Category Archives: Brexit

Rishi Sunak rules out quick-fix trade deal with India

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Exclusive: Sources believe deal will not be struck before meeting with Narendra Modi at G20 summit

Rishi Sunak has ruled out a quick-fix trade deal with India, making it impossible to get an agreement over the line in time for this week’s G20 summit in Delhi – and possibly even by next year’s elections.

Multiple sources close to the negotiations told the Guardian the prime minister has rejected the idea of an “early harvest” deal, which could have lowered tariffs on goods such as whisky but would not have dealt with trickier subjects such as professional services.

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Tory donor issued with demolition order for hotel where Brexit deal signed

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Surinder Arora told to demolish all or part of Fairmont Windsor Park hotel where Northern Ireland deal was agreed

A multimillionaire businessman with close links to the Conservative party has been told to knock down part or all of a luxury hotel that hosted the signing of Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal because he breached planning regulations.

A planning enforcement notice issued by Runnymede borough council said Surinder Arora’s hotel company had until 7 October to take action at the Fairmont Windsor Park hotel near Windsor.

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Trade deal with Indian could be a double-edged sword for Sunak

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The position of the PM’s wife as a shareholder in a company that could benefit from an agreement is a major headache for No 10

• Read more: Rishi Sunak faces fresh conflict of interest row of India trade talks

With a general election not far away and the economy still struggling, Rishi Sunak is on the hunt for good news. Next month he will be in New Delhi for the G20 summit – a visit that will be unusually rich with picture opportunities and chances to strike deals. Sunak’s parents are of Indian Punjabi descent and his wife, Akshata Murthy, is a hugely wealthy Indian businesswoman, fashion designer and venture capitalist. In many ways it will be a homecoming for the first Asian couple ever to occupy No 10.

Sunak’s business and trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, has been in India over the past few days, laying the ground for a string of announcements with her G20 counterparts. Inevitably, much of the talk in UK and Indian diplomatic, business and trade circles has been about the possibility of a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and India. The two governments had hoped to conclude one last autumn but negotiations have dragged on.

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UK minister heads to India as post-Brexit trade talks reportedly ramp up – business live

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UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch is expected to progress talks with Indian counterparts in Jaipur, during a meeting of G20 trade ministers

A UK-India trade deal is likely to stay “tantalisingly out of reach”, one commentator warns.

Striking a deal would be a“game changer” for post-Brexit Britain, Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, says.

Hopes that the UK can give its very sluggish growth prospects a boost with a big trade win this autumn are fading after reports that a major deal with India remains elusive.

It appears that final negotiations have run into the long grass, with thorny issues such as visas for Indian workers still likely to be problematic.

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Quarter of music industry workers have had no work in EU since Brexit

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Survey shows devastating impact of Brexit on music sector, says Independent Society of Musicians

Almost half of UK musicians and workers in the music industry have had less work in the EU since Brexit than before it, and more than a quarter have had no EU work at all, according to a survey.

The impact of Brexit on the music sector had been devastating, said the Independent Society of Musicians (ISM), which carried out the survey. Restrictions had impaired the viability of making a living as a musician, it said.

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‘It all disappeared with Brexit’: Craft beer boom ends as more than 100 UK firms go bust

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New trade barriers were compounded by Covid and tax changes

Kimi Karjalainen and his brother Marko poured their life savings into Bone Machine Brewing Co when it opened in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, in 2017 before moving to Hull, as part of the craft beer revolution that swept Britain.

“The entire investment, not including time and labour that we gave for free, was about £70,000,” Karjalainen said. Four weeks ago, it was gone. “That was my parents’ retirement.”

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My view on Scottish independence has ‘moved’, says Kezia Dugdale

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When asked how she would vote in a referendum, former Labour leader in Scotland says she will ‘decide at the time’

Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said her stance on independence has “moved”, as she can no longer argue for staying in the UK with the same strength she did in the run-up to the 2014 referendum.

Dugdale said she felt that Scots will eventually get a second vote on the future of the UK but did not believe another referendum would take place within the next decade.

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UK Brexit checks on fresh food from EU delayed for fifth time, reports say

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Government source reportedly says there are concerns extra red tape could fuel further inflation

Brexit checks on fresh farm produce coming to the UK from the EU have been delayed for the fifth time, according to reports.

The decision to suspend plans to enforce the controls, which have been applied in the other direction to British exports to the EU since January 2021, is due to be announced imminently, according to the Financial Times.

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UK to retain EU safety mark in latest Brexit climbdown

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Government bows to pressure from industry over costs of switching over to British marking

The UK will retain the EU’s product safety mark indefinitely, in the latest climbdown from proposed post-Brexit changes, after the government bowed to pressure from industry and manufacturers.

The CE (Conformité Européenne) mark is used by the bloc to certify that a wide range of items – from electrical goods and construction materials to medical devices and toys – meet safety standards.

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UK’s post-Brexit policing pact put at risk by migration laws, say peers

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Committee concerned illegal migration legislation will jeopardise sharing of DNA, fingerprinting and criminal records

The UK’s post-Brexit policing pact with the EU on sharing DNA, fingerprinting and criminal records could be put at risk by Suella Braverman’s migration laws, a House of Lords committee has said.

