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Quest Means Business
Clock Has Been Reset For Brexit; U.K. Parliament Rejects PM May's EU Withdrawal Deal; Algerian Police Use Water Cannon Against Protesters; At Least 25 Dead in Dhaka Building Fire; Trump Threatens to Close U.S.-Mexico Border; WSJ: Anti-Stall System Kicked in Before Ethiopia Crash; British Pound Falls Against U.S. Dollar; FTSE 100 Closes Higher on Friday; Pro- Brexit Protesters Protest in London; MEP Offers European Perspective on Brexit; Lyft Debuts on Wall Street. Aired: 3-4p ET
Aired March 29, 2019 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: One hour to go on Wall Street and the markets have been trading betwixt and between throughout the course
of the session. We'll wrap up the Dow for you over the course of the hour. We put it all together, we need to understand what the markets have been
all about on Friday, it's the 29th of March. The day that should have been Brexit, and now the clock has been reset. Theresa May's deal has failed,
the E.U. says it's bracing for no deal.
From Brexit day to Brexit betrayal, protesters are swarming Westminster demanding that Britain leaves, and, yes, there's liftoff. The biggest IPO
of the year so far. Live from London, I'm Richard Quest. I mean business.
A very warm evening to you from Westminster in London. It could well be a noisy evening as well because the Brexit protesters who are in favor, the
Brexiteers are behind us and you can hear a lot of that -- there will be a lot of shouting, a lot of noise over the course of the next hour.
This was not the day that the Brexiteers behind me had been hoping for. Today was supposed to be Brexit day. The U.K. should have been preparing
to leave seven, eight, nine, ten, 11, in just four hours. Now, though, much less certainty than ever before now. Inside the House of Commons, the
no's had it for a third time when it came to Theresa May's exit deal. That means the legal default option is for the U.K. to crash out of the European
Union in two weeks' time.
Now it's April 12th. Also possible that Theresa May could ask the E.U. for a long delay. Brexit is a worrying. It could all end up with the U.K.
staying in the E.U., a long extension turns into no Brexit as Theresa May's deal failed in the house, so she vowed to press on for an orderly Brexit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Mr. Speaker, I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House. This House has rejected no deal,
it has rejected no Brexit, on Wednesday, it rejected all the variations of the deal on the table, and today, it has rejected approving the withdrawal
agreement alone and continuing a process on the future. This government will continue to press the case for the orderly Brexit that the result of
the referendum demands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: An orderly Brexit -- what does that mean? Well, at the end of this bruising week, we are left with three key questions. Theresa May's future,
the Prime Minister had said she would leave if her deal passed. It also called for a general election. That's a possibility. Parliament's plan.
Now, Parliament failed to agree on the eight alternatives, so far, but they will be back next week to try and clarify it further. And the E.U.'s next
steps. The emergency meeting is on April the 10th, the new Brexit date is April the 12th.
Nic Robertson in Downing Street. Nic, you are a very good place for us to begin as we try not so much to worry about how this deal failed, but what
happens next?
NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: Well, you just laid out three different alternatives there and it could be that all come to
pass, that those votes happen Monday, that Theresa May tries to use the indication from those indicative votes on Monday to form a better alliance
of MPs that can push her deal across the line and that she goes to that emergency European Council Summit in Brussels on the 10th of April with
either knowing that she has passed or failed in the next round of voting and that she is asking -- telling them that she's going to leave or that,
in fact, she is going to ask for a longer extension.
So all of those things are possible and that's sort of the difficulty that we're in right now. Track record for Theresa May, she will want to push
ahead. Time and ability to do it not there. Tough challenge, unlikely. Are we going to be here come April 9th? Which is the eve before she would
have to go to Brussels and give the European leaders an answer on those questions. It seems so unlikely where we stand today that that's possible.
She'll be working hard to make it happen though.
[15:05:05]
QUEST: All right, Nic, don't go too far away because at some point, we do need to talk about the DUP and their role in all of this. Now, remember
today was the day the U.K. was supposed to leave, it was a day set in stone ever since she invoked Article 50 two years ago. But after today's vote,
there are a new set of dates, April the 1st, indicative votes in Parliament. They are going to take will take what happened before, they
are going to coalesce them down to a couple of options and they are going to run them up at the flagpole to see who will vote for them.
April the 10th, the European Council meeting. April the 12th, the U.K. will leave the E.U. Now, if there is an extension, then on May 23rd,
European Parliamentary elections will take place. Bianca is with me, as is Carole. Good to see you both. I don't want to dwell too much at this
moment on what happened today because that's history.
Carole Walker, what happens next?
