Category Archives: Brexit

Six months after the end of his mandate as chief Brexit negotiator for the European Union, Michel Barnier sat down with Euronews for an in-depth interview.

The Frenchman has just published his diary written during the grueling 1600 day diplomatic tussle between the Bloc and the UK.

The former minister under Nicolas Sarkozy commended several who sat on the opposite side of the table during the negotiations. For others, he was not so candid with his opinion.

I prefer to say that still have a lot of respect for Olly Robbins who was Mrs. May's European advisor. I have a lot of esteem for Theresa May who was courageous, tenacious. I prefer to stop at that concerning the portraits I draw.

Certain cracks have begun to show with Brexit, especially in regards to the Northern Ireland protocol and frictions around fisheries.

The former Commissioner calls on Europeans to remain vigilant of the danger of London to change fiscal, social or environmental standards to regain a competitive advantage over the Old Continent.

I have confidence that this great country will keep to its word, even if there are intentions that I find difficult to understand. Because if you put things in perspective the most important thing for the British is to keep a huge neighbouring market of 450 million consumers. If the value of their signature was called into question I think it would have a serious impact on the confidence we need.

Barnier has returned to the French political scene and hasnt ruled out standing in the next years presidential elections.

Michel Barnier's interview will be broadcast this Monday evening on Euronews and Euronews.com.

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Michel Barnier: Britain needs to respect the Brexit deal in order to maintain its image - Euronews

Angela Merkel, now on an affable UK farewell tour including tea with the Queen, leaves a paradoxical legacy for many British.

She is often hailed as the upholder of a liberal Europe that faced a populist onslaught from Donald Trump. But she is also the woman who refused to throw David Cameron a lifeline on immigration ahead of the Brexit referendum, judging it not in the national interest. But for Merkels stance then, her jocular host now might not have been Boris Johnson, who leaves her cold, but an ageing Cameron in his 11th year in office.

Cameron liked her, describing the east German as an Anglophile who admired British science and democracy from the wrong side of the Berlin Wall. She was the best-briefed person in the room, he recalled, capable of working out in advance other peoples negotiating needs and strategies.

Not that Cameron in his autobiography begrudges Merkels unwillingness to concede more on the free movement of EU workers. He largely blames himself in not selling a deal that could have given the UK a comfortable future in the EU.

Sir Paul Lever, the former British ambassador to Berlin in the six years to 2003, said Berlin weighed the odds of Britains importance to the EU, and the euro: Berlins judgement of the price the EU should pay to keep the UK in the EU reflected their assessment of the value of continued British membership.

That does not mean there was no emotional side to Germanys attachment to British membership of the EU, not least as a free-trading, liberal counterweight to Frances more protectionist tendencies. Asked how Germany would react if the UK left the EU, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schuble, replied: We will cry.

As a woman of famously pragmatic temperament, one suspects Merkel dabbed her eyes relatively quickly after the referendum result before asking: Whats next?

Indeed, within a year, Merkel gave the go-ahead for her diplomats to start negotiating a bilateral agreement with the UK on continued cooperation with Germany on defence and foreign policy. That joint declaration got shelved during the bitter Brexit talks, and if relations had truly soured over the Northern Ireland protocol or vaccine nationalism, it might have died completely.

But the current German ambassador to London, Andreas Michaelis, has been an assiduous advocate of greater cooperation and helped revive the initiative, leading to its publication this week.

Much of it is non-controversial, but it was striking that London and Berlin could find consensual words on Nato, Iran, the Indo-Pacific, future relations with Putin, and the balance between the pursuit of trade and human rights. Both cabinets will now meet once a year, giving a focal point for ministers to think about the relationship.

Johnson even signed up to an affirmation of European unity, something the Germans prize, since they do not want bilateral cooperation with the UK to be seen as a way for the UK to weaken EU foreign policy, or make smaller EU states feel sidelined.

But Merkel will be gone by the end of September, leaving a hole in European politics. The 90-minute foreign policy debate between the candidates to be her successor hosted last week by the Munich Security Conference showed how Brexit is part of the past. The European issue gripping German politicians is relations with Joe Biden and Hungarys Viktor Orbn, not Britain. True, if the Greens make it into government, perhaps via a traffic light coalition, there will be a sharper edge to German foreign policy on arms exports, human rights and relations with autocratic powers. But it is the German-French motor that will drive Europe from now on. The UK has chosen a detachable sidecar.

