by Brendan DonnellyDirector, The Federal Trust 20th February 2019 A frequent criticism of the Prime Minister is that she prematurely triggered the Article 50 negotiations in March 2017 and did so without a realistic plan for their conduct. If she had waited longer and planned better, her critics contend, she [...]
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. [...]
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 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 18th May 2018 The Conservative Cabinet has spent the past month in public controversy about the customs regime to be applied on the island of Ireland after Brexit. It is widely recognised that neither of the two favoured solutions canvassed within the [...]
By Brendan Donnelly Director, The Federal Trust 23rd April 2018 Last week saw two potentially important developments in the continuing campaign against Brexit. There was a significant defeat for the government in the House of Lords on the subject of the Customs Union (CU); and a coalition [...]
On Governing Europe: A Federal Experiment 30th April 2018 In his latest book, Andrew Duff describes how the EU was born at a time when federalism was seen as the only way to lasting peace, but how continuing tension between federalists and nationalists has left the Union unable to fulfil its [...]