CAROLE WALKER, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Every single Member of Parliament that you talk to has their own pet theory, all of them admit that they
really don't know, and I think that is because the Prime Minister herself doesn't know what is going to happen yet.
What appears to be the case, extraordinarily, despite the fact her deal has now been defeated a third time, this Prime Minister, well known for her
tenacity, is not prepared to give up on it yet.
So whilst it would seems what she is staring in the face is a stark choice between leaving the E.U. with no deal or asking for a long extension with
the other E.U. 27 dictating the terms, it seems that she is going to have at least one more go next week, so we'll have those series of indicative
votes on the Monday when MPs may perhaps coalesce around this idea of a Customs Union, something which the government has constantly and
persistently rejected.
But that she could say to MPs once again, look, accept the withdrawal deal and then you can dictate perhaps this Customs Union. The problem with that
is that there will be uproar in her party.
QUEST: Come on, there's no way -- I'm not denying that she might have a try, but she's 50 odd votes short.
BIANCA NOBILO, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: She's 58 votes short at the moment and I knew that they were being over ambitious about the Labour support.
That's what Tories kept saying that we'll be able to make up for the lack of DUP support and interestingly today, with the DUP coming out and saying
essentially they're more unionist than they are Brexiteers. That if it meant compromising the Union, they would rather stay in the E.U., which is
a really significant development.
And this entire government is hanging by a thread. It only functions with the confidence and supply agreement with the DUP, but to go back to
Carole's point, there is complete confusion. In fact, a noticeable silence as well of MPs just taking stock at this point. Brexit is more complex
than anybody even anticipated at the beginning, and events have taken over as well and made things even harder with Theresa May losing her majority in
the election and her Party fragmenting further.
Nobody has a clear plan of what to do. Now, there is no master plan that any parliamentarian has that's a clear winner in this. It's really up for
grabs.
WALKER: The thinking seems to be from those looking at this idea that Theresa May could have one more go is that she has probably whittled down
the opponents of her deal on the Tory side as far as she was ever going to today, and indeed, that process has provoked a lot of anger and a lot of
recriminations on both sides of the Conservative Party, but that the only solution then is to try and pivot and get the support from Labour MPs.
The danger with that, of course, is she could face a huge rebellion on her own side, walk out from her Cabinet, further chaos and confusion, as if we
hadn't had enough.
QUEST: Nic, you're listening to all of this. Factor in the DUP, you know Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland politics better than most. This was
interesting what Bianca said about the DUP proved that they were more -- what was it you said, Bianca?
NOBILO: More Unionist than Brexiteers.
QUEST: More Unionist than Brexit.
ROBERTSON: Yes, that was never any doubt, Richard. Never any doubt whatsoever. Everything else has been political camouflage on their part.
They would always want to be in a position where they could blame other people for the position that they were taking and hide behind other
people's positions, the ERG.
But when all of that was stripped away, there they were. This is a huge issue for you, the constitutional question of Northern Ireland, I wrote
about this, CNN's opinion page just two weeks ago saying precisely this. This was always going to be the DUP position.
[15:10:10]
ROBERTSON: And I say this not from a point of satisfaction, but having spent close to 30 years covering on and off the troubles in Northern
Ireland, the politics of Northern Ireland and this has been the core issue for the DUP as I've been saying over the recent few days that even though
they didn't support the Good Friday Agreement and 80% of the population in Northern Ireland turned out to vote and 70% supported the Good Friday
Agreement in Northern Ireland, and the DUP didn't over the past two decades, they have risen to become the most popular party in Northern
Ireland, the strongest party.
So in their DNA is the position that they cannot relinquish the Constitutional position of Northern Ireland relative to the whole of the
United Kingdom, and just to complete that thought, that view has been endorsed in the toughest of times by their electorate which for any
politicians is the critical bottom line. This was not in doubt.
QUEST: Right. All three of you -- we're going to bring up our Brexitometer as we are tracking the shifts in sentiment with our
Brexitometer. Now, the Brexitometer has several selections. It has a general election, no Brexit, a second referendum, leaving with a deal,
leaving without a deal. We're going to have it spin fast and furious. Nic, you get the first go at the Brexitometer.
In a sentence where are we tonight?
ROBERTSON: Richard, you just can't answer this in a sentence. And I wish I could, and I know I often speak too long. Where we are right now is a
point of deeper confusion, deeper uncertainty, but those outside of here, the European Union, I think have a better idea because they are less
willing to hope and more willing to trust on the past practice on what they have seen and that is in two weeks' time, Britain is not going to be in a
position to have voted successfully on a deal.
QUEST: All right. Carole, Bianca, where are we on the Brexitometer?
