EQ Weekly Roundup 5-12-18

This week’s roundup includes news that the government has suffered major setbacks on getting its Brexit deal through parliament, Ryanair could be punished for not compensating passengers and China has vowed quick action in its ongoing trade war with the US.

This week’s roundup includes news that the government has suffered major setbacks on getting its Brexit deal through parliament, Ryanair could be punished for not compensating passengers and China has vowed quick action in its ongoing trade war with the US.

May’s Brexit deal hangs in the balance

Parliament continues to debate Theresa May’s controversial Brexit deal after the government lost three major votes earlier in the week.

With the Prime Minister hoping to see her deal gain support, MPs instead voted to hold ministers ‘in contempt’ of parliament for refusing to publish the full legal advice on the deal.

Westminster will continue to debate the deal this week but after losing three votes, from parties including Labour and the DUP, the government is facing considerable opposition.

Crucially, MPs have backed calls to give them a direct say on what happens if May’s deal is rejected next week.

Ryanair facing action over strike compensation

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said it is taking legal action against Ryanair over its refusal to compensate thousands of UK-based customers.

Their flights were cancelled or delayed over the summer because of strikes by Ryanair pilots and cabin crew.

The CAA says they are entitled to compensation under EU law.

However, Ryanair argues the strike action amounts to ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and that therefore, it does not have to pay. More Ryanair passengers have put in compensation claims for cancellations or delays to arbitration this year than any other airline.

China vows quick action on trade promises

Chinese officials have said they are “confident in implementing” trade commitments made to the US “as soon as possible”, without giving details.

An ongoing trade war has seen both countries impose duties on billions of dollars of one another’s goods.

Recently, the US and China paused hostilities after several months of tit-for-tat tariffs, agreeing to halt any new duties for 90 days.

Since the talks, Mr Trump had taken to Twitter with details – but some of the information did not tally with what White House officials were saying.

The confusion has left many wondering whether the talks will succeed in ending a trade war, which many feared would derail the world economy.

Mervyn King: Brexit deal like appeasement

Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has likened Theresa May’s Brexit deal to the appeasement of the Nazis in the 1930s.

The Brexit supporter has written an article calling for the deal to be abandoned, saying it would be an example of the British political class let down the rest of the country.

Lord King wrote it would be ‘madness’ to ‘align the country indefinitely with laws over which it has no influence’ and that a second referendum ‘is vital to escape from this continuing nightmare’.

He also said it was ‘intolerable for the fifth largest economy in the world to continue indefinitely as a fiefdom’, which was what, he said the Brexit deal offered.