Category Archives: Brexit

Reading Christopher Johns account of the working conditions of HGV drivers in the UK (Getting into Europe is a relief every time: an HGV driver reflects on UK crisis, 27 September), I was struck by the fact that I had no idea how bad they are. If we werent in the middle of a Brexit-induced driver shortage, I probably still wouldnt.

The exodus of European workers has created a vacuum in the form of a labour shortage. From that space, a national discussion that foregrounds both the voices and interests of working-class people has emerged. There have been lots of references to this as an unexpected or ironic benefit of Brexit. This is beyond patronising. British HGV drivers were a largely pro-Brexit demographic. Now, their wages are going up and drivers concerns are being represented in a newspaper as staunchly pro-remain as the Guardian. This is not an unexpected consequence. This is them getting what they voted for.

Of course, this could have been achieved without such a damaging act of national sabotage as Brexit. But this is beside the point. The point is that it wouldnt have been. I think lots of leave voters intuited that the chaos caused by Brexit would force a shift in the political landscape, one that ended the chronic underrepresentation of their interests. Those of us who assumed that working-class leave voters didnt understand what they were doing owe them an apology. Jonny Marsh Sutton, London

Amid the labour shortages in haulage and agriculture, food supply and other sectors, its worth noting that Brexiters dont seem to have realised that by cutting off freedom of movement, they have at a stroke cut off a large and flexible reserve pool of workers in many sectors, not forgetting the NHS and care sector.

This was like an overdraft facility, allowing fluctuations in worker availability to be spread across the EU. We now find our cheques for UK haulier and agricultural workers are bouncing, with no overdraft reserve to tide us over the peak demand. By boxing ourselves into a corner with the Conservatives red lines, we now find that we are frequently hitting the limits, and demand cannot be met solely from UK workers. Mike Whittaker Stapleton, Shropshire

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Heeding working-class voices on Brexit and labour shortages - The Guardian

The number is unlikely to increase over coming months as energy prices soar, shelves stay half-empty and there arent enough lorry drivers to deliver the Christmas presents.

While the extent to which Brexit is responsible for these misfortunes is open to debate, public opinion tends to like short-hand explanations. So Brexit will get at least its fair share of blame.

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This does not translate fully into how people would vote if there was a re-run. The Statista site which tracks that question found in mid-September that 47 per cent would vote to stay in the EU, 40 per cent for Brexit with 13 per cent undecided.

It is a hypothetical exercise since that is not how referendums work. To the victors the spoils and a majority of one, no matter how achieved, means the die is cast for ever and a day. At least, thats what we are encouraged to assume.

I wonder if it will look quite like that in three or four years time? By then, the Brexit report card will be much fuller. The difficulties may have proven to be short-term. Some of the claimed benefits may have emerged. The shelves may be full, with HGV drivers aplenty.

But if none of that happens, the next General Election will not be fought with Brexit as a given. The public mood will demand an alternative and Labour would be crazy not to offer it; probably not a full re-joining but certainly substantial renegotiation a position they are already edging towards.

There are lessons for Scotland in all of this and they are not necessarily the ones nationalists want to hear. Beating an anti-Brexit drum serves them well for the present and, on the surface, it seems logical that the more people turn against it, the more the separatist alternative will prosper. Its not that simple, however.

The reality is that independence inside the EU is not within their gift to offer; nor is it likely to be, in three years time or in 30. Under any scrutiny, the falseness of that enticement becomes transparent. Running as a party that wants to break up the UK in order to join the EU becomes just another con trick.

The promise to resolve one constitutional mess by creating an even bigger one is unlikely to have lasting appeal. By comparison, the prospect of a UK government that seeks a relationship with Europe based on a very different mindset to the one that motivated Brexit might seem an attractive offer.

The bigger lesson with certain relevance to Scotland involves the folly of referendums as a means of determining anything of lasting constitutional importance, particularly where there is absolutely no prior evidence of a consistent majority demanding irrevocable change.

When opinion is divided fairly evenly, the winner takes all nature of referendums makes them natural territory for the most dishonest people in politics, for whom the end will always justify the means, with no possibility of redress. If they lose, they just start all over again.

We rightly recall the lies of the pro-Brexit campaign about billions flowing to the NHS. Equally, let it never be forgotten, we saw it in the 2014 Scottish referendum with the utterly mendacious claim that the likely average price of oil was $112 a barrel a figure not subsequently come anywhere close to, even now.

