Category Archives: Brexit

(Bloomberg) -- More than half of Britons would vote to rejoin the European Union for the first time since the nation opted to leave the bloc seven years ago, YouGov polling showed.

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Some 51% of Britons told the polling company that they would vote for the UK to become an EU member again, while 32% said theyd stay out, according to the survey conducted last week. The proportion in favor of rejoining has risen 11 points since January 2021, when Brexit formally took place.

The findings reflect growing disillusionment among British voters about Brexit, which triggered years of divisive debate in Parliament before the UK finally left the bloc.

Britons are yet to see the promised fruits of departure from the EU, with UK holidaymakers facing longer queues at European airports and shoppers facing higher food prices fueled by both Brexit curbs on migrant workers and its effect on supply chains. A trade deal with the US, meanwhile, held as one of the great prizes of Brexit, doesnt look likely to materialize anytime soon.

Seven years on from the referendum, the UK remains in a cost-of-living crisis with inflation outstripping price rises elsewhere in Europe. Meanwhile, many regions which voted for Brexit are more likely to face a widening wealth and opportunity gap relative to richer parts of the UK, according to Bloomberg analysis earlier this year.

Some 57% of Britons told YouGov the UK was wrong to vote for Brexit in 2016, the highest figure the polling firm has recorded. One in five Britons who voted to leave the EU in 2016 now say it was the wrong decision.

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly said he believes in Brexit and the opportunities it presents, but his government is nevertheless seeking to renegotiate parts of the UKs exit deal that it fears will cause disruption and added costs to businesses and consumers.

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UK officials are currently in talks with their EU counterparts to delay upcoming tariffs on electric vehicles shipped between the UK and the EU and the government is also weighing options to limit the cost of post-Brexit border checks on European food imports due to start in the next six months.

In April, Bloomberg reported that Sunak also hopes to reach an agreement to let Britons use EU e-gates for passport checks, another friction point for tourists and business travelers since Brexit.

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UK Support to Rejoin the EU Passes 50% for the First Time Since Brexit - Yahoo News

British nationals are increasingly regretting their decision to leave the European Union in the move known as Brexit, which, despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying it brought benefits to the UK, more than half of the population would vote to remain in the EU.

According to the results of the YouGov survey, if the referendum was to be held again, 55 per cent of respondents said they would vote to remain in the EU, while 31 per cent said they would stay out, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

While three in ten respondents, representing 31 per cent of the total, said they would vote to leave the EU, it indicates that one in six leave voters, or 18 per cent, would change their mind and instead vote to remain in the EU if the referendum would be held again.

In addition, the data show that the interest to remain in the EU has increased, with 49 per cent of respondents voting to remain in the EU back in 2021, which grew to 55 per cent in 2023.

The number of people that would not vote or arent certain remains the same as in 2021; 13 per cent of the total respondents.

Among those that voted to leave the EU in 2021, the survey found that from 81 per cent of respondents, it shrank to 73 per cent in 2023. Similarly, from nine per cent of respondents that voted to remain in the EU, these rates doubled to 18 per cent in 2022. Additionally, the number of people who are uncertain about their decision grew by one per cent among leave voters.

Currently, 57 per cent of Britons say the 2016 decision to leave the EU was wrong, which is the highest figure YouGov has recorded to date. By comparison, one in three respondents (32 per cent) thinks this decision was right and appropriate, while one in five Leave voters (19 per cent) now say it was the wrong decision.

On top of thousands of respondents that have changed their minds and would vote to remain in the EU, seven in ten Brits say that the government handled Brexit poorly. The trend shows that the number of respondents that think the government handled the exit badly has been increasing since 2021, while the number of those that think the opposite is constantly dropping, to be hitting its lowest rate at 18 per cent.

Leaving the EU has had some severe impact on the British economy, as data by the OECD reveals that the GDP growth has decreased by 0.4 per cent since 2019, while other countries have experienced increases such as Germany and France, with 0.3 and 1.1 per cent increases in economic growth during the same period.

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Record Numbers of Brits Regretting Brexit, Survey Shows - SchengenVisaInfo.com - SchengenVisaInfo.com

Two months ago, Nigel Farage declared that Brexit had failed. Now, hes not alone.

According to a new YouGov poll, the proportion of Brits who say leaving the European Union was a mistake has hit an all-time high. YouGov surveyed over 2000 British people, of whom 63% believed Brexit has been more of a failure than a success. A mere 12% saw it as a success while 18% said it had been neither.

55% of the same respondents said that if a referendum were held again tomorrow, they would vote to rejoin while 31% said they would opt to stay out of the bloc. Some 57% now see the 2016 vote to leave the EU as the wrong decision while 32% still think it was justified.

