It's clearer than ever that Brexit has failed – let’s not inflict its miseries on young people | Zoe Williams
A scheme to allow British under-30s to live and work in the EU has been flatly rejected. Why punish them for older voters’ mistakes?
Only those born before 1998 could vote on Brexit, so there is no conceivable way of knowing which way today’s 18- to 30-year-olds would have felt about it. Oh, except there is: 70% of 18- to 24-year-olds think leaving the EU was a bad idea. Of the 25- to 49-year-olds, 66% also think we were wrong to leave. If you can bear to drag your mind back to the immediate aftermath of Brexit, you’ll recall that words like “overwhelming” and “vast” were completely debased by their use in conjunction with majorities that were actually wafer-thin. So let’s just say most young people are remainers.
For a long time, politics has dealt with the young remainer as it does with the rest of us; ignore us for long enough, and we’ll go away. If the Brexit argument had had any foundation – if it had brought trading or other benefits, if it had caused only negligible difficulties and those of the teething variety – then that would probably have worked. Most referendum outcomes get more popular over time.
Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
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Rwanda Plan Set To Become Law After Parliamentary Battle
Rishi Sunak’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will become law, after the House of Lords dropped their final opposition.
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UK exports fewer goods after Brexit, tilting economy to services | The Business Times/Bloomberg
DONALD Trump sat in a New York courtroom on Monday watching history unfold, a glum witness to his own turn…
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This turtle can’t return home because of Brexit | Fox 41 Yakima
By Lauren Beavis via SWNS A turtle rescued off the British Isles is not able to return home to Gran…
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Goldman Sachs moves senior banker to Paris in post-Brexit revamp | Financial Times
Head of financial institutions group for Europe relocates at sensitive time for its operations on the continent. Read More
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"Devastating" Report Shows Thousands Of Children Under Six Being Sexually Abused Online
The Security Minister and the Internet Watch Foundation have urged technology firms to take "urgent action", as a "devastating" new report shows the extent of online sexual abuse and grooming being carried out against children under the age of six.
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Did you see us on Truth to Power? | The Rejoin EU Party
If not catch us here. View this email in your browser Did you see Brendan & Richard on Truth to…
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Small businesses face punitive charges from new Brexit border fees | Financial Times
Trade groups say monthly tariffs that importers of food and plants from the EU will have to pay will add…
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MPs And Peers Brace To Sit Until Early Hours With Rwanda Bill
MPs and peers are bracing to potentially sit until the early hours, after the Prime Minister vowed that the Rwanda plans would be finalised “no ifs, no buts”.
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10 reasons why academic conferences are a must!
If you are a PhD candidate, you might have heard at some point that it would be good for you to attend an academic conference. Well, I would say that you must! As a final year PhD Candidate in International Relations at the University of Kent, I have attended international conferences since 2021, the second […]
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Deportation Flights To Rwanda Set To Take Off In July
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the first flights deporting asylum-seekers to Rwanda will take off in 10-12 weeks, failing to meet the government's initial target for flights taking off in the spring.
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Labour’s chance | Prospect
“Labour shrinks from decisively arguing for the re-association with the EU, even of a limited kind, that is so vital…
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Manchester fintech beats Brexit red tape with Danish partnership | Prolific North
Ryft has announced a partnership with Danish firm Clearhaus, allowing both to leverage technology and cater to marketplaces both in…
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Ravaged by austerity, chastened by Brexit | The Guardian
Our shabby domestic reality is a far cry from the imperial grandeur of the Foreign Office. Politicians must recognise this,…
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Why the European Community was created
The European Community, now called the European Union, was started for one reason alone: to create lasting peace and security between its members following the most devastating war the world had ever known. Don’t take my word for it. Read what UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, said to the European Parliament on 9 December 1986: […]
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Britain was wise to cleave to Europe as the empire began to disintegrate. It’s time to do it again | The Observer
Ideas of exceptionalism and ‘laissez-faire’ policies are still driving economic myths that should be stone dead. Read More
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Glimmer of hope for UK ski seasonaires | Planet Ski
Brexit cut the widespread ability of young people to work in Europe with the end of the free movement of…
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Ravaged by austerity, chastened by Brexit, how can Britain have a ‘place in the world’ when it’s destitute at home? | Nesrine Malik
Our shabby domestic reality is a far cry from the imperial grandeur of the Foreign Office. Politicians must recognise this
Deciding on what the UK’s place in the world should be has been like watching politicians spin a wheel. Then spinning it again when the option they landed on doesn’t work out. First, it was the imperial power projections of Brexit, the reassertion of Britain’s place in the world unshackled by the limitations of equal partnership with Europe. You don’t hear so much about this any more (funny that). Instead, we now find ourselves in an era chastened by the embarrassing bombast of the past few years, but still trying to work out where we “fit”, what our role is, in a world where the country’s status has taken a beating.
