Category Archives: European Union

‘Aren’t you going insane?’: readers’ questions from beyond Brexitland

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Jon Henley answers Brexit queries from confused readers around the world

Having asked those of you living outside the UK if you were confused by the latest news from Brexitland, I got so many responses (thank you all) that I have grouped and paraphrased the most common ones so as to be able answer, at least approximately, as many as possible.

And I’ve mostly stuck to factual questions on the Brexit process. “Will Brexit finally teach Britain it no longer rules the world?” from (among others) Steve Norman in Canada, Ferdy in Dublin and Thijs in the Netherlands, warrants a book-length response, but not now.

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Boris Johnson condemned after falsely saying he did not make anti-Turkish claims in Brexit campaign – Politics live

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s Brexit speech

Here is Tom Brake, the Lib Dem Brexit spokesman, on Boris Johnson’s speech.

No one will take lessons from Boris Johnson on eroding trust in our democracy. The fact he is still peddling mistruths about money from Brexit going to our NHS is shameful. Brexit will make us poorer.

As exit day approaches, with Theresa May’s deal soundly defeated, extending Article 50 is the only responsible course of action left.

And here are some more examples of Boris Johnson raising Turkey as a leave campaign issue in 2016.

In April he said:

I am very pro-Turkish but what I certainly can’t imagine is a situation in which 77million of my fellow Turks and those of Turkish origin can come here without any checks at all. That is mad - that won’t work.

Here's Boris during a HuffPost/Tele referendum debate suggesting British public should be given referendum on any Turkish membership of the EU. And that he is 'all in favour' of Turkey joining the EU as long as the UK 'comes out'. (1hr 12mins)https://t.co/jBMWY530mw

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Corbyn could face string of resignations if he backs ‘people’s vote’

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A number of Labour frontbenchers say they would consider their positions if leader backed idea

Jeremy Corbyn could face up to a dozen resignations from the Labour frontbench if the party backs a second referendum as a way out of the Brexit crisis.

A string of junior shadow ministers have told the Guardian they are strongly opposed to the idea of a second referendum, which they fear would expose Labour to a vicious backlash in leave-voting constituencies.

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May claims it is impossible for government to rule out no-deal Brexit in reply to Corbyn – as it happened

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Labour leader says he won’t meet with PM until she takes no-deal Brexit off table, after May narrowly wins no-confidence vote in parliament

We’re going to close down this live blog now, so thanks for reading and for all the comments. Here’s a summary of the latest events:

Related: Corbyn could face string of resignations if he backs 'people's vote'

The public is “aghast” at the “Brexit pantomime” in Westminster, Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, has told the Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, in what the former termed a “frank discussion”.

With each passing day, our business community, our farmers, our community and voluntary sector are growing more concerned at where this shambles will ultimately end up. And it is they who will pay the price of a no-deal crash Brexit.

Unfortunately, that is where we are likely to end up if Karen Bradley’s government pursues a solution by attempting to placate and appease the DUP and the hard Brexiteers.

It is crucial, now more than ever, that the Dublin Government and the EU27 stand firm on the position that there can be no agreement without a backstop that prevents a hard border in Ireland and protects our peace and political process.

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Brexit vote: Jeremy Corbyn tables no-confidence motion after May defeat – Politics live

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Prime minister’s Brexit deal is lost by 432 votes to 202

Earlier tonight, thousands of people in favour of a second referendum marched on Parliament Square, where they watching the thumping defeat of Theresa May’s deal broadcast on large screens.

Related: People's vote supporters revel in defeat of May's Brexit deal

The former Maryland congressman John Delaney has become the first 2020 presidential candidate to weigh in on Theresa May’s resounding Brexit defeat in parliament on Tuesday.

In a statement to the Guardian, Delaney, a former businessman and centrist Democrat mounting a dark horse bid for the White House in 2020, said: “The truth is Brexit was never honestly sold to voters, which is why the UK finds itself in such a difficult position right now.

