Brexit

Prime minister Boris Johnson is to unveil details of the UK’s first trade deal negotiated from scratch post-Brexit. He will welcome his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, to Downing Street on Tuesday after the two countries agreed on the broad terms of the pact. The deal is reported to have been sealed by the two premiers […]

US president Joe Biden urged Boris Johnson to ensure the Northern Ireland peace process is protected in his bitter row with Brussels over post-Brexit trading arrangements, the White House has disclosed. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden – who has spoken of his pride in his Irish roots – had held a “candid discussion” […]

Few people have seen their reputations enhanced by Brexit. But one who has is the artist Cold War Steve, who has chronicled the UK’s exit from the EU in all its misery. Here, New European cover artist CHRIS BARKER gives his own appreciation

MPs are calling on home secretary Priti Patel to urgently publish an independent assessment of the impact of ending free movement. The government had committed to publishing documentation around the post-Brexit measures to end the freedom for EU citizens to travel freely to and from the UK at the end of last year. Home Office […]

Brexit has caused a “massive hole” in the numbers of people coming to the UK to pick fruit in the summer months putting growers “on the brink”, it is claimed. Numbers of seasonal workers applying to work at one Kent-based company are down 90% in the last two years and there are fears for the […]

Comedian Mitch Benn looks at Donald Trump’s seemingly backwards trousers, Tim Martin’s demand for more EU migrants and Michael Gove’s trip to Portugal “LEOPARDS EATING PEOPLE’S FACES” MOMENT OF THE WEEKTim Martin, arch-Brexiteer, boss of the Wetherspoons McPub empire and Worzel Gummidge’s Angry Head, has been bemoaning the fact that the staff he told to […]

As part of our special edition looking at five years since the EU referendum, Alastair Campbell looks at the silence of the Leavers Weatherspoon’s boss Tim Martin inevitably attracted heaps of scorn when recently bemoaning staff shortages for his pubs, and demanding the government allow more EU migrants to fill the gap. But at least he […]

The government will “stand up for the British sausage and no-one will ever be able to destroy it”, a minister has insisted, amid the latest Brexit spat between the UK and EU. Conservative frontbencher Ranil Jayawardena made the pledge amid a row between the EU and the UK over the meat product. Brussels has threatened to […]

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary tells JOHN KAMPFNER, in characteristically forthright style, just what he thinks of the government’s Covid travel rules, the ‘hijacking’ of his aircraft by Belarus and the future of aviation The UK’s travel rules are in chaos. The European Union is starting to open up, but not to Brits. Is ‘delta’, the Indian variant, […]

Joe Biden will warn Boris Johnson and the European Union not to “imperil” the Northern Ireland peace process, the US president’s national security adviser said, as they struggle to resolve a trade row. Jake Sullivan warned that Biden harbours “very deep” concerns on the issue provoked by Brexit, before he on Wednesday left for the […]

Talks between Britain and the EU on the implementation of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in Northern Ireland have broken up without agreement. Brexit minister Lord Frost and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic ended their discussions in London with no sign of a breakthrough. Ahead of the talks Lord Frost warned that time was running out […]

Britain has threatened a “sausage war” as Brexit minister David Frost called for “flexibility” from the EU” ahead of a ban on the export of chilled meat products from the British mainland. Reports suggest that the UK government is ready to unilaterally extend the “grace period” for products like sausages, mince and chicken nuggets at […]

Plans are being drawn up to replace English with French as the main “working language” of the EU during France’s presidency, with meetings and documents to become “French-first” next year.  The French are set to take over the Council of the European Union presidency in 2022, with France planning to use its first presidency since Brexit […]

The EU has been “slow to engage” with discussions over how to solve issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol, environment secretary George Eustice has complained. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are lots of ways to give the European Union the assurance that they say they want for their single market, and what […]

The European Union’s patience with Britain over Brexit is “wearing thin” and the bloc is considering its options if Number 10 continues on a “confrontational path”, an official has claimed. The European Commission and British government are set to enter talks over the Brexit agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol on Wednesday. The EU has […]

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has defended his attendance at an illegal protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol in Co Armagh. The Upper Bann MLA said he turned up at the event on Saturday to observe and listen, and said he was standing well back from the parade. Loyalists gathered in Portadown town centre on […]

