Category Archives: Brexit

Airmic, the UK association for risk and insurance professionals has said that Brexit is threatening the London Markets influence in the global industry.

This was reported in the companys March 2022 Pulse Survey which took place between March 3-11.

One of the questions in the survey asked how has the influence of the UK insurance market changed since Brexit.

5% of the participants said it has strengthened slightly, 15% said it has waned significantly, another 15% said it has waned slightly, and 65% said that it has not changed.

In the report, the company said that London used to be the European Unions hub for financial services, but Brexit has now led insurers to shift-decision making powers back to their headquarters in other countries.

Continued focus on regulation, talent, sustainability, and evolving consumer preferences will be crucial to securing the London Markets global competitiveness, Airmic said.

In addition, the report also stated that the London Market urgently needs to maintain the pace of change post-pandemic, in order to build its resilience and relevance for the future.

This was highlighted in the question that asked if the momentum for change in the insurance market created by the pandemic is being sustained, with 53% saying yes, and 47% saying no.

The survey also focused on whether the hard market is softening. Results for Q1 2022 showed that 70% of participants perceive the insurance market currently to be hard, while 30% felt that it was neutral, a significant difference compared to the results from Q3 2021, which saw 92% voting hard, and just 8% voting neutral.

This shows that the pace of hardening has slowed since 2021, but there are still concerns within the company that insurance market conditions could yet deteriorate, as this was addressed in the question that asked participants how they expect the insurance market to be at the end of 2022, with 44% saying it will deteriorate, 22% saying it that it will improve, and 23% saying that it will remain consistent.

The survey also addressed a growing concern surrounding how current insurers could lose business to more modern, agile insurance competitors.

In a question that asked whether the London Markets current IT infrastructure system is currently fit for purpose, 33% voted for the option that said no, not at all, while 67% voted for the other option that still said no, but that it is gradually improving.

The survey also highlighted some of the key obstacles that are currently stopping the markets infrastructure from improving. This included, lack of collaboration between insurers which received over 70%, lack of investment which received 60%, and not enough understanding of technology among the markets decision makers, also receiving 60%.

Airmic said: Our respondents have sounded a dire warning that the London Markets legacy systems will doom it to irrelevance. Greater investment and understanding of technology among the markets decision makers are critical to improving the markets infrastructure.

Premium rates for cyber have also skyrocketed, as a tenth of the surveys respondents experienced rate increases of more than 400%.

Highlighting some of the key results from the survey, Airmic said in the report that the insurance model is changing and how it is now more geared towards understanding risk and managing it better.

Climate change is expected to cause a seismic growth in economic losses, and global insurance premiums will also reach record levels.

The insurance industry needs to rise to the challenge urgently. It needs to shift its focus from protection to prevention. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning will be key to reducing costs and creating value for all parties.

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Brexit threatening London Market's influence in the insurance industry: Airmic - Reinsurance News

Every time they send a load over, they have to produce a 14-page export health certificate and have it signed by an official vet to confirm it is free from disease. It has to be manually printed by the vet and stamped 43 times and have his signature on it 45 times and we have to cross out all the exact bits that are not relevant to our specific export, says Sarah. [And it has to be done] in English and in French. There is huge margin for human error, not to mention the fact that there are hardly any vets certified to inspect live bivalve molluscs.

Nicky heats up a pan of garlicky mussels for us to try. I ask if they have lost money since all this began. They look at each other and laugh. Its difficult to put a firm figure on it, says John. We had seven months last year where we were not allowed to send a single thing, says Sarah.

If they lose their exports, they will go out of business. Couldnt they purify the mussels here? To purify the volume we produce, that capacity doesnt exist in the whole of the UK put together, says John. And theres too little demand in the UK to rely solely on that market.

For some fishermen, though, selling locally could be part of the answer. Martin Laitys family have had oyster beds in the River Fal in Cornwall for generations. He can trace his familys fishing lineage in Cornwall back to 1542. Their business, which mainly sells Queen scallops and oysters, and exports all over the world, kept going through both world wars. Then at the start of Brexit, we were shut down for two and a half months, says Laity.

He has spent 14 months intensely trying to sort out the mess, liaising with Defra and customs officers as he tries to get some help for his fellow oystermen and fishermen. The industry cant exist without export. Theres no question about it. Who are you going to get in the UK to consume 2,000 tonnes of winkles a year?

