July will probably be
remembered by some for the World Cup, when getting beat three times is
considered a ‘success’ by England (can you imagine Alex Ferguson or the All
Blacks considering that a ‘success’).
The World Cup was like a
fleeting summer romance, where you promised yourself you wouldn’t catch
feelings......but then you did and now you have to fly back Ryanair in a middle seat
alone.
It will also be remembered
for the heat wave that engulfed the UK. You know it’s definitely OK to call it
a ‘heat wave’ when the staff in M&S are down to only 2 layers of cardigans.
So how else will July 2018
be remembered?
Chequers Checkmate
Theresa May took her entire
cabinet off to her country residence to seek agreement on a UK vision for
post-Brexit relations. After 12 hours, an agreement was reached in a White
Paper to take negotiations forward.
She said the deal agreed by
the cabinet after their "productive discussions" at Chequers would
"honour the result of the referendum" and allow the UK to "take
back control of our borders, our law and our money".
All good then? Ah……no.
Boris Johnson (the Foreign
Secretary – considered the third most powerful seat) launched a scathing attack
on Theresa May's Brexit strategy, saying the "dream is dying, suffocated
by needless self-doubt". He promptly resigned from the cabinet.
His resignation came hours
after Brexit Secretary David Davis quit the cabinet also. He stated
that he thought the UK was giving away "too much, too easily" and he
had made compromises since taking on the role……but this was "one
compromise too far".
There you have it……those in
charge to lead our great kingdom look far from united. If we can’t agree on
what to negotiate, how do we then negotiate?
Just a thought.
Winners / Losers
In May’s Brexit White Paper
If you are one of the
thousands of firms and millions of jobs that rely on the £423 billion annual
trade in goods between Britain and the EU, the White Paper should be viewed
positively.
Yes, it is still far from
clear if the EU will even go part of the way to accepting the Government's
offer of a "common rule book" on how goods trade. But the
White Paper on UK-EU relations has at least put that goods relationship at the
heart of attempts to secure a future trade deal.
Yet when it comes to the
UK's £1.4 trillion services sector (which makes up 80% of the economy), it is a
very different matter. Here the Government has called for "regulatory
flexibility" out of the EU services single market and admitted that
"this means that the UK and the EU will not have current levels of access
to each other's markets". In other words, there are costs attached.
That has brought strong
words of protest from the financial services sector, and more specifically the
City, which relies on friction-free access to the EU for much of its business.
The UK (read Theresa May)
appears to want a close deal on goods and is willing to sacrifice services to
get it.
The Trump Visits UK
The UK ‘welcomed’ Donald
Trump in a scaled down visit that was never going to gain royal approval and
the pomp and ceremony that President Obama enjoyed. Instead, he took centre
stage right in the middle of the Brexit White Paper fallout.
Never one to hold back an
opinion, Trump said the Brexit White Paper would "probably kill" any
trade deal with the US. Yet a few hours later having met the Prime Minister he
said a US-UK trade deal "will absolutely be possible”.
Confused? You should be.
Trump talking in riddles is the norm.
To be fair, his visit will
probably be remembered more for the protests than anything constructive he had
to say……which is the legacy of his stint to date.
July’s
Biggest Loser……Option 1 – Boris Johnson
No further questions your
honour.
July’s
Biggest Loser……Option 2 – Nissan
Nissan has admitted falsifying
emissions tests in Japan. Nissan stated it had uncovered falsified data from
car exhaust emissions tests at most of its Japanese factories. And by ‘most’,
let’s be clear……it was going on at all of Nissan's factories in Japan, bar one.
Hardly a one-off accident or
down to a few rotten apples……this is large scale corruption. The next time you
take a journey, just consider how this could impact the UK when you see the
volume of Nissan’s on the road. Frightening stuff.
July’s
Biggest Loser……Option 3 – Banks / PPI
Just when you thought that
the endless PPI calls, texts and adverts were nearer an end……think again.
Banks could have to pay out
billions more in PPI claims following a court ruling in Manchester. This will
lead to people who were not mis-sold PPI policies being able to claim
billions of pounds in compensation for commission payments refunded for a
legitimately sold policy. Under existing guidelines, consumers who were sold
their policies legitimately may still be entitled to claim money back if the commission
is deemed excessive.
Around 1.2 million
complaints have proved successful under this (the Plevin rule), out of the
total of 13 million PPI pay-out.
So far banks and insurance
companies have had to pay out a total of £30 billion to compensate consumers.
Just remember……when you
don’t get the interest rate you want on your savings / mortgage or your car
insurance renewal premium goes up……you know why.
And
Finally……
During his visit to the UK, Trump visited the Turnberry golf
resort in Scotland which he owns. Yet the US Government paid around £52,000 for
housing and accommodations for staffers of President Trump. Is that not like
inviting some friends over for dinner to your house and then presenting them
with a bill at the end?
Nothing like a good old-fashioned conflict of interest to surround
Donald Trump!
