HICKORY DICKORY DOCK, THE PM RUNS DOWN THE CLOCK
AS THE CLOCK CLICKS DOWN TO 29TH MARCH 2019......
Far from allowing Parliament a 'meaningful vote' on the deal with the EU in December, Prime Minister May ran from the inevitable defeat, wasted yet more valuable time for our already weakened economy hoping that, by postponing her next date with destiny until mid January the EU would throw her a last minute life line and the possibility of a No Deal Brexit would panic MPs into line. Stubbornly refusing to see any fault lines in her deal, she now hopes that with the divided Parliament, running the clock down will ensure that alternative options are swept off the table and MPs will be forced to support her Brexit deal in the meaningful vote in January or risk leaving the EU without a deal.
Meanwhile, the Government's contingency plans for a No Deal are beginning to sound more like TV Dads Army's Corporal Jones' call not to panic. In the latest drip feed, the DfT state that an "unforeseeable" situation of "extreme urgency" meant there was no time for the contracts for over £100m of German, Danish and British Ferries to be put out to tender.
Calling the move "complete madness" Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable said, "the government has the power to stop "no deal" at any time but instead is spending millions on last minute contracts," he said.The fact that this money is predominantly going to European companies is nothing short of ironic, reducing Britain to a laughing stock on the global stage."
Meanwhile, as foreseen, UK based businesses are stepping up their plans to shift billions of pounds of assets to Europe and are implementing plans adding further millions to their costs.The number of companies planning to move staff from the UK because of Brexit is growing and with no deal now a distinct possibility, more are expected to follow in turn losing invaluable expertise and highly skilled and talented personnel.
-European Medicines Agency: moving from London to Amsterdam, including 890 jobs.
-European Banking Authority: moving from London to Paris, including 180 jobs.
-HSBC: moving 1,000 jobs from London to Paris, where it will set up EU headquarters.
-Lloyd's of London: moving 100 jobs from London to Brussels; EU headquarters from London to Dublin, Ireland.
-JPMorgan: moving "hundreds" of jobs from London to Dublin, Frankfurt, Germany, and Luxembourg.
-Barclays: 150 jobs from London to Dublin, where it will set up EU headquarters.
-Bank of America: moving EU headquarters from London to Dublin.
-UBS: under 1,000 jobs from London to EU offices, including Frankfurt.
-Moneygram: moving EU headquarters from London to Brussels.
-Japanese electronics' manufacturer Panasonic announced that it's moving its European HQ from the UK to The Netherlands
Royal Bank of Scotland is advancing plans to move billions of pounds worth of assets to the Netherlands next March if Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal.The state-controlled bank said it had applied to the courts to move 6 billion pounds of assets and 7 billion pounds of liabilities to its Dutch subsidiary NatWest Markets N.V.
Lincolnshire employer Smiffys has announced it is moving its headquarters to Europe as a direct result of the Brexit vote in 2016.The company, a costume and fancy dress supplier which employs 250 people across its two sites in Gainsborough and Leeds, has been based in the UK for more than 120 years.
Majestic Wine is to stockpile more than 1m extra bottles of wine from France, Spain and Italy as part of its emergency planning in case there is no Brexit deal by March.
AstraZeneca, Sanofi and MSD are building up extra supplies of medicines, while Aston Martin and Bentley are stockpiling car components. Aston Martin has said it will fly parts in if needed.
At the same time Britain is running out of food warehousing space, as businesses build up emergency stocks. The owner of Cadbury's, Mondelēz International, is stockpiling ingredients, chocolates and biscuits in case of a no-deal Brexit. Premier Foods, which owns Bisto, Oxo and Mr Kipling, and Ornua, the Irish company behind Kerrygold butter and many cheddar cheese brands, have also unveiled plans for stockpiling. Premier Foods expects to spend £10m on Brexit preparations.
And so the avoidable Brexit clock ticks down.
*If we allow Article 50 to run out we call time on the best deal any country has ever had in the EU. We lose the rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher. We lose our right to remain outside the Schengen Area and our right to retain our own currency. And we lose all this without giving voters a chance to make an informed choice now the realities of Brexit have been negotiated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory_Dickory_Dock_(disambiguation)
*https://metro.co.uk/2018/12/17/failing-to-call-a-peoples-vote-now-is-a-betrayal-of-democracy-8252029/?ito=cbshare
BBC News/reuters Finance News
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