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After Brexit, Merkel probably dabbed her eyes and moved on - The Guardian

London Thousands of vulnerable EU citizens in the U.K. could lose their basic rights to live and work here if they fail to apply for a special residency status by Thursday morning. The elderly and children under state care are among the people advocates fear may have difficulty applying for the program, which was necessitated by Britain's "Brexit" from the European Union.

With the U.K. now firmly out of the EU, European citizens must apply for the special status to continue legally living and working in Britain, regardless of how long they've been in the country.

While the application process, which can be done online or through a cellphone app, has been straightforward for some, it's been nightmarish for others.

"The stress levels in our household are unbelievable. All this on top of the pandemic and related issues is making both of us ill," Liz, a 68-year-old German who's lived in the U.K. for 44 years, told Sky News.

She recently discovered that her passport had expired, but she was unable to renew it due to delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. That meant she was unable to apply for "settled status" online.

Liz said she was unable to get through to anyone on the government's dedicated help line. She eventually got advice from a nonprofit group, which told her she could request a 39-page paper application, and was able to apply before the Wednesday night deadline. She said the process made her feel "threatened and distressed."

"I left Germany when I was 24 years old. I have made England my home I could understand if I had a criminal record, but I've not put a foot wrong, I'm a decent person," she told Sky News.

Humanitarian groups have worked for months to help vulnerable people sign up for the program, but it is estimated that tens if not hundreds of thousands of Europeans living in the U.K. have yet to do so. From Thursday, they will no longer have the right under British law to work, rent a home, or access health care in the U.K.

The government has said it will be pragmatic and flexible when it comes to people who apply late. But until those individuals receive decisions on their cases, which could take months or even years, they'll be in limbo, living without any rights in the country many of them have called home for years.

"That's it. They're stuck. That's a gateway to destitution. It's that serious," Luke Piper, head of policy and advocacy for "The 3Million," a group that advocates for EU citizens living in the U.K., told CBS News. "The government is favoring its border control policies over the welfare of people who are eligible to stay in this country, as I see it. And as they're being 'flexible and pragmatic' on certain things, they're not being flexible and pragmatic on the serious stuff."

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Brexit could leave thousands without basic rights in U.K. this week - CBS News

Talks to secure City of London access to the EU have stalled, Rishi Sunak has confirmed in his first Mansion House speech to financiers, as he set out sweeping reforms designed to help Britains finance industry embrace global opportunities after Brexit.

Addressing a hand-picked gathering of 40 young financial workers at a slimmed-down version of what was, in the days before the pandemic, a landmark annual gathering, the chancellor said a deal on a comprehensive post-Brexit financial services settlement with the EU had not happened.

Now, we are moving forward, continuing to cooperate on questions of global finance, but each as a sovereign jurisdiction with our own priorities, he said.

Sunak said Britain would diverge from Brussels rules on financial services as he set out a vision for the City.

Suggesting the UK would pivot away from Europe, he said he would build instead on deals such as a partnership on financial services signed with Singapore earlier this week with plans to grow business in the Indo-Pacific, the US and China.

He also issued a message to Beijing, however, that deeper economic ties would not come at the expense of Britain abandoning its principles.

The annual Mansion House dinner, normally a lavish black tie event at which the Citys leading lights mingle with the ministers of the day, was replaced this year with a low-key breakfast livestreamed on the Treasurys Twitter account. The gathering was Sunaks first as chancellor, after the cancellation of last years dinner.

Speaking from inside the lord mayors residence at Mansion House, said Britain now had the freedom to do things differently and better, and we intend to use it fully.

While his predecessors would have stood over banqueting tables laden with wine and port in the buildings neoclassical Egyptian Hall, the teetotal chancellor gave his address at a lectern with a glass of water.

He said a more nuanced relationship was needed while attempting to benefit from the nations fast-growing financial services market with assets worth more than 40tn.

Former chancellors have used the event to court Chinese business. Sunak sounded a more cautious note, but while dismissing Tory MPs who want to reduce ties with Beijing, he stressed Britain needed a mature and balanced relationship.

