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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11233192" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="charlie-mullins">Charlie Mullins</keyword>' company <keyword id="11233193" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pimlico-plumbers">Pimlico Plumbers</keyword> has worked hard to bring its people back to the office.</li><li>He says <keyword id="1384155" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WFH">WFH</keyword> has only succeeded because of relationships established "pre-pandemic, face-to-face."</li><li>"The word 'company' is used to describe a business for a reason," he writes in this op-ed.</li></ul><ul class="summary-list"></ul><p>Since the beginning of the pandemic, many have had no choice but to <keyword id="123591" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Work-from-home">work from home</keyword> as governments ordered lockdowns to combat COVID-19.</p><p>But this was followed by a huge effort from the corporate world to promote home working as the model for the future, and that seemed pretty bonkers.</p><p>It should have been clear that isolating staff from each other's energy was not going to be good for businesses or the mental health of their people. </p><p>It's remarkable just how many business leaders were sucked in by the fable that video calls would replace the human interaction needed for a successful company to thrive.</p><p>The UK's chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak pointed out recently, home working is no substitute for an office with "people riffing off each other." </p><p>Expecting teams of people, isolated from each other at home, to generate the kind of creativity they were capable of when they could bounce ideas off each other was always a hare-brained notion. </p><p>I think companies have only managed to get away with working from home this long because of the working relationships that were forged in the pre-pandemic, face-to-face days.</p><p>I can only imagine how difficult it would be to get people who have never met to pull together to achieve a common business goal. The word "company" is used to describe a business for a reason.</p><p>My company, Pimlico Plumbers, needed to develop safe ways for people to work together from the get go.</p><p>Instead of changing systems and using technology to allow people to work apart, we thought about how we could use new and existing tools to keep our people working side-by-side. </p><p>Our 300 plumbers had to continue providing a service the UK Government deemed essential. But we've also asked the 125 staff in our central London office to come in whenever restrictions in the UK have allowed them to do so.</p><p>Facilitating this has been more common sense than rocket science. In the past 13 months, we've used literally tonnes of PPE, and gallons of sanitizer. We've worked on social distancing, and brought in fixed and portable thermal scanners and instant COVID tests, to keep people safe, and make them feel safe.</p><p>They must pass through thermal scanners before being admitted to the building at the beginning of their shift. Anyone with a temperature above 37.8 degrees Celsius is not allowed in. Staff are also tested twice a week, and those who feel unwell at any time can request an additional one.</p><p>All non-staff who wish to enter our HQ must first pass a COVID test, including those attending interviews.</p><p>There are also 24 automatic sanitizer stations around the building, particularly in busy areas and near doors. We are lucky to have the space for all workstations to be at least two meters apart.</p><p>In our call center, where staff operate a bit closer to each other, glass screens have been installed between each phone station.</p><p>We have also paid office staff "lockdown bonuses" for their service during tough times, as well as providing them with free meals from the canteen, and parking, for those who wished to drive rather than use public transport.</p><p>Staff morale is as good as it's ever been, and on the balance sheet, Pimlico has just had its best ever financial year, with sales up by 10% for the most recent financial year.</p><p>After the pandemic, it will be business as usual for the most part. Customers, many of whom have had little contact with others, will continue to need reassuring that engineers working in their homes are following safety precautions. So mask-wearing, hand-washing, the use of shoe protectors, sanitizer and gloves will continue.</p><p>But even this isn't a huge shift for us as hygiene has always been important in our often dirty business.</p><p>Post-COVID, there will be some changes to the way some businesses operate but I think that the fundamental shift that many were so enthusiastically heralding will never come about.</p><p>People need people, and screens don't count.</p><p><em>Charlie Mullins is a British businessman, and the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, London's largest independent plumbing company.</em></p>

Working from home isn't the future, it's bonkers. That's why my company asked people to keep coming to the office.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Top UK firms may make the <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword> mandatory for staff, the Financial Times reported.</li><li>Large <keyword id="22917" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Companies">companies</keyword> are considering contracts that require employees to get a shot when they're available, law firms said.</li><li>These companies include multinational businesses, the law firms said.</li></ul><p>Some top UK firms plan to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for staff through "no jab, no job" <keyword id="6355127" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="employment">employment</keyword> contracts, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/965dfaf0-f070-4dae-93a6-28bedbdb75da?emailId=602caa0b888e36000431d25a&amp;segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f227f22">The Financial Times reported</a>.</p><p>Law firms that declined to be named told the FT that businesses, ranging from care-home operators to big multinationals, were considering contracts that require new and current employees to get a vaccine as soon as it is offered to the UK's adult population.</p><p>Pimlico Plumbers, which employs more than 400 people, announced in January a "no jab, no job" policy for new staff members. A spokesperson for the company told Insider that "vaccines are a way out and we have to use them as much as possible."</p><p>Barchester Healthcare, which owns more than 200 care homes in the country, has said it won't hire new staff who refuse to get vaccinated on non-medical grounds, the FT reported.</p><p>"Our long-term ambition is that all patient and resident-facing staff will have the COVID-19 vaccine in order to protect both themselves and the vulnerable residents and patients in our care," a Barchester Healthcare spokesperson told Insider. </p><p>"One option under consideration is that staff who refuse the vaccine on non-medical grounds will, by reason of their own decision, make themselves unavailable for work," they added.</p><p>One City of London lawyer told the FT that numerous multinational companies, including one large energy group, were looking at the contract clauses.</p><p>Another City lawyer said that introducing these clauses in contracts would be risky, because they could lead to discrimination claims.