N o. 7 9 T H E M A G A Z I N E BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY N OV 1 9 TRAVEL The hammams that define LIVING Marrakech’s world-famous spa scene Is your home making you ill? Meet FOOD & BOOZE the hypoallergenic housebuilders Rapper and YouTube star MY DAD WROTE A PORNO’S ALICE LEVINE Michael Dapaah Top chef James Lowe invites podcaster and DJ Alice for lunch at his new restaurant Flor on why he’d order a gold steak STARS & RACING STRIPES THE MAGAZINE OUR for his last meal LATEST ISSUE HITS WHY FORMULA ONE NEEDS THE CITY’S STREETS AMERICAN SUCCESS P26 THIS THURSDAY WEDNESDAY 30 OCTOBER 2019 ISSUE 3,489 CITYAM.COM FREE voteactually MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM WESTMINSTER — ELECTION ON 12 DECEMBER JeremyCorbyn BorisJohnson NigelFarage NicolaSturgeon JoSwinson CarolineLucas CATHERINE NEILAN that is “ready to be approved by a new about the prospect of an imminent solid lead. second referendum on the terms. parliament”. showdown, with Labour MPs thought The election may act as a proxy for Last night Corbyn said: “A Labour @CatNeilan “There is only one way to get Brexit to be particularly nervous. Some 11 of a second referendum, with Johnson government will be on your side; PARLIAMENT finally gave the go- done in the face of relentless parlia- the 20 that voted against the election hoping to secure a majority that will while Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, ahead for a General Election last mentary obstructionism… and that is were Labour MPs while more than allow him to ratify his deal early in who think they’re born to rule, will night, set for 12 December. to refresh this parliament and give 100 abstained. January. only look after the privileged few.” Parties are today gearing up for a people a new choice.” The Conservatives’ current strategy The Liberal Democrats have said if Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo bruising battle ahead of the first After refusing to back an election in is also expected to be predicated on they secure an outright majority they Swinson said: “This General Election December election since 1923, with three previous votes, Jeremy Corbyn switching pro-Leave, traditionally will overturn the 2016 referendum will decide the future of our country parliament’s last sitting on Guy seemed to bow to the inevitable and Labour seats. result and revoke Article 50. for generations. It is our best chance Fawkes’ Night. responded by saying Labour would The NHS is likely to come under sea- But Labour is expected to press its to elect a government to stop Brexit.” As he asked MPs to back him, Boris back an election to get rid of a “reck- sonal pressure in the run-up to the case “for the many, not the few”, The election is expected to be Johnson bemoaned the “paralysis” less” government and pledged to election, and the Tories could be focusing on austerity rather than signed off by the House of Lords later that was preventing any progress campaign “all over the country”. squeezed both by Liberal Democrats Brexit. The party’s position, agreed at today. within the Commons, arguing he had However, backbenchers in both and the Brexit Party. last month’s conference, is to secure secured a new Brexit deal with the EU parties are understood to be uneasy Polls do, however, give the Tories a a new Brexit deal, then allow a £ ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: P2-3 FTSE 100 ▼ 7,306.26 -25.02 FTSE 250 ▼ 20,168.33 -41.83 DOW ▼ 27,071.46 -19.26 NASDAQ ▼ 8,276.55 -49.13 £/$ 1.286 unc. £/€ 1.158 unc. €/$ ▲ 1.111 +0.001 02 NEWS WEDNESDAY 30 OCTOBER 2019 CITYAM.COM STATE OF PLAY IN THE POLLS PARTY POLLING Conservative Labour Lib Dems Brexit Party Source: YouGov Recent polling indicates the Conservative party has a comfortable lead over Labour, with the Liberal Democrats close behind. THE CITY VIEW 40 35 30 The real question is: 25 20 socialism, yes or no? 15 10 HREE and a half years after the Brexit referendum and two 5 and a half years since the last General Election, voters will 0 be invited back to the polling booths on 12 December to T 6 Jun 10 July 6 Aug 10 Sep 15 Oct shake the parliamentary snow globe once again. An election isn’t required by law until May 2022 — imagine that — but the Brexit process has ground this current parliament to a PREFERRED PRIME MINISTER POLLING standstill, and so the wisdom of the electorate is once again Boris Johnson consistently polls more than 20 per cent better than opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn in the polls required and the run-up to your Christmas this year will feature 45 some additional baubles. Alongside present-buying, office parties 40 and carol concerts we can expect campaign tours around 35 Christmas markets, party activists pounding the icy pavements, a sleigh full of policy pledges and maybe even a festive TV debate. 