WALKER: Well, I was interested to see that needle on the dial there was wavering at one stage into the general election territory and I think that
it has to be a realistic option. We heard the Prime Minister ...
QUEST: General election.
WALKER: ... herself saying today that the process here in Parliament was reaching its limits. If you have a Parliament that has rejected the Prime
Minister's deal three times. It has rejected eight other alternatives. It has rejected no deal. It has rejected no Brexit. It simply cannot reach a
conclusion.
Surely at that stage, at some stage, we have to be in general election territory.
QUEST: Carole has taken the needle into general election. Where are you taking it?
NOBILO: I concur. This Parliament has exhausted its political capital. I think we are moving in that direction.
QUEST: Moving in that direction, all right. Another general election. Some of the hardline Brexiteers changed their minds and decided to vote for
Theresa May's deal this time around. I'll speak to one of them in just a moment.
And at 11:00 tonight, it was supposed to be the moment of truth, of triumph, now pro-Brexit protesters are voicing their anger at the
politicians who failed to deliver.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:15:00]
QUEST: Even the offer to fall on our own sword was not enough for Theresa May to get her deal through Parliament. There is a witty comment she tried
to fall on her own sword and missed. While the margins got narrower each time but she was still short by a few dozen votes.
Nigel Evans is a member of the Theresa May's Party and a member of the European Research Group whose members have typically opposed the deal until
recently. You voted today?
NIGEL EVANS, BRITISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, CONSERVATIVE PARTY: Yes, indeed, but still a number of my colleagues didn't. The problem is the DUP
and the backstop. They weren't prepped to go into what they may see as a Customs Union.
QUEST: You've got two choices. You're either amending and keep changing so that you eventually make it palatable to the DUP and the more -- the
harder Brexiteers in your Party or you do it without them by good rubbing onto a Customs Union or you're attaching something else to it.
EVANS: It depends for what the Customs Union is all about and I think that if you're talking about the sale of goods so we can buy the Mercedes cars,
Prosecco champagne and all of that and there are no tariffs put on that, it obviates the need for the backstop and I think that that could be the way
forward.
So I am hearing all sorts of rumors, Richard, as you know, it's early days.
QUEST: I do, but you don't need to be a rocket scientist to take each of this to a logical conclusion and a Customs Union does preclude the U.K.
doing other deals.
EVANS: Well, that's where the difference would have to be. Because clearly, we have to be able to do our own free trade deals throughout the
world, but still, we can still do that with being so closely aligned to the European Union on goods which is what the Prime Minister was talking about
in any event.
So basically, we can have the Customs relation or a Customs Union, but it's a relationship. But also obviating the need for the backstop. Nigel Dodds
the DUP leader today made it absolutely clear to the Prime Minister on a point of order that if you can sort out this backstop, then we can go on to
the next stage.
The last thing the European Union wants is us fighting the E.U. elections.
QUEST: Sorting out the backstop is not possible according to many. And not only that, even if he does, so she gets the 10 from the DUP and she
gets a few more --
EVANS: Yes, we've done it.
QUEST: No, you haven't ...
EVANS: Over the line.
QUEST: There's ten from the DUP.
EVANS: Twenty eight Tories who voted with --
QUEST: That's only 30. You need 58.
EVANS: No, no, no, because they voted no, they'll be voting yes. So it doubles up. We've got it over the line. I've done my math, I promise you,
Richard. I am not a brilliant mathematician, but it is so important.
Because for Theresa May, it's the legacy. So she wouldn't be bringing this back if she wanted a dead horse to be flogged for the four time and it has
to be sufficiently different to get over the Speaker Bercow's ruling that you can't bring something back that's unchanged.
She needs something substantially changed.
QUEST: What?
EVANS: Well, it's got to be something to do with a customs relationship which allows us to go on to the next stage without the backstop threatening
them.
QUEST: So you have indicative votes ...
EVANS: Yes.
QUEST: ... on Monday.
EVANS: Yes.
QUEST: And the indicative vote probably coalesces around the Customs Union.
EVANS: Something, any form.
QUEST: Right. She then has to somehow to work that into the plan to pass that or go back to the E.U. the following week and say, I can't get it
through but I can get something through in the future if you give me an extension of a year.
EVANS: Well, that's when we would have to fight the European Union elections.
QUEST: Fine.
EVANS: That would be totally unacceptable. Well, it may be fine for you, but it wouldn't be fine for people over my shoulder where quite frankly,
Nigel Farage, the leader of the New Brexit Party would be rubbing his hands. But everybody else would be panned because people will see that as
a betrayal. Three years after the referendum, they'd say, "What? You're fighting the European Union elections?"
