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Morning,
So it’s official. The stats are here, the verdict is in.
The economy did not crash within weeks of the Brexit vote.
Those wildly celebrating boom-time Britain this morning would be wise to remember we have not actually started the process of leaving the EU yet, and already the pound has collapsed and inflation is on the rise.
But yesterday’s not-too-bad-thanks GDP figures put a spring in the step of Theresa May’s Government - and were swiftly followed by the announcement from Nissan that it is expanding production at its iconic car plant in Sunderland.
Debates will continue about exactly what written assurances Mrs May and her Ministers offered the Japanese car giant to prevent it abandoning the investment plan.
On Question Time last night Business Secretary Greg Clark – who made two whistlestop trips to Japan to secure the deal – insisted there was “no chequebook” involved.
Whatever the truth, we should probably be grateful that Mrs May appears a little more willing to support British industry than David Cameron, who stood by and watched as the Redcar steel plant went up in flames.
The new Prime Minister has another opportunity today to show she cares about more than just an elite bunch at the top of society.
One of her own MPs, Bob Blackman, brings a Private Member’s Bill before the House of Commons which aims to shake-up the way we deal with homelessness in this country.
He wants a new legal duty on councils to prevent homelessness regardless of a person’s circumstances. It would stop town halls ignoring vulnerable people who fall outside of legally-defined ‘priority’ cases.
The housing charity Crisis says it would dramatically reduce rough sleeping at a stroke.
However given the horrific cuts sustained by local government since 2010, the suspicion must be that they would also need some timely investment from the Treasury.
The response of Mrs May’s Minister in the Commons this afternoon will be telling.
Meanwhile across the pond there are now just 11 days left until America goes to the polls in what is surely the highest-stakes election in living memory.
Hillary Clinton is unleashing the big guns - and they do not come much more effective than Michelle Obama, whose popularity ratings have long out-shone her husband’s.
Watch her sensational speech last night to a crowd in the crucial swing state of North Carolina here.
If you want to get in touch my email is jack.blanchard@mirror.co.uk and you can follow us @mirrorpolitics on Twitter.
Thanks,
Mirror Politics |
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