30 There hasn’t been a December General Election since 1923 and 25 yesterday a number of MPs opposed to the idea claimed it was too much to expect voters to contend with the cold and the dark. 20 Let’s hope pro-democracy campaigners in Hong Kong and other 15 troubled corners of the globe didn’t hear these pathetic protests. 10 And so, as nativity plays get rearranged around an election date, the unusual characteristics of this poll will give way to the more 5 recognisable features of political campaigns: politicians criss- 0 crossing the country, pleading for your vote and offering Opinium YouGov Opinium YouGov competing visions for the future. The Liberal Democrats, the 24-25 Oct 19-21 Oct 15-17 Oct 14-15 Oct Brexit Party and the Scottish Nationalists are, in this campaign, single issue parties, fired up by a pro- or anti-Brexit stance. They each have the power to inflict losses on the two main parties and their impact is fiendishly tricky to model. Nigel Farage certainly City sends its policy wishlist has the potential to deny the Tories victory in a number of crucial seats — as do the Lib Dems for Labour. But for all the machinations and inevitable black swans that power the twists and turns of election campaigns, the real battle will be between ahead of pre-Christmas vote Labour and the Conservatives. Neither will be able to avoid Brexit (indeed, Boris Johnson will be campaigning on a deal he’s just secured) but what’s at stake here is bigger than the manner of SEBASTIAN MCCARTHY scope for tax cuts. But if there are tax confidence and damage our reputa- our departure from the EU. When you boil it all down, Johnson is @SebMcCarthy cuts, they should focus on business tion as a place to invest,” he said. a free-market liberal, leading a party that believes in private rates to help hard pressed retailers.” Jasmine Whitbread, head of trade SOME of the City’s loudest voices have Helen Dickinson, chief executive of group London First, said the govern- enterprise as the foundation for economic growth and the told City A.M. what policies they’d like the British Retail Consortium agreed, ment needs to focus on four areas: delivery of public services, while Jeremy Corbyn is a radical to see in party manifestos. saying the taxes on brick-and-mortar “On connectivity, the next govern- Marxist socialist and will campaign on the most left-wing, high Edi Truell, a financier and former retailers “remain the biggest driver of ment must commit to investing at tax, high spending manifesto seen in decades. When you look pensions adviser to Boris Johnson dur- store closures and job losses in the in- least 1.2 per cent of GDP each year on ing his City Hall tenure, said: “I’d like dustry. The next government should infrastructure. On immigration, it beyond the decorations that will adorn this Christmas election, to see a radical simplification of the scrap ‘downwards transition’, which should set the salary threshold at the central question really is whether this country wishes to pension system. Inland revenue al- forces retailers to pay £1.3bn more around £20,000 so London can retain embrace socialism. ways come up with silly reasons why than they owe over five years.” and attract the workforce it needs. On they want to make it so byzantine. It’s Adam Marshall, boss of the British housing, we need to see a commit- also controversial but I would actually Chambers of Commerce, wanted any ment to more public money, invest- stop pensions tax relief.” incoming government to urgently ment and land, and better ways of Ruth Lea, an economist and adviser recommit to delivering both HS2 and building, including a review of the to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, the third runway at Heathrow. Green Belt; and on tax, annual re- added: “Given the state of the public “Any move to row back from these views of business rates and greater Follow us on Twitter @cityam finances there is probably limited decisions would undermine business local flexibility around reliefs.” FINANCIAL TIMES WHAT THE THE TIMES THE DAILY TELEGRAPH THE WALL STREET JOURNAL FIAT AND PEUGEOT PARENT BROTHERS WANTED IN ESSEX US OPIOID CRISIS PRESENTS HOUSE PANELS HEAR ABOUT PSA IN TALKS OF A MERGER OTHER LORRY DEATHS SEARCH PROBLEM FOR UK INSURERS TRUMP’S UKRAINE CALL The owner of French car maker Peugeot A convicted cigarette smuggler and his City insurers are braced for a wave of US House committees heard testimony is in talks with rival Fiat Chrysler PAPERS SAY brother are wanted by police in legal battles over the $50bn (£39bn) US yesterday from an official who listened Automobiles (FCA) about a deal to THIS connection with the deaths of 39 opioid crisis — sparking bitter in on the pivotal 25 July call between US merge with the Italian-American group migrants whose bodies were found in a memories of the asbestos pay-outs President Donald Trump and his and create a company with shares MORNING refrigerated lorry in Essex.