29th Mar 2019 https://nfind.uk/brexit_cliff_edge/index.php/newsletter=35 brexit_cliff_edge

Economic Impact

This is Money The number of cars built in Britain dropped for the ninth consecutive month in February new figures show. Around 123200 cars were built last month marking a fall of over 15 per cent from the same point a year ago. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the continued reduction should be a wakeup call to anyone who believes the industry could survive a nodeal Brexit without serious damage. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-6856749/Car-industry-boss-warns-no-deal-Brexit-cause-damage-sector.html 28th Mar 2019

Economic Impact

Daily Mirror Politicians have let down British business with their irresponsible handling of Brexit a top business leader has said. Dr Adam Marshall director general of the British Chambers of Commerce said Parliament had spent three years going round in circles. The deadlock had left companies and communities facing mass disruption and people were angry and frustrated at Westminster. In a speech to the BCCs annual conference in London he will accuse politicians of focusing on soundbites not substance and of listening without hearing. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-business-chiefs-attack-irresponsible-14196789?utm_source=twitter.com&amputm_medium=social&amputm_campaign=sharebar 28th Mar 2019

Economic Impact

The Economist Regardless of what they tell you traders struggle to explain shortterm fluctuations in the value of currencies. Recently however the pound has become an exception. Every time it seems more likely that Britain will leave the eu without a deal sterling falls against the dollar. The strength of this link can be measured statistically thanks to a helpful proxy for the odds of nodeal. On January 16th a market opened on Betfair Exchange a betting website on whether Britain will crash out by March 29th the original Brexit deadline. Punters have bet 3.9m 5.1m. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/03/28/a-no-deal-brexit-would-send-sterling-to-its-lowest-level-since-1985 29th Mar 2019

Economic Impact

RTE.ie Sterling fell almost 1 today as concerns grew that British Prime Minister Theresa Mays offer to resign failed to convince hardline eurosceptics in her party to back her Brexit withdrawal deal. Boris Johnson who led the 2016 referendum campaign to leave the European Union said Mays deal already defeated twice in parliament is now dead Londons Evening Standard newspaper reported today. Another Conservative Party lawmaker Mark Francois denounced Mays EU divorce deal as rancid and said he would reject it again if parliament voted on it again. The pound tumbled by close to 1 to 1.3061 this evening. Against the euro it weakened 0.9 to 85.99 pence. https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2019/0328/1039101-sterling-brexit-updates/ 28th Mar 2019

Economic Impact

The Sun A report by Cambridge Econometrics published in September 2018 assessed the various impacts Brexit could have on lowincome groups in the years up to 2030. It found that consumer prices will probably rise and wages for lowpay workers will be depressed. And in the case of a No Deal Brexit lowincome households could see an average 480 increase in the cost of living. In November 2018 a UN poverty expert blasted the UK Governments policies of public spending cuts and austerity ahead of Brexit. Philip Alston said The United Kingdoms impending exit from the European Union poses particular risks for people in poverty but the Government appears to be treating this as an afterthought. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8743480/poverty-increased-wages-uk-brexit/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

Nursing Notes Research conducted by the Labour Party and verified by the House of Commons Library shows that between 2010 and 2018 over 200000 nurses left the NHS with a staggering 163094 leaving for reasons other than retirement. Meanwhile the number of workers who quit for health reasons has doubled and the total number of staff leaving the NHS due to a poor worklife balance has more than tripled. https://nursingnotes.co.uk/200000-nurses-have-quit-the-nhs-since-2010/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

Hampshire Chronicle Brexit is now the most important issue for Scots when considering if the country should be independent according to a new opinion poll. More than twofifths 43 of voters cited this as one of the three key issues they would consider when deciding if Scotland should be independent just ahead of the 42 who said the economy was the most pressing factor. In 2014 the year of the independence referendum the future of the economy was given as the main concern by 46 of voters with EU membership only ranking as the sixth most important issue. https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/national/17535154.scots-cite-brexit-as-single-most-important-issue-when-considering-independence/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

