Opinion today: Should business accept May’s Brexit deal?

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Theresa May remains in office and just about in power, so the debate goes on about her prospective Brexit deal. Should businesses endorse her plan — staving off the prospect of a messy no-deal exit next March? Or will it end up creating further uncertainty and limiting investment?

In our latest head to head, Norman Blackwell makes the case for Mrs May’s Brexit while Vince Cable argues against it. The chairman of Lloyds Banking Group - and a long term Eurosceptic — says the deal achieves the key objective of leaving the EU while protecting the UK’s economic interests. He acknowledges that it is not ideal, but the alternatives are worse.

The former business secretary and leader of the Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, says the deal leaves all of the key questions unanswered. He thinks that the transition period will create another cliff edge in a couple of years. Instead, Cable argues businesses should say no and back a “People’s Vote"

What do you make of Mrs May’s Brexit deal? Leave a comment on the article. We will publish a selection of the best responses.

Brooke Masters says that a successfully trialled peanut allergy treatment raises concerns over potential costs. Patients would probably have to continue keep taking medication to maintain tolerance levels.

Lloyd Green, an attorney in New York, argues that Republicans are elevating voter suppression to an art form and aren't interested in ensuring that every ballot counts.

Caroline Prendergast of Aviva says her firm shows that equal paid parental leave benefits all workers, giving fathers a fresh perspective while strengthening family life.

Scott Kupor, managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, thinks dual-class share structures should be limited rather than shunned. Companies such as Snap should not be banned from indices. 

What you've been saying

Britain’s lesson in what being a colony means: letter from R Vijayaraghavan, San Jose, CA, US
Theresa May “must change course” on her withdrawal deal, writes Camilla Cavendish, concluding thus: “For while Britain has lost its empire, it was never part of the story that we would become a colony.” Wiser words have not been spoken, but unfortunately these are several centuries late to be of comfort to the millions of people around the world who knew what being a colony meant.

In response to "There is a ‘third way’ for Europe to navigate the digital world", Andrew_W says
The US and Europe have fundamentally different views of technology companies. Simplistically, the US view is glass-half-full, whereas Europe's is glass-half-empty. If European governments and regulators were half as good at encouraging innovation and supporting business as they are at imposing swingeing fines, we would be in a different place.

Let Rees-Mogg and the rest set out their stall: letter from David R Crombie, Cascais, Portugal
Herewith a suggestion: give 10 minutes of air time to each of Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and a few others, to explain precisely the main terms of the deal they would propose to negotiate, and exactly how they would get the agreement of Michel Barnier, Donald Tusk et al. That should expose what is a lot of noise and rubbish.

Today's opinion

Peanut allergy treatment raises concerns over the potential cost
Patients would probably have to keep taking the medication to maintain tolerance levels

Inside Business: Tech titans feel the chill in relations with Beijing
Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu under pressure as soft-touch regulation proves insufficient

Head to Head: Should British business accept Theresa May’s Brexit deal?
A bank executive and a politician lay out arguments for and against the proposal with Brussels

The Republicans are elevating voter suppression to an art form
Ensuring every ballot counts is far from the party’s collective mind

Limit dual-class share structures rather than shun them
Banning groups like Snap and Dropbox from stock indices only hurts ordinary investors

Markets Insight: Risks rise for investors as developed economies falter
Most nations yet to adopt big pro-growth measures, leaving market volatility to reign

Equal paid parental leave benefits all workers, Aviva shows
Dads gain fresh perspective while the insurer sends a positive signal about family life

FT View

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Russia and authoritarian states have been abusing arrest warrants

The FT View: Google has a responsibility to protect DeepMind data
The transfer of the UK health unit to California raises privacy concerns

The Big Read

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