Brexit supporter James Dyson buys Singapore’s largest penthouse flat now company relocated there

Knighted by David Cameron and one of England’s largest landowners …

“Sir James Dyson has bought what is thought to be Singapore’s biggest and most expensive penthouse flat.

The purchase comes after his company, best known for its vacuum cleaners, moved its HQ from the UK to Singapore.

Sir James, a prominent advocate for Brexit who has said leaving the EU with no deal would “make no difference”, was accused of hypocrisy after the move.
The property is at the heart of the city’s business district and spans three floors and has five bedrooms.

Official records show Sir James and his wife Lady Deirdre Dyson are joint tenants of the apartment at the prestigious Wallich Residence.

“Given the decision to locate the headquarters in Singapore and the growing focus of the company’s business in the region, of course James Dyson has bought a property there,” a Dyson spokesperson said in a statement. …

Sir James took ownership of the property in June, the records show.
According to marketing documents, the property is the largest “non-landed residence” in Singapore and has its own swimming pool, jacuzzi room and bar facilities.

Singapore’s Business Times reports Sir James paid $73.8m ($54m, £43m) for the “super penthouse”, which has views of the city’s Marina Bay Sands and the financial district. …

Most of Dyson’s products are designed in the UK, but manufactured in Asia.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48932334

Blast from the past … Carter fishing quotas

Reminded of this today – wonder what the current situation is?

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2018/10/17/uk-fish-quotas-and-the-carters-of-greendale-anyone-remember-this/

“UK builders suffer worst monthly decline in a decade”

Owl says: time to stimulate sales with price drops, perhaps? Bringing that profit-per-house at Persimmon down from £77,000 to, say, £27,000 would certainly bring a lot of buyers in! Of course, then there would be no masdive director bonuses, so guess that’s a non-starter (home).

“Britain’s construction sector suffered as “sharp drop in momentum” last month, says data firm Markit.

In a very worrying healthcheck on the construction sector, Markit has found that business activity and incoming new work both fell at the fastest pace for just over 10 years.

Housebuilding, commercial construction and big civil engineering work all contracted during the month — a bad sign for the whole construction sector.

Builders across the country blamed “risk aversion among clients in response to heightened political and economic uncertainty.”

That suggests people are simply unwilling to take risks while they don’t know how the Brexit crisis will be resolved.

This has dragged the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index down to just 43.1 in June, down sharply from 48.6 in May. Any reading below 50 shows a contraction, and this shows the steepest reduction in overall construction output since April 2009.” …

UK builders also reported that new orders dropped at the fastest rate in over 10 years, while demand for construction products and materials fell at the sharpest pace since the start of 2010.”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2019/jul/02/london-house-prices-fall-brexit-slowdown-construction-pmi-business-live?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Top two Tory PM candidates are private landlords

” … Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid (ousted from contest), and Jeremy Hunt – are moonlighting as landlords, and it shows.

We’ve now had two televised debates and housing has barely had a look in. While the outgoing Prime Minister has said she considers “solving the housing crisis is the biggest domestic policy challenge of our generation”, the candidates to replace her seem unphased by it. …

There has been no mention of social housing, nobody has outlined their plan for Generation Rent, one in three of whom will be renting from cradle to grave, and our growing population of pensioner renters has received zero mentions. Listening to them, you would be forgiven for thinking house prices and rents weren’t rising faster than wages. …

Housing inequality certainly played a part in Brexit and, as Conservative think tank Onward highlighted in 2018, by the time of the next election, there will be 253 constituencies where more than 20 per cent of voters are renters. That’s an increase from just 18 at the 2001 election. And they are not voting Tory.

Coming up with a comprehensive strategy for the housing crisis and set of policies to back it up would take time but, at the very least, it would be good to see the social catastrophe that is unaffordable housing acknowledged by the men who want to be the next Prime Minister. …”

At least three of the Tory leadership contenders are moonlighting as landlords, and it shows

New Tory PM: East Devon: posh boy for Raab (hard Brexit) farmer for Gove pro-farmer Brexit)

No surprises there, then. But what about the rest of us?