[15:20:10]
QUEST: Why get so hung up on fighting the European elections which is just a means to an end?
EVANS: Well, I'll tell you what, you've seen what it's like when we have a two-week extension. Thousands of people on the streets very angry here in
my own constituency of the Ribble Valley and Nika Shilley came up to me this weekend and said, "Hey Sir Nigel, I voted remain. Get on with it."
QUEST: Did they?
EVANS: Yes, they did. So I believe that there is going to be great focus on not having a long extension. We've had this two weeks and it's up to
the European Union to show that they too don't want us to fight those E.U. elections either. They want to get on with the next stage ...
QUEST: Nigel, Nigel.
EVANS: ... we are not going to hamper their project of the United States of Europe once we're out. But we have got to get out and the Prime
Minister wants her legacy. She wants to turn around after May 22nd and say, "At least the United Kingdom is out of the European Union."
QUEST: When do you expect that the she'll bring it back next week?
EVANS: My hunch feeling will be that after they have the indicative votes on Monday.
QUEST: That's Monday?
EVANS: Tuesday.
QUEST: That quickly?
EVANS: Yes, the thing is going to be very quickly, indeed. Don't forget. She wants to be able -- there is this meeting, Council meeting on April,
the 10th.
QUEST: Yes, that's the following week.
EVANS: I know that, but she will want to show that she's made progress. Parliament itself, don't forget, there's a lot of Labour MPs over there who
will represent leave constituencies, they will want to go back to their constituents at some stage and say, listen, I've not let you down and we
voted for something that we now believe will allow the United Kingdom to leave on May 22nd.
QUEST: Well --
EVANS: I love these chats, but I don't want them to go on for another 12 months, Richard.
QUEST: That makes two of us. I assure you, Nigel. There are better things to be doing on a Friday. No, I don't. No, I don't. Ribble. Next
time we meet, after this is all over, we'll meet in your constituency.
EVANS: Absolutely.
QUEST: Beautiful part of the world.
EVANS: The Swan With Two Necks, CAMRA Pub of the Year 2013.
QUEST: And you're paying.
EVANS: Of course, I'm paying.
QUEST: Good. You could pay for putting us through this. Thank you, sir. Good to see you.
Donald Tusk has called an emergency E.U. summit on April the 10th in the light of the Brexit vote. The Commission says it regrets the result as
that means Brexit is now set to happen on April the 12th. The E.U.'s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier says they're ready for a no deal scenario.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEL BARNIER, E.U. CHIEF BREXIT NEGOTIATOR: Let me be frank, ladies and gentlemen, without a positive choice, the default option will be no deal,
which has become more likely. It was never our scenario, but the E.U. 27 is now prepared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: So time to join the conversation, please. We've been talking a lot about this during the course of the day and you have strong views on it.
So please, your phones and whatever device you would like to use. cnn.com/join. How should European leaders respond? Should they grand the
U.K. a short extension, a much longer one, or should they insist the U.K. leaves in two weeks' time with no deal? In other words, is it time to say
we've had enough, go before we throw you out? You can see the results on the bottom of the screen.
More reaction on the E.U. reaction. Erin McLaughlin is in Brussels tonight. Erin, now, what a day. What a day. So tell me, we've heard the
protestations of we're sorry, the British haven't done this or that, but will they actually do something active? What do they want on April 10th?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: They want clarity. They want the U.K. to very clearly define a way forward for the Brexit process. They
prefer this be through the deal actually getting over the line at Westminster, Richard, but at this point, no one here in Brussels believes
that's even a remote possibility and they're also skeptical that this indicatives votes that are expected on Monday will yield a consensus.
So in the minds of many people here in Brussels, that leaves two options, which is a long extension or that no deal possibility which is seen as
catastrophic for both sides of the English Channel. There was a meeting of Ambassadors yesterday talking about that no deal possibility and sort of
the next steps should that happen, should the U.K. fall off the cliff and want a comeback to the E.U. in a no deal scenario to try and get some sort
of bilateral deals going while the very first thing according to a diplomat, the E.U. would put down on the table is something that looks
remarkably similar to the withdrawal agreement.
QUEST: All right. Are they annoyed? Are they frustrated? Are they angry? Are they pissed off?
[15:25:10]
MCLAUGHLIN: I think they're incredibly frustrated and there this sense of growing concern and at this point, a key priority here in Brussels is to
make sure if the U.K. falls off the cliff, it's the U.K.'s choice. So what we've seen ever since that Summit that happened last week that you were at,
Richard, with me, when the 27 E.U. leaders all decided to create this April 12th cliff edge date are setting forward a set of options, a menu of
choices, pushing the U.K. to make the tough decisions and to make them in quick order, April 10th really is not far away and that's when the E.U.
wants to see on the table a concrete plan, a way to get out of this mess. Totally unclear at this point if the U.K. is capable of that.
