Brexit

This week we crossed yet another Brexit threshold: there are now fewer than 100 days left of the UK’s implementation period. Brexit is about to get real, and as it stands we will be in a no-deal situation in the middle of a coronavirus winter. There is still – just – time for the UK […]

Failure to reach an agreement with the EU in post-Brexit trade talks could hit Britain’s economy three times harder in the long term than coronavirus, a think tank has warned. Queues at the border, shortages of fresh food and medicine as well as more “hassle” travelling to the continent are also possible, according to the […]

Germany’s minister for Europe has pleaded with the UK to “stop playing games” and produce a fairer basis for negotiations. Michael Roth said time was running out for both sides to reach a deal before the end of the Brexit transition period in December. Speaking with DW News, Roth called on Downing Street to ditch controversial provisions […]

The government has been defeated by peers demanding a ban on the use of pesticides in its flagship Agriculture Bill for farming standards after Brexit. The House of Lords voted by 276 to 228, majority 48, for a cross-party amendment to require the Secretary of State to outlaw the use of chemicals close to the public, aimed […]

Farage cut short a telephone call with a BBC journalist investigating one of the organisation’s top donors. In a recording of the conversation, Farage said he was aware Christopher Harborne, who donated £10 million to the Brexit Party in the lead up to the 2019 general election, had two separate identities but refused to be interviewed […]

Keir Starmer has attacked Boris Johnson’s track-record of ‘incompetence’ and ‘bendy banana’ myth-making during his first party conference speech as Labour leader. Keir Starmer attacks Boris Johnson over history of lies to s Starmer gave a scathing assessment of the prime minister’s handling of the pandemic and of his Brexit “bluster” as he attempted to […]

Andrea Jenkyns MP misspelt the word “British” in an attack against O’Brien online, prompting a wave of ridicule online.  Jenkyns, who is deputy chair of the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG), hit out at the radio presenter for a tweet in which he suggested the Tory MP’s real Twitter account was “a million times better […]

Boris Johnson has agreed to a compromise with Tory rebels over Boris Johnson’s controversial Brexit bill. The proposals would give MPs a vote before Downing Street tries to use powers to break international law, a joint statement from Downing Street and Conservative MPs Sir Bob Neill and Damian Green said.  The joint statement reads: “Following […]

A government-backed satellite project to rival the EU’s has been scrapped and labelled nothing more than a “vanity project” by a former Tory defence minister. Theresa May’s plan for Britain to have its own GPS satellite navigation system has been ditched, leaving many in Whitehall pressuring the government to rejoin the EU’s Galileo programme. May […]

Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis has dismissed claims that Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill will not break international law, adding the government’s legal advice states it clearly will. Speaking to a Commons committee on Northern Ireland, Lewis contradicted home secretary Priti Patel and Tory peer Richard Keen – the Tory advocate general for Scotland – over […]

Another top Tory legal official has resigned over Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill. Lord Richard Keen, who is the Tory advocate general for Scotland, said he had handed in his resignation Wednesday morning. Speaking to the Scottish paper the Press and Journal, he said: “I tendered my resignation to the prime minister first thing this morning, […]

A Labour MP has pleaded with Boris Johnson to be a ‘real’ prime minister and unite the nation ahead challenges it faces concerning Brexit and the coronavirus. Chris Bryant became emotional when he begun speaking about the hardship his Welsh constituency of Rhondda faced during an appearance on Sky News. Talking to host Kay Burley, […]

Boris Johnson could be preparing to concede to amendments to his Brexit bill being proposed by Tory rebels, reports have suggested. The FT is reporting the prime minister could concede to a demand by Tory MP Bob Neill that would force the government into seeking parliamentary consent before breaking the Withdrawal Agreement. It is reported […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson has admitted that leaving Brexit trade talks without a deal is “not what this country wants”. Johnson was appearing before the liaison committee when he answered questions on criticism he has faced from his five living predecessors over the UK internal market bill.The prime minister said he had “enormous respect” for […]

A senior German politician has claimed it ‘makes no sense’ to continue to negotiate with Boris Johnson over Brexit – warning his rule-breaking will impact the UK’s international standing. Senior German politician says it ‘makes no sense’ to continu Manfred Weber was speaking in the European parliament after recess, as he warned that Johnson’s Brexit […]

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the UK cannot unilaterally disregard the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, as she quoted former Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher. In her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament, Von der Leyen said both sides had agreed it was the only way to guarantee […]

