Kitney

January 31, 2020

Brexit: Government of the people by the people for the people?

The health of democracy is a matter for growing concern but the responsibility for making it work better lies with the defeated as much as…

January 1, 2020

2020: a year of extreme weather and extreme politics

The climate has turned terrorist against nature, but one dare not mention the words ‘climate change’ or ‘climate emergency’, writes Geoff Kitney I am writing…

November 14, 2019

From Berlin to Brexit: A short history of European walls

When it should be holding the beacon higher and brighter, the UK is abandoning its important role as a promoter and defender of the system…

October 29, 2019

An ‘economic competitor’ on the EU’s doorstep?

Any attempt to undercut long-established European standards would be an effective declaration of economic warfare, writes Geoff Kitney. Amid the raucous and sometimes ill-tempered hubbub…

September 4, 2019

What dark forces lie behind the Brexit façade?

Boris Johnson last night turfed out 21 Tory rebels. Now he is preparing to put British democracy to one of its greatest tests, writes Geoff…

July 31, 2019

Can Boris Johnson tame the Brexit monster?

Boris Johnson has set an impossible pre-condition which he knows must lead to a no-deal Brexit, writes Geoff Kitney. So far, so good for Boris…

June 17, 2019

‘Free’ trade with the US could prove costly

Britain Beware! Special relationships are rarely worth much when national interest overtakes rhetoric, writes Geoff Kitney. When President Donald Trump made his recent trip to…

May 24, 2019

May resigns – and Johnson is waiting in the wings

Too late now for Theresa May, but Australia has just provided a lesson: get the politics right first and worry about the consequences later, writes…

April 15, 2019

A changing climate boosts the political divide

The young have taken to the streets in peaceful protest showing governments that they too have a voice. The upcoming Australian election may prove them…

March 18, 2019

Complex language of trade falls on deaf ears

The empty space that sits where detailed, comprehensive and forward-looking planning for British post-Brexit trade should be set out is arguably the most perplexing example…

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Jeff Bezos pledges $10bn to fight climate change
The world’s richest man has offered $10 billion of his personal wealth to fight climate change as he vowed yesterday to help to “save Earth”. Jeff Bezos, the Amazon chief executive, said that he would fund scientists, activists, non-profit groups and “any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world”. In an Instagram post revealing the creation of the Bezos Earth Fund, he added: “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.” The total is about 7.7 per cent of Mr Bezos’s net worth, which the Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts at $130 billion. The Times, February 18

Sadiq Khan urges EU to offer Britons ‘associate citizenship’
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will use a trip to Brussels to implore EU negotiators to be open to continued free movement for Britons through “associate citizenship”. With the backing of the former prime minister of Belgium Guy Verhofstadt, Khan said the offer of such rights to those who wish to retain them should be at “the heart” of the coming negotiations over the future relationship. The idea of “associate citizenship” was first raised in late 2016 by Verhofstadt, who was then the European parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator. The offer would be of continued freedom of movement and residence around the bloc for those who wished to retain such rights. Such a status would also protect rights in healthcare, welfare and workplace conditions and likely the right to vote in European parliament elections. The chances of such an initiative making headway in the negotiations are extremely limited as it would be unlawful under EU legislation. The Guardian, February 18

Brexit has stuffed us, say UK sausage chiefs
In an unexpected consequence of Britain’s departure from the European Union, farmers and producers have said that they will have no legal basis to sell sausages in Europe after the transition period ends in December. Unless the EU grants a unilateral concession, about £17 million pounds worth of sausage meat, along with uncooked beef burgers and other products, could be turned away at the border. The ban will also affect Northern Ireland, disrupting supermarket supply chains despite claims by ministers that there will be continuing frictionless trade across the Irish Sea. At present uncooked meat and other food can be sold freely across the continent under an EU-wide system of safety checks. But from next year products of animal origin entering the EU from Britain will require a specific export health certificate to prove it is fit for human consumption. The Times, February 18

Cummings ‘misfit’ quits after eugenics row
A Downing Street adviser has quit after Boris Johnson was dragged into a row over his past comments on eugenics and race. Andrew Sabisky, who was hired as part of Dominic Cummings’s drive for “weirdos and misfits”, announced his resignation last night as Tory MPs and former ministers joined demands for him to be fired. The researcher, 27, who describes himself as a “super-forecaster”, was taken on last week on what Downing Street has said was a short-term contract. The Times revealed unease among government sources over the appointment as well as some of his statements on eugenics, mass medication and women’s sport. Downing Street repeatedly refused to say whether the prime minister agreed with Mr Sabisky’s comments on the intelligence of black people and compulsory contraception to avoid a “permanent underclass”. The Times, February 18

