Brexit

A Brussels politician has recommended Boris Johnson “pay for EU workers to stay” in the UK in a direct swipe at the government’s voluntary scheme to repatriate them. Former Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said it was Britain’s “loss” and the EU’s “gain” after hearing about a scheme by the Home Office to pay EU nationals to voluntarily return […]

The Home Office has launched a voluntary repatriation scheme for EU nationals living in the UK. The Guardian has learned EU citizens are being offered financial incentives to leave the UK, months before the deadline to apply for settled status. Since January 1, EU citizens have been added to the government scheme which promises to pay […]

An expert has warned that Brexit negotiations with the EU could continue for half a century – as Britain tries to improve the existing deal it has agreed. Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, told the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change that the UK could end up like Switzerland – a […]

Nigel Farage has been reminded of a comment he made claiming that fishing rights would be the “acid test” of any Brexit deal. A 33-second recording showing Farage making those claims have resurfaced on Twitter around the same time a former campaigner complained Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal had left her with “no fish”. “Acid test of Brexit […]

Conservative MPs have abstained on a motion to protect holiday pay, paid breaks, the 48-hour working week limit and legislation that bans firing and rehiring. While the motion was supported by 263 MPs, Tory MPs did not vote, with many Tory politicians failing to turn up for the debate. Labour frontbencher Andy McDonald told the Commons: […]

A group of EU citizens living in the UK who were prevented from voting in the 2019 European Parliament elections because of onerous registration requirements is preparing to take the government to court. The3million, which campaigns for an estimated three million EU citizens living in the UK, has taken legal action against the Cabinet Office […]

The UK’s role in a diplomatic row with the EU over the status of the bloc’s ambassador in London has been branded “vindictive” and “offensive” in the Lords. Foreign office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said the government continued to engage with the EU on the long-term arrangements for the EU delegation. Lord Ahmad told […]

Officials in Brussels are planning to launch a communication campaign aimed at teaching young Britons about the EU, a leaked internal document obtained by the Express has shown. According to the news platform, the document shows plans to target the “younger generation” in the UK because of a perceived level of support for the EU. Brussels […]

The government has defied fresh calls to scrap the Festival of Brexit – due to take place in 2022 at a cost to taxpayers of £120 million – after a petition was launched to get the event cancelled. A spokesperson has claimed it will give the country a chance to “champion all that is great […]

A former Brexit Party MEP who owns a seafood company and campaigned on fishing being ‘great’ for coastal communities across the UK has said Boris Johnson’s deal has left her with “no fish”. June Mummery said waiting five years for fishing quotas to expire was “a long time when you have nothing”. Mummery, who campaigned during with […]

A Telegraph columnist has blamed German chancellor Angela Merkel for Britain’s decision to exit the European Union. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard claimed Merkel was “more responsible for Brexit than any other political figure in Europe”. He used an op-ed in the Sunday Telegraph to say the chancellor’s attempt to resuscitate the European Constitution had “sown the seeds of British […]

MEPs have voted to add British overseas territories such as the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, and Jersey to its post-Brexit tax havens blacklist. The resolution passed through the European parliament with a majority of 537 and saw territories with 0% tax regimes automatically added to the list. Britain’s membership of the European Union had afforded […]

A Brexiteer has encouraged the UK government to buy the Eurostar business from the French – and to rename it ‘Britstar’. Eurostar, which operated more than 50 daily services before the pandemic, revealed in November it is “fighting for its survival”. The firm has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, with a 95% fall […]

A former Brexit Party MEP has died in a diving accident near his home in the Bahamas. Robert Rowland, 54, represented the South East of England at the European Parliament from July 2019 until December 2020. Nigel Farage announced the death of the father-of-four, who was born in Bowdon, Greater Manchester, on the website of […]

Alastair Campbell’s article asking “What more could Remainers have done” (TNE 226) continues to prompt letters… Do not give up! A single pro-EU unified pressure group (not linked to any political party) is needed, ideally with a charismatic figurehead (but not a divisive politician). We need to attract massive funding (I am sure many in […]

The EU’s top Brexit official has warned Downing Street to be “very careful” in how it handles the diplomatic status of the EU’s ambassador to London. Michel Barnier, who brokered a trade deal with Britain on behalf of the EU, said it would be “wise” for the UK to find a solution to the dispute over its […]

