Brexit

Our editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on the influence wielded by Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, on Brexit ‘Only one more Brexmas to Brexit,’ taunted one of my few remaining Brexit-supporting friends. ‘Happy New Year.’ Happy New Year? Fat chance, unless 2018 is the year the Brexit Blunderbus is brought to a halt or, failing […]

RICHARD PORRITT on the week’s big stories, including stern warnings in Greece, unlikely heroes in Rome and Denmark’s most unfortunate taxi driver Sir Vince Cable’s vow to use the House of Lords in a bid to stop the UK leaving the EU will likely irk many Brexiteers. The Lib Dems have long called for reforms […]

Labour’s “timidity” will usher in Brexit if the party continues to go along with leaving the European Union and insists on withdrawing from the single market, Tony Blair has said. The former prime minister criticised Labour’s position and urged the party he once led to instead “make Brexit the Tory Brexit”. Mr Blair said he […]

A former Treasury minister has described Boris Johnson as “ludicrous” as he criticised the government’s approach to future trade deals after Brexit. Lord O’Neill of Gatley said it was “mad” that international trade secretary Liam Fox and the foreign secretary “spend half of their time travelling to New Zealand” instead of building relationships with the […]

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has defended plans to use his party’s strength in the House of Lords to fight Brexit, even though he views the unelected chamber as a “bad system” that he did not want to be a member of. Sir Vince said the Lords had limited political impact, but the upper […]

Lord Adonis has quit the government’s infrastructure role delivering a scathing verdict on the handling of Brexit and claiming the PM has become an ally of UKIP and the Tory hard right. The Labour peer resigned as chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, saying he was ‘duty bound’ to oppose the Government’s European Union (Withdrawal) […]

Tory peer and former deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine has suggested that a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn would be less damaging for the country than Brexit. In the claims, which will surprise some within the Conservative Party, he said that although he believed a Labour government would be bad for the country, Brexit […]

Remain politicians have poured scorn on plans to bring back the blue cover for the British passport. The spat was sparked by a Home Office announcement that British passports will again have blue covers once the UK has left the EU in 2019. The new design, which will no longer include the EU insignia, will […]

The Brexit department has been mocked after publishing ‘sectoral analyses’ revealing that electricity is vital for light and heating, fishing is important to coastal communities and postal services are used to supply goods. The reports also explain what an aeroplane is and how they are useful for conducting trade between countries, and features some sections […]

Editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on how William Shakespeare, the King of Word-Invention, provides us with the language to describe Brexit I learned a terrific new French word recently. I like learning new words. Some new words are awful, like Brexit, which did not exist even a few years ago, and now is one of the most […]

While the Telegraph has never been shy about its politics, it was once known for its tolerance and diversity of views. Not any more, says its former diarist TIM WALKER It seems a comical notion now, but The Daily Telegraph once recommended Gina Miler for a peerage. We’re going back a few years, of course, […]

STEVE ANGLESEY on how a book of less than 400 words provides the most compelling illustration of why Leave won As the news about Brexit continues to get worse; the writing about it continues to get better. What The Hell Happens Now by Ian Dunt, Tim Shipman’s All-Out War and Unleashing Demons by Craig Oliver […]

It’s been another ludicrous year in Brexit politics – but what do you remember of some of the most preposterous moments? 2017 is almost over – a year political scientists are saying was the most ridiculous since 2016. But what can you remember of some of the most outstandingly silly moments? Try our quiz and […]

RICHARD PORRITT with the week’s big stories, including a diplomatic spat between Austria and Italy It is Christmas drinks season in Westminster, when journalists are tempted by cheap white wine and nibbles. The Number 10 event included invites to many of the biggest names in the UK media, to hear Theresa May chatting about her […]

The government must take its share of the EU’s wine and art when Britain leaves, a Brexiteering Tory MP has demanding. Sir Edward Leigh told Parliament that the EU was thought to have a wine cellar stocked with more than 42,000 bottles and has artwork worth more than £13m. He urged the government to “promise” […]

A blistering assault on Brexiteers in the European Parliament, labelling them “political crooks”, is proving a viral sensation on social media. Viviane Reding, a former European commissioner, said that rather than the “global Britain” promised by the likes of Boris Johnson and Liam Fox, Brexit was ushering in “a lonely Britain”. And Britain was “at […]

