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Britain votes in snap 'Brexit election'
![Britain votes in snap 'Brexit election'](http://l2.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/0AKg1H.7u87cGZGFrm9kuw--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/6d7a99ae740a5823e5963e3b21c0b2f2f051b203.jpg" width="130" height="86" alt="Britain votes in snap 'Brexit election')
Britain went to the polls on Thursday, with the future of Brexit hanging in the balance, in a snap pre-Christmas election aimed at drawing a line under years of political gridlock and bitter division. A decisive victory for Prime Minister Boris Johnson would most likely end Britain's 46-year involvement in the European Union next month, setting Britain on course to chart a new future based on closer ties with the United States and even China. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 04:15:57 -0500
China’s Xi to Unveil Plans to Make Macau Financial Hub, Reuters Says
(Bloomberg) -- Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to announce policies aimed at diversifying Macau’s economy beyond gaming, Reuters reported, in a nod of support as unrest continues to trouble neighboring Hong Kong.The policies include establishing a yuan-denominated stock exchange, accelerating a yuan settlement center which is currently being developed and allocating land for Macau, Reuters said, citing unidentified government officials and company executives. The measures were intended to mark the 20th anniversary of the former Portuguese colony’s return to Chinese rule, an event that will bring Xi to Macau, the report said.The bourse would focus on bond trading first to encourage local and mainland companies to issue debt in the city, Reuters said. The exchange would also focus on startups and target companies from Portuguese-speaking countries to avoid direct competition with Hong Kong or Shenzhen, it reported, citing six Macau executives and Chinese officials.Xi will also announce Macau’s decision to join the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Future priorities will include tourism and finance, and for Macau to be used as venue to host international meetings like Singapore, an official told Reuters.Casino stocks jumped to session highs after the report, reversing declines seen in recent weeks following soft November gaming results. Wynn Macau Ltd. led with a 4.7% gain Thursday in Hong Kong. Others stocks in the sector at least 2.5%The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment Thursday. Macau’s Office of the Chief Executive also didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.The plans may have been in the works for a while. The Securities Times reported in October that a proposal for a securities exchange in Macau were submitted to the Chinese central government. Authorities were researching how to fit Macau’s advantages into Xi’s broader Greater Bay Area plan to knit the region together more tightly, the Security Times said at the time.The blueprint for China’s long-awaited plan to create a high-tech megalopolis on its southern coastline rivaling California’s Silicon Valley was unveiled in February. Proposals include setting up a futures exchange in Guangzhou with carbon emissions as the first product and setting up a securities market in Macau using yuan settlement.Macau is looking to diversify its economy as growth in China slows and the high-rollers who helped make the city the world’s largest gaming hub look elsewhere. Local casinos are poised for the first decline in annual gaming revenue since 2016, when Xi’s anti-corrupting campaign battered revenues.The move comes as pro-democracy protests continue to hurt the economy of Macau’s fellow former colony of Hong Kong, which is among the world’s leading financial centers. While the polices weren’t intended for Macau to replace Hong Kong, China wants a contingency plan if the situation in Hong Kong worsens, Reuters said, citing people familiar with the discussions.(Updates with requests for comment in sixth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Sharon Chen and Peter Martin.To contact the reporters on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net;Jinshan Hong in Hong Kong at jhong214@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Kevin KingsburyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 03:59:21 -0500
How to vote tactically in the 2019 UK general election
In some seats a vote for Labour is the best bet to stop a Conservative victory and prevent Brexit, whereas elsewhere the Liberal Democrats are best-placed. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 03:53:00 -0500
Green Party manifesto 2019: key policies, at a glance
The Green Party has revealed the details of its general election manifesto, titled If Not Now, When? The party has announced 10 new laws that would be ready to be implemented if co-leaders Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley won an against-the-odds majority on Dec 12. Here is an at-a-glance look at what is in the 89-page manifesto. Environment The manifesto pledges a £100million-per-year investment plan to deliver a Green New Deal over the next 10 years. It would look to totally overhaul the use of fossil fuels by switching transport and industry to renewable energy sources, while upgrading household heating systems and planting 700 million trees within a decade. The party wants to use the measures to create a net-zero carbon economy by 2030. Brexit The pro-European Union party has re-committed itself to a second referendum and to campaign for Remain. It says staying in the bloc would help "lead the fight against the climate emergency". General Election 2019 | Key questions, answered