by Brendan DonnellyDirector, The Federal Trust 1st February 2019 Four conclusions emerge from the series of votes on Brexit in the House of Commons this week (29th January): • First, this government is so paralysed by internal division that it is incapable of pursuing any coherent policy in the negotiations. [...]
by Brendan DonnellyDirector, The Federal Trust 16th January 2019 A weakened Prime Minister It is significant and appropriate that the Conservative MPs who voted on 15th January against the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement from the European Union should have been drawn from opposing wings of her Party. While the [...]
Brexit: A national government or “no deal” by Brendan DonnellyDirector, The Federal Trust 18th December 2018 In a recent article for the New York Times, the distinguished historian of the Conservative Party, Professor Tim Bale, argued that the “will to power” of the Conservative Party would enable it in the [...]
Blame Brexit, not Theresa May 28th November 2018 by Brendan Donnelly Director, The Federal Trust In the confused discussion surrounding the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration negotiated by Mrs. May with the EU 27, two particular criticisms are frequently voiced. Mrs. May, we are told on all [...]
BREXIT: THE BEGINNING OF THE END? 16th November 2018 by Brendan Donnelly Director, The Federal Trust In the documents released this week by the British government and the EU there is a striking contrast between the detailed and specific nature of the proposed Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and [...]
BREXIT: THE POLITICAL DECLARATION MUST BE VAGUE AND PRECISE AT THE SAME TIME by Brendan Donnelly, Director, The Federal Trust 11th October 2018 The issues relating to the status of Northern Ireland after Brexit, and in particular the Irish “backstop,” have not yet been resolved. The major political [...]
by Brendan Donnelly, Director, The Federal Trust 24th September 2018 Over the past two years, the Conservative Party has been riven by the conflict between those who wanted the United Kingdom after Brexit to remain closely aligned with the European Union as a trading partner; and those who [...]
by Brendan Donnelly, Director, The Federal Trust August 2018 BREXIT:THE CONSERVATIVE CENTRE CANNOT HOLD The Minister for Exiting the European Union, Dominic Raab, last week published a number of “notifications” on the possibility of the UK’s leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement (“no deal Brexit”). On the [...]
by Brendan Donnelly, Director, The Federal Trust 18th July 2018 The Conservative MP, Anna Soubry, stunned the Commons and the media earlier this week by asking rhetorically whether it is the Prime Minister or her fellow backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg who “runs the country” when it comes to Brexit. The [...]
by Brendan Donnelly, Director, The Federal Trust 22nd May 2018 The Irish strand of the current negotiations between the UK and the EU presents a rich case study in the delusions and dilemmas of Brexit. It is difficult to think of any other area of the negotiations which [...]