Category Archives: Brexit

Simon Coveney announced that he did not believe there would be an end to the dispute before Christmas meaning talks may well drag on after the New Year.ButExpress.co.ukwere fuming with this, deeming the EU as bad guys in the discussions.

Simon Coveney announced that he did not believe there would be an end to the dispute before Christmas meaning talks may well drag on after the New Year.ButExpress.co.ukwere fuming with this, deeming the EU as bad guys in the discussions.

DBanker wrote: Let's face what's really going on here.

Behind the scenes, they all have the solution for this problem, but they need to sell that solution, and they need to create bluster and come across as being hard to get, before slipping the solution that most people are not going to like, probably around Christmas time when most won't care.

Same happened for the Brexit Deal, same will happen here."

Another reader wrote: The EU wanted to withhold food and medicine from NI to punish and encourage unification.

It's not working and now the EU finds themselves in a hole because of their nasty spiteful behaviour.

The world knows who the intolerant bad guys are.

Rha wrote: Brexit talks dont need to drag on till next year.

Lord David set a time table of 5 December to trigger Article 16 so 3 days and counting.

READ MORE:Brit-bashing Barnier mocked as he loses French election bid

"In particular on the guarantee of supply of medicines into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, which is something that I know both teams have been trying to resolve in recent weeks, and hopefully we can make progress on soon.

I dont think therell be a full deal on all issues related to the protocol before Christmas.

"I think that would be unrealistic at this stage, but I think some things can be agreed this side of Christmas, hopefully, as I say, giving certainty to people in Northern Ireland in terms of the supply of medicines from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

Certainly the EU is very anxious to move that issue on, and they believe that they have a solution that hopefully can work for the British side as well.

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Nasty, spiteful behaviour! EU branded bad guys in Brexit negotiations - Daily Express

A CONSERVATIVE minister has told Scots to get on board with Brexit despite new figures showing its damaging impact on the nations exports.

In the Commons, SNP MP Steven Bonnar pointed out that between 2019 and 2021 the value of Scotlands exports decreased by 24%, while Englands fell 12%.

The MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill said: This follows on from a period of steady decline since 2018. This is economic vandalism and theres hardly a sector across the country thats not attributed at least some of the blame for their difficulties to Brexit.

READ MORE:Emmanuel Macron called Boris Johnson 'un clown' and 'knucklehead', French reports say

There was never going to be a Brexit that was good for British businesses, SNP MP Peter Grant added, telling the Government that itsbotched handling of Brexit has made it even worse than it needed to be.

But trade minister Penny Mordaunt brushedoff the concerns: Goods exports for quarter two between Scotland and the EU were up 4% compared to the same period last year," she insisted. "We are getting growth back after a period of obviously dealing with the pandemic and other shocks to the global economy.

She said the SNP should start focusing on those opportunities, adding the country has decided on Brexit and the SNP should get on board.

Some 62% of Scots voted to stay in the EU at the 2016 Brexit referendum and recent polling indicates most people in Scotland would like to rejoin the bloc.

Earlier this week, a new report revealed that Northern Ireland which also voted Remain has been less impacted by the double-hit of the pandemic and Brexit due to its access to the single market.

READ MORE:SNP conference: Delegates vote to strengthen ties with European institutions

The Northern Ireland Protocol was cited as a key reason for Northern Irelands economic recovery being stronger than the other UK nations. At the same time, Scotlands economy suffered a 5% hit.

Commenting on the report, SNP MSP Clare Adamson said: Scotland is paying an outrageous price for being ignored by Westminster for a Brexit inflicted on us against our will.

These numbers are not some abstract theory, in the real world they mean crippling lost revenue for businesses across the Scottish economy and, in turn, that means lost jobs, lost income and hardship for families up and down the country.

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Tory minister tells Scots to 'get on board' with Brexit despite hit to economy - The National

Farmers are anxiously awaiting further detail from the government on imminent changes to their subsidy payments, with many reluctant to trust the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to manage the transition, the leader of one of the UKs biggest farming organisations has said.