That means being eyes wide open about their increasing international influence and continuing to take a principled stand on issues we judge to contravene our values, he said. After all, principles only matter if they extend beyond our convenience.

He also set out a roadmap for financial sector reforms he said would boost Britains competitiveness after Brexit, but said the UK would continue to cooperate with Brussels and set high industry standards.

Experts have warned that splitting away from EU rules could make it harder for City firms to do business with continental clients.

It comes amid concerns in government over a gradual leaching away of finance business to EU financial centres such as Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin, after Brexit ended unfettered access to the single market for global banks based in London.

Amsterdam overtook London as Europes largest share trading centre earlier this year, in a symbolic blow to Britains status as the most important regional hub for international finance.

Government efforts had focused on securing equivalence for UK finance industry regulations as part of talks with Brussels, in which the two sides recognise each others rules as equivalent to their own.

Centred on access for UK-based clearing houses financial market infrastructure providers which sit in-between banks trading activities Sunak said there was no reason of substance why they should not continue to serve EU clients.

The EU will never have cause to deny the UK access because of poor regulatory standards, he said.

It is understood, however, that talks between London and Brussels have stalled, with the chancellor believing the ball is in the European Commissions court to advance the negotiations, and that the time is right to move forwards with sweeping post-Brexit reforms.

As part of a pledge to maintain the Citys competitive position after leaving the EU, the Treasury launched consultations on reforms to the insurance industry, the regulation of wholesale capital markets and rules for listing companies on the London Stock Exchange. He also promised that tax rates on banking profits should not rise significantly from current levels.

The chancellor also confirmed the government would sell green bonds to British consumers, aiming to make the UK the best place in the world for green finance. The Treasury plans to sell 15bn of government bonds, as well as offer savings bonds to consumers through NS&I.

This article was amended on 2 July 2021, to change leeching away of finance business to leaching away.

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Post-Brexit talks on City access to EU have stalled, Sunak reveals - The Guardian

School skiing trips that rely on British personnel to staff their EU winter camps could be wiped out by Brexit after it emerged they are facing the same obstacles as the music and theatre sectors.

Just like rock bands and music artists, instructors who work on the slopes of France, Italy or elsewhere in the EU are now required to have visas if they work in Europe, even if it is for just one week at a time.

Pre-pandemic, Robert McIntosh, managing director of Interski, took 250 groups a year involving 10,000 to 12,000 children to Aosta in Italy.

Now he does not know if he can survive, with visas for up to 600 instructors costing 300 per visit. Typically, ski schools would hire instructors for one, two or three weeks at a time to mirror the school peaks in the December holiday and February half-term.

But he is also unsure how he will be able to continue to employ the 40 to 50 staff he brings to Italy for the entire season.

I am facing a battle on two fronts. Brexit throws uncertainty into everything. The increase in costs because of the visas will be in the region of 100%. You dont have to be an economist to know that is not going to be viable, he said.

It is a disaster and there is almost nothing said by the government, they have not provided us with any information on how we work this.

His warning came two years after ski industry businesses warned of the loss of 25,000 jobs if they could not hire British staff at ski resorts and chalet villages after Brexit.

Lincolnshire-based ski instructor Nick Orgles, who has worked with school trips for the past 20 years, said: Since Brexit, we have all lost our jobs, our passion. The UK government has put nothing in place to allow us to continue to work in the EU.

I would normally be going down three, four or five times a year to teach students to ski in the valley. I now cant do that.

He says his experience is the tip of the iceberg and the same visa requirements will hit other sport instructors in sectors including sailing and climbing.

And it echoes the concerns of musicians furious that the government did not strike a visa-free deal with the EU for creatives.

Last week Sir Elton John said he was livid with the government, warning that the UK music industry could lose a generation of talent because of post-Brexit restrictions on touring.

Not all school skiing trips have been hit though. Hugues Raulet, who runs Halsbury Travel in Nottingham, said the only issue he is anticipating is delays at the border.

This is because his company employs local staff who do not need work visas.

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UK school skiing trips to EU could be wiped out by Brexit visa rules - The Guardian

Jul 3rd 2021

DURING BRITAINS multi-year negotiations to leave the European Union, fights over matters weighty (the status of Northern Ireland) and minor (fishing rights and roaming charges) were never far from the headlines. But for the technocrats in Brussels, among the most concerning issues was one that barely resonated with voters: state aid. Would post-Brexit Britain seek to subsidise its domestic firms in order to help them compete with European rivals, and if so, how? On June 30th, six months after the end of the Brexit transition period, Britain finally gave the Eurocrats their answer. Its plans mark a radical break with the past.