US president Joe Biden is set to issue a fresh Brexit warning to prime minister Boris Johnson during their first face-to-face meeting at the G7 summit this week. The Times reports Biden will use a bilateral meeting with the PM to explicitly express US support for the Northern Ireland Protocol. The pair will meet ahead of […]

Leaders of the main Westminster parties are failing to call out this catastrophic error Alastair Campbell is absolutely right – a majority of the UK population appears not to give a toss about Johnson’s failings, lies, false claims and dodgy dealings, but he should be assured that a lot of people are angry about the damage […]

Tariffs of up to 277% on cheese exported from the UK are set to be cut after a new trade deal was signed with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. International trade secretary Liz Truss announced the deal was agreed in principle on Friday and said it was the first to include dedicated chapters on digital trade […]

Britain is moving, in fits and starts, towards new political equilibrium between London, the devolved nations and the regions Is Britain becoming more like Europe politically? The question may seem preposterous in the immediate aftermath of Brexit and a tightening grip in England by an ultra-nationalist Conservative party. But perhaps not. Last month’s elections – Super […]

British pubs are facing an “acute” shortage of staff, leading some to reduce capacity or close entirely, the sector has warned. Labour-intensive social distancing restrictions such as table service only are requiring more staff, while employees are finding the work physically demanding with some walking up to 15 miles a day on the job, the […]

The boss of pub chain JD Wetherspoon has denied reports that his pubs have been hit by staff shortages due to Brexit. Tim Martin, who was a vocal supporter of the UK leaving the European Union, told investors that a Daily Telegraph story “misrepresented Wetherspoon’s position”. He said it “clearly isn’t true” that the pub group […]

The real divide in this country is between those appalled by the PM’s behaviour and those who just don’t care We keep being told everyone is angry. Hence the rage, abuse and hatred that biles its way onto social media, every second of every minute of every hour of every day. I am beginning to […]

It has been another gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain – although sadly not gloomy enough for residents of Ashford, Kent. After voting 59.4% to Leave in the referendum, Ashfordians have been rewarded with a light show. Alas, rather than fireworks celebrating our independence from the EU, the nightly display comes from […]

A new national flagship, the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, will promote British trade and industry around the world, Boris Johnson has said. The vessel will be used to host trade fairs, ministerial summits and diplomatic talks as the UK seeks to build links and boost exports following Brexit. It will be the first […]

The EU’s ambassador to the UK has accused new DUP leader Edwin Poots of making comments about the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol that lack “adherence to reality”. Joao Vale de Almeida was asked about Poots saying that the agreement was “demonstrable harm to every individual in Northern Ireland” and is having a “devastating impact”. The […]

Millionaire Brexit-backing businessman Arron Banks has claimed a six-figure inheritance tax bill on his donations to UKIP is discriminatory at the Court of Appeal. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) previously assessed Banks – one of the self-styled “Bad Boys of Brexit” – as owing just over £160,000 on almost £1 million in donations to UKIP […]

Residents next to a large Brexit lorry park in Ashford say it is as bright as Wembley Stadium and has ruined the dark night sky for miles around. Located next to Junction 10a of the M20, the facility operates 24/7 and the government says floodlights are required to ensure the site runs safely. But frustrated neighbours […]

It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain as our willingness to roll over for a trade deal with Australia confirms that the government does not give a XXXX about its own farmers. Despite complaints from that flaming galah George Eustice, trade secretary Liz ‘one stubbie short of a six-pack’ Truss […]

The impact of Brexit on trading with Europe has been laid bare by official figures revealing that UK trade in goods with EU countries has plunged by nearly a quarter. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that total trade in goods with EU countries tumbled by 23.1% in the first quarter of 2021, compared […]

First minister Arlene Foster has accused the EU of having a “tin ear” to concerns about the Northern Ireland Protocol. Foster was speaking after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the protocol needs to be implemented. A new raft of checks on goods at the ports of Belfast and Larne under the terms […]

Former North Norfolk MP and senior Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb has admitted he has let his membership lapse over the party’s Brexit positioning. Lamb, who was the runner-up in the leadership contest in 2015, has told the Politico news website that he holds no grudges with his former colleagues but was heavily critical of the […]