Quite a few have said to me: Well, were not at all clear what Defra is doing, Mark Tufnell, the recently installed president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), told the Guardian. [They say:] We dont think that Defra know what theyre doing, and ask me: What do you know?

The CLA represents about 28,000 farmers and owners of rural businesses in England and Wales, including some of the biggest landowners and a large number of smaller ones, with about 18,000 members farming less than 300 acres. Members are hoping for more details of post-Brexit support for farmers at the organisations conference on Thursday, where the environment secretary, George Eustice, will set out what support farmers can expect when their basic farm payments are cut by between 5% and 25% this year before being phased out entirely over the next six years.

Further details on government plans could not come soon enough for farmers, said Tufnell. Brexit was one of the biggest upheavals in agriculture since the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, he noted. And of course after the Corn Law repeal we then went into an agricultural depression that lasted all the way from the late 1800s through into the 1900s and the war period.

Brexit means the UK has left the EUs common agricultural policy, under which farmers received about 3bn a year in payments allocated based on the amount of land they farmed. In future, there will be payments of public money for public goods that is, farmers taking measures to restore nature, nurture the soil, improve air and water quality, and provide habitats for wildlife, in return for taxpayer-funded support under a system of environmental land management contracts, or ELMs.

Tufnell said the future of farming was more than ever in the hands of the government, with trade deals, problems with the planning system, and the new system of ELMs. We may end up with more people claiming from a limited pot, meaning that the individual will end up receiving less, he said.

Farmers are generally supportive about the move to a new payment system. Surveys by the CLA of its membership have found most farmers in favour, but many are still concerned about the detail, as only scant information has been available on how the ELMs will work.

The basic payment will be reduced on a sliding scale, with those who have historically received most taking the steepest cuts, but even the lowest scale of reductions of about 5% this year would bring difficulties for many people, according to Tufnell.

There are further huge risks if the government gets it wrong in the next few years as the old subsidies are phased out, he says. If the government doesnt come forward with the type of support that its talking about it makes it much more difficult for those farmers who are in the less profitable category, the bottom 25% or even 50%, who have their basic payments cut, so theyll only get about 25% of what they originally had.

They will find it very difficult to continue their farming business. Theyll need to look to other sources of income and I think theyll find it quite difficult, particularly if they dont get support in selling their product overseas.

Trade deals are another bone of contention. Until recently, the UK had only two agri-food attaches in embassies around the world to promote British farming and farm produce, even though food is one of the UKs biggest export industries for goods, and the government is aiming to strike trade deals with dozens of countries in the aftermath of Brexit.

On Tuesday, Defra announced a further eight agri-food attaches would be appointed. Tufnell said the increase was far too small to give the representation needed. Farmers fear they will be swamped by cheap food from abroad under new trade deals such as that forged this year with Australia details of which are signed in secret, without parliamentary scrutiny.

At the least, farmers were hoping the government would help them promote UK farm produce abroad, but with only 10 globally that seems hard to achieve, says Tufnell. Ten attaches is nowhere near enough. If the government is serious about promoting our world-class produce and ensuring British farmers are not undercut, then we need far more. Quite understandably, government wants to promote its free trade credentials, but seems reluctant to provide adequate resources to getting the job done properly. This leaves not just British farmers, but all of British industry vulnerable.

Higher prices for many staples, from wheat and barley to rapeseed, beef and lamb, would cushion the blow for many this year at least, said Tufnell. But some sectors would suffer more, he said, such as pig farmers, many of whom were unable to send animals to slaughter due to labour shortages last month, a subject joked about by the prime minister, Boris Johnson.

Brexit has also meant supply and export issues with Europe. Tufnell said he ran into problems trying to export linseed to Belgium, as the lorryloads would normally have gone through France, but that would have involved even more paperwork. Eventually, it was sent by ship.

Covid has also thrown a spotlight on rural infrastructure, with more people trying to work from home or considering a permanent move to the countryside, but hampered by the lack of broadband connectivity. There is this great disparity between the urban and the rural [in connectivity], he said, noting that the fine print of the autumn budget showed rural areas losing out by about 315m in the shared prosperity fund for levelling up.