Laity, 52, a father-of-two who hopes to pass on his business, Sailors Creek Shellfish, to his children, set up a market called The Food Barn in Tregew during lockdown, selling local produce including his shellfish: Its working. We sell hundreds of oysters on a Saturday morning market.

Restaurants and other UK customers are starting to come through, too. People are thinking, well, use it or lose it. The numbers, this January in particular, have been quite phenomenal. Were selling well over 1,000 oysters a day in the UK unheard of in the past.

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Have Brexit, pollution and the pandemic killed the great British shellfish industry? - The Telegraph

The Government has decided not to block the sale of Newport Wafer Fab, the UK's largest semiconductor plant, to Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of the Chinese technology company Wingtech. Semiconductors, also known as microchips, are a critical component of electronic devices, including smartphones. A major controversy broke out after Nexperia attempted to buy the plant last spring.

Following the uproar, in June, Mr Johnson announced an investigation into the case, launching a review by the Governments national security adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove.

Six months later, Sir Lovegrove has concluded that there is no risk to the UKs security, and thus there is no reason to block the sale, Politico reported.

Conservative MPs have already raised alarm bells following the decision, arguing that Mr Lovegrove is applying too narrow of a definition of UK security.

Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said: Its not clear why we havent used our new powers under the National Security and Investment Act to fully review the takeover of one of our leading compound semiconductor companies.

He added: This is an area where China is sinking billions to compete.

The government has no clear strategy to protect whats left of our semiconductor industry.

The National Security and Investment Act (NSI) came into force on January 4, 2022.

The post-Brexit act gives the Government powers to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions, such as takeovers, to protect national security.

It comes after Mr Johnson promised to "back" British businesses.

READ MORE:Why is there a semiconductor shortage?

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Brexit betrayal! PM slammed as Welsh microchip factory sold to China: 'Not protecting us' - Express

TechUK has published a paper ahead of the governments response to itsconsultation about reforms to the data protection regime, Data: a new direction, held towards the end of 2021.

In the paper, the IT supplier association has set out six principles for the government to adopt to seize what it calls post-Brexit opportunities, with a bold approach to data policy.

Meanwhile its Digital economy monitor, an ongoing survey of TechUK members, recently found that 76% see research and development (R&D) and innovation as either important or very important for their UK operations. But the organisation said its members cite confusing and unclear rules as holding them back from investing further in the UK. Almost one-third suggested removing regulatory barriers to innovation and the deployment of new technologies and products (29%), such as through data policy.

Neil Ross, associate director for policy at TechUK, said: Developing a clearer, more trusted and innovation-enabling data governance system is one of the most obvious opportunities of Brexit.

In doing so, the UK must find the right balance between upholding citizens rights, allowing data to be reused for research and innovation, while also supporting global data flows.

By putting forward these principles for reform, TechUK believes the UK can strike this balance and unlock the next wave of data-driven innovation. However, the government will need to be bold and embrace these opportunities, otherwise risks only achieving half-hearted changes, and creating extra compliance for UK businesses without seizing any of the benefits for increasing UK R&D and innovation.

TechUK is calling on the government to take what it calls a focused approach to supporting R&D and innovation by making reforms to its data protection regime that provide organisations with clear rules and more confidence when pursuing data-driven research projects.

The six principles identified by TechUK and its members are:

Under the last principle, the trade body takes issue with a concerning shift towards data localisation policies which pose a serious threat to the future of international trade and innovation, adding: To be an effective advocate for increased international digital trade cooperation, the UK government must address its own disconnect between its global commitment to push back against this trend, and its policy interventions at home, which have contained provisions that promote data localisation.

The organisation also said: The current GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] is an example of regulation that has caused legal uncertainty for businesses seeking to innovate, with some being unable or choosing not to use data to the fullest extent due to a lack of clarity in the law.

It is also urging the government to pick up the pace with respect to the National Data Strategy by boosting data skills in the population and increasing collaboration between public and private sectors.

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TechUK calls on government to seize post-Brexit data opportunities - ComputerWeekly.com

More Celtic rising stars could follow Ben Doak to England because of Brexits impact on the youth recruitment market.

That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the 16-year-old wingers departure to Liverpool.

