Kitney

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…

January 31, 2019

Brexit is now all about the art of the possible

Theresa May’s current political strategy seriously risks running into a dead-end from which it will only be possible for a new prime minister, taking a…

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EU’s funding for UK’s poorest areas ‘must be matched after Brexit’
The Treasury will need to find almost £2bn a year to fill the hole left when EU funding for some of Britain’s poorest communities ends after Brexit, ministers have been told. A body that represents local authorities in the industrial areas of England, Scotland and Wales said the government needed to match the money currently coming from Brussels and allow for extra EU cash that would have arrived over the next few years. The Industrial Communities Alliance said the new shared prosperity fund – designed to replace EU funding to the regions – needed to be at least as generous as the schemes it was replacing. The Guardian, January 17

New assurances for EU citizens welcomed
New assurances on securing settled status for EU citizens in the UK have been extended by the British government, according to Guy Verhofstadt. The European Parliament’s Brexit negotiator said that Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, had told him that EU citizens would be able to get a document proving their credentials, as opposed to previous plans for an entirely online process. He told BBC Radio One’s Today programme that applicants who miss the registration deadline would not face automatic deportation if they had a right to be in the country and could explain why they did not apply in time. Settled citizens could also have a role on a monitoring body to oversee the system, Mr Verhofstadt suggested. The Times, January 17

Trump broke law by delaying Ukraine aid
President Trump broke the law by delaying military aid to Ukraine, an impartial watchdog ruled yesterday in an embarrassing setback before his impeachment trial. The White House overstepped its legal boundaries by freezing more than $200 million that Congress had already decided to transfer, the Government Accountability Office concluded. The money was held back at a time when Mr Trump was seeking an investigation into the Ukrainian company that employed the son of Joe Biden, his potential Democratic rival. The US president was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of obstructing Congress and abusing his power to coerce Ukraine to announce the investigation. Mr Trump has said that the aid was withheld because he wanted to ensure that American funds would not be used corruptly and to press European nations into also giving aid. The Times, January 17

China GDP grows at slowest pace in 29 years
China’s economy last year grew at the lowest rate since 1990 while the country’s birth rate fell to a record low, highlighting the domestic challenges facing Beijing despite a truce in its painful trade war with the US. Gross domestic product grew 6.1 per cent in 2019, hitting analysts’ expectations but also revealing an economy under pressure from weak consumer spending, rising unemployment and problems in the banking system. Growth between October and December reached 6 per cent, lower than some economists had expected. Financial Times, January 17

Sepsis kills more people globally than cancer
Sepsis is the most deadly condition in the world and kills more people than cancer, scientists have said, after finding that it is responsible for twice as many deaths as thought. The previous global estimate from 2016 put the annual death toll from sepsis, sometimes described as blood poisoning, at 5.3 million deaths with a total of 19.4 million cases. Researchers have said that this estimate was based on data from hospitals in seven relatively wealthy countries including the United States, New Zealand and Sweden. They have now taken into account lower-income countries and included data from deaths that occurred outside of hospitals. This has led them to increase their estimate to 11 million deaths and 48.9 million cases per year worldwide. It was described as a “staggering” toll by the UK Sepsis Trust. The Times, January 17

Doctors demand social media firms’ data
Leading UK psychiatrists say they will never understand the risks and benefits of social media use on children’s mental health unless companies hand over their data to researchers. Tech companies must be made to share data and pay a tax to fund important research, they say in a report. There is growing evidence internet use can harm mental health but research is still lacking, it adds. But a civil rights group said children should not be treated “like lab rats”. An independent regulator for online safety is planned by the government. The report, by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, calls on the regulator to require social-media companies to share data on how children and young people are using the likes of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – not just how much time they spend online. The data collected would be anonymous, the report says. BBC news, January 17

BA ‘world’s most polluting airline’
British Airways was named the most polluting carrier on key routes out of the UK today as researchers claimed that the airline burnt up to 46 per cent more carbon than its rivals. A study said that carbon emissions per passenger were higher on four out of six BA flights when set against its competitors. According to the consumer group Which?, an average BA flight from London Stansted to the Spanish island of Mallorca was responsible for 159.5kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger. The same flight taken with Ryanair, Tui or Jet2 produced 109.3kg. The Times, January 17

Govt covering up terms of Flybe rescue deal
The Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has accused the UK government of covering up the true terms of the deal to rescue regional airline Flybe and threatened to launch legal action at home and in Brussels over what he claims is illegal state aid. The outspoken airline chief said he does not believe the government, which has insisted it has not offered unlawful state aid to the ailing company. He hit out at the chancellor Sajid Javid’s refusal to reveal the terms of the rescue deal that was struck Tuesday night. “We don’t believe them and the reason we don’t believe them is they won’t publish the deal,” O’Leary said. “Flybe is not a viable business; it never has been. It has lurched from reconstruction to reconstruction and this is the government misusing state funds to discriminate in favour of Flybe. It’s in breach of competition rules, it’s in breach of state aid rules, which is why the government are covering up the deal,” he told the BBC’s Today programme on Friday morning. The Guardian, January 17

Google owner becomes trillion-dollar company
Google’s owner Alphabet has become a trillion-dollar company for the first time, making it only the fourth US firm to reach the bumper valuation. Alphabet’s value, based on the price of its Wall Street-listed shares, passed $1tn in the final minutes of trading on Thursday night, with shares closing at a record high of $1,450.16 each. It marks a stellar rise for Alphabet, which floated as Google for $85 per share in 2004. After its initial public offering, the Silicon Valley firm was worth $23bn. It has followed its tech rivals Microsoft, Apple and Amazon over the $1tn mark, amid a long rally in so-called Faang stocks. The Guardian, January 17

Brexit: biggest shake-up to farming in 40 years
The UK’s food security is to be regularly assessed by parliament to ensure minimal disruption to supplies after the country leaves the EU and while new trade deals are sought. The commitment will be part of the biggest shake-up of British agriculture in 40 years and requires a regular report to MPs outlining supply sources and household expenditure on food, as well as consumer confidence in food safety. The move reflects concerns over potential disruptions post-Brexit, as more than a quarter of Britain’s food comes from the EU and nearly a fifth from other countries. The revision is one of a handful to the agriculture bill, introduced to parliament on Thursday more than a year after the previous government was forced to abandon the legislation amid Brexit turmoil. The Guardian, January 16

US and China sign deal to pause trade war
The US and China have signed an agreement to pause the trade war that has weighed on the global economy for nearly two years, while leaving in place tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese imports. The so-called phase one deal signed at the White House on Wednesday offers some relief following the anxiety in global markets and uncertainty for business that marked the lengthy period of economic conflict between Washington and Beijing. The 86-page English-language text contains eight chapters, ranging from stricter rules on intellectual property in China to a pledge by Beijing to purchase at least $200bn in US goods and services over the next two years, as well as a commitment by China not to manipulate its currency. However, the deal signed on Wednesday is limited in scope and does not address some of the biggest sources of tension between the countries, including commercial cybertheft in China and Beijing’s rampant use of industrial subsidies. Financial Times, January 16