In this video, Professor Richard Rose of the University of Strathclyde argues that the British government's attitude towards the Northern Ireland Protocol is a profoundly unhealthy one. It stems from the misplaced beliefs that the UK can dictate the terms of its external relations, that the UK's partners have no [...]
The week beginning 19th July was an eventful one in British politics. Our Director Brendan Donnelly discusses Freedom Day, Dominic Cummings and the Northern Ireland Protocol. He concludes that Boris Johnson’s position is shakier than it seems. So is the future of the UK under Johnson’s Premiership: Watch previous [...]
In this video, financial analyst and Federal Trust Council member Graham Bishop and our Director, Brendan Donnelly, discuss the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak's recent Mansion House speech. The speech acknowledges the importance of financial services for the British economy. But it gives little hope that the British government [...]
In this video conversation, Dr Michael Lloyd of Global Policy Institute and our Director Brendan Donnelly discuss how, when and whether the UK will rejoin the EU. Michael advocates first joining the European Economic Area as a possible first step towards rejoining the European Union, while Brendan argues that it [...]
In this video, our Director Brendan Donnelly criticises the main British political parties for their reluctance to talk about Brexit. He thinks this reluctance stems primarily from calculations of political advantage. These calculations may however be mistaken. The Labour Party in particular may end up alienating all its potential supporters. [...]
Division has been central to the electoral strength of the Johnson Conservative Party. It might also prove key to understanding its potential weakness. Conservative victory in December 2019 was achieved partly through identifying a social cleavage and securing a large proportion of the support of those on one side of [...]
6 years ago I published a book “Brexit. How Britain Will Leave Europe.” It came out before the May 2015 election. It set out all the reasons, based on 20 years of door knocking in what we now call a red wall seat, why I thought that if a populist [...]
“Take back control” was one of the main battle-cries of Brexit. Underpinning it was the notion that the UK had ceded its sovereignty to the EU and was no-longer an ‘independent’ country. We will leave aside the issue of whether or not Brexit really represents a return of sovereignty to [...]
This article was first published by The Parliament Magazine When it emerged that some EU citizens had been wrongfully held, due to ignorance on the part of officials, the British Government also began to look incompetent. It seems that the UK government has a message for the world, namely: “Look [...]
by Colin A. Munro Colin A. Munro is a former British diplomat. He joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1969 and held numerous positions during his career, in Berlin, Kuala Lumpur, Bucharest, Frankfurt, Zagreb, and served as the Private Secretary to the Minister of State responsible for Central and Eastern Europe. [...]