Earlier this month, former diplomats proposed that the Foreign Office be abolished altogether and be replaced by a new Department for International Affairs. As it stands, the Foreign Office works like “a giant private office for the foreign secretary” and should be replaced by a new independent institution, one “less rooted in the past”. The new body they propose would be a more modern place. The colonial art would go, and with it, other outdated ways of working and thinking about foreign policy.
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Politicians Running The London Marathon Say It Makes Them "Better MPs"
MPs have said running makes them better at their jobs, as a record 20 MPs and peers from different parties will be taking part in the London Marathon today.
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Britain was wise to cleave to Europe as the empire began to disintegrate. It’s time to do it again | Will Hutton
Ideas of exceptionalism and ‘laissez-faire’ policies are still driving economic myths that should be stone dead
There were fateful choices in the autumn of 1931 and the months that followed whose consequences affect us today. The beliefs still current in British exceptionalism – attachment to laissez-faire economics and pursuit of the chimera of global Britain – have their roots in the choices made then, which became embedded in our culture, especially on the right.
Challenging what should be stone-dead myths and reinventing a conception of what Britain can and should be demands understanding our past, the better to escape it.
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David Cameron is making great strides. No, he really is, you can watch them on video | Catherine Bennett
The foreign secretary’s actions are always ‘the right thing to do’. How marvellous!
Trotters up, or down? Even if you once admired Danny Dyer’s immortal summary of post-Brexit David Cameron – “He’s in Europe, in Nice, with his trotters up” – there’s a strong case for wishing he’d stayed that way.
When Cameron’s trotters were up, we were at least spared the surely more distressing spectacle of his trotters blithely ascending the moral high ground. When he was in Nice he wasn’t travelling the world and, with all the authority of a man who used to press the services of Lex Greensill on his former colleagues, educating it on his old speciality, “the right thing to do”.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
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Senior Tory Advisers Are "Jumping Before They Are Pushed"
A double whammy departure of two senior Tory advisers is the latest reason for the growing sense of general election fatalism within Conservative party ranks.
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Sunak rejects offer of youth mobility scheme between EU and UK
Labour also turns down European Commission’s proposal, which would have allowed young Britons to live, study and work in EU
Rishi Sunak has rejected an EU offer to strike a post-Brexit deal to allow young Britons to live, study or work in the bloc for up to four years.
The prime minister declined the European Commission’s surprise proposal of a youth mobility scheme for people aged between 18 and 30 on Friday, after Labour knocked back the suggestion on Thursday night, while noting that it would “seek to improve the UK’s working relationship with the EU within our red lines”.
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Politics and Policies of Skills Shortage
Alina Felder Last month, the first endorsed workshop by the ECPR Standing Group Knowledge Politics and Policies unfolded at the ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops in Lüneburg (Germany). The workshop with the theme “The Politics and Policies of Skills Shortage” brought together thirteen scholars from across Europe who are working on the issue of skills […]
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Brexit plans in ‘complete disarray’ as EU import checks delayed, say businesses
Trade bodies say ongoing confusion about when checks will come in is ‘incredibly challenging’
Businesses have described Britain’s Brexit border plans as being in “complete disarray” after it emerged the introduction of some checks on EU imports will be delayed.
Post-Brexit border rules, due to come into force on 30 April, will require many meat, dairy and plant products from the EU to be physically checked at government border control posts (BCPs).
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Business Power and Geoeconomics in the European Union
by Sandra Eckert (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) The global economic order has shifted dramatically over the past decade, moving from a business-centred liberal logic of trade and commerce to a politicised logic of conflict and power maximisation. This geoeconomic turn, the theme of a Special Issue forthcoming with JCMS, has also materialised in the European Union (EU) […]
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Persistent Rwanda Deadlock Could Kill Rishi Sunak's Deportation Plans
Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill will be back in front of MPs on Monday, as parliamentary ping-pong has pushed the process into another week, and while the Prime Minister is insistent it will clear its final hurdles, a rarely used convention could put its f...
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Prime Minister Says Middle East Conflict Escalation Benefits No One After Israel Strike On Iran
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was "not in anyone's interest" to see an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East after Israel fired retaliatory strikes against Iran on Friday morning.
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Rishi Sunak Vows To End "Sick Note Culture" On "Moral Mission" To Reform Welfare
Rishi Sunak has vowed to end the “sick note culture” and as he has declared a “moral mission” to reform the welfare system.