</p><p>Nadhim Zahawi, the UK's vaccines minister, told the BBC Tuesday "it's up to businesses" whether they want staff to hold <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/immunity-passport-apps-covid-coronavirus-privacy-risks-ethical-pitfalls-data-2021-1">coronavirus vaccination passports</a> to prove they've had a shot. But he added that "we don't yet have the evidence of the effect of vaccines on transmission."</p><p>The British government has previously said it has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-latest-uk-wont-issue-immunity-covid-19-passports-2021-2">no plans to introduce vaccine passports</a>, out of concern that they could lead to discrimination against people who can't, or won't, get the vaccine.</p><p>Pimlico Plumbers CEO and founder Charlie Mullins said in a statement to Insider: "Some very clever people have worked really hard to give us a weapon that's our best way out of lockdown and back to something resembling <keyword id="6355515" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="business">business</keyword> normality, we'd be fools not to use it in every way possible."</p><p>In an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-requiring-employees-to-get-covid-19-vaccine-isnt-controversial-2021-2">op-ed for Insider</a> on February 5, Mullins said the vaccine passports would be a "fact of life" and would be "essential to access all sorts of services ... that puts large numbers of people in close proximity with each other."</p><p>This issue isn't just confined to the UK. A West Monroe poll in January suggested that more than half of companies in the US would <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-companies-will-require-a-vaccine-2021-1">require employees to receive the vaccine</a> before going back to work.</p>

Big multinational firms are considering 'no jab, no job' contracts that make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for staff, according to a report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Charlie Mullins caused a stir when he suggested his company wouldn't hire anyone not vaccinated.</li><li>The Pimlico Plumbers CEO's comments were dismissed by the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> vaccines minister as "discriminatory."</li><li>In this op-ed, Mullins denies his view is controversial and predicts <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword> passports will be a "fact of life."</li></ul><ul class="summary-list"></ul><p>When the pandemic hit us, it felt like some far away disaster that you always read about had jumped out of the pages of a newspaper and into our westernized lives.</p><p>War, plague, and natural calamities were supposed to be happening in far away places, not London, England.</p><p>COVID-19 brought with it the kind of death and challenges the UK hadn't faced domestically since the end of the second world war. If any business people thought the pandemic sweeping across Europe was going to be the government's problem alone, we realized that we'd too be in a fight to survive.</p><p>On March 23, 2020 UK prime minister Boris Johnson shut the country down, closing all but essential shops and businesses and confining the population to virtual house arrest except for those essential workers, emergency services, medics, supermarket workers, and pharmacists.</p><p>My company, Pimlico Plumbers, employs more than 300 tradesmen and women who were classified as "essential workers."</p><p>As an industry, we already use a lot of PPE to keep workers and customers safe, so initially it was a case of beefing up the usage of masks and disposable gloves, issuing guidance on hand washing, and equipping our vans with gallons of hand sanitizer.</p><p>It was a strange time to keep working in formerly congested central city streets that suddenly looked like something out of a post-apocalyptic horror movie. From the way the death-toll was rising daily, we knew the world wasn't going back to normal soon. One thing was obvious; more safety measures were going to be needed for us to preserve our company's safety record. </p><p>We brought in thermal scanners (portable guns and fixed units) to detect the early signs of infection in our staff, both those working in administration and the engineers going into customers' homes. At times it's felt like we were in an arms race with the virus, using anything we can find to keep it at bay while the a vaccine was created, tested, and made available.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: </em><em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-exec-quit-after-lockdown-spent-in-meditation-2020-7">This Google leadership exec quit after months spent meditating under lockdown: 'I could never go back to that lifestyle.'</a></em></p><div type="image" title="Charlie Mullins in call centre November, 2020" height="1666" width="2222" msid="80710689" hostid="261"></div><p>I did everything possible to keep the wheels turning, determined to keep my operation running safely and harmoniously.</p><p>I'm very proud to say that since the beginning of the UK's first lockdown, we've completed more than 100,000 jobs without incident. I was also publicly vocal in trying to encourage the government whenever possible to allow businesses to reopen if they could prove they could do so safely.</p><p>As a businessman I'm acutely aware that shutting down the economy is risky, even though the UK government has been paying workers <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/uk-furlough-scheme-job-protection">80% of their salary</a> to stay at home. Getting things jumpstarted on the other side was always going to be difficult, and the longer the shutdown the harder it would be to bring some parts of the economy back to life. </p><p>We're now into our third lockdown and the economy hasn't been fully operational for almost 11 months. </p><p>There have been more than 800,000 redundancies, and with millions still being paid to stay off work there will inevitably be many more to come.</p><p>Vaccines are here, but with more than 1,000 people <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-covid-19-deaths-exceed-100000-among-worlds-worst-2021-1">dying on average from COVID</a> each day in the UK in the last few weeks, it hardly feels like the cavalry has arrived, even though the numbers are falling and the government is making a good fist of its vaccination program.</p><p>I think the vaccine is the only road out of this hell we've been in for almost a year. It needs to be used in every possible area of life, especially business. <a href="https://www.cityam.com/exclusive-pimlico-plumbers-plots-no-jab-no-job-policy/">I recently made public </a>my views on how I would make being vaccinated a condition of employment for new staff, while strongly encouraging existing staff to take it up when it's available to them.</p><p>In response, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9159925/Nadhim-Zahawi-brands-Pimlico-Plumbers-boss-Charlie-Mullins-discriminatory-Covid-jab-rule.html">the UK's vaccines minister called this "discriminatory" and said vaccines should be done "by persuasion"</a>. But I don't think what I said was very controversial - and, judging by my staff's reaction to the free <keyword id="8764262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> testing program we have put in place, it seems they're with me on that.