U.K. Politics: Boris Johnson referred to police (AGAIN) over potential Covid rule breaches

[Hugo]

Bye brits.

[Wayne]

The House of Lords today were debating Brexit. And Theresa May attended.

It is thought that no PM has ever attended the House of Lords to hear a political debate [certainly not in my lifetime] - the last time a PM was in the House of Lords was David Cameron but that was to hear tributes on the greatest PM of all-time, Margaret Thatcher.

[Preyoncé]

Next week represents 6 months since the vote to leave the U.K.

Just listening to the radio and the commentators are talking about how we are no clearer on direction really than we were 6 months ago.

From my observation, I also think that. Its like Brexit is a done deal and just needs to be initiated, someone's finger is on the trigger but they are hesitant to push it. Truth is, there is no right time to move forth. The longer the delay the process moving forward, the more uncertainty and pain they are putting onto the nation.

[Wayne]

Next week represents 6 months since the vote to leave the U.K.

Just listening to the radio and the commentators are talking about how we are no clearer on direction really than we were 6 months ago.

[Wayne]

Anyone following this?

Supreme Court ruling on Brexit - it's fascinating.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-37976580

[heppolo]

So Richard Branson and his brand Virgin are under fire as apparently he's funding a Brexit turnaround i.e. Repudiate Brexit.

Labour lost their edge with some of the base for failing to battle it out during the referendum and after it.

[Preyoncé]

So Richard Branson and his brand Virgin are under fire as apparently he's funding a Brexit turnaround i.e. Repudiate Brexit.

[Wayne]

UK economy 'resilient' despite £122bn hit to finances

The UK economy is "resilient" despite forecasts that government finances will be £122bn worse off than previously expected by 2020, the chancellor said.

In his Autumn Statement Philip Hammond said growth predictions had been cut as a result of the Brexit vote.

As widely expected, he unveiled a fuel duty freeze and more cash for housing, transport and digital infrastructure.

Labour said the government was "unprepared and ill-equipped" for Brexit and had "no vision".

Mr Hammond told MPs the UK's deficit would no longer be cleared by 2020 - with the target instead "as early as possible" afterwards.

Mr Hammond said the statement - his first major Commons event as chancellor - came exactly five months after a Brexit vote which "will change the course of Britain's history", making it "more urgent than ever" to tackle long-term economic weaknesses.

Presenting the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts, he said borrowing would hit £68.2bn this year and £59bn next year, compared with the March forecast of £55.5bn and £38.8bn.

The OBR said the referendum result meant potential growth in the current Parliament would be 2.4 percentage points lower than forecast in March. Government finances are forecast to be £122bn worse off than in the spring.

Among the chancellor's announcements were:

• Reducing the rate at which benefits are withdrawn from people when they start work[/*:m:3efsye9l]
• Banning upfront fees imposed by lettings agents in England[/*:m:3efsye9l]
• A rise in insurance premium tax which is expected to increase the cost of policies[/*:m:3efsye9l]
• Increasing the National Living Wage to £7.50 an hour from April 2017[/*:m:3efsye9l]
• Employee perks to lose tax relief[/*:m:3efsye9l]
• New spending on housing projects totalling £3.7bn in England[/*:m:3efsye9l]
• Cancelling the fuel duty increase for the seventh year running[/*:m:3efsye9l]
• £60m a year for grammar school expansion[/*:m:3efsye9l]

Mr Hammond said the government would prioritise "additional high-value investment" on infrastructure, which would be funded by additional borrowing.

He paid tribute to his predecessor George Osborne but said he would now follow three new fiscal rules: to balance the books "as early as possible in the next Parliament", for public sector net debt to be falling as a share of GDP by the end of Parliament and for welfare spending to be within a cap.

The OBR based its forecasts on the assumption that the UK would leave the EU in April 2019 - two years after the government's deadline for triggering negotiations with Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

It also assumed new trading arrangements would slow import and export growth for a decade and that migration would be restricted.

It said the increased borrowing would result from weak tax receipts and lower than expected growth predictions as a result of June's vote to leave the European Union.

'Far too high'

Based on its assumptions around Brexit - the government has not yet revealed the details of its negotiating plan - it predicted the referendum result would account for an extra £58bn of borrowing.

This included a predicted £16bn increase as a result of lower migration and £18.1bn because of lower productivity growth.

The OBR said its forecasts for Brexit were "uncertain", and they were disputed by Conservative MP John Redwood, who said:

"Their forecast probably is too low, their borrowing forecast is far too high, and we'll get good access to the single market once we're out of the EU."

The Economists for Brexit group said the OBR had "assumed a pessimistic outlook for the UK economy outside the EU, based on bad economic policy-making".

[Goosey]

A story that caught my eye...

They had an article about this in the Economist.


