Brexit

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 […]

A minister has finally accepted that Brexit has contributed to shortages on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland. International trade secretary Liz Truss acknowledged that Brexit had caused issues while appearing on the Peston programme, but claimed that “predictions of armageddon” had not happened. Ireland’s foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney denied the government’s original assertion that Covid-19 was […]

The Northern Ireland secretary has urged MPs not to “overstate” issues at the border which have led to supply issues in supermarkets.  Brandon Lewis said that whilst there have been “challenges” to overcome in the first few weeks since the end of the Brexit transition period, “goods are moving” to and from the island. Responding to […]

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw has called out the prime minister over his false promises made over Brexit. Speaking at the latest session of Prime Minister’s Questions, Bradshaw asked Johnson: “When the prime minister told the fishermen in the South West that they would not face new export barriers or unnecessary form filling. And when he […]

Roger Daltrey has been accused of being a hypocrite after signing a letter calling on No 10 to help British bands tour EU countries after having previously dismissed concerns about the impact of Brexit on the UK’s music industry.  Daltrey, the lead singer of the rock band the Who, famously downplayed the effect of Brexit on bands touring Europe, once […]

Boris Johnson has narrowly avoided feat over a vote on a bid to outlaw post-Brexit trade deals with countries that are committing genocide. The prime minister’s working majority of 87 dwindled to just 11 as MPs voted to reverse an amendment to the Trade Bill made by the House of Lords by 319 votes to […]

Tory MPs have voted down a House of Lords amendment aimed at protecting the NHS from post-Brexit trade deals. The amendment, proposed by peers, would have blocked trade deals that “undermines or restricts” the ability to provide “a comprehensive publicly funded health service free at the point of delivery”. But Tory MPs voted down the […]

A Tory minister has admitted the UK rejected a proposal by the EU to extend the music visa scheme in favour of more stringent border policies. Culture minister Caroline Dinenage said No 10 declined the offer because it would have meant allowing “visa-free short-stays for all EU citizens”. Speaking in the House of Commons, Dinenage […]

Problems exporting fish to continental Europe as a result of Brexit are a sign that “decisions have consequences”, an EU ambassador has said. The European Union’s ambassador to the UK Joao Vale de Almeida warned that the consequences of leaving the single market and customs union meant that extra checks and paperwork were now an ongoing […]

A right-wing commentator has been accused of using unconventional polling methods to whip up support to end lockdown. Martin Daubney, a former Brexit Party MEP turned right-wing commentator, claimed some 80% of respondents of a Twitter poll he ran among his followers would vote in favour of ending lockdown if a referendum were called today. In a […]

New business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed that the government is set to review workers’ rights after Brexit, but claims that they will not be watered down. Kwarteng told the business, energy and industrial strategy committee that his department was carrying out a consultation with business leaders on the working time directive and other EU rules […]

Stormont’s agriculture minister has described the Northern Ireland secretary in Westminster as the “emperor with no clothes” after he said trade disruptions across the Irish Sea were due to Covid-19, and not Brexit. Edwin Poots said Brandon Lewis was “the emperor with no clothes – but instead of a small boy pointing out he’s naked, the […]

A Brexiteer MP has been criticised after suggesting Downing Street should break the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed to by Boris Johnson. Tory backbencher John Redwood was told to retire by a Twitter user after using the social media platform to call for the dumping of the Northern Ireland Protocol. “The government needs to give urgent attention to […]

A broadcaster has suggested Brexit has proven Bob Geldof to have been a better friend of the fishermen than Nigel Farage over Brexit. Geldof took on Farage on the Thames days before the EU referendum vote with a rival flotilla as the Brexiteer claimed the industry was “literally being destroyed as a result of EU […]

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland Brandon Lews has denied empty shop shelves in the country are because of Brexit. There have been calls from action from the government to resolve the trade chaos in the country following the end of the transition period which severed links between the EU and UK. But Lewis […]

Toilet and shower facilities are being provided for lorry drivers experiencing lengthy delays at Dublin Port due to Brexit red tape. New customs rules introduced as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU have created backlogs, as businesses and freight companies grapple with the added documentation. Some drivers have experienced delays of up […]

Boris Johnson has blamed seafood exporters for a collapse in sales after Brexit, claiming they were “not filling in the right forms”. Johnson also said the UK would control “all the fish” in its coastal waters in years to come. And he linked the crisis – caused by a mountain of new red tape imposed […]