When Farage declared Brexits failure in May, Rishi Sunak responded by boasting about the advantages Brexit was bringing in. He cited his flagship policy of freeports and VAT cuts that he claimed would make beer and sanitary products cheaper.

But Sunak, it seems, is not fooling anyone. On Thursday, he could become the first prime minister since Harold Wilson to lose three seats at a by-election, with Boris Johnsons seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip up for grabs as well as Selby and Ainsty in North Yorkshire and Somerton and Frome in Somerset. The by-elections fall at a time when the Conservatives sit 22 points behind Labour in the most recent poll, painting far from a pretty picture for the government.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Keir Starmer remains undeterred about his vague stance of making Brexit work regardless of whether the country is behind the sentiment.

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Almost two-thirds of Brits think Brexit has been a failure - The New European

The report titled Impact of Brexit and Covid-19 on the UK Fashion & Textiles Technology Ecosystem proposes five key recommendations to support the growth and prosperity of the UK Fashion, Textile and Technology industry.

The report was published collectively by the Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology (BFTT) led by the University of the Arts London and the Future Fashion Factory (FFF) led by the University of Leeds with the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT)s Adam Mansell as chair of the project.

The report builds on a previous study published in July 2021, titled Mapping the UK Fashion Textiles Technology Ecosystem, which revealed the main challenges the UK fashion, textiles and technology (FTT) industry would face in the next three to five years. The challenges included changes in consumer spending; funding, tax and business rates; trade policies and Brexit; and a shortage of FTT skills.

Mansell explains the new report highlights many of the ongoing issues faced by the UK fashion and textile industry, particularly those SMEs and micro businesses that makeup over 80% of the industry.

However, he is quick to point out that the report also marks the resilience and adaptability of UK fashion and textile companies when faced with challenges such as Brexit and Covid.

Mansell describes the UKs departure from the EU the biggest change in the global trading environment in decades.

He says: With the EU accounting for 75% of the UKs fashion and textile exports and over 30% of the sectors imports, the implications of the change in relationship was always going to be hugely significant.

Despite the rhetoric, the UK EU Trade Continuity Agreement was not the simplest trade deal ever negotiated. The reality is (and was always going to be) a new trading relationship with significant administrative burdens, a large increase in costs and more limited movement of people and products.

He suggests confidence in the UK as a supply base has fallen sharply with many European companies declining to do business with UK brands due to the new trading difficulties.

Mansell explains: These difficulties are likely to increase with the development of the EUs ambitious and comprehensive textile sustainability strategy. The strategy will see a dramatic increase in legislation requiring better monitoring and reporting for all fashion and textiles sold in the EU and will apply to UK suppliers.

This research was a collaborative project with support and funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), BFTT, FFF, ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (ESRC IAA), Leeds University Business School (LUBS), UAL LCF Fashion Business School, UKFT and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Last month the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) and the British Fashion Council (BFC) said they were collaborating as co-chairs on a new government-funded circular fashion programme, which aims to facilitate and lead the development of a circular fashion ecosystem within the UK.

UKFT is also spearheading a 4m ($5.06m) project to develop and pilot an automated sorting and pre-processing plant for waste textiles (ATSP) in a bid to divert tonnes of waste from landfill each year.

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Five ways UK fashion industry can grow post-Brexit, Covid - just-style.com

For many Britons, Brexit was a one-off event involving a vote in the 2016 referendum, but for UK exporters such as Brandauer, a Birmingham-based specialised components maker, trading outside the EU has been a journey of continuous adaptation.

From handling German value added tax to mastering the intricacies of six-digit EU customs codes, Brandauer chief executive Rowan Crozier said his small company has managed to retain its EU customers thanks to precision components used in a wide range of industries including carmakers, construction and pharmaceuticals.

But Crozier is aware that in many ways Brandaeurs Brexit journey is only just beginning as the EU introduces rules on carbon border taxes, plastic waste management and supply chain monitoring.

This means EU rules are starting to diverge from UK equivalents. Divergence is an ongoing headache, he said.

Trade and industry experts warn the rising volume of future EU regulations is leading to Brexit 2.0 as the 27-nation bloc introduces rules that even when they are mirrored by the UK create fresh barriers to trade.

Were getting new [EU] legislation continuously, said Fergus McReynolds, director of EU affairs at the manufacturers trade body Make UK. So as the UK stays static, youre having to treat the EU and the UK as two completely different markets from a regulatory perspective.

McReynolds said Make UKs members are focused on three main EU regulations: the blocs upcoming carbon border tax, implementation of plastic packaging rules and draft supply chain due diligence laws being discussed by member states.

The introduction of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism is likely to have a significant effect on companies trading with the bloc, according to George Riddell, director of trade strategy at consultancy EY, who is helping UK businesses that export to the EU prepare for the measure.

