Brexit

A senior Tory MP has ridiculed Boris Johnson’s plans for a 25-mile undersea tunnel connecting Scotland and Northern Ireland – calling for ministers to focus on the issues surrounding the Brexit deal instead. The tunnel – dubbed the ‘Boris Burrow’ – could cost £10 billion to create and was seen as a compromise to a […]

Is the Remain cause destined to share the same fate as the Jacobite one… romantic but doomed, and destined for the dustbin of history? Writer JAMES HAWES explores the parallels and decides probably not.. at least not yet. Consider a time when a great part of us Britons has been led by vain and tactically catastrophic leadership into epochal […]

A French journalist has called into question Britain’s vaccine strategy after pointing out the UK lagged behind the EU in fully immunizing its population. Writing in the Guardian, Jean Quatremer, of the French newspaper Libération, said the reality of the UK’s vaccine drive was “a little more complex – and not quite such a stunning UK […]

MITCH BENN gives a pro-European take on why he’s keeping the Union flags in his Twitter handle. Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed that I have two little flag emojis appended to my Twitter handle: the EU flag and the Union flag. I hope you’ll forgive my observation of the […]

The EU has admitted that mistakes were made in the process leading up to its recent attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol – but pointed out it resolved its mistake within a matter of hours. The European Commission’s vice-president Maros Sefcovic said that the commission “deeply regrets” how it handled the […]

Liz Truss has been accused of refusing to answer questions about post-Brexit trade with Europe at the despatch box. The international trade secretary has reportedly “transferred” all questions about the topic at a forthcoming session of the Commons to other departments, despite the fact it is her job as minister to answer enquiries on trading […]

Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Julie Walters have joined some of the biggest names in British theatre to urge Boris Johnson to change post-Brexit visa rules to allow more flexible travel for artists. In a letter from the Equity union, the new rules are described as a “towering hurdle” for the industry. […]

Boris Johnson has claimed he has had “fantastic conversations” with new US president Joe Biden during an interview with an American TV network. In an interview with CBS, the prime minister said that UK and US thinking had been coming together on a range of issues in recent weeks. “I’m very delighted, to have a […]

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has urged people to wait a decade before judging whether Brexit has worked or not. Raab, appearing on The Andrew Marr Show, insisted that businesses take a “10-year view” to the troubles sparked by Brexit, before blaming the European Union for new bureaucracy. “We have always been clear that there are changes […]

Irish politician NEALE RICHMOND on how Ireland has reacted to Brexit. After more than four years of protracted negotiations and preparations, the Brexit transition period ended and reality has begun to set in. Queues at ports and airports, customs charges and trading issues are now the norm for consumers and businesses in Ireland and Britain alike. […]

The City was largely overlooked in the Brexit talks. That means an almighty struggle is about to kick off, as London tries to make the most of new opportunities while facing a rearguard action against a covetous Europe. SUNA ERDEM reports. Thirty-five years ago, Margaret Thatcher gave us the Big Bang. Deregulation ushered in the Golden Age […]

Michel Barnier has accused Downing Street of not correctly explaining the consequences of Brexit to British businesses as a row surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to heat up. The EU’s former Brexit negotiator hit out at No 10, insisting scenes of empty supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland were not the result of new checks in […]

Campaigners who represent EU citizens living in the UK say they are taking stock after losing a High Court fight over the 2019 European Parliament elections. The3million, which campaigns for an estimated three million EU citizens living in the UK, complained that people were prevented from voting in the 2019 European Parliament elections because of […]

IAN DUNT on how liberals can redefine national pride and reclaim the flag from nationalists. Brexit, sold as a commitment to self-government, created an insidious side effect that may yet prove its most damaging legacy. It mutilated British patriotism and turned it into nationalism. In his 2017 book, The Road to Somewhere: The Populist Revolt […]

Young people are more worried about the effects of Brexit than catching coronavirus, a study suggests. Just over two-fifths (42%) of adults aged between 18 and 29 reported being stressed about Brexit, compared with around a third (32%) who are worried about catching Covid-19, according to a recent UCL survey. The difference could be due […]

DAN WHITE gives a personal account of how Brexit is already impacting the disabled. It came as no surprise to anyone in the disabled community that the government had not conducted an impact assessment on the effect of leaving the EU on disabled people, despite concerns around the supply of medical supplies expressed by the Royal […]

