English politicians are prone to playing lip service to the unity of the United Kingdom. Theresa May even made sure she visited Northern Ireland on her whistle-stop one year until Brexit tour last week. May leads the Tory Party that
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Category: Brexit
The transition period does not simply delay the negative consequences of Brexit – it amplifies them
Sometimes a tweet from a politician really hits the mark. So it was with this yesterday from European Council President Donald Tusk: https://x.com/eucopresident/status/976487887935074305 Brexit transition will “delay all the negative consequences of Brexit by another 21 months”. What can we
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Lemons and landing rights – the UK’s relations with the rest of the world, post-Brexit, is the issue that cannot be kicked into the transition period
The UK government’s Brexit strategy at the moment could be summed up as trying to do the minimum possible to get Brexit done. Avoid confronting the inevitable trade offs, wish away the negative economic consequences, and try to push all
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Fisking Gary Younge’s poorly researched and incoherent critique of the EU
A difference of ideology I can tolerate. Even willful distortion from political opponents I have come to understand. But low quality journalism by those who should know better continues to really rankle. So I was hopping mad earlier today when
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Gender, language and Brexit
A clever tweet caught my eye this morning: https://x.com/GermanyonBrexit/status/971649512405192705 It prompted me to think of another aspect of gender and Brexit – in language. Brexit – the noun – is gendered in most European languages, simply because all nouns are
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Theresa May, getting high on theoretical sovereignty
The superficial difference between a Hard Brexit and a Soft Brexit is political control – taking back control, to coin a phrase. A Soft Brexit leaves the UK having to abide by the rules of the Single Market or the
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We now know where May wants to go with Brexit. We still do not know how to even begin to get there. Or if the road to Brexit is remotely worthwhile.
As anyone who has ever read this blog, or follows me on Twitter, knows, I am no fan of Theresa May or her government’s position on Brexit. So it was then not without a little surprise that I did not
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Brexit: the UK Government is not even trying
As today’s predictable fuss about the border in Ireland post Brexit rumbles on, it has brought a deeper and more troubling issue into view. The British Government is now not actually trying to do Brexit, at least in a practical
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Looking back, looking forward: the EU in the next 25 years
Back in December 2015, the board of trustees of Stonewall commissioned a series of essays, each of 1000 words, about the political context in which the charity will operate in the next 25 years. I was asked to the Europe
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Farage wants a further EU referendum in the UK. Bring it on! (with some caveats)
I speculated the other day as to why Nigel Farage now wants a further referendum on the UK’s EU Membership. I don’t really mind why he’s had this change of heart, but welcome to the club, Nige. Let’s have the
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What prompted Farage’s conversion to the cause of a second referendum on the UK’s EU membership?
https://x.com/5WrightStuff/status/951394851811221510 When I saw this breaking on Twitter earlier I sort of expected he meant a referendum on the type of final deal with the EU, or a deal vs. no deal referendum. But no – as you can see
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UK, Remain in the EU. Even now. This is about people’s everyday lives.
The European Greens are advertising for a European Parliament campaign manager job in Brussels, prompting this little exchange on Twitter: https://x.com/kirschly/status/949017678534053888 Correct. It’s the sort of job I’d jump at the chance to do. But Brexit stops me. For I
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