DUP says ‘no compromise’ on Brexit redlines after meeting with EU’s chief negotiator October 9, 2018 DUP leader Arlene Foster refused to compromise on her Brexit redline today as she shot down the EU's proposal for the Irish backstop. The EU wants Northern Ireland to stay in its customs union and Single Market after Brexit if no other solution can be found to keep the border with Ireland invisible. That suggestion [...]
At least 40 Tory MPs ‘ready to block’ Theresa May’s Chequers Brexit plan October 9, 2018 Fellow Conservatives are prepared to vote down Theresa May’s Chequers plan if it forms the basis of a deal with the EU, a Tory MP claimed today. At least 40 Tories will rebel against an agreement shaped around the Prime Minister’s Chequers blueprint, if it leaves the UK “half in, half out” of the EU, [...]
Downing Street plays down EU rhetoric on a Brexit deal being close October 8, 2018 Downing Street today called for actions, not words from the EU as the clock ticks down on the Brexit talks. Speaking ahead of a crunch summit in Brussels next week, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said there are still "big issues" to be worked out before a deal can be agreed between the UK and [...]
Brand Boris: Johnson needs to shed his disrupter image if he wants to become a leader October 8, 2018 There was a particularly pithy Tweet doing the rounds just after the Conservative party conference last week: “in summary: Boris’s speech not good enough for him to take over; May’s not bad enough to be kicked out”. So, was Boris Johnson really just one speech away from leadership? Possibly. Because Boris, just like Donald Trump, “has [...]
Theresa May urges Labour voters to ‘look beyond’ party labels and back her plan for post-Brexit Britain October 7, 2018 Theresa May has launched a bid to woo disgruntled Labour voters, asking them to "look at her party afresh" and "beyond party labels". Writing in the Observer yesterday, May said she wanted the Conservatives to be a party "for the whole country" and that the Tories were capable of going beyond criticising the opposition. "To [...]
The Tories talk the talk on free markets, but the policies don’t match the rhetoric October 5, 2018 Last year’s Conservative party conference marked a change in tone for the Prime Minister and her relationship with the free market. Perhaps it was the 2017 snap election upset that made her roll back her language around “untrammeled free markets”, or maybe there was increased understanding that after Brexit a commitment to competition would be vital [...]
Plan to keep all of UK in EU customs union after Brexit welcomed by Dublin in Irish backstop row October 4, 2018 A radical plan to keep the whole of the UK in a customs union with the EU after Brexit has been welcomed by Dublin, it has been reported. The proposal, seen as a way of stopping a hard border being created on the island of Ireland, would be the 'backstop' arrangement if no other deal [...]
Donald Tusk offers UK a Canada-style trade deal in blow for Theresa May’s Brexit plan October 4, 2018 Donald Tusk has delighted the 'chuck Chequers' group of Tories by offering the UK a Canada-style free trade deal. Speaking just days after Boris Johnson urged Theresa May to shelve her Brexit plan, the European Council president backed striking a looser arrangement with the UK. The comments were welcomed by leading Brexiteers, with one claiming [...]
The end of austerity the Prime Minister has promised would costs £20bn, says Institute of Fiscal Studies October 4, 2018 The end of austerity the Prime Minister signalled in yesterday’s conference party speech could cost £20bn, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Read more: Theresa May declares 'austerity is over' in Conservative conference speech Theresa May ended the Conservative Party Conference yesterday on a high, declaring the end of austerity is in sight as [...]
‘A step in the right direction’: SMMT lends support to Theresa’s May Chequers plan October 4, 2018 Car industry chief Mike Hawes has said Theresa May's much maligned proposal for Brexit is a "step in the right direction" for the troubled industry. Hawes, the chief executive of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), told the BBC that while the prime minister's Brexit strategy wasn't a "panacea" for the industry, remaining [...]