Brexit

Brexiteers have reacted with fury after the Cabinet Office said there were no plans for Big Ben to chime to mark Britain leaving the EU next year. With not much than a year until Britain formally leaves the bloc, Conservative hardliners have shifted their attention from a lack of postage stamps to commemorate the move […]

A second referendum? It’s time to stop looking backwards and start making demands of the people who caused this problem in the first place, says MATT KELLY Be careful what you wish for. And be doubly careful if you ever find yourself nodding along with Nigel Farage, no matter how tempting it might be. There’s […]

The week’s big stories, including Donald Trump heading to Davos, Klingon sensitivity and France’s daftest crook It seems the purge has begun after Momentum seized the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee this week. Momentum founder Jon Lansman as well as Yasmine Dar and Rachel Garnham – also backed by the fanatical, Corbyn movement – have […]

British holidaymakers could have to provide their criminal record, immigration history and biometric data to travel in Europe after Brexit, peers have heard. Baroness Ludford warned that after the UK leaves the European Union those wishing to head to the continent may face “significant” fees and four-day waits for approval to travel. The Liberal Democrats’ […]

Brexit will “not be sustainable” if it does not work for young people, Justine Greening has said in her first remarks after being forced out of Theresa May’s cabinet. The former education secretary said that future generations of MPs could seek to “improve or undo” what the the current parliament implements. The intervention came just […]

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has urged Europe to stick together to protect and spread its values. Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg – the first leader to speak in the debate on the European Union’s future – Mr Varadkar warned that guarantees secured in the Brexit talks to protect the Irish border cannot be reneged […]

Jean-Claude Juncker has said he would be “happy” to help Britain rejoin the European Union if it wants to after Brexit. The European Commission president said the UK could apply to rejoin under Article 49 of the Lisbon Treaty even after it leaves the EU in March 2019 – if the government or British people […]

A group of UK citizens who live in the Netherlands have gone to a Dutch court in a bid to retain their EU citizenship rights post-Brexit. In a case that could have far-reaching consequences for around one million Britons currently living in European Union countries outside the UK, lawyer Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm launched summary proceedings […]

It is an “illusion” to think key Brexit legislation will have an “untroubled passage” through the House of Lords, a Tory former chancellor has said. Ken Clarke said he hoped the Lords would make an “enormous” number of changes to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill when it goes to the other chamber. He criticised the […]

Failure to incorporate the EU charter of fundamental rights into UK law after Brexit sends out “a really strange message” about the attitude of the Conservative Party, a senior Tory has said. Former attorney general Dominic Grieve said people now viewed things like LGBT rights “as being rights of a fundamental character”. He also accused […]

The House of Lords could face the prospect of fundamental reform if peers attempt to hamper Brexit, prominent Tory hardliner Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned. The upper chamber would be left looking “ridiculous” if peers tried to push for a second referendum, he claimed. The Hard Brexiteer, who has been tipped as a potential Conservative leader, […]

European Council president Donald Tusk has demanded more clarity from prime minister Theresa May over her plans for Brexit – and again held open the possibility of the UK changing its mind. Addressing MEPs in Strasbourg, Mr Tusk said: “If the UK government sticks to its decision to leave, Brexit will become a reality – […]

Theresa May has been accused of lying to the British people by a senior ally of German chancellor Angela Merkel over the plan to restore dark blue British passports after Brexit. German MEP Manfred Weber mocked the focus on changing the colour of the travel document and pointed out that it would have been possible […]

Boris Johnson has said the Brexit campaign’s claim of an extra £350m a week to spend on the NHS was an underestimate – but his working out shows why the original figure was a lie. The foreign secretary claimed the official Vote Leave campaign could have used a higher figure as the UK’s gross contribution […]

Boris Johnson’s comment that the Leave campaign under-estimated when it claimed Brexit would allow an extra £350m to be spent on the NHS weekly has been branded “ridiculous”. Leading health expert Professor Sir Michael Marmot said the Brexit campaign’s highly controversial claim has already been confirmed “a lie”. The academic also said the history books […]

Ukip leader Henry Bolton has ended his “romantic relationship” with his controversial model girlfriend, but still faces a backlash from senior figures within his party. Mr Bolton admitted that his relationship with Jo Marney was “obviously quite incompatible” with his position as party chief after it was reported she made racist remarks about Meghan Markle. […]