Your Local Guardian Scotlands chief medical officer has warned shortages of medicines may occur in the wake of a nodeal Brexit but said people should not stockpile drugs. Dr Catherine Calderwood said members of the public as well as GPs pharmacies and hospitals should not try to build up their own supply of medication. She issued the advice in a letter sent to NHS board chief executives local authority leaders and the leaders of integration authorities which bring health and care services together. https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/national/17534516.scots-urged-not-to-stockpile-medication-in-run-up-to-brexit/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

BBC Politicians advocating a nodeal Brexit are peddling myths and misleading the public the vicechair of the NI Food and Drink Association NIFDA has said. Declan Billington said there is no good outcome from a nodeal scenario. Mr Billington attacked Conservative Brexiteers in Westminster some of whom have said they will not back a deal and would prefer to leave the EU on World Trade Organisation WTO terms. To find that so close to a no deal the myths are still being peddled is hugely concerning because theyre trying to sleepwalk us into a disaster for our local economy. Thats what we see coming out of the London politicians he told BBC Newsline. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-47736064 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

Your Local Guardian A team of more than 300 police officers set up for incidents relating to Brexit has been very heavily deployed and busy since it started last week Police Scotland has revealed. The dedicated unit for Brexitrelated emergencies has already been dispatched to deal with protests and increasing febrile behaviour in the streets according to Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr. Funding for the additional officers is a source of concern with the forces budget revealed to be facing a large shortfall. https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/national/17534656.brexit-police-unit-heavily-deployed-since-launch/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

Construction Enquirer Housing starts stagnated at 165160 in 2018 despite Government efforts to pump up housing supply to achieve its flaunted building target of 300000 homes by the mid2020s. http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/03/28/brexit-uncertainty-stalls-housing-starts-at-165000-a-year/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

Irish Independent A senior police officer has voiced concern that the European Arrest Warrant could disappear in the event of a nodeal Brexit. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs told a Policing Board seminar in Belfast that this week alone five people are being brought back to Northern Ireland under the policing tool. Making a presentation called Policing The EU Exit Mr Mairs said police are concerned about the risk of losing this power if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. He also outlined potential risks from a nodeal Brexit including additional infrastructure or checks at the Irish border generating violent attacks and the exploitation of differences between the north and the Republic. He emphasised that police do not want to see the perception of a safe haven for criminals created either north or south of the border after Brexit. https://www.irishnews.com/news/brexit/2019/03/28/news/police-chief-fears-losing-european-arrest-warrant-in-event-of-no-deal-brexit-1585700/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

The Independent According to the UK Coffee Report created by Allegra World Coffee in partnership with The London Coffee Festival 6517 new coffee shops are expected to crop up nationwide by 2023 which could lead to a shortage of baristas. There are currently 160000 baristas working in the UK but the research claims that 40000 more will be needed to accommodate the looming surge of coffee shops. Given that the industry relies heavily on overseas workers the report suggests that Brexit could have an adverse affect on yet another key part of our lives. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/coffee-industry-brexit-barista-shortage-cafe-eu-workers-right-stay-a8843511.html 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

The Scotsman More than half of Scottish businesses reliant on European Union funding do not have a nodeal Brexit contingency plan new research indicates as the UKs departure date looms amid a political stalemate and ongoing delays. A report by law firm Anderson Strathern found that just 45 per cent of Scots firms that receive funds from the EU have a full strategy in place https://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/scottish-firms-lack-contingency-plans-for-no-deal-brexit-1-4897643 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

iNews Ed Barker who represents the National Pig Association said to i We buy a relatively small range of pig meat products. We only use certain parts of the animal and the surplus is exported. Here we eat lots of loin meat used for bacon and legs which are used for cooked ham and gammon. We sell lots of belly shoulder and offal. The offal market here is virtually nonexistent even with chefs and restaurants talking about it. Brexit could impact this and lead to a higher cost of production. Trade could become more expensive which will lead to higher costs for consumers. The carcass balance we have basically would be fractured meat in demand would go up in price and cheaper cuts would become cheaper or worse wasted. We actually have enough pigs to be selfsufficient but only if British habits change radically. We overconsume some cuts and underconsume others. In a nodeal Brexit bacon might end up being 56 per cent higher in price. Retailers wont absorb that. https://inews.co.uk/news/brexit/britain-brexit-chicken-pork-carcass-balance-price-rises-white-dark-meat/ 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

BBC German companies could pull investment out of Scotland if postBrexit trade becomes too difficult a leading industry group has said. The risk was highlighted by Alexander Altmann from the British Chambers of Commerce in Germany. German companies such as manufacturer Siemens and supermarket Lidl employ thousands of people in Scotland. German business leaders have come to Scotland to press the case for the UK to maintain free trade after Brexit. Mr Altmann told BBC Radios Good Morning Scotland programme that most German companies wanted to see the UK stay in the customs union which would mean no taxes on goods moved between EU countries and the UK. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-47730413 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

The Guardian For many students a jaunt abroad is the highlight of their time at university. But political uncertainty caused by Brexit means more than 17000 British students who planned to study in Europe with Erasmus from September have been left in limbo. This is because a technical note published by the government at the end of January failed to guarantee funding for the scheme if Britain leaves the EU without a deal. It would be a huge loss. Jane Racz director of Erasmus at the British Council says the scheme gives students a chance to gain language skills to understand different cultures and to build confidence. But there are other options. We run through some of the affordable alternatives to Erasmus for those who fear they could miss out. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/mar/28/if-the-erasmus-scheme-closes-after-brexit-how-else-can-i-study-abroad 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

Sky News The Port of Calais is ready for Brexit whenever it happens after spending millions of pounds preparing for the UK to leave Europe without a deal. JeanMarc Puissesseau the ports boss told Sky News that he had overseen 6m of work designed to prepare the port for Brexit and claimed that if the plans were followed there should be no more delays after Brexit than there were before. His words are in stark contrast to many analysts in France Britain and beyond who have claimed that Brexit and particularly a nodeal Brexit would lead to long delays at Calais as lorry drivers were subject to more onerous customs checks. https://news.sky.com/story/calais-port-ready-for-brexit-whenever-it-happens-11676908 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

The Guardian Its tempting to think that the sudden deterioration of my mothers mental health could be linked to Brexit and our countrys collective nervous breakdown. I know its just a coincidence. But I believe that she and many others with Alzheimers disease are Brexit victims because the governments focus on leaving the EU has created a policy vacuum that has cut adrift the most vulnerable people. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/28/brexit-alzheimers-mother-politics-social-care 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

The Guardian it has now emerged that the opening this week of Van Gogh and Britain the gallerys spring blockbuster went ahead only after a lastminute diplomatic scramble to assure European galleries that any masterpieces loaned to the exhibition would not get stuck in a chaotic postBrexit UK. The British and Dutch governments were both enlisted to assure lenders that their works would not be subject to hefty import taxes when they returned to the EU if Britain crashed out with no deal the Guardian has learned. The Tate show was also specifically raised among European member states as a problem that needed an urgent resolution before the European commission circulated new guidance on customs rules barely a fortnight before the exhibition opened to settle nerves. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/28/brexit-leaves-tate-scrambling-to-assure-eu-museums-over-van-gogh-loans 28th Mar 2019

Administrative Fall Out

BBC MPs need to stop chasing rainbows when it comes to resolving the Brexit impasse according to the British Chambers of Commerce BCC. Brexit uncertainty is already doing real world damage to the UK economy the BCCs Adam Marshall told the groups annual conference on Thursday. He also said leaving the European Union in a disorderly way would be a flagrant dereliction of duty. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47721655 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

ITV News Speaker John Bercow on Thursday cleared the Governments Brexit motion on the EU Withdrawal Agreement for debate ruling that it complies with parliamentary conventions which bar ministers from asking MPs to vote repeatedly on the same proposals. He said the motion complies with the test because it is new and substantially different. The motion will not count as a third attempt to pass a meaningful vote on Mrs Mays deal because it will not cover the future relationship with Europe. MPs will be voting on the Withdrawal Agreement only which argues the terms of actually leaving the EU including terms on future trade and the Irish backstop and not the Political Declaration which sets out plans for a future trade and security relationship with the EU. https://www.itv.com/news/2019-03-28/mps-to-vote-on-new-and-substantially-different-withdrawal-agreement-on-friday/ 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

ITV News Theresa May has been warned her promise to stand down if her Brexit deal goes through will not be enough to win over hardline Tory Eurosceptics. The Prime Minister sounded the death knell on her premiership by telling Tory MPs she would stand down for the next phase of negotiations with Brussels. She is is currently battling to win round DUP allies in a desperate attempt to save her Brexit deal. https://www.itv.com/news/2019-03-28/may-warned-promise-to-fall-on-sword-may-not-be-enough-to-pass-brexit-deal/ 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

BuzzFeed News BuzzFeed News has seen a diplomatic note of an EU27 ambassadors meeting on Thursday that states that the UKs remaining options are nodeal or a long delay to Brexit. https://www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/eu-uk-brexit-choices-no-deal-delay 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

The Guardian The EU has moved into full crisis mode with officials now setting the terms the UK will have to meet for Brussels to open talks on avoiding an economic meltdown in the weeks after a nodeal Brexit. The EUs chief negotiator Michel Barnier told the diplomats during the meeting that a no deal was now the most plausible outcome and that there was an urgent need to wargame the blocs response to it. The EU is to step up its fullon crisis preparations according to a diplomatic note. It was agreed among the member states that for there to be any talks after the UK has crashed out the blocs 27 capitals will expect Downing Street to agree to signal by 18 April that it will pay the 39bn Brexit bill despite the failure of the Commons to ratify the withdrawal agreement. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/28/eu-discusses-terms-for-talks-after-no-deal-brexit 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

The Telegraph EU officials involved in negotiating the Northern Ireland backstop admitted afterwards that they couldnt believe the British had signed up to it. We knew it would not be acceptable to the unionists one said. Months on that message still seems to be struggling to get through in Westminster. Is it really so hard to understand why those whose entire existence is founded on preserving the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland would stand firm against a proposal which in their eyes fatally threatens it https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/03/28/dup-faced-ira-arent-going-crumble-theresa-may/ 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

The Telegraph If Boris Johnson was even half as egotistical and calculating as his enemies say things might not be in such a mess now. Had he not collapsed in a heap immediately after the referendum and slunk off to play cricket at Althorp without anything resembling a leadership campaign he might have won. Instead Theresa May fresh from having sat out the referendum campaign saw her chance and pounced. Mr Johnson failed to become leader because of a lack of basic organisation. This is not a mistake that anyone now eyeing No 10 intends to repeat. Now that Mrs May has offered to resign if her deal is voted through and it might be tomorrow the battle to succeed her has begun. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/03/28/leadership-race-future-conservatism-grabs/ 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

CNN Wednesday nights indicative votes showed that there is so far a majority for none of the alternatives on offer. But the most popular option involving a softer Brexit customs union could find its way into the postMay round of trade negotiations with the EU. In fact Mays original withdrawal agreement does not rule out a softer Brexit because it is concerned with the process of leaving rather than the nature of a future relationship. Intriguingly the DUP abstained on the customs union motion rather than voted against. They are rumored to be inclined towards a softer Brexit than May has argued for the bigger issue for them is the integrity of the UK and the Northern Irish backstop. What could change the metrics is of course a general election. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/28/uk/brexit-turmoil-ongoing-intl-gbr/index.html 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

BBC Nicola Sturgeon is more interested in pushing for independence than she is in finding a solution to Brexit the Scottish Conservatives have claimed. All 35 SNP MPs abstained in a Commons vote on whether there should be customs union with the EU after Brexit. Tory interim leader Jackson Carlaw said the SNP had refused to back the very option they have been demanding and accused Ms Sturgeon of faux outrage. Ms Sturgeon said remaining in the EU must now be the top priority. And she said her party would continue to stand up for Scotlands interests by pushing for another referendum on EU membership. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-47736303 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

The Guardian The Conservative MP behind a series of indicative votes in the Commons has insisted the process could still find a consensus despite Wednesday nights first attempt ending in deadlock saying a final collapse of Theresa Mays deal would focus minds. Eight votes on alternative Brexit options put before the Commons after MPs seized control of the parliamentary process from the government resulted in no majority for any of them although the vote was close on one softer Brexit option. Oliver Letwin the Tory former minister whose amendment created the process said this was to be expected and that if Mays deal is defeated for a third time if put to MPs on Friday this could forge unity if the only other option was no deal on 12 April. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/28/brexit-consensus-still-possible-after-commons-deadlock-says-letwin 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