We dont really feel that fits with a levelling up agenda its almost a levelling down.

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Farmers fear Defra will not deliver on post-Brexit support, says CLA head - The Guardian

Figures published by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) show significant traffic diverted away from the traditional routes between Dublin and Britain to some of 32 new ferry services direct to ports such as Le Havre, Cherbourg and Dunkirk in France and Zeebrugge in Belgium. Earlier in the year, the French Ambassador to Ireland, HE Vincent Gurend took to Twitter to gloat about ferry routes between the Republic of Ireland and France in an attempt to demonstrate strengthened ties between Paris and Dublin.

In his tweet, the head of the French mission to Dublin said: A very concrete link between our two countries. We now have more than 44 weekly sailings between Cork, Dublin, Rosslare and French ports.

The IMDO report shows freight volumes from Dublin port to Liverpool and Holyhead in Anglesey down 19 percent in the first three-quarters of 2021 compared with 2020 and down by 30 percent on the two routes from Rosslare in south-east Ireland to the Welsh ports of Pembroke and Fishguard.

The report said: It is clear that the new trading arrangements between Ireland and the UK have had a significant and negative effect upon ro-ro [roll-on roll-off lorry haulage] freight traffic between the two countries.

It added: Underpinning all of these trends are the new customs and trading arrangements between Ireland and the UK that came into force on 1 January 2021.

Traffic for the second and third quarters of this year show Irish Republic to EU traffic is already up by 52 percent compared with the entirety of 2019, it added.

The decline in demand for the ferry services to Wales and Liverpool has also seen Northern Irish ports receiving a Brexit dividend, with freight volumes hitting unprecedented highs in 2021."

Historically, Northern Irish hauliers have preferred the Dublin-Holyhead route as the quickest way to access markets in the south and south-east of England, but some have now eschewed the route to avoid the new customs requirements involved between Ireland and UK ports, the reports said.

On Saturday, Rosslare Europort said, it had the busiest day in its history. Its general manager, Glenn Carr, put the increased demand down to the desire to avoid the UK, but also a reduction in trade with Great Britain because of Brexit red tape and cost.

READ MORE:French Ambassador to Ireland praises Britain ferry bypass

Diversity said: Great news from a UK point of view, saving wear on tear on our roads and far less pollution.

BKS stated the journey times would now be longer. He said: Going from Dublin to Paris via the Landbridge takes 13.4 hours with multiple daily sailings.

He added: Going Dublin to Paris by sea will take 22.5 hours 5 sailings a week So a return journey will take an extra 18 hours a week plus waiting for sailings and cost about 2000 return ferry only.

Although many said it was good for congestion on the roads, several pointed out the fact that many small businesses on the route between Ireland and France via the UK relied on the trade the logistics companies brought with them.

Truckers from Northern Ireland are also using the route to avoid Britain.According to the haulage industry, many Northern Irish businesses are following lead.

They are taking advantage of extra routes to mainland Europe from Dublin, Rosslare and Cork and avoiding passing through Britain.

Gary Lyons, a haulier who supplies both to Britain and the Continent, says clients who ship chilled goods to Europe are wary of delays at Dover.

He said: Beef, offal and dairy producers will not go through the land bridge.

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Ireland doubles direct exports to EU in bid to dodge bloc's Brexit red tape - Daily Express

Living in the UK, Not Tonight's message resonated. Right-wing populism has surged here, as it has in many countries this last decade, and while many pin that solely on Brexit, previous signs were present. Not Tonight is set in an alternative post-Brexit Britain where a far-right government came to power as talks with the European Union collapsed, and I played a bouncer trying to avoid deportation for the "crime" of being European. PanicBarn's commentary had the subtlety of a sledgehammer, softened slightly by some dark humour, but it was primarily a strong critique of systemic racism.

