‘Comfortable Leavers’ study scotches myth of the average Brexit voter

The popular image of the classic Brexit voter as “a poorly educated inhabitant of a faded seaside town or the grim, post-industrial north” of England has been shown as wildly inaccurate according to new research on so-called "Comfortable Leavers" published on Monday (19 April).

The Brief, powered by FACEBOOK – Sold down the river

Even those of us who have the rosiest impressions of our politicians know that they all twist the truth. Most get away with it, but the biggest lies have a nasty habit of catching up with them.

Brexit sparks £1 trillion UK assets switch to EU: study

UK banks and insurers have shifted more than £1.0 trillion to the European Union in response to Brexit, a study published Friday (16 April) found.

European Parliament gives initial backing to UK trade deal

The European Parliament’s committees on relations with Britain on Thursday (15 April) voted overwhelmingly in favour of the post-Brexit trade and cooperation agreement, clearing the path to its final ratification.

MEPs move closer to ratifying Brexit deal but final date remains unclear

EU lawmakers moved closer to ratifying the bloc’s new trade agreement with the UK on Thursday (15 April), after the European Parliament’s International Trade and Foreign Affairs Committees gave their green light to the pact.

Sleaze scandal infects UK politics amid Covid spending spree

A drip-feed of revelations over the collapse of an opaque financial firm is raising serious questions about cosy ties between UK politicians, civil servants and big business as the government spends lavishly on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Uncertain’ Brexit deal could see UK bound by EU subsidies rules, lawmakers warn

The uncertain legal status of the Northern Ireland Protocol could lead to major confusion and the UK becoming de facto bound by EU subsidy rules, according to a report by UK lawmakers published on Friday (9 April).

Johnson urged to convene all-party talks following riots in Northern Ireland

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been urged to convene all-party talks on Northern Ireland after the sixth night of riots in the province on Wednesday (7 April) left more than 50 police officers injured.

UK PM Johnson says deeply concerned by Northern Ireland violence

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was deeply concerned by scenes of violence in Northern Ireland after crowds of youths in a pro-British area of Belfast set a hijacked bus on fire and attacked police with stones.

On his last day with the Commission, Barnier says Brexit reality starts hitting

The European Union's former Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said on Wednesday (31 March) the reality of Britain's decision to leave the bloc was only now being felt, years after the British 2016 referendum on membership.

UK calls for end to ‘pernicious’ trade practices, in apparent swipe at China

Britain said it will push G7 allies to do more to ban "pernicious practices" in trade, such as forced labour and intellectual property theft, in an apparent call for a tougher line towards China at the World Trade Organization.

Scottish leader pledges election win will lead to independence vote

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Wednesday that she will push for another referendum for Scottish independence if her party is voted back into power in the upcoming elections.

The Brief, powered by FACEBOOK – From bad deal to no deal

"Once we have left the EU and have a new trade deal, then we will be friends again." So said many a Brexiteer over the last five years. That argument always struck this reporter as spectacularly naïve, almost as naïve as the notion that both sides would follow the principle of rational self-interest in the negotiations.

UK food exports drop 75% in first month of post-Brexit trade

UK food and drink exports to the European Union dropped by 75% in January, the first month of life outside the EU’s single market, according to data published by the UK’s Food and Drink Federation.

UK warns EU vaccine export ban would be ‘counter-productive’

Britain on Sunday (21 March) warned the European Union against halting exports of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccines if the bloc does not receive promised deliveries, saying such a move would be "counter-productive".

Biden backs Northern Ireland peace in virtual Saint Patrick’s Day talks

President Joe Biden expressed support for the Northern Ireland peace agreement in the face of Brexit-related tensions when he met Ireland's prime minister Micheal Martin for virtual Saint Patrick's Day celebrations Wednesday (17 March).

UK accuses EU of brinkmanship over vaccine export threat

British foreign minister Dominic Raab accused the European Commission of brinkmanship over its threat to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines, calling for Commission head Ursula von der Leyen to explain her comments.

Commission ‘not naive’ about UK’s data ambitions, Reynders assures MEPs

The European Commission is 'not naive' to the UK's future ambitions in the data space and will be 'prepared' to suspend transfers of personal data to the country should the UK in the future diverge from EU standards, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has said.

UK gives priority to Indo-Pacific region as part of foreign policy revamp

The UK is set to shift its focus from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region as part of a planned revamp of its foreign, trade and defence policy announced on Tuesday (16 March), which made scarce references to a future EU-UK...

UK’s Johnson to visit India at end of April as part of policy ‘tilt’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India at the end of April in what will be his first major international trip after Britain's exit from the EU as part of efforts to boost UK opportunities in the region.

UK to increase nuclear stockpile

Britain is to announce an increase to its nuclear weapons stockpile as part of a wide-ranging review of security, defence and foreign policy, two newspapers said on Monday (15 March).

EU launches lawsuits against UK over Irish border

The EU launched legal proceedings against Britain on Monday (15 March), alleging that London had broken a protocol of its Brexit divorce agreement covering Ireland.

Time for Boris to stop ‘passing the buck’

Bluster, bluff and a freewheeling approach to facts have been the hallmark of the attitude of Boris Johnson to the problems Brexit posed for Northern Ireland, writes Dick Roche.

UK delays customs checks on EU imports by six months, again

The UK on Thursday (11 March) bowed to pressure from businesses by again delaying customs checks on imports from the EU and elsewhere by six months, to January 2022.