Monthly Archives: November 2021

The UK's Brexit minister Lord Frost has continued to insist the Northern Ireland Protocol is not working, and has called for large parts of the mechanism to be completely overhauled. He has continued to demand the removal of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from the deal, which would effectively act as a referee between the two sides in any future disputes. The EU has flat-out rejected this and so far several rounds of talks between London and Brussels have failed to make any significant breakthrough.

This has led Lord Frost to warn the UK could trigger Article 16 of the Protocol, which could see the deal significantly overhauled or completely torn apart.

But Brussels has said it will retaliate, sparking fears of a potentially destructive trade war that would send tensions between the two sides soaring.

Ben Harris-Quinney, chairman of the Bow Group think tank, believes the EU is gradually "softening" its stance in talks, a move the UK should move to embrace.

However, he warned if progress can't be made in the negotiations soon and the EU won't move from its position, "it is better to scrap the entire deal".

Mr Harris-Quinney told Express.co.uk: "The EU remains unwilling to make significant concessions on goods and use of the ECJ as final court of arbitration.

"The EU began by formally refusing to renegotiate the Northern Irish Protocol, but we are now effectively in a renegotiation, so there is a genuine softening and that should be embraced.

"The UK was the party to begin the renegotiation, and there is no point entering into that process and not solving the problem.

"We need to resolve the issue now and if the EU are unwilling to budge then it is better to scrap the entire deal than to continue a circumstance that clearly is not working, creating only further discord and uncertainty."

READ MORE:France rushes to its Caribbean islands as fury surges over pandemic

The politics expert has urged the UK to trigger Article 16 and "force a conclusion" if the EU continues its hard-line stance on key issues such as checks on goods and the role of the ECJ.

But he also fears the EU could once again gain the upper hand while there also being a risk Britain has not fully prepared for the chaotic fallout triggering Article 16 could inflict.

Mr Harris-Quinney added: "If the EU is not willing to budge on key issues like goods checks and ECJ arbitration, the Government should trigger Article 16 and force a conclusion, rather than allowing the status quo and negotiations to carry on indefinitely.

"The Government has however taken a naive approach thus far, there is a danger of being out-manoeuvred by the EU again, and there is a risk that they have not adequately prepared or positioned themselves for the potential fallout of triggering Article 16."

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On Friday, Lord Frost warned a "significant" gap remains between the UK and the EU after crunch talks aimed at resolving the Protocol issues once again ended in stalemate.

The Brexit minister repeated a threat to use Article 16 of the protocol to override some of the rules he negotiated because of the impact on Northern Ireland.

Lord Frost said in a statement: "We would still like to find a negotiated solution.

"But the gap between our positions is still significant and we are ready to use Article 16 to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement if other solutions cannot be found."

Following the talks with his UK counterpart, European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said a "decisive push" is required to get a medicines deal over the line.

The pair will hold further talks on possible changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol in Brussels this week.

Read more here:

'Tear up the ENTIRE deal!' Boris urged to strike back in Brexit row if EU refuses to cave - Daily Express

The Brexit heat is still firmly lodged on the government as negotiations and discussions around next steps continue.

Only this week it emerged that before Brexit Britains chief Brexit negotiator warned that leaving the single market and customs union would cost 1,500 per person.

Lord Frost is now among the hardest of Brexiteers in the government arguing this week that the UK needs to ditch a European-style economy entirely.

Meanwhile, Frenchfishermenhave said they plan to blockade the channel tunnel in protest at Britains refusal to issue them with work licences.

The running dispute over the post-Brexit fishing rights is expected to boil over on Friday and cause even more disruption to UK supply chains.

The channel tunnel is a vital artery and carried vast volumes of freight and passenger traffic between the continent and the UK.

Not only that but in a week when 27 people died while trying to cross the English Channel, it is also clear that Britain leaving the EUs sphere of cooperation has made it harder to police Britains sea border, not easier.

So where does all this leave when it comes to the Brexit deal and what is likely to happen next?

To answer some of your latest Brexit questions we have got a Brexit economics expert on hand.

Victoria Hewson is the Institute of Economic Affairs Head of Regulatory Affairs and Research Associate. She will be on hand to answer your Brexit questions in the comments section below on Friday, 26 November, between 1-2pm.