Crime Restorative justice would be expanded to allow those affected by crimes to meet offenders as part of a bid to cut the prison population by 50%. Misogyny would be made a hate crime under a Green-led administration and the personal use of drugs, including some Class A substances, would be de-criminalised. Heroin would be available on prescription and cannabis clubs would be permitted, allowing marijuana to be grown and consumed by adults. Welfare The Greens would introduce a universal basic income, providing every UK citizen with £89 per week in state funding. It would provide a boost to those in work and leave no-one on benefits worse off, according to the manifesto. Health Party leaders have promised to increase funding for the NHS by at least £6 billion each year until 2030 - a 4.5% increase on the 2018/19 budget. Privatisation in the NHS would also be abolished, while mental health care would be put on an "equal footing" with physical care. Education The party pledges to boost education funding by at least £4 billion per year and to lay down a long-term aim of reducing classes to 20 pupils and below. Ofsted would be replaced with a "collaborative system of assessing" schools and a new law would put onus on teaching children about climate change. In higher education, tuition fees would be scrapped and those who paid £9,000 a year to study would have their debt wiped. General election 2019 | Manifestos Thu, 12 Dec 2019 03:10:59 -0500
The Five Campaign Moments That Define Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- At stake in this U.K. election is Brexit in all its horrible complexity. Then there’s the question of how big a role the state should play in British people’s lives and the nation’s economy. Together, these will place a much heavier burden than usual on the next prime minister. Yet if this election has been hard to predict, it’s partly because voters see the main contenders for No. 10 Downing Street as deeply flawed figures, each in their own way.In weeks of staged speeches, stiff debates and pre-cooked photo ops, the campaign also contained plenty of unscripted moments. They were episodes that resonated with voters on an emotional level. Mainly, they seemed to confirm the worst fears that Boris Johnson is heartless and untrustworthy, and Jeremy Corbyn is toxic and out of touch. I’ve picked out five that were particularly revealing.The hospital photo. This is likely to be the enduring image of the campaign if Johnson is denied a parliamentary majority or if it’s smaller than expected.On Sunday, the Yorkshire Evening Post published a story about a 4-year-old boy lying sick on the floor of an overcrowded hospital in Leeds. When ITV reporter Joe Pike tried to show Johnson the photo on his phone, he repeatedly refused to look at it and instead blustered through with his talking points.It reminded many of the public awkwardness of Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May, but she never would have done what Johnson did next: He grabbed Pike’s mobile phone. Only after Pike mentioned on camera that his phone was in the prime minister’s coat pocket did Johnson sheepishly withdraw it, glance at the photo and stammer through an apology to the family before returning to his theme. Campaigns are long and tiring; nerves fray and the best politicians have bad moments. But Johnson could hardly have picked a more fitting way to demonstrate the lack of empathy of which he’s often accused, or remind many that there’s something of the bully about him.The terrorist attack. Such moments of trauma demand both firmness and humanity from a leader. Boris Johnson’s quickness to pin the London Bridge attacker Usman Khan’s release from prison on a Labour government policy started an unseemly blame game that reduced complex issues into sordid campaign soundbites. Johnson even seemed to criticize the very prisoner rehabilitation program that Jack Merritt, one of the young victims, gave his life for that day.Normally, the Tories benefit from a focus on security. But Jack’s father, Dave Merritt, said his son would have been livid at the way his death was “being used to perpetuate an agenda of hate that he gave his everything to fight against.” Johnson never called the family to offer his condolences, a simple but important gesture. Dave Meritt’s dignified and forceful interventions, including a TV interview, will have struck many as a reminder that for Johnson, everything is political.Not all of the campaign’s unscripted moments broke against Johnson. Three others did perhaps terminal damage to Jeremy Corbyn’s hopes.The leaked conversation. Labour Health Secretary Jon Ashworth was often heard challenging the Tories on health care and pushing his party’s key campaign message that only Labour could be relied upon to adequately support the National Health Service. But in a leaked phone call with a Tory activist friend, Ashworth suggested it was a mistake to have made Corbyn party leader. Worse, he echoed the fears of many that Corbyn, whose anti-West foreign policy views are highly unconventional, would be a danger in office.Ashworth later said the leaks made him “look like a right plonker” (a Britishism for ineptitude), and insisted he was merely trying to misdirect his friend and make him feel complacent. It was damaging to Corbyn, nonetheless.The Labour vote is, as Number Cruncher Politics’ Matt Singh wrote Wednesday, “softer” than the Conservative one. If Corbyn’s own inner circle have doubts about his fitness for office, then how much less sure of their choice are many voters? The leak also took the focus away from Labour’s health care message at precisely the wrong time, though Johnson’s foot-in-mouth (or