Robert Tombs & Graham Gudgin

Robert Tombs and Graham Gudgin are co-editors of Briefings for Britain

Sunday

Robert Tombs & Graham Gudgin

Only an ‘un-conservative’ measure can solve the energy crisis

From our UK edition

The UK economy has so far held up reasonably well in the face of the rise in energy prices. But the latest data suggest a weakening has begun and the economy faces an enormous potential further shock. For households, the latest price cap announcement means a rise in energy bills of around 80 per cent to £3,549 per year — a bill totalling £99 billion. This is equivalent to a rise in the standard rate of income tax of nine pence in the pound. And this is by no means the full extent of the shock, with projections that the price cap might rise much further, to around £6,000 per year at the start of 2023. Businesses also face a nasty surprise. Obviously, energy-intensive industries like metals and fertilisers have particularly acute problems.

Saturday

Robert Tombs & Graham Gudgin

Ten things we’ve learnt about the Brexit deal

From our UK edition

The UK-EU trade deal has now been operating for a month, and the lengthy queues at ports and empty supermarket shelves predicted by some (the ‘cliff edge’ we heard so much of) have failed to materialise. But equally, it is clear that businesses were not fully prepared for new trade arrangements and that EU trade rules on agri-food products are extremely restrictive.  The last month has also confirmed that the Northern Ireland Protocol is unworkable. If unchecked, it will seriously harm the province’s economy. The UK government needs to be ready to take radical unilateral action, if necessary, to alter it. But what else have we learnt about the deal?

Thursday

Robert Tombs & Graham Gudgin

Brexiteers beware – a bad deal is still a real risk

From our UK edition

The UK’s negotiating efforts with the EU this year have been dramatically better than under the May administration. But a bad deal is still a real risk as a result of political and time pressures.  Some recent reports suggest the UK may be flirting with dangerous compromises in key areas. The temptation to give ground just to get a deal over the line must be avoided. The government needs to remember that its key aim – re-establishing the UK as a genuinely independent state – can be met by simply leaving the transition period without a deal. Moreover, the government should bear in mind how limited the benefits of a thin trade deal with the EU are, especially one hedged around with various EU-friendly restrictions on UK action.