Victoria is a lawyer and practiced for 12 years in the fields of technology and financial services, before joining the Legatum Institute Special Trade Commission to focus on trade and regulatory policy.

She has published work on the implications and opportunities of Brexit in financial services and movement of goods and the issues in connection with the Irish border. Before entering the legal profession Victoria worked for Procter & Gamble in the UK and Germany.

Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If youre not already a member, click sign up in the comments section to leave your question.

Dont worry if you cant see your question they will be hidden until Victoria joins the conversation to answer them.

Then join us live on this page from 1-2pm as Victoria tackles as many of your travel queries as she can within an hour.

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Ask a Brexit economic expert anything about the current situation between the UK and the EU - The Independent

Fewer than one in five people in Great Britain believe Brexit has been a success, a YouGov poll has found.

Meanwhile, 52 per cent of respondents think that things have gone badly since the transition period ended 11 months ago.

The percentage of Britons dissatisfied with the effects of the divorce hovered around 40 per cent at the start of the year. However, this figure has shot up in recent months, following the petrol crisis in September, which was sparked by a shortage of HGV drivers.

The latest numbers are likely to make grim reading for a government that continues to suggest Brexit is in the best interest of the country.

The electorate now thinks Brexit is the largest single issue facing the UK, according to an Ipsos Mori survey carried out last month.

Some 28 per cent of people viewed it as the most pressing concern, slightly more than those who thought the pandemic should be the governments main focus.

In September, it was the other way around, with 37 per cent of voters deciding Covid-19 was the nations most urgent problem and 20 per cent thinking it was Brexit.

The increased concern over Brexit came around the same time that Richard Hughes, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that the decision to leave the bloc would reduce our long run GDP by around 4 per cent.

By comparison, Mr Hughes, speaking after the Budget was announced on 27 October, estimated that the impact of the pandemic would lower the countrys GDP by roughly another 2 per cent.

Other Brexit headaches include the UKs ongoing fishing dispute with France, which flared up again on Friday, as French fishermen blocked ports and the Channel Tunnel over a disagreement about operating licences.

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Only 18 per cent of Britons think Brexit is going well, poll finds - The Independent

Bars are full, restaurants are turning away customers who dont have reservations and, judging by the people laden with bags, the Christmas shopping season is already under way. Belfast has known plenty of crises down the decades but this doesnt feel like one of them.

Instead, on a Thursday evening in November, Northern Irelands capital has the air of any other big provincial UK city, with a thriving hospitality sector and plenty of money changing hands. Were it not for the accents, it could be Leeds or Manchester.

But as with Leeds and Manchester, scars are visible just a short walk from the city centre, and in Belfast these result not just from the impact of industrial decline but from the Troubles, too. The Berlin Wall may have come down; the peace wall separating the Falls and Shankill roads has not.

Brexit has added a new level of complexity to the highly charged politics of Northern Ireland. The protocol agreed by London and Brussels prevented a hard border being created between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by putting a barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in the Irish Sea.

If the plan was to make the peace process more secure, it didnt work. Unionist politicians say strict interpretation of the protocol by the EU has made the agreement unworkable, and Brexit minister Lord Frost has for weeks been threatening to invoke article 16, which puts an emergency brake on the Northern Ireland chapter of the UK-EU deal. That could trigger a full-blown trade war, which would be devastating for businesses already feeling the impact of the extra trade friction.

Archie Norman, chairman of Marks & Spencer, says: At the moment things are not too bad. We do have border constraints but they are deal-able-with. Things are a lot better than they are in the Republic of Ireland or in continental Europe, where weve announced a restructuring of our food operations.

Norman insists there isnt a food safety problem. Our food standards are higher than those in continental Europe. The sensible thing would be to agree to product equivalence, where we would agree not to drop standards. If we were planning any variations, we would notify the EU and they could then decide what to do about it.

In the grand scale of things the economic issue is so trivial. Northern Ireland has a similar population to Hertfordshire. Of course it matters hugely politically, but there is no hazard to anyone from produce from the rest of the UK arriving there. We are at risk of going to war over nothing.

Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis wants a deal that gives exporters the best of both worlds access to the EU single market and the UK internal market.

