Politics Archives - Boscobel & Partners

Category: Politics

Cobham shows UK M&A is open for business. Mostly.

How open or protectionist is the new Government going to be towards foreign takeovers of UK companies? We received a hint before Christmas when, at 10pm on 20th December, the Secretary of State for business, Andrea Leadsom, cleared the takeover of the aerospace group Cobham by US private equity house Advent, subject to certain conditions. […]

Could Jeremy Corbyn be Prime Minister by the year end?

There is a reason the bookies now put Jeremy Corbyn as favourite to be next Prime Minister (7:2 from Ladbroke’s). It is certainly starting to feel we are now on tramlines heading towards a General Election. Don’t be fooled by the fact that under Conservative Party internal rules she has 12 month’s grace from the […]

Theresa May is a genius – discuss?

There, that has caught your eye. We are accustomed to thinking that Brexit has degenerated into a shambles and Mrs May’s strategy of “kicking the can down the road” has been a disastrous humiliation. That is certainly a valid point of view. But from her own narrow self-interested perspective she remains in Downing Street and […]

The EEA is a Brexit life boat for the City and the economy

The revelation [in the Telegraph on Saturday 9th March 2019] from George Eustice, the ex-fisheries minister, that Britain’s ambassador to Norway, was primed to hand in a letter giving notice that Britain was leaving the European Economic Area (EEA) single market treaty last March, but was mysteriously ordered by the Foreign Office not to do […]

Busting the latest Brexit myths

Theresa May has told the House of Commons that she will now bring forward three votes: March 12th vote on her new revised deal March 13th if that doesn’t pass a vote for No Deal March 14th if that doesn’t pass a vote to extend Article 50 The pound has risen to its highest levels […]

Time for a National Government? Lessons from 1931

It is an interesting question as to whether the formation of a National Government would help solve the current Brexit impasse. It has certainly worked in the past. In 1931 a National Government was formed to get us out of the Depression and overall it did a pretty good job. Britain recovered faster than any […]

Introducing Section 20 of the EU Withdrawal Act

Extending Article 50 is easier and more likely than some people let on. The Conservative party conference is going about as expected, with the Prime Minister reportedly booed at the Association chairman’s dinner; Boris Johnson giving a witty, tub-thumping speech which ended, incongruously, with a call for everyone to back Theresa May; and every Cabinet […]

Making the City work for women…and men

The City and business are in a stew over women. Although it is in part a PR issue, it goes deeper than that and as a working mother with two young daughters my personal view is much of the debate is not grounded in reality. Instead it is dominated by a handful of high profile […]

Norway then Canada, a new Brexit strategy

I have published a short book on the Amazon platform, called Norway then Canada, a new strategy to avoid a Brexit smash. Lord Owen, the former Labour foreign secretary, has kindly written a Forward. I wrote it over the summer, when the weather was dodgy in the Isle of Wight. I advocate that Britain should […]

Falling back on the EEA, or Thucydides

Two weeks ago, ahead of the Chequers summit, we warned that it would be a miracle if one or more Cabinet ministers did not resign. And so it has proved. The subsequent Parliamentary chaos, we did not predict. The conduct of all sides in the Brexit process now reminds me of a passage from […]