Brexit: What could 'the deal' mean for London?published at 12:13 Greenwich Mean Time 24 December 2020
Marc Ashdown

After marathon talks, and a lot of pizza, a future trading relationship has now been agreed. Well, the bones of it anyway.
Whatever your views on Brexit, it's pretty much agreed by all that a tariff and quota free agreement will make UK/EU trade far less fractious going forwards.
So what does this mean for London?
Well firstly for people. The million or so EU nationals living, working, studying in the capital now have a bit more clarity. A new immigration policy is still being finalised and they need to apply for settled status.
And life will change too for Londoners living in one of the 27 EU member states.
And it’ll affect us all when we go on holiday.
Businesses of all sizes have been crying out for certainty so they can plan ahead. There’s frustration this has taken so long, and for businesses of all sizes it’ll mean more friction, customs checks, paperwork to comply with.
But it’s better than having whopping great tariffs slapped on their imports and exports.
And finally for The City - the financial powerhouse of the UK.
So much economic growth depends on The City keeping its edge as the key player on the global stage. Again there’s a lot to be worked through on financial services but the pound surging today tells you all you need to know.
Be under no illusions there’s a lot to go through - 2,000 pages of text to be ratified by both sides.
Political twists no doubt as the devil in the detail emerges. But this is a huge step in the UK forging a new path outside the EU.