Boris Johnson gave a speech about the next stage of Brexit earlier this week in Greenwich. The initial reactions mostly focused on how this was the UK Government setting out its stall that was at odds with the line the
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Category: Brexit
When Britain’s pro-EU campaigners say resist, reform, rejoin… they ought to apply the first two to the UK
A country where 42.4% of the vote gives a party a solid majority in Parliament. A country where a decent and ethical chair of a parliamentary committee is ousted in favour of a government lackey. A country where a report
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Why I doubt the UK will rejoin the EU any time soon
This tweet of mine drew quite a lot of critique – why are you so sceptical, people asked. There is a pro-EU majority in the UK now. When Brexit really happens (i.e. when the transition period is over) people will
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It doesn’t feel like the UK is leaving the EU. It feels like the UK is leaving me.
As my train accelerated away from Berlin this morning, heading onwards towards Hannover, Köln, Brussels and eventually Bruges, the grey-green of the Brandenburg fields streaked by outside the window under a leaden sky. My destination: the College of Europe in
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The UK General Election: where nothing is true and everything is possible
It’s not by chance that I have borrowed the title of this blog post from Peter Pomerantsev’s book about communication techniques in Putin’s Russia. Garry Kasparov’s observation – that the point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push
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If you wanted Liberal Democrat or Labour candidates to stand down at the General Election, where should you do it?
First let’s get a few things out of the way. This post concerns only two parties – the Liberal Democrats and Labour – and in one part of the UK – England. It also will not get drawn on who
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Can I actually bring myself to vote Labour at the 2019 General Election? It’s harder than ever
I was a member of the Labour Party from 1996 until 2013 when I quit and joined the German Greens (I explained my choice at the time here). However having been away from the UK only since 2012, and not
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#BrexitDiagram Series 4 – Brexit and the 2019 UK General Election
I have been making flow diagrams since January 2019. Series 1 was more my effort to get to grips with this diagramming lark. Series 2 was the first with probabilities, and predicted a Brexit delay – and that’s what happened.
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Extend Article 50 then oust Johnson? Or oust Johnson so as to guarantee the extension of Article 50? This week’s crucial question
The Brexit deadline 31st October is just 32 days away. The House of Commons is sitting because prorogation was ruled unlawful and void by the Supreme Court. But UK politics is still on a knife edge because what will happen
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The enduring value of #BrexitDiagram – what is important, and what happens in what order
Yesterday pretty much all the Brexit commentators were poring over comments by Jean Claude Juncker that “we can have a deal”, and seeing the chances of a Deal rising. Meanwhile Mujtaba Rahman was trying to interpret Barclay’s words in a
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Election then referendum? Or referendum then election? Brexit next steps
Oliver Letwin. Tom Watson. And Tony Blair. All of them have in the past fortnight suggested the UK should first hold a 2nd EU referendum, and only thereafter hold a General Election. This is the opposite of the prevailing thinking in Westminster
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How opposition parties can engineer a later general election, but get the election called before prorogation of Parliament
tl:dr; Opposition parties want to call an election as soon as possible, but want that election to happen as late as possible. An unconventional route – via a Vote of No Confidence tabled next week (9th September) – offers a
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