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Growth Of Smaller Parties Could Encourage Rethink Of Parliament Rules
The growth in the number and influence of smaller parties across the UK could encourage officials to look again at the rules which govern parties’ influence in the Commons, a parliamentary expert has said.
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Quarter Of Tory Councillors Think Adult Social Care Is Underfunded In Their Area
A quarter of Conservative councillors think their local authority does not receive enough money to meet statutory duty service level requirements for adult social care.
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UK to delay start of health and safety checks on EU imports – report
New post-Brexit border checks ‘set to zero’ to avoid what Defra calls risk of serious disruption
The UK government has reportedly told port health authorities it will not “turn on” health and safety checks for EU imports as new post-Brexit border controls begin this month.
A presentation prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) highlighted the risk of “significant disruption” if the new measures were implemented, according to the Financial Times. It made clear that the systems would not be fully ready on time.
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Brussels proposes return to pre-Brexit mobility for UK and EU young people
Commission to seek approval from leaders to start talks with UK on visa-free exchanges for 18- to 30-year-olds
The European Commission has proposed opening negotiations with the UK to allow mobility enjoyed before Brexit to millions of 18- to 30-year-olds in a major concession.
It said it would now seek approval from individual EU leaders to start the talks, which could partly eliminate one of the most controversial elements of Brexit, a block on the right to live in one another’s countries, albeit for a limited period and with conditions.
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20 years of Poland in the EU – Natasza Styczyńska
We recently welcomed Natasza Styczyńska to eu!radio! She is a Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. She reflected on her country's accession to the EU 20 years ago in a personal testimony and reflection.
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Lords Holding Firm On Rwanda Bill Dampens No.10 Hopes Of Spring Deportations
Rishi Sunak’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will not become law until next week at the earliest, after the House of Lords held out and continued to change the bill on Wednesday night.
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UK Grapples With Uncharted Territory As "Red Lines" Crossed In Middle East
Middle East experts have said that the UK is entering "new territory" in addressing escalating conflict in the region, with Foreign Secretary David Cameron faced with making decisions without precedent.
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Veteran Tory Fears A "Desert Period" Awaits The Conservatives Post-Election
Conservative MP Tim Loughton, who plans to stand down at the next election after 27 years in the Commons, predicts his party is about to enter a “desert period" if Labour enters government with as big a majority as expected.
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Drug shortages, now normal in UK, made worse by Brexit, report warns
Some shortages are so serious they are imperilling the health and even lives of patients with serious illnesses, pharmacy bosses say
Drug shortages are a “new normal” in the UK and are being exacerbated by Brexit, a report by the Nuffield Trust health thinktank has warned. A dramatic recent spike in the number of drugs that are unavailable has created serious problems for doctors, pharmacists, the NHS and patients, it found.
The number of warnings drug companies have issued about impending supply problems for certain products has more than doubled from 648 in 2020 to 1,634 last year.
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The Guardian view on Labour and Brexit: a subtle but important strategic pivot | Editorial
The opposition is right to recognise that a dangerous international climate demands closer security partnership with the EU
For most of the period since the decision was taken to leave the EU, British politicians have overestimated how much thought the continent gives to Brexit. Once shock at the referendum result receded, relations with the UK came to be seen as a technical problem to be solved by hard-headed negotiation.
At critical moments, when deadlines neared, Brexit leapt up the agenda. After the treaties were signed, they dropped right down, overtaken by the other issues facing a large bloc with many borders and problems. That represents a perverse kind of victory for Boris Johnson and his chief negotiator, David Frost. The deal they signed was so skewed against British interests that Brussels has little incentive to reopen the settlement.
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New Football Law “Could Risk World Cup and Champions League Participation”
Exclusive: The Government has been warned the Football Governance Bill could risk England’s participation in the World Cup and the country's elite clubs from taking part in the Champions League.
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When Britain LOVED the Single Market
Back in 1988, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government was ultra-keen to get British businesses fully prepared for Europe’s new Single Market, due to be launched four years later in 1992. Prime Minister Thatcher enthusiastically launched her government’s ‘Europe Open for Business’ campaign in a keynote speech on 18 April 1988. Mrs Thatcher, who championed the concept […]
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Conservative MP Campaigning To Be Mayor Is Distancing Himself From Tarnished Tory Image
Tory MP Ben Bradley, who is also the Conservative candidate for the East Midlands mayoralty, has said he is trying to separate his own campaign from the image of his party, as there is "clearly not a brilliant national picture".
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Tory MPs Want "Security" To Dominate Their General Election Campaign
A growing number of Conservative MPs want Downing Street strategists to put "security", including a major pledge to boost defence spending, at the centre of the Tory party's general election campaign.
