Brexit

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on the dilemma facing the Labour Party, if the government secures a Brexit deal with the EU. Greetings from the depression front line. There is a lot if it around. Mine, and, judging by my inbox and random encounters on rare sorties out of the house, plenty of other people’s too. Being out […]

Labour will have to live with its decision on how it votes over a Brexit deal for years to come, says DENIS MacSHANE. Forty nine years ago, 69 brave Labour MPs broke with the party’s conventional wisdom, defied the official whip, and voted to take Britain into Europe. Amongst them was a future party leader, John Smith. The […]

A Brexiteer has sparked outrage after claiming Boris Johnson’s lockdown measures were an infringement of European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) laws. Steve Baker has raised eyebrows after claiming the prime minister’s lockdown measures breached ECHR regulations – the very laws he voted to repeal in 2016. Baker, a fervent Brexiteer and former chair of parliamentary anti-EU group the […]

Boris Johnson is set to intervene in Brexit talks this week in a final push to clinch a trade deal with the EU. The prime minister is said to be preparing for a call with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, in a last-minute attempt to secure a Brexit deal. Brussels […]

A Tory MP has come under fire after calling for an economic assessment of lockdown measures despite previously dismissing similar analysis on Brexit. Steve Baker has urged the government to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of new Covid restrictions despite having previously called analysis by civil servants as “always wrong”. The government has signalled that England will return […]

A leading MEP in the European Parliament has passionately defended the European Union, and told UK politicians to stop describing the bloc as “the enemy”. Nathalie Loiseau, a French MEP and formerly France’s minister for European affairs, said that both sides owe it to their people to “build a strong partnership for our future”. And […]

A police and crime commissioner has said he is “not sorry” after complaints about his conduct when he tweeted that those who backed Brexit were “turkeys voting for Christmas”. Arfon Jones, Plaid Cymru’s police chief for North Wales, tweeted the response in reply to a Labour MP who was critical of Brexit. He wrote: “Ah well, told […]

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he is confident about the British economy “in all circumstances” – whether there is a Brexit deal or not. Sunak was appearing on Sunday shows when he said that the government should not agree on a deal “at any price”. With the transition period due to end on December 31, […]

A former Brexit Party MEP claimed she is a “proud European” as she rejected the need for a trade deal with the EU. Claire Fox, who was promoted to the House of Lords by Boris Johnson earlier this year, said she was “an enthusiast about the European continent” as she fobbed off the importance of clinching […]

EU member states could ratify a Brexit deal after the end of the transition period to avoid a no-deal scenario, officials have been told. Brussels is considering allowing any trade pact with the UK to be ratified after the event to avoid the chaos of a no-deal Brexit. European Commission secretary general Ilze Juhansone told officials from the […]

The Prince of Wales’ sombre trip to Germany suggests the royals might represent a continuing link to the continent, says former Europe minister DENIS MACSHANE. In one of our more interesting royal forays into European politics, Prince Charles was in Berlin recently to be the star guest at the Bundestag for Germany’s national day of […]

A major European dairy products producer has corrected the UK government saying that a no-deal Brexit will lead to higher prices. Alra, which produces items like Lurpak butter, said the environment secretary was incorrect to suggest the company could simply move part of its production to Britain in the event of a no-deal scenario. George Eustice told the BBC […]

A leading figure in the European Parliament has predicted that the UK will rejoin the EU, claiming it will return “where it belongs”. Guy Verhofstadt made the claim after polling showed that support for the European Union within the UK had reached a record-high – days before the end of the transition period. Verhofstadt lead […]

Not much to talk about this week, eh! After a tumultuous week in Downing Street, even by Johnson standards, all attention must now be focussed on whether or not widely-tipped Arthur Pendragon will get the key post of chief of staff. Or will the PM’s fiancée, Queen Guinevere, and spin medic, Morgana Stratton, use their […]

Despite the EU originally setting a deadline for this week, both sides have agreed to suspend talks after another positive case of coronavirus amongst the negotiation teams. Brussels diplomat Michel Barnier announced that high-level talks between the EU and UK would be paused with just 42 days until the Brexit transition period ends. He tweeted: “One […]

Chip shops in the United Kingdom could suffer from a major fish shortage if the government does not secure a Brexit deal with Greenland, the industry has warned. Around 10% of all fish supplied to England comes from self-governing Danish territory waters as a result of existing EU agreements, the National Federation of Fish Friers, […]