The conditions are met to trigger article 16, he said, but we dont want to use it. We would much rather come to an agreement with the EU. Thats achievable with a different implementation process.

Lewis says the public discourse over Northern Ireland focuses on Brexit and the Troubles, and it is hard to cut through that so businesses and individuals see the opportunities that exist. Everyone wants to talk about the protocol and the legacy of the past. There is a different story going on.

One part of that story is the boom in Northern Irelands film and TV industry catalysed by Game of Thrones. What began with some modest pump-priming in 2010 led to eight blockbuster series and acted as a magnet for other productions. We invested heavily in the pilot. We took a risk and it paid off, said Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen.

GoT blazed a trail: after it came, among others, Line of Duty, Derry Girls, Dalgleish, a new mini-series based on Henry Fieldings novel Tom Jones, and The Northman, a new Viking revenge film starring Nicole Kidman. Belfast now has three film studios, and Williams says the success of the industry is a shining example of what was meant to happen post the Good Friday agreement.

PAC group a manufacturing firm in north Belfast that comes up with solutions to engineering problems may lack the stardust of a new Kidman movie, but in its way it is emblematic of the Northern Ireland economy: small (45 employees) but growing fast post-lockdown, and now running into supply constraints.

Darren Leslie, the companys business development director and one of its founders, said: Things are starting to bounce back. Everybody is busy. Nobody can get people. Workload is going through the roof. We are having trouble finding the right people and keeping them.

More than any other part of the UK, Northern Ireland is a land of contrasts. It has by far the highest share of public sector employment, yet Queens Belfast boasts the most spin-offs of any university, and over the past 25 years public-private partnership has helped build an impressive cybersecurity cluster. It is the poorest region and the happiest.

John Turner, professor of finance at Queens, said Northern Ireland had an abundance of social capital that may explain high happiness levels. People have come through the Troubles and can deal with adversity. Maybe it has made people a bit more resilient.

Graham Brownlow of Queens Universitys management school said Northern Ireland had three sets of economic problems. First, it shared in the problems of the UK economic model and was entwined in that. Second, the UKs weaknesses such as poor productivity and low investment in R&D, were magnified in Northern Ireland. Finally, it had its own unique problems: the protocol, the shared border, and the fact that the Good Friday agreement didnt really take account of the need to run for economic reconstruction alongside political reconciliation.

A lot of people suggest solutions that dont deal with all the sets of problems. Theyll suggest a silver-bullet solution such as having the same low rate of corporation tax as the republic but there isnt one, Brownlow says.

The Troubles held the economy back, leading to weaker investment and trade. Public spending plugged the gap, and has been rebadged since the Good Friday agreement to form part of the peace dividend. But political instability has been holding back the economy since partition in 1921, and in the early 1960s the Treasury pressed for closure of the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff as part of an economic restructuring.

The close links between politicians and businesspeople foster cronyism. The education system remains largely fractured along Catholic-Protestant lines. Northern Ireland has the largest proportion of Neets young people not in employment, education or training in the UK. Small businesses tend to stay small.

Owen Reidy, assistant general secretary at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, also complained of a lack of a long-term strategy, and of squabbling local politicians possibily over-estimating their importance: This is a little place on the fringes of Europe. There is too much emphasis on looking south, looking east or looking across the Atlantic.

Some look to daddy in London; some look to mummy in Dublin. But mummy and daddy are not that interested any more.

Ever since Milton Friedman coined the phrase, economists have been arguing about the merits of helicopter money drops of free cash designed to encourage consumers to spend. Northern Ireland is putting the theory to test.

Taking its lead from a scheme tried in Jersey last year, every adult in the country has been given a Mastercard loaded with 100 that they have to spend before mid-December. In an attempt to support local businesses and encourage high street footfall, the money cant be spent online.

Gordon Lyons, Northern Irelands minister of the economy, says if every adult spends up to the 100 limit, there will be a 140m boost to the economy. We wanted to give businesses an immediate shot in the arm and we are at the peak of the scheme right now.

Lyons is hoping for an even bigger boost thanks to a multiplier effect from, say, someone buying a new washing machine and needing to hire a plumber to fit it. Mastercard says there was a discernible multiplier effect in Jersey.

