Brexit Bulletin

December 28, 2020

Politics trumps pragmatism in Brexit deal

It is not the end of Brexit, but with the newly expressed amity and partnership between the two parties, it may be the end of…

Can Britain’s unionists future proof the Union?

UK breakup: Apocalypse soon?

Brexit trade wars: beware corporate America’s power

Brexit. Will the UK prime minister have to blink first?

Nationalists of a very different hue

Brexit and the danger of partisan divisions

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

Is the United Kingdom safe in Boris Johnson’s hands?

December 13, 2019

The Dumb, the Democrat and the Expert

The people have spoken and the “Brexit Election” campaign of the Conservatives in the UK will go down as one of the most successful in…

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We’re close to cutting care, NHS chiefs warn
NHS chiefs have warned that they will have to start cutting patient care unless Rishi Sunak finds £8 billion this week for extra Covid-19 costs. Ministers are themselves fighting the health service on two fronts this morning, with the talks on additional coronavirus funding stalling as unions prepare for strike action over pay. Patients already on record waiting lists will face longer delays for treatment because the Treasury has toughened its line on NHS spending since the budget, health chiefs have told The Times. They say the chancellor appears to be trying to “renege” on his commitment to cover Covid costs and is attempting to pay for the pandemic out of normal health service spending pots. Hospitals accuse Sunak of “robbing NHS budgets” by refusing to meet the full cost of treating 8,021 coronavirus patients in hospitals at present after ministers offered a lower-than-expected 1 per cent pay rise to frontline staff. The Times, March 8

Women in UK fear equality is going back to 1970
Women across the UK have issued a “desperate cry for help”, with more than half believing that women’s equality is in danger of going back to the 1970s at work, at home and in society, according to an exclusive survey. After a year that has seen women more likely to be furloughed, lose their jobs, carry the burden of home schooling and domestic drudgery, women are increasingly fearful about their futures, with almost half of those surveyed in a Mumsnet poll for International Women’s Day expecting gender equality to go into reverse over the next few years. As children return to school in England, the poll reveals that women have borne the burden of closures, with 70 per cent of mothers with male partners doing all or most of the home schooling. Three-quarters of women said that during lockdown it was easier for their partner to work uninterrupted (echoing findings from the Institute of Fiscal Studies), one in five mothers in paid work said they had reduced their working hours to cope with increased childcare, and more than a third said their careers had been affected in a way that was not true for their partner. The Guardian, March 8

Women set for ‘£100,000 pension pay gap’
The average woman in her twenties today will retire with £100,000 less in her pension than her male peers, research suggests. Pension firm Scottish Widows said women would have to work an extra 40 years if they wanted to close the gap. It blamed their lower average earnings, higher probability of working part-time and heavier childcare burden. The government said its pension reforms had helped millions more women save for retirement. According to the research, over the first 15 years of their careers, women on average save about £2,200 a year, compared to £3,300 for men. The difference only widens over a lifetime as wage increases lead to “significant inequalities in retirement income”, it added. BBC news, March 8

Lack of confidence is impeding women’s financial literacy, study finds
According to Fearless Woman: Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation, a new academic paper published on Monday to coincide with International Women’s Day, women are still far from fearless when it comes to finance. A shortfall of confidence accounts for a third of women’s lower levels of financial literacy relative to men, concludes the paper from an international team of researchers from Germany, the Netherlands and the US. Genuine gaps of knowledge account for the rest. “It’s time to turn Fearless Girl into Fearless Woman – everywhere,” said Annamaria Lusardi, founder of the global financial literacy centre at George Washington University, and one of the authors. The research, conducted in collaboration with the Dutch central bank, quizzed more than 1,500 men and women with three questions about the basics of interest rates, inflation and investment diversification. The study confirmed earlier research that men tended to be more financially literate than women – in a multiple choice test with two or three options, 75 per cent of men answered all three questions correctly against 60 per cent of women. Financial Times, March 8

