This article was first published in The New European Free movement of people is one of the EU’s most celebrated achievements. According to the December Eurobarometer survey, 81% of Europeans think free movement has benefitted the economy. Yet in Britain, it is often cited as one of the main reasons [...]
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 [...]
This article was first published by Scottish Centre on European Relations As the start of 2021 looms, the EU and UK have a new relationship underpinned by their new trade and cooperation agreement. This agreement fractures, damages and complicates economic, political and social links between the UK and EU. And, [...]
A missed opportunity for the young people of the UK In finalising its treaty with the EU, to the dismay of many, PM Johnson has confirmed his last minute negative decision to no longer participate in the EU`s Erasmus programme. This comes as a severe blow to young people and [...]
The last weeks of 2020 will provide a slew of illustrative material for future historians wishing to highlight the moral and administrative decline of the British state in face of the challenges of Brexit and Covid-19. Pride of place will go to the twin nominations to the House of Lords [...]
With Covid gridlock in Kent, chaotic borders have arrived earlier than expected, although stockpiling ahead of the end of the transition was already causing queues and a glimpse into the UK’s difficult post-Brexit future. As talks and haggling continue over fishing, one thing is clear: deal or no deal, four [...]
The probable future of a no-deal UK is gloomy. The direct economic damages are only the beginning. A non-deal or inadequate deal with the EU, exacerbating the troubles in Scotland and Northern Ireland, will kill the prospects for a meaningful deal with the US; Congress has already laid down the [...]
While sounding more optimistic on how restarted talks were moving this week after last week’s showdown, the EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michael Barnier, tweeted on the 14th of December that ‘Never before has such a comprehensive agreement (trade, energy, fisheries, transport, police & judicial cooperation, etc) been negotiated so transparently [...]
One relief from the ongoing general uncertainty surrounding the ongoing negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom on a post-Brexit Free Trade Agreement has been to study specifics, such as its likely regional impact. In pursuit of this I recently participated, by video, in an informal conference on [...]
