The EU/Brexit Blog

I apologise for my recent lack of posts but there have been many factors in my decision not to post anything on my blog over the last four weeks. Back when Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected emphatically by Parliament back in mid January, I thought to myself, well at least Mrs May now has a mandate to either remove the backstop or end negotiations. In my mind it was clear, the backstop was an issue of ginormous magnitude for the Commons and one that EU leaders would fail to avoid. Unless the issue could be resolved, there would be no deal. So I waited. I waited for progress to be made to resolve the issue of the backstop. I waited for a compromise, a sensible and reasonable compromise which could see the issue become less volatile or even solved. However, as I waited, I fully noticed the incompetence of both Mrs May and Mr Corbyn who failed to even discuss or resolve the issue. In fact, both were more concerned about keeping their respective parties in tact - something the la...

Well hasn't this been a turbulent week in the UK. First, we had the vote on Mrs May's deal called off on Monday and then, on Tuesday evening, Sir Graham Brady announced the 48 letters of no confidence had been sent in by Tory MPs. The subsequent vote was then won by Mrs May although not emphatically. Mrs May then announced she would seek further clarification of the deal as a result of her calling of the meaningful vote. Now that is a brief summary of this week in politics and I could've easily surmised these events but I thought it was important to take a minute to let the dust settle and then comment on everything - which is what I intend to do now. First of all, when Mrs May called off the vote, I personally considered that the most politically insensitive move the PM could've executed. Despite there being three full days of debate in the Commons for the deal, the PM, at the last minute, pulled the vote due to the knowledge that she would lose. Quelle suprise. ...

(note this was written on Thursday 8th November 2018) For so long have the British people heard the term 'Backstop Arrangement' and not quite known what they mean, it is the elusive term that proves so difficult in British politics. But what are the arrangements and why are they important to the Brexit process? The UK Government have been stating that 'No Deal is better than a Bad Deal' since January 2017 and whilst many have practically disposed of the idea due to the practical and real issues that arise from a no deal, logically, it is a good negotiating tactic showing ones preparedness to walk away from negotiations. The EU has returned, taking this statement for face value, and started to make contingency plans should the UK and EU fail to reach a deal stating the future relationship with regards to movement of people and goods, there needs to be a backup arrangement protecting the fragile balance of Irish politics across the North South divide. Furthermore, it ...

I apologise in advance for this post, it is a lot more reactionary to current affairs than most of my blog posts and whilst my blog posts are kind of dependent on current affairs, this is based upon the events of the past few days. For too long now, I have almost expected the UK Government and EU to reach a deal. Jean-Claude Juncker's mandate has been to reach a deal and it appeared almost inconceivable that Juncker could unsuccessfully achieve his mandate and still hold his position within the negotiating team. Similarly, a world in which the UK crashes out the EU seemed beyond belief; our financial sector, aviation, and food market would collapse almost instantaneously and leave Britain at a standstill, a first for such a developed nation - and one I didn't want to imagine. Furthermore, the positive language, until now, used by Tusk and May acted as encouragement that a deal could be done by November. The undertone set by May was that she expected, come November, the ...

I want to start off by saying that at the beginning of the year, I was incredibly receptive to the idea of a People’s Vote due to my pure desperation to stop Brexit. Whilst at the time I believed it to be a legitimate scenario in which the (No) Deal would be fully presented and laid out to the public, I fail to see the Government legitimately considering that notion and see the potential ramifications and precedent set for the future as inconceivable. Firstly, I genuinely fail to believe that Government will be prepared to present the full negotiation and deal with the Public. The nation has been divided based upon their desire to Remain or Leave and I believe that a People’s Vote will only enhance and intensify the clash between the two ideologies in the future. When I open my Twitter newsfeed, I am bombarded with #FBPE retweets arguing, with much evidence, as to why leaving the EU would negatively impact the nation and I can only see the rivalry between the two divisions incre...

A few friends of mine questioned the reality of whether Britain would become a third world country under a No Deal Brexit scenario and I thought it was appropriate to clarify my thoughts for this idea. First of all, it is important to determine what a third world nation is and disassociate this term with poverty. Despite the Chancellor’s hallowing remarks on the economic impact of a No Deal Brexit, it should still be stated that the United Kingdom would remain a developed nation. A third world nation, in historic terms, is a nation that did not pick a side during the Cold War – for example, most African and Asian/Pacific nations. However, more recently, the definition of a third world nation has been altered, of course, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, the Borgen Project states that a third world nation has ‘an unstable and inconsistent economy…fewer natural resources…and a copious amount of debt’ that is constantly accruing. Unfortunately, the UK has ...

Panasonic announced on Thursday that it would move its European Headquarters from the UK to Amsterdam to avoid ‘potential tax issues’ due to ‘Brexit-related concerns’. Now ordinarily this would not be such a big deal if it weren’t for the true reasons for Panasonic’s quick and decisive exit from the UK. The BBC states that the UK could lower business taxes in order to encourage businesses to set up shop in the UK. This has significant implications for the future as it presents the idea that the UK Government believes the UK is not a desirable location for businesses. This immediately presents Britain as a third world country, and fall from grace many are too afraid to admit. Panasonic also cited concerns over the free movement of goods as a reason for exiting the UK; the uncertainty for businesses with a No Deal Brexit looking more and more likely every day has presented industries with parts coming from all across Europe with huge issues. For example, the automobile industry regular...