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Restrictions on state aid are essential to the functioning of the EUs single market. They ensure that governments do not use public money to grant their domestic companies unfair advantage over others within the trade bloc. But the rules are inflexible. Any policy with the potential to distort markets is banned unless expressly covered by a so-called block exemption, for example for infrastructure or environmental projects, or unless permission has been granted by the European Commission.

Under the new British system, by contrast, subsidies will be permitted as long as they follow general principles about value for money, do not prop up failing firms and are not designed simply to move jobs from one part of the United Kingdom to another. A new unit at the Competition and Markets Authority, an official watchdog, will offer advice on state aid to central government, and to the devolved Scottish and Welsh administrations and local authorities. But it will not have the final say over whether a subsidy is granted.

Brexit presented Britain with an opportunity to tailor a state-aid system to its needs. But that very opportunity also created a headache for the government. Many Conservative ministers wanted to be free of rules they regarded as overly restrictive, and of the red tape involved in ensuring compliance. On the partys free-market wing, however, some worried that ditching EU rules might enable a return to the dirigisme of the 1970s, when taxpayer cash was splashed freely and governments believed they were clever enough to pick winners.

Whether such fears are justified will take time to become apparent. It is local authorities for which the new rules mark the biggest change, but after a decade of budget cuts, they are in no position to ramp up spending on local firms, even if it would offer a decent return.

Deciding whether a scheme is effective, rather than whether it complies with European law, will require public authorities and ministers to think more carefully. As they consider how to create schemes for incubating new businesses, retraining workers and the like, there should be greater scope for innovation and policy competition between them, says James Webber, a competition lawyer at Shearman & Sterling, a global law firm. The new system might force more candour on politicians too, he adds. Ministers will have to explain why they dont want to spend money, instead of blaming the EU.

Freeing Britains economy from the constraints of the single market is among the biggest benefits its government spies in Brexit. But under the new system, preserving the British single market will bring its own problems. The trouble will come when one of the devolved governments seeks to subsidise a local company, and Whitehall decides to challenge it. EU rules were certainly restrictive, but at least they were clear. And Brussels did the nasty business of saying no.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Helping handout"

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Post-Brexit, state aid will be more flexible and less bureaucratic - The Economist

The UK and Germany have agreed a 20-point post-Brexit joint declaration of cooperation affirming their commitment to the strategic unity of Europe.

The initiative, which has been under preparation for some time, comes before Fridays visit to the UK by the outgoing German chancellor, Angela Merkel, during which she will meet the prime minister and the Queen.

The agreement, released coincidentally the day after England had dumped Germany out of the European football championships, reflects Germanys strong desire to maintain close relations with the UK despite its disappointment at Brexit. The two sides have agreed to set up a new strategic dialogue that will involve the foreign ministers and political directors from both countries meeting once a year for a specific bilateral summit.

It is probably the first of three bilateral agreements that the UK intends to seal with its largest European partners, which also include France and Italy.

The joint declaration, inevitably a crafted compromise on the two countries stances, shows that the UK does not wish to cut itself off from its main European partners on defence and foreign policy, even though it has firmly refused to negotiate a collective foreign and defence cooperation agreement with the European Union. There is also pressure from Washington for the UK not to become a force for disruption inside the EU through arguments with Brussels over trade or defence policy.

Germany for its part will hope the deal can form a building block towards securing stronger defence and foreign policy cooperation in the longer term. It contains a commitment that it will maintain full transparency with the EU about its relations with the UK.

The overall theme of the document is that the two countries will work together as key defenders of the multilateral rules-based system.

On defence, the declaration states: Nato is the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security. It remains the bedrock of our collective defence. We recognise the importance of a stronger and more capable European contribution to this. We remain jointly committed to Nato-EU cooperation.

The statement also reflects Angela Merkels support for reopening a robust dialogue with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, an idea that was rejected collectively by the EU last week. The declaration contains strong words of warning about Russian malign intentions, but adds: We are committed to conducting constructive dialogue with Russia through appropriate channels in order to make clear our expectations and to discuss our ideas for concrete solutions.

