Fact checker (former)
Economy, Business & Finance
A survey claiming that Britons have spent £4 billion on Brexit stockpiling likely over-counted the amount being stockpiled. Read
98% of global trade is done by members of the WTO, but most of this trade is done via trade agreements, not WTO rules. Read
Europe
A claim that a new analysis shows the UK will be £135 billion richer after Brexit is based on an old report from Economists for Free Trade. Most other economists think the UK will be worse off. Read
Economy, Business & Finance
A TUC report found that the gig economy has doubled since 2016, but its claim that this means more UK workers are patching a living together is unproven. Read
Europe
The withdrawal agreement only sets the immediate terms of the UK’s exit from the EU. The future trading relationship would need to be negotiated once the UK has left. Read
The Labour Party polled 18% this week. It has only polled this low once before, in May 2009. Read
Europe
The President of the European Commission is nominated by the European Council, but must be approved by a majority of MEPs too. Read
Ursula von der Leyen is the nominee for President of the European Commission. Her nomination will be confirmed if approved by the European Parliament. Read
Economy, Business & Finance
The government spent £137 billion on bailing out banks during the financial crisis. Around £1 trillion worth of guarantees were provided to investors, but this does not amount to actual spending. Read
Labour used misleading figures, but there is evidence to show that the solar industry in the UK is stagnating. Read