From October this year EU companies will have to compile reports on the carbon emissions attached to some imported goods, including steel, aluminium and fertilisers, with businesses having to buy certificates to cover emissions embedded in products from 2026.

The paperwork and costs associated with the carbon tax will land on UK companies who supply components to EU businesses covered by the regulation which affects products as prosaic as nuts and bolts. As a result, some of these UK companies will be more difficult to trade with for EU businesses.

From 2026, there will be cost pressures factored into where you choose your suppliers, said Riddell.

The British government is consulting industry over introducing a UK version of the EU carbon border tax, but without legally binding linkage between the two schemes, domestic businesses will still need to demonstrate compliance with the blocs rules, said William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce.

[The EU carbon border adjustment mechanism], packaging legislation, supply chain legislation are becoming an issue for UK companies on how they best order their compliance without incurring huge additional costs, he added.

British MPs were warned at a meeting in Brussels this month that they needed to track EU legislation to help UK companies respond.

Nathalie Loiseau, a senior French MEP who co-chairs the UK-EU parliamentary partnership assembly, said the two sides have started to diverge.

There is lots of legislation going through at the EU level...and we need to be aware of the impact, she said. Businesses on both sides of the Channel are saying the same thing: we want high standards and we do not want to diverge too much.

The issue affects services companies too. Accountants MHA warned that EU tax rules for virtual services will change in January 2025, meaning British businesses providing online facilities to consumers will have to pay VAT where the customer resides rather than in the UK, as now.

Sue Rathmell, partner at MHA, said: UK businesses providing virtual [business to consumer] services to the EU, such as webinars, online conferences or advertising software, require swift input from [HM Revenue & Customs] in response to the EUs intention to overhaul place of supply rules from January 2025.

McReynolds said one of the biggest challenges for business was the widely differing approaches of individual EU member states to implementing regulations such as the blocs requirement to recycle plastic packaging.

Some countries, including Spain, apply rules more strictly than others, with some EU businesses now insisting that UK companies provide proof that plastic components of manufactured goods also comply with the regulations, he added.

When the UK was an EU member, such rules were transposed automatically on to the British statute book and companies were presumed to have complied for the entire single market.

As a non-member, that presumption of compliance has been removed. Post-Brexit British firms have to comply with the domestic interpretation of EU directives of 27 different regulatory regimes, said McReynolds.

Both Make UK and British Chambers of Commerce say that now the UK is no longer automatically transposing EU law, the British government needs to do more to assess the impact of the blocs future regulations, as well as using the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the two sides to co-ordinate better with Brussels.

The UK Department for Business and Trade said the agreement was opening up new opportunities for British businesses in the EU.

We will continue to assess the impact new EU laws could have on our trade interests, as we do with other trading partners.

However, Bain said there needed to be much broader discussion about regulatory developments on both sides. We need to get a lot better at this. Everybody has to up their game.

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Make UK has called for the government to create a central register of impending EU laws and to help British companies with analysis of what they mean for business.

The alternative for British companies is a repeat of the chaotic and costly learning curve that followed the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in January 2021, barely a week after the eleventh-hour deal was struck between the UK and the EU, said Crozier.

Based on past form, he was not optimistic. Weve been flying blind all the way through as manufacturers. We didnt know what Brexit we were going to get until the very last minute, and Ive no faith that it wont be the same scenario all over again.

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British companies start to grapple with 'Brexit 2.0' - Financial Times

King criticised handling of negotiations and said there was no need for the atmosphere around them to be so bad

A former governor of the Bank of England has described the UK's handling of Brexit as a "shambles".

Mervyn King, who was the governor between 2003 and 2013, criticised the inability of the political classes to choose a version of Brexit to follow and said the atmosphere around negotiations was unnecessarily bad.

"I think its been a shambles since 2016," Kingtold LBC radio in the UK. "Parliament unable to decide which of eight or nine versions of Brexit, the failure to negotiate properly."

King, who previously advocated for a no deal arrangement with the European Union, added: "If you rule out no deal you havent got any negotiating position at all."

He said the UK should have made a "pro-European case for Brexit" and offered all EU residents in the UK automatic rights of residence, rather than making it part of a negotiation.

"We could have done more to try to ensure we had access to education and research opportunities in Europe," he added. "The atmosphere that was created in negotiations with Europe turned out to be very bad, there was no need for the atmosphere to be that bad."

However, King felt disagreements between the UK and the European Union would have continued to rankle had Brexit not happened.

"I dont think we would have wanted to follow down the path which the European Central Bank and European Commission want to take them, which is towards a fiscal and political union," he said. "I think it would have led to an even greater debate at home about 'why should our tax and spending policy in Britain be determined by the rest of Europe?'"

King was also asked about former Prime Minister Liz Truss's brief period in power.

