Politics

Pro-Europeans said on Thursday they would hold a "march for change" rally against Brexit on July 20 in London. The governing Conservatives are in the process of choosing a successor to Prime Minister Theresa May, with the result of the contest expected the week of July 22. "As a new prime minister prepares to take office, grassroots organisations will gather in central London for one of the biggest pro-European rallies that the UK has seen," the march organisers said. "The...

Packaging products maker DS Smith Plc said on Thursday that it had made plans for contingency stocking of spare parts as it readies for Britain's planned exit from the European Union, but expected disruption to its operations to be "relatively contained". The company, which makes corrugated cardboard, recycled paper and plastic packaging, posted a 31% rise in full-year adjusted pretax profit, but said box volumes growth slowed due to previously flagged weakness in certain export markets during the second half...

The contest to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to narrow today when Conservative Party lawmakers vote to knock out at least one of 10 candidates in the first ballot, though Boris Johnson is far ahead of rivals. The United Kingdom could be heading towards a constitutional crisis over Brexit as many of the candidates vying to succeed May are prepared to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 without a deal but parliament has indicated it will...

Britain's financial watchdog has defended its controversial decision not to sanction lender RBS or its former executives for past mistreatment of small business customers. The Financial Conduct Authority said it was sticking by its decision not to apply penalties for actions of RBS's former turnaround unit, the Global Restructuring Group. "Our investigation has found that GRG clearly fell short of the high standards its clients expected but it was largely unregulated and so our powers to take action in such...

The global use of the euro currency surged from record lows last year, mostly on a flight from the dollar due to the volatility of American politics and concerns about rising U.S. interest rates, the European Central Bank said on Thursday. Demand for the euro, the world's second most widely used currency after the dollar, fell to historic lows over the past decade. Its rebound suggests both concerns about U.S. politics and growing confidence about the future of the euro...

Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, said on Wednesday he saw no reason why British businesses could not survive Brexit and the recent visit of President Donald Trump had shown him the issue would also not effect U.S. relations. The royal family is expected to remain neutral on political matters and has mostly avoided making any reference to Brexit, although the 93-year-old queen issued a delicately coded message to lawmakers in January, urging them to seek common ground....

Britain's interior minister Sajid Javid, one of the candidates to replace Theresa May as prime minister, said it was odd that he was not invited to a royal banquet with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month. Javid, who is of Muslim heritage, was the only senior cabinet minister not invited to the event during Trump's state visit at which guests dined in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth. The prime minister, the foreign minister, the finance minister,...

Labour and its cross-party alliance has lost its bid to block a no-deal Brexit by barring the next PM from suspending parliament. The numbrs of yes votes was 298 and the number of no votes was 309, a majority of 11. The motion had the backing of former Conservative minister Oliver Letwin and the leaders of the Scottish National party, Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. Labour MP Gareth Snell said he "made a mistake" voting against withdrawal...

As Boris Johnson makes his leadership race speech a leaked cabinet note indicates that the UK is not ready for a no-deal Brexit. Johnson told the crowd that the UK will leave on October 31st if there is no other option. However, the note says that it will take “six to eight months” to build up medical supplies, vital to the nation. The urgent warning says the pharmaceutical industry needs this period of help from the government “to ensure adequate arrangements are...