To cover posts relating to Brexit
From its founding, to advocate abolition of the UK’s corn laws, the weekly newspaper The Economist has been an advocate of free trade, free markets and deregulation – until now. The Economist (TE) is reliably anti-Brexit. The newspaper regularly supplements its reporting of the wonders of the EU with snide, disdainful comments against those who … More Remaining: Round the Bend
In August 2016, two months after the Referendum and seven months before Parliament agreed by a huge majority to begin the process of withdrawing from the EU, we posted a review of how Brexit was shaping up. It is astonishing how little has changed and how much remains relevant nearly three years on. For this … More Remains of the Fray
An examination of several topics, including: law, subsidiarity, the European Parliament, the draft withdrawal agreement and the British government’s response. The post has many links, to more details and to supporting evidence. As another example of what we’re witnessing (see Summertime), Kate Hoey (Labour eurosceptic MP) asked the Speaker of the UK Parliament whether the … More Law-abiding or Abiding-law?
Not everyone in other EU countries agrees with the Commission’s approach to the Brexit negotiations. Remaining will not save the UK or the EU if advocates fail to acknowledge the need for fundamental change. Future Perfect? Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (AE-P. Daily Telegraph 21/03/2019) has helpfully gathered together critical views on the Brexit negotiations and the proposed … More Enough is Enough
Evidence of the EU’s lack of transparency in its dealings, contrary to its own treaty obligations. The EU declares loudly in its treaties and in its marketing puff that it is an enthusiastic proponent of freedom of information and transparency (see https://ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-commission/service-standards-and-principles/transparency/freedom-information_en). However: The EU Parliament’s Secretary-General for the last ten years has been Klaus … More Freedom from Information
If the EU wished it, an interim agreement with the UK, while the negotiations on the future relationship are under way, could simply preserve the existing arrangements. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations on free trade agreements (and interim arrangements on the way to such agreements) do not support the claims of those who shriek … More This and GATT
This is an addition to The Brexicon, first published in July 2018. (See the Summary and Parts 1 & 2) Again we list more of the terms designed to confuse the general public in Brexit discussions. Level Playing Field – A field containing different levels. In EU jargon a ‘field’ is an area of EU … More The Brexit Lexicon (Part 3 – March 2019)
This is an addition to The Brexicon, first published in July 2018. (See the Summary and Parts 1 & 3, linked below.) As in the other Parts, we list some of the deliberately misleading terms used in the Brexit debate. Our definitions may be satirical but the explanations justify our criticisms. Brexit Means Brexit – … More The Brexit Lexicon (Part 2 – March 2019)
Chris Leslie says voters in his constituency voted for him rather than the party he represented on the ballot paper – Chris who? Chris Leslie, a founding member of The Independent Group of MPs who oppose Brexit (TIG), stated that he was elected by his constituents to represent them in Parliament. It was his name … More Unrepresentative Members
As in many other technical subjects, the Brexit debate uses common words but with specialist meanings and this can be confusing for non-specialists; there are three parts plus a summary. This is the first edition of The Brexicon, published in July 2018 and lightly edited here. (See the Summary and Brexicon Parts 2 & 3, … More The Brexit Lexicon (Part 1 – July 2018)
This EU Won't Work 