Corbyn will tax biggest tech firms to subsidise BBC licence fee
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will call for a windfall tax on technology giants such as Facebook, Google and Amazon, in order to subsidise the TV license fee provided UK viewers.
The Labour leader argues that “few tech giants and unaccountable billionaires will control huge swathes of our public space and debate” unless action is taken. This would subsidise the license fee, as well as further support public interest journalism the likes of which is provided by the BBC.
Conservatives have come back with the party line in response to Corbyn’s calls for higher taxes, saying that this will hit taxpayers in the pocket.
Britain won’t have tit for tat trade battle because of No Deal Brexit
Brexit secretary Dominic Raab said in a speech today that Britain will not trigger a trade battle with the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit, insisting that the government will aim to “facilitate the smooth, continued functioning” of trade and transport.
In a week which has seen an increase in the level of conversation around a possible ‘no deal’ scenario, Raab will pledge today that in the event that the UK does not reach a trade deal with Brussels, new border checks and travel restrictions will not be put in place as a response, though this relates to the short term strategy after leaving the EU.
But it could affect EU bank accounts…
Britons in the EU could lose access to their bank accounts in the event of a no deal Brexit, the Guardian reports. In the first of a series of ‘technical notices’ to be issued,laying out the government’s contingency plans for a no deal Brexit, there is a warning for businesses that many bank customers “may lose the ability to access lending and deposit services, and insurance contracts”.
Key dates in the run up to Brexit
The Independent has a good run down of the key dates leading up to Britain leaving the UK in March 2019, including the key EU summits which serve as the last chance to strike a deal.
The rundown is as follows:
4 September 2018: House of Commons returns
15-18 September 2018: Liberal Democrat conference
23-26 September 2018: Labour conference
30 September – 3 October 2018: Conservative conference
18-19 October 2018: EU summit
November 2018: Potential Emergency EU summit, if no deal has been reached yet
13-14 December 2018: EU summit
November 2018 – January 2019: UK could vote on Brexit deal
March 2019 – Final EU summit and Britain leaves the EU
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