Brexit

The prime minister has vowed to take action on the Northern Ireland Protocol if the EU refuses to ditch “absurd” aspects of the post-Brexit trading arrangements. Johnson said his government was currently working on “sandpapering” the Protocol, which governs Irish Sea trade post-Brexit, to address some of the concerns about trade disruption. In an interview […]

It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain… unless, of course, you’re an irony lover who enjoyed Boris Johnson explaining why English football clubs were wrong to want to leave an established, successful European set-up on the vague promise of more riches elsewhere. Boris might not have followed that thought […]

The belief that Brexit supporters were typically working-class from “left behind” red-wall seats and dilapidated seaside towns has been quashed by new research that shows half of leave voters were well off. The research, by think tank UK in a Changing Europe, draws on workshops that occurred in the summer of 2020 and shed light on the motivations […]

The Welsh government has been refused permission for a High Court legal challenge against the Westminster government over post-Brexit legislation. Counsel General for Wales Jeremy Miles tried to bring a full High Court challenge over the Internal Market Act, which he argued “severely curtails” the powers of the Senedd and could prevent it from making […]

Boris Johnson risks losing his election gains against Labour if he does not clean up the “shameful” Westminster lobbying controversy, a Conservative grandee has warned. Sir Bernard Jenkin, chair of the Commons Liaison Committee – made up of senior MPs, has urged the prime minister to get a grip on the lobbying system following a […]

The former president of the European Commission has said he “made a mistake” in listening to David Cameron after being told not to interfere with the Brexit debate in the UK. Jean-Claude Juncker said he “should not have listened” to the former prime minister and “spoken out” on the issue. It comes as the row […]

The Welsh government is taking legal action against the UK government over its post-Brexit Internal Market Act which it says “severely curtails” the powers of the Senedd. Counsel general for Wales Jeremy Miles is trying to bring a full High Court challenge over the Act, which he argues could prevent the Senedd from making laws on […]

Talks have taken place about Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit arrangements amid warnings from MEPs the breakdown in trust could derail the trade agreement struck between the UK and European Union. Brexit minister Lord Frost and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic discussed the problems around the Northern Ireland Protocol at a dinner in Brussels. The meeting came […]

“How many divisions has the Pope?” sneered Stalin at Yalta in 1945 when asked to lessen persecution of Catholics in the USSR. Today that question is being asked around the world about Britain as the British Army is being reduced to its lowest numbers in 300 years.  The figure of 82,000 men currently in the […]

Nicola Sturgeon has said she has no plans to call a separate referendum on whether an independent Scotland should join the European Union. She said a “detailed prospectus” would be put to Scots ahead of any second independence referendum, and she claimed most people would want to be part of the EU again. She was […]

How did this Greek, Danish and German immigrant come to be lauded as the epitome of Britishness by many who most dislike immigration? Had home secretary Priti Patel been around a century ago, we’d never have heard of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.  His father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, may have been a terrific […]

David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, has admitted he agreed with some of the viewpoints from those that fought the government over Brexit legislation. He said Gina Miller became an “unlikely ally” with her court case against the government which ruled that Theresa May must secure parliamentary approval before triggering Article 50. It was a case that […]

It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain, as the only export that appears to be booming post-Brexit is the glut of UK companies rushing to set up in the EU. The government’s botched trade deal has left firms with two options: Relocation or red tape and regulations that will […]

Scottish independence offers the only way back for the country to rejoin the European Union, the Scottish Greens have claimed. The party’s co-leader Lorna Slater said leaving the UK “is now our route back to EU membership” and that it would give Scotland “the powers and potential to be a leader in the transition to […]

The European parliament has refused to set a date to ratify the Brexit deal for a second time, amid concerns the UK is not implementing it properly. Party group leaders had been expected to announce the deal would be ratified at a sitting in late April, but following a meeting said they would wait for […]

Brexit minister Lord Frost and the European Commission’s Maros Sefcovic will hold talks in Brussels on Thursday as efforts continue to resolve issues around Northern Ireland. The meeting was confirmed by the European Commission, which said the pair will “take stock of ongoing technical work” on the Northern Ireland Protocol. The minister and the commission […]

