Bets are off on Brexit outcome as Cheltenham returns
With crucial and complex Brexit votes due, a mixture of the Cheltenham Festival, the Six Nations and St Patrick’s Day may cheer the nation up in the week ahead. Chris Burn reports.
They’ve come and gone plenty of times before – but this really will be a big week for Brexit as the clock ticks ever closer towards the UK’s intended departure date of March 29.
On Tuesday, Theresa May will have another go at attempting to get the support of MPs for her Withdrawal Agreement after it was defeated by an historically large margin in January.
If she fails again, then on Wednesday, the House of Commons will vote on whether to allow a no-deal Brexit.
And should that also be rejected, as is expected, then on Thursday MPs will vote once more – this time on whether to request an extension from the EU to the Article 50 negotiation period.
Away from Westminster, on Saturday a pro-Brexit march to London led by Nigel Farage and due to pass through Yorkshire will get under way in Sunderland.
In the middle of all this, Chancellor Philip Hammond will be unveiling his Spring Statement on Wednesday.
Forecasting and shaping the future of the economy is a tricky task at the best of times, but perhaps never more so than now with so much uncertainty about how, when and indeed even if the UK will leave the European Union and how it will affect the nation’s finances.
But with growing concerns about the extent of knife crime on the nation’s streets, there will be undoubted pressure on the Chancellor to find extra funding for police and schools.
For many, picking a winner at the four-day Cheltenham Festival, which begins tomorrow, might be easier than predicting the final outcome of Brexit.
The annual celebration of British and Irish steeplechasing, the iconic meeting is regarded as the Olympics of jump racing.
And Yorkshire winners have been infrequent in recent years, hopes are high for Catterick trainer Phil Kirby’s mare Lady Buttons while Definitly Red, trained at Malton by Brian Ellison, carries white rose hopes in the Gold Cup on Friday.
The week’s sporting drama will also see the final round of matches take place in the Six Nations, with England playing Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday evening.
St Patrick’s Day is back next Sunday, with celebrations all around the world involving people with Irish heritage, as well as those who simply want to join in the fun.
In London, the annual festival and parade will by this by this year’s Grand Marshal, actor James Nesbitt from noon. Closer to home, the Leeds St Patrick’s Day Parade will this year be celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The parade will be held in Leeds Millennium Square on Sunday starting from 10.30am, followed by live Irish music and dance.
Around 75 works from the late George Michael’s art collection are to be sold at auction at Christie’s on Thursday, with over 130 further works being offered in a dedicated online sale over the course of this week.
Proceeds from the sale of the collection are expected to run into millions of pounds and will be used to continue Michael’s philanthropic work.
After his death at the age of 53 on Christmas Day 2016, it was revealed that the singer had offered extensive but largely unpublicised support to many good causes during his life.
Ahead of the auction, George Michael’s trustees said: “The Art Collection of George Michael reflects the friendships built between one of the UK’s most acclaimed musical artists and the visual artists who were creating artworks at a seminal moment in British cultural history.
“Philanthropic work was hugely important for George during his lifetime and it was his wish that this work would continue after his passing.” RACING AHEAD: