Category Archives: European Union

Theresa May dismisses pressure to step down as PM after Brexit

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May insists she will stay on after delaying ‘meaningful vote’ on revised exit deal

Theresa May has insisted that she will stay on in Downing Street beyond Brexit despite pressure from cabinet colleagues to step down, after she angered MPs by conceding that there would be no “meaningful vote” this week on a revised withdrawal deal.

The prime minister sparked a fierce backlash on Sunday by admitting that the vote may now not be held before 12 March because her team are still negotiating with EU officials on changes to the deal that she hopes will reassure MPs.

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The Guardian view on Egypt and Europe: embracing authoritarianism | Editorial

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The summit of the EU and the Arab League in Sharm el-Sheikh highlights the ongoing and ill-advised support for President Sisi

Days after Egypt executed men who said they were tortured into confessions of killing the country’s former top prosecutor, Europe’s heads of state are enjoying the hospitality of its president. The resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is hosting the inaugural summit of the European Union and the Arab League. Donald Tusk, president of the European council, is co-chairing with Abdel Fatah al-Sisi; Britain’s Theresa May is among the guests.

If the event itself is a first, the approach is familiar. As Mr Sisi entrenches his rule, presiding over what Human Rights Watch calls Egypt’s worst human rights crisis in decades, European countries murmur about their “quiet diplomacy” on such issues. Then they carry on building ties and providing the air of international legitimacy that he needs given his grim record since seizing power in 2013’s coup. Mr Sisi’s recent spate of executions is instructive: he must have felt confident there would be no repercussions for putting people to death so close to the summit – despite their blatantly unfair trials.

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Theresa May insists Brexit ‘must not, will not’ be blocked

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PM’s vow comes after three ministers signal they could back moves to delay withdrawal

Theresa May has vowed to Tory grassroots activists that she will not allow the referendum vote for Britain to leave the EU to be frustrated.

The prime minister is flying to Egypt for an EU-League of Arab States summit where she is expected to hold talks with key EU figures as she battles to break the deadlock in the Brexit talks.

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‘Soviet vassal state’: Jeremy Hunt makes gaffe in Slovenia

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UK foreign secretary criticised after statement displaying lack of awareness country was part of Non-Aligned Movement

The UK foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has incorrectly claimed Slovenia was a Soviet vassal state during his visit to Ljubljana to discuss the Brexit negotiations with his counterpart Miro Cerar.

Slovenia was in fact the wealthiest state within the former Yugoslavia, which was outside the iron curtain and formed part of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

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Theresa May must go in three months, cabinet ministers say

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Senior Tories to make clear PM should give way to new leader for next phase of Brexit

Cabinet ministers will make it clear they believe Theresa May should step down after the local elections in May and allow a new leader to deliver the next phase of the Brexit negotiations, the Guardian understands.

Senior figures in government have suggested they want the prime minister to leave shortly after the first phase of the Brexit negotiations finishes – or risk being defeated in a vote of no confidence at the end of the year.

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Labour must move faster on antisemitism, says McDonnell, as Austin quits – politics live

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As Ian Austin quits the party, John McDonnell says it has been to slow to tackle antisemitism

Some Corbyn supporters have argued that Austin’s views meant that he was no longer credible as a member of the Labour party. He is generally viewed as having been on the right of the party. Some have taken issue with him citing racism as a reason for leaving the party when he has urged Labour to bring in tougher laws on immigration.

The Mail reported in 2014 that Austin said “the Labour leadership should embrace tough policies including a ban on benefit payments to new migrants who have paid nothing into the system, fingerprinting at the Calais border, and up-front payments by foreigners for NHS care”.

One of the main reasons Ian Austin opposed Jeremy Corbyn so passionately from the start is because he thought Corbyn's pro-migrant, pro-welfare state politics was out of sync with electoral reality. How do I know this? Because he said so publicly over and over and over again.

Ian Austin MP tells Ed Miliband to get tough on immigration  https://t.co/1bAfzxEyOt One from the archives. This obvious anti-racism champion will be a loss.

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Ireland steps up effort to shelter economy from no-deal Brexit

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Bill readied amid concerns over impact on agriculture, food processing and transport

Ireland is accelerating preparations for a no-deal Brexit amid growing alarm that parts of the Irish economy could face severe disruption and even collapse – and that the UK hopes to leverage that prospect to wring concessions from the European Union.

Leo Varadkar’s government is due on Friday to publish a mammoth omnibus bill incorporating 16 pieces of legislation to try to shelter Ireland from the doomsday scenario of the UK crashing out of the EU.

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Theresa May faces ministerial revolt over no-deal Brexit

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Up to 25 government members could vote for delay rather than allow UK to crash out

Theresa May is facing the most serious cabinet revolt of her premiership next week, with as many as 25 members of the government ready to vote for a Brexit delay unless she rules out “no deal” – in a move that will challenge her to sack them.

Rebel Conservatives believe there are now enough MPs across the House of Commons to pass an amendment that would require May to extend article 50 rather than allow the UK to leave without a deal.

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The Guardian view on Britain and China: it’s complicated | Editorial

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Beijing’s might and ambitions, and the approach of Brexit, make the path ahead more difficult. It’s time for careful thought

A few years ago, George Osborne announced that Britain’s relations with China were entering a “golden era”. On Thursday, his successor as chancellor gave a more measured assessment: they are “complex”, Philip Hammond said, noting that they “had not been made simpler” by the defence secretary Gavin Williamson’s threat to deploy an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.