Liz Truss has denied claims the UK “lacks bandwidth” to negotiate post-Brexit trade deals during a tense exchange in the House of Commons. The international trade secretary addressed comments by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau that the UK “lacks the bandwidth” to conclude a trade deal. Trudeau told the FT he feared a trade deal between […]

Liz Truss has claimed that a trade deal between the UK and Japan goes “further and faster” than the current EU-Japan agreement, but refused to quantify how, following questions from Labour. Shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry questioned the minister as the opposition continued to scrutinise the new agreement. Thornberry called for Truss to provide […]

Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill has been heavily defeated again in a House of Lords. Peers voted 367 to 209 for a cross-party amendment that would prevent Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for being “bypassed” once the UK’s Brexit transition period ended on December 31. The result is deemed one of the biggest Lords defeats in history. […]

Ministers have been accused of leaving Northern Ireland businesses ‘in distress’ after failing to answer 60 questions about post-Brexit trading rules. A business leader slammed ministers for leaving firms in the dark with just six weeks to go until the end of the transition period. “We asked 67 questions at the beginning of the summer,” Manufacturing NI’s […]

An SNP politician has schooled Britain’s trade envoy about the UK’s prospect of becoming prosperous after Brexit. Angus Brendan MacNeil, who chairs the Commons committee on trade that met on Wednesday, said the UK faced years of “poverty” after it permanently leaves the EU on January 1. Probing Tony Abbott, Britain’s newly-appointed trade envoy, on his opinions of Brexit, the newly-minted diplomat […]

Post-Brexit trade deals with other countries are going to be implemented prior to parliamentary scrutiny, the government had announced. Trade minister Greg Hands told the Commons on Tuesday that there was not enough time for MPs to scrutinise any trade deals the UK brokes with other nations before December 31. This could come as a blow to parliamentarians […]

He might have gone, but Dominic Cummings has left a poisonous legacy which will cause untold harm to the UK, says JAMES BALL. Pity poor Dominic Cummings, who entered Number 10 last year believing he could transform a nation, and exited last week having accomplished little more than a series of blundering encounters with the media […]

A Tory MP has caused controversy after he claimed Brexit had no relevance to the case for a second Scottish independence referendum. Former Welsh secretary and Vote Leave supporter John Redwood said the nation’s decision to vote in favour of staying in the EU was “irrelevant” as he shot down suggestions that Brexit was a cause for a new […]

With reports of a Brexit deal “days away” and the UK’s chief negotiator claiming there could be an agreement with the European Union in the next week, all eyes turn to parliament to find out how it might vote. David Frost is reported to have told the prime minister there would be a “possible landing zone” […]

Sky News presenter Kay Burley had the perfect response to communities secretary Robert Jenrick when he issued a warning about the impact of Scottish independence on the economy.  The minister was dispatched to the television studios to defend Boris Johnson’s remarks criticising devolution. Jenrick said those not focusing on the priorities of the people during the […]

Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator has told Boris Johnson that a trade deal with the EU could be ready as early as next week. Lord David Frost is reported to have told the prime minister there would be a “possible landing zone” for an agreement as soon as next Tuesday, the Sun has revealed. The latest round […]

A new poll has found that support for Brexit is at an all-time low, as the transition period nears the end. YouGov found that the number of people who think the Brexit decision was the “right” one has dropped by three points since the start of the month to just 38% of the nation. By comparison, those […]

Britain’s decision to leave the EU has seriously undermined the peace efforts in Europe, a former Tory politician has claimed. Lord Michael Heseltine, a former Tory deputy prime minister under John Major, said he was saddened by his country’s decision to vote for Brexit. Speaking with Sky News’ Kay Burley on the prospect of a no-deal […]

The grandson of Winston Churchill has criticised his former boss over his choice of ministers to serve in cabinet. Former Tory MP Nichola Soames is no stranger to criticism of Boris Johnson and in his latest media appearance criticised his “mediocre” cabinet for being chosen for their views on Brexit. He said:  “When this government was […]

The EU has warned it may be “too late” to clinch a Brexit deal with Britain, adding that a “creative solution” was needed to avoid trade chaos. An EU diplomat said the European parliament’s ratification process is already in doubt after negotiators missed a number of vital deadlines, an EU official has said. Trade negotiations […]

The head of a Brexiteer think tank says a Vote Leave mastermind leaving Downing Street “makes post-Brexit Britain more likely to be very similar to a Britain inside the EU, and possibly worse”. Ben Harris-Quinney, chairman of the Bow Group, said that without Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings the government will see more “adherence […]