As relayed by The Athletic last Thursday (31 March), Celtic will receive 600,000 in compensation for the academy star.

Doak was yet to sign a professional contract with the Hoops but had featured twice for the senior team.

His exit at such a young age means that Celtic have been unable to recoup the kind of big-money fee they received for the likes of Kieran Tierney.

The United Kingdoms exit from the European Union has shrunk the recruitment pool for players under the age of 18.

And Maguire anticipates that the likes of Celtic could continue to have their best young talents poached as a result.

Its really frustrating, he told Football Insiders Adam Williams.

Its business, but this is also on the back of Brexit.

Because English clubs can no longer recruit 16 and 17-year-olds from the EU, there will be more snaffling of players from English and Scottish clubs.

Its a disadvantage of Brexit from Celtics point of view. Their young players who are yet to sign professional contracts and that means they are targets.

Because the Premier League cant recruit from Europe, they target players from England and Scotland.

Doak will not be eligible to play academy games for Liverpool until next season.

He has netted four times in seven appearances for Scotland Under-17s.

In other news, medical expert issues huge Christopher Jullien claim after behind-the-scenes Celtic news.

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Kieran Maguire tips more Celtic stars to follow Ben Doak to England as Brexit impact explained - Football Insider

A key authority in recovering from disasters, Professor Lucy Easthope said that Brexit led to a slow erosion of priorities for the UK Government. She argued that this meant by January 2020, planners were feeling stymied in their efforts to ensure the UK was prepared for an event like the Covid pandemic.

Professor Easthope has worked on the response to major incidents including the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks, the Grenfell Tower fire and the Covid pandemic.

She has criticised the UKs response to the pandemic, arguing that it was too late and may have been hindered significantly by Britains exit from the EU.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, she said that disaster experts were told: we couldn't plan for Brexit and a pandemic at the same time, it was too ridiculous to think of both happening at the same time."

When asked who made this statement, she said it came as a result of a slow erosion of priorities.

This included meetings on pandemic planning being delayed or cancelled altogether - leaving the UK ill-equipped to respond when reports first emerged of a new virus in Wuhan.

Professor Easthope said that by January 2020, multiple meetings at ministerial department level had been postponed".

She added that the UK entered the pandemic with a very depleted health and social care system, leaving disaster planners very very nervous".

She said: As disaster planners, I think we started to feel very stymied in our ability to go into it with our best foot forward.

I think thats the sort of thing where that will be incredibly painful for the families to sit through.

The professor stated that the Government had attempted to ease the frustration of families suffering under the pandemic by claiming it was unpredicted and unplanned for".

However, she said that when meeting families more recently, the pain had almost reopened all over again at the idea that there were people who had worked very hard" to warn the government about the approaching crisis.

READ MORE:Brexit LIVE: Leaving bloc unshackles UK outlook on crop production[INSIGHT]

She said an inquiry would "uncover how much work was done... and how easy it is to erode that, particularly during times of austerity".

A Government spokesman said: "The Covid pandemic was unprecedented and challenged health systems around the world. Throughout the pandemic we have been guided by scientific and medical experts, and our main priority was to protect the NHS and save lives.

"As the National Audit Office Report on Covid-19 Pandemic Preparedness recognised, the government benefited from EU exit planning as well as the challenge of balancing multiple priorities.

"Thanks to our national efforts, we are now one of the most open countries in the world, and our focus is on building back better from the pandemic and delivering Brexit opportunities that benefit the British public."

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Brexit planning dented Government preparation for Covid pandemic - top disaster expert - Express

Brexit is set to disrupt and alter the flow of illegal drugs into Ireland as organised criminals take advantage of increased connections with mainland Europe, according to a report commissioned by the British embassy in Dublin.

The use of ports is set to become a more common way to smuggle cocaine into the country with the establishment of new ferry routes from France and Spain post-Brexit, the report compiled by Irish security think tank the Azure Forum stated.

Even before the United Kingdoms departure from the European Union, Irish organised crime gangs have been finding new ways of sourcing drugs. Previously, Irish gangs were supplied by UK gangs, but now they have established their own importation and supply chains to Ireland, the report said.

The UK increasingly acts as merely a waypoint for drugs coming to Ireland rather than a source, according to the report which is based on interviews with senior Irish and UK police officers and a review of existing studies.

