Federalism is best defined as a system in which constitutional authority is divided between a ‘federal’ tier of government and a set of territorial ‘states’. It is a comprehensive and symmetrical model in which the entirety (or almost the entirety) of the country is covered by states, which have identical [...]
The author wishes to dedicate the present essay to the memory of the ever inspiring Michael Burgess, in live Founder and Director of the Centre for Federal Studies at the University of Kent. For decades, it has been common practice in academic circles to refer to the EU as [...]
The UK’s politics failed in the face of Brexit for a mixture of reasons. There were three main causes. First, the ideology and dishonesty at the heart of the pro-Brexiters’ campaigning was, and remains, central. Second, Labour’s opposition to Brexit foundered on internal splits and a leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who [...]
The future of the financial services industry - centred in the City of London - matters enormously to the health of the United Kingdom’s economy. The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) has few provisions on financial services and the UK now appears set to drive a wedge between EU and [...]
This article was first published by Yorkshire Bylines. There is growing momentum behind the campaign to reverse the UK Government’s decision to exit the European Union’s Erasmus programme, the largest international education programme in the world. Students, young people and their families, alongside the education, training and youth sectors [...]
by Jaap Hoeksma Philosopher of law and director of Euroknow; Author of “The Case Bundesverfassungsgericht versus EU Court of Justice – Can the EU function as a democracy without forming a State?” In hindsight, Brexit bears all the hallmarks of a tragedy of errors. As from Thatcher’s Bruges speech in 1988, British politicians have been [...]
“We are experiencing the brain death of NATO” argued President Macron of France after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Paris, November 28, 2019. Britain’s decision on a future defence strategy appears to contain the seeds of further confusion and torpor, particularly as the country becomes more [...]
by Richard Carden Richard Carden is a retired senior civil servant who has worked at top level in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Department of Trade and Industry and the European Commission. Boris has done Brexit. We are out of the EU. We are at the start [...]
Jasper Fforde’s dystopian novel, “Shades of Grey”, set in a distant future where social class in the UK is determined by how many colours a person visually perceives, has certain uncanny parallels with today’s political and media class’s black and white perceptions of Brexit. This is most strikingly apparent in [...]
Throughout the month of December commentators and politicians speculated tirelessly on the likelihood of a negotiated trade arrangement between the UK and EU before the end of the year. Many expected that the personal convictions of Boris Johnson and the intransigence of the Conservative Party would prevent the conclusion of [...]