Just as the public mood is swinging against Brexit with no way back, so if 2014 had gone the other way, there would have been years of bitter recrimination and repenting at leisure as truths about economy, currency, borders and all the rest of it emerged; with no opportunity for collective second thoughts.

A referendum where there is no clear majority demand for one is not a test of democratic opinion so much as a spasm which favours the most unscrupulous forces. That is a truth that does not just apply to Brexit and one from which the fate of Scotland is certainly not exempt.

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Scottish independence or Brexit, the lies of 2014 and 2016 should make us wary of referendums with no way back Brian Wilson - The Scotsman

Those expecting a character assassination of Mrs. Thatcher are in for a surprise; the work is more detached than its playwrights politics might suggest. Though he is an unapologetic Remainer, it is the Euroskeptic Mrs. Thatcher who emerges as not just the dominant figure but, surprisingly perhaps, the nicer one too.

Mr. McManus said he wanted to dissipate some of the polarization provoked by Brexit.But perhaps he is just generous by nature he also has nice things to say about the current prime minister, albeit in a backhanded way. Mr. Johnson has a remarkable skill set, he said, Youve got to admire his techniques; I work in theater now so have an eye for techniques and winning over an audience.

As for Mr. Heath, Mr. McManus puts a similarly positive gloss on things, talking airily about his affection for his former boss until reminded of his own words in the plays program notes.

Mr. Heath was chilly and imperious, solipsistic and unappreciative, a man who nursed grudges and pass ideas, and not someone he ever much liked, the playwright wrote.

Umm, yes, a little waspish by my usual standards, Mr. McManus allowed, sipping his beer and adding with a laugh, its a bit hard to come back from that.

Though Mr. Heath was charm personified while wooing Mr. McManus for the job of political secretary, the frost set in once he accepted. In 2000, after Mr. McManus announced he would run for Parliament in the following years general election, he lost his job with Mr. Heath, promptly and peremptorily. He decided when I was on holiday that he was going to get rid of me, he said.

Mr. McManus fell short in that election and never again managed to be selected as a candidate, the first step to running for office under the British system. But several career paths beckoned; he subsequently worked as a consultant, a journalist and as the director of a media watchdog. He also wrote several books, including one about Mr. Heath. Another, Tory Pride and Prejudice, chronicled a transformation in the Conservative Partys attitude to gay rights.

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Profile: Playwright Takes On Margaret Thatcher and Brexit - The New York Times

Hundreds of anti-Brexit protesters rallied together in Manchester this afternoon, demanding to "rejoin the EU". However, scenes of the sparsely-populated pro-European Uniondemonstration were met with ridicule, with one viewer joking that "there must at least a million there". The protest took place against the backdrop of the annual Conservative Party conference, which starts tomorrow.

Speakers at the rally included prominent Remain campaigner Femi Oluwole.

Protestors at the rally blamed the ongoing fuel shortages across the UK on the lack of HGV drivers following Brexit.

Empty fuel pumps have prompted long lines at petrol stations and panic across the country over the last week.

The chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) even suggested fuel shortages are getting worse in some parts of the country, including London and the southeast.

At the same time, negotiations between Downing Street and Brussels remain deadlocked over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

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A spokesperson from the Rejoin EU group said: The Tories ruinous Brexit deal is trashing the country.

"Peace in Northern Ireland is threatened, there are shortages in the shops and crops rotting in the fields.

"Small businesses are being crushed by Brexit red tape, whole industries are threatened, some are trashed. Its time to say loud and clear, Brexit is not working.

Supporters of EU membership like user @SteveM0365 tweeted: "Now begins the long, inevitable journey towards realignment with the EU."

However, the rally also provoked bemusement among Brexiteers online, as one @bemusedcentrist tweeted: "Seems like it working perfectly to me.

"How much more pay is being offered to HGV drivers now?"

@TheHangedMan18 joked: "I reckon there must be at least a million people there."

This comes amid a renewed pushback against the decision to leave the EU in the wake of the ongoing shortages.

Earlier today, Labour MP Diane Abbott tweeted that the supply chain crisis and fuel shortages are the "economic consequences of Brexit".

Olaf Scholz, who is favourite to become the next German chancellor, also blamed Brexit for the shortage of lorry drivers in the UK, the fuel crisis and empty supermarket shelves.

