Brexit

Theresa May has branded Michael Gove’s claims over a no-deal Brexit as “utter rubbish”. The Conservative former prime minister repeatedly said “what?” in disbelief and appeared to mouth her thoughts as Gove outlined how the UK will be expected to boost its security outside the EU. Cabinet Office minister Gove claimed there are “many, many […]

Former House of Commons speaker Betty Boothroyd has delivered a devastating assessment of Boris Johnson’s government in a speech in the House of Lords. Baroness Boothroyd, who previously said she could not trust Johnson to even run a bath, said in 47 years in parliament she has “never seen trust in a government fall so far […]

The Royal Mint is to produce more commemorative Brexit coins over the next two weeks after MPs complained they were unable to get hold of them. More than two million of the special edition 50p coins – originally distributed on January 31 – will be produced for shops in the coming weeks, despite many restricting the […]

Boris Johnson is pursuing a “Narnia deal” with the EU, Labour warned as they urged the UK government to secure a trade agreement. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said the opposition expects the prime minister and his team to broker an arrangement to enable the UK to trade freely with the EU. Speaking in […]

A Labour MP has called for an apology from the government over its “false promises” of delivering an “oven-ready” deal with the EU. Appearing before Michael Gove at the despatch box, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said: “The prime minister promised the nation an oven-ready deal and it was avowedly the easiest trade deal in history to […]

A Brexiteer has been accused of “unintentional honesty” after he told a radio presenter that he believed the term “Australia-style” was designed to “pull the wool over voters’ eyes”. Trying to explain to James O’Brien why Boris Johnson was not using the term “no-deal Brexit”, caller Alastair said that it was just a continuation of […]

The EU expects the deadlocks over Brexit talks to last just a matter of days, with the expectation there will be a resumption next week. The Times says EU officials are briefing that a “time out” of no more than a week will give a “cooling off” period after the conclusions of the EU Council summit […]

Brexiteer James Dyson is set to sell his million-pound penthouse in Singapore at a loss – days after claiming people had “got it wrong” that he had abandoned Britain after the Brexit vote. Singapore’s Business Times reports that he is to sell the property at a loss after he accepted an offer of $62 million […]

Former Australian former prime minister Tony Abbott is set to attend his first post-Brexit trade meeting as the government’s new Board of Trade meets for the first time. The new-look panel of politicians, economists and industry figures comes as international trade secretary Liz Truss said it was a “critical moment for the UK and our […]

A minister has finally conceded that an “Australian-style deal” is a no-deal Brexit, after claiming it was a “question of semantics”. Business secretary Alok Sharma appeared on LBC to announce plans to prepare the UK for the “Australian-style deal” which will leave the UK without a trade deal with the European Union. But questioned on what […]

A Brexiteer has attempted to pin the blame for Boris Johnson failing to secure a good Brexit deal on Remainers. LBC Radio caller Steve called David Lammy’s show was a Labour supporter but moved to the Brexit Party over its policy for a second referendum. Asked how he felt about the current situation, he said […]

The government’s controversial new Brexit legislation could set “a disastrous precedent” if passed in its current form, the UK’s archbishops have warned in a rare joint letter. The five senior church leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said the decisions implemented in the UK Internal Market Bill would “profoundly affect” the relationship between […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on Boris Johnson to deliver the “oven-ready” Brexit deal he had promised. Sir Keir told the BBC’s Politics Wales show the UK gGovernment should sit down and talk to the EU about differences on fishing quotas and state aid. “I think it is very important that the remaining […]

Former Tory prime minister David Cameron is reportedly trying to block the publication of a new book revealing details of his handling of Brexit, because of concerns it will “damage his reputation”. As The New European reported in August, a biography from the former cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood is set to be published, written by his […]

Fresh newspaper reports have fuelled the belief that Boris Johnson will resign in the spring once he has achieved Brexit. According to the Sunday Mirror, Tory MPs are gearing up for the prime minister to step down, after privately complaining about the salary of £150,402, which is reportedly not enough for him to live on. […]

Groups representing 190,000 businesses and seven million workers have made an urgent plea for a trade deal to be agreed before the UK leaves the EU. Industry leaders in sectors including automotive, aviation, chemicals, creative industries, farming, food, and pharmaceuticals said they were united in calling for a quick agreement for the sake of jobs […]