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/neil-parish-backs-gove-over-2927618

Tory hopeful talks about the effects of WTO rules with no deal

Hugo’s pick Raab is for crashing out under WTO rules. Here’s Tory hopeful Rory Stewart on what that means in practice.

Mmmm … cheaper milk from the US and cheaper beef from Argentias … cheaper cars from Japan … sounds good until you realise we have to export milk, beef and cars into the EU with massive tariffs!

https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=336022023737403&_rdr

“Government spends almost £100m on Brexit consultants”

Owl says: When people such as “Failing Grayling” (chaos in all departments he has run, the latest being transport) and Swire’s choice for PM Dominic Raab (the Brexit Minister who didn’t realise how much traffic to and from the EU goes through Dover) in charge – was it money well spent?

And how come these consultants had all the experts and the civil service didn’t?

“… The vast bulk (96%) of the Brexit consultancy expenditure under Cabinet Office arrangements – which accounts for £65m of the £97m total – has so far been handed to six consultancy companies: Deloitte, PA Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Ernst & Young, Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group.

Five departments: the Cabinet Office, Home Office, Border Delivery Group, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, account for the majority of spending via the Cabinet Office. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/29/government-spends-almost-100m-brexit-consultants

Swire’s choice for PM – a match made in …

Seems like a great fit for Swire!

“If MPs did block Boris, Mr Raab could prove popular with the Tory membership – a group of 160,000 true-bluers who’ll pick from two choices to choose our next PM.

So who is the MP, and why has he stirred controversy?

He sparked fury in 2017 by saying most food bank users are not “languishing in poverty”. When a disability activist told him “people are dying” under Tory austerity, he described her calls for cash as a “childish wish list”.

He branded feminists “obnoxious bigots”. And he put out a pamphlet in 2011 that suggested exempting small firms from minimum wage laws for workers under 21.

Here’s a profile – and 15 things you should probably know.

Former grammar school boy Mr Raab, now 45, was born to a Czech Jewish father who fled to Britain as a refugee before the Second World War.

The Oxford and Cambridge graduate was a City lawyer with Linklaters before joining the Foreign Office in 2000, helping bring war criminals to justice in The Hague.

He once found himself defending Tony Blair from being summoned to the international criminal court while working on the trial of Slobodan Milosevic.

He left the civil service for hard politics in 2006 becoming chief of staff to Tory shadow home secretary David Davis.

He was elected MP for Esher and Walton in 2010 and joined government in 2015, quickly rising through the ranks.

During his time as a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice, Mr Raab tried to get prisoners with sentences of longer than a year deported.

He also led debates against a European Court of Justice decision giving at least some prisoners the right to vote.

In July 2018 he replaced David Davis as Brexit Secretary – probably the most crucial and stressful job in government.

But he lasted just five months in the role, resigning in November 2018 in protest of Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

He stepped down just hours after Theresa May published her 585-page Brexit deal, accusing the Prime Minister of betraying “public trust”.

He lives in Thames Ditton, Surrey, with his wife Erika and two sons Peter and Joshua and his heroes include right-wing US President Ronald Reagan and Gandhi.

15 things you should probably know (see article for details)

1. He’d crash us out with No Deal
2. He didn’t rule out working with Farage
3. He wants MORE government cuts
4. He became Brexit Secretary without realising how important Dover is
5. And he didn’t read the full Good Friday Agreement either
6. He’s raised the idea of a Brexit tax haven
7. He said foodbank users aren’t ‘languishing in poverty’
8. He branded calls for NHS cash a ‘childish wish list’
9. He had some worrying views on workers’ rights
10. He branded feminists ‘obnoxious bigots’
11. He was in a Facebook group calling for NHS privatisation
12. He branded Brits ‘the worst idlers in the world’
13. He got embroiled in a row about housing stats
14. He revealed he had faced a claim of bullying, which he added was ‘false’ and ‘unsubstantiated’
15. And of course, there’s his diary secretary – with her clams about his lunch

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/who-dominic-raab-tory-leadership-12882420

Local Tories did NOT lose control of EDDC because of Brexit!

