Davos 2019: Philip Hammond and Mark Carney on Brexit

The chancellor spoke about Brexit and business in Davos today

Has politicians’ love for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum cooled? (EPA)

As day three of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos gets started, Philip Hammond has arrived, telling delegates at the gathering that Britain “is a great place to do business”.

The chancellor has also announced a £100m investment in UK technology, with the money going towards 1,000 new PhD places to promote research into artificial intelligence.

Mr Hammond will speak at a CBI event in Davos later today.

Meanwhile, female leadership will be under the microscope this morning, with speakers including Procter & Gamble exec Carolyn Tastad and Lithuania’s president, Dalia Grybauskaitė.

For all the latest news from Davos, follow our liveblog

Key Points

• Philip Hammond unveils £100m investment in UK tech research
• Brexit the focus of several panels on the agenda
• Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar also appearing at the summit today

[24 January 2019 08:43 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Philip Hammond is on the bill today ,and will use his appearance at Davos to unveil a £100m investment in UK tech research.

He is also set to sell Britain as a business destination, and will tell delegates: “Britain is a great place to do business. And we are determined, as we leave the EU, to make sure it remains that way.

“We are leading the way in the tech revolution. I want to ensure we remain the standard bearer, so we must invest in our new economy so that it can adapt and remain competitive.

“We are backing British innovation to help create growth, more jobs and higher living standards.”

Mr Hammond’s comments come days after Dyson revealed it was moving its headquarters from the UK to Singapore, while Sony said it would relocate its European HQ from London to the Netherlands.

[24 January 2019 09:23 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Tony Blair has popped up at Davos, calling for a second referendum on Brexit.

The former prime minister said Brexit is a “complete mess” and a new vote would be the “sensible” thing to do at this stage.

“You’ve got a Brexit that’s pointless, and one that’s painful. The choice is not a good one,” he said.

[24 January 2019 10:01 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is onstage right now, speaking to other European leaders about “the new impetus for Europe”.

Europe’s influence on the world is diminishing, with economic power moving to the east, he says.

The key is for European countries to “stick together”.

Mr Varadkar is joined onstage by Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, Polish leader Mateusz Morawiecki, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Ana Botin, executive chairman of Santander.

[24 January 2019 10:03 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Philip Hammond was supposed to be on the panel alongside the Irish leader, but cancelled his appearance at the last minute, the FT reports. 

[24 January 2019 10:27 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Varadkar notes he got “more than halfway through the panel before anybody mentioned tax or Brexit”.

He is facing questions on Ireland’s approach to taxing the tech companies that operate in the country.  Ireland has come under fire in recent years for its tax arrangements for firms such as Apple, which was previously paying a corporate tax rate of just 1 per cent.

“I think big companies should pay their taxes… and should pay them where they are owed,” he says.

“We no longer tolerate stateless corporations, we’re forever closing loopholes.”

However, he does not want to apply a digital tax, as this would unfairly fall on the place where turnover is generated, rather than where value is created.

[24 January 2019 10:43 · Caitlin.Morrison]

UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is "losing the race" on climate change.

Speaking from Davos, he said: “Climate change is the defining issue of our time. We are losing the race. It is absolutely central to reverse this trend."

Guterres called for global governments to make commitments beyond the Paris accord, which he says does not do enough.

“If what we agreed in Paris would be materialised, the temperature would rise more than 3.0 degrees (Celsius),” he said.

[24 January 2019 12:11 · Caitlin.Morrison]

Mark Carney has put in an appearance at the WEF summit, where he answered questions about business’ preparations for Brexit.

“There are a series of logistical issues that need to be solved, and it’s quite transparent that in many cases they’re not,” he said.

“There is a limited amount that many businesses can do to prepare if there are going to be substantial delays on the logistical side.”

The Bank of England boss also pointed out that companies can only do so much to prepare.

“If you’re a car plant that relies on… 40 18-wheelers coming through Dover a day, and they have to show up within minutes of each other in order to meet the just-in-time requirements of the plant - you can’t stack things up all over Wales in order to ensure that you can continue to run it for months. That’s just a reality.”

[24 January 2019 15:23 · Caitlin.Morrison]

A warning from Davos: Barclays boss Jes Staley says it’s “more than likely” there will be another financial crisis, but also thinks that this time around, “the banks will be the buffer, as opposed to the cause”.

Staley also weighed in on Brexit.

“There is no question there has been an economic cost paid by UK consumers as this uncertainty has been going for so long,” he told Bloomberg TV. “There are going to be shocks if indeed there is hard Brexit, and I don’t think that would be constructive, either for the EU or the UK.”