It's distinctly British, so crossing the Atlantic felt strange when I started Not Tonight 2's demo. Not Tonight 2 is set in the "United States of America" (yes, that's how it's written) where I was greeted with a submerged Statue of Liberty. This is, again, a game with no interest in being subtle, showing a different way law enforcement can try to "legitimise" that same systemic racism.

And Not Tonight 2 doesn't waste any time making its point: this time we've been imprisoned from the very start.

Not Tonight 2 dives straight into the American issues it has something to say about. Calling this an "alternative" reality where capitalism and political greed broke Americaunfathomable, I knowwe begin in Seattle on New Year's Eve 2020, as protests continue against a fascist American government. Before long, our friend Eduardo gets arrested by The Martyrs, an immigration enforcement group based on ICE, detained in questionable circumstances as "Immigration Enforcement Case #112."

When Eduardo is taken to the Miami Gulag it's a bleak situation, but not a hopeless one. With 30 days to confirm his citizenship before deportation, Eduardo looks to his three closest friends. Not Tonight 2's narrative then splits three ways: Kevin has to retrieve Eduardo's identification documents, Malik has to confirm his family tree in San Francisco, and Mari stays behind as mission control.

In the full game it's a race to meet Eduardo's deportation deadline, but in the demo I played only Kevin's segment was accessible.

Starting in Seattle, I set out as Kevin to find Eduardo's grandmother is in Canada's recently acquired territory, Montana. After borrowing my mother's car I can't just shoot off without gas money or I'll run out of gas before getting out of sight of the Space Needle.

Much like I did as Person of European Heritage #112 in the first Not Tonight, I spend evenings earning cash as a bouncer, having signed up to the "BouncR" scheme. Regulating who comes into different bars throughout the road trip plays out like the immigration enforcement in Papers, Please. Working shifts whilst Eduardo remains imprisoned presents a fittingly depressing view of the gig economy, though denying obvious chancers entry is amusing.

Tasked with ensuring anyone under 21 doesn't come inside, you'll soon go from only checking a potential patron's date-of-birth to scrutinizing the ID's flag colour, licence expiry date, holographic stamp and more. Success means staying alert for fakes. Passing your shift comes down to how many people were correctly admitted within a time limit, and Kevin receives a bonus for anyone extra. Pressure soon builds, though, as erroneous admissions don't count, and too many mistakes voids your salary. Taking too long assessing an ID risks missing the admission target, too.

To keep life interesting, each region staves off repetition with additional gimmicks. In Montana, a Poutine Relief Act was instituted to welcome Montana's recent integration, mandating each establishment offer a bowl to patrons. Soon everyone trying to get into the bar is handing you a poutine bowl alongside their ID and you have to remember to top them off with the right color sauce, unless they're ineligible for entry anyway.

Over at Mount Rushmore New Camelot, which has become overrun by "medieval lords", one requests your service to ensure "wizards" don't get in.

Turning them away at the door isn't enough: some wizards try flying in via balloons, requiring you to shoot them down. It's over-the-top satire, ridiculing current affairs across the country and highlighting Kevin's powerlessness to fix America's real issues. Unfortunately the absurdity lessens how effectively that's conveyed.

Once your shift's up the next day begins, but bouncer work leaves little time for sleep, reducing your health. Thankfully that's recoverable by completing tasks for MapO, a mysterious group dedicated to restoring liberty across America. Those takes are completable during your shift and often require admitting people who'd normally be excluded. That's easy in the demo, but I'm guessing MapO plays a larger and more complex role later on. This demo only scratched the surface about their wider activities.

That intrigue and what I didn't learn about Not Tonight 2 in an hour is a big part of what drew me in. Not Tonight 2 opens strong by showcasing America's decline into right-wing authoritarianism and fascism, paralleling real documented concerns about ICE's abuse of power in recent years. Not Tonight 2 tries balancing these serious issues by injecting humour into the American landscape, so it's not entirely depressing. But that approach does feel inconsistent. There's a significant tonal clash between the game's background and the events which follow. When you've gone from seeing your friend kidnapped to upholding poutine mandates and stopping wizards, all in an hour of gameplay, the cheesiness loses some satirical punch.

