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☆ Explainer: Why is Britain joining a trans-Pacific trade pact?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Alistair Smout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some details of the agreement as Britain seeks post-Brexit trade wins in geographically distant but faster growing economies. HOW MUCH DOES BRITAIN TRADE WITH CPTPP? Britain says that exports to CPTPP countries were worth 60.5 billion pounds in the twelve months to end-Sept. 2022. David Henig, Director, the UK Trade Policy Project, said that only Malaysia and Brunei weren't covered by existing FTAs, and they only account for 0.33% of UK trade. GEOPOLITICAL FACTORSWhile the long-term benefit for Britain's economy is set to be modest, Britain has other reasons for joining the bloc.

☆ Britain expected to reach broad agreement on joining Pacific trade pact soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Kaori Kaneko | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Two sources say CPTPP agreement expected shortlyBritain: CPTPP discussions to be held later this weekSeeks to join trade pact as part of post-Brexit pivotAim to conclude talks at "earliest possible opportunity"TOKYO, March 29 (Reuters) - The 11 members of a trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan and Australia are expected to soon reach broad agreement with Britain on it joining the partnership, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. An announcement is expected to be made soon, the sources added, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public. Britain said negotiations with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) had been going well. Membership will supplement existing bilateral trade deals Britain has with several of the member countries, with the overall aim of further cutting tariffs on goods and reducing barriers to services and digital trade. "We are making great progress on the UK's accession to CPTPP, and aim to conclude talks at the earliest opportunity," a spokesperson for Britain's business and trade ministry said.

The fact that Charles had picked France and Germany for his first state visit, even before his coronation in May, was an important "European gesture", said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who greeted Charles and his wife Queen Consort Camilla in Berlin. "Today, exactly six years after Britain started its exit from the European Union, we are opening a new chapter in our relations," Steinmeier said. [1/14] Britain's King Charles III and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier review an honor guard during a ceremonial welcome at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on March 29, 2023. Steinmeier said he had invited Charles to visit Germany at Elizabeth's funeral last September. However, any warmer relations with Europe brought about by the visit could cool if other post-Brexit issues flare up.

[1/2] Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla leave after their visit to the Bolton Town Hall, in Bolton, Britain January 20, 2023. Steinmeier, said it was an important "European gesture" that Charles had chosen France and Germany for his first state visit, even before his coronation in May. Steinmeier said he had extended an invitation to Charles, who has traveled to Germany more than 40 times, at the funeral of his mother last September. However, any warmer relations with Europe brought about by the visit could cool quickly if other post-Brexit issues flare up. Macron has suggested Charles' visit to France could be rescheduled for the summer.

☆ Northern Ireland's Orange Order says new Brexit deal needs improvement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

However, it does not resolve the fundamental concerns," the Orange Order said in a statement on Tuesday. The Windsor Framework continues to treat Northern Ireland as a place apart within the United Kingdom and equal citizenship has not been restored." The statement said the Orange Order would not endorse the deal without "substantial and tangible progress which resolves these fundamental issues". As part of Brexit, Northern Ireland effectively remained in the bloc's single market to avoid a hard border with EU-member Ireland. Business groups have overwhelmingly supported the Windsor Framework, seeing it as removing damaging uncertainties over trading relationships.

[1/4] Britain's King Charles waves as he arrives for a visit to the new European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, Britain March 23, 2023. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool via REUTERSPARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles on Friday cancelled a state visit to France after social unrest over President Emmanuel Macron's new pension law erupted into some of the worst street violence seen in years across the country. "The King and The Queen Consort's State Visit to France has been postponed. Their Majesties greatly look forward to the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates can be found," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. A Buckingham Palace source said Charles' visit to Germany will go ahead as planned.

☆ BBC soccer commentator Lineker returns after suspension for criticising government
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - Former England football captain Gary Lineker returned to host the BBC's flagship soccer show on Saturday, a week after his suspension for criticising government immigration policy caused a row over the broadcaster's impartiality rules. loadingBBC managers reversed their decision to suspend Lineker, the broadcaster's highest-paid presenter, after his colleagues refused to work in solidarity last weekend, forcing it to air soccer matches without normal commentary. So it's good to get back to some sort of normality and be talking about football again," Shearer said. After reinstating Lineker, the BBC said it would review how its impartiality guidelines applied to freelance presenters' use of social media. Interior minister Suella Braverman has described these arrivals as an "invasion" and is seeking to deport thousands of migrants to Rwanda.