Senior Wuhan doctor dies from coronavirus as authorities start to ‘round up’ patients
One of Wuhan’s most senior doctors has died after contracting coronavirus, as authorities began a sweeping campaign inside the city to seek out patients infected with the deadly virus. “Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuhan Wuchang hospital, died at 10.30am this morning after resuscitation efforts failed,” reported the China Central Television’s microblog. Confirmation also emerged of the death of Xu Depu, the former director of the Ezhou city Chinese medicine hospital in Hubei province, from the virus on Thursday last week … The deaths came as state media reported new house-to-house checks in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people at the centre of the outbreak, that aimed to seek out and “round up” all infected patients. State media said anyone suspected of having the virus would face mandatory testing and anyone who had close contact with virus patients would be put under quarantine. The Guardian, February 18

Bombardier jobs at risk after £6bn train deal
The owner of Britain’s largest and oldest train factory is to be sold off to the French company Alstom in a deal worth £6.25 billion. Bombardier Transportation, the train manufacturing division of the debt-laden Canadian industrial group, will be acquired by the company behind the TGV high-speed trains in France, the original Eurostar rolling stock and the Pendolino tilting trains on Britain’s west coast main line. The deal will expand Alstom into a business with more than €15 billion of global annual revenues and a backlog of orders totalling €75 billion. It is due to be completed early next year if approval is secured from regulators. There were immediate demands from trade unions for reassurances that there would be no job losses among the 6,000 British workers affected, who are set to make up about 8.5 per cent of the enlarged group’s 70,000 workforce. The Times, February 18

HSBC to cut 35,000 jobs as profits plunge
HSBC has said it will slash 35,000 jobs over three years as part of a major shake-up after revealing that annual profits plunged 33 per cent. The bank also issued a warning over the coronavirus outbreak in Asia, which makes up the bulk of its profits, saying it could have an impact on its performance in 2020. HSBC’s interim chief executive, Noel Quinn, confirmed that the bank would make big cuts to its workforce as part of its radical overhaul. The job cuts represent about 15 per cent of the group’s global workforce and the figure is far larger than the 10,000 that analysts had been expecting. “The totality of this programme is that our headcount is likely to go from 235,000 to closer to 200,000 over the next three years,” Quinn told Reuters. The lender, which operates in 64 countries, did not say which regions would be hardest hit by the job cuts. However, its London-based investment banking business is thought to be vulnerable. The group employs about 40,000 staff in the UK. The Guardian, February 18

Nissan boss signals pay cuts and restructuring
Nissan’s chief executive has told shareholders he will step down if he fails to reverse the company’s dismal performance, as the lossmaking Japanese carmaker signalled cuts to executive pay and deeper restructuring measures in the US. The pledge came as the newly appointed boss faced a two-and-a-half-hour grilling by shareholders venting their anger over a collapse in vehicle sales, dividends and Nissan’s share price in a turbulent year that followed the ousting of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018. “You can fire me immediately” if the management team is unable to steer the company in an effective manner and stem a hit to earnings, Makoto Uchida said at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in Yokohama on Tuesday. Financial Times, February 18

Higher earners may face cut to pension tax relief
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the new chancellor, are considering cutting pension tax relief for higher earners and relaxing spending rules as they prepare for detailed budget talks for the first time tomorrow. The Treasury has drawn up plans to cut the rate of relief for higher earners from 40 per cent to 20 per cent in a move that would raise £10 billion a year. Ministers have shelved plans for a “mansion tax” and a nationwide revaluation of homes after a backlash from Tory MPs. However, a senior government source said that pension tax relief was considered to be “in a different category” amid concerns that the present system is “perverse”. Higher-rate taxpayers enjoy 40 per cent tax relief on pension contributions, compared with 20 per cent for lower earners. “If that’s levelling up then I’m a flying pig,” another government source said. The Times, February 10

Millions of savers hit by cut to Premium Bond rates and payout prizes
Millions of savers have been dealt a blow after National Savings & Investments slashed payouts on accounts and Premium Bonds. The government-backed savings bank, which has 25 million customers, has reduced rates on 14 products by up to 0.45 percentage points. The Premium Bond prize pot has also been cut. The announcement came after a series of rate cuts on savings products offered by banks and building societies. The move is likely to put pressure on Rishi Sunak, the new chancellor, to relieve savers. Rates have fallen sharply since the financial crisis of 2008. Before that savers were used to earning at least 5 per cent on their deposits. The average rate on an easy-access bank savings account last month was 0.39 per cent … The number of monthly winners of £50 and £100 Premium Bond prizes is to halve from May 1, and the total number of tax-free Premium Bond payouts is to fall by more than 170,000 to 3.29 million. The Times, February 18

Soccer gambling links ‘gone too far’: ex-FA boss
Former FA chief executive Mark Palios says football needs to “wean” itself off gambling sponsorship. He told BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 programme football’s links with the betting industry had gone “too far”. Mr Palios, who chairs Tranmere Rovers FC, said he would not accept gambling sponsorship and had rejected an offer from a major betting company last year. The English Football League said football and the gambling industry worked together responsibly. A spokesman said: “The EFL itself continues to have a successful relationship with Sky Bet who, as a responsible, properly regulated bookmaker, recognise the importance of having the right safeguards in place”. Any marketing of the partnership promoted best practice and protected minors and the vulnerable, he added. The Premier League said it did not have a central gambling partner and sponsorship deals were up to individual clubs. BBC news, February 18