phone-in-pocket) NHS incident helped cushion the impact.The Rabbi. When the U.K.’s Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis took the almost unheard of step of wading into an election campaign with a biting article in the Times, it was impossible not to notice. Anti-Semitism, he lamented, had become an institutional problem within the Labour Party and was “incompatible with the British values of which we are so proud — of dignity and respect for all people.” This was a cri de coeur from a top religious leader and an appeal to all decent people to take into account — indeed, be guided by — Corbyn’s lamentable record on anti-Semitism when they vote. It may have lost Corbyn the support of many moderate Remainers who would have struggled to back his party after that.The Andrew Neil interview. Nobody expects to emerge unscathed from a sit-down with the best interviewer in British television, a forensic take-down artist. But Corbyn didn’t just struggle in his 30-minute interview with Neil; he withered. It wasn’t just the long segment on anti-Semitism, in which Corbyn inexplicably refused multiple times to apologize for his party’s behavior. On every subject, Corbyn struggled to answer the questions and defend his policies. He was particularly weak in explaining how he would pay for Labour’s radical spending plans without destroying the country’s tax base. (Although at least Corbyn put himself through the ordeal; Johnson refused the Neil offer even though all the other party leaders were grilled by him).Parties are paramount in U.K. politics, of course; this isn’t a presidential election. But leaders matter. They set the economic and foreign policy agenda, and the tone of public discourse. They represent the country on the world stage and embody it for international investors. Ideally, they should have integrity and competence, be likable and trustworthy. With Johnson, voters at least have the knowledge that a political chameleon changes. Corbyn’s dogmatism, by contrast, defines him. Spare a moment for British voters on Thursday. This is an unhappy choice.To contact the author of this story: Therese Raphael at traphael4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Therese Raphael writes editorials on European politics and economics for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:15:11 -0500
The Five Campaign Moments That Define Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- At stake in this U.K. election is Brexit in all its horrible complexity. Then there’s the question of how big a role the state should play in British people’s lives and the nation’s economy. Together, these will place a much heavier burden than usual on the next prime minister. Yet if this election has been hard to predict, it’s partly because voters see the main contenders for No. 10 Downing Street as deeply flawed figures, each in their own way.In weeks of staged speeches, stiff debates and pre-cooked photo ops, the campaign also contained plenty of unscripted moments. They were episodes that resonated with voters on an emotional level. Mainly, they seemed to confirm the worst fears that Boris Johnson is heartless and untrustworthy, and Jeremy Corbyn is toxic and out of touch. I’ve picked out five that were particularly revealing.The hospital photo. This is likely to be the enduring image of the campaign if Johnson is denied a parliamentary majority or if it’s smaller than expected.On Sunday, the Yorkshire Evening Post published a story about a 4-year-old boy lying sick on the floor of an overcrowded hospital in Leeds. When ITV reporter Joe Pike tried to show Johnson the photo on his phone, he repeatedly refused to look at it and instead blustered through with his talking points.It reminded many of the public awkwardness of Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May, but she never would have done what Johnson did next: He grabbed Pike’s mobile phone. Only after Pike mentioned on camera that his phone was in the prime minister’s coat pocket did Johnson sheepishly withdraw it, glance at the photo and stammer through an apology to the family before returning to his theme. Campaigns are long and tiring; nerves fray and the best politicians have bad moments. But Johnson could hardly have picked a more fitting way to demonstrate the lack of empathy of which he’s often accused, or remind many that there’s something of the bully about him.The terrorist attack. Such moments of trauma demand both firmness and humanity from a leader. Boris Johnson’s quickness to pin the London Bridge attacker Usman Khan’s release from prison on a Labour government policy started an unseemly blame game that reduced complex issues into sordid campaign soundbites. Johnson even seemed to criticize the very prisoner rehabilitation program that Jack Merritt, one of the young victims, gave his life for that day.Normally, the Tories benefit from a focus on security. But Jack’s father, Dave Merritt, said his son would have been livid at the way his death was “being used to perpetuate an agenda of hate that he gave his everything to fight against.” Johnson never called the family to offer his condolences, a simple but important gesture. Dave Meritt’s dignified and forceful interventions, including a TV interview, will have struck many as a reminder that for Johnson, everything is political.Not all of the campaign’s unscripted moments broke against Johnson. Three others did perhaps terminal damage to Jeremy Corbyn’s hopes.The leaked conversation. Labour Health Secretary Jon Ashworth was often heard challenging the Tories on health care and pushing his party’s key campaign message that only Labour could be relied upon to adequately support the National Health Service. But