Even so, some say the money from the UK governments Covid recovery fund might have been used more effectively. Peter Bryson of Save the Children in Northern Ireland said helicopter money would be better spent on topping up the incomes of those on universal credit or child payments to the one in four Northern Irish children living in poverty.

SDLP politician Matthew OToole asked: Is this the right time for a stimulus? People are going to be using it on Black Friday and it is hard to see it having an added stimulus.

He thinks it a fascinating economic experiment, though. People will be doing PhDs on it for years.

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Northern Ireland is huge in TV, but post-Brexit reality is far less glitzy - The Guardian

The UK has been embroiled in a tense battle of wills with France over the growing number of attempts to cross the Channel onto British shores. The debate became embittered following the death of 27 people on Wednesday, with the two Governments now putting pressure on each other for immediate action to put an end to the crossings. Former Ambassador to the US Sir Kim Darroch said the debate showed Brexit resulted in the UK "losing control" over its borders despite Britons hoping to regain fuller control by leaving the European Union.

Sir Kim told LBC: "Let's remember that when we were in the EU, under the Dublin Convention, there were rules that allowed us to send migrants back to the EU country in which they first arrived.

"People will tell you they weren't much used, they were complicated, we only sent back a very handful of people.

"But we at least had that then. And with Brexit, which British people voted for so there we are, we don't have that anymore.

"So, in terms of taking back control, this is one area where we lost control."

JUST IN: 'Ireland never believed Brexit would happen!' ex-Irish ambassador lifts lid on EU row

The former diplomat also challenged Boris Johnson's tactics to pressure France into additional action to tackle the migrant crisis in the Channel.

The Prime Minister sparked the fury of Emmanuel Macron after he released a letter addressed to the French President in which he set out his demands on Twitter.

Sir Kim said: "It was designed to show to the domestic audience that the Prime Minister and Number 10 were gripping the issue and were putting some pressure on the French to do something.

"And implicitly signalling that basically, the fault is on the other side of the Channel."

READ MORE: France tells Patel she's 'no longer welcome' at migrant talks after 'unacceptable' letter

But despite the tension over the past few days, Home Office minister Damian Hinds insisted relations between France and the UK remain "strong."

Mr Hinds defended the Prime Minister's letter to President Macron as "exceptionally supportive and collaborative".

Mr Johnson called for joint UK-French patrols by border officials along French beaches to stop boats leaving, which Paris has long resisted.

Mr Johnson also called for talks to begin on a bilateral returns agreement, saying it could have "an immediate and significant impact" on attempts to cross the Channel after the UK left a European Union returns agreement with Brexit.

Read more from the original source:

'One area where we lost control' Brexit cost UK border sovereignty after EU alliance ended - Daily Express

Element 5 Digital via Unsplash

By RICHIE CHEVATFor Montclair Local

Well, we did it! We fixed education in Montclair. Congratulations all around.

With the new elected school board, we have definitely made our educational establishment more accountable? Responsive? How about elected? We can say for sure that the new school board will be much more elected than previous ones.

Feel better? Good, because thats about all we know. Like the people of the UK voting for Brexit, we took a firm stand that will result in who can say? When will the first elections take place? What will happen to the repairs desperately needed for the schools? How exactly is this new system going to improve, you know education?

It certainly sounds more democratic, which we all know is a good thing (well, most of us). But what this new system really does is establish the following qualifications for school board: Candidates will need 1) $20,000 to $30,000 to spend on an election campaign and 2) an axe to grind. Why the axe? Because why else are you going to spend $20,000 to $30,000 to win a seat on the Montclair school board?

Visit MontclairLocal.news/donations to make your tax-deductible contribution today, to keep Montclair Local strong and help us do even more to serve the amazing community of Montclair.

Funny thing about axes. They make you think of words like chop, cut, hack or maul. They have labels that read, Use in case of fire. Never in the whole history of axes has there been one with a label that read Use in case of guaranteeing quality education for all students.

If you dont think people have an axe to grind about education, perhaps I can introduce you to a little concept called Critical Race Theory. Or remind you of every argument weve ever had about education in this town. Theres always an axe to grind and its always called chop, cut or slash.