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'Rejoin the EU' protest faces ridicule amid footage of sparsely-attended anti-Brexit rally - Express

The UK started the first official round of talks on Tuesday to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, has said Brexit has enabled the UK to tear down trade barriers and strike deals with emerging economies outside the European Union.

The former Treasury official has said the CPTPP will enable Britain to form partnerships with some of the worlds largest economies.

Mr Jessop toldExpress.co.uk: One of the major benefits of Brexit is the opportunity to lower barriers to trade with faster-growing economies outside the EU.

This can be done unilaterally, or by signing new deals with individual countries such as Australia, or by joining existing trade agreements like the Asia-Pacific pact.

All these options will help to boost trade, but the benefits of signing up to the CPTPP could be relatively large, given the number and size of the economies involved.

The CPTPP is made up of 11-nations which had a combined GDP of 9trillion in 2019.

The UK is in the process of entering the pact and would provide a 1.8billion injection to the UK economy, according to Government estimates.

The trade alliance removes 95 percent of tariffs between its members, Japan, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Brunei, Chile and Malaysia.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who succeed Liz Truss during the recent Cabinet reshuffle, led the virtual talks this week.

READ MORE:Brexit to 'devastate' UK fishing as report reveals 300m loss

Ms Trevelyan said: "This is a big milestone on our path to joining CPTPP, which will allow us to forge stronger links both with old friends and some of the world's fastest-growing economies.

"Joining this high-standards partnership will provide real opportunities for UK exporters and service providers and help our innovators open up new, diverse markets.

"Seizing opportunities like this is exactly what Global Britain is about and will help bring high-quality jobs and prosperity to every region of our country."

Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt travelled to South America this week to showcase Global Britain.

On her official visit, she met with Chiles Minister of Agriculture Maria Emilia Undurraga, and her Peruvian counterpart Roberto Snchez.

Ahead of the trip, Ms Mordaunt said: Chile and Peru are important strategic trade partners for the UK, and I will be using the visit to explore deeper trade and investment ties with both countries.

As we kick off negotiations to join CPTPP, there is no better time for British businesses to take advantage of the growing export opportunities in this dynamic part of the world.

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Brexit Britain ready to reap large benefits of 9trillion trading bloc - Daily Express

The Prime Minister visited the White House in September and held discussions with Joe Biden over a free trade agreement.Mr Johnson suffered a setback after he was told the US was not focusing on striking deals at this present time.

Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, has acknowledged there is little appetite in Washington for a wider Brexit deal, but insisted there could be an opportunity to strike mini-deals.

During his trip across the Atlantic, the Prime Minister also refused to commit to whether a trade deal could be finalised with the US before the next general election, which is set to take place in 2024.

But the independent economist was not concerned by the timeline and insisted any agreement would be completed quicker than if the UK was still a member of the European Union.

Mr Jessop toldExpress.co.uk: The US appears to be in no hurry to do a major trade deal with the UK.

However, it should still be possible to do a series of mini-deals in less sensitive sectors.

The EU is also notoriously slow at doing trade deals itself, and these are unlikely to prioritise the interests of the UK.

So even it takes a while longer than hoped for the UK to do a deal with the US, it is still likely to be a quicker and better than the UK could get as a member of the EU.

READ MORE:Brexit to 'devastate' UK fishing as report reveals 300m loss

British beef produce are back on the menu in the States after a ban was put in place in 1996 following an outbreak of Mad Cow Disease

Ministers said the US market will be worth 66million to the UK over five years.

The Prime Minister said: I can tell you today that what we're going to get from the United States now is a lifting of the decades-old ban, totally unjustified, discriminating on British farmers and British lamb.

"It's about time too. And what we're wanting to do is make solid incremental steps in trade.

"The Biden administration is not doing free trade deals around the world right now but I've got absolutely every confidence that a great deal is there to be done.

"And there are plenty of people in that building behind me who certainly want a deal."

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Boris Johnson given renewed hope of Brexit trade deal with US - Daily Express

Five candidates are competing to lead the governments new Brexit Opportunities Unit, but the Cabinet Office declined to say how many minority ethnic candidates have been included in the shortlist, it has been revealed.

The shortlist comes after a total of 76 people have applied for the role but the government declined to reveal how diverse their top five are, citing data protection laws, Financial News has revealed.

The new department will help Brexit minister David Frost to find benefits from leaving the European Union, and its new leader will be paid up to 120,000 per year from taxpayers money.