QUEST: Erin, thank you. A few hours to go before we all finish tonight. Erin, thank you.
When we return the political paralysis continues in Parliament, protesters have gathered outside to demand the lawmakers follow through. You can see
them, the hard core protesters are there now, their shouting is still a simple message, they want Brexit and they want it now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, there is more "Quest Means Business" in just a moment when Britain's Brexit delay threatens to chaos in the
upcoming European Parliamentary elections. And Lyft takes the checkered flag as it beats its big rivals to go public on the NASDAQ. We'll get the
numbers and we will show you how they are performed.
As we continue, this is CNN and on this network the facts always come first.
British lawmakers voted down the Prime Minister's E.U. withdrawal agreement for the third time. .
[15:30:10]
It only lost by 58 votes, which is getting narrower. The U.K. is to leave the EU without a deal on April the 12th. Unless Prime Minister Theresa
May is able to get yet another extension from Brussels or have MPs agree on a softer Brexit, at least, there are just several other possibilities.
A chaotic scene in Algeria's capital, police are using water cannons against protesters, trying to clear the streets as hundreds of thousands of
people are demanding the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Algeria's powerful Army chief is also calling for the president's removal.
In Bangladesh, at least 25 people are confirmed dead from Thursday's tower fire in Dhaka. Police said seven of those people died having jumped,
trying to escape from the building's upper floors. The search operation is now complete. President Trump has repeated his threat to close the
southern border with Mexico, saying he could act as soon as next week.
On Twitter, the president said he would close large sections of the border unless Mexico immediately stopped all illegal immigration into the United
States. An anti-stall feature automatically kicked in just before a plane crashed in Ethiopia earlier this month, that's according to the "Wall
Street Journal" support -- citing sources familiar with the preliminary investigative report.
If true, the findings suggest the feature played a role both in the Ethiopian crash and in another 737 crash in Indonesia, the Lion Air crash
last year. The British Prime Minister taking a hit, following the Brexit vote in parliament, this is how it's currently trading.
The range that we had seen of late, it is back over 1.30, it dropped to 1.29 at one particular point. But -- so the range is of 1.30 to 1.32 is
being maintained, but only and barely just. Sterling's falls have often been the FTSE's gains. Many companies listed on the bench market index
trade internationally and a weaker pound of course bruised the gains.
And this just shows how the FTSE has done since the referendum which is really quite remarkable. Although, having dropped in the early part of
May, and then pushed itself back up again, so small gains. So the business community is exhausted from all the hub and bub around Brexit.
They say it's causing damage to companies and they just want to move on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM MARSHALL, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Must land on something and stick with it so that businesses have the clarity and
precision mainly to get on and trade. Brexit has caused so much uncertainty in our business communities over the last three years, and a
lot of companies feel like they're going around in circles.
MIKE CHERRY, NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, FEDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES: It's those really small businesses who are in the majority a part of supply chains,
who are having to either stockpile, which is tearing up work and capital by having contracts removed from them, by having produce removed from shelves
here in the U.K. So, it's a real impact whether it's causing damage to small businesses.
PAUL DRECHSLER, VICE PRESIDENT, CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY: It's very clear from a business point of view that something that delivers the
benefits of the Customs Union is in the best interests of peace, prosperity --
QUEST: Right --
DRECHSLER: And economic growth in Ireland.
NIGEL WILSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LEGAL & GENERAL: It's like in business, you know, it's time to make a decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: John Longworth is here; the co-chair of the Leave Means Leave and former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, good to see
you, sir --
JOHN LONGWORTH, CO-CHAIR, LEAVE MEANS LEAVE & FORMER DIRECTOR GENERAL, BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE: Good evening --
QUEST: We saw you earlier in the week --
LONGWORTH: Yes, indeed --
QUEST: Now, what's your prediction for what happens next?
LONGWORTH: Well, the great betrayal of course would be the indicative votes for the permanent Customs Union, this replaces the backstop, wins
over the DUP and Labor and the U.K. ends up signing up to a permanent Customs Union with the European Union.
Which of course means that, effectively, we'll pay 39 billion pounds for no say in the political structures and in all other respects will end up being
back in.
QUEST: The Customs Union substituting for the backstop though, that could be a temporary as a longer-term free trade agreement is worked out.