These flows are likely to change further in correlation with decreased legitimate use of the UK land-bridge and additional direct ferry routes to Ireland from France and Spain.

The report said corrupted staff at airports and ports are an extremely valuable asset for criminal gangs.

Port workers in particular are indispensable in identifying containers for drug rip-offs, notably of cocaine from South America.

This is likely to become a more commonplace trafficking method into Ireland as Irish organised crime groups expand their contacts further upstream in drugs supply chains, and as trade flows adjust following the UKs exit from the EU.

The report also said corrupted workers in the logistics and haulage industries, particularly complicit HGV drivers, could smuggle of drugs and smuggle irregular migrants.

Criminals view the island of Ireland as a single market, it said, while also exploiting the differing legal jurisdictions to evade law enforcement.

Despite the continuation of trade between Ireland and the UK under the post-Brexit Trade and Co-operation Agreement, it is highly likely that organised crime will take advantage of post-Brexit shifts in legitimate trade flows, including the additional direct roll-on/roll-off ferry routes between Ireland and continental Europe.

Drug smuggling into Ireland is dominated by Irish gangs. However, the report raised the possibility of foreign gangs attempting to take over the lucrative cocaine trade, as has happened in the UK.

The takeover of the British cocaine market by Albanian organised crime suggests that this could take place through undercutting existing suppliers with cheaper, high-purity product, initially at least using lower-level Irish criminals for local distribution and retail sales.

This scenario remains unlikely while major Irish gangs control the Irish market, but dismantling or disrupting these groups could create a vacuum which may be exploited by non-Irish criminals, it said.

Despite changing methods of drug smuggling, the county lines phenomenon seen in the UK where criminals use vulnerable people and children to traffic drugs from cities to towns and villages has not yet taken hold in the Republic or Northern Ireland, the report found.

Criminals here do use vulnerable people for street sales but the county lines model is not currently a feature of retail markets.

Irish criminals have also been slow to embrace the use of cryptocurrency to launder and store wealth, it said, preferring instead to rely on cash.

Read more:

Brexit to significantly alter flow of illegal drugs into Ireland, says think tank - The Irish Times

It is not possible to completely nullify the pressures on energy prices, a Cabinet minister has said, as demonstrators gather across the country over the cost-of-living crisis.

It comes as a group claims that Brexit is partly to blame for the rise in energy prices.

But Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the Government is looking across the board at what were doing with the publics money, and will put in the support that we can, as and when we can to ease the sting of rising prices.

The Peoples Assembly said it expects thousands of protesters to take to the streets in dozens of locations throughout the UK to highlight those suffering real hardships due to the combination of a hike in fuel and food costs, inflation and low pay.

Unions have complained that Chancellor Rishi Sunaks spring statement last week did nothing to allay fears about soaring fuel bills and rising inflation, with the TUC calling for an emergency budget to help families.

The lifting of the energy price cap on Friday will create an impossible choice for many, to eat or heat, said the Peoples Assembly.

A spokesperson for the campaign group said: Public outrage over the cost-of-living crisis is growing fast, and our response is gaining momentum.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Lewis said the Government cannot completely nullify the impacts of global pressure on energy prices, but ministers will put in supportive measures where possible.

I know, even this week, where I live were on oil-fired heating, Ive seen that change directly in the price of oil and actually the ability to get it, he said.

The UKs decision to wrench itself out of common European energy trading arrangements as part of Brexit is partly to blame for todays huge hike in energy bills, the Rejoin EU Party says.

The trade deal agreed by the UK and EU excludes Great Britain from the EUs Internal Energy Market, leaving it relying on less efficient and more costly cross-border electricity trading arrangements than those available to EU member states.

The UK has lost much of its control of prices by surrendering its ability to take part in European-level energy auctions that decide the cost of fuel.

While Brexit is not the only factor responsible for the increases, it has removed a major lever available to the government to ease the burden.

Households face a 54% rise in energy bills from today, April 1st, adding around an extra 700 to the average households annual gas and electricity bill. Prices are expected to rise further in six months time, leaving millions of people potentially struggling to make ends meet.

Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and the Vote Leave campaign claimed fuel bills would be lower for everyone following Brexit. Instead, bills have risen exponentially.

