Brexit

Irish premier Leo Varadkar has told Theresa May that he will not accept a Brexit deal which gives the UK the unilateral power to halt “backstop” arrangements for the border with Northern Ireland. In a phone conversation with the Taoiseach, May said that any agreement would have to include a mechanism to bring an end […]

A £2.4m “no deal safety net unit” is being rushed through by the Metropolitan Police amid alarm over the loss of vital EU tools after next March. Police chiefs have warned home secretary Sajid Javid that losing such tools would make it harder to track sex offenders and terrorist suspects, according to internal police documents […]

Remainer Tory MP Dominic Grieve has said proposals for the UK to remain in a customs union after Brexit made the whole process “questionable”. The former attorney general told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “At the end of the day it highlights why the entire enterprise is questionable, because in fact what we are likely […]

Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre has used his first public appearance since stepping down to defend his decision to describe high court judges as “enemies of the people” on his front page. Dacre, who left the job in the summer and has since been formed to watch his successor steadily dismantle his legacy, said […]

More than four in 10 Brits would support a second Brexit referendum offering a choice between a deal or staying in the EU, according to one of the largest polls conducted on the subject. Some 20,000 people were questioned by Channel 4 ahead of a live televised debate that will see senior politicians who supported […]

One thousand nationalists from across Ireland have sent a joint letter to the Taoiseach urging him to defend the rights of Irish citizens north of the border amid Brexit uncertainty. The letter to Leo Varadkar has been signed by actors, academics, professional athletes, entrepreneurs, lawyers, teachers, doctors and a range of other figures from within […]

Millions of Brits will stay at home and not book overseas holidays if the UK crashes out of the EU without a trade agreement, according to new research published today. A major report by travel research specialist Euromonitor International has predicted that a ‘no-deal’ Brexit scenario next March would hit the outbound leisure travel market […]

Pubs could run out of Guinness following Brexit, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has warned – so you won’t even be able to drown your sorrows with the black stuff. Cable warned an extreme scenario caused by a no deal or a very bad deal could lead to the supply “drying up”. The MP was […]

Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has been accused of “running away” from people living in a border town during his visit to Northern Ireland. The Tory minister arrived in Northern Ireland today for a one-day visit to the region. During his first stop to Warrenpoint Port, Raab was criticised for not meeting with public representatives and […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Clacton-on-Sea, where the Pet Shop Boys filmed the video for their 1987 cover version of Always On My Mind. But who didn’t love the EU quite as often as they […]

Brexit is stripping cash from the arts with government funding for some of Britain’s most iconic museums plummeting since the referendum, The New European can reveal. Figures released under Freedom of Information laws show that eight out of 16 government-sponsored museums have seen their grant in aid funding fall since 2016/2017. 12 of the 16 […]

A leading SNP MP has cast doubt on his party’s backing for a People’s Vote on Brexit by warning it could pose “all sorts of risks to a future independence referendum for nothing”. Pete Wishart said the move could make it more difficult to resist calls for a similar second ballot in Scotland if nationalists […]

The look on chancellor Philip Hammond’s face was priceless today as Tory headbanger Peter Bone crowned him “the King of Brexit”. Hammond looked baffled as hardliner Bone claimed that his budget earlier this week had delivered “a Brexit dividend… if we come out of the European Union with no deal”. The chancellor had actually said […]

John McDonnell has announced today’s Labour Brexit policy: a customs union and a “close” relationship with the single market. The shadow chancellor said Labour MPs would vote in favour of a Brexit deal which “protects jobs and the economy” – echoing Jeremy Corbyn’s mantra of a “jobs-first Brexit” – but acknowledged that was “not the […]

The vote for Brexit has already cost the average British worker more than £1,100 in lost wages, campaigners for a People’s Vote have claimed. The campaign seized on earnings growth figures released by the Office for Budget Responsibility alongside chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget on Tuesday. Leading supporter Chuka Umunna said the OBR’s report showed that […]

Theresa May has again rejected a Norway-style deal with the EU after Brexit. The move comes after some Tories suggested a temporary “Norway for Now” option to soften EU withdrawal. Norway is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) and has full access to the single market in exchange for making financial contributions and […]