LONGWORTH: Well, if that was guaranteed, that of course would mimic the transition period, so that would be acceptable.
QUEST: Right, but it would be accepted, the transition period can't get through it because of the backstop. But I'm saying if the Customs Union
becomes the temporary bridge --
LONGWORTH: Yes, I --
QUEST: Would you accept that?
LONGWORTH: Well, if it could be guaranteed. The problem is of course, the trust in the politician is completely broken down because they have lied so
many times. I mean, our own Prime Minister has said over 120 times in parliament on the record, we would leave on the 29th of March. Look what
has happened.
[15:35:00] QUEST: As you can hear, feelings are running high. Nobody has a simple solution or an easier answer. I always remember John Major saying
this about Northern Ireland. If there were any easy answers, don't you think we would have found them. But if they vote for a Customs Union next
week, do you believe that's something the Prime Minister can take back to Brussels on April the 10th?
LONGWORTH: I think she's likely to because it would suit her and the EU --
QUEST: But she's still got to get the Withdrawal Agreement done.
LONGWORTH: Because of course, she wanted to be in the Customs Union, she wanted the Withdrawal Agreement to be a trap to be in the Customs Union.
You know, there isn't an easy answer, we simply leave it though to deal --
QUEST: That's got off the agenda there.
LONGWORTH: Well, it's still an easy answer, of course, it could be one of the 27 refuse to actually cancel its own -- interesting, in which case they
will have done us an enormous favor because the U.K. parliament will be boosted as a consequence.
QUEST: Are you secretly hoping that's what happens because on no -- that's the only -- as we sit here tonight, it seems that's the only way you'll
ever get your no deal.
LONGWORTH: It's the only way that we'll ever get a no deal in the short term. Of course, there could be a long extension --
QUEST: Yes --
LONGWORTH: And when the country actually sees what the verdict is on the way it's been handled through European election, the political
establishment might actually wake up, and this is the reason why the two major parties don't want a long extension. Because they know that people
will vote for European elections and they will be slaughtered.
QUEST: There's an argument that says if the Euro -- if they vote in the European elections, you go into a long extension, the momentum goes out of
this. Suddenly, what was it all about? Well, we're there, let's stay, we don't need a Brexit.
LONGWORTH: Well, there's a risk of that. I mean, our own polling shows that 20 percent of the population simply won't vote again, and actually 38
percent of people who voted leave and are Tories are saying they will never vote again. But that is actually an indictment of democracy, and you
could get those people fired up very easily.
You know, I've been involved in the march from Sunderland to London over the last three weeks, and she arrived in parliament, swear for a rally to
be, and then have that march, the real heroes and the 50 people who marched the whole way like how you call marches.
The fact is across the country, outside this Westminster bubble, people are hugely angry, furious, passionate, they're hooting their horns, coming out
and supporting that march. Yes, there's a massive amount of frustration.
QUEST: Can I ask you, one question I've always wanted to ask is, I mean, how does somebody who is head of the -- former head of the British Chamber
of Commerce, when the current chamber, many of the members are vehement remainers, absolute strong remainers. How do you not see the damage that
would be caused in the short term by a no deal Brexit?
LONGWORTH: How do you say it's bodies such as that, deciding in the first place, not to put pressure on the government. The government is simply
saying we're leaving on the 29th of March, here you are, the -- if you want a trade deal, we'll give you one.
There have been absolute certainty and a lot of the problems that this has had would dispute. All those trade associations put together represent
less than 20 percent of businesses. And I can tell you this, the British Chambers itself, the only survey they've ever done since the beginning of
the referendum campaign was six weeks before the referendum, and they did a stratified sample.
The only businesses that voted in that survey --
QUEST: Right --
LONGWORTH: To remain were businesses that only traded with Europe. The rest of them, those who traded with the rest of the world and domestically
said that they wanted to leave by a majority. That's 90 percent of the economy.
QUEST: Right, good to see you, sir --
LONGWORTH: Likewise --
QUEST: Have a good weekend.
LONGWORTH: Thank you.
QUEST: We'll talk about this and we'll be back here together next week.
LONGWORTH: The sun shines on the righteous, we have good weather today.
QUEST: Don't push it too far, John, it's for -- good to see you, sir, have a good weekend. Outside parliament amid a sense of anger and betrayal,
Brexiteers have taken to the streets in protests hours before Britain was supposed to depart the European Union for good.
Thousands of people who voted to leave, gathered to make their demand, make Brexit happen. And the U.K. leader Gerald Barton(ph) and the far right
figure Tommy Robinson(ph) were amongst the speakers. The numbers gathered here dwarfed by the million people who turned out last Saturday in support
of the remain campaign. As the political paralysis continues in parliament, demonstrators from all the country voiced their frustration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were expecting to celebrate our independence as a sovereign nation today, not having to fetch this start again from scratch.