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vaccine-cargo-airline-logistics-winners-losers-2020-11">6 cargo airlines and freight operators poised to win big as COVID-19 vaccine shipping ramps up in 2021</a></em></p><p>Outside of the business there have been many who disagree, citing concerns over human rights issues. And then there's the insanity of the anti-vaxx lobby, who are vicious in their opposition to any business proposing to use vaccines to increase safety.</p><p>I think vaccine passports will become a fact of life in the next 12 months. They will be essential to access all sorts of services, especially to gain entrance to hospitality businesses, bars, restaurants, travel services, and pretty much any pursuit that puts large numbers of people in close proximity with each other.</p><p>Some airlines, basically flying restaurants with cinemas, will already not carry passengers without a recent negative COVID test <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-vaccine-test-passport-american-airlines-passengers-flying-into-us-2021-1">as required by the countries they're traveling to.</a></p><p>In the shorter term, I think it isn't enough to just prioritize the vulnerable and elderly when it comes to vaccinating entire societies. </p><p>They definitely need to be immunized first, but so do essential occupations that come into contact with a lot of people, moving in and out of homes and workplaces.</p><p>Emergency services and teachers, who are currently not on any UK priority list, are a good example. And yes, I think somewhere near the top are plumbers, carpenters, and electricians.</p><p>There's been a lot of rubbish spoken about how COVID will change the way the business world operates in the years to come. I think that sentiment with its video conferencing and soulless isolation is possibly the worst thing about COVID, next to the horrific death toll of course.</p><p>The thought that homeworking will be the "new normal" seems ridiculous to me. I suspect we've already bottled up a lot of mental illness in our societies without making solitude the norm. Humans are social creatures and thrive in cooperation.</p><p>The word most often used to describe a commercial operation is "company" for a very good reason.</p><p><em>Charlie Mullins is a British businessman, and the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, London's largest independent plumbing company.</em></p>

Requiring my employees to get the coronavirus vaccine shouldn't be controversial. Soon, vaccine passports will become a fact of life.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/695718385?src=IJgbQ7a-PlJAdUin8bR59A-3-13&amp;size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock/Marco Iacobucci EPP</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley announced <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-announces-2018-managing-director-promotions-2018-1">a new class of 153 managing directors</a>.</p><p>The names of the newly promoted managing directors were released Monday. </p><p><span>Of the new promotions, 64% came from the </span><span>Institutional Securities, Investment Management, and Wealth Management divisions. Ninety-five of the new MDs work in the Americas; 38 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and 20 in Asia. </span></p><p><span>The 153 promotions bests the 2017 tally of 140, and is just shy of the 2016 class of 156, according to a person familiar with the matter. </span></p><p>Here are the names:</p><table cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>Mitchell Adler</td><td> </td><td>James Manson-Bahr</td></tr><tr><td>Andrea Aguiar</td><td> </td><td>Joseph J. Martella</td></tr><tr><td>Abdulaziz Alajaji</td><td> </td><td>Kimihiko Matsuno</td></tr><tr><td>Robert Avery</td><td> </td><td>Christopher May</td></tr><tr><td>Sharon Bazbaz</td><td> </td><td>Mairaed McCarthy</td></tr><tr><td>Sainath Bharatula</td><td> </td><td>Erin McCourt</td></tr><tr><td>Ira Blumberg</td><td> </td><td>Jonathan McEwen</td></tr><tr><td>Joseph Bonanno</td><td> </td><td>William McGeough</td></tr><tr><td>Venkatadri Boppana</td><td> </td><td>Brian McGowan</td></tr><tr><td>Mark Bortnik</td><td> </td><td>James McKenna</td></tr><tr><td>Charles F. Burke, Jr.</td><td> </td><td>Andrew Alexander Medvedev</td></tr><tr><td>Frank Campbell</td><td> </td><td>Joseph Mehlman</td></tr><tr><td>Richard Caskey</td><td> </td><td>Thomas Mendoza</td></tr><tr><td>Kamal Chebaklo</td><td> </td><td>Obaid Mufti</td></tr><tr><td>Paul Cherian</td><td> </td><td>Mary E. Mullin</td></tr><tr><td>Gary Cheung</td><td> </td><td>Yunchi Nam</td></tr><tr><td>Elaine Close</td><td> </td><td>Pat Natale</td></tr><tr><td>Sybil Collins</td><td> </td><td>Timothy Nims</td></tr><tr><td>Lancelot Comrie</td><td> </td><td>Sarah Nolan</td></tr><tr><td>Glen Cooney</td><td> </td><td>Brian Nowak</td></tr><tr><td>Parker Corbin</td><td> </td><td>Roberto Nunez</td></tr><tr><td>Kurt M. Cross</td><td> </td><td>Ryan O'Hagan</td></tr><tr><td>Conroy Daley</td><td> </td><td>Lon A. O'Sullivan</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Davies</td><td> </td><td>Christopher Owens</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Day</td><td> </td><td>Rose Palazzo</td></tr><tr><td>E. Stanhope DeLaney, IV</td><td> </td><td>Cheryl Palmerini</td></tr><tr><td>Dominic Desbiens</td><td> </td><td>Thilakshani Dias Passi</td></tr><tr><td>Don Devendorf</td><td> </td><td>Adam Pickard</td></tr><tr><td>Michael Devine</td><td> </td><td>Martin Pitzer</td></tr><tr><td>Rupa Dharia</td><td> </td><td>Jon Ponosuk</td></tr><tr><td>Kyle Downey</td><td> </td><td>Francesco Puletti</td></tr><tr><td>Stephen Dyer</td><td> </td><td>Thomas Rende</td></tr><tr><td>Mona Eldam</td><td> </td><td>Thomas Restout</td></tr><tr><td>Tserennadmid Erdenebileg</td><td> </td><td>Patrick Roman</td></tr><tr><td>Markus Fimpel</td><td> </td><td>Ian R. Rooney</td></tr><tr><td>Jennie Pries Friend</td><td> </td><td>Andrew Ross</td></tr><tr><td>Keiko Fukuda</td><td> </td><td>Julie Rozenblyum</td></tr><tr><td>Patrick Gallagher</td><td> </td><td>Katen Rubeo</td></tr><tr><td>Shekar Ganesh</td><td> </td><td>Vida Rudkin</td></tr><tr><td>Kerry Gendron</td><td> </td><td>Rachel Russell</td></tr><tr><td>Anna Gitelman</td><td> </td><td>Mitsu Saito</td></tr><tr><td>Amit Goel</td><td> </td><td>Srikanth Sankaran</td></tr><tr><td>Simon Goodwin</td><td> </td><td>Till Schneider</td></tr><tr><td>Anand Govind</td><td> </td><td>Alvaro Serrano Saenz de Tejada</td></tr><tr><td>Eric Govind</td><td> </td><td>Melissa Sexton</td></tr><tr><td>Charlie Gray</td><td> </td><td>Anita Shaw</td></tr><tr><td>Jennifer A. Grego</td><td> </td><td>Marina Shchukina</td></tr><tr><td>Marco Gregotti</td><td> </td><td>Bobby Shoraka</td></tr><tr><td>Mutlu Guner</td><td> </td><td>Clifford Shu</td></tr><tr><td>Yimei Guo</td><td> </td><td>Christophe Sloan</td></tr><tr><td>Nitin Gupta</td><td> </td><td>April Tam Smith</td></tr><tr><td>Brian Han Jiang</td><td> </td><td>Don So</td></tr><tr><td>Kartik Hariharan</td><td> </td><td>Andres Sommer</td></tr><tr><td>Chris Heffernan</td><td> </td><td>Elaine Souza</td></tr><tr><td>Richard Hill</td><td> </td><td>S. Anthony Taggart</td></tr><tr><td>Nathan Hilleary</td><td> </td><td>Daisuke Tanaka</td></tr><tr><td>Haibo Huang</td><td> </td><td>Joel Thompson</td></tr><tr><td>Dominic Hughes</td><td> </td><td>Eduardo Timpanaro</td></tr><tr><td>Dan Hunt</td><td> </td><td>Iain Torrance</td></tr><tr><td>Ankush R. Jain</td><td> </td><td>Jonathan Vannelli</td></tr><tr><td>Erik Jepson</td><td> </td><td>Karen Veary</td></tr><tr><td>Timothy Juba</td><td> </td><td>Alice S. Vilma</td></tr><tr><td>Benjamin J. Juergens</td><td> </td><td>Roman Waleczek</td></tr><tr><td>Beata Juvancz</td><td> </td><td>Suzanne Walls</td></tr><tr><td>Kiran Karkhanis</td><td> </td><td>Zhao Wang</td></tr><tr><td>Swanand Kelkar</td><td> </td><td>Nash Waterman</td></tr><tr><td>David Khayat</td><td> </td><td>Henry Webb</td></tr><tr><td>Gard Krause</td><td> </td><td>Wei Wei</td></tr><tr><td>Jessica L. Krentzman</td><td> </td><td>Alexander Weng</td></tr><tr><td>Wook Lee</td><td> </td><td>David Willmor</td></tr><tr><td>Russ Lindberg</td><td> </td><td>Jyri Wilska</td></tr><tr><td>Patrick Lindemann</td><td> </td><td>Niamh Staunton</td></tr><tr><td>Dan Maccarrone</td><td> </td><td>Rachel I. Wilson</td></tr><tr><td>Dipendra Malhotra</td><td> </td><td>Perren Wong</td></tr><tr><td>Bob Mandel</td><td> </td><td>Huan Yu</td></tr><tr><td>Edward Manheimer</td><td> </td><td>Cathy Zhang</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td>Rachel Zhang</td></tr></tbody></table>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-outlook-next-acquisition-might-be-surprising-says-cfra-2018-1">Expect Amazon to make a surprising acquisition in 2018, says CFRA</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Morgan Stanley's new managing director list is out - read the names here

