It may sound very strange for a Remainer to say that I think hard Brexit has become necessary. But that’s where I think we might now be. Despite a terrible, shambolic set of negotiations so far by Theresa May and her cohorts; despite forecasts of economic doom, particularly for the North East and the Midlands, […]
Corbyn isn’t “on the fence” on Brexit. Why is that so hard for Remainers to absorb?
Gina Miller, the Emmeline Pankhurst of the Remainer movement, tweeted yesterday: YOUTH TO CORBYN: GET OFF THE FENCE ON BREXIT, OR ELSE! What struck me as so odd about this tweet is that Jeremy Corbyn isn’t on any fence on Brexit. I can’t say he was never on the fence on EU membership – he […]
Explaining the Customs Union fudge and just how bad the “dream team” idea is
We’re on the perihelion of the government’s Brexit cycle – when the official position is closest to Rees-Moggness. After Hammond’s “slip” at Davos, admitting that a soft Brexit is what we’re headed for, May has to assert all manner of hard Brexitiness, with Downing Street telling us now that we will definitely be leaving the […]
Why Theresa May’s attempt to fiddle with the transition period will go predictably wrong
This week, another microcosm of the Theresa May premiership. One of her more pro-European ministers – usually Philip Hammond – says something that reflects the reality that the government is heading for a transition period during which we’ll kind of be in the EU, except without any say in anything. Following that, a post-transition in […]
Here’s what is sorely missing from the Brexit debate – and why it makes Brexit such a certainty
I know what you’re thinking – there are a lot of things missing from the Brexit debate. Some realistic form of what post-Brexit Britain might look like, some of you might say. What I’m going to talk about here is what Remainers are getting wrong – and why that makes Brexit almost certain to happen, […]
Why I don’t think a second EU referendum is a good idea
I’ll start by saying that if was simply up to me, I’d keep Britain in the EU. I was a Remainer before the referendum result, and nothing has convinced me since that leaving the EU would make the country better off. However, I also remain against the idea of a second referendum on the question. […]
Here’s what I don’t get about the hardcore Brexiteers at the moment
The news on Brexit lately has been mostly of a piece, for once. “Brexit: UK has already ‘agreed in principle’ with EU to Norway-style transition” ran a headline in the Independent on Monday. “Should we stay or should we go? Why the EU customs union issue is threatening to rip Tory party apart” was the […]
It was these two things that led to Britain’s recovery in the 80s – and why that’s relevant to where we are now
Warning: I am very likely to alienate almost everyone with this article. You have been forewarned. As most of us know (although there are still holdouts on the Left on this subject, which will become relevant later on), Britain was in a bit of a mess in the 1970s. The “sick man of Europe” the […]
Nigel Farage is simply ahead of the curve on the Brexiteer desire for a second referendum
Some have commented that Farage only wants a second referendum in order to be back in the national spotlight again. While that may well be amongst the reasons he has introduced this idea into the debate – that Brexiteers, even of Farage-grade, can be second referendum cheerleaders – I think you actually have to give […]
This is why Labour is really against a second EU referendum
I want to say at the start of this article, I’m still a little uneasy about the whole concept of a second EU referendum myself. This is because either result of such a referendum would bring with it major problems. If Remain won, there would be an undoubtable feeling of “the establishment kept asking the […]