Although, we're very angry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I've seen now is a bunch of politicians sitting in parliament doing what they want to do, ignoring everybody else, and I
really feel like I've lost my trust in the politicians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:40:00] QUEST: Matthew Chance is with the protesters tonight. Matthew, they were loud and noisy earlier, they're still loud and noisy.
Well, often finds with the addition of a bit of alcohol things get rowdy.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, I think it's true that the vast majority of the thousands of people that were
turning out here today have now departed parliament square. The area has cleared out considerably.
But there's still, you know, a group of people that are still here, perhaps a hard core that's remaining. There's been -- there's been, you know, some
pubs down the road that have closed, I think they were shut down to prevent people having too much alcohol. Nevertheless, you know, this is sort of
like poorer people here in this line protesting, and the thousands of people that came out here tonight.
They were, of course, all leavers. This was the day that the leavers came out. It was meant to be a day of celebration, originally of course is the
day that Britain was meant to leave the European Union. It hasn't done that. And there was some satisfaction, I think, from the crowds when they
heard that Theresa May's deal did not pass for the third time.
People here did not regard it as the kind of Brexit that they want, and you know, but that celebration was tinged with a concern. And still, as I
think will speak to any of these people here all the same. Look, in the end, we don't believe Brexit is going to happen, European Union, the
parliaments area and just the parliament are going to intervene in some way and prevent it from happening.
That's why people here are saying this is a -- this is a betrayal of democracy. But you know, so nevertheless, you know, that's the opinion
being expressed here. As you mentioned, we had to balance that with the fact that last week, hundreds of thousands of people turned out with the
opposite point of view. So, you know, the protestors are divided, the parliament is divided, of course, as is, you know, the country as a whole,
Richard.
QUEST: Matthew, what do they hope to gain from such noisy protests other than just venting a frustration?
CHANCE: Well, I mean, certainly, there's been a lot of venting of frustration, a lot of abuse actually as well directed towards the media.
But a lot of more sort of, you know, a reset of the protesters are saying that I've spoken to is that, look, if Brexit does not follow through, if
they don't -- if the country doesn't leave the European Union -- actually, even if it does at this point, there is going -- there are going to be
political --
QUEST: Right --
CHANCE: Consequences. Candidates and constituencies up and down the country that will remain may well be punished at the ballot box. That's
the threat of political consequences that's coming from some people here who have been protesting throughout the course of the day, Richard.
QUEST: Good grief, Matthew. I'm trying to see if I can see you over there. But you're doing valiant work as you try to beat the noise all over
the -- just in, reporting from(ph) -- Matthew Chance, thank you. Matthew is somewhere over in the yonder from over here.
The noises are getting louder, but it is good natured up to a point, and it is extremely loud. And thankfully, the person with the bell and the drum
appears to think that Friday night is finished for those sort of games. And look, that might be a bit -- oh, no, and now they're making the phone
start up again. Look, there are those on the continent who say Brussels shares some responsibility for this.
We're joined by a German member of the European parliament to gauge the mood. Good evening, you're most welcome at Westminster.
[15:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: A key date to remember as May the 23rd. Look at the crowd, there they are. They are waiting for Brexit of some sort or another. They had
hoped that they were going to get. Now, May the 23rd, this is when elections for the European parliament begin.
And if the U.K. extends, Brexit prolong(ph) April the 12th, then Britain will have to take part. That will create a major and just full headache
for the Britain and the rest of the EU, not least of which because of course, the seats have been divvied out.
To join in the conversation, get out your phones and go to cnn.com-slash- join. How should European leaders respond? Should they grant a short extension, another short extension, a much longer one or should the
preference be to insist the U.K. leaves in two weeks time with no deal?
Cnn.com-slash-join is where you'll vote, and at the moment no deal is winning 59 percent. From Berlin, Hans-Olaf Henkel is a German member of
the European parliament, also a former president of the Federation of the German industries. And Hans, I apologize, we have a long delay between us
and I've got a noisy crowd behind me. But when you look at what happened today, what do you want and what do you believe is the next best thing
forward?
HANS-OLAF HENKEL, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER, GERMANY: Well, the most immediate thing coming into my mind is that, you are not getting caught by
the revolution behind you. But -- or seriousness, I think for me, the events of today and a couple days ago when there were these various votes
are quite positive because I think they keep the door open for a second referendum with hopefully a different result than the last one.