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Exclusive: A number of Liberal Democrat donors have deserted the party following the creation of the new anti-Brexit Independent Group of MPs.</strong></li><li><strong>Lib Dem sources say the party is struggling to finance national campaigns.</strong></li><li><strong>"A couple [of major donors] have moved and they are worried more will jump ship," insiders tell BI.</strong></li><li><strong>Other major donors are still "waiting" to judge the success of the new independent group.</strong></li><li><strong>The party is considering electoral pacts with TIG MPs, including former Labour MP Luciana Berger in Liverpool.</strong></li></ul><p>LONDON - The Liberal Democrats are worried about a potential exodus of financial backers, after a number of donors withdrew their support to get behind the new anti-Brexit Independent Group of MPs.</p><p>British <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> was rocked last week after eight MPs quit Labour and three left the Conservatives to join the grouping which backs a new Brexit referendum, or "People's Vote," and is dismayed by the leadership of their former parties.</p><p>Following their departure, Charlie Mullins, the anti-Brexit owner of Pimlico Plumbers, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/donors-abandon-old-parties-to-back-breakaway-independent-group-bj7rcs5s0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed </a>that he intends to support TIG after previously donating £25,000 to the Sir Vince Cable-led Liberal Democrats in 2018.</p><p>Multiple sources have told Business Insider that other major donors are either holding back funds from the Lib Dems, or have already walked away from the party to pump money into TIG. </p><p>"A couple have moved and they are worried more will jump ship," one Lib Dem source told BI, while another well-placed Lib Dem figure said that the party's internal financial projections had taken a blow.</p><p>Even before the recent launch of TIG, the Lib Dems had been suffering a hole in its finances, <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/lib-dems-redundancies">leading to the party making some of its staff redundant towards the end of last year.</a></p><p>"The party has been struggling to get donors to fund national projects," one senior Lib Dem figure told BI.</p><p>"The begging bowl went out before Christmas and our targets just aren't being met."</p><p>One Lib Dem insider insisted that most of the party's donors still "see a clear role for Lib Dems" and intended to stick with them as "they want to see Lib Dems at heart of whatever emerges."</p><p>They also claimed that the party had enjoyed a mini-surge in new members over the last week. </p><p>Another source said that the party's local donors were remaining behind the party for now, and added that some major donors were still "waiting" to see what the new Independent Group does nationally before switching sides.</p><p>The TIG had a "convener" in Gavin Shuker MP at the time of writing, but no leader, manifesto, or official party status.</p><p>The Lib Dems have also been buoyed by the lack of their own MPs walking out and joining TIG.</p><p>However, Lib Dem sources said it was possible that some of their MPs could yet join the group, with the former coalition government minister Norman Lamb considered the most likely to jump ship.</p><h2>Lib Dems offer to 'work together' with TIG</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>Others in the Lib Dems are considering forging a more formal alliance with the fledgling party, which could possibly come into play at the next general election.</p><p>One senior Lib Dem source told BI that the party would be prepared to stand aside in seats which TIG MPs would have a better chance of winning, claiming "there are conversations to be had" about cross-party cooperation.</p><p>Last week, the leader of the Lib Dems on Liverpool council, Richard Kemp, wrote to Independent Group MP Luciana Berger, signalling a possible electoral pact in her Wavertree seat.</p><p>"We would like to meet with you and chat openly and honestly about what we agree and disagree on and how we might work together in both campaigning and electoral terms to deliver what your grouping and the Liberal Democrats both desire," Kemp wrote to Berger.</p><p>One senior Lib Dem figure told BI that the Liverpool Lib Dems were considering a possible pact with Berger, in which they would step aside at the next general election in exchange for Berger's supporters stepping aside in the upcoming local elections.</p><p>The Independent Group has so far publicly rejected such attempts to combine forces, with member Chris Leslie <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8491438/independent-group-mps-rule-out-deal-with-lib-dems-and-say-they-aim-to-run-the-country/">insisting</a> that they should concentrate instead "creating something different" to existing political parties.</p><p>However, a formal alliance could find favour with Liberal Democrat leader Cable, who has already talked about opening up the party to non-members, and allowing non-MPs be leader.</p><p>One insider said that that Cable had "spent the past year or so talking to MPs with whom the party might share common ground."</p><p>They added: "[Cable] was one of the few politicians who understood the potential for a seismic realignment and could see what opportunities and difficulties that could result in for the Lib Dems."</p><p>Cable is in close contact with TIG members, particularly Leslie and Chuka Umunna MP. The three have worked together on the People's Vote campaign and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/politicians-britain-political-parties-are-in-secret-talks-about-forming-a-new-centrist-movement-brexit-2018-8?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were discussing a new "centrist" movement as early as  last summer.</a></p><p>Cable has also said that the Lib Dems would be prepared to work with TIG in future elections.</p><p>"It would be foolish for my party and this Independent Group to fight with each other and compete with each other in elections. The first-past-the-post system means that we would damage each other very badly," <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/lib-dem-leader-sir-vince-cable-hints-at-electoral-pact-with-independent-group-a4072146.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said last week.</a></p><p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>