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MPs Clash With Foreign Office Over Calls To Proscribe IRGC
Renewed calls from MPs across the political divide for Government to proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) after Israel was attacked by Iranian missiles have been met with resistance from the Foreign Office, which has continued to p...
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Labour aiming to draw closer to Europe on foreign and security issues
Party hopes to attend meetings of EU foreign affairs council should it win UK election
Labour wants to draw closer to Europe on key foreign and security issues by frequently attending meetings of the monthly EU foreign affairs council.
The move, which is likely to trigger Conservative claims that Labour is prepared to abandon an independent foreign policy, builds on a pledge by Keir Starmer’s party to try to negotiate a new security pact with the EU after the 2024 UK election.
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Garden centres in UK stockpile plants before new Brexit checks
British growers and sellers fear government measures starting on 30 April could result in delays and plants being damaged
Garden centres and nurseries are stockpiling plants before Brexit checks are introduced later this month, amid concerns over whether new border posts will be ready to deal with the volume of deliveries.
The Horticultural Trade Association (HTA), which represents garden retailers and growers, said many of its members had been increasing orders of plants in recent weeks, to increase stocks before the checks start on 30 April.
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Dozens Of Tory MPs Oppose Smoking Ban As It Clears First Commons Hurdle
Rishi Sunak's plan to ban smoking has cleared its first House of Commons hurdle, but not without around half of Conservative MPs failing to vote for it.
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Calls To Increase Defence Spending Could Clash With Labour's Tight Fiscal Rules
Labour has made a commitment to tight fiscal rules a core part of the offering to voters they hope will propel them to Government at the next general election, but they could make it difficult to deliver an increase to defence spending.
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Lords Could Continue To Hold Out For More Concessions On Rwanda Bill
The House of Lords could continue holding out on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, after MPs voted to strip out a series of changes peers made to Rishi Sunak’s bill.
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How to fix broken Britain
I’m so impressed with the new book, Fixing Broken Britain by Alun Drake, that I’ve made a 2-minute video about it. Anyone who lives in Britain, or observes it from afar, knows it’s a broken country. But none of the main parties are addressing why it’s broken – or how to fix it. But that’s […]
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Downing Street Braced For Smoking Ban Snub From Dozens Of Tory MPs
Government is braced for potentially dozens of Conservative MPs to refuse to back Rishi Sunak's smoking ban when the legislation is put to a House of Commons for the first time on Tuesday.
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Liz Truss Doubts Slowing Down Would Have Saved Her From "Establishment Forces"
Former prime minister Liz Truss has been left wondering whether she should have bothered enacting her radical economic reforms, because she believes that even if she had taken more time over it, the "fundamental forces" of the establishment would hav...
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Is Brexit any future for the young?
Babies are being born in Britain who will grow up never having experienced the benefits of EU membership. The right to live, work, travel or retire across most of our continent. The life-changing experience of studying abroad with other young people under the Erasmus scheme. The enormous job and career opportunities more easily accessible across […]
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UK Working With Allies To "Prevent Further Bloodshed" In Middle East
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that while the UK government would not support Israel taking retaliatory actions against Iran after it was hit with missile strikes over the weekend, the UK would continue to work with allies to prevent “further bl...
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Lords Set To Strengthen UK's "Not Fit For Purpose" International Data Protections
Peers have warned that it would be a “mistake” for the government not to put stronger protections in place on the international transfer of data, with one former minister claiming current regulations are "not fit for purpose".
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Committee Chair Tells DWP To "Get A Grip" On Carer's Allowance Overpayments
Labour MP Stephen Timms, chair of the work and pensions select committee, has insisted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) must "get a grip" on carer's allowance overpayments.
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All The 100 MPs Standing Down At The Next General Election
With the next general election expected this year, a total of 100 MPs have already chosen to not stand again for their seats – the majority of whom are Conservatives.
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Vaughan Gething Hints Wales Wants Cash Boost Under Labour Government
First Minister of Wales Vaughan Gething has said that the biggest challenge he expects to face as the Labour leader of the devolved government will be how to increase the scale of budgets to boost public services.
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Even Europe’s far-right firebrands seem to sense Brexit is a disaster | William Keegan
When I met the Dutch politician Geert Wilders years ago, he was set on ‘Nexit’. Now he too would rather stay in the EU
Exports are performing badly, pace the fantasy world of the Daily Express; supply lines for imports once regarded as routine are disrupted or discontinued altogether; staff shortages owing to new restrictions on travel and employment of our fellow Europeans are hurting the hospitality trade in what we used to boast about as our “service economy”. The UK’s economy is “5% worse off than it would be in the EU” according to a recent well-researched report by Goldman Sachs. Welcome to Brexit Britain!