How does Owl know this?

Because the 31 Independents elected on Thursday did not mention Brexit at all when appealing to voters to vote for them!

VERY easy to blame national politics for local losses … no – you lost because you put your party (and your party’s donors) before your district.

Never mind, you have 4 years to work out what to do next time!

“Government ferry contracts for no-deal Brexit to be cancelled costing £50 million”

The party of efficiency and business?

And Swire thinks they are the best party to sort out a climate emergency by leaving it to “the market”!

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/breaking-government-ferry-contracts-no-14978107

How did Swire and Parish vote this evening?

Swire voted against all options.

Parish voted against customs union, confirmatory referendum and parliamentary supremacy and abstained on Common Market 2.0.

“Anti-depressant use higher in Devon than any other region in the UK”

Perhaps Swire and Parish have a view on this?

Austerity?
Poverty?
Inequality?
Universal credit?
Brexit?
Lack of suitable housing?
Education cuts?
All of the above?
All of the above and more?

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/anti-depressant-use-higher-devon-2698261

How did Parish vote on EU last night?

Neil Parish
Voting record on the following Brexit proposals:

For
No-deal: Leaving the EU on 12 April without a deal (John Baron’s proposal – 160 for, 400 against)

Did not vote
Common Market 2.0: Remaining in the European single market and seeking a temporary customs union with the EU (Nick Boles’ proposal – 188 for, 283 against)

For
EFTA and EEA: Remaining in the European single market but not forming a customs union with the EU (George Eustice’s proposal – 65 for, 377 against)

Against
Customs union: Seeking a UK-wide customs union with the EU (Ken Clarke’s proposal – 264 for, 272 against)

Against
Labour’s alternative plan: Negotiating changes to the withdrawal agreement so that it includes protections to workers’ rights, a permanent customs union, and close alignment to the single market (Jeremy Corbyn’s proposal – 237 for, 307 against)

Against
Revoke Article 50: Cancelling Brexit if the UK gets within days of leaving the EU without a deal (Joanna Cherry’s proposal – 184 for, 293 against)

Against
Second referendum: Holding another public vote to confirm any withdrawal agreement agreed by Parliament (Margaret Beckett’s proposal – 268 for, 295 against)

For
Standstill arrangement: Seeking a tariff-free trade agreement with the EU that will last for two years, during which time Britain will contribute to the EU budget (Marcus Fysh’s proposal – 139 for, 422 against)

How did Swire vote on EU last night?

Sir Hugo Swire
Voting record on the following Brexit proposals:

Against
No-deal: Leaving the EU on 12 April without a deal (John Baron’s proposal – 160 for, 400 against)

Against
Common Market 2.0: Remaining in the European single market and seeking a temporary customs union with the EU (Nick Boles’ proposal – 188 for, 283 against)

Against
EFTA and EEA: Remaining in the European single market but not forming a customs union with the EU (George Eustice’s proposal – 65 for, 377 against)

Against
Customs union: Seeking a UK-wide customs union with the EU (Ken Clarke’s proposal – 264 for, 272 against)

Against
Labour’s alternative plan: Negotiating changes to the withdrawal agreement so that it includes protections to workers’ rights, a permanent customs union, and close alignment to the single market (Jeremy Corbyn’s proposal – 237 for, 307 against)

Against
Revoke Article 50: Cancelling Brexit if the UK gets within days of leaving the EU without a deal (Joanna Cherry’s proposal – 184 for, 293 against)

Against
Second referendum: Holding another public vote to confirm any withdrawal agreement agreed by Parliament (Margaret Beckett’s proposal – 268 for, 295 against)

Did not vote
Standstill arrangement: Seeking a tariff-free trade agreement with the EU that will last for two years, during which time Britain will contribute to the EU budget (Marcus Fysh’s proposal – 139 for, 422 against)

“Official Brexit rural impact report includes phrase: ‘we are f*****’ “

“An official report on the impact Brexit will have on rural Scotland includes the quote: “We are f*****,” it has emerged.

