Mr Johnson’s decision last week to bring in a bill which will contravene a critical portion of the Withdrawal Agreement has at least had the merit of clarifying the real nature of Brexit and thus of the proper path by which it must be opposed. Former Prime Ministers John Major, [...]
“NO DEAL” BREXIT: AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN In an interesting article in this weekend’s Sunday Times, its political correspondent Tim Shipman warns that the chances of a “no deal” Brexit are higher than usually assumed. He attributes this risk largely to misunderstandings by the EU and UK of each [...]
This article was first published by The Parliament Magazine. There was a time when Brexit was the only thing we wanted to talk about. Now it seems to be a conversation stopper on both sides of the channel. Many Britons are walking instead of talking. A recent study has shown [...]
MPs pass Second Reading of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on 19th December 2019 (parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament) A recent incident illuminates, as few events have since 2016, the moral and intellectual chaos into which Brexit has (predictably) fallen over the past [...]
The first of the newly scheduled weekly talks between the UK and EU teams on a trade deal by the end of the transition period (31st December 2020) finished early last week, sending warning signals to those hoping for some breakthrough. Time is running out. Prime Minister Johnson has rejected [...]
The Conservative government has been surprisingly successful in avoiding public discussion of the disappearance on 30th June of its option to ask for an extension of the EU transition period beyond the end of the year. Controversy about the shake-up of the civil service and further Covid-19 cases in Leicester [...]
The British government has been making a significant effort to present the video conference between the Prime Minister and the Presidents of the European Council, Commission and Parliament on Monday as constituting something of a breakthrough in the negotiations over the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European [...]
As the deadline of 31st October approaches, it becomes daily clearer that a plausible path exists for the prevention of a “no deal” Brexit and indeed for the prevention of any kind of Brexit. The dangerous incompetence of Boris Johnson’s government on the European issue has finally persuaded many, probably [...]
“We can tolerate neither our vices nor their cures” (Livy, Roman historian, 1st century AD) by Brendan DonnellyDirector, The Federal Trust 2nd September 2019 The recent unexpectedly lengthy prorogation of Parliament, carried out with brutal speed and secrecy, should be a salutary reminder to those hoping to prevent a “no [...]
by Brendan DonnellyDirector, The Federal Trust 30th July 2019 It was a disappointment to many that the Labour Party and those Conservative MPs opposed to a “no deal” Brexit did so little last week to oppose the installation of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. The summer recess will, however, allow [...]
