Daily Briefing: 11 October
Good morning,
Theresa May has come under increasing pressure to allow parliament a say on how Brexit negotiations are handled. Thus far she has resisted but government sources have suggested that MPs will have a vote on the final deal.
With Jeremy Corbyn staying strangely silent on the issue, several senior politicians from across the political spectrum have stepped up to call for greater parliamentary involvement.
Speaking on the Victoria Derbyshire programme yesterday, former Labour leader Ed Miliband said that whilst he accepted the result of the referendum, the government must heed parliament’s view whilst conducting negotiations.
Former Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, now his party’s Brexit spokesman, stated that the Commons has a “rightful role of scrutiny”.
In addition, Conservative MP and former Attorney-General Dominic Grieve said that it was a “well-established constitutional convention” that parliament give its say on changes to important treaties.
Further to this, leaked Treasury papers suggest the UK could lose £66 billion a year in the event of a “hard Brexit’ and that GDP could fall as much as 9.5% if we are forced to rely on WTO rules for trading with the EU.
The prime minister has been steadfast in her approach to Britain’s exit from the EU. But with a majority of just 12 in the Commons, she may yet be forced into concessions.
NEWS
A three-hour emergency debate on the humanitarian situation in Aleppo is to be held in the House of Commons later today, as international condemnation of the Russian bombing campaign intensifies. Andrew Mitchell, a former international development secretary, compared Russia’s role in Syria to that of the Nazi regime during the Spanish Civil War and French President Francois Hollande suggested he may refuse to meet Russian President Vladamir Putin when he is in France next week.
Mark Burnett, the producer of “The Apprentice” is under pressure to release footage from the US version of the television show due to reports that there ismore material that is potentially damaging to Donald Trump. Bill Pruitt, a former producer on the show, said that there was worse to come with suggestions that Trump using a racist slur may be among the recordings. The Republican presidential candidate appeared to confirm the existence of the tapes. Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, he said: “If they want to release more tapes saying inappropriate things, we’ll continue to talk about Bill and Hillary Clinton doing inappropriate things. There are so many of them.”
MPs will not be allowed to take on outside jobs if they conflict with serving their constituents according to a new code of conduct currently under consideration. MPs’ second jobs will be examined by the parliamentary standards watchdog in a bid to reduce the amount of time MPs spend working away from the House of Commons or their constituents. The changes in rules are still to be approved by MPs.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Owners of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 have been urged to turn off their devices whilst new reports of the handset catching fire are investigated. The South Korean electronics company said it was ceasing all sales of the Galaxy Note 7. This follows a recall of 2.5 million units in September after complaints of exploding batteries but reports are emerging that even the replacement phones have been catching fire.
JCB has quit the CBI due to the business organisation’s anti-Brexit stance. The privately owned construction equipment manufacturer terminated its membership in June, immediately after the EU referendum, but details only emerged this week. Lord Bramford, chairman of JCB, was a vocal supporter of Brexit; he made a £100,000 donation to Vote Leave as well as writing to the firm’s 6,500 employees to explain why he favoured leaving the EU.
RBS has denied deliberately causing SMEs to fail in the aftermath of the financial crisis following the leaking of internal documents that were published by Buzzfeed and BBC Newsnight. It has been reported that the bank pushed 12,000 businesses into its business restructuring unit and that even where customers had not defaulted on their loans, RBS staff could find ways to “provoke a default”.
MARKETS
Market News
The FTSE 100 ended the day up 53 points at 7,097.50, an increase of 0.75%.
This was mainly driven by mining companies who have benefited from the fall in the pound as much of their revenue is generated abroad. BHP Billiton and Vendata Resources were two of the biggest winners, up 2.8% and 4% respectively.
The main losers were those in the construction industry. Travis Perkins and Taylor Wimpey were both down 2.6%, and Persimmon fell 3%.
Sterling continued to drop against the dollar, falling 0.3% to $1.23950. It was also down against the euro to €1.1100.
Finals
Volution Group (WI), Genedrive, Nanoco Group, River and Mercantile Group
AGMs
Harvest Minerals Limited (DI)
EGMs
Fondul Proprietatea S.A. GDR (Reg S)
International Economic Announcements
(10:00) ZEW Survey (EU)
(10:00) ZEW Survey (GER)
COLUMNS OF NOTE
Writing in The Times, Claire Foges welcomes Theresa May’s plans to clamp down on serial tax avoiders. However she argues that simply closing loopholes is not enough; in order to effect real change we must “change minds as well as laws” by celebrating those who pay significant levels of tax, naming and shaming those who avoid paying their fair share and communicating better what tax actually pays for.
In The Guardian, Diarmaid Ferriter examines the impact of Brexit on the Irish border. Whilst nobody wishes to see a “hard border” between north and south, Ferriter says that it will be a “difficult balancing act” given Ireland’s continuing membership of the EU and any potential divergence in priorities.
ON THIS DAY
2002: The US Senate joins the House of Representatives in approving military action against Iraq. The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 was passed 77–23.
POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS
House of Commons
Oral Questions
Health, including Topical Questions
Ten Minute Rule Motion
Unlawful Killing (Recovery of Remains) — Conor McGinn
Legislation
Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill, 2nd reading — Philip Hammond
Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill, Money resolution — Philip Hammond
Adjournment
Policy officer safety — Holly Lynch
House of Lords
Introductions
Baroness Sugg and Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice
Oral Questions
Prisoners serving sentences for longer than the maximum term of imprisonment — Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood
Additional runways for London airports — Lord Spicer
County court judgements against people who did not put in a defence — Baroness Altman
Amending the 2012 national suicide prevention strategy to take account of the mental health challenges faced by young people — Lord Farmer
Legislation
Investigatory Powers Bill, Report stage (day 1) — Earl Howe
Short Debate
Quality and affordability of housing in the UK — Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
Scottish Parliament
No business scheduled
Adam Shaw
Senior Associate
Charlotte Street Partners
