Brexit
City AM
The UK has said it will walk away from post-Brexit trade talks if Brussels does not drop its demand to align with EU state aid rules. UK Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost has told his counterpart Michel Barnier that the UK is not willing to compromise on this point as the potential of a no-deal exit draws closer. Brussels is demanding that the UK adopts EU rules that prevent the government from subsidising domestic companies at the detriment of Europe’s private sector. Brussels is also demanding that the UK aligns its regulations on other things like labour and environmental standards in what would be known as a “level playing field” for businesses on both sides of the channel. In return the EU would continue to trade with the UK on a no tariff basis. Level playing field demands have been the major obstacle to progress in negotiations, along with disagreements over EU fishing access to UK waters.
Express
BORIS JOHNSON has threatened a no-deal Brexit unless the EU drops its demands over state aid rules. Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, has signalled to his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, that he will recommend Britain leaves without a trade deal if Brussels continues to demand that the UK should align with its rules on state aid. Mr Frost has already taken a hard stance on the topic in private meetings.
Times
Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator has privately voiced fears that the UK may be tied to European subsidies policy through the back door. Talks between David Frost and Michel Barnier, his EU counterpart, this week will try to rescue the negotiations amid growing pessimism in European capitals. Mr Frost will tell Mr Barnier that the prime minister is ready to pull the plug on talks unless the EU drops a demand that Britain commit itself to a specific subsidy policy.
EU
Express
EMMANUEL MACRON appears to be following in Charles de Gaulle’s footsteps with his hardline Brexit stance, unearthed reports suggest. France will not cave in to Boris Johnson‘s Brexit demands despite desperately needing a trade deal to prop up its economy, the report said. French President Emmanuel Macron’s Europe adviser said the EU cannot be “weak” in the upcoming tussle over access to Britain’s fishing grounds and regulatory alignment. France’s European affairs minister Clement Beaune insisted Paris would not rubber-stamp a trade agreement unless the UK respects its hardline demands. Mr Beaune said: “Regarding Brexit, we could accept out of convenience an agreement that is too fast and too weak. “It is in our interest and the economic interest of many sectors in France, but we can’t be weak. “We can’t accept access to our market if they don’t respect our rules in terms of competition, environment and health.
Breitbart
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has boasted that she would repeat her actions in 2015 which opened the gates to Europe and led to the migrant crisis. Chancellor Merkel made her statements at an annual summer press conference in Berlin on Friday, saying she would “make essentially the same decisions” after she was asked if she had any sort of regret for opening Germany’s borders in the summer of 2015. Merkel argued that asylum seekers stuck at the frontiers of Germany or Austria “have to be treated like human beings,” France24 reports.
Tax
Telegraph
Tax rises could “choke off” the UK’s coronavirus recovery, trigger an exodus of top talent and cripple the nation’s investment appeal after Brexit, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been warned. The intervention from a host of business leaders, economists and Tory MPs comes amid speculation that Mr Sunak is considering a major rise in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 24 per cent as part of plans to repair a gaping fiscal hole in the wake of the pandemic. Tax rises also under consideration for the autumn Budget are said to include capital gains tax increases and the drastic scaling back of pension reliefs for top earners as the Treasury looks to claw back the vast cost of tackling the outbreak.
Independent
Business has warned chancellor Rishi Sunak not to choke off Britain’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic with new taxes. The call came amid fears of a new wave of redundancies as Mr Sunak scales back his Job Retention Scheme on Tuesday, with the Treasury cutting support for workers’ monthly wages from 80 to 70 per cent and requiring employers to contribute up to £312 a month for each furloughed staff member. Labour today renewed calls for furlough – due to end altogether in November – to be extended for the worst-hit industries, like aerospace and automotive.