The Independent Labour will oppose any desperate attempt by Theresa May to split a crucial vote on her Brexit deal in two Sir Keir Starmer has said. The shadow Brexit secretarys remarks came amid speculation MPs could be asked to approve the Brexit withdrawal agreement but not the political declaration setting out plans for a future trade and security relationship with the EU. Sir Keir said such a move would amount to asking MPs to vote for a blindfold approach to the next phase of talks which could be led by a different prime minister. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-labour-vote-keir-starmer-corbyn-theresa-may-deal-eu-a8843791.html 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

BBC The prime minister offered to pay the ultimate political price and leave office the grandest of gestures any leader ever really has. For a moment it seemed it might work and line up the support she so desperately needs. But within a couple of hours her allies in Northern Ireland were refusing to unblock the progress of Theresa Mays main mission. That might not be terminal one cabinet minister told me the PM may yet have another go at pushing her deal through Parliament against the odds on Friday. But if Plan A fails Parliament is not ready with a clear Plan B that could yet succeed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47728949 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

Bloomberg Theresa May will put her Brexit divorce deal to a vote in Parliament on Friday but shes holding back the part of the package that focuses on the future trade and security relationship. The question is whether the British prime minister will win the vote this time after her deal was rejected overwhelmingly on two previous occasions. Shes been trying to woo the Democratic Unionist Party in talks all day. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-28/may-s-options-narrow-as-deal-hinges-on-dup-allies-brexit-update?utm_source=twitter&amputm_content=brexit&amputm_medium=social&amputm_campaign=socialflow-organic&ampcmpid%3D=socialflow-facebook-brexit 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

Reuters The deputy leader of the Northern Irish party propping up Prime Minister Theresa Mays government said a Brexit outcome that keeps the United Kingdom more closely aligned to the European Union is now a possibility. From our point of view the concern and priority for us and Northern Ireland isnt necessarily the form of Brexit Nigel Dodds whose party will not back May in Fridays third attempt to pass her divorce deal in parliament told BBC Northern Ireland. Its making sure that whatever form of Brexit we have that those trade barriers between ourselves and our main market in the rest of the United Kingdom the constitutional issues that those are protected and we will be seeking a stronger role in the second stage of talks to avoid some of the problems we have faced in the first stage. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-dup-dodds-idUKKCN1R92VS 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

@Peston The motion for MPs tomorrow approves Withdrawal Agreement if passed but weirdly does not represent a meaningful vote on Brexit. It would lock in 22 May as Brexit day rather than 12 April. But is hugely confusing because unless and until the EU Withdrawal Act is reformed... https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1111314646357692416 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

BBC On what was meant to be Brexit Day is a request to MPs to allow her to keep going to carry on pursuing her route with its welldocumented flaws. Theres a challenge there too not just to her own Brexiteers but to Labour and the other opposition parties to say no to a long delay to our departure from the EU the last moment when Number 10 believes anything even approaching a timely exit can be guaranteed. There are signs now of course that many Eurosceptic MPs are ready to say yes not because they suddenly have realised her deal is perfect but because more of them officially realise that it is the clearest break from the EU they can realistically hope for. Yet her Northern Irish allies are not persuaded. Labour even though they have sometimes accepted that whats on the table tomorrow the divorce deal will never be unpicked by the EU will still in the main resist. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47742243 28th Mar 2019

Political Shenanigans

Politico In the short fiveparagraph document written by Council President Donald Tusks chief of staff Piotr Serafin and circulated among EU ambassadors the blocs remaining 27 national governments were urged to speak with one voice and to insist that the U.K. leave through the Article 50 process set down in EU law. This meant settling the divorce first and the future relationship second once the U.K. had left. In the future we hope to have the U.K. as a close partner of the EU the document read. First we need to agree the arrangements for the withdrawal. https://www.politico.eu/article/how-uk-lost-brexit-eu-negotiation/ 27th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Sky News Almost half of the British public are unconvinced by the likely candidates to succeed Theresa May as prime minister according to an exclusive Sky Data poll. But the vast majority want her to resign if parliament votes against her Brexit deal for a third time. https://news.sky.com/story/sky-data-poll-almost-half-of-britons-unconvinced-by-theresa-mays-potential-replacements-11677361 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Huffington Post UK Labour chairman Ian Lavery is facing calls to apologise to the partys proEU membership after claiming he mistakenly voted in favour of a managed nodeal Brexit. The Wansbeck MP has admitted he accidentally rebelled against the Labour whip when the Commons was asked to vote on eight different Brexit motions as part of the indicative votes process in the Commons on Wednesday night. MPs were presented with YesNo ballots for each of the options as they attemtped reach a consensus on exiting the bloc in the wake of two defeats for Theresa Mays deal. Lavery backed a motion by hardline Tory Brexiteer Marcus Fysh for a managed nodeal exit. It advocated a standstill agreement with the EU while a Canadastyle free trade deal without a single market or customs union agreement was reached. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour-chairman-ian-lavery-claims-he-mistakenly-voted-for-no-deal-brexit_uk_5c9cdda7e4b072a7f606420d 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Politics Home The Government paid between 12000 and 30000 for four Facebook ads pushing the controversial speech she made from Downing Street a week ago. The cost was part of an expensive publicity blitz Downing Street embarked on in a desperate bid to promote the Brexit deal Mrs May clinched with Brussels according to a new analysis by the Peoples Vote campaign. Ministers spent between 80000 and 300000 on Facebook ads promoting the Brexit deal including the four that featured a video of Mrs Mays address. But the ads have since been switched to inactive suggesting the PM had second thoughts about pumping them through Facebook to Brits around the country. Some 700000 has been spent since midDecember last year by the Cabinet Office on two agencies Manning Gottlieb OMD and Engine Partners UK to push Brexit content from the Government. https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/conservative-party/theresa-may/news/102827/excl-theresa-may-spent 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Atlantic More than 1000 days after the U.K. voted to leave the EU the countrys future is still shrouded in uncertainty. Its exit date from the bloc is still unknown. Its parliament is hopelessly divided. Who will be leading the country in the weeks and months ahead is no longer clear. No one least of all British lawmakers seems to know how Brexit will happen or even whether it will happen at all. Nearly every political figure or institution of note in Londonincluding Prime Minister Theresa May who has lost control of Brexit to both her partys right wing and to Parliament and the House of Commons itself which has not been able to agree on any single option for leaving the EUhas when seeking to exert control proved to have none. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/03/brexit-britain-control-may-eu/585940/ 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Economist There will be no downside to Brexit only a considerable upside. David Davis the first of three and counting Brexit secretaries lays out his analysis. October 10th 2016 https://www.economist.com/britain/2019/03/30/brexit-was-scheduled-for-march-29th-wasnt-it-meant-to-be-easy 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Guardian Hanging over all of this is the sense that who gets to be prime minister of Britain is a private matter for the top of the Tory party that a national crisis should somehow be a careers fair for 22 people. You can put some of that down to Camerons law for fixedterm parliaments but there is also the thick sweaty air of entitlement. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/28/brexit-national-crisis-careers-tories-theresa-may 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

CNN Business leaders are voicing intense frustration with politicians who have plunged the United Kingdom deeper into uncertainty over Brexit. No one would run a business like this and it is no way to run a country Adam Marshall head of the British Chambers of Commerce said on Thursday. Theresa May has offered to step down as prime minister in a lastditch effort to win support for her EU divorce plan which UK lawmakers have already rejected twice by huge margins. Parliament itself has now seized more control over the process. Yet with only two weeks to go before the exit deadline delayed once already a series of votes on alternative scenarios has provided little clarity. https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/28/business/business-response-brexit/index.html 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Reuters Brexitsupporting Conservative Party lawmaker Mark Francois said on Thursday that Prime Minister Theresa Mays European Union divorce deal was rancid and that he would vote against it again. If it comes back Im happy to vote it down again he told Sky News. The British people voted to leave the European Union lets just leave said Francois who is vicechairman of the European Research Group of proBrexit Conservative lawmakers. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-francois/uk-pms-mays-brexit-deal-is-rancid-conservative-lawmaker-francois-idUKKCN1R90WU 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Indy100 However none of the comebacks were as on point or as savage as this takedown from the EUs Brexit coordinator who compared him to Field Marshal Haig from Blackadder. https://www.indy100.com/article/brexit-nigel-farage-guy-verhofstadt-blackadder-haig-eu-parliament-8843316 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