A former German ambassador to the UK has poured cold water on Brexiteers’ claims his nation’s carmakers would insist on a good deal, saying it was only ‘headache number 25’ for the industry. Thomas Matussek, who was Germany’s ambassador to the UK from 2002 to 2006, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Brexit played […]

Brexit may mean “much higher” mobile phone bills for Britons travelling on the continent, a committee of MPs has found. The government is not planning to maintain the EU’s ban on mobile roaming charges for voice, text messages and data following withdrawal, the House of Commons EU Scrutiny Committee said in a report. This means […]

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has insisted that flights between the UK and EU will not be grounded after Brexit despite admitting that talks on route access have not begun. The ardent Brexiteer told a gathering of UK airport bosses that the “process is not in our hands”. The single market for aviation, created in the […]

Brexit will pose no threat to Strictly Come Dancing, Downing Street has been forced to declare amid fears foreign dancers could be barred. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable – who appeared on a Strictly Christmas special in 2010 – has claimed that immigration restrictions could deprive the show of talented foreign professional dancers. Sir […]

Can we really leave a whole new generation of Brits with such a broken future, asks FEMI OLUWOLE of Our Future, Our Choice Now we’ve all heard the doom and gloom predictions about how Brexit would screw the economy. Frankly, there have been so many claimed figures around this issue that it’s hard to keep […]

London mayor Sadiq Khan is to urge EU leaders to extend Article 50 and delay Brexit until a second referendum or a new government is formed. He will tell the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier when they meet in Brussels today that an extension is in the interests of both sides to avert a “political […]

Auditors have shocked absolutely no-one by reporting Northern Ireland is not well prepared for a no-deal Brexit in areas such as trade and customs. The ability to plan is also “severely constrained” amid uncertainty surrounding the Irish border, migration and the repatriation of powers from Brussels, comptroller and auditor general of the Northern Ireland Audit […]

Apprentice star Lord Sugar has said Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson and Michael Gove should be locked up for the “lies” they told during the EU referendum. And the business tycoon said there was a “good argument” for voiding the result of the 2016 poll because people had been misled. The independent crossbench peer made […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Barrow-in-Furness’ Forum venue, which just tomorrow night will play host to Suggs from Madness. But who will prove themselves One Step Beyond shifting public opinion on Brexit – and who […]

A no-deal Brexit may be the “most likely outcome” of negotiations, Nicola Sturgeon has told MSPs. The prime minister said that while the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc were 95% agreed, there remained an “impasse” over the issue of the Irish border. Sturgeon said she was “increasingly concerned” about the prospect of leaving […]

Almost two-thirds of Tory supporters lack confidence in Theresa May’s handling of Brexit, a poll has shown. Some 64% of Conservatives said they did not back the prime minister to secure a good deal, up 11 points from last month. Overall, 78% of people surveyed by Ipsos MORI were pessimistic about the prime minister’s ability […]

A senior Tory MEP has been forced to apologise after comparing Socialists in the European Parliament to Nazis. Syed Kamall, who leads the European Conservatives and Reformists Group to which Theresa May’s party belongs, backed down after his remarks caused outrage in the chamber and a rebuke from the parliament’s president Antonio Tajani. Tajani was […]

Nigel Farage has made a rare appearance in the European Parliament to attack his own country’s civil service, accusing it of being “the enemy within”. The Ukip MEP for South East England turned up for work to denounce the UK negotiating team under Olly Robbins as attempting to sabotage Brexit and said Britain was heading […]

The European Parliament’s Brexit negotiator has poured cold water on Theresa May’s claims of progress, saying it was zero percent until the Irish border issue was resolved. May told Parliament on Monday that 95% of the Brexit withdrawal agreement were settled as she sought to assuage MPs in her own party that she was making […]

Britain’s ability to deal with threats from animal and plant diseases could be “seriously compromised” by a no-deal Brexit, a Lords committee has said. Peers expressed concern at the prospect of the UK losing access to “vital” EU safety alerts after it leaves the bloc. Animal and plant diseases, along with invasive non-native species, present […]

A host of measures to prepare the UK border for Brexit may not be ready for a no-deal scenario, a watchdog has warned. The government faces a race against time to replace critical IT systems, boost Border Force staffing levels and build new infrastructure to track goods, according to the National Audit Office. It said […]