Brexit

A BBC presenter has attracted a wave of complaints after calling Brexiteers “headbangers, zealots and quislings”. Sue Perkins, a former Great British Bake Off host and well-known comedian, sparked controversy last week when she posted a tweet mocking David Cameron and Brexiteers. Responding to a message by the former Tory prime minister, which slammed the decision […]

A minister in Boris Johnson’s government has admitted that Brexit talks with the European Union could be extended beyond the transition period of December 31. Appearing on Sky News with Kay Burley, the environment secretary George Eustice said it is “always possible” to extend negotiations, and that the UK’s chief negotiator David Frost has always […]

The European Union is proposing a new transatlantic alliance with Joe Biden’s America to repair their strained relationship caused by Donald Trump’s presidency. A draft report sights China’s “growing international assertiveness” as a challenge that needs both the EU and US to work together, even if they “do not always agree” on how to address it. […]

The National Trust has hired a firm headed up by former Vote Leave official to dampen discontent caused by a decision to review its 300 stately homes for links to slavery or colonialism following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Prominent Brexiteers, including Ann Widdecombe, claimed the body had a “woke agenda” after […]

Anti-Brexit campaigners have rebranded Kent the ‘the toilet of England’ on signs, in a stunt that attempts to highlight fears for the county’s motorways after Brexit. Where before motorists would be politely informed they were entering the Garden of England – as Kent is known – the new message read: “Welcome to Kent The Toilet […]

Former Tory minister and Boris Johnson critic ALISTAIR BURT presents a pro-European, Conservative vision for post-Brexit Britain. During the 2016 referendum, I made the case that UK’s interests – both foreign and domestic – were best served by remaining a member of the EU. However, being a pragmatist and a democrat are core conservative values and […]

Readers respond to suggestions Brexit is no longer the defining issue in politics it once was. Sir John Curtice tells us that 87% of Remain voters (“Has Brexit gone off the boil?“, TNE #220) would vote the same way again as they did in 2016. That tells me that 13% haven’t been following the news for the […]

Businesses have been urged to step up Brexit planning after a survey found only 42% believe they are fully prepared for customs changes. A poll conducted by Enterprise Ireland revealed 44% of businesses have yet to decide how to pay customs charges, while 30% have yet to decide who will manage customs procedures. Tanaiste Leo […]

British actors have been told not to audition for the role of a young Duke of Cambridge in a forthcoming film about Diana, Princess of Wales, due to new rules faced by the country post-Brexit. A casting invitation posted online calls for boys aged between nine and 12 to apply for the role of the […]

It’s clear Boris Johnson’s brazen approach will cost us all warns Michael White. The mighty Oxford English Dictionary has just celebrated the extraordinary nature of 2020 by issuing an unprecedented number of ‘words of the year’ – starting obviously with coronavirus and lockdown. Me, I was less ambitious in looking for words of the week. […]

A transport boss has called the government’s handling of Brexit border proceedings a “complete shambles”. The chief executive of the Road Haulage Association (RHA) Richard Burnett said the software needed to facilitate the transport of goods to and from the EU was not ready, Sky News has reported. In a letter seen by the outlet, Burnett […]

A German MEP has claimed that Britain’s ‘messy’ negotiating tactics are to blame for last-minute Brexit talks. Long-serving German politician Bernd Lange said Brexit negotiations would not have come down to the wire had British officials actually been properly prepared. Speaking on Bloomberg, Lange said: “There were a lot of months, starting in February, where there […]

Liam Fox has backtracked on comments he made about a Brexit deal being “the easiest in human history” by picking on semantics. The staunch Eurosceptic and former international trade secretary has attempted to weasel out of prior remarks he made about EU trade deal negotiations by focusing on his use of language. Appearing on Sky News’ […]

Lorry drivers were left queuing for five miles along the M20 in Kent as a trial of Brexit border controls were carried out at the Channel Tunnel. Lorries on their way across the English channel were forced to wait in queues stretching back to Junction 11 on the M20 as they approached the Eurotunnel entrance outside […]

LBC radio host James O’Brien has confronted the perception that Remainers want Brexit to fail in a passionate monologue arguing the contrary. O’Brien has explained why he thinks it is incorrect to presume Remainers want Brexit to be an economic failure. Speaking on his LBC show, O’Brien said: “Let me tell you something about being a […]

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned that a no-deal Brexit would cause more economic harm to the UK than the effects of Covid-19. Bailey said a failure to agree to a Brexit deal before the end of the transition period would wreak havoc on cross-border trade and damage the chances of a future economic partnership […]