The successful candidate will oversee the development of the governments strategy for regulatory change, while driving forward policy development on new opportunities across Whitehall, according to the governments job posting.

It added the candidate will engage effectively with ministers, including the prime minister, to make sure that they are given succinct and clear advice on a variety of policies and will contribute to a convincing public narrative on successful delivery of the benefits of Brexit.

Last month, Brexit minister David Frost said the UK is embarked on a great voyage as he highlighted changes the government intends to make outside the EU.

Frost said the government intends to create a pro-growth trusted data rights regime which would replace the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

He claimed the new regime would be more proportionate and less burdensome.

Frost also said the government intends to review EUs approach to genetically modified organisms, which the UK government thinks is too restrictive and not based on sound science and is thus set to reform it.

Brexit is now a fact. This country is now embarked on a great voyage, Frost said.

He added: We each have the opportunity to make this new journey a success. To make us as a country more contented, more prosperous, more united and I hope everyone will join us in doing so.

But upon Baroness Wheatcroft asking Frost at what cost the Brexit freedom praised by the government has been bought for, Frost said he did not think it was bought at any cost.

He immediately added: I dont make any apologies for standing up for freedom, for free enterprise and freedom to think and debate things.

I think it is axiomatic that free debate, free enterprise, free economies and the ability to change your government will always benefit the countries that have those things.

But a Goldman study published in 2019 suggested Brexit costs the UK 600m per week, a much bigger sum than the 350m a week sum which the Leave campaign promised for the NHS before the Brexit vote, claiming it was money sent by the UK to the EU.

Related: Brexit minister says the UK is embarked on a great voyage

UK-EU relations worsen following Brexit ministers comments

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Five candidates fight for 120k government role at Brexit Opportunities Unit - The London Economic

The party announced last week that they had held a good first round of talks with the Liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and plan to meet them again as they look to draw up a coalition. This comes after the Social Democrats (SPD) won the election by a narrow margin, and they are now seeking partners to form a majority with.

Lisa Badum, a Greens member of the Bundestag since 2017, toldExpress.co.ukthat she hopes to enter collaborative talks with the UK to facilitate international cooperation on climate change when powers will meet at COP26, the climate summit that will be held in Glasgow in November.

She said: We have to work together and the UK is hosting the COP this year so there will be a lot of discussion about the UKs approach to energy politics and travel politics.

I appreciate the proposal also to end fossil cars earlier which is one of the targets of the UK, which has a target of 2030 and I really support that.

Ms Badum also praised the UKs ambitious climate goals, particularly the UKs plan to completely phase out coal from 1 October 2024.

She said: I think its a great step for the UK, it is very important to block coal.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan announced the move back in June 2021 that is part of a wider plan to phase out fossil fuels and decarbonise the power sector to help Britain reach net zero carbon emissions by their 2050 target.

Ms Trevelyan said: Coal powered the industrial revolution 200 years ago, but now is the time for radical action to completely eliminate this dirty fuel from our energy system.

But Germanys deadline set by current Chancellor Angela Merkel to eliminate coal from its power system is far less ambitious than the UKs target.

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German Greens vow to strike fresh relations with Brexit Britain as they edge towards power - Daily Express

The bloc-wide scheme commits all participating nations to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing state once a warrant has been issued. However, Jayne Adye, director of the pro-Brexit campaign group Get Britain Out, said the UK's decision to remain a signatory came with a heavy price - because under the requirements of the EAW, any EU prosecutor can order a UK judge to have anyone in Britain arrested and extradited for lengthy detention in the country where a crime is alleged to have been committed - with little or no evidence being revealed, often for many months or years.

She explained: If a country allows a foreign authority to target anyone on its territory - and have them forcibly transported to a prison outside its national jurisdiction, with no questions asked - then that country is not an independent sovereign state, but a colony.

The European Arrest Warrant paves the way for a direct threat to UK sovereignty as an independent nation, with our judges and legal system treated as a doormat, to be walked all over by foreign courts.

If we have really Taken Back Control then this should not be the case.

It was not a question of ending cooperation between legal authorities, but rather of protecting the rights of UK citizens who ran the risk of being unreasonably extradited for detention outside of the UK, based on minimal evidence, Ms Adye stressed.

She added: If serious crimes have been committed and evidence can be provided, then there should be no reason why traditional extradition orders cannot be used.

Referring to events in 2018, Ms Adye said: We have already seen the European Arrest Warrant used to send political messages within the EU, following the arrest of the former President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont on charges of sedition, in his attempts to hold a referendum on the independence of the region from Spain.