A document published by Scottish Rural Action (SRA) featured a side banner on page four carrying the statement.

It was one of a number of banners attributed to participants in a workshop which asked them to imagine what newspaper headlines they might expect to see after the UK leaves the EU.

Amanda Burgauer, SRA chairwoman, said the exercise had been used as an “icebreaker” and that several of the participants used “earthy language” in describing their feelings towards Brexit.

The comments are only explained on the following page, saying they had been put forward by those taking part in the workshop event.

Ms Burgauer said she would flag up the “design and layout” issue with the SRA design team. …”

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/official-report-brexits-impact-rural-scotland-phrase-we-are-f-a4095061.html

“Jacob Rees-Mogg ‘has earned £7,000,000 from investments since Brexit’

Isn’t the (dormant) company that Swire owns with his Russian oligarch-serving pal Lord Barker set up to invest in “emerging markets”?

Wouldn’t it be super if profits MPs made while in Parliament had to go to their constituencies!

“The rest of Britain might be fretting about the impact of a no-deal Brexit, but leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg is doing very nicely, thanks. An investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches found that the Conservative MP could have earned up to £7,000,000 from Somerset Capital Managment, which invests in emerging markets such as China and Russsia. In the programme, one expert suggests that the fall in the value of the pound has helped to drive SCM’s profits – but Rees-Mogg dismissed such claims as ‘living in cloud cuckoo land’.

Rees-Mogg refused to disclose his earnings from the firm, of which he owns 15% and which he set up in 2007. Records show that its profits have doubled and it has paid £47m to members since the referendum. Rees-Mogg told Dispatches, ‘The amount that I received is not for public disclosure. I’m entitled to the same privacy in my affairs as anyone else in parliament is.

Mr Rees-Mogg declares in his House of Commons Register of Interests that he is paid £500 an hour for his work at SCM and takes home around £15,000 a month on top of his MPs salary. SCM invests in emerging markets like China and Russia and one expert said that the fall in the value of the pound since the referendum result has helped SCM’s profits. Rees-Mogg also rejected claims that SCM’s decision in the past year to open two new funds in Dublin rather than London had anything to with Brexit.

Our decision to do it predates Brexit,’ he told the programme. Dispatches also revealed how some hedge funds have built up huge bets against British business and hoping to make big profits if the economy hits the rocks after Brexit.

Dispatches reveals that the US investment firm Blackrock holds the most bets against British business totalling more than £1bn. The hedge fund run by leading Brexiteer Crispin Odey is betting almost £500m against British businesses. Odey made more than £200m on the night of the referendum by betting that the value of the pound would plummet.”

https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/11/jacob-rees-mogg-earned-7000000-investments-since-brexit-8884678/

People now shopping for “needs” not “wants”

… “Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: ‘While real incomes have been rising over the last year, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit appears to be driving a needs-not-wants approach to shopping…. “

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-6789495/Number-people-visiting-shops-falls-five-year-low-amid-Brexit-jitters.html

No Brexit problems for Rees-Mogg

“Profits in Jacob Rees-Mogg’s investment empire are soaring and more than doubled in the last four years, a TV investigation will show tomorrow.

A Channel 4 Dispatches programme will highlight the surging fortunes of Somerset Capital Management LLP, a firm co-founded and co-owned by the Tory hard Brexiteer.

SCM’s publicly-available accounts show its operating profit rose from £14.7m in the year to March 2015, to £18.3m in 2016, £27.8m in 2017 and £34.1m in 2018.

Meanwhile the profits available for distribution among members have risen from £11.5m in 2015 to £14.4m in 2016, £21.9m in 2017 and £25.3m in 2018. …”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/profits-jacob-rees-moggs-investment-14114954