Government launches consultation on post-Brexit tariff regime February 6, 2020 The government has called on businesses to consult on the shape of the UK’s new independent global tariff policy, as the country gears up to strike out on its own next year. The Department for International Trade has launched a month-long consultation over its new most favoured nation tariff schedule, which it says will mark [...]
Derek Mackay: Scots finance secretary resigns amid teen messages claims February 6, 2020 Scotland’s finance secretary Derek Mackay has resigned just hours before he was due to give the budget amid claims he sent hundreds of messages to a 16-year-old boy. The 42-year-old Cabinet secretary for finance, economy and fair work contacted the boy on Facebook and Instagram. Reports suggest the pair exchanged 270 messages for around six [...]
Prime Minister gives Hammond and Clarke the nod for Lords February 6, 2020 Boris Johnson has nominated two of his most vocal critics – who he punished by removing the whip last year – for peerages. Former chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond were both sacked by the Prime Minister for blocking his plan to press on with a no deal Brexit in October. Although some of the [...]
A PM with no tribe leaves himself vulnerable when things go south February 5, 2020 Even after the huge success of December’s general election, the Conservative tribes remain fully intact. The big question is which of the tribes, with competing and in many cases conflicting ideologies, Boris Johnson belongs to – and which of them he’s prepared to upset over the course of his term. The Tory party is not [...]
Handing John Bercow a peerage would be a ‘scandal’, says David Leakey February 5, 2020 Former speaker John Bercow should be blocked from the Lords, or risk plunging Westminster into “a scandal that parliament would struggle to live down”, the former Black Rod has claimed. David Leakey, who served as Black Rod for seven years, told the BBC that Bercow’s nomination for a peerage by the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was [...]
UK pledges to be free trade champion as it takes independent seat at WTO February 4, 2020 The UK has pledged to be a champion for free trade in its first independent speech given at the World Trade Organization (WTO), having moved away from the EU bloc after Brexit Day last Friday. The move – first revealed by CityAM two weeks ago – saw ambassador Julian Braithwaite take the seat next to [...]
Leave voters not keen on divergence, despite PM’s rhetoric February 4, 2020 People who voted Leave in 2016 do not believe the UK should insist on its own regulatory regime after Brexit, but want certain standards maintained after transition, a new survey has found. Yesterday Prime Minister Boris Johnson made much of the UK government’s plan to reject the EU’s insistence of a level-playing field, saying: “There [...]
Women problem looms as PM’s reshuffle set for next week February 3, 2020 Boris Johnson has earmarked 13th February for his reshuffle, CityAM has learned. The Prime Minister is hoping to make his move just before MPs go into recess, to allow sacked ministers time to lick their wounds, according to one senior parliamentary source who has been put on standby for next Thursday. What had initially [...]
Government tells EU deal must be struck this year as it reveals negotiating position February 3, 2020 Downing Street has stressed a trade deal must be struck this year if it is going to happen at all, as part of its opening gambit in trade talks with the EU, following Boris Johnson’s landmark speech this morning. The government is seeking a deal with the EU that is “at least as good” as [...]
Prime Minister to chair Cabinet in Sunderland ahead of Downing Street Brexit light show January 30, 2020 Britain will formally leave the European Union tonight at 11pm, more than three and a half years after the historic referendum vote. Boris Johnson will host a cabinet meeting in Sunderland today, visiting the city which first gave indications of the momentous result when its vote to leave was announced in the early hours of [...]