Mail
Furious business chiefs and MPs have slammed the Chancellor’s planned £30billion tax raid on the wealthy to help pay for the massive cost of coronavirus. Treasury officials are said to be drawing up plans to target the better off, businesses and pensions to plug the gap in the nation’s finances. Capital gains tax and corporation tax would both be raised in proposals reportedly set to play a central part of Rishi Sunak‘s Budget in November.
iNews
Rishi Sunak faced a backlash from fellow ministers, Conservative MPs and business leaders after it emerged that the Treasury was considering a £30bn tax raid to help meet the soaring cost of combating the pandemic. Extra taxes on top earners, pensions and companies are in officials’ sights, as well as cuts to international aid spending as they hunt for ways of filling Britain’s financial black hole. But the moves have opened a rift within Government and provoked anger among Tory backbenchers, many of whom are in mutinous mood following multiple recent policy U-turns by Downing Street.
Times
Senior Tories and business chiefs have told Rishi Sunak that putting up taxes on businesses and pensions to pay huge coronavirus costs could damage the economy. The chancellor wants to use the autumn budget to start repairing public finances after he said last month that the government had spent almost £190 billion fighting the virus and limiting the economic fallout of the lockdown. Mr Sunak has identified the pension triple lock, which guarantees annual rises of whichever is the highest of wage growth, price inflation or 2.5 per cent, as one target but faces opposition from Boris Johnson.
Foreign aid
Sun
FOREIGN aid is set to be axed to help foot the UK’s Covid-19 bill. Britain has a legal commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of its GDP on foreign projects. But Chancellor Rishi Sunak has indicated that the amount — up to £15billion a year — could be sacrificed to help plug the budget black hole caused by coronavirus. Instead, some money could be used to fund Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence projects, and invested in the charities sector. Rich countries such as China, led by President Xi Jinping, and India, have benefited from UK taxpayers’ cash.
Migrants
Independent
The British government’s attempts to stem crossings across the English Channel by paying for increased coastal security in France will not work, it has been warned. The new “clandestine Channel threat commander” is leading ongoing talks over enhanced surveillance, patrols and intelligence-sharing following the arrival of more than 5,000 asylum seekers in boats so far in 2020. Dan O’Mahoney said France and Britain were working to make the sea route “completely unviable”. But the number of migrants crossing the Channel has increased dramatically since the UK paid £6m for similar measures as part of a “joint action plan” in January 2019.
Illegal raves
Times
DJs have become the first to face the music as police enforced a crackdown on raves this weekend. Warm weather drew thousands of revellers to gatherings in forests, city streets and abandoned industrial areas despite tough new legislation to tackle partying during the pandemic. Eight people were fined £10,000 in Yorkshire after officers broke up several parties in Headingley and Burley. At one house party, two DJs had their equipment seized and were ordered to pay the maximum fine for flouting measures that came into force on Friday. Those in attendance were fined £100, in accordance with the new law.
Sun
RAVERS and cops clashed as police battled to shut down illegal Bank Holiday parties across the UK. A total of £80,000 in fines were handed out after the government introduced tougher measures to deal with “serious” breaches of the Covid-19 restrictions. Cops were pelted with missiles as they tried to close down an illegal rave in Thetford Forest, Norfolk. Bottles and cans were thrown at officers as they entered the site on Sunday, the force said, adding that a large number of people are still there. Cops made a number of arrests and confiscated sound equipment.
Mail
Rowdy revellers confronted a line of riot shield-wielding police officers in a Norfolk forest after authorities tried to shut down their 500-person rave. Crowds of police officers wearing helmets and hi-vis jackets moved in to break up the ‘well-established and planned’ all-night unlicensed music event in Thetford Forest. One raver appeared to try to rip a riot shield out of the hands of an officer, while others were pictured raising their middle fingers as their party – which police think was due to take place throughout the long weekend – was shut down. Some people threw bottles and cans at officers as they tried to intervene.
Education
Mail
Hundreds of heads will block children’s return to school as nearly 90 per cent of teachers warned social distancing will be impossible and many claim ‘extreme anxiety,’ over new term. Under-threat Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has staked his future on the full return of schools, after overseeing the exams fiasco that unfairly graded thousands. But the survey of nearly 6,000 school staff found that more than a third felt the Government’s approach to safety ‘won’t work’ and will leave them ‘at risk’.