BBC The DUP has confirmed it will not back Theresa Mays Brexit deal despite the prime ministers promise to step down if MPs supported it. DUP leader Arlene Foster said that the party cannot sign up to something that would damage the union. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-47728828/arlene-foster-pm-s-brexit-deal-would-damage-the-union 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Euronews A man wearing an antiEU badge was challenged by a customs officer to remove the badge when he refused he was briefly placed in a room for questioning until a second officer released him. Home Office said it is now investigating https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/28/meet-the-man-detained-at-gatwick-for-wearing-an-anti-brexit-badge 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Daily Mirror A petition to Revoke Article 50 has now been signed by more than six million people. Today EU Council President Donald Tusk said the six million people who have so far supported it must be listened to. MPs will discuss the poll in Westminster Hall a secondary chamber on 1 April after a record number of people signed it. But the government have already said they wont be revoking Article 50. In an official response posted on the parliamentary petitions website the Government said This Government will not revoke Article 50. We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with Parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/revoke-article-50-petition-cancel-14194860 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Scotsman Theresa May offers to quit making Boris Johnson smile in latest outbreak of playground politics over Brexit. Boris Johnson emerged from last nights meeting of Conservative MPs with a broad smile. Then came the news that Theresa May had promised to stand down if they agreed to vote for her Brexit deal and that Johnson and other hardline Tory Brexiteers were now prepared to back it https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/brexit-britain-a-nation-born-from-tory-playground-politics-leader-comment-1-4897142 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Telegraph Theresa May will face a day of reckoning on Friday as she tables one last vote on her Brexit deal despite warnings from her closest aides and ministers that she is destined for yet another defeat. The Prime Minister has promised to resign if she gets a deal through Parliament but Eurosceptic MPs have insisted she must announce the timetable of her departure on Friday regardless https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/03/28/brexit-latest-news-theresa-mays-promise-stand-fails-move-dup/ 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Edinburgh News Whatever the estimated numbers turn out to be no one can deny that last weekends demonstration in London was an impressive expression of peoples desire to move to a second referendum to settle the Brexit debacle. As the UK Parliament continues to tie itself in knots with everincreasing tedium https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/opinion/brexit-several-million-reasons-to-hold-second-referendum-steve-cardownie-1-4896155 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