On China and the Indo-Pacific, the document recognises the growing influence of China, but promises to hold China to its international commitments, including on human rights. Other areas of cooperation listed include Turkey, Ukraine and Africa.

The Foreign Office also states in the declaration that it supports Germanys application to become a permanent member of the currently five-strong UN security council. British support for a longstanding German demand hardly requires the UK to expend great diplomatic capital, but is seen as important in Berlin.

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UK and Germany sign post-Brexit defence and foreign policy declaration - The Guardian

British nationals in France are being urged to apply for post-Brexit residency permits before midnight amid confusion and conflicting messages over whether or not a 30 June deadline to secure their rights has been extended.

A French interior ministry spokesperson last week confirmed to media outlets that the cutoff date for applications for the new permit, guaranteeing local residence, healthcare, employment and other rights had been extended by three months.

It followed statements on the websites of several local prefectures that the deadline had been pushed back to 30 September. While the reference to a deadline change has been removed from some, it remains in place on others.

According to the British in Europe campaign group, at least six prefectures have also since said, by email and in person, that a delay had been agreed, with some adding the new permit would be mandatory only on 1 January 2022, rather than 31 October.

However, there has been no public announcement of the change by the French government and the British embassy in Paris has repeatedly said it had not been informed of any extension, insisting the deadline remained midnight on 30 June.

British in Europe said the situation was chaotic, adding: People have been told by official French sources there is a three-month delay. If today is the deadline, what happens tomorrow to those people told they have three more months to apply?

We call upon the interior ministry and the embassy to clarify the situation publicly. This is our home. We pay taxes, are invested in local communities and deserve better than this. No one should face the misery of becoming undocumented overnight.

Under the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, UK citizens who were legally resident in one of the EUs 27 member states at the end of the Brexit transition period last year are eligible for permanent residence, protecting their basic rights.

Fourteen countries, including Spain, Germany, Portugal and Italy, opted for systems that automatically confer a new post-Brexit residence status on legally resident Britons, with no risk of losing rights if any administrative deadline is missed.

The other 13 chose a constitutive system under which Britons must formally apply for a new residence status, including five France, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands that initially set a 30 June deadline.

Last month, the Netherlands extended its deadline to 1 October and Luxembourg last week delayed its cutoff date by six months, leaving Latvia, Malta and possibly France as the only remaining early deadlines.

According to the latest official figures, 140,900 of an estimated 148,300 UK residents in France (the true number may be higher) have applied for the new permit. In Latvia, 500 have applied out of 1,200, and in Malta 9,200 out of 13,600. The French interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Britons in France urged to apply for post-Brexit permit amid deadline confusion - The Guardian

London

Marlies Haselton has called Britain home for more than 30 years. The Dutch national married a Briton, had her children there, and considers herself part and parcel of the United Kingdom. Until Britains divorce from the European Union, she had never given a thought to her immigration status in the U.K.

Ms. Haselton is among the millions of Europeans who have freely lived, worked, and studied in the U.K. for decades, but whose rights are no longer automatically granted due to Brexit. Britains government introduced a settlement plan for the countrys large European migrant community in 2019, and the deadline for applications is Wednesday.

From Thursday, any European migrant who hasnt applied will lose their legal right to work, rent housing, and access some hospital treatments or welfare benefits in the U.K. They may even be subject to deportation.

Meanwhile, the freedom of movement that over 1 million Britons have long enjoyed in EU countries is also ending. Those applying for post-Brexit residency permits in France also face a deadline on Wednesday.

Campaigners in the U.K. are worried that tens or even hundreds of thousands of Europeans may not have applied by the deadline.

Many older people who have lived in the U.K. for decades are not aware they have to apply, and official figures show that only 2% of applicants were 65 years old or older. Many parents also dont realize they have to apply for their children, migrants rights groups say.

Other vulnerable people, such as an estimated 2,000 children in social care, also risk falling through the cracks and ending up with no legal status.

For Ms. Haselton and many others, its a moment that drives home the impact of Britains referendum to leave the EU five years ago.

Although Ms. Haselton successfully received her settled status, meaning she can reside permanently in the U.K., she said the whole process has made her feel insecure about the life she built in Britain.