In the early days of the Brexit disaster, I met Michel Barnier, the EU’s impressive negotiator, at a high-powered conference on Lake Como organised by the Ambrosetti Institute. We agreed what a disaster was in store if the UK did not come to its senses.
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‘It’s catastrophic’: Italian restaurants in London struggle to find staff post-Brexit
UK hospitality industry hit by crisis as thousands of young Italians are forced out by latest round of rules and cost-of-living crisis
Emanuela Reccia has lived in London for almost a decade. She was a teenager when she left her home city of Naples to become a waitress in the UK, bringing her expertise and love of Italian cuisine to the capital.
But the 27-year-old, like thousands of other Italians working in the UK hospitality industry, now feels she has no option but to leave and return to Europe after the latest round of post-Brexit rules.
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New Brexit checks will cause food shortages in UK, importers warn
Rules due to come in this month will impose new handling fees – and experts say small suppliers are already being driven away
Ministers’ decision to impose Brexit import checks on 30 April will lead to shortages of some foods, flowers and herbs, industry leaders have warned.
In the week after the government was accused of blindsiding the British food industry by giving 27 days’ notice that every consignment of items such as camembert, steak, tulips and chives would be subject to fees of up to £145, small retailers such as delis and farm shops have been scrambling to make sure they still have products to sell.
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Who Is Doing The Heavy Lifting To Get Change Through Parliament?
It takes two houses to turn government policy into solid laws, and the political chaos of the last decade – not least with the upheaval of Covid and Brexit – means how the Commons and the Lords interact has found itself in the spotlight.
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Post-Brexit Gibraltar deal 'very, very close'
Following Brexit, the British overseas territory has been operating under temporary rules.
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The Guardian view on Gibraltar: a deal with the EU is long overdue | Editorial
Belated progress is being made towards a formal trade and border deal for the British overseas territory, in which 96% voted remain
These are difficult, despairing days on the Conservative backbenches. Almost certainly a dreadful set of local election results looms in May. Nationally, fears of a Labour landslide on the scale of 1997 grow. But last month, briefly, it was quite like old times as Brexit veterans Sir Bill Cash and Mark Francois indulged in an opportunity to play some favourite old tunes.
Rumours of an imminent deal with the European Union over the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar have permitted some satisfyingly retro talk of red lines crossed and sovereignty compromised. Following the successful negotiation of the Windsor framework for Northern Ireland, opportunities for this kind of stuff are now few and far between. In a House of Commons debate in March, Brexit chainmail clanking, Sir Bill took his chance, warning that aligning with EU rules, and allowing Schengen border checks on Gibraltar, would amount to caving in to a “foreign power”. A dangerous precedent would be set for other British overseas territories. “Here we go again,” lamented Mr Francois sympathetically.
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UK and EU ‘within kissing distance’ of post-Brexit Gibraltar border deal
Gibraltar’s chief minister says progress made in talks about free movement across border with Spain
The UK and the EU are within “kissing distance” of a post-Brexit deal to guarantee free movement over the border between Gibraltar and Spain, Gibraltar’s chief minister has said.
After a meeting between the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, and the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič, agreement was reached on issues that have dogged negotiations for the past five years.
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Police To Investigate Angela Rayner Over Residency Declaration
Greater Manchester Police have launched on investigation into whether deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner broke electoral law with incorrect information about her living arrangements.
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Women’s Leadership and Empowerment in the Transnistrian Conflict Resolution in Moldova
Russia’s full-scale invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine has impacted security perception in the European Eastern Neighbourhood and it has highlighted the need for the international community to pay increased attention to so-called ‘frozen’ conflicts. When such conflicts remain ignored and unresolved for too long, there is continuous danger of eruption and escalation.
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New Brexit checks to cost UK business £2bn and fuel inflation, report finds
Additional measures from 30 April for imported animal and plant products could hike costs by 10% in first year, says Allianz Trade
New post-Brexit UK border controls coming into force later this month will cost British businesses £2bn and fuel higher inflation, according to a report warning that UK-EU trade will be damaged as a result.
With less than a month before the introduction of new checks on animal and plant products from 30 April, the insurer Allianz Trade said the controls agreed under Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal could add 10% to import costs over the first year.
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20 years of Lithuania in the EU – Ramūnas Vilpišauskas
We recently welcomed Ramūnas Vilpišauskas to eu!radio! He is a Jean Monnet Professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University, in the capital of Lithuania. He reflected on his country's accession to the EU 20 years ago in a personal testimony and retrospective analysis.
shared both his personal testimony and his analysis as a professor about his country becoming a member of the European Union, twenty years ago.