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has warned chancellor Rishi Sunak that the UK is heading for a double cliff edge of Brexit and an economic collapse caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Brown, who is the longest serving chancellor of the exchequer in modern times, said the impending double whammy would cost jobs. He said the chancellor, […]

Leave EU’s man in the New Zealand has seen his all of his party’s seats wiped out in the election. Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First, was the country’s deputy prime minister as part of the coalition arrangements for Jacinda Ardern’s government – working alongside the Greens. But it was reported he had enlisted […]

The UK has rebuffed Brussels’ offer of intensified trade talks next week, telling the European Union’s chief negotiator there is “no point” him coming to London on Monday. After Boris Johnson accused European leaders of having “abandoned the idea of a free trade deal” the UK’s chief negotiator, Lord Frost, spoke with his counterpart Michel Barnier […]

European Union MEP Guy Verhofstadt has claimed that Brexiteers have been “served a slice of humble pie” after a statement from the EU said it will continue to stand up for the interests of the bloc.  The Belgian politician was keen to make his point that those against the EU have failed to divide the organisation […]

I must take exception to Phil Green’s letter “Bodge job” (TNE # 214) comparing the prime minister to beloved sitcom character Captain Mainwaring of Dad’s Army.  The Home Guard leader may have at times been “blustering, incompetent, pompous and inept”, but he was also patriotic, courageous, inclusive and humane, not to mention capable of inspiring […]

The coronavirus pandemic will magnify the impact of a no-deal Brexit, new research suggests.  The Institute of Directors (IoD) has warned of a potential “double hit” from Covid-19 and leaving the EU without a trade deal. A survey of almost 1,000 company directors found only one in 10 does not believe the pandemic will magnify […]

Spar UK has warned suppliers that it must take the hit associated with increased costs from the Brexit transition period ending to avoid price rises for consumers.  As Boris Johnson warned that the UK is preparing for a no-deal Brexit on January 1, a letter seen by the Grocer, the retailer has warned it will […]

Boris Johnson has ended a Brexit summit between the UK and European Union with an ultimatum – threatening a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020.  The prime minister issued a statement saying that it was time for the UK to “get ready” for the prospect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on […]

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said that he is “surprised” and “disappointed” by the EU’s “lack of flexibility during Brexit talks. Appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme, the former Brexit secretary was asked about what the government’s view was on Brexit talks now that Boris Johnson’s self-imposed deadline had passed. Raab was unhappy with the […]

A petition has been launched to lobby the authorities to officially name a Kent lorry park – being created for those vehicles queuing to access the port of Dover following Brexit – after one of the leading protagonists of the campaign to leave the EU. A new change.org petition is urging Kent Council to officially name the […]

Everybody has a different reason for sitting down and writing a book. Martin Bell wrote his latest because he nearly died.  Almost two years ago the former BBC war correspondent and independent MP suffered head injuries similar to those from a car crash when he tripped over his suitcase at Gatwick Airport after returning from […]

EU president Ursula von der Leyen was forced to abandon a high level summit after 30 minutes after a member of her team tested positive for coronavirus. Von der Leyen was in a room with all 27 EU heads of state before rushing out “as a precaution”. The president had spent time greeting leaders in […]

Radio presenter James O’Brien has called out the duplicity of Brexiteers – who support the UK leaving the European Union at any cost – now opposing a national lockdown to protect the economy. Speaking on his LBC Radio show, O’Brien told listeners: “The people on the wrong side of history insist we can’t have circuit-breaks […]

A long time ago (2004 to be precise) in a galaxy far away (but not that far away) a young right winger established a think tank (as almost everyone was doing at the time). The right winger was called Dominic Cummings and the short-lived think tank was portentously titled the New Frontiers Foundation. All of […]

The Green Party has joined calls for the UK to retain membership of the single market and customs union, as Boris Johnson looks set to abandon his self-imposed deadline for a trade deal. The party wants to see freedom of movement retained, particularly for young people who have the most to gain from working and […]

Believe it or not, I try not to yield too often to the temptation to join the dots between the stance politicians took on Brexit to the ones they now advocate on the appropriate government response to the global Covid-19 pandemic. It’s a bit mean, especially to voters in deprived areas who voted Leave in […]