Brexit

Theresa May has insisted she has a “strong” Cabinet ahead of its Brexit showdown, in remarks she appeared to actually believe. The prime minister seemed to genuinely praise her team after Tory Brexiteer, Cabinet minister and badger botherer Owen Paterson suggested she judge her ministers against the election promise that the UK would leave the […]

Establishing a new customs system for the UK after Brexit could take up to five years, according to government papers. Documents sent to businesses as part of a consultation over the government’s post-Brexit customs model reveal it is likely to take between three and five years to put in systems in place. The upper end […]

More Tory Brexiteers are threatening Cabinet ministers not to keep the UK closely tied to Brussels ahead of a crunch meeting at Chequers. Theresa May is trying to force through a compromise that will secure support from both wings of her Cabinet at the gathering on Friday, but the Conservatives’ hardline Brexiteer backbenchers are calling […]

A watchdog is expected to find Vote Leave, the official Brexit campaign, breached electoral rules during the referendum, according to reports. The campaign group’s former chief executive, Matthew Elliott, said the Electoral Commission (EC) had concluded that Vote Leave exceeded spending limits and made a donation to a group that it should not have. But […]

Households outside London are likely to be hit hardest by an increase in the cost of living caused by Brexit, according to a new study. A Hard Brexit – in which the UK leaves the European single market and customs union – would push average household expenditure up by around 2.7% in London and 3%-3.2% […]

Brexit is turning into a “nightmare” with the shadow of job losses hanging over British industry because of the government’s handling of negotiations to leave the EU, a union leader has warned. Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, said prime minister Theresa May had lost all authority or capacity to make decisions. He told the […]

Sinn Fein’s president has said Theresa May needs to be called out for delaying tactics over the lack of progress for the Irish border. Mary Lou McDonald expressed concern over the British government’s position in dealing with the border issue. It comes after European leaders urged the UK to intensify its efforts so a Brexit […]

Millions of EU nationals should not have to pay to register to stay in the UK after Brexit, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator has told the government. Guy Verhofstadt has written to home secretary Sajid Javid, saying the £65 cost of signing up to the settlement scheme should be waived. The fee for the EU […]

Brexiteers have been accused by a former Tory minister of “planning a coup” against Theresa May. Bracknell MP Phillip Lee called for “courageous, rational leadership” after reports in the Daily Express that supporters of Jacob Rees-Mogg had amassed a £750,000 fund to fight a leadership campaign if Theresa May is forced out. Dr Lee, who […]

Philip Hammond has called for the concerns of business to be taken seriously ahead of Friday’s key Chequers Brexit summit and days after Boris Johnson is alleged to have said “F*** business”. The comments came at Treasury questions in the Commons after warnings from firms including Airbus and BMW about Brexit were also dismissed by […]

Former Tory Party leader William Hague has issued a blunt warning to Cabinet Brexiteers not to push their demands for a clean break with the EU too far. Ahead of crunch Cabinet talks at Chequers on Friday, Lord Hague said Parliament could force a “watered-down” Brexit on the government if ministers failed to agree a […]

Farmers are experiencing significant financial consequences as they face severe shortages of seasonal workers, a Tory MP has warned. Kirstene Hair (Angus) urged ministers to help the sector by reintroducing a seasonal agricultural workers scheme, which would allow migrants to work on British farms for a certain period of time each year. SNP economy spokeswoman […]

The Treasury and Bank of England have been asked to draw up analyses of the impact of any Brexit deal struck by prime minister Theresa May. The influential Commons Treasury Select Committee has also requested work from the Financial Conduct Authority on the potential impact of the withdrawal agreement and future framework. Treasury Committee chairwoman […]

Firms are running out of patience over the lack of progress in the Brexit talks, a major business organisation has warned Theresa May. The British Chambers of Commerce said companies still face uncertainty over tax, tariffs, customs and regulation, with time running out ahead of the the March 29 2019 Brexit date. Cabinet ministers were […]

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has come to the defence of Jacob Rees-Mogg over his threat to bring down the government if Theresa May does not deliver the Hard Brexit he wants. Hard Brexiteer Mr Rees-Mogg, tipped as a future Tory leader, insisted he was “confident” that Mrs May would deliver the Brexit he is demanding […]

