Brexit: despatches from the downside – No 24
01/03/2024
In this week's Brexit downsides, extra food labelling costing up to £250mn, a huge drop in overseas students, veterinary shortages in NI, and more.
The year in Brexit
20/12/2023
The past 12 months have been littered with grandiose claims about the benefits of Brexit and the ability of the UK to demand what it wants from the EU. But the sad and inescapable conclusion is that none of those benefits exist and that the UK has been forced into a number of embarrassing retreats and compromises.
Tory ERG are 'playing with Brexit fire' over proposed amends to Rwanda migration bill, warns former party chairman
12/12/2023
Speaking on LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, David Davis said the European Research Group (ERG), and those on the right of the Tory Party, who want to undermine the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are "playing with Brexit fire" and risk "destroying Brexit" over proposed amends to the Rwanda immigration Bill.
Brexit has not only failed to deliver on its promise of reducing immigration and controlling borders, but it has also made the immigration issue worse and more difficult to manage. The government’s chaotic and ineffective immigration policies, such as the Rwanda policy, have only added to the problem.
The Guardian’s in-house Brexit apologist
06/12/2023
Why does the newspaper continue to publish Larry Elliot’s Corbynite nonsense on the EU?
Leo Varadkar warns that Brexit, aid cuts and talk of abandoning human rights treaty ‘not the Britain I know’.
Supporters of the European Convention on Human Rights must seize the moment and confront right-wing propaganda demanding the UK leaves it now - or risk a Brexit-style disaster, argues Kevin Maguire.
After Brexit, desperate Tories needed a new crusade. They think dumping ‘human rights’ could be it
10/08/2023
The drumbeats get louder as the call of the wild pulses through the blood of the Conservative party again. The front page of the Telegraph on Thursday splashes, “Cabinet call on PM to ditch ECHR”. On their headcount, a third of the British cabinet want to join Russia and Belarus as pariah states outside the European convention on human rights.
What is the European Convention on Human Rights? Is UK still subject to ECHR post-Brexit? Tory row explained
10/08/2023
The European Court of Human Rights is still relevant to the UK, despite the country leaving the EU. / Certain Conservative MPs ... have called for the UK to leave the human rights convention, which would make Britain one of the few European nations, alongside Russia and Belarus, outside of ECHR.
Post-Brexit cooperation between the UK and the EU on law enforcement and criminal justice is sub-optimal, according to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee.
One complainant had argued EU citizenship is an ‘acquired right’ that cannot be removed.
‘It would be Brexit part 2’: Why the Tories think another European referendum could save them
30/06/2023
The issue that is most worrying Tory MPs this week is small boats. “We’d be in the same club as Russia and Belarus,” says one minister. “It’s not a good idea.” It’s also the case that the ECHR is integral to the Good Friday Agreement. Such a move could lead to resignations.
Brussels commissioner says bill breaches convention, as legal experts warn of risk to Brexit trade deal.
Legal experts say Brussels has right to take retaliatory action, making cross-border law enforcement harder. / We have noted the reaction of the United Nations, and they are really concerned about what’s going on,” Anton Hofreiter, the chair of the committee, told reporters in London.
There is a split within the Cabinet over the UK’s continued membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Russian interference in Brexit referendum
04/02/2023
The good news last week is that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has agreed to hear the case that there was Russian interference in the Brexit referendum. Several UK court cases, petitions and speeches in Parliament have failed to get the government to investigate and publish the result of the research into Russian interference.
ECHR calls on UK Govt to respond to ‘credible allegations’ of interference in Brexit referendum
19/01/2023
"This is about protecting the integrity of our politics, our democratic system and our electoral process", Ben Bradshaw said.
Landmark Ruling in Strasbourg as MPs Challenge UK Government over Failure to Investigate Russian Interference in Brexit
19/01/2023
‘Nothing less than the future of democracy is at stake’ says Caroline Lucas as a cross-party coalition and The Citizens win an unprecedented hearing over electoral safety and national security.
With Brexit, Britain returned from a codified and protected constitutional system, to an uncodified and unprotected one based on the sovereignty of Parliament.
However, disenchantment with Brexit has been one of the most notable trends of 2022 with a feeling that it has not lived up to the promises made at the time of the referendum. / Two thirds or 65% of British people think Brexit has gone badly compared to just 21% who think it has gone well according to an Opinium survey in early December.
'Your point is ridiculous': LBC's Lewis Goodall challenges think-tank Director's stance on Brexit [4 mins]
10/12/2022
Lewis Goodall disputes Bruges Group's Robert Oulds after his stance on Brexit contradicts facts.
Owen Paterson Wanted To 'Break Free' From European Court – He's Now Using It Against The Government
22/11/2022
The former Tory minister and Brexiteer who quit parliament after a lobbying scandal is taking the government to the European courts – a judicial system he once loudly advocated leaving.
Home secretary Suella Braverman has sparked a new government row after calling for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Boris Johnson ‘shredding trust’ with three breaches of international law, former top diplomat warns
28/06/2022
Boris Johnson ‘shredding trust’ with three breaches of international law, former top diplomat warns.
Farage asked what the best thing to come out of Brexit is – his response is beyond parody
25/06/2022
The former UKIPer said Brexit 2.0 would be getting Britain out of the European Court of Human Rights... like Russia.