Lib Dems fear exodus of donors as multiple backers switch to the Independent Group

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Susan Walsh/AP; Yutong Yuan/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Cannabis startups are sending veteran lobbyists to Capitol Hill in support of the STATES Act - a bill that would require the federal government to keep a hands-off approach on the decisions made by states on marijuana legalization.</li><li>The bill was introduced last summer by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO), showing there is broad, bipartisan support for cannabis reform. President Donald Trump even said he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/us/politics/trump-marijuana-bill-states.html">will "probably" end up supporting it</a>.</li><li>Tracking seed to sale is difficult, and the nearly $10 billion industry is dealing largely in cash, creating serious safety concerns for wholesalers, distributors, and dispensaries. </li></ul><p>Marijuana is one of the most rigorously overseen industries. Yet, it has no financial infrastructure. Imagine: Legal cannabis is a $10 billion industry doing every single transaction in <em>cash</em>. </p><p>Cannabis businesses can't bank like other businesses, because most major banks consider the industry risky - even though numerous states have legalized marijuana in some form, it's still an illegal substance in the eyes of the federal government. Any bank that does decide to take on marijuana business could be charged with "aiding and abetting" a federal crime. </p><p>This leaves cannabis business owners with no choice other than to deal in mostly cash, which creates public safety issues. Delivery drivers, like those who work for <a href="https://weedmaps.com/">WeedMaps</a> and <a href="https://www.greenrush.com/">greenRush</a>, have an increased risk of being targeted for burglary. It's no wonder cannabis dispensaries often have electric fences and security rooms to vet potential customers. </p><p>The answer may seem simple: remove cash from the equation. But the question is far more complex: How is the cannabis industry ever going to get big banks to be comfortable handling their business?</p><p>That's where the STATES Act comes in - a bill that would require the federal government to honor decisions made by states that have legalized recreational and medical marijuana. </p><p>Since the bill was introduced in June, cannabis startups have increasingly branched out from the familiarity of the grow room to the halls of Congress, hiring lobbyists and providing other financial support to make the case. </p><h2>Cannabis on Capitol Hill</h2><p>"We work with federal lobbyists, and also at the local level, pushing your state senator to support initiatives, whether it's an amendment like [cannabis] banking reform, which seems to be bipartisan," said Bryan Meltzer, a partner at Feuerstein Kulick who also represents greenRush, the weed delivery service. </p><p>Meltzer is right - cannabis has quickly become bipartisan. When the STATES Act was introduced, it was both Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) who presented it. President Donald Trump even said he would <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/us/politics/trump-marijuana-bill-states.html">"probably"</a> support it. Right now, the bill is making its way through committees, and until it premieres on the House floor, there is lobbying to do. And that means hiring people who know the legislation process. </p><p>Cannabis companies like Surterra, WeedMaps, Eaze, and PharmaCann (recently acquired by MedMen) have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars hiring lobbyists to educate members of congress on the cannabis marketplace.</p><p>"Cannabis legalization isn't a one party issue," said Carl Fillichio, spokesman for WeedMaps. "We have a broad agenda. So it's important for us to work with a diverse and broad cadre of partners and advocates to ensure that our voice is heard in city halls, state capitals and in the United States Congress."</p><p>WeedMaps works with lobbying firms Liberty Government Affairs and Nelson Mullins Riley &amp; Scarborough, which has former Pennsylvania congressman Ron Klink on its payroll. </p><p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.eaze.com/">Eaze</a> Solutions, Inc. spent $130,000 after it hired by Holland &amp; Knight LLP in 2018, a veteran lobbying firm, according to public records. Eaze is also represented on the hill by staff with connections to former House speaker Newt Gingrich and the Clinton administration. </p><p>David Mack, Eaze's senior vice president of public affairs, said as the cannabis industry expands, more traditional folk become interested in the policy issues. </p><p>Trying to influence regulation is hardly unique to the cannabis industry. But cannabis companies say they have a particularly pressing issue to fight for when pushing for legislation like the STATES Act: the safety of operators and clients. </p><h2>How do you protect $10 billion?</h2><p>Safety is such a major concern in the industry that before LeafLink launched its platform in 2017 in California, CEO Ryan Smith never met clients at their warehouses, but instead at coffee shops. He said it is not uncommon for his clients to hire security guards to do loops around their facilities all day to prevent cash and product theft.</p><p>"Right now, 12 and 15 percent of a brand's costs are just around shuttling and moving around cash," said Smith. "It's like something out of the early 1900s, forcing legal companies to operate like an unlicensed company would." </p><p>Charlie Wilson, chief revenue officer of <a href="https://www.greenbits.com/">Green Bits</a>, which provides financial services to cannabis businesses, agrees. </p><p>"Safety is but one reason to make progress," he told Business Insider in a statement. "Financial services enhance transparency, so government regulators can more effectively oversee product sales, money movements and thus, tax receipts."</p><p>Paul Warshaw, CEO of greenRush, estimates that allowing customers to buy using their debit and credit cards could increase business growth by 50 to 100 percent overnight.</p><p>"It's a critical missing piece in the space," said Warshaw. "We are no different from DoorDash."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-siri-shortcuts-save-time-hacks-2019-1">How to use this time-saving feature Apple added to the iPhone</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Cannabis retailers can't bank like other businesses, so they are sending lobbyists to Capitol Hill