Guardian
School leaders have said they are having to weigh up pupil safety against financial stability because their budgets have been stretched to breaking point by the burden of the coronavirus pandemic ahead of full reopening in England this week. Headteachers have been left in a bind by the closure in July of a government support fund that has not reopened in time for the uncertain return of millions of students to classrooms. This year’s school funding of £47.6bn would need an injection of at least £2.38bn if Covid-19 related costs account for as little as 5% of expenditure, according to calculations by the teachers union NASUWT.
Mirror
Heads and teachers have spent months making schools safe for pupils to come back this week, but the return is mired in confusion due to last-minute Tory meddling. And most staff do not believe they will be able to keep social distances between themselves and kids, while more than a third feel the Government’s approach to safety in class is unworkable and leaves them “at risk”. It came as fury grew at Education Secretary Gavin Williamson after he slipped out critical guidance at midnight on Friday for reopening schools – a move branded an “insult”.
Sky News
Labour is calling for next year’s A-levels and GCSEs in England to be delayed in order to help pupils cope with the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Shadow education secretary Kate Green said exams should be pushed back to allow extra teaching time as pupils now face a “mountain to climb” after losing out on up to six months of teaching. She said exams due next May should be delayed until June or July. Ms Green said: “Pupils across the country who have missed out on vital teaching time will have a mountain to climb to prepare for May exams unless the government steps in.
Mail
Pupils face being disciplined for coughing at classmates, using another year group’s toilets or even joking about coronavirus. As many schools prepare to reopen tomorrow, strict new behaviour policies have been introduced to enforce social distancing requirements. Parents have been warned that their children could be suspended from school if they cannot abide by some of the rules designed to reduce the risk of infection. And with many schools deciding it is unsafe to put badly behaved children together in detention or alternative classrooms, they will be sent home.
Hand gel
Express
THE mass use of hand gels to fight coronavirus could create unstoppable superbugs, researchers warn. Dr Andrew Kemp, Head of Scientific Advisory Board on the British Institute of Cleaning Science, said alcohol based hand gels have still not been proven to kill Covid-19 on skin. But the Lincoln university academic said overuse of the gels will allow other bugs – commonly found on our hands – to learn how to survive them. If antibiotic resistant superbugs adapt to survive alcohol it could lead to an “armageddon situation”, he warned.
Back to work
Times
The drive by ministers to get people back to work appeared to be stalling yesterday as figures revealed that most managers and professionals are choosing to work from home. Steve Barclay, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said that he was “keen to get people back in the office”, adding: “We think that’s best for the economy, to get back to normal as part of our recovery.” A survey by the AA found, however, that 40 per cent of people who normally drove to work were working from home all or part of the time.
Telegraph
Civil servants are telling Whitehall staff not to return to the office because the Government will reverse its back-to-work stance in the face of a second wave of coronavirus. Ministers hope the reopening of all schools on Tuesday will herald a widespread return to workplaces, but they have failed to persuade staff in their own departments to end home working. Only a handful of staff are physically present in many Whitehall buildings designed for thousands of people, and ministers are encountering huge resistance from their staff.
Mail
A string of top firms last night revealed their staff were pouring back into the office, with others saying they are considering plans to lure workers from their homes – but a survey has shown more than half of senior managers continue to work from home. In a significant boost to the campaign to entice more office workers into city centres, many companies said they had recorded an uptick in employees getting back to their desks.
Vaccine
Telegraph
China is pulling ahead in what could be the final leg of the global coronavirus vaccine race, with four of seven possible candidates in last stage human trials – more than any other country. However, some are concerned about the quality of the vaccines and that they are being used to gain political leverage. Beijing is so confident in its homegrown inoculations that authorities have been administering vaccines for more than a month before clinical studies conclude, authorities revealed this week. People deemed to be at higher risk of infection, such as border officials and state-owned enterprise employees working overseas, have received jabs after the government approved them for emergency use, according to state media.