I dont feel settled, she said. Im concerned about the future. I just dont have a safe feeling about growing old here as a foreigner. The sense of home I used to have is gone.

Britains government says some 5.6 million people the majority from Poland and Romania have applied, far more than the initial estimates. While about half were granted settled status, some 2 million migrants who havent lived in the U.K. long enough were told they have to put in the paperwork again when they have completed five years of residency in the country.

And about 400,000 people are still in limbo because theyre waiting to hear a decision, said Lara Parizotto, a campaigner for The3million, a group set up after the Brexit referendum to lobby for the rights of EU citizens in the U.K.

These are the people were hearing from a lot, she said. You want to be secure and safe, you want to continue making plans for your future you can imagine how complex it is not to have that certainty in your life right now when things are about to change so much.

Daria Riabchikova, a Russian woman who applied in February as the partner of a Belgian citizen living in the U.K., said its been incredibly frustrating waiting four months for her paperwork to be processed. She fears the delay will affect a new job she is about to start.

I feel like a third-rate citizen, despite working here and paying taxes with my partner and living here, and contributing to the past year of struggle with the pandemic, she said. Now I cant even have my straightforward application processed on time.

Figures are not available to show exactly how many people will have missed the deadline. But even a small percentage of the European population in the U.K. would total tens of thousands of people, Ms. Parizotto said. In recent weeks, the Brazilian-Italian has travelled with other volunteers across England to urge European communities working in rural farms and warehouses to sign up before its too late.

One key concern is that the immigration policy could leave a disastrous legacy similar to Britains Windrush scandal, when many from the Caribbean who legally settled in the U.K. decades ago were wrongly caught up in tough new government rules to crack down on illegal immigration.

Many in the Windrush generation named after the ship that carried the first post-war migrants from the West Indies lost their homes and jobs or were even deported simply because they couldnt produce paperwork proving their residency rights.

Many Europeans, especially young people whose parents failed to apply, wont necessarily realize they have lost their status right away, said Madeleine Sumption, director of Oxford Universitys Migration Observatory.

For some, it will only become clear later on for example, when they get a new job or need to be treated in hospital, she said. It may be many more years before the legal, political, economic, and social consequences start to emerge.

Britains government has conceded that it will give the benefit of the doubt to people who have reasonable grounds for applying late, but that hasnt eased campaigners worries. Many, including those who secured settled status, no longer feel confident in their future in Britain.

Elena Remigi, a translator originally from Milan who founded In Limbo, a project to record the voices of EU nationals in the U.K. since the Brexit referendum, said many Europeans say they still feel betrayed by how their adopted country treated them.

It is really sad that people who were living here before are now made to feel unwelcome and have to leave, she said. Thats really hard for some people to forgive.

Haselton, the Dutch migrant, said her British husband is mulling moving the family to the Netherlands as a direct consequence of Brexit. She is torn.

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I still love this country, it would break my heart if I had to move, she said. At the same time Im not sure I want to stay. When it comes to a sense of feeling that you belong, that isnt something that you can do with a piece of paper.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

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Post-Brexit, migrants at home in the UK must now apply to stay - The Christian Science Monitor

People who have not visited Sunderland recently may have been surprised at the news on Thursday that Nissan is investing 1bn into a futuristic electric vehicle hub in the city.

Known for its heavy industry and shipbuilding history, Sunderland is overshadowed by its industrial past and may not be the first place that comes to mind when imagining the future of manufacturing. But it should be, according to Patrick Melia, chief executive of Sunderland city council. Its a transforming city, he said.

Between the council and national government, 100m is being invested into a hi-tech manufacturing park adjacent to the Nissan plant, which before the announcement from the Japanese carmaker was expected to generate between 500m and 600m of investment from the private sector. With the 423m from Nissan and 450m from battery maker Envision, this target has already been smashed.

We need to be enablers as a local authority. We dont always have a lot of cash to put in but what we have is expertise, and we know how to bring businesses to Sunderland and benefit the wider north-east region, Melia said.

The Brexit effect, which some Remainers had gleefully wished upon Leave-voting Sunderland, has failed to materialise here. Though there is still uncertainty about food production due to shortages of factory, agricultural and haulage workers issues that exist throughout the UK Sunderland seems to have come out largely unscathed.

