The GUIDE to the week
In a glimpse of the post-Brexit world, Bombardier is trying to get round punitive US tariffs by officially shifting some aircraft ‘assembly’ to Alabama, while keeping ‘manufacturing’ in Belfast. Together with Government proposals to intervene in more corporate takeovers to protect UK interests, this points to a boon for lawyers as we get used to managing our international trade policy again. Meantime, here’s our take on the rest of the week…
Whitehall’s best laid plans
Single Departmental Plans (SDPs) were published with some fanfare just last year. These SDPs were due to run until 2020 and promised to “describe the government’s objectives for this Parliament and how departments are fulfilling their commitments”. Since then the Brexit referendum, a new PM, and a General Election have understandably got in the way – but that leaves an obvious question: what replaces them?
“EU leaders are powerless, bureaucratic, and deadlocked” says Tusk
When Donald Tusk told colleagues that he is worried about “the sense of powerlessness, where political interests, or bureaucratic inertia, stand in the way of achieving results”, he was not talking about the UK Government – his fire was aimed EU27 member states’ leaders. To address these problems, Tusk wants to publish ‘Decision Notes’ before each meeting, whereby he would explicitly list the divisions in the Council so that they can be addressed head on. This might or might not work but, either way, the chances of a potentially explosive document finding its way into the public domain would surely rise.
Local Authorities in for a shock
In answer to a Written Question, the Government confirms a new statutory code for Councils’ borrowing habits will be “in place early in 2018”. Whitehall has been careful to distance itself from some of the more ‘adventurous’ investments made by Local Authorities, especially around “land and property purchases”, saying these bets are made “without government consent”. The new code is likely to leave Councils fighting their own corner if investments turn bad – with an inevitable and significant impact on local public services.
Our formal Political Intelligence Report this week includes details on: the chances of getting Brexit legislation through on time; the future of state aid rules; and how Remain MPs are accidentally promoting a “no-deal-plus” Brexit. To subscribe, please email me.