Losing sight of Not Tonight 2's wider statement felt easy at times, but that intentional absurdity and sense of humour kept me engaged, so it'd feel harsh to criticize it too much. New Camelot's where the demo ended, and there's a tale of resistance here that's piqued my interest. Tonal consistencies aside, I enjoyed it considerably. By drawing parallels to ICE's practices, PanicBarn's statement is clearI just hope a more serious tone later in the game can really drive that message home.

Continued here:

Not Tonight 2 swaps Brexit for ICE in a blunt, silly satire of the United States - PC Gamer

RESEARCH experts and charities working with people with serious and often terminal illnesses have said that delays to research and clinical trials from Brexit could mean the difference between "life or death"for patients.

At an evidence session of the UK Trade and Business Commission today, featuring the CEO of Duchenne UK, whose son has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and a senior representative of Cancer Research UK, the panel of politicians and industry leaders heard that where previously UK researchers and patients could easily participate in international research and trials, new post-brexit delays, barriers and loss of funding are preventing them from taking part in potentially life saving trials.

Citing an existing shortage of research clinicians and nurses, witnesses described how changes to immigration laws has made it harder for EU medical staff to work in the UK.

READ MORE: Scotland's economy takes hit while Northern Ireland 'insulated' by EU single market

They attested that new competency rules expected to come into force next year will make this process even more difficult and costly. The experts reported that uncertainty over funding is also an issue following delays to the UKs association with Horizon Europe.

Witnesses also noted that Brexit has reduced cross-border collaboration on research and that research into rare diseases in particular is vulnerable to disruption from new barriers to international collaboration due to the relatively limited number of patients in any one country.

Duchenne UK recently funded a phase-1 clinical trial for a synthetic steroid, which was run from the UK and subsequently secured Horizon 2020 funding.

However, Commissioners heard that while phase-2 data was very promising, and could potentially lead to a new treatment for Duchenne patients, the UKs withdrawal from the European Medicines Agency deprived them of the resources and access to patients that they needed.

New trials of the steroid will now take place in Canada with witnesses saying that British patients are now losing out on the potentially life saving treatment.

READ MORE:Home Office rejects nearly 1000 EU national applications to stay in Glasgow

Emily Crossley, Co-founder and CEO of Duchenne UK, said Where before we had a frictionless environment that was conducive to innovation and collaboration, we now have a situation where we have to start from scratch.

For the patient this is devastating because a delay can mean life or death. For my son, a delay to a clinical trial could mean him never walking again,"

Dr Philippa Whitford, SNP MP who chaired this session of the UK Trade and Business Commission, said Todays witnesses provided clear testimony on how the UK Governments mishandling of Brexit and the gaping holes they left in the EU/UK deal may now have serious consequences for people's health.

They must provide swift clarity on funding opportunities like Horizon Europe and outline how they intend to remove these obstacles for UK patients and researchers. Barriers to medical research or access to new medicines could cost lives and is indefensible."

Originally posted here:

Brexit disruption to clinical trials a matter of 'life or death' for UK patients - The National

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan took to Twitter to announce the news, while also listing several key benefits the deal will provide for the UK. She wrote: "Our ambitious free trade agreement with Norway kicks in today bringing a whole range of benefits. Enhanced digital trade to boost trade & cut red tape; reducing barriers to trade in Services, like FinTech; supporting jobs in key sectors across UK. Trade=growth=jobs."

The Department for International Trade (DIT) said food producers, services companies and exporters to Norway will enjoy a pre-Christmas boost as the trading arrangements between the two countries come into effect.

This follows a joint deal signed with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein signed in July.

The Government department said the latest trade deal will "bring the UK and Norway closer than ever before, creating a new services and investment relationship with lower tariffs and exclusive duty-free quotas for UK exporters".

As a result, "cutting-edge digital provisions" means British firms exporting to the Scandinavian country "can now benefit from a limit on unnecessary paperwork".