RICHARD PORRITT with the week’s big stories, including Brexit health risks, trouble in Ukraine and controversy in Italy Nigel Farage’s former spokesman Michael Heaver has been chatting to the BBC about his time with UKIP. ‘Nigel Farage is such a machine,’ Heaver, who got the job aged just 27, said adoringly. ‘What was very important […]

An influential committee of MPs has thrown its support behind a Brexit transition agreement that sees EU laws continue to reign supreme, stressing that it would be a “price worth paying” for stability after March 2019. The Treasury Select Committee is urging the British government to put forward transition deal proposals that are straightforward and […]

Conservative former minister Dominic Grieve has suggested he and the government have run out of road over his call for a meaningful vote on any Brexit deal. The MP said what happens in such circumstances is “all rational discourse starts to evaporate”, adding the purpose of his amendment is “entirely lost in a confrontation” in […]

International trade secretary Liam Fox has used a speech in Argentina to lash out at “gloomy” Brexit commentators, urging them to be more positive. Sceptical pundits needed to understand Brexit was “not a time bomb” and leaving the European Union would allow the UK to have a “bold and confident” future, he said. It is […]

A Tory MP and leading Brexiteer has been accused of “Stalinism” over comments attacking those who want any Brexit withdrawal agreement to be put to MPs. Bernard Jenkin dismissed attempts to amend the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill to require the government to put any withdrawal agreement to a vote in the House saying it was […]

Alex Taylor, a British broadcaster working in France, was so angered by Brexit he decided to become French, a process which ended in a ceremony at the country’s Pantheon. Vanity Fair’s MARION VAN RENTERGHEM was there to watch it happen One day, earlier this autumn, Alex Taylor entered the Pantheon, in Paris. This is not […]

Theresa May has insisted that MPs will be given a vote on the Brexit withdrawal deal as she faced the prospect of a Tory revolt and embarrassing Commons defeat on the issue. The prime minister and Brexit secretary David Davis have mounted a campaign to win over would-be rebels ahead of the crunch vote on […]

Ministers must “give a little bit more” to build a consensus with the 48% of voters who backed Remain, a Conservative former minister has said. Anna Soubry said if the Government was genuine in “healing the great divide” it should “reach out and do the right thing” by tomorrow to ensure the “right result” is […]

The boss of the US civil aviation regulator has urged the UK to reveal by next month whether it will remain in a key safety body after Brexit. Michael Huerta of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flew from Washington to London today for talks with transport secretary Chris Grayling before meetings with European Union officials […]

Henry VIII would “blush” at the Government’s attempt to seize powers under key Brexit legislation, a former minister has said. Labour’s Chris Leslie raised concerns about the potential for ministers to use the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill to sign off changes into law which have an impact on people’s lives without requiring in-depth scrutiny in […]

EU nationals seeking to stay in the UK after Brexit will be able to complete applications in minutes, the immigration minister has claimed. Brandon Lewis told a House of Lords committee requests for the newly created “settled status” should be processed and answered within a fortnight after they are submitted. He said that the Home […]

The European Parliament is to demand that last week’s Brexit deal is converted into a legally binding text as soon as possible. The Parliament’s chief Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt said suggestions from David Davis that the agreement was not binding had undermined trust in the UK among MEPs. In a TV interview on Sunday, Mr […]

More than 60% of Britons believe MPs should be given the final say on the overall Brexit deal, according to a poll. The BMG Research survey found 61% think MPs should give their verdict, while 58% believe there should be a vote on the so-called divorce bill. The government faces a potential revolt over a […]

Firms in the Square Mile are planning to shift 10,500 jobs out of Britain by the first day of Brexit as the economic reality of the vote begins to bite. EY’s Brexit Tracker, which monitors 222 financial services firms, also shows that banks, asset managers and brokers are now expecting client facing and “front office” […]

Boris Johnson has been accused in the Lords of doing “immense damage” to Britain’s reputation abroad with his tendency to “speak first and think afterwards”. In a rare personal attack at question time, Labour’s Lord Soley said the foreign secretary had a “bad reputation” for it at home and overseas. Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad […]

In a major climbdown on its flagship Brexit bill, the government has given in to rebels over greater oversight of ministers’ powers. An amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill tabled by the cross-party Commons Procedure Committee will stop ministers simply signing changes into law through so-called Henry VIII powers. Instead a new “sifting committee” of […]