s prime minister has abandoned plans to rein in greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to stave off a leadership coup from within his own party. The Australian government had proposed using a broad energy policy, called the National Energy Guarantee, to bring in a carbon emissions reductions target in the energy sector of 26 per cent by 2030, which would have helped Australia meet its obligations under the Paris climate agreement. But the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was forced into an embarrassing backdown on Monday after opposition within his Coalition government and amid mounting speculation that he could face a leadership challenge. The Guardian, August 20

Birmingham Prison taken over by government
Birmingham Prison is being taken over by the government from the private firm G4S, after inspectors said it had fallen into a “state of crisis”. Some inmates were too scared to leave their cells, Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said in a letter. The prison will not be returned to G4S until ministers feel “sufficient progress” has been made. G4S said it “welcomed” the development as an opportunity to “urgently address” the problems. BBC news, August 20

Taxi-hailing firm Ola starts operating in Wales
Indian taxi-hailing giant Ola begins operating in the UK today. The company, a challenge to taxi app giant Uber, has launched a “soft pilot” in south Wales before it plans to expand into Greater Manchester next. Ola, which has 125 million customers around the world, is now in Cardiff, Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan. The firm was founded in 2011 and Ola’s UK boss Ben Legg says his company will pay drivers more money than Uber and will offer work to licensed drivers. BBC news, August 20

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