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Ditching European trade for China and India was ever a poor bet. Now it’s a farce | Will Hutton
Brexiters’ Asia hopes have foundered amid economic woes and hardline nationalism; it’s time to look at markets in our own backyard
The world has changed since, post-Brexit, “Global Britain” set itself to “pivot” from sclerotic Europe towards booming Asia. Always a fanciful idea that disregarded Asian realities, it has now become farcical. Neither China nor India are proving the easy pickings on which “buccaneering” Britain could ride to economic success, denied through being tied to the “corpse” of an EU economy allegedly shackled by regulation and tax. Brexiter ambitions are turning to ashes.
Instead, there is China, run by an ever more openly dictatorial and militarily ambitious communist government. Its economy is plagued by politically inspired production targets: everything from building flats to EV batteries outstripping any likely demand. There is growing youth unemployment and a once fevered, now overblown, property market retrenching to such an extent it threatens the viability of the vastly over-extended banking system.
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In an increasingly unstable world, Britain can’t afford to isolate itself from its allies | David Miliband
It must learn to use its global reach and power wisely as other, sometimes predatory, nations grow in influence
The headlines this past week have been about further terrible events in Gaza and the desperate need for a sustained ceasefire, alongside a paradigm shift in the way the war is conducted, but foreign policy is rarely at the centre of general election campaigns and 2024 is unlikely to be an exception. However, the UK does not have the luxury of thinking that the rest of the world doesn’t matter.
This was one of the delusions of Brexit: that there is a future where our destiny depends only on our own decisions rather than on our ability to engage, incentivise, bargain with and deter others.
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Food price fears as Brexit import charges revealed
Fees of up £145 will be levied on imports of fish, salami, sausage, cheese and yoghurt, the government says.
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Post-Brexit tax to hit UK car exports to Canada
A post-Brexit deal has expired with no new agreement, which leaving UK exports to Canada subject to new tariffs.
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UK ministers direct Stormont on framework delivery
Under new legislation, UK ministers will direct civil servants on delivering the Windsor Framework.
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Stormont parties divided as EU law vote falls
It will now be up to the UK government who will decide whether to adopt or veto the new EU law.
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‘There is no money’ could be Hunt’s own note to next chancellor | Larry Elliott
As the chancellor prepares next week’s budget, Labour says it is staring at a dire inheritance. The voters look likely to agree
The past 14 years have been a white-knuckle ride for the British economy. Record low interest rates, money creation from the Bank of England on an industrial scale, Brexit, millions of workers furloughed during the pandemic, the biggest fall in output in at least a century – all that, and a record number of people inactive through long-term ill health. Boring it hasn’t been.
At the end of it all, there is a sense of deja vu as Jeremy Hunt puts the finishing touches to next week’s budget. When Liam Byrne departed the Treasury in 2010 he left a note – meant as a joke – for his successor as chief secretary, which said: “I’m afraid there is no money.” After almost a decade and a half of economic underperformance, Byrne’s words have come back to haunt the Tories.
Economists say George Osborne blundered when he imposed severe austerity measures on a still-fragile economy
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What is the new Northern Ireland Brexit trade deal?
Ministers have set out new trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and the EU.
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Northern Ireland: what does the new post-Brexit deal mean?
Trade rules aim to alleviate DUP opposition to the Irish Sea border and restore power sharing
The government has established new rules to smooth post-Brexit trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is to assuage Democratic Unionist party concerns that the Irish Sea border has undermined the region’s position in the UK. In return for these concessions the DUP has agreed to restore power sharing after a two-year boycott that has paralysed the Stormont assembly and executive.
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Irish trade to GB now subject to post-Brexit rules
The new controls began on Wednesday as part of a long-delayed UK plan to apply more checks on EU imports.
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How UK’s new border controls will affect plants and animal imports
Today is first stage in a series of changes likely to raise costs for businesses and consumers
Today will bring the first stage in new, wide-ranging Brexit border controls on the import of plants, animals and food to the UK from the European Union.
The changes, the most significant for importers since the UK left the single market three years ago, are poised to have huge ramifications for businesses that rely on imports from the continent.
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Northern Ireland: what is the power-sharing deal – and could it be blocked?
DUP approves post-Brexit legislation, meaning devolved government could soon be functioning again
Power-sharing in Northern Ireland is on the verge of being restored after a night of drama in Belfast. It would end an almost two-year power vacuum in the region after the Democratic Unionist party collapsed the Stormont government to protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.
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Post-Brexit trade deals: what’s been agreed and what could still come?