Despite this, challenges remain, with unemployment higher than the national average and pay significantly lower, at a time when the city is suffering from higher rates of Covid-19 infections than the country at large.

Already struggling before the pandemic struck, Sunderland ranked in the top 20 local authorities in Britain for employment deprivation, according to government figures.

The percentage of the workforce claiming unemployment-related benefits had shot up to 7.3% by May this year, compared with a UK average of 6%. And despite progress in recent months as lockdown measures were gradually relaxed across the country, about a tenth of the local workforce is still on furlough.

And yet Sunderland has ambitious plans. In 2023, the city is holding its Future Living Expo, which will showcase 5G-enabled, renewable-energy-powered homes of the future, 1,000 of which are currently planned for Sunderland, built off-site outside the city and assembled in four new neighbourhoods in the north of the city centre.

They will be more sustainable, and the smartest homes in the UK when we build them, Melia said. So were on a transformational journey and you need things like [Nissans investment] to underpin all of that.

In 2019, the financial services company Legal & General pledged 100m to the citys regeneration efforts, aiming to create grade-A office space at Riverside Sunderland, an urban quarter to the north of the city on the bank of the River Wear.

Work on the project will begin next month, at the site of the former Vaux Breweries, which closed in 1999. The site has been empty for two decades, partly due to numerous planning rows for Tesco, which had tried to build a superstore there, until it was bought by the council in 2011.

Legal & Generals chief executive, Nigel Wilson, himself a north-east native, said there were massive shifts going on in the region as it responded to the emergence of green tech and the rise in renewable energy. The companys investment in Sunderland was about seizing a genuine opportunity, he said one that was missed at the turn of the millennium, when the UK failed to support fledgling tech companies and lost ground to the US and China.

He said: We missed the boat. However, this next wave of technology is coming along incredibly quickly.

Legal & General has put 22bn of pensions money into projects such as urban regeneration, clean energy and transport infrastructure across the UK. Weve been saying this for many, many years and weve been practising it for many, many years. But its now become trendy and popular.

Wilson said business had been the catalyst for change in Sunderland but he believed the government had also been supportive.

For a lot of things, [the private sector] can do it, and then there are certain things where the government needs to pump-prime, to be frank.

With taxpayer money underpinning the investment at Nissan, the governments levelling-up rhetoric now has a ring of reality to it here. The sums committed are small but symbolic, suggesting that the interventionist approach that characterised postwar industrial policy is back in fashion.

Within the city, companies still feel a strong attachment to their home turf, determined to resist what is often described as the magnetic pull of the south-east.

At Keel Square, across the road from the Vaux Breweries site, is the new 6.4m head office of Hays Travel, a Sunderland success story.

Founded by John Hays in 1980, the company has grown to become the UKs largest independent travel agent, with a workforce of 500 at the Sunderland head office and 7,000 elsewhere in the UK. It made headlines most recently when it bought the retail arm of Thomas Cook after the holiday giant went bust in 2019.

Dame Irene Hays, the owner and chair of the company, said she and her late husband John, who died suddenly last November, never considered moving the business elsewhere.

We have for 41 years attributed our success to the loyalty, commitment, skills and flexibility of the thousands of lovely people we have been able to employ and develop from this area, she said.

Sunderland was an attractive place to relocate, she said, due to its beautiful coastline and thriving cultural scene which meant the company had been able to recruit a diverse and adaptable workforce.

Part of that cultural scene is the Sunderland Empire, the biggest theatre in the region and the only one that can accommodate the largest touring West End shows.

It directly employs more than 100 people and, with 300,000 visitors in a typical year, supports many further jobs in hospitality around the city. The Empire has been closed for more than a year, with almost all of its staff furloughed, but the box office is open and already taking bookings for the winter-season pantomimes.

The theatres director, Marie Nixon, said the optimism felt by the council and business was translating into a thriving cultural sector, albeit one that had been hit hard by the pandemic. While it remains to be seen what the lasting effects of lockdown will be, Sunderland is creating more opportunities than ever before for artistic types who might have left the city for the brighter lights of Newcastle, Leeds or further south.

Im feeling really optimistic, said Nixon. I think we just need what everybody needs and thats some certainty.

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Sunderland is coming up shining, despite Brexit and the pandemic - The Guardian