Russians may be clever but not so much as to sway the outcome of the Brexit referendum, a government frontbencher has bizarrely claimed. Cabinet Office spokesman Lord Young of Cookham said available information indicated the influence of pro-Kremlin internet bots on the campaign was “fairly minimal” and did not account for the 1.3m more people […]

Tory infighting over Europe has intensified after hardline Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg warned Theresa May she must deliver what he wants or risk the collapse of her government. The prime minister will face MPs this afternoon ahead of a crunch meeting of her Cabinet at Chequers on Friday to attempt to thrash out the government’s plans […]

A Cabinet minister has left the door open to extending Britain’s transition out of the EU as hardline backbenchers warned Theresa May the deadline must remain intact. Under the current timetable the implementation period is set to end in December 2020. But Business secretary Greg Clark refused to rule out an extension to the arrangements. […]

Brussels’ chief Brexit negotiator has told Theresa May to produce “realistic and workable” proposals as the prime minister called for the process to accelerate. Michel Barnier said “huge and serious divergence” remained over issues relating to Ireland and Northern Ireland and called for an extra session of negotiations with UK officials on Monday. The prime […]

David Cameron has declined to comment after being subjected to a brutal tongue-lashing from actor Danny Dyer over his part in Brexit. The soap star branded the politician a “twat” on live TV and accused him of “scuttling off” after plunging the country into the confusion of EU withdrawal But a spokesman for Mr Cameron […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Exeter’s Northcott Theatre, which next month plays host to The League of Gentleman. But who’s serving the special stuff – and who thinks Britain is a local country for local […]

The events of the referendum night, writes JAMES BALL, shine a fascinating light on the world of finance, polling and politics It was the week a major news organisation accused Nigel Farage of perhaps the most cynical manipulation of financial markets in history Bloomberg, the international financial news agency, suggested the former UKIP leader might […]

Migrants from Ukraine could take the place of EU workers in the aftermath of Brexit, Michael Gove has said. The UK environment secretary told MSPs at Holyrood that industries could in future have to “think about looking further afield” when recruiting staff. Some sectors of the UK economy, such as food production and the hospitality […]

The government’s hopes of achieving world-class animal welfare standards will “evaporate” unless they are written into law as Britain leaves the EU, a new report has warned. Compassion in World Farming said the UK would come under intense pressure to accept lower standards once its food production industry was removed from EU structures which currently […]

The Tories’ increasingly vicious civil war has continued with a government Brexiteer hitting out at business secretary Greg Clark over his please to listen to business. Brexit minister Steve Baker insisted Britain “must” leave the EU’s internal market as ministers jockey for position ahead of a crunch Cabinet summit at Chequers next week. His comments […]

The Conservative leader in the National Assembly for Wales has quit the post after seven years following a spat over the future for Welsh jobs after Brexit. Andrew RT Davies said in a statement that he had tendered his resignation “with deep regret” following a meeting of all Conservative Assembly Members (AMs) this morning. Prime […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been accused of a “pathetic little stunt” over a visit to the Irish border with a TV news crew – after failing to go on two trips with the Brexit committee he sits on. The leader of the hardline Tory European Research Group has today travelled to the border with Sky News. […]

Britain’s “divorce bill” from the EU could cost billions of pounds more than the government has acknowledged while its promised “Brexit dividend” will take years to materialise, MPs have warned. The Commons Public Accounts Committee said there was a “risk” that the final settlement could exceed the Treasury’s “narrow” estimate of £35bn to £39bn. It […]

Boris Johnson has poured cold water on England’s World Cup chances, telling fans “not to let their hopes get away with them”. The foreign secretary and Brexiteer-in-chief was criticised after downplaying Gareth Southgate’s side’s chances following their record 6-1 win over Panama at the weekend. Mr Johnson, already facing attacks over his no-show at the […]

Major job losses will occur if the government allows service industries to “fall off a cliff edge” after Brexit, London mayor Sadiq Khan has told MPs. Mr Khan called for much greater emphasis to be put on the sector during withdrawal negotiations with Brussels as services account for 40% of UK exports to the EU […]

The European Commission is making plans which could see British citizens requiring a visa to enter the EU after Brexit, it has emerged. A document titled ‘Pending and planned legislative proposals for the purposes of Brexit preparedness’, seen by the website Politico, has reportedly been presented to MEPs. The site said it was presented by […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Birmingham, the show’s 47th visit to England’s second city and the first since David Dimbleby announced he would be ceasing his quarter-century bed-blocking at the end of this year. But […]