I’m going to try and keep this as straightforward as I can – but a warning that this gets into heavy constitutional technicalities as a matter of course. That’s where we’ve got to now. Best for Britain, the Remainer campaign group, is launching a legal challenge against the government with the aim of getting a […]
Why May’s mention of the US-Canada border in relation to Ireland has me worried – about the state of the Left
Theresa May spoke in the House yesterday to update the Commons on what the Mansion House speech might mean in practice. In answer to an inevitable question regarding the Irish border, the Prime Minister said: “There are many examples of different arrangements for customs around the rest of the world. Indeed we are looking at […]
Remainers are beginning to lull themselves into a false sense of security that Brexit won’t happen. They’re misguided
Tony Blair has said very recently that he now thinks there is a 50% chance Brexit won’t happen. If you go on Twitter and search through the #FBPE pro-European hashtag, you will find a lot of people who have almost convinced themselves that not only will Brexit not happen, it can’t happen. Remainers are starting […]
First thoughts on Theresa May’s latest Brexit speech – why this should have been the spiel at Lancaster House over a year ago
Reports leading up to today’s speech were mixed. On one hand, Chris Grayling said that “the prime minister will recognise in the speech today that it is not about cherry picking, that we can’t have everything that we might like to have because we are leaving.” This seemed to suggest more realism, which was to […]
How does Corbyn’s speech today change the dynamics of Brexit?
In examining Corbyn’s Coventry speech, one main question needs to be asked: does a Labour government feel more likely after it, or less likely? I have to say that it not only feels more likely, but much more likely. The Tories need to grasp what a threat the speech and what it sets out poses […]
Why I wouldn’t get your hopes up about a coherent Brexit plan from Labour after this week
There has been a flurry of new information from major shadow cabinet figures about Brexit this week, after what seemed liked an enforced silence on the topic. Unfortunately, it all makes as much sense as it usually does. John McDonnell has jumped on the extremely irritating “a” customs union with the EU, not be confused […]
Why does the media still feign surprise at Theresa May’s political moves?
“Exclusive: Cabinet did not agree to Theresa May’s strategy for Brexit transition period, senior ministers say” reads a headline in today’s Telegraph. It may just as well have read “Exclusive: humans require oxygen to live”. One of the more annoying things about the age we live in – and given Donald Trump is president of […]
Why Brexiteers finally turning against the Good Friday Agreement is so dangerous
On Friday, former NI-Secretary Owen Paterson tweeted “The collapse of power-sharing in Northern Ireland shows the Good Friday Agreement has outlived its use” with a link to a Daily Telegraph article written by Ruth Dudley Edwards. The crucial paragraph from the Edwards piece is the final one: “Realists believe the GFA has served its purpose […]
Could the vote to Leave the EU ultimately lead to a more pro-European Britain?
Despite what some Remainers may have you believe, Brexit looks pretty set to happen. With both the government and the official opposition wedded to it taking place (while taking up over 80% of the available vote), it is hard to see what blows it off course. Unless, of course, it is actually impossible for the […]
Examining Boris Johnson’s EU speech – well, one sentence in it at least, which was enough
My most basic feeling about the BoJo speech on the EU is: why do we need another one of these from a rogue cabinet member? Can’t the government just come up with a collective position and then announce it? How am I supposed to take the intentions set out in the Boris speech other than […]