9 January 2019 | UK NEWS

Leading the agenda:

– The Grieve Amendment has passed Parliament, meaning if May’s Brexit deal fails to pass Parliament the PM will have to produce a second Brexit plan within three days. Eurosceptic MPs were angered when Speaker of the House John Bercow allowed MPs to debate the Grieve Amendment, which led to its passing. 

– Yesterday the Government lost a vote on the Finance Bill by 303 to 296 votes, the first time this has happened since 1978. This means the Government’s ability to raise money to fund a potential no-deal Brexit will be limited unless Parliament specifically allows it.  

– The think tank The UK in a Changing Europe has released a new survey relating to MPs attitudes towards Brexit. It finds 70% of MPs believe May has done a poor job of negotiating Brexit. You can find more information on the survey here.

– The Police are under pressure after Conservative MP Anna Soubry was harassed outside Parliament by Brexit activists. Over 100 MPs have requested police improve their response to abusive protestors. 

Movements:

– May will host a drinks reception for Conservative MPs this evening in what is likely an attempt to win support for next week’s vote on her Brexit deal. 

General:

– Conservative MP Craig MacKinlay has been found innocent after being accused of falsifying his election expenses. He was accused of failing to declare £60,000 spent on additional staff and adverts during his campaign for South Thanet in the 2015 General Election, when he beat former UKIP Leader Nigel Farage. 

– ONS to publish a report on UK productivity from July to September 2018. You can find more information on the report here.

– May has proposed that the Northern Ireland Government should have veto power if the border backstop materialises post-Brexit. Both the DUP and Sinn Fein are against the proposals, describing them as meaningless.

James Challinor
James is the Founder and now Non-Executive Director of Wolves. His work involves managing medium-sized business portfolios.

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