Boris Johnson's 'sinking ships fleeing the rat'

If the power draining away from Boris Johnson's premiership was visible during what might be his final Prime Minister’s Questions the whole ornate chamber would have quickly emptied.

There was even space on the government front bench where cabinet ministers are normally packed shoulder-to-shoulder. Not one minister risked the cosy positioning that is a weekly feature of the proceedings.

That was true of the new chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi who was next to the prime minister but keeping a polite distance from Mr Johnson’s increasingly toxic brand, knowing that a leadership contest was imminent and one in which the Iraq-born MP could be a front-runner.

On the other side was Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who made no eye contact with the prime minister throughout an extraordinary 45 minutes of a government in free fall.

The opposition benches were lively with boos, shouts and at one point — much to the Speaker’s distress — they clapped a Tory MP who stated the prime minister should go because he “always tries to blame other people for his mistakes”.

Throughout, those on the government benches sat in grim, icy silence. The whips, whose authority has almost entirely disappeared with the departure of the disgraced deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, and more than 20 government resignations, had not even bothered to attempt to drum up support for Mr Johnson.

It was a one man act. A rather sorrowful, repetitive one at that, but still playing to a sold-out House of Commons.

The packed gathering was there to witness the last rites of a man whose legacy will be of bringing down one prime minister and taking Britain away from its biggest trading partner, the European Union. That and the dissembling that has marked much of the last eight months of his downward spiral.

Boris Johnson speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. AFP

“I'm going to hang on in there, that’s what I’m going to do,” Mr Johnson pledged to sniggers, reinforcing the views of many backbenchers who may now oust him quicker than first thought.

Greeted by boos and few cheers, Mr Johnson had initially attempted to make light of the resignations. “Today is a big day,” he said in response to opposition jeers. “I suspect I will have further such meetings,” he added, in reference to possible further resignations.

That prompted laughter from Labour but stony silence from those sitting behind him.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, launched a withering assault, striking with some of his sharpest phrases, honed from his days as a criminal prosecutor.

A deep silence descended as he outlined the grim mechanics of Mr Pincher’s alleged sexual assault from the young male victim’s witness statement.

Whatever happens next, the British parliament will need to significantly reform how it deals with people in power taking advantage of those who are not.

That is unlikely to be on Mr Johnson’s watch. He could only look on bemused as Sir Keir skewered him with verbal rapiers. “The sinking ship is fleeing the rat,” Sir Keir said, referring to the raft of ministerial resignations. Those left in the government were attempting the “charge of the lightweight brigade”, he went on, and Mr Johnson’s most recent appointments were the “dying act of a political career”.

There was no killer blow from the government benches. “Does the prime minister think there any circumstances in which he should resign?” asked one of his exasperated MPs.

“The job of a PM in difficult circumstances is to keep going,” Mr Johnson retorted. “That’s what I’m going to do.” His sentiment seemed to merely reinforce the will of those who want him out.

As Mr Johnson stood up to leave a Labour backbencher shouted “bye Boris!” It was perhaps the nicest thing something had said to him all day.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Four-day collections of TOH

Day Indian Rs (Dh)

Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)

Friday 280.25m (14.12m)

Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)

Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)

Total 1.19bn (59.15m)

(Figures in millions, approximate)

The details

Heard It in a Past Life

Maggie Rogers

(Capital Records)

3/5

2019 Asian Cup final

Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Boris Johnson's 'sinking ships fleeing the rat'

Tory leader's bid to cling on to power met with stony silence from government benches

Four-day collections of TOH

The details

2019 Asian Cup final