Brexit - Qué nos espera?

Theresa May won’t have much time on Thursday to ponder the first anniversary of her becoming prime minister. Amid questions over whether she will last another year, May is bracing for political trench warfare over Brexit as she finally unveils the landmark law that will remove Britain from the European Union. The government will also publish three “position papers” today, covering nuclear materials and safeguarding issues, ongoing judicial and administrative proceedings, and privileges and immunities. Opposition politicians are already plotting to unite with rebels in her Conservative Party to re-write the so-called Repeal Bill that will prepare the U.K.’s law book for the split. May’s team is said to be preparing for months of battles and  will seek to make allies with political rivals , Bloomberg’s Tim Ross reports today. “By working together, in the national interest, we can ensure we have a fully functioning legal system on the day we leav...

Brexit could offer the UK the chance to have “a more generous immigration policy”, Andrew Lilico told the annual CIPFA conference.  In Manchester this morning Lilico, executive director and principal of consultancy Europe Economics, discussed the public policy challenges and possible remedies facing the UK after the vote to leave the EU.  One of the issues exposed by the referendum, he said, was the different impact population growth has had across the UK, He noted the effects of growing populations from internal migration and immigration and economic development, which has been unevenly experienced in different regions. Lilico pointed out the population of England has grown by 60% since 1901 while the populations of Scotland and Northern Ireland have been stable or only grown slightly. The rise has been acutely felt in a corridor from Manchester to Birmingham down to London and the south, he explained.  He told delegates Brexit might allow the UK ...

As the U.K. and European Union prepare for next week’s second round of divorce talks, attention is turning back to two of the topics that will shape the success of Brexit. Firstly, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson  waded back into the debate over the exit bill  the EU wants to impose, steering attention from Prime Minister Theresa May’s attempt to reset her premiership. He said the bloc can “go whistle” and that “the sums that I have seen that they propose to demand from this country seem to me to be extortionate.” ” Johnson incurred further criticism for declaring there is no government plan for talks collapsing without an agreement “because we’re going to get a great deal.” May’s spokesman, James Slack, later appeared to contradict Johnson when he told reporters that “contingency planning is taking place for a range of scenarios.” Still, in a potential boon for May, the  EU and U.K. are looking to agree on the broad principles to resolve...

Not so fast. That’s the message from trade analysts and business leaders after President Donald Trump last week pledged U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May that she could secure a trade deal with the U.S. “very, very quickly.” As Jill Ward and Charlotte Ryan report on Tuesday,  America boasts more leverage and negotiating know-how  than Britain, meaning the smaller economy may have to give ground in areas such as financial regulation and food standards to land the pact May wants to prove Brexit was worth it. “The U.K. must be absolutely desperate to demonstrate that it’s able to get something from the United States,” said Peter Holmes, an economist at the Trade Policy Observatory. “The U.S. will make demands that even a desperate British government won’t be able to accede to.” Before talks have even started, the first disagreement has emerged: both sides claim to export more than they import from the other. Britain’s statistics office estimates a surplus ...

A year to the week since she became prime minister, Theresa May is  asking opposition lawmakers  to help her steer Britain out of the European Union. As she tries to relaunch her troubled premiership, and as she prepares to publish legislation to shift EU laws on to the British statute, May will on Tuesday suggest rival parties “come forward with your own views and ideas” on delivering Brexit and improving Britain’s economy. She needs all the assistance she can get. Weekend newspapers once again contained  reports  of Conservative Party colleagues talking of the need to replace her in the wake of last month’s botched election. Opposition parties are also preparing to join forces with rebel Tories to hamper the progress of the government’s Repeal Bill, which is due to be published this week. It would reverse the European Communities Act of 1972, which gave effect to EU law in the U.K., and graft EU statutes into British law, giving ministers sweepin...

It’s the  hottest ticket in town  for Britain’s business titans. Bankers including Jes Staley of Barclays and HSBC’s Douglas Flint, retailers such as Tesco’s David Lewis as well as Carolyn McCall of easyJet and Gavin Patterson of BT will on Friday head for talks with Brexit Secretary David Davis at his country retreat south of London. The full guest list is here . The day-long discussions on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union mark the U.K. government’s biggest outreach to companies and will fan speculation that Prime Minister Theresa May’s team is now more interested in designing an economy-friendly Brexit than it was before June’s election. “There has been a pent-up demand from business leaders for dialogue, which the government is now wisely correcting,” said Scott Colvin, head of public affairs at communications firm Finsbury, which represents a quarter of FTSE 100 companies. “After a year in the wilderness business leaders are now hopeful of gettin...