JUST IN:France asks EU to hit UK with tariffs over Brexit fishing war

The European Arrest Warrant is a prime example of an area where there is an excellent opportunity to deliver meaningful changes which will back up the Governments promises to Get Brexit Done.

She further pointed out that Mr Raab had direct experience of the issues created by the EAW with a constituent of his - Colin Dines, a retired Judge - being arrested by British Police acting on a European Arrest Warrant.

She added: Mr Dines faced months of imprisonment abroad on flimsy evidence in a case against him which eventually collapsed he only avoided extradition because of a heart condition which worsened at the time.

Mr Raab campaigned firmly against the EAW and the extradition back in 2010 and in the years which have followed, saying the case stuck not only in my memory, but in my throat.

Indeed, Mr Raab felt sufficiently strongly on the issue to pen an op-ed for the Mail on Sunday four years after that headlined: UK must opt out of this Kafkaesque web of injustice.

Ms Adye said: So, will he now do something to bring about change to make sure no other UK citizen faces the same threat?

Or were his earlier words all just hot air?

"How is it any UK Government is willing to allow a foreign court the right to summon and detain its own citizens, with minimal legal protections or safeguards?

We see the USA oppose signing up to foreign courts for this very reason, and they are exactly right to do so.

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Brexit fury as Boris' deal an 'insult to UK sovereignty' - Britain at mercy of EU courts - Daily Express

Greg Wise returns to screens tonight alongside dance partner Karen Hauer in BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing at 6:45pm.This week the pressure mounts on the celebrity contestants as viewers are given the chance to vote for their favourite couples for the first time. After the results are announced this evening, one pairing will become the first duo eliminated from the 2021 season of Strictly.

Last week Mr Wise, who is famous for playing Lord Louis Mountbatten in The Crown and John Willoughby in 1995 film Sense and Sensibility, danced the American Smooth to Frank Sinatras Thats Life.

Mr Wise and Ms Thompson met on the set of Sense and Sensibility and married in 2003.

The couple have long been ardent and vocal Remainers while they moved to Venice in February 2020 in a decision reportedly spurred on by Brexit.

They bought a house in the Italian city and reportedly took on extensive Italian lessons before the move.

Speaking in Italian upon signing the formal documents to become an Italian citizen Ms Thompson said it was the realisation of a dream she had cherished for years.

Deputy mayor Simone Venturini added: They wanted to be resident citizens to come and live in Venice.

They bought in the historic centre, not a second home.

"We are truly happy and proud to have Emma Thompson and Greg Wise as our fellow citizens, for what they represent and for the love they show for Venice.

However, they left Italy due to coronavirus and went to isolate with family on the bank of Loch Eck in Argyll, Scotland.

Italy was one of the worst affected European countries at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Thompson told the BBC she was speaking from her "mum's place" in Scotland, and stressed her connection to the holiday home.

She said: Ive played on its banks, picnicked on its beaches, swum in its chilly, unsalted depths, cycled round it, drunk it, kissed in boats on it, married near it, never wearied it.

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The Love Actually actress claimed in February 2016 that Brexit was madness and that she would vote Remain.

While speaking at the Berlin International Film Festival Ms Thompson described Britain as: A tiny little cloud-bolted, rainy corner of sort-of Europe, a cake-filled misery-laden grey old island.

She added: I feel European even though I live in Great Britain and in Scotland.

So of course Im going to vote to stay in Europe oh my God, it would be madness not to.

It would be a crazy idea not to.

We should be taking down borders, not putting them up.

Ms Thompsons husband Mr Wise, is also a vocal Remainer, yet in the build up to the 2016 referendum, accused both sides of scaremongering.

He added, in an interview with Press Association: Weve got huge problems in our country and I don't think the EU is one of them, I really don't.

Upon being announced on the 19th series of Strictly Mr Wise paid an emotional tribute to his late sister, Clare Wise who died from cancer in 2016.

He said: My beautiful sister was a huge disco queen.

She left our world almost exactly five years ago in a glitter ball coffin this is for her.

My gorgeous Diva sis, who would have been insane with excitement that her little bro was doing this.

Watch Strictly Come Dancing at 6:45pm on BBC One.

Originally posted here:

Emma Thompson and Greg Wise's short-lived EU dream after Brexit: Back at 'mum's place' - Daily Express