A US official who once compared Brexit to a dog being run over by a car is expected to be appointed Joe Biden’s secretary of state. Antony Blinken once described Brexit as a “total mess” and said the process resembled a dog being run over by a car. Blinken, an Obama-era White House deputy, is expected […]

Why is fishing proving to be so intractable in the post-Brexit negotiations? Essentially for one reason: the claims made by Brexiters that Britain will be able to run a completely different national policy, reserve all rights to fish in the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to UK fishers, and still export without impediment to the […]

The “Festival of Brexit” is set to receive £29 million in funding amid backlash the money could have been spent on free school lunches. Britain’s “Festival of Brexit” – known formally as Festival UK 2022 –  is on track to receive a lump sum of funding in this Wednesday’s spending review. Festival officials have said £120 million – […]

David Davis has been made the centre of an online joke on Brexit talks after sharing his frustrations about Vodafone coverage. The former Brexit minister has been roundly mocked after venting his anger over the level of coverage he receives as a Vodafone UK customer in a message on Twitter. Davis’ comment comes a matter of hours after prime minister […]

A Brexiteer MP has been ridiculed over tweets he made about Project Fear and the fall in car sales across Britain. John Redwood has become the centre of a Twitter trend after suggesting that plummeting car sales in the UK had nothing to do with Brexit. Redwood’s comment comes amid speculation that Nissan’s Sunderland car plant […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on the dilemma facing the Labour Party, if the government secures a Brexit deal with the EU. Greetings from the depression front line. There is a lot if it around. Mine, and, judging by my inbox and random encounters on rare sorties out of the house, plenty of other people’s too. Being out […]

Labour will have to live with its decision on how it votes over a Brexit deal for years to come, says DENIS MacSHANE. Forty nine years ago, 69 brave Labour MPs broke with the party’s conventional wisdom, defied the official whip, and voted to take Britain into Europe. Amongst them was a future party leader, John Smith. The […]

A Brexiteer has sparked outrage after claiming Boris Johnson’s lockdown measures were an infringement of European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) laws. Steve Baker has raised eyebrows after claiming the prime minister’s lockdown measures breached ECHR regulations – the very laws he voted to repeal in 2016. Baker, a fervent Brexiteer and former chair of parliamentary anti-EU group the […]

Boris Johnson is set to intervene in Brexit talks this week in a final push to clinch a trade deal with the EU. The prime minister is said to be preparing for a call with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, in a last-minute attempt to secure a Brexit deal. Brussels […]

A Tory MP has come under fire after calling for an economic assessment of lockdown measures despite previously dismissing similar analysis on Brexit. Steve Baker has urged the government to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of new Covid restrictions despite having previously called analysis by civil servants as “always wrong”. The government has signalled that England will return […]

A leading MEP in the European Parliament has passionately defended the European Union, and told UK politicians to stop describing the bloc as “the enemy”. Nathalie Loiseau, a French MEP and formerly France’s minister for European affairs, said that both sides owe it to their people to “build a strong partnership for our future”. And […]

A police and crime commissioner has said he is “not sorry” after complaints about his conduct when he tweeted that those who backed Brexit were “turkeys voting for Christmas”. Arfon Jones, Plaid Cymru’s police chief for North Wales, tweeted the response in reply to a Labour MP who was critical of Brexit. He wrote: “Ah well, told […]

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he is confident about the British economy “in all circumstances” – whether there is a Brexit deal or not. Sunak was appearing on Sunday shows when he said that the government should not agree on a deal “at any price”. With the transition period due to end on December 31, […]

A former Brexit Party MEP claimed she is a “proud European” as she rejected the need for a trade deal with the EU. Claire Fox, who was promoted to the House of Lords by Boris Johnson earlier this year, said she was “an enthusiast about the European continent” as she fobbed off the importance of clinching […]

EU member states could ratify a Brexit deal after the end of the transition period to avoid a no-deal scenario, officials have been told. Brussels is considering allowing any trade pact with the UK to be ratified after the event to avoid the chaos of a no-deal Brexit. European Commission secretary general Ilze Juhansone told officials from the […]

The Prince of Wales’ sombre trip to Germany suggests the royals might represent a continuing link to the continent, says former Europe minister DENIS MACSHANE. In one of our more interesting royal forays into European politics, Prince Charles was in Berlin recently to be the star guest at the Bundestag for Germany’s national day of […]