Some Tory leadership candidates – most notably Boris Johnson – have said they would withhold the £39 billion divorce bill negotiated by Theresa May as a card in order to force the EU to renegotiate the Brexit agreement. Just how practical is this proposal?
What is 'no-deal Brexit'?
13/06/2019
This means the UK would immediately leave the European Union (EU) with no agreement about the "divorce" process.
Boris Johnson, considered the frontrunner to succeed British Prime Minister Theresa May, said on Saturday he would refuse to pay the country's Brexit bill until the EU agrees better withdrawal terms.
UK owes EU €47b in Brexit settlement
08/07/2021
The UK is liable to pay €47.5 billion euros ($A75.7 billion) to the European Union as part of its post-Brexit financial settlement, according to the EU’s consolidated budget report for 2020.
PARIS (Reuters) - A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that failing to pay a 39 billion pound ($50 billion) Brexit bill when Britain leaves the European Union would amount to a sovereign debt default.
The European Union has set the final Brexit divorce bill at £40.8 billion – well above where the UK Government expected it to be.
We must not force-feed a Brexit no one could have imagined at any cost, our children would never forgive us for such a crime.
Tim Martin on Question Time - taken apart
01/12/2018
A few days back, Tim Martin appeared on Question time. A 1-min clip of his performance has gone viral on Twitter. So error-packed was that one minute, that we should take the time to dissect it to bits...
Leo Varadkar says UK and EU will still have to negotiate, with same problems on agenda.
NHS bosses ordered to 'stick to script' that no-deal Brexit must happen on 31 October if necessary
21/08/2019
Ministers accused of 'gagging order' as health chiefs told all communications must be 'aligned' with No 10’s 'top lines'.
Cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill says emergency contingency plans are needed.
Jeremy Hunt has declared that he would refuse to pay some of the £39bn bill it would cost the UK to leave the European Union.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar telling Boris Johnson some hard truths about Brexit [2 mins]
09/09/2019
If only our own government were honest enough also to communicate this clear & blunt reality to the UK public.
The Attorney General explains in parliament that though there is no obligation in EU law to honour the £39bn commitment, there is in international law.
He said he would deliver Brexit by refusing to pay the £39bn exit payment agreed by Theresa May until Brussels agrees to a better deal.
EU's Guy Verhofstadt attacks Boris Johnson for 'false promises, pseudo-patriotism, and foreigner bashing' over Brexit
27/06/2019
European Parliament Brexit chief says likely next prime minister is 'a man who continues to dissemble, exaggerate, and disinform the public about Brexit'.
France’s state secretary for European affairs has confirmed that the EU27 are not prepared to reopen the Brexit withdrawal agreement, and that without a “new political line” in the UK or a second referendum, Britain must expect to leave the bloc on 31 October.
Budget chief linked £39bn divorce bill to UK retaining beneficial relationship with bloc. / A UK government led by Boris Johnson could not be dragged through the courts if it refused to pay the country’s multibillion-pound Brexit bill, the EU’s German budget chief has admitted, but Britain’s economy, security and universities would be made to suffer.
Iain Duncan Smith says the financial liabilities signed up to by Boris Johnson in the withdrawal agreement were too great.
Chancellor urges Boris Johnson to pay EU's £39 billion Brexit bill if he becomes prime minister
14/06/2019
Philip Hammond says UK should stand by its existing obligations to the EU.
The former Brexit secretary, David Davis, has suggested this week that the UK might not have to pay a “divorce” settlement to Brussels if we leave the EU without a deal. So can we really cut and run?
The financial settlement - often labeled the 'exit bill' or 'divorce bill' - sets out how the UK and EU will settle their outstanding financial commitments to each other.
Figure of £40.8bn buried in EU’s 2020 accounts dismissed by UK as not reflecting amount it will pay.
The UK agreed to make a series of payments to the EU, as part of the deal when it left in January, often called the divorce bill.