Brexit weekly digest 7 October

Proposing Northern Ireland remain in the European single market for agriculture and industrial goods with high tech customs borders between Northern and the Republic of Ireland, with good travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland facing checks allowing Northern Ireland to review their position four years’ time. 

Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced an end freedom of movement ‘once and for all’ after the UK leaves the EU. Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, she told audience she had a ‘particular responsibility’ when it ‘comes to taking back control’ after Brexit explaining Britain would be introducing an Australian style points-based immigration system that works in the ‘best interests’ of the country.

Swiss private banks have seen a sharp rise in British clients who are moving assets offshore to escape a chaotic Brexit, several sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.  “In recent months the number of accounts opened from Britain has trebled,” one person at the wealth management arm of a large international bank in Switzerland said.

A return to growth is forecast   averting a pre-Brexit recession, but economists say a slump is likely next year if Britain crashes out of the European without a deal to soften the blow.

Slowing economic growth  is partly due to rising trade tensions but also reflects country-specific cyclical and structural factors, including the shifting monetary policy stance in developed economies and Brexit-related uncertainty in the European Union.

British finance minister Sajid Javid's first budget is expected to be delayed until after Oct. 31 due to uncertainty about Britain's exit from the European Union, the Financial Times reported.

Trade sources say Britain could continue to support the EU over Airbus and punish U.S. imports at the risk of upsetting the post-Brexit trade talks with Washington or it could reject the offer to back Airbus with tariffs and upset a big employer. The decision echoes a broader discomfort facing Britain as it chooses between European neighbours or the United States on a range of existing disagreements from access to contracts for Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to the fate of a nuclear deal with Iran


Housing is affected by EU regulations relating to the environment and climate change,  construction, health and safety and materials used, such as the requirement for CE marking for construction products and the UK’s compliance with a common rule book regarding materials standards and energy consumption. Social housing is particularly sensitive to the changes associated with Brexit as it affects the supply chain and EU citizens are major contributors to the construction workforce.


A health check of Britain’s manufacturers  has shown that some of the most economically and socially deprived areas in UK are highly exposed to the impact of a no-deal Brexit. Exporters are already suffering losses, especially in Wales, north-east England, Yorkshire and Humberside, which have a significant exposure to trade with the EU