Britain, blanching as Brexit approaches, is more anxious than ever to keep Chinese cash flowing. Diplomats from other nations say London is already less willing to criticise Beijing because it knows how much it will need it. Yet some of the lustre is coming off bilateral dealings, as it is from China’s relationships elsewhere. The Trump administration is viscerally hostile, but Beijing’s increasingly repressive turn at home and forcefulness abroad has alarmed many who were more sympathetic to it.

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No breakthrough for May after ‘constructive’ Brexit talks in Brussels

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PM asks Juncker for changes to Irish backstop as pair agree to meet again in February

Theresa May has told the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, she needed “legally binding changes” to the Irish backstop if MPs were to back her Brexit deal, during a high-stakes meeting in Brussels that yielded no obvious breakthrough.

With only 37 days until the UK leaves the European Union, EU expectations were low when May arrived in Brussels. Shortly before meeting the prime minister, Juncker predicted there would be no breakthrough.

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Eighth Labour MP quits party to join breakaway Independent Group

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Joan Ryan says party has become ‘infected with scourge of anti-Jewish racism’

Joan Ryan has become the eighth Labour MP to resign and join the breakaway Independent Group, claiming Jeremy Corbyn’s party has become, “infected with the scourge of anti-Jewish racism”.

Ryan, the MP for Enfield North, said she had been a member for four decades – but could no longer remain as a Labour MP.

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Honda’s decision is a vote of no confidence in Britain’s future

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There is a sense that while the Swindon plant’s days were numbered, Brexit tipped the balance

Honda claims Brexit had nothing to do with the decision to shutter its Swindon plant, but almost nobody seems to be buying it.

The consensus among industry pundits is that it suits Honda to avoid dipping its toe into the toxic pool of Brexit.

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Brexit backstop: Theresa May to put new proposals to EU

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PM heads to Brussels as Philip Hammond declares ‘Malthouse compromise’ unviable

Theresa May will present the EU with new legal proposals to solve the Irish backstop issue on Wednesday, which Downing Street hopes will be enough to convince Eurosceptics to back her Brexit deal.

The chancellor, Philip Hammond, confirmed late on Tuesday that the government no longer intended to pursue alternative arrangements for the backstop in the withdrawal agreement, which had been championed by cross-factional MPs including Eurosceptic Steve Baker and soft Brexiter Nicky Morgan.

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Cabinet ministers tell May: stop using no-deal threat to negotiate

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MPs tell PM to rule option out, as Brexit secretary and attorney general hold talks with EU

Four cabinet ministers have demanded the prime minister stop using the threat of a no-deal Brexit as a negotiating tactic, telling Theresa May that businesses and manufacturers now needed to be given certainty.

The demand was made in a meeting with the prime minister on Monday by the justice secretary, David Gauke, the work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd, the business secretary, Greg Clark, and the Scottish secretary, David Mundell.

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Brexit: May risks fresh confrontation with ERG over backstop

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Eurosceptics react angrily to culture secretary’s suggestion backstop may not be removed

Theresa May is facing a fresh showdown with Eurosceptic Conservative MPs after a cabinet minister suggested she may put her Brexit deal to parliament again without having secured a change to the withdrawal text.

Before talks between May and EU leaders, the culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, said the prime minister’s aim was to solve the Northern Ireland backstop issue but the “mechanism” of the change did not matter.

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Return of wolves to Germany pits farmers against environmentalists

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EU regulations outlaw killing of wolves unless people are in danger or there is ‘no satisfactory alternative’

More than a century ago, wolves were hunted to extinction in Germany. These days, they’re back – and their presence is a source of political strife.

Wolf attacks on livestock increased drastically in 2017, according to government statistics released at the weekend: they carried out 472 attacks, an increase of 66% over the previous year. The number of killed, injured or missing livestock – mostly sheep and goats – rose 55%, to 1,667.

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Warsaw-Jerusalem tensions rise over ‘Nazi link’ claims

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Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments cause anger in Poland ahead of summit

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to build friendly relations with central European nations are being tested, on the eve of a Jerusalem summit aimed at showcasing the alliance, by disputes over Holocaust history.

Netanyahu has long been criticised by domestic opponents for seeking political alliances in central Europe while turning a blind eye to historical revisionism and antisemitism in the region. However, the Israeli leader was caught up in the dispute last week, when he said during a visit to Warsaw that Poles had collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust.

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Theresa May issues fresh plea to Tory MPs to unite over Brexit

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PM makes appeal in letter for unity and announces further talks with EU president

Theresa May has issued a fresh plea to Conservative MPs to unite and deliver on Brexit, urging her party to “move beyond what divides us” and sacrifice “personal preferences”.

The prime minister’s rallying cry follows another tumultuous week in Westminster that saw tensions in the Tory party reach boiling point, with one of her ministers accusing his Eurosceptic colleagues of “treachery”.

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David Gauke expresses ‘grave concerns’ about no-deal Brexit

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Justice secretary says leaving EU without deal would have ‘very adverse effect’

The justice secretary has said he has grave concerns about the prospect of leaving the European Union without a deal, saying it would have a “very adverse effect” on the UK’s economy, security and union with Northern Ireland.

David Gauke said the government was planning for the contingency of no deal, but suggested he would support extending article 50 if a deal between the UK and EU was not reached, since a no-deal Brexit was not in the national interest. He added that he expected the government to act responsibly if the current deadlock prevailed.

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Porsche asks UK buyers to commit to 10% no-deal Brexit surcharge

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Company says move is a precaution in case WTO tariffs apply to EU-UK trade

Porsche is asking British customers to sign a contract committing them to pay a surcharge of up to 10% of their vehicles’ purchase price if there is a no-deal Brexit.

Cars made in Europe could attract tariffs of 10% if imported to the UK under the terms of the World Trade Organization, the default trading relationship if the UK and the EU are unable to agree a transition period before 29 March.

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