☆ Britain extends free childcare to get parents working more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Britain will expand free childcare for one- and two-year-olds in England, finance minister Jeremy Hunt said, laying out a government budget that prioritised getting people back into work to spur economic growth. The move will provide an extra 30 hours per week to parents of cildren over the age of 9 months, and increase funding by 288 million pounds ($350.01 million) by 2024-25 for nurseries under the existing programme of free childcare for three year-olds. Campaign groups and the opposition Labour Party have called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government to go further in easing childcare costs, with household incomes also being squeezed by a wider cost-of-living crisis. The government says it has spent more than 20 billion pounds in the last five years helping with the cost of childcare, but providers say the funding does not fully cover the cost of the free hours. ($1 = 0.8228 pounds)Reporting by David Milliken and Muvija M; Editing by Alistair SmoutOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's taxes are at a 70-year high. But its finance minister won't splash the cash at upcoming Budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt has said Britain should have a "20-year plan" to become the world's next Silicon Valley. Public sector borrowing has also undershot by around £30 billion year-to-date, economists noted this week, in part reflecting higher-than-expected tax receipts. This will lend credence to Hunt's aims of bringing public sector net borrowing below 3% by 2027/28. LONDON — British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will deliver the government's Budget commitments on Wednesday against a better-than-expected economic backdrop, but economists expect him to stay cautious for now. The U.K. economy flatlined in the final quarter of the year to narrowly avoid entering a technical recession, though suffered a sharp slump in December.

☆ Only 16% of DUP voters back British PM's Northern Ireland deal - poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, March 11 (Reuters) - Only 16% of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party voters would back British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's recent deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules if a referendum were held, a poll showed on Saturday. The survey by polling company LucidTalk for the Belfast Telegraph newspaper found that just 38% of the region's wider unionist electorate would vote in favour of the Windsor Framework agreement if a referendum were held. While 73% of DUP voters and 50% of unionist voters would oppose the deal, 67% of all voters in the region were in favour thanks to strong support among nationalists, the poll showed. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, while nationalists favour a united Ireland. Reporting by Conor Humphries and Amanda Ferguson Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Bregret'? Many Brits are suffering from Brexit regret
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Polling suggests that a majority of Brits now think that the U.K. was wrong to leave the European Union. NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty ImagesLONDON — Almost seven years and four prime ministers since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, polling suggests public sentiment has turned against Brexit. "The second thing is the increasing number of leave and other voters who are coming to see Brexit as having had negative economic impacts." But longer-term factors played a role, and he suggested that a lengthy stagnation in living standards, partly caused by the austerity policies introduced by David Cameron's government, contributed to the anger unleashed across working-class communities in the Brexit vote. Brexit being 'redefined' Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a landslide election victory in 2019 with a promise to "get Brexit done," touting an "oven-ready" withdrawal agreement he had negotiated with the European Union.

☆ Boris Johnson will not oppose British PM Sunak's Brexit deal - The Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Boris Johnson will not oppose British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Brexit deal, the Times reported on Tuesday citing allies close to the former Prime Minister Johnson. Johnson who is yet to say whether he will back Sunak's deal with the European Union on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland will not oppose the deal because "there is no rebellion", the Times report said quoting an ally. One of Johnson's allies said he was expected to be absent during votes rather than oppose Sunak's deal outright, according to the report. Johnson can "see which way the wind is blowing", the newspaper quoted one of his allies as saying. There has been speculation in Westminster that Johnson could oppose the deal which marks a high-risk strategy for Sunak who is looking to secure improved relations with Brussels - and the United States.

☆ Setting out growth plan, UK opposition Labour warn Britain is in downward spiral
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer prepares for his speech to delegates at Britain's Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, Britain, September 26, 2022. Labour has promised to ensure Britain has the fastest growing economy among the G7 on a sustained basis if it wins power. Britain's economy narrowly avoided a recession according to data published earlier this month, but faces a difficult 2023 as the effects of double-digit inflation hit households. Labour cited the latest available World Bank data showing Gross Domestic Product per capita in Britain at $44,979 in 2021 and $34,915 in Poland. The party said that, based on average 0.5% annual growth between 2010 and 2021 in Britain, that figure would fall behind Poland's per capita GDP by 2030 if Poland kept up its 3.6% average annual growth.

