Brexit

A right-wing commentator has been accused of using unconventional polling methods to whip up support to end lockdown. Martin Daubney, a former Brexit Party MEP turned right-wing commentator, claimed some 80% of respondents of a Twitter poll he ran among his followers would vote in favour of ending lockdown if a referendum were called today. In a […]

New business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed that the government is set to review workers’ rights after Brexit, but claims that they will not be watered down. Kwarteng told the business, energy and industrial strategy committee that his department was carrying out a consultation with business leaders on the working time directive and other EU rules […]

Stormont’s agriculture minister has described the Northern Ireland secretary in Westminster as the “emperor with no clothes” after he said trade disruptions across the Irish Sea were due to Covid-19, and not Brexit. Edwin Poots said Brandon Lewis was “the emperor with no clothes – but instead of a small boy pointing out he’s naked, the […]

A Brexiteer MP has been criticised after suggesting Downing Street should break the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed to by Boris Johnson. Tory backbencher John Redwood was told to retire by a Twitter user after using the social media platform to call for the dumping of the Northern Ireland Protocol. “The government needs to give urgent attention to […]

A broadcaster has suggested Brexit has proven Bob Geldof to have been a better friend of the fishermen than Nigel Farage over Brexit. Geldof took on Farage on the Thames days before the EU referendum vote with a rival flotilla as the Brexiteer claimed the industry was “literally being destroyed as a result of EU […]

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland Brandon Lews has denied empty shop shelves in the country are because of Brexit. There have been calls from action from the government to resolve the trade chaos in the country following the end of the transition period which severed links between the EU and UK. But Lewis […]

Toilet and shower facilities are being provided for lorry drivers experiencing lengthy delays at Dublin Port due to Brexit red tape. New customs rules introduced as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU have created backlogs, as businesses and freight companies grapple with the added documentation. Some drivers have experienced delays of up […]

Boris Johnson has blamed seafood exporters for a collapse in sales after Brexit, claiming they were “not filling in the right forms”. Johnson also said the UK would control “all the fish” in its coastal waters in years to come. And he linked the crisis – caused by a mountain of new red tape imposed […]

Scottish seafood lorries have parked on the roads near Downing Street in protest against being “tied in knots with paperwork” by the Brexit fishing deal. Footage showed a number of HGVs descending on roads near 10 Downing Street in response to the issues they have faced in exporting seafood to the EU. A number of […]

Leave EU’s website has been suspended after the EU registry behind the domain address blocked a move from the Brexiteers to switch its registration to Ireland to avoid losing the .eu suffix. The group, founded by Brexiteer Arron Banks and supported by former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, attempted to move the registration from the […]

The foreign secretary has denied that the collapse of fishing businesses would be the result of Brexit. Dominic Raab claimed delays to fishing exports are just “teething problems” and that thee trading agreement will “create huge, sustainable opportunities” for the fishing sector. Exports of fresh fish and seafood have been severely disrupted by delays since […]

The UK would be “lucky” to strike a trade deal with Washington in Joe Biden’s first term as president, the former UK ambassador to the US has said. Ahead of Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, Lord (Kim) Darroch, who was forced to quit in 2019 after frank diplomatic cables referring to current President Donald Trump were […]

Not all pro-Europeans think Keir Starmer got his position wrong on the Brexit deal. Desmond Fitzgerald (Letters, TNE #226), thinks that Starmer should be ashamed for whipping Labour MPs to vote for the Brexit deal, but I think Starmer was right: 1. The vote wasn’t Leave or Remain, it was between a bad deal (terms […]

Are Remainers right to move to campaign to rejoin the EU? Readers discuss. At 11pm on December 31, Twitter was again flooded with #FBPE Tweets. For some, it was a last act of defiance. For others, 2021 marks the start of a long term campaign to rejoin the bloc. To my fellow former Remain supporters, […]

