Is this the beginning of the end for Brexit?

The impact of Brexit on next week’s budget has been spelled out by one of Britain’s leading economic forecasters, with the difference between a soft and no-deal outcome worth £30bn over the next five years for Philip Hammond.

According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), the chancellor could increase spending on public services above and beyond the £20bn promised for the NHS - but only if Britain retains the closest possible relationship with the EU following its departure.

Philip Hammond can't announce an end to austerity. Brexit won't allow it

It warned that a no-deal Brexit would erode almost all of this extra spending firepower and cause public borrowing to rise, while also warning that the pound would fall in value, inflation would rise and the economy would barely grow for two years.

The stark difference for the public finances from a deal or no-deal Brexit is likely to become an increasingly important political battleground over the coming months, and could feature heavily at the budget on Monday.

www.gransnet.com/forums/news_and_politics/a1252649-Is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-Brexit?msgid=26913686#26913686

Both the CBI and the EEF have called for Britain to remain in the EU customs union, while the Institute of Directors recently launched off into an excursion of its own, with "a hybrid option for a UK-EU trade framework". This went one better, in calling for a "partial" customs union, an idea so mad it has effectively taken this organisation out of the game as a serious player.

www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=86912

Unilever, one of the UK’s best known corporate giants, has announced it will be consolidating its legal headquarters in Rotterdam, dealing a sharp blow to Britain’s status as a European business hub ahead of Brexit.

The consumer goods giant, which is the UK’s third largest company and has up until now been based in both the UK and the Netherlands, on Thursday said that it was shaking up its corporate structure. Under the changes it will operate three divisions. Its beauty and personal care division, as well as its home care division, will be based in London, while its food and refreshment division will be based in Rotterdam.

Unilever said that it also intends to simplify from its current structure of being two legal entities, transforming into one legal entity that will be incorporated in the Netherlands. The company said that the decision reflects the fact that the shares currently listed in the Netherlands account for approximately 55 per cent of the group’s combined ordinary share capital and also trade with greater liquidity than the ones listed in London.

However, the maker of Dove soap, Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will continue to have its shares listed in the capital, as well as in Amsterdam and New York, following the changes. Unilever also said its employment of 7,300 people in the UK and 3,100 people in the Netherlands will be unaffected by the changes.

“Unilever’s board is fully committed to delivering long-term performance and sustainable value for shareholders,” said chairman Marijn Dekkers. "The board believes the move to three divisions and the simplification of our corporate structure will create a simpler, more agile and more focused company with increased strategic flexibility for value-creating portfolio change,” he added.

Unilever, which was formed in 1930 through a merger between Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie and UK soap-maker Lever Brothers, last year already announced it was reviewing its dual-headed corporate structure in the aftermath of it fending off an attempted $143bn takeover from Kraft Heinz. As one of the largest companies in the UK, the group is a major contributor to the economy.

www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/unilever-moves-headquarters-rotterdam-london-brexit-100-years-a8256736.html

Dundee Michelin factory workers have spoken of their shock after the company announced its intention to close the plant, with the loss of all 845 jobs.

The tyre factory will close by mid-2020 after the French firm deemed it "unsuitable" in the current climate.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-46109213

Most of the jobs lost in the last two years have been "good" jobs, and the only reason unemployment figures have been kept down is the imposition of harsh austerity measures driving many into spurious self-employment in the gig economy. Look at the jobs that have been lost-

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTIPx0lI6pb-3Tn-3D6uNJNyKcCd-A8uPMxViagyJAR9T87ZmnSdAEPCzp5ljlNYoUNdxJiJqQdBm7b/pubhtml

varian as a Dundonian I have been trying (and failing) to avoid making that brexit connection!

varian
In your enthusiasm to back up your hatred of Brexit, might I suggest that you check some of your facts, especially when they come from a Facebook link.
Youngs Seafood have not made 1650 people redundant.
The last time Carphone wharehouse made people redundant was in 2015
Michelin tyres (Dundee) ' They couldn't compete with the Asian market. Nothing to do with Brexit.
Goldman Sacks made more people redundant prior to the referendum (in yr 2016) than after.
I could go on to prove the lie, but I think you get my drift.

This list relates to news reports of Brexit Job Losses at Facebook.com/BrexitWrecksIt. Multiple listings indicate that there have been multiple tranches of job losses.

If you chose to call this fake news, and even suggest that no jobs at all have been lost in the UK because of brexit, I suggest you check the facts petra.

Could you point to anything good that has happened since you and other misguided folk were fooled into voting for this brexit nonsense?