☆ UK, EU inching towards Northern Ireland deal, Irish prime minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Momentum has been building for weeks towards a deal to ease checks on trade that were introduced under the Northern Ireland Protocol - the arrangements agreed to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland when Britain exited the EU in 2020. Lawmakers in British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative party have been told to be in parliament on Monday, in a sign that a deal could be imminent. Certainly the deal isn't done yet, but I do think we are inching towards a conclusion," Leo Varadkar told reporters. While an agreement would mark an end to a two-year standoff between Britain and the EU, Sunak could face a battle with pro-Brexit Conservative lawmakers and pro-British Northern Irish politicians to make the deal work. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the region's largest pro-British party, has said it will not end its boycott of the assembly unless all checks on goods bound for Northern Ireland from Britain are removed.

☆ UK's Sunak wants to 'get the job done' on Brexit with Northern Ireland deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"There's unfinished business on Brexit and I want to get the job done," Sunak told The Sunday Times newspaper in an interview. Sunak said he would try to resolve the concerns of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which is worried about the EU retaining influence over Northern Ireland. Ireland's prime minister Leo Varadkar told reporters earlier on Saturday that Britain and the EU were inching forwards and an agreement was possible, but not guaranteed, in the coming days. Sunak, in a nod to the DUP's worries, said the Good Friday peace agreement for Northern Ireland had been unbalanced by the Brexit deal for the province's trade rules. He said the shooting of a police officer on Wednesday "reminds us of the delicate situation in Northern Ireland, the fragility of it, and we shouldn’t take it for granted.

☆ Junior doctors in England to stage three-day strike from March 13
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Junior doctors - who agreed in 2019 to an annual 2% pay rise as part of a four-year deal but say that is now inadequate in light of much higher inflation. Junior doctors are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience, who work under the guidance of senior doctors and represent a sizeable chunk of Britain's workforce of doctors. While nurses have paused strikes scheduled for March as their union holds talks with the government, ambulance and other health workers are planning further strike action. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's deputy spokesperson said news of the junior doctors' strike was "disappointing". The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association said the fewer than 1,000 junior doctors in its membership would also stage a separate three-day strike from March 13.

☆ Britain's taxes will be cut 'as soon as we can afford to,' finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt on Friday said that the government will look to cut taxes "as soon as we can afford to," amid pressure from some lawmakers in his own party to reduce the country's levies. The ruling U.K. Conservative Party has an electoral mountain to climb ahead of next year's general election, with polls consistently indicating a landslide for the main opposition Labour Party. Asked if taxes will be lower by the time the election rolls around, Hunt said "as soon as we can afford to, yes." In his Autumn Statement in November, Hunt delivered a slew of tax rises and spending cuts as he set out to plug a substantial hole in the country's public finances. The U.K. tax burden currently hits at a 70-year high.

☆ UK economy in 'a lot better shape' than bleak figures suggest, fund manager says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, January 26, 2023. Henry Nicholls | ReutersLONDON — The U.K. has thus far avoided a widely anticipated recession, and the signs from the business world are that the economy may be holding up better than feared, according to veteran Schroders fund manager Andy Brough. Figures published earlier this month showed that the U.K. GDP contracted by 0.5% in December, as the economy flatlined over the final quarter of 2022 to narrowly avoid a technical recession. "Underneath companies' profitability x-minus today, we're seeing pretty good dividend increases, pretty good earnings statements, so, underlying, I think the economy is in a lot better shape. 'Signs of life' in business investment Uncertainty over future relations between Westminster and Brussels have hammered business investment since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union in 2016, in turn hampering productivity expansion and adding to the direct costs of Brexit on the U.K. potential growth.

☆ Britain 'warming up' weapon output to help Ukraine, says defence minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is helped off a tank during a visit to Bovington Camp, a British Army military base in Dorset, to view Ukrainian soldiers training on Challenger 2 tanks, Britain February 22, 2023. In an interview with Reuters in southwest England where officers are training Ukrainian crews on Challenger-2 tanks, Wallace said he believed Britain was in a good place to help Ukraine but needed to sustain the provision of weapons. 'REASSURED'Standing at a tank training ground surrounded by armoured fighting vehicles and tanks, Wallace spoke to Ukrainian soldiers who were training to use Britain's Challenger tanks which the defence minister said would arrive in Ukraine in "the spring". London has also offered to train Ukrainian soldiers on war planes rather than delivering fighter jets as yet. Wallace said Britain could offer additional Challenger tanks to the 14 already promised, but that it would depend on the threat level and also the country's defence needs.