Time to ennoble Nigel
The UK Independence Party should not be barred from the upper house of Parliament

SPORTING Union Jack socks and Spitfire cufflinks, Nigel Farage was the unofficial standard-bearer of the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union. [. . .] The main candidates to succeed him later this month agree on one thing: for his role in liberating Britain from Europe, Mr Farage should be elevated to the House of Lords.

The thought of the arch Brexit rabble-rouser donning an ermine robe has invited horror and ridicule. UKIP, which David Cameron branded a bunch of “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”, has never been allowed to nominate a peer to the upper house of Parliament. It is far more reactionary than any other party represented in the Lords. Mr Farage is a cheerleader for Donald Trump; the front-runner to succeed him as party leader wants referendums on the death penalty and abortion.

Too bad. This newspaper is no fan of UKIP, but nor can it abide the antidemocratic stitch-up by which lords are currently appointed. Even before its regrettable triumph in the Brexit referendum, UKIP was the third-biggest party in Britain by general-election vote share. That it must still beg to nominate a single member of the bloated, 812-member upper house is a scandal. Mr Farage should be ennobled at once, along with a few of his colleagues, peerless fools though they may be.

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/2 ... me-ennoble

[heppolo]

Lib Dems could beat Labour with votes of disaffected Remain voters, poll finds

[heppolo]

Farage may get that ambassador appointment

[Wayne]

A story that caught my eye...

Is Nigel Farage heading for the Lords?

He has been in the European Parliament since 1999, failed to get elected to Westminster seven times, and recently made it to Trump Tower as a guest of the US president-elect.

But could the House of Lords be Nigel Farage's next stop?

Prime Minister Theresa May declined to rule out the idea when it was put to her during Prime Minister's Questions.

This has reignited a debate about whether UKIP's acting leader could soon be sitting on the famous red benches.

'Not discussed in public'

SNP MP George Kerevan raised the question during PMQs, asking Mrs May whether there had been any "official conversations" about giving Mr Farage a peerage.

As MPs laughed at the question, the prime minister replied: "All I can say to him, I'm afraid, is that such matters are normally never discussed in public."

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38001834

Just British politics all over.

[heppolo]

Jeremy Corbyn: 'We'll win election as socialist party'

Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected as Labour Leader despite the more centrist fraction attempt at returrning to the head of the party.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has claimed he can win a General Election with a platform based on socialism and the party should not hide away from the word.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Corbyn said socialism should not be treated "as a sort of bad word you should only talk about late at night".

"It's is an ideology that is based on the principle that everyone should contribute and those in need should benefit the most from our common endeavours," he said.

Even though Jeremy Corbyn is a good person, I suppose Labour is going deeper into the wilderness and the possibility of a split is looming upon it.

[Wayne]

Brexit protest: March for Europe rallies held across UK

Thousands of pro-Europe protesters have been marching in London, calling for the UK to strengthen its ties to the continent following the Brexit vote.

The March for Europe aimed to put pressure on the government to delay activating the formal process of leaving the EU.

Pro-Brexit demonstrators staged a counter-protest at one location along the marching route.

Rallies have taken place across the UK, including in Edinburgh and Birmingham.

A sea of blue EU flags filled Parliament square shortly after 13:00 BST, where protesters sang along to The Beatles' hit Hey Jude, replacing the title words instead with "EU".

Demonstrators were calling for the government to make tight economic, cultural, and social ties with the rest of Europe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-u ... u-37265840

[stevyy]

The UK's net contribution to the EU was around £8.5 billion in 2015, rising each year.

That equates to more than $20 billion for two years.

Oh, aren't those savings the money Boris proposed to give to the NHS

shhh. (nothing will improve when the Brits leave the EU for the Brits).

[heppolo]

The UK's net contribution to the EU was around £8.5 billion in 2015, rising each year.

That equates to more than $20 billion for two years.

Oh, aren't those savings the money Boris proposed to give to the NHS

[Wayne]

^That 25 billion of potential debt isn't included in any of the forecasts though.

The UK's net contribution to the EU was around £8.5 billion in 2015, rising each year.

That equates to more than $20 billion for two years.

If invoking Article 50 now means it then takes 2 years to fully exit the EU, then there's $20 billion of contributions we don't need to make towards our exit fee.

[heppolo]

^That 25 billion of potential debt isn't included in any of the forecasts though.

[Wayne]

apparently, the UK has a 25 billion €€€ bill to pay in order to leave the EU. 25 Billion euros is the outstanding sum the UK owes the European Union.

I have no idea how the UK is going to pay it with an economy which will slide into recession in 2017.

The UK will not slide into recession - you are such a scaremonger, stevyy.

The BoE has already approved QE measures and Theresa May's government are stepping up to make sure we have good, lasting trade agreements with countries not in Europe.