Meanwhile, the EUs recently announced deal with the US to import an extra 15bn cubic metres of US liquefied natural gas this year will help reduce European reliance on Russian gas imports but excludes the UK due to Brexit, removing a means to increase UK energy security at a time when Vladimir Putin is using energy as a bargaining chip in his invasion of Ukraine.

John Stevens, former Conservative MEP and energy investor and now supporter of the Rejoin EU Party, said: Brexit has excluded the UK from joint EU energy policy and from the recent deal between the EU and the US on liquefied natural gas imports.

Taken together, this means UK energy prices will be higher than in the EU, with all which that implies for our prosperity.

It also means the cause of independence in Scotland will be substantially strengthened, as England will become more dependent on Scottish energy sources both carbon and renewable than at any time since the heyday of North Sea oil. To keep the lights on and the country together, we have to re-join the EU.

Related: What people are experiencing is intolerable: Protests take place across UK over cost-of-living crisis

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Brexit: Hike in energy bills partly due to leaving EU, its claimed - The London Economic

Getting Brexit done. Investing in our public services and infrastructure. Supporting workers and families. Strengthening the Union. Unleashing Britains potential.

The Conservatives offer a future in which we get Brexit done, and then move on to focus on our priorities which are also your priorities.

Because more important than any one commitment in this manifesto is the spirit in which we make them. Our job is to serve you, the people. To deliver on the instruction you gave us in 2016 to get Brexit done. But then to move on to making the UK an even better country to investing in the NHS, our schools, our people and our towns.

We will build a Britain in which everyone has the opportunity to make the most of their talents. We will ensure that work will always pay. We will create a fair society, in which everyone always contributes their fair share.

So that together, led by Boris Johnson, we can get Brexit done, and move on to unleash the full potential of this great country.

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Our Plan - Conservative Party

It was always inevitable that Brexit would have an impact on UK trade with the rest of Europe, chancellor Rishi Sunak has admitted.

Mr Sunak agreed that it might well be the case that the slump in trade intensity experienced by the UK compared to other leading economies has been caused by the fact that Britain was the only one of them to go through Brexit.

The chancellors comments came after the Office for Budget Responsibility published research suggesting that the UKs trade intensity has tumbled by around 15 per cent as a result of leaving the EU.

They represent one of the clearest admissions yet from Boris Johnsons pro-Brexit administration that EU withdrawal was bound to reduce the UKs commercial relationship with its closest trading partners.

Figures published by the OBR alongside last weeks mini-budget showed the UKs goods export volume falling dramatically at the start of 2020 as Brexit came into effect, and failing to recover as quickly as other advanced economies from the Covid pandemic.

In stark contrast to the promises of Leave campaigners at the time of the 2016 referendum, the OBR said it was clear that trade deals struck so far with the rest of the world were not of a sufficient scale to offset the fall-off in commerce with the EU.

Speaking to the House of Commons Treasury Committee, Mr Sunak said it was difficult to disentangle the impact of Brexit on trade from the blow delivered by the Covid pandemic.

But he told the cross-party panel of MPs: It was always inevitable that there would be a change in our trade intensity with Europe as a result of a change in the trading relationship. That was expected and unsurprising.

The committees Conservative chair, former Treasury minister Mel Stride, said that the OBR figures show that theres been a slump in the level of our trade with the EU and that, while other countries trade flows had recovered strongly from the Covid pandemic, the UKs had stayed down.

Doesnt that tell you that the main distinction between ourselves and them is that we went through Brexit and they did not? asked Mr Stide.

The chancellor replied: It might well be, Im just saying its too early to be definitive.

Mr Sunak rejected suggestions that the UK economy had become more closed as a result of Brexit, saying that the governments intention was to open up trade with other parts of the world.

But Mr Stride responded: Thats an aspiration, but the reality appears not.

Mr Sunak replied: Trading relationships take time. They dont happen overnight. So I think that of course that will happen over a period of time.

Mr Stride said that a delay in replacing lost European trade could hit UK productivity and living standards.

If it remains the case that these new deals dont float our boats up very quickly and we stay down roughly where we are and we are a more closed economy, what concerns would you have around that, particularly around our mission to try and improve productivity and living standards? he asked the chancellor.

Mr Sunak replied that the assumption of declining trade with the EU was already built into OBR forecasts.

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Trade hit from Brexit was always inevitable, Rishi Sunak tells MPs - The Independent