Scottish seafood lorries have parked on the roads near Downing Street in protest against being “tied in knots with paperwork” by the Brexit fishing deal. Footage showed a number of HGVs descending on roads near 10 Downing Street in response to the issues they have faced in exporting seafood to the EU. A number of […]

Leave EU’s website has been suspended after the EU registry behind the domain address blocked a move from the Brexiteers to switch its registration to Ireland to avoid losing the .eu suffix. The group, founded by Brexiteer Arron Banks and supported by former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, attempted to move the registration from the […]

The foreign secretary has denied that the collapse of fishing businesses would be the result of Brexit. Dominic Raab claimed delays to fishing exports are just “teething problems” and that thee trading agreement will “create huge, sustainable opportunities” for the fishing sector. Exports of fresh fish and seafood have been severely disrupted by delays since […]

The UK would be “lucky” to strike a trade deal with Washington in Joe Biden’s first term as president, the former UK ambassador to the US has said. Ahead of Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, Lord (Kim) Darroch, who was forced to quit in 2019 after frank diplomatic cables referring to current President Donald Trump were […]

Not all pro-Europeans think Keir Starmer got his position wrong on the Brexit deal. Desmond Fitzgerald (Letters, TNE #226), thinks that Starmer should be ashamed for whipping Labour MPs to vote for the Brexit deal, but I think Starmer was right: 1. The vote wasn’t Leave or Remain, it was between a bad deal (terms […]

Are Remainers right to move to campaign to rejoin the EU? Readers discuss. At 11pm on December 31, Twitter was again flooded with #FBPE Tweets. For some, it was a last act of defiance. For others, 2021 marks the start of a long term campaign to rejoin the bloc. To my fellow former Remain supporters, […]

Fine Gael politician Neale Richmond has claimed Leave.EU is “a threat to democracy” and should not be welcomed into the Republic of Ireland. Richmond warned members of the Irish parliament that the Brexit lobby group was a “politically subversive organisation” that was allowed “a foothold in our democracy, [and there] will be an absolutely detrimental effect”. Leave.EU, the domain […]

MPs have a “moral duty” to protect the NHS from being negotiated in trade deals, campaigners have said as a vote on protecting the health service enters the House of Commons for a second time. Anti-privatisation campaigners claim that failing to protect the NHS from trade deals would open it up to being charged more […]

James O’Brien has schooled a Brexiteer refusing to accept new trade rules between the EU and the UK. Simon from Sevenoaks said taking back control of British waters was a major reason for his decision to vote Brexit but that he now feels disappointed it has resulted in the end of frictionless trade with the EU. Simons’ comments […]

Few politicians come with a reputation as controversial or fierce as Priti Patel’s. Ian Birrell talks to insiders to find out what lies behind that uncompromising image. Soon after Tony Blair won his second landslide election victory, the Daily Telegraph interviewed five women to ask why they wanted to become MPs for the stale, male and moribund Tory […]

Fishermen in Scotland have left UK waters and headed to Denmark to sell their fish in a bid to bypass new Brexit regulations agreed to by Boris Johnson. According to Danish newspaper Altinget, the fishing auction in Hanstholm has reported unusually high levels of interest from Scottish fishermen since January 1. “We are in dialogue with 10-15 new […]

The government’s choice for the chair of the BBC has claimed that Question Time has been filled with too many Remainers – and not enough Brexiteers. Despite Nigel Farage racking up 34 appearances on the political programme, and analysis finding a majority of MEPs appearing were pro-Brexit, Richard Sharp has complained the programme has been “unbalanced”. […]

Amber Rudd has said Boris Johnson has a “sort of language which he’s quite rightly nervous using in front of women” as the ex-home secretary hit out at the “boys’ club” atmosphere in the Commons. Rudd also accused the prime minister of going “backwards” on promoting women. The former cabinet minister said she quit Johnson’s […]

There are fears that the 48-hour working week could be scrapped under government plans for a post-Brexit overhaul of labour laws. The Financial Times reports that the government is planning to tear up key protections enshrined in EU law which could see workers lose paid holiday and force them to work longer. Business secretary Kwasi […]

It might have vanished with Brexit, but the UK’s rebate was crucial to understanding UK-EU relations. John Elsom explores its history In 1979, within six months of winning her first election, Margaret Thatcher attended her first European summit in Dublin. She went with a specific request. Britain was paying too much annually into the EEC’s budget and receiving too little in […]