Related: John Delaney becomes first 2020 candidate to weigh in on Brexit

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McDonald’s loses Big Mac trademark after legal battle with Irish chain

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Supermac strips US food giant of trademark across Europe after landmark EU ruling

Pat McDonagh earned the nickname Supermac as an Irish teenager after a barnstorming performance in a Gaelic football match in the late 1960s.

The centre half-back guided his school, Carmelite college of Moate, County Westmeath, to victory over St Gerald’s, a more fancied team.

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May faces crushing Brexit defeat despite last-minute plea to MPs

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Prime minister urges MPs to give her plan a second look on eve of crunch vote on withdrawal agreement

Theresa May appears to be on course for a crushing defeat in the House of Commons as Britain’s bitterly divided MPs prepare to give their verdict on her Brexit deal in the “meaningful vote” on Tuesday.

With Downing Street all but resigned to losing by a significant margin, Guardian analysis pointed to a majority of more than 200 MPs against the prime minister.

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Brexit: Tory whip Gareth Johnson resigns because he can’t support May’s deal – Politics live

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PM speech comes after letter from Tusk and Juncker says EU will consider technological alternatives to backstop

In an article for the Guardian, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, says that historical precedent dictates that, if Theresa May loses the Brexit vote tomorrow, she should call a general election.

Here is an extract.

In this week in 1910, the British electorate went to the polls. They did so because Herbert Asquith’s Liberal government had been unable to get Lloyd George’s famous People’s Budget through the House of Lords. Liberal posters defined the election as a choice between the peers and the people. They finally got their way after a second election that December.

So twice that year, and a number of other times, governments who could not get their flagship legislation through parliament, or who otherwise found their authority in the House of Commons exhausted, have been obliged to go to the country to seek a new mandate.

Related: If Labour supports a public vote we’ll take no lectures from Tories about democracy | Emily Thornberry

Conservative MPs have been told that Theresa May will address the party’s backbench 1922 committee at 7pm, after her statement to the Commons. And Jeremy Corbyn will be addressing the parliamentary Labour party meeting tonight too.

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‘I don’t trust the government to look after me or my dog’: meet the Brexit stockpilers

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Some people are stockpiling food, medicine and even pet treats in anticipation of mass shortages after a no-deal Brexit. Are they overreacting, or should we be following their example?

Jo Elgarf doesn’t look like you would imagine a prepper to look. She’s not a swivel-eyed libertarian, camouflaged and armed to the eyeballs, crawling around the woods in Montana, skinning a squirrel for breakfast and fuelling up for the apocalypse. She lives with her husband and three young children in a sleepy suburb of south-west London.

Elgarf is happy to call herself a prepper, though; she is a member – and a moderator – of one of a growing number of prepper groups on social media. Hers – an anti-Brexit Facebook group called 48% Preppers – gets between 100 and 200 requests a day to join. Everyone wants to be ready for a no-deal Brexit.

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Justin Welby: no-deal Brexit would harm poorest people in UK

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Archbishop of Canterbury says he prays every day for Theresa May and other politicians

The archbishop of Canterbury has said a no-deal Brexit would hit the poorest and most vulnerable people in the UK.

Justin Welby also said he was praying for Theresa May and other politicians at the start of what is expected to be one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent parliamentary history.

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AfD party votes to campaign for German exit from EU

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Far-right nationalists decide for first time to seek ‘Dexit’ if bloc does not meet demands

The German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has voted to campaign for the country’s exit from the European Union if its demand for reforms within the bloc are not met.

The decision on Sunday marks the first time any party has called for “Dexit” – a German departure from the EU in the mould of Brexit.

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Labour set to call vote to topple Theresa May’s government

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MPs told to get ready for a no-confidence vote as Tories say PM’s Brexit deal has no hope

Labour MPs have been told to prepare for Jeremy Corbyn to table a dramatic and immediate vote of no confidence in Theresa May’s government as early as Tuesday evening in an attempt to force a general election if – as expected – she suffers a heavy defeat this week on her Brexit deal.

Messages have been sent to Labour MPs, even those who are unwell, to ensure their presence both for the “meaningful vote” on the prime minister’s Brexit blueprint on Tuesday and the following day. Labour whips have told MPs the no-confidence vote is likely to be tabled within hours of a government loss, with the actual vote taking place on Wednesday.