UK mostly fails to remove asylum seekers
Britain agreed to take in more than eight times as many asylum seekers than it removed under the European Union’s resettlement scheme last year, new figures have revealed. The UK tried to transfer 8,502 illegal migrants to other European countries last year, roughly the same number of people as those who crossed the Channel in small boats. Only 105 requests were accepted, with almost half being taken in by Germany. Britain accepted 882 requests from EU member states to resettle asylum seekers in the UK. Only 20 asylum seekers were returned to France under the Dublin III Regulation that governs which state is responsible for processing asylum applications, despite 8,417 migrants illegally crossing the Channel over the same period. Britain accepted more than 10 times as many asylum seekers from France. The Times, March 8

Aston Martin’s electric models to be made in UK
Luxury car giant Aston Martin has pledged to manufacture all of its electric cars in the UK from 2025. As first reported in the Financial Times, owner Lawrence Stroll said all of its battery sports cars will be made at its plant in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Its electric SUV models will be made at St Athan in Glamorgan, he confirmed. The company is due to start making hybrid versions of its cars over the next four years, followed by battery-only models. BBC news, March 8

NHS to use world’s most expensive drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy
The world’s most expensive drug, which treats babies and young children with a rare and often fatal degenerative disorder, will be available this year for the first time on the NHS in England. Zolgensma, which costs £1.79m per dose, halts the progression of spinal muscular atrophy, which involves loss of movement, muscle weakness and paralysis, and is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. Up to 80 infants a year in England are expected to benefit from the drug, which is administered as a single dose and replaces the function of the faulty SMN1 gene. The active ingredient, onasemnogene abeparvovec, restores the gene and produces proteins essential for muscle movement and nerve function. Babies born with the most severe form of the muscle-wasting disease – SMA type 1 – have a life expectancy of two years. Zolgensma does not cure the disease but helps halt its progression, meaning babies breathe without a ventilator, sit up, crawl and even walk, with benefits lasting more than five years after treatment. The Guardian, March 8

Banksy to auction hospital artwork for NHS
Street artist Banksy hopes to raise more than £3m for the NHS with the auction of a painting offering a “universal tribute” to staff. Game Changer appeared at Southampton General Hospital during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The anonymous graffiti artist is now auctioning the original canvas to raise funds for the NHS, with a reproduction of the work to remain in the hospital. The painting has a pre-sale estimate of between £2.5m to £3.5m. It shows a young boy kneeling and playing with superhero dolls. While Batman and Spiderman are discarded in a bin, the child clutches a figure of a masked nurse wearing a cape. BBC news, March 8

Left-wing Democrats may block Covid relief bill
President Biden faced an anxious 48 hours after left-wing Democrats threatened to torpedo a giant $1.9 trillion spending bill on which he has staked much of his authority and hopes for an American recovery. The blockbuster Covid relief bill would give hundreds of thousands of Americans cheques of up to $1,400 each in an effort to bolster the pandemic-ravaged economy, and its approval by the Senate was hailed as the centrepiece of Biden’s first 100 days. However, the so-called American Rescue Plan has to go back to the House of Representatives where left-wingers were scathing about cuts to proposed unemployment benefits and the minimum wage introduced in horse-trading to get it through the upper house. White House advisers warned yesterday that there was “no room for complacency” after the 50-49 Senate vote along party lines offered a reminder of how finely balanced Biden’s power is even though Democrats control both sides of Capitol Hill. The Times, March 8

Switzerland bans facial covering after campaign
Swiss voters have approved a far-right proposal for a “burqa ban” in another test of European attitudes to Muslims. The move, which had been opposed by the government, was narrowly backed in a binding referendum. With results in from 26 cantons, the winning margin was 51 per cent. The proposals from the anti-immigrant Swiss People’s Party (SVP) are claimed to be about banning all face coverings, but the debate has focused on banning Islamic veils such as the niqab and burqa. The Times, March 8

Foie gras off the menu after British import ban
Foie gras is about to have its goose very definitely cooked. The government is planning to ban imports of the delicacy, in a move made possible by new freedoms offered by Brexit. The production of foie gras, which involves force-feeding ducks and geese until their liver grows to several times its normal size, ended in Britain in 2006, after falling foul of animal welfare legislation. However, it has still been possible for shops and restaurants to import the product, as preventing its sale in the UK was difficult while the country was still in the single market. Ministers are drafting legislation to close the loophole and prevent the food from being imported in any form. The Times, March 8

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