Police have been checking all vehicles and passengers at the Port of Dover, leading to miles-long queues and traffic chaos, giving a flavour of how Kent could look after Brexit. The queues were sparked after controversial Brexit motorway measure Operation Stack was activated so lorries can line up to enter the port. The “emergency measure” […]

Having accused the EU of wanting to stop the UK leaving the European Union, Eurosceptics have gone full circle and now claim that Brexit was an EU plot to force the country out. Pro-Brexit newspaper the Express has carried an interview with Eurosceptic MEP Hans-Olaf Henkel, who claims he is convinced EU countries wanted to […]

As someone who is passionately pro-European, the Brexit process is painful enough as it is. Now, the government are rubbing salt into the wound. Breaking international law is a new low.The UK has left the EU. All that needed to be done, voters were told,was for Boris Johnson to implement his “oven ready” deal, including […]

Brexiteers have lined up to tell US presidential candidate Joe Biden not to ‘lecture’ Britain on Northern Ireland and Brexit. Failed former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith (IDS) is said to have been angered by the Democrat’s warning about Boris Johnson tearing up parts of the already agreed Brexit deal with the EU which related to […]

Biden’s intervention comes as prime minister Boris Johnson faces concerted opposition to government moves that would override the Northern Ireland Protocol, which forms part of the wider ranging divorce agreement with Brussels. The Democratic Party nominee for the White House, who is leading incumbent president Donald Trump in a series of nationwide polls ahead of […]

Chris Grayling has secured an adviser role for some of the UK’s top ports which will see him paid £100,000 per year for seven hours work each week. Parliament’s register of members’ financial interests showed the former transport secretary, who has been involved in a number of controversies during his time in politics, to be […]

A former Brexit Party politician has hinted at launching a new political party with British actor Laurence Fox. Martin Daubney, the former MEP for the West Midlands, suggested there was a “gaping chasm” for a new political movement in Britain. Discussing the idea on his talkshow Unlocked, Daubney – a former ally ofNigel Farage – […]

The training focuses on addressing prejudices people may carry without knowing it and has been available since 2016 following multiple allegations of racism and sexism in the Commons. But Tories from the European Research Group and the “Common Sense Group” of right-leaning MPs said they will not be taking part in the programme, The Times […]

Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox has made it through to the second round of the race to become the next director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Liz Truss, his successor at the Department for International Trade, announced that Dr Fox, the UK’s nominee for the top job has successfully navigated the first […]

This week’s Brexit row has a retro feel. Michel Barnier and an impasse in Brussels. Tory rebels led by a former attorney general. ‘Get Brexit done’. For old time’s sake we even had Ed Miliband gesticulating frantically at the despatch box and Nigel Farage popping up to declare ‘this isn’t the Brexit we voted for’. […]

Charles Dickens’ biographer and great-great-great-granddaughter explains why he was one of literature’s great – if unacknowledged – Europhiles. Charles Dickens pictured dreaming about the characters of his novels in a watercolour painting by Victorian artist, etcher and illustrator Robert William Buss. Picture: Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images – Credit: Archant In the 19th century, the […]

The chances of a second referendum on membership of the European Union could greatly increase if a reported plot by MPs to take control of the Brexit agenda is successful, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has said. #Brexit: "Absolutely outrageous and unforgivable" if no-deal Brexit happens says Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable#marr https://t.co/Kyr1Li4hWc […]

A Norway-style Brexit could quickly gain in popularity should the prime minister’s Brexit deal flounder as expected in the House of Commons next week, a Conservative MP has said. Former minister Robert Halfon and Labour’s Lucy Powell have published a report outlining a ‘Common Market 2.0’ vision for a Norway-style Brexit. It would see the […]

The Brexit deal MPs will vote on next week is a compromise deal that not everyone will be happy with, a leading Brexiteer member of the cabinet has admitted. Arch Brexiteer Chris Grayling insisted the deal prime minister Theresa May is putting to the House of Commons is a ‘sensible compromise’ but said it is […]

The chances of a no confidence vote in the government if the prime minister’s Brexit deal is rejected have been ramped up by Labour, with its leaders saying it is a case of ‘when, not if’. Labour shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey. Picture: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA – Credit: Archant However leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow business […]

It is the question on everyone’s lips – what happens if, as expected, the government loses the key House of Commons vote on its Brexit plan next week? #Marr: Is there a Plan B if Theresa May's deal is voted down?#Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay says the government is committed to the PM's deal & some […]