Scotland’s first minister has described delays to amendments to key Brexit legislation as “absolutely disgraceful”. Nicola Sturgeon said the EU Withdrawal Bill should be changed to take account of the concerns of the devolved administrations “without further delay”. The Scottish and Welsh governments have said they could not recommend that the legislation be granted consent […]

A senior Conservative MP demands Theresa May appoints a ‘minister for Hard Brexit’ to her team as he claims she had “promised”. Former minister Sir Edward Leigh told the House of Commons the role was promised before the reshuffle and asked whether or not such a minister would respond to questions when key Brexit legislation […]

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage has said that “maybe” there should be a second referendum on EU membership to “kill it off for a generation”. Speaking to Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, Mr Farage said: “What is for certain is that the Cleggs, the Blairs, the Adonises will never, ever, ever give up. “They will […]

Theresa May has been accused of “capitulating” to Hard Brexiteers after appointing an influential Tory Europhobe as a minister in the Brexit department. Suella Fernandes, who chairs the European Research Group (ERG) of Hard Brexiteer Tories, has joined the government as parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) […]

Theo Paphitis has launched an blistering attack on the government, branding Theresa May’s administration as “incompetent” and accusing it of posing a threat to the high street. The entrepreneur behind Ryman, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue said retailers were “getting it right in the neck” as the sector struggled with labour costs, the apprenticeship levy, […]

The appointment of a “no deal” Brexit minister is a sign that the UK is “hurtling towards retreat and isolation”, MPs have heard. SNP MP Stephen Gethins (North East Fife) told ministers the creation of the post would impact on the government’s ambitions for “a global Britain”. The new minister is likely to be based […]

David Davis has been accused of “extraordinary moaning” after attacking the EU for preparing for a no-deal Brexit while setting aside £3.7bn ready for the scenario himself. In a letter to Theresa May, the Brexit secretary said he would urge the EU to drop measures and guidance that could require UK companies to relocate to […]

Jeremy Corbyn has snubbed a cross-party summit at the Houses of Parliament on retaining UK membership of the single market and customs union. The talks, co-ordinated by SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, will involve the leaders of the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens, the party said. The SNP also said there would also […]

The chair of the Commons Treasury Committee has called for more clarity on what impact Brexit will have on VAT bills for firms importing goods from the EU. Former Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, who was a leading figure in the Remain campaign, has written to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to seek guidance on […]

Chancellor Philip Hammond has refused to rule out Britain being part of a customs union with the European Union after Brexit. The Remain supporter, whose opposition to a hard exit from the bloc has angered some of his colleagues, left the door open to the UK signing up to an agreement that could restrict international […]

Who will be at the heart of the storm this year as Brexit resumes its place as the British family argument that will not die? This year’s New European Brexit Power List, our highly unscientific and unapologetically subjective take on those – from both sides – who will most influence the debate, provides a clue. […]

In another important intervention, TONY BLAIR lashes out at a deeply divided Tory government and a feeble opposition while highlighting the damage Brexit is already causing 2018 will be the year when the fate of Brexit and thus of Britain will be decided. 2017 was too early in the negotiation. By 2019, it will be […]

Our editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on the influence wielded by Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, on Brexit ‘Only one more Brexmas to Brexit,’ taunted one of my few remaining Brexit-supporting friends. ‘Happy New Year.’ Happy New Year? Fat chance, unless 2018 is the year the Brexit Blunderbus is brought to a halt or, failing […]

RICHARD PORRITT on the week’s big stories, including stern warnings in Greece, unlikely heroes in Rome and Denmark’s most unfortunate taxi driver Sir Vince Cable’s vow to use the House of Lords in a bid to stop the UK leaving the EU will likely irk many Brexiteers. The Lib Dems have long called for reforms […]

Labour’s “timidity” will usher in Brexit if the party continues to go along with leaving the European Union and insists on withdrawing from the single market, Tony Blair has said. The former prime minister criticised Labour’s position and urged the party he once led to instead “make Brexit the Tory Brexit”. Mr Blair said he […]

A former Treasury minister has described Boris Johnson as “ludicrous” as he criticised the government’s approach to future trade deals after Brexit. Lord O’Neill of Gatley said it was “mad” that international trade secretary Liam Fox and the foreign secretary “spend half of their time travelling to New Zealand” instead of building relationships with the […]