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">TIG MPs Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The Independent Group is considering an electoral alliance with the Liberal Democrats.</li><li>As part of the plan, TIG and the Lib Dems would be independent parties under the same "umbrella" but have joint candidates in certain seats at future elections.</li><li>Sources familiar with talks compared it to the Labour &amp; Cooperative Party alliance.</li><li>TIG MPs believe that their party-to-be has a brighter future than the Lib Dems and ought to be the driving force in any future electoral alliance. </li><li>TIG announced on Friday that it had applied to become an official political party.</li><li>TIG will be a big issue in the upcoming Lib Dem leadership contest.</li></ul><p>LONDON - The Independent Group is mulling an electoral alliance with the Liberal Democrats in which they would both run under the same "umbrella" and field joint candidates in certain seats at future elections.</p><p>The group of former Labour and Conservative MPs announced this week that they are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-independent-group-applies-to-become-an-official-political-party-2019-3">applying to become a political party under the name of Change UK. </a>The party-to-be also plans to field candidates in the May European Parliament elections, should a lengthy delay to Brexit force the UK to partake.</p><p>Business Insider has been told that the group has discussed forming an electoral alliance with the Liberal Democrats which is similar to the Labour party's relationship with the Cooperative Party.</p><p>Under the proposed arrangement, both parties would remain independent but agree on joint candidates to stand in certain seats.</p><p>These discussions were confirmed by sources in both TIG and the Lib Dems. It is just one of the ideas which TIG is considering in regards to how to cooperate with other opposition parties in future elections.</p><p>Those familiar with the talks believe this sort of electoral alliance could be beneficial for both parties.</p><p>TIG would be able to lean on the Lib Dems' resources which itself lacks to fight local elections, while increasing its chances of winning seats a national level. </p><p>One Lib Dem official, who is familiar with the discussions, described the proposal as a "c<span style="font-weight: 400;">ollective umbrella," which in theory, would improve the electoral prospects of both groups, while allowing each of them to remain independent.<span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are currently 33 MPs who represent the Labour &amp; Cooperative Party electoral alliance.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Heidi Allen was appointed TIG interim leader this week.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>Discussions have already begun in certain marginal seats.</p><p>The leader of the Lib Dems on Liverpool council, Richard Kemp, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/liberal-democrat-donors-switch-anti-brexit-independent-group-mps-2019-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">wrote to Independent Group MP Luciana Berger, earlier this year</a> signalling a possible electoral pact in her Wavertree seat.</p><p>"We would like to meet with you and chat openly and honestly about what we agree and disagree on and how we might work together in both campaigning and electoral terms to deliver what your grouping and the Liberal Democrats both desire," Kemp wrote to Berger.</p><p>One senior Lib Dem figure told BI that the Liverpool Lib Dems were considering a possible pact with Berger, in which they would step aside at the next general election in exchange for Berger's supporters stepping aside in the upcoming local elections.</p><p>However, TIG MPs like Chris Leslie stress that the newly-found anti-Brexit group must remain fully independent from other parties.</p><p>Speaking after TIG's launch last month, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8491438/independent-group-mps-rule-out-deal-with-lib-dems-and-say-they-aim-to-run-the-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the ex-Labour MP said</a>: "What's important for us is that we are trying to create something different to the 20th century institutions work."</p><p>"I mean no disrespect to the [Lib Dems], they have their own organisation and there will always be a Liberal party.</p><p>He added: "But everyone has to make a sacrifice here. If there's a sense they don't need to do anything significant like we have, I don't think that's right."</p><p>TIG MPs, particularly group spokesperson Chuka Umunna, believe that that the group has a brighter future than the Liberal Democrats, and ought to be the senior partner in any future electoral alliance.</p><p>TIG MPs have also suggested that Lib Dem MPs would be better off quitting their party.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/liberal-democrat-donors-switch-anti-brexit-independent-group-mps-2019-2?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BI reported last month</a> that a number of Lib Dems donors were considering following the handful who had withdrawn their support to pump money into TIG instead, including businessman Charlie Mullins.</p><h2> Lib Dem leadership contest to be dominated by Tig</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>How the Liberal Democrats should interact with TIG in the months and potentially years ahead is set to be one of the biggest issues in the upcoming contest to replace Sir Vince Cable as party leader.</p><p>Jo Swinson - the party's current deputy leader who is among the three MPs expected to run for Cable's job - is thought to be the most open to collaborating with TIG and possibly letting the group use Lib Dem resources.</p><p>"She [Swinson] gets it," a TIG MP recently told BI.</p><p>Swinson's closest leadership rival Layla Moran is "<span style="font-weight: 400;">playing her cards close to her chest" on the issue of the Lib Dems' relationship with TIG, a Lib Dem source told BI, adding "and that is relatively canny."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The third name in the leadership race, Ed Davey, is the least keen on an electoral alliance.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The party is considering speeding up Cable's departure in order to make sure that his eventual successor is in place and prepared for a snap general election, which could take place in the next few months.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Swinson and Moran are viewed by party insiders as the front-runners in the contest which could determine the party's long-term future and role in UK <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not just how it will interact TIG, but whether it will make rejoining the European Union a key priority after Brexit, which one source said was an "existential issue" for the party.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"In the 2015 leadership contest, the party was emotionally and physically f****d. It was more about electing someone who could keep the show on the road," a senior Lib Dem official told BI this week.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This is the first chance in years the party has had to have an intellectual conversation about what it wants to be."&lt;</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Insiders say it is the most unpredictable contest in years, with officials uncertain about how the thousands of new members will feel about the candidates, or how many of them are actually likely to vote.</span></p><p>Swinson boasts experience of having serving in government and is expected to be backed by most Lib Dem MPs.</p><p>Insiders believe that Moran also has a strong chance of winning, in spite of her relative inexperience, largely because she represents a break from the party's recent past and time in Coalition with the Conservatives.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"What's helpful is she is the post-Coalition candidate," a Lib Dem source said.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"She doesn't have the baggage that Ed and Jo have."</span></span></p><p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paul-manafort-russia-mueller-probe-prison-fraud-conspiracy-trump-2019-3">Paul Manafort faces over 7 years in prison for conspiracy and obstruction. Here's what you need to know about Trump's former campaign chairman.</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