After talks with Canada hit a halt alongside those with US and India, the UK has limited Pacific agreements to show for Brexit
Negotiations over a trade deal between the UK and Canada have been halted after disagreements on beef and cheese tariffs.
The ability for the UK to secure its own global free trade deals was sold as one major benefit from the UK’s decision to leave the EU but progress has been mixed. Here we look at what agreements have been struck so far and with whom, and which other important economies are still at the negotiating table and why.
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UK-Canada trade talks halted in beef and cheese row
Talks aimed at extending an EU-era deal broke down over Britain's ban on hormone-treated meat.
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The UK environmental protections dropped since Brexit
The scale of the law changes means environmental legislation in the UK is facing death by a thousand cuts
- Brexit divergence from EU destroying UK’s environmental protections
- Northern Ireland ‘dirty corner of Europe due to lack of governance’
Although the UK’s regression from EU environmental standards, revealed by the Guardian, seems very technical, the scale of the law changes means environmental legislation in Britain is facing death by a thousand cuts.
In practice, changes by the EU that the UK is not following and planned divergences from EU law will mean toxic chemicals banned in the EU will be allowed to be used in the UK, the UK will reduce greenhouse gas emissions more slowly, its waters will be dirtier, and consumer products will be more likely to contribute to global deforestation.
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UK signs financial deal with Switzerland
The agreement makes it easier for British and Swiss finance firms to deal with each other.
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How the NI Protocol became the Windsor Framework
BBC economics and business editor John Campbell looks at the in and outs of the 2023 Brexit deal.
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Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash over Rwanda, Thatcher and Brexit at PMQs – video
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have clashed over the Rwanda asylum deal during PMQs. The Labour leader referred to the plan as a 'gimmick' while the prime minister declared Starmer was 'once again on the side of the people smugglers'. The pair also used Margaret Thatcher and Brexit to mock one another with Starmer questioning how the Conservative party went from 'up yours to laws to take our money Kagame'. Sunak said Starmer could role play Thatcher all he wanted but when it came to Europe his answer was the same, 'yes, yes, yes'
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UK has lacked coherent economic strategy for years, thinktank finds
Trade has been hit by Brexit, while the number in poverty has risen sharply in a country ill-prepared for the future
For years the British government from the prime minister down has lacked a coherent economic strategy, according to a thinktank’s health check of UK prospects.
“We are not on course towards setting any such strategy – indeed, we are not serious about the task,” says the report, titled “Ending Stagnation – a new economic strategy for Britain”.
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Younger Britons are more pro-EU but ‘fixing’ Brexit not their priority
Ursula von der Leyen hopes young people can drive a rapprochement but polls show they have other things on their minds
“We goofed it up, you have to fix it,” the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday in a message to the younger generation about Brexit.
Fixing it would be “the direction of travel” with regard to the UK rejoining the EU, she told an audience in Brussels. But as the fourth anniversary of Brexit approaches, is it likely that Britain’s millennials and generation Z will demand a rapprochement?
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Carmaker worries with high EU export tariffs ‘not to do with Brexit’, says Badenoch – video
Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, has said that the problem raised by car manufacturers worried about exports to the EU facing tariffs from next year 'isn’t to do with Brexit'.
She made the comment during business questions in the Commons, where Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, criticised her record since she has been in post.
The 'rules of origin' requirements raised by car manufacturers were part of the TCA and related to Brexit, but all European car manufacturers were having problems because there was not enough battery supply in Europe, she said
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'That feels wrong': Keir Starmer criticises lack of vote for EU citizens living in UK – video
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has said it 'feels wrong' that EU citizens who have lived in the UK for years and pay taxes here do not have the right to vote. Speaking to LBC on Monday, Starmer said: 'The thinking behind it is: if someone’s been here say 10, 20, 30 years, contributing to this economy, contributing to the community, they ought to be able to vote'
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Speaker berates Kemi Badenoch for not informing MPs about EU law U-turn – video
The speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsey Hoyle, lost his temper with Kemi Badenoch when the secretary of state failed to inform the house of the government's U-turn on repealing retained EU laws.
The government has decided to go ahead with plans to allow thousands of EU-inherited laws to expire by the end of the year, news that Badenoch released in a statement and to the Telegraph newpaper before making a statement in the House of Commons.
The business and trade secretary said she was sorry that the sequencing was not to the speaker's satisfaction, infuriating Hoyle further
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Good Friday and Windsor agreements are top priority for Belfast trip, says Biden – video
The US president said making sure the Good Friday agreement and the Windsor framework stay in place were the top priority of his trip to Northern Ireland. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Joe Biden said 'making sure the Irish accords and the Windsor agreements stay in place, keep the peace, that's the main thing'.
