Theresa May unable to guarantee no hard Irish border in case of ‘no deal’ Brexit September 30, 2018 Theresa May today was unable to promise there would be no hard border with Ireland if the Brexit talks break down, instead repeating the UK would do “everything it can” to avoid customs checks. Speaking just hours before the Conservative Party conference is due to start in Birmingham, the Prime Minister launched a defence of [...]
Woo the EU? Theresa May should take tips from the dating game September 26, 2018 Winning votes in an election is a lot like dating. I was explaining the principles of campaigning during a Westminster Foundation seminar in Ghana when one of the young candidates hit on this perfect analogy for electoral success. When you start dating someone, you are keen to establish common interests. “You like Love Island? [...]
Brexit: Sterling falls further as Theresa May says UK-EU negotiations are at an impasse September 21, 2018 Theresa May said Brexit negotiations are at an impasse today, in a speech where she called for “respect” following Brussels’ snub to her Chequers plan yesterday. Her speech accelerated sterling's losses, with the pound dropping from 1.33 against the US dollar at the start of the day to 1.31 following her talk, and from 1.13 to [...]
Chris Grayling urges the EU to soften its stance on the Irish border to reach a deal with the UK September 21, 2018 Transport secretary Chris Grayling has said there will be no deal with the EU unless it softens its stance on the Irish border. Grayling – who is feeling the pressure after refusing to take responsibility for the rail timetable chaos – came to the Prime Minister's defence after she met with EU leaders in Salzburg where [...]
Theresa May’s Brexit plan ‘will not work’ says EU in devastating blow to PM September 20, 2018 Theresa May was dealt a humiliating blow on Thursday as EU leaders dismissed her flagship Chequers proposal and sent her back to the drawing board. In a dramatic day in Salzburg, European Commission President Donald Tusk plunged the knife into the UK's Brexit offer, saying bluntly: "It will not work". The EU leaders gathered in Austria [...]
Don’t let Brexit or political differences create a hostile office environment September 20, 2018 Facebook is “a political monoculture that’s intolerant of different views”, according to a post from Brian Amerige on an internal online group at the social media company called “FBers for Political Diversity”. Amerige claims that although the US company presents itself as welcoming all political perspectives, in reality anyone with a view that opposed left-leaning [...]
Davis set to savage Chequers as May awaits EU verdict on key proposals September 20, 2018 Theresa May last night urged EU leaders to stop trying to break up the UK as she warned there were just two months left to strike a Brexit deal. Speaking directly to her counterparts at a dinner in Salzburg last night, the Prime Minister made it clear that if an agreement were not reached by [...]
Theresa May rejects Michel Barnier’s Irish border plan September 19, 2018 Theresa May is set to shoot down Brussels' attempt to diffuse the Northern Ireland border row amid claims the EU's plan would still divide the UK. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has been seeking to "de-dramatise" the issue of how to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland if no trade deal [...]
David Davis: Theresa May’s Brexit plan is undemocratic September 19, 2018 David Davis is set to brand the government's Brexit plan as "devoid of democracy" in another stinging attack on Theresa May. The former Brexit secretary will use a speech in Germany tomorrow to lambast the so-called Chequers plan as a "non-starter" – claiming it goes back on promises the Conservatives made in their 2017 General Election [...]
Donald Tusk calls for special Brexit summit in November September 19, 2018 EU member states could gather in mid-November to finalise a Brexit deal with the UK. European Council president Donald Tusk will propose an additional summit then to ensure an agreement is reached and that the UK and EU avoid a no deal scenario, saying today that there is “less and less time” to conclude negotiations. [...]