Varian
I never suggested that no jobs have been lost because of Brexit. I pointed out that some of those facts on the list were lies.
Others are welcome to check them out at their leisure
Without going through the whole list, how do we know how many are true or false.
could you point out etc
Well as Brexit hasn't happened yet, what can I say, except foreign companies are still investing in our country, we didn't go into a recession as forcast by the BOE and the IMF, all experts in finance. The £ did drop off a cliff, again forcast by the BOE and the IMF.
From the Gov website:
Exports of uk goods and services rose to a record high of £620.02 Billion in the year to March 2018.

All in all I don't think we're doing too bad with all that's being thrown at us.

Is nothing sacred?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/28/is-nothing-free-from-brexit-of-please-stritctly-out-of-it-vince

MawBroon
The poor old fool has lost it ( that's if he ever had it)
If it wasn't so pitiful it would be laughable.

Most forecasts suggest that Britain will be a poorer country after Brexit, largely because trading with the European Union will become more difficult. Such predictions about the distant future are, by their nature, open to doubt, which is partly why Brexit’s proponents feel free to dismiss them. But the same does not apply to a new paper by Meredith Crowley, Oliver Exton and Lu Han from Cambridge University, which suggests that, months before Brexit has even happened, trade is already suffering, as firms respond to the prospect of higher tariffs.

www.economist.com/britain/2018/07/19/brexit-uncertainty-has-already-damaged-britains-exporters

It’s nice that you can be bothered to continue pointing out to Varian that ‘facts’ gleaned from such things as ‘BrexitWrecksIt’ may not be the actual truth Petra.

The damage already done just by the brexit vote is painfully clear.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/22/brexit-vote-cost-uk-mark-carney-bank-of-england

None of the leavers have ever yet shown any benefits from brexit.

none of the leavers have ever yet shown any benefits from Brexit
I have.

Sorry, I must have missed that. What benefits?

varian
You stated none of the leavers etc.
Well I voted to leave and I benifited from my shares immediately after the Brexit vote.

Were these shares in UK companies?

Without going through the whole list, how do we know how many are true or false.

The list is a spreadsheet, Petra (did you even look at it?) It details the reasons given for the job losses (and no, they're not all Brexit related)

Here's a live link to it:

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTIPx0lI6pb-3Tn-3D6uNJNyKcCd-A8uPMxViagyJAR9T87ZmnSdAEPCzp5ljlNYoUNdxJiJqQdBm7b/pubhtml

Well I voted to leave and I benifited from my shares immediately after the Brexit vote.

And the benefits for the 4.5 million Brits living in poverty (Oh dear, don't they have any shares? I thought everyone had shares. How silly of them not to buy any..) will be what, Petra?

Is this what the Leavers voted for in the EU referendum?

In a concerted anti-EU campaign over many years, the British Press has lied to its readers over and over again. Some of the more ridiculous lies may be easy to spot, but still many readers chose to believe them. Here is a small selection from the hundreds of Euromyths, deliberate lies which were drip-fed to us by the same people who continually use the expression "project fear" to describe the fact-based warnings about a no-deal brexit.

"St John Ambulance under EU threat" (Western Morning News, 26 April 2002, p 22)

"EU fanatics want you to sing this dire anthem" (The Sun, 3 February 2004, page 6)

"Bagpipes told to pipe down!" (The Sunday Times, 20 April 2008, p 7)

"Double-decker buses to be banned... The British symbol, recognised worldwide, is threatened because double-decker buses are presumed less safe and accessible to disabled passengers than single-deck buses." (the Daily Telegraph, 9 April 1998, supplement, p3)

"Schoolchildren are to be banned from working on milk rounds under an EU crackdown on child labour … Britain’s 20,000 milkmen, who face £1000 fines if they employ children yesterday claimed the ban was another attack on the British way of life." (The Sun, 11 August 1998, p17)

"There were an estimated 4,400 trouser-related incidents last year, including zipper injuries and fractures. The wearing of trousers and tights will be made illegal. The EU will ban exports of British trousers and hosiery." (The Sun, page 11, 21 May 1999, Richard Littlejohn column)

"Firemen’s Poles outlawed" (Daily Mail, 16 June 2002, p 25)

"Cod no longer to be called cod thanks to EU" (Daily Mail, 5 September 2001, p 7)

"Circus performer must walk tightrope in hard hat, says Brussels" (The Times, 23 July 2003, page 11)

‘Brussels plot to wipe Britain off the map’
(The Express on Sunday, 3 September 2006, p.10)

blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/euromyths-a-z-index/

British people voted to leave the European Union with Boris Johnson claim on his bus , stating £350 million to NHS , but brexit costs £2,000 million a week , the government's own report says.

How did this happen?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYonSZ8s3_o

Top EU law officer says UK can halt Brexit by revoking Article 50.

The European Court of Justice is told it should let the UK withdraw its notice of intent to leave without member states' approval.

news.sky.com/story/top-eu-law-officer-says-uk-can-halt-brexit-by-revoking-article-50-11571293