Electronic documents, contracts and signatures will see goods move seamlessly between countries, "saving exporters both time and money", while British companies looking to launch or set-up operations in Norway can now also transfer staff and their families for four years.

Norway is one country to have reduced residency requirements for senior management and directors that could see increasing UK talent sit on Norwegian company boards without having to relocate.

There will also be a more streamlined visa process for business travellers.

The DIT said the deal with Norway underlines both countries "high ambition" on climate change, reaffirming their commitments to reach net zero.

READ MORE:Brexit trade deal imminent: 'Great Xmas present' set to be signed off

The multi-billion pound agreement with Norway will also enable fish feed exporters, many of them based in Scotland, to be able to take advantage of new opportunities to export tariff-free to Norway.

Britain's fish processing industry accounted for around 18,000 jobs throughout the nation in 2020 - most of which are based in Scotland, East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.

The DIT said a result of the Norway trade deal, the industry could reduce their costs thanks to zero tariffs on supply of certain fish and seafood, like prawns and white fish from Norway.

This trade deal will also help the Government to deliver on its levelling up agenda by "stimulating jobs and growth in the regions" according to the department.

Exporters to Norway of West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar, Traditional Welsh Caerphilly, and Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese have also been boosted as they will enjoy "significantly reduced tariffs".

A variety of UK produce, includingsausages, eggs, pork,poultry,strawberries, potatoes, wheatand carrots, will also see furtherimprovedaccess through tariff reductions and quotas.

Sally Jones, EY Partner in Trade Strategy said: "While the signing of a trade agreement is a positive step, what really matters for businesses is these agreements coming into effect.

"Only then can companies start to capitalise on the benefits and opportunities such trade agreements create.

"The UK and Norwegian business communities have deep and long-standing ties, which should help with a smooth transition and these ties will only grow stronger once this agreement comes into force.

"UK services providers should look forward to using the ambitious market access provisions in the agreement for services trade, business mobility, as well as recognising the increasing importance of digital trade."

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Brexit Britain in huge 21.6BN win as Norway deal comes in -Boost trade and cut red tape' - Daily Express

Brexit andan increase in online shopping in the Covid-19 pandemic have seen an explosion in Revenues activity and the customs duty haul for the State almost double to 458 million so far this year.

The Dils Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told Revenue is dealing with up to 700,000 customs entries a day, and that it expects an a overall 30-fold increase on the 1.8 million entries it used to handle annually prior to Brexit.

Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked Revenue officials about the scale of the increase in the post-Brexit collection of duties on packages.

Responding to their answers, she said the increase in the workload for Revenue was astonishing.

Ms Carroll MacNeill also said the fees payable sometimes come as a surprise at the doorstep and added: if you dont mind me saying a slightly nasty surprise when people have ordered gifts.

She remarked: The Revenue is coming into peoples lives in a day-to-day way in a way that it hadnt been before.

Revenue chairman Niall Cody said the amount of customs duty collected up to end of November this year is 458 million an 85 per cent increase on the 248 million collected in the same period in 2020.

Ms Carroll MacNeill said the sum was extraordinary.

Mr Cody told the PAC that Revenue used to handle 1.8 million customs entries per year before Brexit and had anticipated this would go up to about 20 million n the first year.

The reality this year were probably looking at a 30-fold increase, he said.

Mr Cody said he was recently told there were 350,000 customs entries in one day, at that point the highest number in one day. Mr Cody said this has since risen to 700,000 in one day.

Revenue commissioner Gerry Harrahill said there were a number of factors aside from Brexit that have contributed to this explosion.

These include an increase in online shopping due to Covid-19 restrictions and also a changing in European Union rules from July that means that items worth less than 22 are now subject to VAT, though not customs duty.

He said the increased activity is not just an Irish phenomenon and is being seen across the EU in the post-Brexit environment.

Mr Harrahill said it is a new reality and Revenue has done a lot of work last year and this year leading up to Black Friday to bring peoples attention to the issues that arise from importing goods from outside the EU such liability to customs charges and VAT.

