Brexit

The £39bn Brexit divorce bill could be signed off by Parliament without any formal legal commitments on a future trade deal with the European Union, MPs have been told. Brexit minister Suella Braverman acknowledged there was currently no explicit condition in the withdrawal agreement between the UK and EU but both sides had promised to […]

Theresa May’s de facto deputy has failed to respond to an “urgent” call from Scottish ministers to come to Holyrood to try to end the dispute over Brexit powers. Mike Russell, the Scottish Brexit minister, wrote to David Lidington on May 15 – the same day that Holyrood voted formally against the UK Government’s EU […]

Boris Johnson’s idea for a new brightly-coloured “Brexit plane” to help him sell Global Britain abroad appears to have failed to get off the ground. Speaking on an official tour of Latin America the foreign secretary had said the RAF Voyager jet shared by the prime minister, senior Cabinet members and the royal family “never […]

A proposed plan to replace the customs union after Brexit will not be fully ready by the end of 2020, MPs have been told. HM Revenue and Customs chief executive Jon Thompson told the Brexit Select Committee that elements of the so-called “maximum facilitation” plan could take three years to put in place. The plan, […]

Former Ipswich mayor Inga Lockington has had her application for British citizenship turned down by the Home Office – because officials will not accept that she is a UK resident. Mrs Lockington, who has been a Liberal Democrat councillor for 19 years and was mayor of her adopted town 10 years ago, is Danish. She […]

Join our community of supporters and get a FREE Amazon Echo Dot worth £49.99 The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important – both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right-wing extremes of much of […]

Axel Scheffler, illustrator of the Gruffalo children’s books, used his acceptance speech at the British Book Awards to launch a ferocious attack on Brexit. The German, who was presented with an award for illustrator of the year, said “I can’t pretend it’s business as usual. It’s just 10 months until ‘Freedom Day’ – next March. […]

The UK has been accused of turning a blind eye to Russia’s “dirty money”, putting national security at risk The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said despite the outcry over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, President Vladimir Putin and his allies were continuing to use the City as a base for their “corrupt assets”. In a […]

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has been accused of threatening Theresa May from thousands of miles away as the Conservative battle over the EU’s customs union rages. Mr Johnson used a trip to Latin America to issue a warning to the prime minister that she must not let the so-called “backstop” become a permanent solution. There […]

People in Northern Ireland want the UK to stay in the customs union and single market, an in-depth analysis of public attitudes to Brexit has shown. Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast found that there was “substantial and intense opposition” in Northern Ireland to possible north-south border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic. One in […]

At a time when Labour is putting so much emphasis on becoming a movement-led party it is conspicuous that Brexit is left out, says JASMIN BECKETT Labour’s direction on Brexit is fraught. As former foreign secretary David Miliband described it this week, the policy runs the risk of our party becoming a ‘midwife to Brexit’. […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from St Peter’s church in Notting Hill, home of artists, derivative romcoms and purged Cameroons (remember them?). But who’s on the panel – and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s […]

Tory hardliner Peter Bone has called on the government to make June 23 a bank holiday called “Independence Day”. Commons leader and brief Conservative leadership hopeful Andrea Leadsom said she was “personally very sympathetic” to the idea. It comes despite the government last year rubbishing Labour plans to introduce more bank holidays – which are […]

Theresa May has insisted the UK will leave the EU customs union amid speculation the departure could be delayed for years until a replacement system is agreed. The Cabinet remains divided over a solution to the issue and neither of the two proposed models being considered by ministers is acceptable to Brussels. The Brexit “war […]

Last year was a record one for the UK’s tech firms. But there may be trouble ahead. By ANGELA JAMESON ​ Two years ago there was no sector more vocal in its opposition to Brexit than the UK’s tech community. In the run-up to the referendum the industry’s leading lights argued that leaving the EU […]

Officials in the UK and US administrations directly involved with trade negotiations are “sceptical” that a deal of any significance between the two countries can be forged after Brexit, according to a report. The report by Harvard University academics, including former shadow chancellor Ed Balls, warns that the kind of free trade agreement (FTA) likely […]

Benedict Cumberbatch will star as Vote Leave’s leading strategist in a Channel 4 drama about the data-driven political campaign for Brexit. The political thriller will be set during the EU referendum. The one-off drama will explore the “myriad tactics employed to swing one of the most surprising referendum results in living memory”. Doctor Strange star […]

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has voted for a referendum on the final Brexit deal. The resolution at the group’s annual meeting in Belfast was passed by 364 votes to 163. It had been proposed by the body’s Greater Glasgow group and mandated the organisation to lobby the government on the issue. The RCN […]

Labour is launching a new parliamentary bid to force the government to release details of its proposals for post-Brexit customs arrangements on the Irish border. The party has tabled a motion in the Commons for debate tomorrow designed to break the “deadlock” over the so-called “customs partnership” and “maximum facilitation” models. The move came as […]

MSPs at Holyrood have formally refused to grant consent to key Brexit legislation from Theresa May’s government. A Scottish Government motion, making clear that Edinburgh Parliament “does not consent” to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill was approved by 93 votes to 30. Despite the vote, Scottish Brexit Minister Mike Russell has vowed this will “not […]

Boris Johnson has insisted he still believes in, and abides by, Cabinet collective responsibility after being mocked for his “crazy” Brexit plans. The foreign secretary answered “of course” when challenged in the Commons about the convention following his public criticism of a customs proposal supported by the prime minister. He also sidestepped Labour questions over […]

A constitutional crisis is looming as the Scottish Parliament appears poised to formally refuse to give consent to Theresa May’s Brexit legislation. After months of wrangling with Westminster over where powers returning from Brussels should go after Brexit, the Scottish Government has submitted a motion making clear it does “not consent to the European Union […]

The recent local election results show that the capital’s Remain vote poses a challenge for both the Conservatives and Labour, writes BARNABY TOWNS Post-election spin about the meaning of May’s local elections is almost as fierce as the contest itself. London’s 2018 all-out local elections — the 14th since the 32 London boroughs were created […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from The Athenaeum in Bury St Edmunds, where Charles Dickens uses to give readings. But in this age of foolishness and epoch of incredulity, who’s on the panel – and where […]

Britain has always been devious and unjust with immigrants whose lands were colonised, writes YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN The Wikipedia definition of ‘perfidious Albion’ is ‘An Anglophobic pejorative phrase used within the context of international relations and diplomacy to refer to alleged acts of diplomatic sleights, duplicity, treachery and hence infidelity (with respect to perceived promises made […]

The motion put before Parliament this autumn on the final Brexit agreement will be amendable by MPs and its outcome will be binding on the government, David Davis has said. The Brexit secretary said the motion – which prime minister Theresa May has previously described as a “take it or leave it” choice – would […]

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has said that Brexit makes “no sense” and called for a second referendum on Britain staying in the EU. Speaking to the Guardian, the 50-year-old said the EU was not perfect but “was the best idea we had”. The German said: ‘When Mr Cameron had the idea you thought: ‘This is […]

Labour members want a second referendum – so why doesn’t Jeremy Corbyn? Former Labour MP DICK LEONARD thinks pressure from within could still force the leader’s hand​ Are you listening, Jeremy? Your party (our party) wants to have a referendum on the final Brexit terms, with an option to remain. Yet you have turned a […]