in a leaked phone call with a Tory activist friend, Ashworth suggested it was a mistake to have made Corbyn party leader. Worse, he echoed the fears of many that Corbyn, whose anti-West foreign policy views are highly unconventional, would be a danger in office.Ashworth later said the leaks made him “look like a right plonker” (a Britishism for ineptitude), and insisted he was merely trying to misdirect his friend and make him feel complacent. It was damaging to Corbyn, nonetheless.The Labour vote is, as Number Cruncher Politics’ Matt Singh wrote Wednesday, “softer” than the Conservative one. If Corbyn’s own inner circle have doubts about his fitness for office, then how much less sure of their choice are many voters? The leak also took the focus away from Labour’s health care message at precisely the wrong time, though Johnson’s foot-in-mouth (or phone-in-pocket) NHS incident helped cushion the impact.The Rabbi. When the U.K.’s Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis took the almost unheard of step of wading into an election campaign with a biting article in the Times, it was impossible not to notice. Anti-Semitism, he lamented, had become an institutional problem within the Labour Party and was “incompatible with the British values of which we are so proud — of dignity and respect for all people.” This was a cri de coeur from a top religious leader and an appeal to all decent people to take into account — indeed, be guided by — Corbyn’s lamentable record on anti-Semitism when they vote. It may have lost Corbyn the support of many moderate Remainers who would have struggled to back his party after that.The Andrew Neil interview. Nobody expects to emerge unscathed from a sit-down with the best interviewer in British television, a forensic take-down artist. But Corbyn didn’t just struggle in his 30-minute interview with Neil; he withered. It wasn’t just the long segment on anti-Semitism, in which Corbyn inexplicably refused multiple times to apologize for his party’s behavior. On every subject, Corbyn struggled to answer the questions and defend his policies. He was particularly weak in explaining how he would pay for Labour’s radical spending plans without destroying the country’s tax base. (Although at least Corbyn put himself through the ordeal; Johnson refused the Neil offer even though all the other party leaders were grilled by him).Parties are paramount in U.K. politics, of course; this isn’t a presidential election. But leaders matter. They set the economic and foreign policy agenda, and the tone of public discourse. They represent the country on the world stage and embody it for international investors. Ideally, they should have integrity and competence, be likable and trustworthy. With Johnson, voters at least have the knowledge that a political chameleon changes. Corbyn’s dogmatism, by contrast, defines him. Spare a moment for British voters on Thursday. This is an unhappy choice.To contact the author of this story: Therese Raphael at traphael4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Therese Raphael writes editorials on European politics and economics for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:15:11 -0500
Sold to China as a bride, she came home on brink of death
Sold by her family as a bride to a Chinese man, Samiya David spent only two months in China. When she returned to Pakistan, the once robust woman was nearly unrecognizable: malnourished, too weak to walk, her speech confused and disjointed. “Don’t ask me about what happened to me there” was her only reply to her family’s questions, her cousin Pervaiz Masih said. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:06:30 -0500
Polls Open After Final Plea From Johnson: U.K. Campaign Trail
(Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Boris Johnson made a final plea for U.K. voters to back him to deliver Brexit in Thursday’s general election, as polls suggested his lead over rival Jeremy Corbyn may be narrowing.At the end of a bruising six-week campaign, the two men vying to be Britain’s next prime minister both said the country stood at a fork in the road.At a rally in east London on Wednesday evening, Johnson warned wavering voters not to be complacent by trusting polls that predict his Conservative Party will win a majority. Just three miles away, Labour leader Corbyn hosted a rally in which he attacked the media for downplaying Labour’s chance of victory.Must Read: An Hour-by-Hour Guide to the Election ResultsFor more on the election visit ELEC.Coming Up7 a.m. Polls open across the U.K.10 a.m. Evening Standard/Ipsos MORI will publish a poll taken in final days of campaignJohnson and Corbyn vote in their London constituencies10 p.m. Polls close and broadcasters publish an exit poll11 p.m. First results start to come inPollsSurveys carried out before polling day showed a Tory lead, but a narrowing gapSavanta ComRes put the Tories on 41%, Labour on 36%, Liberal Democrats on 12%Survation showed a wider gap, with the Tories on 45% and Labour on 34%, the Liveral Democrats on 9%.Here’s a summary of recent pollsCatching UpBoth Johnson and Corbyn ended their campaigns in East London -- Johnson in the Olympic Park to remind voters of his success in delivering the 2012 Games as mayor of LondonCorbyn said Labour is set for victory in Thursday’s election and that the British media was both downplaying and hurting his party’s chancesJohnson was once again accused of ducking questions after he avoided an impromptu interview by going into a walk-in fridge while out campaigningLabour’s economy spokesman John McDonnell said the party could yet deliver a surprise majority on ThursdayEuropean Union officials privately said they want Johnson’s Tories to win, to end the Brexit limboJohnson warned there was a real risk of a hung parliament againThe MarketsThe pound traded up 0.10% at 1.3208 per dollar at 06:30 a.m. ThursdayThe Conservatives go into election day with a 73% chance of an overall majority, according to Betfair, while the likelihood of a hung Parliament stands at 28%.\--With assistance from Peter Flanagan and Greg Ritchie.To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Adveith Nair, Adam BlenfordFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:01:54 -0500