Fine Gael politician Neale Richmond has claimed Leave.EU is “a threat to democracy” and should not be welcomed into the Republic of Ireland. Richmond warned members of the Irish parliament that the Brexit lobby group was a “politically subversive organisation” that was allowed “a foothold in our democracy, [and there] will be an absolutely detrimental effect”. Leave.EU, the domain […]

MPs have a “moral duty” to protect the NHS from being negotiated in trade deals, campaigners have said as a vote on protecting the health service enters the House of Commons for a second time. Anti-privatisation campaigners claim that failing to protect the NHS from trade deals would open it up to being charged more […]

James O’Brien has schooled a Brexiteer refusing to accept new trade rules between the EU and the UK. Simon from Sevenoaks said taking back control of British waters was a major reason for his decision to vote Brexit but that he now feels disappointed it has resulted in the end of frictionless trade with the EU. Simons’ comments […]

Few politicians come with a reputation as controversial or fierce as Priti Patel’s. Ian Birrell talks to insiders to find out what lies behind that uncompromising image. Soon after Tony Blair won his second landslide election victory, the Daily Telegraph interviewed five women to ask why they wanted to become MPs for the stale, male and moribund Tory […]

Fishermen in Scotland have left UK waters and headed to Denmark to sell their fish in a bid to bypass new Brexit regulations agreed to by Boris Johnson. According to Danish newspaper Altinget, the fishing auction in Hanstholm has reported unusually high levels of interest from Scottish fishermen since January 1. “We are in dialogue with 10-15 new […]

The government’s choice for the chair of the BBC has claimed that Question Time has been filled with too many Remainers – and not enough Brexiteers. Despite Nigel Farage racking up 34 appearances on the political programme, and analysis finding a majority of MEPs appearing were pro-Brexit, Richard Sharp has complained the programme has been “unbalanced”. […]

Amber Rudd has said Boris Johnson has a “sort of language which he’s quite rightly nervous using in front of women” as the ex-home secretary hit out at the “boys’ club” atmosphere in the Commons. Rudd also accused the prime minister of going “backwards” on promoting women. The former cabinet minister said she quit Johnson’s […]

There are fears that the 48-hour working week could be scrapped under government plans for a post-Brexit overhaul of labour laws. The Financial Times reports that the government is planning to tear up key protections enshrined in EU law which could see workers lose paid holiday and force them to work longer. Business secretary Kwasi […]

It might have vanished with Brexit, but the UK’s rebate was crucial to understanding UK-EU relations. John Elsom explores its history In 1979, within six months of winning her first election, Margaret Thatcher attended her first European summit in Dublin. She went with a specific request. Britain was paying too much annually into the EEC’s budget and receiving too little in […]

Matt Withers talks to the Poet Laureate of Brexit Britain about Europe, lockdown and cultural appropriation in music This time last year Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods, the Poet Laureate of Brexit Britain, was writing the first songs for the band’s sixth studio album. The themes would have been familiar for those who know the […]

New Brexit red tape causing friction at Britain’s borders are an “obvious and inevitable” part of leaving the EU and are here to stay, former chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said. Barnier said businesses could expect to overcome “glitches, problems, and breakdowns” caused by new paperwork in the weeks and months ahead but warned that other […]

It’s the 1246-page document that changed the lives of millions at the stroke of 11pm on New Year’s Eve – but has Boris Johnson read it? The prime minister’s spokesperson was earlier repeatedly unable to confirm whether Johnson had read every word of the treaty setting out the UK’s new trading relationship with the EU. […]

Last week, editor-at-large Alastair Campbell kicked off a debate as to what more Remainers could have done to stop Brexit. Here, writers, politicians and campaigners have their say. Mary Honeyball Former Labour MEPWe pro-Europeans must show humility. We lost. Leave won. Many Leave voters were on low incomes, over 50 and male. They viewed the EU […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed fish captured after the Brexit deal came into effect were “British and happier for it”. Rees-Mogg suggested Scottish fishermen should be happy that Britain “got our fish back”, even though many faced financial difficulties caused by stock rotting at British ports due to Brexit-related hold-ups. Responding to the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard’s question on compensating those […]