Lady Hamwee, the chair of the Lords justice and home affairs committee, has written to the home secretary to say its members are “particularly concerned” that the new illegal migration legislation along with new data laws could lead to the “termination and/or suspension” of the security cooperation elements of the Brexit trade deal.

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Independent Scotland would base citizenship on current Irish model

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Plans, unveiled by Humza Yousaf, include significantly reducing application fees

An independent Scotland would adopt an “open and inclusive” approach to citizenship based on the current Irish model, according to proposals set out in a Scottish government paper.

The plans, unveiled by Humza Yousaf on Thursday, include ditching citizenship tests and significantly reducing application fees in contrast to Westminster’s “regressive” approach to migration.

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Northern Ireland could lose half its veterinary medicines in Brexit row

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Requirement for animal medicines to be batch-tested in EU could see products discontinued, BVA warns

Northern Ireland could lose half of its veterinary medicines in a new Brexit row threatening to prolong the political stalemate in the region, it has emerged.

The British Veterinary Association told the Lords committee on Northern Ireland in written evidence that it was “extremely concerned” about the issue even though the Windsor framework sealed between Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, in March was sold as a solution to the protracted saga regarding Northern Ireland.

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Post-Brexit fall in English ownership of European second homes, figures show

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Government survey finds that fewer than 30% of holiday homes are on continent – compared with 40% a decade ago

They used to go wild for villas by the Med and ski chalets in the Alps; now they are forking out for views of the Channel and hilly walks in Shropshire.

According to figures released this week by the English Housing Survey, the proportion of English owners of second homes who have properties in Europe has fallen again, with 60% of holiday homes located in the UK rather than outside it.

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Islas Malvinas: EU signs deal using Falklands’ Argentine name

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UK asks bloc to clarify position after Buenos Aires declares ‘triumph’ over use of term in declaration

Forty-one years after the Falklands war, the UK has suffered a diplomatic defeat over the archipelago as the EU appeared to endorse the Argentine name for the disputed territory, Islas Malvinas.

Brussels supported an Argentina-backed declaration referring to Islas Malvinas at a summit of EU leaders with Latin America and the Caribbean (Celac) leaders on Tuesday, which Buenos Aires called a “diplomatic triumph”.

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UK relaxes visa rules for foreign builders amid Brexit shortages

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Bricklayers and other construction jobs added to list alongside care workers and engineers

Bricklayers, plasterers and other construction jobs have been added to the government’s “shortage occupation list”, making it easier for foreign builders to come to Britain amid labour shortages partly caused by Brexit.

The UK government has relaxed visa restrictions for a number of sectors that face severe worker shortages, and has added bricklayers and masons; roofers, roof tilers and slaters; carpenters and joiners; plasterers and other construction workers to the list. Fishing jobs have also been added to the list.

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British scientists can request grants if UK rejoins EU’s £85bn Horizon scheme

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‘Expected’ return could help retain scientists and researchers lost after grants were cancelled in Brexit row

British scientists and academic researchers will be able to reapply to the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) for grants if, as expected, the UK rejoins the flagship Horizon European programme, it has been confirmed.

The re-entry comes almost a year after 115 grants approved for British candidates were terminated by the council because of the delay in ratifying the UK’s associate membership of the £85bn Horizon funding scheme.

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‘A huge relief’: scientists react to hopes of UK rejoining EU Horizon scheme

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Expected return also greeted with dismay at UK’s decision to avoid being a net contributor to EU’s flagship programme

Scientists including the physicist Brian Cox have reacted with a mixture of caution, anger and relief that the UK appears set to rejoin the EU’s flagship £85bn Horizon science research programme after a protracted Brexit row.

Sources indicate that an announcement could come in days, possibly next week when Rishi Sunak is scheduled to meet the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at a Nato summit.

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Rishi Sunak says he is ‘totally, 100% on it’ in battle against inflation – UK politics live

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Prime minister says he knows people will be anxious about rate rise but ‘it is going to be OK’

Rishi Sunak has posted a thread on Twitter setting out what the government is doing to help people with the cost of living. It starts here.

He ends by saying “if we can hold our nerve” he is confident the plan will deliver.

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UK delis could be forced to put up prices after new Brexit tax

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Plan to charge £43 per consignment could see some small businesses struggle to stay open

Many UK businesses which import food products from the European Union will have to pay a special “Brexit tax” that will further drive up prices, particularly in smaller shops such as delicatessens, under proposals set out by the government last week.

The planned charge of £43 per consignment, outlined in a consultation document issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), was described on Saturday by a leading industry figure as “the sting in the tail of a post-Brexit food inspection regime” that was already fuelling inflation.

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Norwegian Roxy Music model Kari-Ann Moller fights to stay in UK after Brexit

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Husband, Chris Jagger, uses 1972 album cover to support settlement application for Moller, who has lived in UK for 74 years

As a result of Brexit, Norwegians living in the UK were required to apply to the EU settlement scheme – despite Norway not being a member state – to remain living in Britain.

But after former model turned yoga teacher Kari-Ann Moller was stopped by British immigration officials earlier this year and told she was not allowed to remain because of her Norwegian passport, her husband, Chris Jagger – brother of Rolling Stone Sir Mick – got involved.

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