A rethink is already needed over the government’s free trade agreement. It is already becoming obvious, less than a month in, that the current free trade agreement is not sustainable. As one example, Northern Ireland is severely disadvantaged in terms of goods imported from the rest of the UK and a number of hauliers and […]

The DUP has strongly rejected suggestions it should have supported Theresa May’s Brexit deal, which would have provided a backstop and avoided the creation of the Northern Ireland protocol which was part of Boris Johnson’s agreement. Lord Dodds told the Belfast Telegraph: “Some people have mistakenly suggested that if Theresa May’s backstop had been accepted, we […]

Some UK retailers are considering abandoning or burning goods returned by EU customers due to the cost and trouble of bringing them back into the country, an industry boss said. The BBC reports the Brexit trade deal has seen many European customers rejecting goods imported from the UK after being presented with unexpected customs charges […]

Scottish students could continue participating in the Erasmus exchange programme in spite of Brexit, The Times has revealed. Officials in Holyrood and Brussels have entered into talks over extending the Erasmus scheme to Scottish students, the paper reports, after almost 150 MEPs wrote EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen asking whether Scotland and Wales could rejoin the […]

A Question Time audience member has called on politicians to prepare for a border poll in Northern Ireland “even if it isn’t for another ten years”. The audience member told Northern Ireland first and deputy first ministers Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neil that Stormont had a lot to learn from the “shambles of the Brexit […]

If Brexit really was about winding up ‘Radio 4 types’ like MITCH BENN, there were easier ways to go about it. The more the effects of Brexit make themselves felt, the harder it gets to understand what the point of it was in the first place. During what for want of a more descriptive term […]

Almost half of Welsh voters would rejoin the EU, a new poll has found.  Despite a Brexit deal being reached at the eleventh hour, 44% of Welsh voters told ITV News they would vote yes if EU membership was put to another referendum. By comparison, 38% would reject rejoining and almost a fifth – 19% – said […]

Labour MPs have tabled an Opposition Day debate motion to protect employment rights now under threat as a result of Brexit.  With the UK no longer bound by EU directives, rights enshrined in their wording – such as holiday pay and statutory working limits – can be stripped away.  Sir Keir Starmer – together with […]

Bob Geldof has claimed “lying is second nature” to Boris Johnson’s government as he accused it of betraying British businesses to deliver Brexit. Geldof said Downing Street were “a hapless lot” who put politics ahead of the economic wellbeing of the nation. The Irish singer-songwriter turned political activist claimed No 10 was never serious about clenching a […]

The EU is to blame for British musicians not being able to tour in Europe, Jacob Rees-Mogg has attempted to claim. Rees-Mogg shrugged off accusations Downing Street rejected an offer to extend the EU music visa scheme that allowed artists to perform freely in Europe for up to 90 days. Earlier this week, culture minister Caroline […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL compares the recent resignation of the Dutch cabinet with the lack of scrutiny and accountability of our own leaders. It is now almost a quarter of a century since I jumped the journalistic fence into frontline political combat. By the time another quarter of a century is done, assuming I survive that long, […]

A Tory MP has complained Brexit has meant there is less scrutiny of trade deals struck by the UK government than when the country was part of the European Union. Jonathan Djanogly was appearing in the debate on the government’s trade bill where he warned that there must be “meaningful scrutiny” of future trade deals […]

Michel Barnier has become the first foreign winner of the European of the Year award given by the European Movement Ireland group thanks to his work on Brexit negotiations. The EU negotiator was given the award via a virtual ceremony for his role in defending the Republic of Ireland’s interests during Brexit negotiations. Barner also received praised […]

Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly has called upon Ireland to fill the void left by the UK’s departure from the Erasmus programme.  With the UK’s withdrawal confirmed following Brexit, Kelly – a long-time advocate of the initiative – urged Irish colleges to take advantage of the country’s new-found status: “16,000 EU students participate in an Erasmus in the […]

A Tory Brexiteer has claimed that the Electoral Commission “hated Leave campaigners'” claiming he had never before encountered “an organisation that was maliciously undermining the democratic process and attacking individuals because of their political views”. Peter Bone made an intervention as MPs were asked to approve the appointment of Alex Attwood, an SDLP former environment minister in the […]

The UK and the EU have clashed over the status the trading bloc’s ambassador in London should have. The UK government is refusing to grant Joao Vale de Almeida full diplomatic status offered to other ambassadors. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is insisting he and his officials should not have privileges and immunities afforded to […]