Across the country, right-wing nuts are mobilizing to storm school boards, take them over and promote insane conspiracy theories. But that would never happen in Montclair, would it? At least, not openly. School board candidates tend to have innocuous, generic slogans along the lines of Good Schools for a Good Montclair, or maybe Better Schools for a Better Montclair, or how about The Best Schools for a

Well, you get the idea.

And dont worry, it wont just be right-wing nut jobs trying to hijack our schools. There will be more than a few good liberals with self-identified brilliant, innovative ideas for improving schools while running them like a business and employing technology to disrupt old paradigms while reducing costs and boosting efficiencies. Or something like that. On top of that, now every single school improvement, like fixing the staircases, will have to go up for a town-wide vote. That sounds like a lot of fun.

It will be up to those of us who care about guaranteeing quality education for all, which we can only hope is more than the 30 percent of residents who have students in the public schools, to mobilize ourselves in every single election and decipher which of the generic-sounding slogans represents halfway decent candidates. Or, perhaps well run our own candidates you know, Superlative Schools for a Superlative Montclair? I mean how hard could it be? Plus, hardly anyone votes in local elections, so we should be able to on the other hand, it could be a lot harder than it seems.

On the other other hand, maybe the referendum didnt go far enough. One of the main things the school board does is select the superintendent, but that doesnt seem right, does it? To make things truly accountable and responsive we ought to elect the superintendent too, right? And what about principals? Elections for everybody!

Well, we seem to have covered everything. Wait! What about, you know, education? Every year the school board writes up a list of truly admirable goals for our schools and hands them to the (unelected!) superintendent to implement. And the superintendent does their best to make those goals a reality. For the most part, everyone involved seems to genuinely want to improve educational opportunities for our kids.

But this all happens in a constrained framework of what is possible. Lowering class size, raising teacher pay, adding learning specialists, universal Pre-K (which we used to have until it was cut by the axe-grinders) and a whole host of possible improvements are always off the table, for one simple reason: money. And to address that, wed have to consider things like, Should education be paid for by property taxes? and What responsibility do we have to address inequality? and How can schools truly guarantee quality education for all, which involves a lot of stuff beyond the control of our town, so lets not even get into it?

Instead, lets celebrate. We did it!

Richie Chevat is a writer, activist and Montclair resident for more than 30 years. Hes the author of the comic sci-fi novel Rate Me Red, the play Who Needs Men? and the young reader version of A Queer History of the United States, among other works. He can often be seen running errands around town on his bike.

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In Montclair, our very own Brexit (On The Other Hand) - Montclair Local

The Brexit minister met with his EU counterpartMaros Sefcovic this afternoon for face-to-face discussions on the Protocol. Talks have already been extended beyond the initial timetable proposed by the UK as both sides frantically try to avoid the suspension of the Brexit treaty via the legal mechanism of Article 16.

While it is understood some progress was made in some areas today, talks once again ended without results.

With Lord Frost warning he will not let discussions become unnecessarily lengthy, each meeting without a breakthrough pushes Britain closer to deploying the nuclear option.

Following today's meeting, the Brexit minister said: "European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and I met today in London to take stock of discussions on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

"We discussed the full range of issues causing difficulties in Northern Ireland.

READ MORE ON OUR BREXIT LIVE BLOG

A solution on the matter must be found within "weeks" if there is to be a solution that does not require Article 16 according to officials.

While there is some hope a long term fix will be found on medicines, the UK mood is more downbeat on other areas.

Despite constructive discussions, no significant progress has been made on easing the flow of goods to Northern Ireland across the Irish Sea.

The protocol effectively places Northern Ireland in the EU's single market for goods to help avoid a hard border with Ireland.

But this has led to checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, creating a barrier to trade within the UK.

Lord Frost wants Brussels to agree to scrap all checks on goods set to remain in Northern Ireland with little chance of leaking into the EU single market.

In a statement of his own following today's talks, Mr Sefcovic said there was the need for urgency to reach a solution, as time begins to run out.

He said: "A decisive push is needed to ensure predictability."

The two men will meet again next Friday for further discussions.

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Brexit talks on the brink as EU refuses to back down - countdown to Article 16 begins - Daily Express