Regular readers of this blog know my own views about Brexit – seen from the UK side I have found the whole thing foolish from the start. But over the past few weeks I have been asking myself a different question: why is the Brexit process going quite so badly? […]
So Tory backbenchers are rebelling about Euratom (the European Atomic Energy Community). They want to stay in it, despite Brexit, according to The Evening Standard. And enough want to stay in it so as to deny Theresa May a majority, apparently. Dominic Cummings, the supposed brain behind Vote Leave goes […]
In these febrile political times since the UK’s General Election it feels like something could break any moment in Britain’s arduous EU departure process. Rather than the inexorable track towards a Hard Brexit (with the threat of “no deal”) that looked likely prior to 8th June, the past few weeks […]
It has been a pretty normal week in matters Brexit. On Sunday on the BBC’s Marr show, Michael Gove announced he was withdrawing the UK from the London Fishing Convention that dates from 1964. What’s that got to do with Brexit you may well ask. It’s about taking back control […]
“Corbyn sacks three frontbenchers after Single Market vote” was the top story on The Guardian’s website early this morning. The three in question – Slaughter, West and Cadbury – were sacked, while a fourth, Daniel Zeichner, resigned. Like anything to do with Brexit there has been a lot more heat […]
Years ago when I ran the Atheist Bus Campaign, a guy I’d never met made a Bus Slogan Generator, so you could see what your slogan would look like on the side of a bus. But what about that other, rather more famous and more controversial bus, the one that […]
In the UK’s Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition between 2010 and 2015, neither side could get all it wanted. Deals were struck and there was some give and take. Both sides understood the needs of the other to some extent, meaning – for example – that the Lib Dems restricted […]
The Sun published a story with the rather far-fetched title “Germany’s kingmaker who is set to prop up Merkel says Britain CAN slash migration while keeping EU trade” earlier today. So who’s this supposed kingmaker I wondered, and what has he said? Turns out it is the FDP’s Christian Lindner. […]
After the problems the UK has caused the EU over the years, and the short term headache posed by the Brexit referendum last year, Theresa May ending up with a hung parliament having hoped for a huge win last week resulted in plenty of mirth in the rest of the […]
When Theresa May called the UK General Election on 18th April, her speech was all about Brexit and how the election was necessary in light of that. You can read the whole thing here, but a few quotes give the idea. “Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a […]
Note the date of this piece: 1st June 2017. One week prior to the UK’s General Election. This is written in response to the current state of the election debate and opinion polls. I cannot judge which of these outcomes will now come to pass – I instead am plotting what will […]
British politics is messed up. Brexit shows it. The previous PM Cameron promised an in-or-out of the EU referendum back in 2013 if the Conservatives won the General Election, despite the fact that EU matters were considered rather unimportant by voters at that time. He promised this would happen by […]