Israelis contend with reality of third straight election
Legislators passed a motion earlier to hold elections on March 2, hours after the deadline to form a coalition government expired. As in each previous round, the largest parties, Likud and Blue and White, blamed each other for the impasse and tried setting the narrative for what is likely to be a grueling and caustic campaign. Israel has been mired in political deadlock for months, after two inconclusive elections and failed attempts by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival, former army chief Benny Gantz, to cobble together coalition governments. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:49:55 -0500
The Trump (and Brexit) World Trade Disorganization
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- This week, a core function of the World Trade Organization — founded in 1995 to govern the rules of trade between 164 countries — ground to a halt.The reason for that was U.S. President Donald Trump, who has never really had much time for multilateral institutions. The WTO has been on his hit-list for some time as an entity that he says has taken advantage of the U.S. and favored China, and now he has successfully moved to paralyze one of its most critical mechanisms: Dispute settlement. After repeatedly blocking new appointments to the seven-member body that decides on appeals at the WTO, the Trump administration has rendered it basically unworkable. Without an effective appeals process, why file a complaint at all?You could forgive the average person on the street for shrugging their shoulders at the thought of a dysfunctional WTO, which over the past two decades has had its fair share of messy moments. Negotiations in 2001 to lower trade tariffs around the world, called the Doha round, went nowhere. China’s entry into the club has neither opened up its economy, nor created a level playing field when it comes to potentially market-distorting subsidies. And as for the appeals process, the WTO’s most famous recent case — Airbus versus Boeing — has lasted 15 years without a clear winner. In 2016, Airbus’s boss at the time said the spat had only really benefited “the armies of lawyers” paid to fight it.All that said, there is a real and serious significance to the gridlock. Whatever the WTO’s flaws, and the obvious need for reform, Trump’s campaign has moved beyond constructive criticism and into assault. His weapon of choice is the punitive tariff and his target of choice is China, creating precisely the kind of bilateral trade war that the WTO works to avoid. Indeed, for all of the WTO’s failures to rein in China or deliver tariff agreements, its chief success has been convincing members to stick to a common legal framework rather than fight trade wars. Ralph Ossa, a professor at the University of Zurich, estimated in 2015 that this success was worth $340 billion annually to the world economy.Couple this with the impending departure of the U.K. from the European Union, which would create new potential barriers between Britain and its biggest trading partner, and this is a true milestone in the backlash against the post-Cold War order. That reaction may be justified in some areas, considering globalization’s legacy on workers’ rights and fair trade, but promising voters a better “deal” by wielding trade policy like a weapon can easily backfire. Trump’s lofty promises to fight trade cheats and currency manipulators have also resulted in a shrinking U.S. manufacturing sector. And across the Atlantic, the Conservatives’ promise to “get Brexit done” has saddled the U.K. with divorce papers that give it barely a year to negotiate a new trade deal with an EU eager to defend its market and economic interests. As world trade shifts from organization to disorganization, what is key is the response from actors like the EU and countries in Asia. It’s vital that Europe builds and improves on multilateral institutions. It’s likely the EU will keep finding itself in Trump’s cross-hairs, and the bloc is not in a position to engage in a prolonged trade war with the U.S. without serious internal disunity. Academics in France, Japan and Canada have proposed a “Euro Pacific Partnership” covering 40% of world trade that would defend multilateral dispute settlement at the WTO while also taking a tough line on enforcing intellectual property, government subsidy, human rights and data-transfer rules. Trump’s actions have made initiatives like this more likely: An EU backup plan that would create a way to keep on settling international trade disputes without the U.S. has gained support from Canada, Norway and now China.The alternative is, as plenty of trade officials have noted, the law of the jungle. That might suit Trump -- a self-styled "tariff man" \-- just fine. But everyone else should worry.To contact the author of this story: Lionel Laurent at llaurent2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. He previously worked at Reuters and Forbes.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P. Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:30:00 -0500
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