TV licence
Sun
DODGING paying your TV licence could be decriminalised next month in the wake of the BBC Proms row. Boris Johnson ordered a review of sanctions for non-payment of the controversial charge last year with a final decision due in September. The BBC announced in July it was ploughing ahead with a plan to end free TV licences for most over-75s, after a two-month delay because of the coronavirus pandemic. It also comes after the Beeb was blasted for choosing to remove the lyrics of Land of Hope and Glory and Rule, Britannia! from the Last Night of the Proms. Whitehall sources say the combination of the Proms debacle and the row over billing over-75s for licences has shown there was a need to reform the broadcaster, the Daily Mail reports.
Plastic bags
Times
Shoppers will have to pay twice as much for plastic bags from next year and the charge will apply in all shops. George Eustice, the environment secretary, will announce today that the levy will double from 5p to 10p from April as ministers step up their “war on plastic waste”. The government will also confirm that the higher charge will apply at all retailers, including corner shops and convenience stores, which have been excluded under rules that exempt shops with less than 250 staff.
Reuters
All retailers in England will charge for single-use plastic carrier bags from next April with the price doubling to 10 pence ($0.13), the government said on Monday as it stepped up efforts to reduce plastic waste. Since October 2015, large retailers in England have been legally required to impose a charge of 5p for plastic bags, a measure which the government says has taken 15 billion bags out of circulation.
Mail
Ministers will today land a major new blow in the war on plastic by doubling the price of single-use bags. The bag tax will be increased to 10p and extended to all small shops, markets and takeaways. The initial 5p tax resulted in the number of single-use carriers issued by the major supermarkets falling by 96 per cent, preventing billions of bags from littering the country. From next April, the charge will be increased to 10p a bag in England.
Motoring
Times
Motorists face £70 fines for parking on pavements under government plans to promote walking in towns and cities. An all-out ban on pavement parking across England will be considered by ministers under proposals published today. The Department for Transport said that it could extend a complete ban on mounting the kerb, which is in place in London, to the rest of the country. It said the move would be of most benefit to parents with pushchairs and people with impaired vision or mobility. The department said that three options would be considered, including extending the London ban, which would typically allow local authorities to levy fines of £70 on those who flouted the rules, similar to the charge for parking on double yellow lines.
Mail
Parking ‘cowboys’ who use aggressive tactics are facing a crackdown by the Government. Proposed laws aim to ban rogue private firms from handing out unfair and rip-off parking tickets. The initiative includes an appeals charter intended to eliminate fines for motorists who make genuine errors or have mitigating circumstances. Meanwhile, the Government is also considering banning parking on pavements across England to help disabled people and parents pushing prams.
“The UK has said it will walk away from post-Brexit trade talks…”
I’m fed up of reading that statement or something similar time and again. There have been so many utterances that I cannot understand why so-called negotiations are continuing.
As each one such phrase is uttered my confidence in Boris complying with vote and getting us completely free of the EU diminishes.
Doubling the price of a plastic bag eh? Hedgerows are filling up with discarded masks, gloves and no doubt other items of ppe that have not been disposed of correctly. No doubt discarded ppe will find it’s way into the oceans as unscrupulous people charged with expensive disposal will dump them instead. Happy days! Maybe give Greta something to add to her environmental terrorism portfolio.
The last thing that the UK should do is to accept that it will follow EU rule. and regulations. In the Daily Mail, Saturday August 13th there was an article entitled “Cruelty storm as new EU rule says cosmetics must be tested on animals”. The EU European Chemicals Agency states that any chemical that can come into contact with humans has to be tested on animals first.
When the UK has left the EU I think that the UK should ban the use of the word European where European it replaces the words European Union. Europe applies to European countries that are not apart of the EU. An example being the ‘European Court of Justice’ (ECJ). The ECJ is not a court of justice for Europe, it is a court of justice for the European Union. Trade description in the UK!