Biden also addressed a question on the arrest of Evan Gershkovich by Russian authorities, calling his detention 'totally illegal'.
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Suella Braverman denies Brexit to blame for Dover queues – video
Suella Braverman has denied Brexit is responsible for delays at the port of Dover after some passengers said they had been queueing for up to 14 hours to have their passports checked. Extra sailings were being put in place overnight with hopes of clearing the backlog by lunchtime on Sunday, after a critical incident was declared at the port on Friday. Speaking on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the home secretary said operations at the French border had been 'very good' since Brexit
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UK and EU formally adopt Brexit deal for Northern Ireland – video
UK foreign secretary James Cleverly met with Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission vice-president, to agree to work 'intensively and faithfully' to implement the Windsor framework after formally adopting it. On behalf of the UK and EU, both counterparts agreed to accept the revised version of the Northern Ireland protocol. Prime minister Rishi Sunak's deal with the 27-nation bloc has rewritten the post-Brexit rules on Northern Ireland trade. Cleverly said that, after long negotiations, the two had finally found a way 'to move forward'
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Sunak wins post-Brexit vote on revised Northern Ireland protocol – video
Rishi Sunak has won parliamentary backing for his revised post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland despite hardline Conservative Brexiters voting against it. Among those who did not support the prime minister’s proposals were his two immediate predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, members of the European Research Group as well as Democratic Unionist party MPs
- More Partygate evidence published as Boris Johnson prepares to face inquiry – UK politics live
- Boris Johnson and Liz Truss to vote against Northern Ireland Brexit plan
- Northern Ireland voters back Windsor framework – poll
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Hardline Tory MPs reject Sunak’s Northern Ireland Brexit plan – video
Conservative MP Mark Francois, who chairs the European Research Group, makes a statement to the press detailing its study of Rishi Sunak's Northern Ireland Brexit plan. Summarising the ERG's stance, Francois said it had concluded the Stormont 'brake' was not effective and that the check-free 'green lane' for the bulk of goods moved between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would not work as billed
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Boris Johnson says Rishi Sunak’s NI Brexit deal 'does not take back control' – video
Speaking at the Global Soft Power summit in London, the ex-prime minister Boris Johnson said the Northern Ireland Brexit deal agreed by Sunak was 'not about the UK taking back control'. Johnson admitted he was at fault that the checks on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland had become too 'onerous' but reiterated his call for the UK to be allowed to diverge with EU regulations and laws. He said: 'This is nothing if it is not a Brexit government, and Brexit is nothing if we in this country don’t do things differently'
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Britain, Spain, Singapore? Gibraltar mulls its future
As talks resume on its future, the British overseas territory fears for its sovereignty and border.
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A quick guide to what's in the Brexit deal
These are the most important aspects of the UK-EU deal, and what they mean for people's lives and businesses.
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Full Brexit journey in under two minutes
It's been more than three years since the UK voted to leave the European Union but how did we get here?
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Why we lost – and where we go from here
When the history of Brexit is written, the Lib Dems’ decision to let Johnson hold this election will be seen as a key strategic error.
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7 reasons to vote Johnson out
We can kick Johnson out. So brave the elements and vote for the candidates with the best chance of beating the Tories.
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Trump sabotages Brexiters’ last-ditch safety net
Relying on the WTO for our trade was always a terrible idea. Now that the US president has ripped a hole in it, it’s economic suicide.
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With a final tactical voting push, we can beat Johnson
Good news from YouGov poll is Tory lead is shrinking. Bad news is they are still ahead because too many pro-European votes are being wasted.
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Johnson won’t stop the chaos – that’s just propaganda
A Tory victory means more chaos. The only way to end the arguments over Brexit and fix our real problems is to vote them out.
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Tories bully BBC because it’s easily cowed
Johnson yesterday hinted he would axe the licence fee. This had two purposes: cover up his NHS blunder and pummel the BBC into submission.
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At Christmas you tell the truth, but not if you’re Johnson
PM rips off Love Actually in his video but misses out the punch line: “Just because it’s Christmas and at Christmas you tell the truth.”
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Don’t worry about voting tactically for Corbyn. He won’t win
Right-wing press has branded Corbyn unelectable. They are right - he is. Not for the reasons they suggest, but because of simple maths.
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Tory “punch” propaganda backfires
To cover up Johnson’s NHS disaster, Tories fabricate story about Labour activist punching Hancock aide.
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Johnson’s dishonesty and disorganisation on Irish Sea border
Not only is Johnson lying about surrendering to the EU demand for an internal UK border, he isn’t ready to deliver a deal by December 2020.
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