Mr Cody earlier told the PAC that Brexit resulted in a fundamentally changed trading environment between Ireland and Great Britain since 1 January 2021.

He said Revenues Brexit infrastructure and accommodation costs were over 9.6 million at Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort for 2020, with further expenditure of over 14 million expected in 2021.

He said: Further changes to the UK governments import requirements from January next will mean more adjustments.

Mr Cody told the PAC that Revenue will continue to work collaboratively with trade and business, both collectively and individually, to ensure trade flows remain as efficient as possible while meeting our Single Market and Customs Union obligations.

He said that since 2017 there has been spending of more than 120 million that is relevant to Brexit, including that on staff, information and communications technology, infrastructure, and engagement with businesses about preparations. He said Britains post-Brexit status as a third country has had a significant impact on the organisation.

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Post-Brexit customs on packages helps Revenue post 85 per cent rise in duty haul - The Irish Times

In its final report of the year, the body representing the Worlds largest economies has given Boris Johnson a bumper Christmas gift by confirming the UK's place at the head of the table in terms of economic growth.Former Cabinet Minister the Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP was upbeat about the news.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Sir John said: "Its great news the UK grew fast in the first year of Brexit.

"We now need tax cuts and use of our new freedoms to keep faster growth going."

On Wednesday, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued its 2021 report - the first year the UK has been outside of the EU.

The OECD now believes Brexit Britain will do better economically in 2021 than every other major industrialised nation in the world, including the USA. Not only that, it expects the UK to out-perform the Eurozone by a considerable margin.

The OECD expects the UKs economy to grow by 6.92 percent. By contrast it predicts a much slower growth of only 5.17 percent in the 17 Eurozone countries.

The powerhouse of the EU and the Eurozone is Germany.

When the UK was in the EU, it was the fifth-largest economy in the world but was always in second place to Germany.

In its report, the OECD predicts that the economy of Brexit Britain will grow well over twice as fast as Germany this year. Germanys growth rate is forecast at just 2.87 percent, whereas the figure for the UK is 2.4 times higher - at 6.92 percent.

When it comes to the Worlds top seven economies, the OECD once again puts the UK at the top of the table.

In the OECDs report the UK is predicted to beat them all in 2021.

The December report by the OECD released on Wednesday clearly shows that the UK is in top position amongst all the World's major economies.

The OECD expects the Eurozone to end the year on a growth rate of 5.17 percent. The United Kingdom's expected growth rate is 6.92 percent.

If the OECD is right, in its first full Brexit year the United Kingdom's economy will out-perform that of the Eurozone by more than one-third.

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Brexit Britain triumph for Boris! UK economy predicted to out-perform EU in 2021 - Daily Express

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen suggested that countries across Europe should be considering making vaccines mandatory. Ms von der Leyen explained: She explained: "We have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere.

And this costs... This is an enormous health cost coming along.

"If you look at the numbers, we have now 77 per cent of the adults in the European Union vaccinated or if you take the whole population, it's 66 per cent.

And this means one-third of the European population is not vaccinated.

These are 150 million people.

"This is a lot, and not each and every one can be vaccinated children, for example, or people with special medical conditions but the vast majority could and therefore, I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now.

"How can we encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union? This needs discussion.

This needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think has to be met."

READ MORE:EU branded bad guys in Brexit negotiations

ShawnC1000 praised this comment saying: Excellent call on BREXIT!

I'm beginning to get the idea that you're right a lot.

Wayne Anthony wrote: Yeah Brexit made sense to me too. like having an interdependent relationship with the rest of the world

Just need to get made in UK going.

However, Antonio Ornelas was not best pleased about the praise given to Brexit.

They tweeted: "You are absolutely wrong.

"The EU has an elected parliament, something that you cannot say in the UK in some chambers.

"There is only one democracy and that is not a constitutional monarchy."

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'Tyrannical undemocratic institution' Brexiteer vows voting Leave was the RIGHT choice - Daily Express