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Ninth weekend of gilets jaunes protests sees police use water cannon in Paris – video

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Police in Paris fired water cannon and teargas at gilet jaunes (yellow vest) protesters on the ninth consecutive weekend of demonstrations. The protests began as a protest against a new eco-tax on petrol and diesel, but has grown to encompass a wide range of demands including giving people a greater say in policy via citizens’ referenda.


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Grayling claim Brexit block could boost far right is ‘gutter politics’

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MPs accuse transport secretary of dangerous scaremongering in attempt to prop up PM’s deal

Chris Grayling’s claim that blocking Brexit could lead to a rise in far-right extremism is dangerous scaremongering and a desperate attempt to shore up the prime minister’s Brexit deal, campaigners and MPs have said.

The transport secretary told the Daily Mail that Britain would become a less tolerant and more nationalistic society if it failed to leave the EU. He said reversing the referendum result would result in the 17 million people who voted to leave feeling cheated and urged colleagues to support Theresa May’s deal.

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Macedonia’s parliament votes to accept new name

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Country will become Republic of North Macedonia when Greece ratifies agreement

Macedonia’s parliament passed an amendment to the constitution on Friday to rename the country Republic of North Macedonia in line with an agreement with Greece to put an end to a 27-year-old dispute.

The two countries struck the deal on the new name in June, but Macedonia will start using it only after the parliament in Athens also ratifies the agreement.

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‘People’s vote’: backers bide their time to force Labour’s hand

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Campaigners believe best moment to win over Corbyn will come after Commons vote

Backing for a second Brexit referendum in parliament is unlikely to be tested until after next week’s meaningful vote, as campaigners weigh up the best moment to try to win over the Labour leadership.

The Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston has scrapped plans to table a “doctors’ amendment” calling for the public to be allowed to exercise “informed consent” about Theresa May’s deal.

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Will the radical right consolidate power in the heart of the EU this year? | Cas Mudde

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May’s European elections offer a chance for the resurgent far right to collaborate, consolidate – and bend the EU to its will

Every five years, millions of Europeans across the continent go to the polls to elect their national members of the European parliament. This May we’ll be doing so again, in what could be a watershed election for rightwing populists.

Although radical right parties won pretty big in the past two European elections, their influence within the various umbrella groups that make up the European parliament’s power blocs remained limited. This year, most rightwing populist parties may make only modest seat gains. But they also have the opportunity to create, for the first time, a serious rival to the centrist political groups that until now have dominated the EU’s governing body.

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No-deal Brexit would put thousands of UK jobs at risk, CBI to warn

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Exclusive: Carolyn Fairbairn of industry body will urge MPs to put economy before politics

A no-deal Brexit would have profound economic consequences with GDP shrinking by up to 8%, putting thousands of jobs at risk, the Confederation of British Industry is to warn.

The business body is urging MPs to back Theresa May’s deal, describing it as a “solution” businesses can work with as it delivers a transition period and avoids a “hugely damaging cliff edge”.

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Theresa May loses grip on Brexit deal after fresh Commons humiliation

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Amendments mean PM would have with little room to move if Brexit deal rejected next week

Theresa May’s room for manoeuvre should her Brexit deal be rejected next week was further constrained on Wednesday night, after the government lost a second dramatic parliamentary showdown in as many days.

An increasingly boxed-in prime minister must now set out her plan B within three working days of a defeat next Tuesday, after the rebel amendment passed.

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MPs to get vote on three-day deadline for May to present ‘plan B’

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Bercow allows debate on amendment aimed at stopping government ‘running down clock’ to no deal

The Speaker, John Bercow, has allowed MPs to debate an amendment that could force Theresa May to present a new Brexit plan within three days if her current proposal is voted down, a decision likely to enrage the government.

Bercow has selected an amendment led by the Conservative MP Dominic Grieve to the business motion that sets up the latest five-day debate on the prime minister’s plan, which will culminate in a crunch vote next Tuesday.

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