The UK will be just fine - every economic expert out there points to continued economic growth for the UK independent of the UK - cautious estimates are that we will be flat. But we will not slide into recession.

[stevyy]

apparently, the UK has a 25 billion €€€ bill to pay in order to leave the EU. 25 Billion euros is the outstanding sum the UK owes the European Union.

I have no idea how the UK is going to pay it with an economy which will slide into recession in 2017.

[Preyoncé]

Never expected the rate cut but after Brexit, I assume this is their slight measure of stimulating the economy.
It is the right decision through for the people of the economy. As for FDI, it is less value for money the way I see it. No one invests for anything other than returns.

[Wayne]

UK interest rates have been cut from 0.5% to 0.25% - a record low and the first cut since 2009.

The Bank of England announced a range of measures to stimulate the UK economy including buying £60bn of UK government bonds and £10bn of corporate bonds.

The Bank also announced the biggest cut to its growth forecasts since it started making them in 1992.

It has reduced its growth prediction for 2017 from the 2.3% it was expecting in May to 0.8%.

As part of the package of measures designed to boost growth following the UK's vote to leave the EU in June, the Bank is also introducing a new Term Funding Scheme, which will lend directly to banks at rates close to the new 0.25% base rate, to encourage them to keep lending.

The exact rates they are offered will depend on whether the total amount they are lending has fallen. The scheme is designed to make sure that lower interest rates are passed on to businesses and households.

The money will be lent to banks for four years and the Bank has said the terms of the scheme will not become less generous for at least 18 months. It predicts that the amount of money lent through the scheme could reach about £100bn.

Separately, the corporate bond-buying scheme will purchase up to £10bn of bonds issued by companies outside the financial sector.
Only companies considered to be contributing to the UK economy will be eligible. More details of the scheme will be released in September.

The extensive package of measures comes despite the central bank predicting that inflation would rise above its 2% target as a result of the falling value of the pound.

A weaker pound makes imported goods more expensive, which boosts inflation. The pound fell by 1% against the dollar following the Bank's announcement.

The Bank has warned that there will be "little growth in GDP in the second half of the year" although the forecast for 2016 growth has been left unchanged at 2% as a result of stronger-than-expected growth in the first half.

The forecast for 2018 has been cut from 2.3% to 1.8%.

The rate of unemployment is expected to rise to 5.4% next year and 5.6% in 2018.

The decision to cut interest rates to 0.25% was approved unanimously by the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and is the first change in interest rates since March 2009.

The £60bn increase in quantitative easing to £435bn was approved by a vote of 6-3, with Kristin Forbes, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale preferring to wait until more concrete data is available rather than relying on surveys.

The corporate bond buying scheme was opposed by one member: Kristin Forbes.

The MPC meeting was the last one before it moves to only meeting eight times a year, meaning that it is not scheduled to meet again until 3 November, although it can call an extra meeting before then if it wants to.

A majority of MPC members said that if the economy performed as they expected in the coming months, they would support cutting interest rates again before the end of the year to their lowest possible level of "close to, but a little above, zero".

Before the referendum, there were warnings of a recession if there was a vote to leave the EU.

The Bank of England's quarterly inflation report does not foresee a recession, although all of its forecasts take into account the stimulus measures.

Even with those measures, the Bank still predicts little growth in the second half of the year, suggesting there could have been a recession if the Bank had not acted.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has written to Chancellor Philip Hammond to outline the measures taken by the MPC as well as explaining why inflation remains, for now, significantly below its target rate.

In response, Mr Hammond wrote: "Alongside the actions that the Bank is taking, I am prepared to take any necessary steps to support the economy and promote confidence."

He said that those plans would be set out in the Autumn Statement.

SOURCE: BBC News

[Wayne]

UK economy grows by 0.6%

The UK economy grew 0.6% in the three months to the end of June, a period that ended one week after the vote to leave the European Union.

Growth in gross domestic product was stronger than expected in the quarter, and was up from 0.4% growth in the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Any uncertainty ahead of the referendum seemed to have a "limited" effect, the ONS said.

On an annual basis, growth was 2.2%.

ONS chief economist Joe Grice said: "Continued strong growth across services, particularly in retailing, reinforced by healthy growth in the manufacture of cars and pharmaceuticals, boosted output in the second quarter.

"Any uncertainties in the run-up to the referendum seem to have had a limited effect. Very few respondents to ONS surveys cited such uncertainties as negatively impacting their businesses."

This is the first estimate of second-quarter economic activity and is based on less than half the data that will give the eventual figure.

Source: BBC News

[Thriller]

Good riddance Nicky Morgan! Let's hope this new woman actually takes a long look at government policy and the sheer ridiculousness of the current primary curriculum.

[IVyoncé]

disappointed she appointed the racist Boris as foreign secretary.

Who though that would be a good idea? Some countries will basically let him beg on his knees when he has to get something done.