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic has accused No 10 of failing to implement a range of obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol as he warned sweeping changes to the protocol will not be possible. In a letter to Michael Gove, Sefcovic said the EU would not considering softening protocol obligations unless the UK complies with what […]

Readers are split on whether The New European should focus on rejoining the EU, or whether more time is needed. Congratulations on getting the backers and arrangements in place to enable TNE to continue and move on. What I would like to see is more coverage on how we can get to the point where […]

As the UK government continue to negotiate Brexit with the European Union, readers ask where are the benefits? Isn’t it about time that the press began to hold Boris Johnson to account over Brexit? Northern Ireland and the current issue over documentation and checks will not go away which will only push us closer to […]

Amsterdam has overtaken London as the largest financial trading centre in Europe last month as Brexit-related changes to finance rules came into force. An average of 9.2 billion euros (£8.1 billion) worth of shares were traded on Euronext Amsterdam, alongside Dutch divisions of CBOE Europe and the Turquoise exchange in January, according to data from CBOE […]

Michael Gove has been urged to show his unionist credentials by standing up for fishermen and Northern Ireland after Brexit, after admitting that the UK was facing a number of “obstacles” after Brexit. The Cabinet Office minister acknowledged the “bureaucratic obstacles” to negotiate and navigate with Brussels, as he was pressed to support “retaliation” against […]

Your weekly check on how Project Fear is becoming Project Reality, selected by Steve Anglesey.  It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain as Michael Gove’s war on experts appeared to have been extended to exports. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, in charge of ensuring smooth trade after […]

The EU has rejected a call from Michael Gove to change the Northern Ireland Protocol – with the European Commission insisting it is the “only way” to protect the Good Friday Agreement. In a letter to the Cabinet Office minister on the eve of their meeting in London, the Commission’s vice president Maros Sefcovic wrote: “The […]

The French response to Brexit has not quite been a Gallic shrug. But it’s not been far off. PAULINE SCHNAPPER explains the view from Paris. The Brexit deal reached on Christmas Eve was a relief for France as much as for the rest of the EU, both because a deal (any deal!) was better than no-deal […]

Downing Street has refused to publish an impact assessment on its Brexit deal with the EU, despite producing similar reviews of other trade deals. The prime minister’s spokesperson dismissed calls to publish the analysis, saying it had already set out the details of the deal “and the opportunities and benefits it provides the U.K.” “We’ve been […]

Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith has criticised the government’s handling of its post-Brexit trade bill – comparing Boris Johnson’s administration to Handforth Parish Council for failing to read the standing orders. The Brexiteer claimed the government had “deliberately blocked” a showdown with Conservative rebels using “tricks” and “games” to avoid a key vote which could […]

The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator has called for the EU to adopt a ‘different spirit’ during discussions over issues between Westminster and Brussels. Shortages on some food products have been experienced in Northern Ireland, businesses have struggled with red tape and Brussels recently threatened to override part of a post-Brexit agreement on the region to […]

The boss of JD Sports has said that Brexit has ended up “considerably worse” than feared, with a warning job losses could follow as it attempts to minimise disruption. Peter Cowgill, the firm’s chairman, said the extra cost of the UK’s departure from the EU was “double-digit millions”, as it eyed up a new distribution site […]

Anti-privatisation campaigners have criticised the government’s approach to the NHS in trade deals as the Trade Bill returns to the Commons. We Own It – a group campaigning for greater protections for the NHS against future trade agreements – say the government’s proposals for safeguarding the NHS “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”. The criticism comes as the government produced an […]

Tory rebels have accused the government of using game-playing to prevent a Commons vote on an attempt to outlaw post-Brexit trade deals with countries that are committing genocide. MPs are threatening to back a House of Lords amendment forcing ministers to withdraw from any free trade agreement with a country which the High Court rules is […]

George Eustice has claimed that the European Union has unexpectedly changed its position on live UK exports of shellfish. The environment secretary has called on Brussels to abide by existing regulations as producers expressed frustration at the lack of government action. The introduction of new checks and paperwork since the end of the Brexit transition […]

Michael Gove has called for a ‘reset’ and ‘refinement’ of the Brexit deal which only came into force at the start of the year. The Cabinet Office minister has expressed frustration at the lack of progress in talks with Brussels aimed at resolving difficulties in Northern Ireland’s Brexit arrangements ahead of a meeting with the […]