"I do think we got a bit hysterical," he said. "I can understand to some extent why and that the government appeared to be hell bent on cutting taxes without any proper analysis or framework, jettisoning the way government was being organised.

"I understand that, but I don't think the economic consequences were that bad. And frankly, they've gone away, they've disappeared now.

"What we should boast about as a country is that we had a government that we didn't think was doing very well, it lasted 44 days, we got rid of it, and no-one got hurt."

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Ex-Bank of England governor describes handling of Brexit as a shambles - Euronews

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Brexit and austerity left UK badly prepared for pandemic, inquiry told - Financial Times

Brexit is partly to be blamed for UK's feeble pandemic preparation, the COVID inquiry was told on its opening day.

The UKs COVID inquiry has heard that Brexit weakened the country's ability to respond well to the pandemic.

Counsel for the COVID inquiry Hugo Keith KC said Brexit-related planning and administrative processes hindered the countrys preparedness to tackle the pandemic, on the opening day of the hearings.

The independent inquiry chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett started its first module on Tuesday and will involve six weeks of public hearings until 20 July.

The Pandemic hit the UK just as it was leaving the EU, Keith said. It is clear that such planning, from 2018 onwards, crowded out and prevented some or perhaps a majority of the improvements that central government itself understood were required to be made to resilience planning and preparedness.

Putting the governments Operation Yellowhammer into scrutiny, he said the enormous amount of work weakened the capacity to devise a pandemic response.

The proposed operation was put into place in case of a unilateral exit from the EU if a withdrawal agreement was not reached.

The resource-intensive planning was done to address the consequences of a possible no-deal exit, the UK government had devised a plan to aid food and medical supplies, travel and transport, and business.

Did the attention therefore paid to the risks of a no-deal exit drain the resources and capacity that should have been continuing the fight against the next pandemic? Keith questioned.

The evidence so far puts the governments focus on Brexit rather than preparing the UK for civil emergency as the main factor behind one of the highest death tolls in the world, Keith claimed.

The inquiry is yet to hear evidence from members of the public, which investigators say will help them better understand the effects of the virus and the response of authorities.

These answers will be put into themed reports that will serve as evidence.

Public hearings will be concluded by 2026, putting every aspect of the pandemic under the microscope.

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Brexit 'made UK vulnerable to COVID', inquiry told - Euronews

The waiters can sometimes be a little surly. That holiday villa you booked in the Loire may not always be as desirable as it looked in the pictures. And you can never be entirely sure which side they will be on in a major war. Still, despite occasional inconsistencies, there is one thing you could always rely on the French for. They will insist forever that leaving the EU has been a catastrophe for the British economy, and by far the stupidest decision any major country has ever made.

But hold on. Whats this? In a note this morning BNP Paribas, a bank right at the heart of the French establishment, finally admitted Brexit had not made much difference. At this rate, perhaps even the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will be arguing it was all fairly irrelevant all along.

Seven years after the vote, perhaps the wounds are finally starting to heal

Written by Stephane Colliac, a senior economist with Frances largest financial institution, the note does not exactly break new ground. But it does take an objective look at the data since the 2016 referendum and crunch some of the numbers on what has happened since to foreign investment, labour movements, and business confidence.

It is generally assumed that Brexit has made the United Kingdom less attractive economically, argues Colliac. However, data on the balance of payments and foreign workers reveal that its not as simple as that.

Indeed not. As the note argues, while the UK has become a less attractive destination for European workers, it has become more attractive to people from other parts of the world. Likewise, despite predictions that leaving the EU would lead to a 22 per cent fall in foreign investment in the 10 years after leaving, it has actually gone up slightly.

These comparisons suggest that Brexit did have a negative impact on the UK economy during the post-referendum period of uncertainty, the note concludes. But this period ended once actual Brexit details had been ironed out. Once a stable post-Brexit framework had been established, the UK got a boost, as direct investments and arrivals of foreign workers from countries outside the European Union (EU) made up the ground lost.

Well, gosh. No one looking at the data would especially disagree. The British economy is doing badly, of course, but so is most of Europe as well. The interesting point, however, is surely this: even BNP Paribas has finally reconciled itself to the view that leaving the EU has not made any significant difference to the British economy one way or the other.

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Seven years after the vote, perhaps the wounds are finally starting to heal, and some common sense is finally starting to prevail. Heck, who knows, perhaps at this rate Alastair Campbell, the Financial Times, the Liberal Democrats, and the rest of the Remain establishment will finally own up to a fact that is obvious to everyone else. The UK has plenty of economic problems. But not being part of the EU is not among them.

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Is France finally changing its tune on Brexit? - The Spectator

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You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many users needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

Any changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel.

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UK post-Brexit border charges will increase food prices, warns industry - Financial Times