So the UK is staying in the EU until Halloween. Or maybe not as long as that. Or maybe we will stay longer. Perhaps we even have another vote and pretend this has all been some kind of nightmare we should forget. It’s all a bit like some weird version of Groundhog Day. Except this …
It now looks as if Brexit will not happen on 29th March, as repeatedly promised. Theresa May has reluctantly agreed that if her withdrawal agreement is not approved by the House of Commons in the middle of March, then MPs will be given two new votes. The first, on 13th March, will be to allow …
Congratulations to Declan Hassan for focusing in his Business Matters column this week on the Fort George plan. As he explained, the proposal approved by the Department for Communities is for a new health treatment centre on the river front. Yet this could be located in a variety of other locations on the city-side. …
The prospects for a no deal Brexit have become widely discussed in the last few days, not least with Theresa May’s proposed withdrawal agreement having been decisively defeated in the House of Commons. Her approach is to propose something which is more acceptable to Brexiteers in the Conservative Party and the DUP – but this, …
With just three months to go before the UK leaves the European Union, the politics of Brexit have heated up. Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement was to have been voted on by the House of Commons earlier in December, but the vote was instead delayed to the end of January. While May defeated a no confidence …
Two and a half years after the Brexit referendum vote, Prime Minister Theresa May has agreed a draft withdrawal deal with the European Union. It is important to stress two points: first that it only considers the withdrawal terms, not the future trading relationship with the EU; and secondly that for the moment it is …
The Brexit withdrawal deal – drafted, but not yet agreed Read More »
Prime Minister Theresa May ramped up the Brexit tension this week with a warning on the shape of future relationships with the European Union. Following her humiliation at the EU summit, May emphasised that she would still prefer no deal to a bad deal. The so-called Canada style trade agreement on offer from the …
“So far as it lies within the power of the United Kingdom government, we will be doing everything we possibly can, even in the case of ‘no deal’, to ensure that there is continued free trade across the border on the island of Ireland,” David Lidington said on a visit to Derry last week. Lidington …
Brexit negotiations are moving towards a climax. This explains, in part, the increasingly dramatic language being used. But the big question is whether the dire warnings of a ‘hard Brexit’ represent two sides stepping up the ante to improve their negotiating position – or whether we are edging much closer to a ‘hard Brexit’. …
We are now very close to the 28 June deadline for a decision on phase two of the Brexit negotiations – which is supposed to resolve the future of the Irish border, amongst other things. It is on 28 June when the summit of EU leaders in Brussels takes please. The Irish and French governments, …
The voices of children and young adults have been largely missing from the debate over Brexit – though they are the people who will be most affected. So it should be no surprise that there is resentment among many young people that decisions that influence their life options were taken by older voters, many of …
I will be on the Scalp walk this coming Sunday, 13th May. In fact, I go almost every year. There are several reasons. The first is that it fundraises for Concern, which is my favourite charity. Concern does superb work supporting people in poor communities around the world to improve their own lives, supporting self-sufficiency …
Why I will be on the Scalp charity walk this Sunday Read More »