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Brexitwatch - MPs approve gov't timetable

Published: 11:39 09 Dec 2016 GMT

MPs approve gov't timetable but journey not even started

MPs voted this week to approve a motion that the UK government produce a plan for Brexit and its timetable to trigger the withdrawal by the end of March.

It was taken as a sign that Parliament would respect the will of the people and the June 23 result.

Prominent leaver and MP Iain Duncan Smith pointed out it was the first time the majority of the House of Commons had voted for the UK to leave EU.

Brexit journey not even started

But in reality the journey has still not even begun.

Question marks remain over what form this plan will take - whether it will be a side of A4 with some bullet points or a tome containing a more detailed picture.

Whatever it is, it seems likely the negotiators will need to keep some aspects quite simply under wraps.

And the vote may be somewhat irrelevant anyway, seeing as the result of the government appeal in the Supreme Court has not been announced yet, and could shift things again.

The case concluded this week and will see 11 top Justices decide whether the withdrawal can be triggered by Theresa May and her ministers alone, or it needs full Parliamentary authorisation.

If the court decides it can't use the prerogative powers, the government will still need to prepare new legislation to be scutinised by Parliament, which would make the March timetable less easy.

 

The migration issue

The Conservative policy is to reduce net immigration to the UK down to the 'tens of thousands' from around 330,000  at the moment and a new study this week suggested Brexit could cut the figure by 150,000.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said it could boost the wages of the poor but could damage the overall economy.

In the year to June 2016, a record 284,000 EU nationals came to the UK and around 189,000 EU citizens  - the highest estimate recorded.

Capita cuts profit forecast

Outsourcer Capita plc (LON:CPI) was the corporate Brexit story and saw shares plunge on Thursday as it cut its full-year profit forecast for the second time in three months.

Such companies have struggled since June’s Brexit vote as clients have delayed making decisions on investment and contracts due to the uncertainty.

The group, which recruits for the army and NHS, said it now expects underlying pre-tax profit before tax to be at least £515mln, well below a forecast made in September of between £535mln and £555mln.

That September guidance was already more than 10% down on the £614mln it had previously forecast

Capita is predominantly UK-based, unlike bigger rivals such as G4S PLC (LON:GFS) and Serco PLC (LON:SRP) that have been sheltered to a large degree from Brexit-related fallout.

Cameron fears over Euro

Just like many before him, David Cameron, former PM, has started the lecture tour and gave a speech last night in the US defending his calling the EU referendum despite it costing him his job.

He cast doubt over the future of the EURO currency, which, he said "was not working as it was intended".

"Some countries have seen decades of lost growth. Those countries have a single currency and they don't have a single fiscal system, a fiscal tax system," he said

 

 

 

 

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