UK trade with the EU has slightly recovered in February after it had seen a record slump following its exit from the trading bloc. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that exports to the EU rose by £3.7 billion – or 46.6% – following a £5.7 billion decline in January. It said the increase […]

Northern Ireland is still a peacemaking success story. But 23 years after Good Friday Agreement, the region should be further towards reconciliation and social justice There is no mystery about the grassroots unionist anger that has led to street violence in Northern Ireland in recent weeks. Telling communities to be angry has been the political […]

Significant differences remain between the government and the European Union over the operation of the Brexit deal in Northern Ireland, No 10 has said. Talks have continued between the two sides, with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and Brexit minister Lord Frost picking up the phone last week. But Downing Street said there are still […]

A new cross-party group comprising of MPs, business leaders and economic exports is being established to provide independent scrutiny of the UK’s trade deals with Europe and the rest of the world. The Trade and Business Commission will be co-convened by Labour MP Hilary Benn and the chairman of Virgin Group, Peter Norris. It will […]

Leading pollster PETER KELLNER on the ways that public opinion on the issue has changed, and what it means for pro-Europeans. Two big lessons can be learned about public opinion since Britain’s agreement with the EU came into force in January. The first is that there has been a clear rise in support for Brexit. […]

Jacob-Rees Mogg, Boris Johnson and Matt Gaetz are in the firing line as comedian Mitch Benn hands out another set of his weekly awards. MASSIVE BRASS ONES OF THE WEEK …were to be found clanking away beneath the oddly-cut pinstripes of Britain’s Best Christian, Jacob Rees Mogg.  He welcomed the dawn on Easter Sunday by, […]

The SNP has described the comments made by Scottish Tory candidate Douglas Lumsden on Brexit as “appalling”. Lumsden, who is standing in Aberdeen Central, told BBC’s Newsnight that Brexit was “out of the way now”. The Aberdeen City Council co-leader also said that there were “some hiccups at the start of Brexit” but “we’re through […]

Britain - with one of the highest death rates in the world - is not the country that should be pointing accusatory fingers.

There have been further calls for calm after another night of violence in Northern Ireland which left another 19 police officers injured. Secretary of state Brandon Lewis is to meet Stormont political parties to discuss the situation. The violence was at a lower level on Thursday evening than it had been on Wednesday, but officers […]

Northern Ireland’s former police ombudsman Baroness Nuala O’Loan has criticised first minister Arlene Foster for calling for the resignation of the police chief. Lady O’Loan also criticised the UK government for acting on the post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland without agreement from Brussels, saying if ministers take the law into their own hands “it does […]

Rioters have been blasted with a water cannon by police as unrest continued on the streets of Northern Ireland. After shocking scenes provoked calls for calm this week, violence again flared up on the streets of west Belfast, amid rising tensions in the area. Stones and fireworks were thrown at police by gangs of youths […]

Brandon Lewis is flying to Belfast to hold emergency talks with the main political parties as well as faith and community leaders in an attempt to quell a spate of violence. PA reports that the Northern Ireland secretary will meet with first minister Arlene Foster, from the DUP, and deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill, from Sinn […]

Sir Keir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to “step up” and convene all-party talks, as he noted Unionist concerns that the prime minister’s Brexit promises are not being kept. The Labour leader, a former human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said there is “no justification” for the rioting. But he acknowledged there […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson has condemned violence that again broke out on the streets of Northern Ireland, after a bus was hijacked and set on fire. The bus was set alight after being pelted with petrol bombs at the junction of Lanark Way and Shankill Road in west Belfast, the PSNI said. It was one […]

JPMorgan may move all of its EU-focused business out of London and into Europe due to Brexit, the bank’s boss has said. Jamie Dimon said the move would be “many years out” but warned London needed to “adapt and reinvent itself” after Brexit. Dimon said “few winners are likely to emerge” from the UK’s decision […]

The slow comeback of normal life is wonderful, it does tend to feel as hollow as a leftover Easter egg when also coming back rapidly is tension in Belfast and Derry. “It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain,” is how this column starts every week, but how can that […]