BBC The Department for Transport DfT held no facetoface meetings with the backers of the ferryless shipping firm Seaborne Freight the BBC has learned. A Freedom of Information request unveiled that no officials or ministers met Arklow Shipping the Irish firm that eventually withdrew its support for a route between Kent and Belgium. It also uncovered that no DfT ministers met Seaborne at any point. But the government stressed that many emails and phone calls were exchanged. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47726977 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Times Any journalist who tells you they did not enjoy any of this is probably lying. Brexit may be bad for a lot of industries but it has certainly been good for journalism or at least for providing its practitioners with new material even if its consumers take a dimmer view of it than ever. But it now feels as though even that cold comfort is ebbing away. The rot set in back in December when Mrs May cancelled what was meant to be the first meaningful vote. Robbed of that crunch point MPs sought catharsis through other means first the failed noconfidence vote in the prime minister brought by her own colleagues and second the failed noconfidence vote brought in by Labour. It established a pattern which has persisted from that day to this dictated by Section 13 of the EU Withdrawal Act the bit that makes any withdrawal agreement subject to approval by MPs in a meaningful vote. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/theresa-may-s-deal-may-not-be-dead-but-it-s-killing-us-w2v2mldg0 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Daily Mirror Theresa May played her final card tonight telling febrile Tory MPs that she will quit if they finally back her Brexit deal. An emotional Prime Minister told a packed meeting she will go before the next stage of talks but only if her twicedefeated ... https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-theresa-mays-last-gamble-14196103 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Guardian Theresa May has played her final desperate card to tame the Brexit rebels in her warring party by promising to sacrifice her premiership if they back her twicerejected Brexit deal. The beleaguered prime minister whose authority has been shattered by the double rejection of her deal and the humiliation of a delay to Brexit day made the offer to Tory backbenchers at a packed meeting in parliament. It came as MPs held backbenchled indicative votes on eight alternative Brexit options including no deal a referendum a customs union and a Norwaystyle deal none of which secured a majority. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/27/theresa-may-to-resign-before-next-phase-of-brexit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Sky News Stripping out the part of the deal that outlines what future relationship we will seek with the EU will annoy Labour MPs who are already angry about not knowing what type of Brexit lies ahead due to the vague nature of the political declaration. No doubt the government will seek to reassure MPs by promising to bring back another full vote on the whole Brexit deal in the coming weeks giving them a chance to take blocking action. But some MPs smell a trap.It is UK law that dictates that both parts of Mrs Mays deal need to passed before Brexit. Could the government seek to change the law and then attempt to leave the EU on the basis of tomorrows vote https://news.sky.com/story/brexit-deal-split-deeply-risky-move-for-theresa-may-as-mps-smell-a-trap-11677579 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Politics Home A Labour frontbencher quit her job last night to join a major rebellion against the partys backing for a second Brexit referendum. Melanie Onn resigned as a shadow housing minister after Labour ordered its MPs to vote in favour of a motion calling for any Brexit deal passed by the Commons to be put to a public vote. Jeremy Corbyn suffered further embarrassment when three Shadow Cabinet members Jon Trickett Ian Lavery and Andrew Gwynne abstained. https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/jeremy-corbyn/news/102851/blow-jeremy-corbyn-labour 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Guardian But even if the Conservatives were decent and effective as a simple matter of capacity they are no longer even lowfunctioning they are not viable. Terrified of their own members and overwhelmed with internal rivalry they cannot run themselves let alone the country. Their divisions are multiple and irreconcilable. True many say the same about Labour. But there are two important distinctions Labour did not get us into this mess and it has a far more plausible plan to get us out of it. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/28/tory-party-brexit-political-system-second-referendum 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

Scientists for EU Amidst the political chaos it is astonishing that the idea of a nodeal Brexit is still touted as a viable alternative by some politicians. Parliament has voted against it employers and unions have said it will cost jobs and be hugely disruptive yet somehow the idea persists. The uncertainty and disruption caused by a nodeal Brexit would be disastrous for UK science. http://www.scientistsforeu.uk/royal_society_president_article50petition 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Guardian Donald Tusk has said the EU cannot betray an increasing majority of British people who want to cancel Brexit and remain in the bloc. The European council president hailed those who marched on the streets of London and the millions who were petitioning the government to revoke article 50. Tusk finished his speech by saying They may feel that they are not sufficiently represented by the UK parliament but they must feel that they are represented by you in this chamber. Because they are Europeans https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2019/mar/27/donald-tusk-eu-cannot-betray-increasing-majority-wishing-remain-brexit-video 28th Mar 2019

Political Setbacks

The Independent Police are bracing for potential unrest at protests by proBrexit groups following threats of riots by farright extremists. Scotland Yard said it was ready to share resource across the country if disorder breaks out at numerous planned demonstrations in London and across the UK on Friday. Ukip Tommy Robinson the UK yellow vests Democratic Football Lads Alliance and Leave Means Leave campaign are holding rallies in the capital on the day Britain was due to leave the EU. Counterprotesters are planning to meet them after accusing antiIslam groups of using Brexit as a platform to spread their extreme farright agenda. The Metropolitan Police is working to prevent clashes at the demonstrations which will be held amid heightened tensions over a vote on Theresa Mays Brexit deal in the House of Commons. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-brexit-riot-violence-far-right-tommy-robinson-leave-ukip-eu-met-scotland-yard-a8844181.html 28th Mar 2019

Trade Deals/Negotiations

BBC At a Conservative party event in 2017 Liam Fox said Were going to replicate the 40 EU free trade agreements that exist before we leave the European Union so weve got no disruption of trade. Believe me well have up to 40 ready for one second after midnight in March 2019 the international trade secretary added. As of 28 March only eight of the 40 have been signed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47739303 28th Mar 2019