The Independent Group is considering an electoral alliance with the Liberal Democrats

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Leon Neal/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">TIG members Anna Soubry and Chuka Umunna.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The new Independent Group of MPs has shaken British <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> to its core.</strong></li><li><strong>The party has had a dramatic effect on both the major parties with talk of further defections to come.</strong></li><li><strong>However, it remains dogged by charges of seeking to split the vote against the current government.</strong></li><li><strong>Here's how the group plans to become a major new force in Westminster.</strong></li></ul><p>LONDON - The Independent Group (TIG) of 11 former Labour and Conservative MPs has already had a dramatic impact on British politics.</p><p>In just a few short weeks, it has snatched 11 MPs from the two major parties, surged in the opinion polls, and arguably helped force a major shift in the Labour party's Brexit policy.</p><p>"Who knew you could have more influence on the Labour party by leaving it than staying in it?" one TIG MP said this week, reflecting on the two weeks since the group's dramatic launch. </p><p>In the coming weeks, TIG is poised to recruit a number of additional defectors, as well as a series of big-name donors, as the group continues on its mission of becoming an official political party.</p><p>"We want to create a party... We have been really obvious about that," a TIG MP told journalists on Friday.</p><p>The group, which wants to "change politics," admits it is still "catching its breath" and not ready to fight a general election any time soon. It doesn't plan to field candidates in any of the immediate local, mayoral or by-elections.</p><p>However, it is focused on becoming a fully-functioning political party as quickly as possible. Here's how.</p><h2>TIG targets new MPs</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Henry Nicholls</span></p><p class="caption">Justine Greening MP.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The group does not yet have an official leader, and doesn't plan to elect one until it is a party, but this week appointed former Labour MP Chuka Umunna as its chief spokesperson and main figurehead.</p><p>The other roles were assigned using a novel system of sticky post-it notes, with each MP pinning one to the sheet of paper with their preferred job written on it. Ex-Conservative MP Anna Soubry got the position of Brexit spokesperson, while her former Conservative colleague Sarah Wollaston will oversee recruitment.</p><p>Wollaston is charged with delivering one of the group's immediate priorities - signing up more MPs.</p><p>So far there has not been a flood of extra recruits following the first wave last month. The Labour party's decision to officially back a second referendum, as well as suspend a prominent MP accused of antisemitism, appears to have stemmed the tide of resignations from Labour for now.</p><p>The party's deputy leader, Tom Watson, has also played a major role in convincing swathes of Labour MPs to stick around despite their reservations with leader Jeremy Corbyn and his handling of antisemitism within the party.</p><p>However, further defections are expected soon. One former Labour shadow minister told BI on Friday that they planned to join TIG as soon as the Umunna-fronted group unveiled its first batch of policies.</p><p>There is also fear among Conservative MPs that former-education secretary Justine Greening could be on the brink of following Soubry, Wollaston, and Heidi Allen out of the Tory party and into TIG.</p><p>Greening has "softened" after being persuaded by friends in Theresa May's Cabinet and is set to stay - for now.</p><p>"The one who I was really worried about, and I know Amber [Rudd, Work &amp; Pensions Secretary] has reached out to since, was Justine but she seems to have softened," a well-placed sourced in the party's moderate wing told BI.</p><h2>Who is funding it?</h2><p>With the prospect of an imminent general election looming, the group is keen to raise the hundreds of thousands of pounds it needs to become a political party capable of running a nationwide campaign.</p><p>It has received "several thousand" donations from members of the public since its inception, one of its MPs claimed this week. They added that most donations were less than £500, and not in the "big grand donor" territory.</p><p>However, wealthy backers are beginning to gather behind TIG. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/liberal-democrat-donors-switch-anti-brexit-independent-group-mps-2019-2?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BI reported this week</a> that a number of donors have left the Liberal Democrats to get behind TIG. Pimlico Plumbers owner Charlie Mullins is one of them.</p><p>Julian Dunkerton - the co-founder of clothing range Superdry <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/18/julian-dunkerton-superdry-founder-gives-1-million-pounds-peoples-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who donated one million pounds to the People's Vote campaign in August</a> - is also weighing up becoming a financial backer, sources in to the anti-Brexit campaign said.</p><p>Dunkerton has not responded to BI's request for comment.</p><p>TIG MPs reassured journalists this week that the group's donations financial activity would be published on a quarterly basis, in accordance with Electoral Commission rules followed by UK political parties. </p><h2>"No pacts, no alliances"</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable flanked by TIG members Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry plus Green MP Caroline Lucas.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>TIG insists that it does not want to form an alliance the existing pro-EU Liberal Democrat party.</p><p>A TIG MP said on Friday there would be "no pacts, no alliances" with the Lib Dems amid suggestions from people <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/lib-dem-leader-sir-vince-cable-hints-at-electoral-pact-with-independent-group-a4072146.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable </a>that the two could work together in certain seats at the next election.</p><p>Another of the group's MPs agreed, telling BI that the Lib Dems have issues which they need to confront, particularly lasting damage to the party's brand as a result of its time in coalition government with the Conservatives. </p><p>"Our firm view is that the political system is broken and although the Lib Dems haven't got ideologically extreme issues going on in their party, they have got their own problems," they said. </p><p>They added that Lib Dem MPs and supporters have already signaled that they could quit to join TIG.</p><p>"Our anecdotal experience is that a lot of Lib Dem perspective candidates are hesitating before putting themselves forward for this time around [the next general election]," they said.</p><p>"They want to be part of a bigger project which they see as providing a bigger platform and a lot of their activists and supporters appear to be coming our way."</p><p>"On an individual basis, Lib Dems both in Parliament and beyond... may not feel like they're fleeing a burning platform, but they have to look at what's needed for providing the country an offer from the centre-ground."</p><p>Lib Dem sources told BI that some of the party's existing MPs are being watched as potential defectors, with the former Coalition government minister Norman Lamb identified as the most likely to jump ship.