Made in Europe: The EU is a part of Europe, the EU is not Europe. Is the European Space Agency European or is it anEU organisation. Will Lord Frost bear this in mind now that the UK is getting close to the point of leaving the EU. The EU should be told that in the UK it will not be able to use the word European to replace European Union on any advertising, sales brochures and legal contracts unless a statement is made the word “European is used as meaning European Union”.
David Turgoose. Good thinking. It’s past time that we started making the point that the EU is NOT Europe. It is important to underlne the difference throughout society from school age up because the misconception has taken over.
This is another aspect of how history has been forgotten, buried under ideas of multiculturalism.
As for testing cosmetics on animals – this is not the first time the EU have imposed more unnecessary CRUEL vivisection. The whole vivisection industry should be banned. It has been proved countless times it is BAD science and since human tissue and computer modeling is available vivisection is cruelty for the sake of it.
When I was a boy . . . Norway, Sweeden, et al were Called Scandinavia. Now You-row-peeings.
When I was a boy . . . Russia was part of Asia. Now You-row-peeings.
When I was a boy . . . Turkey was in the Middle East. Now nearly You-row-peeings.
When I was a boy . . . we lived in Great Britain. Now the united kingdom.
Ed-you-kay-shun, ed-you-kay-shun, ed-you-kay-shun
If I may interrupt ( chuckle)
“Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator has privately voiced fears that the UK may be tied to European subsidies policy through the back door”- Times.
Is that it? No attributes to a senior source or any of the usual anonymous suspects or did Mr. Frost say it privately to the Times reporter? No explanation of what it means or entails and no questioning. What lazy reporting.
Hopefully Jim R it was simply the Times not wanting to admit that perhaps a genuine brexit will happen and be a good thing. There again maybe it was a case of needing to fill a particular space.
TAX. Most big economies have fallen {and still are ) falling for the Covid idiot Scientists. These countries will all be at a similar disadvantage and can therefore cure the immediate bankruptcy by reducing the currency devaluation of QI etc..’
Those who havent fallen for the scientific siren song of our thousand massed scientific committees, will have noticed that China, Sweden, all small third world countries outside the dollar influence, will take a leap forward economically. Those like UK with an apalling oppressed economy ( Taxed beyond belief ) will really suffer from tax increases Almost all GB drivers, Can no longer be sold off cheap to balance political needs.
That’s quite enough spokes.
In other words :- Printing money to fund big tax cuts is so obviously correct. It is only Stupid JAM TODAY politicians and their paymasters stop it ( except Singapore ) And then of course, will leave it too late
Looks like an economic levelling off on a global basis. Who would want such a thing? Who benefits? And why is our government contributing billions to this project? By billions I include Foreign Aid, EU and UN funds and the biggest budget of all Welfare funded immigration into the UK and all associate costs. Not even a killer virus hoax can stop immigration into our tiny Island.
My goodness Debbie, And I’ve only just finished’Brexit ‘ but asking about TAX is too much to ignore.. Taxation is the primary reason for the decline of our country. Suggesting it go up is a recipe for death of industry hence death of wealth hence death of work hence communism, eg supremacy of Civil Service and hence Stalin and then Putin. And that’s it we are over-run. Rule by Mad Kids.
Oh dear oh dear. Oh my.
🙂
Alignment of rules=treachery. –Civil Service Speak.
It’s not a matter of accepting or not ” state aid rules ” WE ACCEPT NO Rules ” Which would of course mean either ECJ or ECHR. These letters should be written in red as a rejection of their assumption of authority.
There must be no Civil Service control of political treachery. NO COMPROMISES.
Examine past state aid to EU car manufacturers.
Step 1 LEAVE… NO WEAKNESSES ,TRAITORS, NOTHING.
Step 2 Anything WE want.
TGS. Have heart. Don’t tear ALL your hair out. John Redwood has assured me HE is telling the treasury and chancellor NOT to finish us off by raising taxes.