☆ UK healthcare strikes to intensify as junior doctors vote to walk out
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Junior doctors agreed in 2019 to an annual 2% pay rise as part of a four-year deal but say that is now inadequate in light of much higher inflation. "This vote shows, without a shadow of a doubt, the strength of feeling among most of England’s junior doctors," the BMA said. The BMA describes junior doctors as those who are qualified in clinical training and have up to eight years' experience working as a hospital doctor or up to three years in general practice. Another trade union for doctors, the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, said its junior doctor members had also voted to carry out strike action in a separate ballot. More than 10,000 ambulance workers were on strike on Monday, while the nursing trade union last week announced a fresh 48-hour strike from March 1.

☆ British semiconductor bosses threaten to move overseas as U.S. and EU splurge on chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government is yet to announce a strategy outlining U.K. efforts to support the chip industry. And semiconductor bosses in the country are growing frustrated. Pragmatic Semiconductor, a Cambridge-based startup that produces non-silicon chips, warned it may be forced to relocate overseas if the government doesn't issue a plan for the industry soon. The EU, meanwhile, has earmarked 43 billion euros ($45.9 billion) for Europe's semiconductor industry with the aim of producing 20% of the world's semiconductors by 2030. In December, the country was said to be preparing a more than 1 trillion yuan ($147 billion) package for its chip industry, according to Reuters.

☆ Former UK PM Liz Truss is blaming the left-wing 'economic establishment' for ousting her
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation, outside Number 10 Downing Street, London, Britain October 20, 2022. Henry Nicholls | ReutersLONDON — Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss is blaming a "powerful economic establishment" for bringing her chaotic 44-day tenure to an end last year. Truss was elected leader of the Conservative Party in September, defeating her eventual successor Rishi Sunak, after garnering 81,326 votes from party members following the ousting of Boris Johnson. She was acting as if winning a majority of the Conservative Party membership gave her economic credibility, and it most clearly doesn't." Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government vowed to restore this credibility upon taking over in October, and quickly reversed Truss' entire economic agenda.

☆ UK's shortest-serving PM Liz Truss blames economic 'orthodoxy' for downfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Liz Truss blamed on Sunday the economic "orthodoxy" in the country's finance ministry, other nations and in parts of the governing Conservative Party for derailing her premiership and "plan for growth". But she was not successful, she wrote, because she had underestimated "the blob of vested interests" and orthodoxy. "As I had spelled out during the leadership campaign, I wanted to go for growth ... But this was not in line with the instinctive views of the Treasury (finance ministry) or the wider orthodox economic ecosystem." Grant Shapps, business minister, said everyone wanted lower taxes but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government had to focus on reducing debt, bringing down inflation and boosting growth first.

☆ UK set for biggest strike action in years as teachers, civil servants walk out
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Wednesday, about 300,000 teachers will take action, along with 100,000 civil servants from more than 120 government departments, and tens of thousands of university lecturers and rail workers. 'MOST DAYS LOST FOR 30 YEARS'Between June and November, more days were lost to industrial action than in any six months for over 30 years, according to official data. An Ipsos poll released on Wednesday suggested the public was divided on the multiple strike action, with 40% supporting the action and 38% opposed. It put the estimated impact of the teachers' strikes at about 20 million pounds a day. ($1 = 0.8130 pound)Reporting by Michael Holden, Alistair Smout and William Schomberg; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Government bears some blame for Grenfell fire, UK housing minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A woman places a white rose during a memorial service for those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14 2018, outside Westminster Abbey in London, Britain June 14, 2022. In June 2017, Grenfell Tower, a 23-storey social housing block in west London, was destroyed by a fire started by an electrical fault in a refrigerator, Britain's deadliest fire in a residential building since World War Two. "I think that if you look at what happened to Grenfell, there were lots of factors. But it is undeniably the case that the system of building regulation was not right." Following the blaze, a public inquiry found numerous faults in the planning and administration of the Grenfell refurbishment, and hundreds of buildings were found to have similar cladding.

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