QUEST: And what position would the European parliament fit? How would the European parliament, your fellows MPs feel if Britain had to go to the
polls because it had a long extension?
HENKEL: Well, this is very interesting. With the exception of the people around Nigel Farage and some of the conservative Brexiteers, I haven't met
any member of the European Parliament who don't regret Britain leaving. Having said that, I should also say that I haven't met many people who
tried to do anything about it.
And I think it is high time that the European parliament as well as the European Commission and the Council does something about it. The first
think they now have to do is I think they have to offer Britain an unlimited extension. Why should they limit the extension? The European
Court of Justice has said that it is the right of the British government to by themselves to decide, for instance, to re-invoke Article 50.
So why shouldn't -- then the British government be given the right to have an unlimited extension. I think that is the first thing the European
Brussels should offer to Britain at this moment.
QUEST: Is that realistic when the EU wants certainty, when the EU wants to be able to move off Brexit? Does it not require a certain terminal date?
And anyway, I mean, what would you do in terms of the seats? How are you going to re-divide the seats so that Britain get its representation in the
parliament?
[15:50:00] HENKEL: Well, that is of course a very good question and the answer is very simple. If Britain goes beyond May 22, then, which is when
the European elections start, then Britain will have to participate at the European elections. And it is the right of the British to get their 73
seats.
I always thought it was a scandal, that one-third of those seats were reallocated to other countries. I was always saying that if Britain really
leaves, then the size of the European parliament should have been reduced by 73 seats and not like ventures other countries trying to get the prey.
So I think --
QUEST: Right --
HENKEL: This is rather simple. The seats will remain.
QUEST: And one way, well, it's certainly going to be an interesting couple of weeks, thank you, sir. I like your idea of the infinitive -- or the
infinite extension. I don't think there are -- I'm not sure the council will go for it, but it's one to watch. Thank you for joining us, have a
very pleasant weekend, sir.
As you and I continue tonight, Lyft goes public and the stock hits the bust bubble. Investors are ready for a ride. Coming up next -- and there's
only nine minutes left of trading on Wall Street, the week is just about done.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Lyft debut on the Nasdaq on Friday at $87 a share. A 20 percent jump on the initial IPO price. The further means investors are hungry for
the growing digital economy, they will need to confirm though Lyft's losses this year of over $900 million. Now, more than any U.S. start-up, Lyft has
lost in nearly before its IPO.
Lyft is now the first ride-hailing app to list on Wall Street. Uber, of course, a significantly larger business will watch and learn as it prepares
its own room with listing later this year. The shares are up almost 10 percent.
[15:55:00] For more unicorn whisperer, a guru whisperer is Paul La Monica. So a vehement, an elevated IPO price which had a strong pop in the market
which suggests what, Paul?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think it shows that despite those losses that you've already referred to, Richard, that investors are
clearly hungry for companies that are growing on the top line very rapidly. And also, Lyft is you know, a fairly well known brand name now in the U.S.
along with Uber. And you know, brands do well on Wall Street. We saw that with a Levi Strauss IPO last week obviously at a much older company
and a profitable one at that.
QUEST: And when do we expect Uber to go to the market?
LA MONICA: Yes, that's a great question. We are hoping that we will see an Uber IPO sometime later this year, having really gotten an indication of
when exactly that might be. They still have to file their official paperwork, not just the confidential filing with the SEC, but we're
probably going to get more unicorns coming sometime soon. Pinterest has filed for its IPO, there's a lot of speculation --
QUEST: Right, oh --
LA MONICA: About Airbnb, it slack.
QUEST: Paul, are we all living in a fool's world -- a fool's wonder land when we look at these IPOs, these companies they make no money?
LA MONICA: Yes, I think it is a legitimate concern the lack of profitability at Lyft, but I'd be reluctant to say that, you know, things
are going back to the craziness that we saw in the late '90s when companies went public. Remember back then, I mean, there are companies who were much
smaller than Lyft and Uber and Pinterest would go public and their shares would go up 500 percent, 600 percent in a day.
I mean, the fact that Lyft is only up about 10 percent shows that --
QUEST: All right --
LA MONICA: You know, investors are much more measured now.
QUEST: Paul La Monica, thank you, have a good weekend, sir.
LA MONICA: Me too, thank you.
QUEST: We will be back with you next week. We are live outside the houses of parliament as the Brexit count-down clock got to reset. So we'll go
through all the details at the top of the hour. But the gist of it is -- oh, it's now 8:00 in London, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, they should have been
celebrating three hours from now, leaving of the European Union. Instead, they're just shouting on the street, shouting victory all. Oh, but what a
view, Saint Stephen's Tower, Friday evening, this is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