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>John Stillwell/PA Images via Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">TIG members.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>The odds are stacked against it</h2><p>Perhaps the biggest obstacle in front of TIG is the UK electoral system, which puts parties other than Conservatives and Labour at an disadvantage which many people see as unfair. This is particularly the case for new parties.</p><p>The new grouping cannot avoid comparisons with the Social Democrat Party breakaway of the 1980s, which won just six seats in the 1983 general election despite receiving over 11% of the national vote.</p><p>The SDP is blamed, rightly or wrongly, for splitting the vote and ensuring the then Conservative government remained in power. Similar charges are now being made against TIG, following a series of opinions polls suggesting it could severely damage Labour's chances of winning the next general election.</p><p>Comments by members of the group that they would refuse to back a vote of no confidence in the current government have only fueled those charges.</p><p>TIG MPs this week dismissed parallels with the SDP.</p><p>They claimed that the "class-based politics" of that era was not relevant to contemporary political culture, nor the "left-right" spectrum which people have for decades relied on to analyse voting behaviour in the UK.</p><p>They also argued that TIG was a coming together of different political traditions, rather than simply "Labour 2.0."</p><p>Nevertheless, the odds are stacked against TIG, and the group's decisions over the next few weeks could go a long way to determining its long term success. </p><p>What is clear is that the group has shaken British politics to its core. The other major parties are waiting nervously to see what it will do next.</p><p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-declare-national-emergency-what-happens-2019-2">What happens when the president declares a national emergency</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

How a small group of former Labour and Conservative MPs dramatically changed British politics

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>One of the most important constitutional cases in Britain's history came to an end on Tuesday and the case for forcing the government to ask parliament's permission to trigger Article 50 is a lot stronger than first imagined.<p>Since Thursday, three of the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword>'s most senior judges heard arguments regarding whether prime minister Theresa May is legally obliged to pass an act of parliament before invoking Article 50.</p><p>The case, which Business Insider attended, was held at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.</p><p>A long line of people snaked around the court building hours before the doors opened each morning, a level of interest which had&#xa0;not&#xa0;been seen for any case at the court before, a security guard told us. And&#xa0;protesters gathered outside the court while the case was being heard.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p><div></div></p><p>That is because the case is a blockbuster. The final verdict will have a huge say in how and when Britain leaves the European Union. It will set a historic constitutional precedent.</p><p>After three days of intense discussion and interrogation, it was clear that the case being made against the UK government was much more compelling than most commentators and media had initially believed.</p><p>Lord Pannick QC, who was representing lead claimant Gina Miller, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/gina-miller-article-50-brexit-eu-supreme-court-2016-8" target="_blank">who BI interviewed in August</a>, argued strongly that triggering Article 50 will mean statutory rights enjoyed by Brits as EU citizens - like the right to vote to in EU elections and refer a legal dispute to the European Court of Justice - will be destroyed in an instant.</p><p>The government, Pannick added, cannot use prerogative power to do this. He said UK law demands MPs to give Theresa May their permission before the prime minister triggers Article 50.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>"There is no dispute, that once notification is given, there is a direct causal link between notification and the removal of statutory rights," Pannick said.</p><p>"The consequence of notification is to destroy rights and take the preservation of rights out of parliament's hands. This cannot be done. By the time parliament comes to look at the matter, the dye will already be set."</p><p>The government's case, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/day-two-of-high-court-article-50-challenge-lawyer-says-parliament-vote-beyond-any-doubt-2016-10">represented by Attorney General Jeremy Wright</a>, James Eadie QC, and James Coppel QC, argued that the mandate to initiate Britain's exit from the EU resides in the result of the June 23 referendum.</p><p>They added that parliament was told before the referendum that the government would act on the will of the people and that the referendum legislation did&#xa0;not&#xa0;state further legislation would be necessary to put the result into effect.</p><p>Without a&#xa0;doubt, though, the stand-out moment of the case was when the Lord Chief Justice twice said <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-article-50-court-case-day-3-lord-chief-justice-was-baffled-by-the-uk-governments-key-arguments-2016-10">he was "baffled" by Coppel's claim that EU citizenship rights have never been a matter for UK parliament.</a></p><p>"I'm baffled," Lord Thomas said. "These rights are under treaty. If amending the treaty, parliamentary approval is needed. So, I don't understand why the content of these rights are not controlled by parliament?"</p><p>It was a shaky moment for Coppel and the government's legal team. It was just one of the many occasions where the three judges appeared to be less-than-convinced by the points they were making. It was a signal that the government really does have something to worry about.</p><p>That's not to say the verdict, which is expected in mid-November, is set in stone. As legal commentator David Allen Green noted, the case is "finely balanced" and both sides articulated strong arguments.</p><p>But, as Green later tweeted: "The government and Leavers should brace themselves for real possibility that court rules Article 50 needs parliamentary consent." This case is much more balanced than&#xa0;most people thought.</p><p>But the judges' verdict is unlikely to be the end of the matter.</p><p>The losing side is likely to launch an appeal to the Supreme Court, a process which will inevitably force May to delay the timetable for invoking Article 50 no matter what happens. Ironically, if the Supreme Court is unable to reach a decision, it will be obliged to refer the case to the European Court of Justice, meaning the EU's highest could end up&#xa0;deciding how Britain must execute its departure.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/polling-analyst-matt-singh-explains-what-threw-off-all-the-brexit-polls-2016-9">The only person who was right about the general election tells us what threw off all the Brexit polls</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="g1MzNvNTE6az7BjvpEmRa3waqiCRlHDL" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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