DUP to vote against ‘Stormont brake’ in Brexit showdown
DUP MPs will vote against the “Stormont brake”, a key part of the prime minister’s solution to the Northern Ireland Protocol impasse, when it is put before the House of Commons on Wednesday. In a statement, party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said: “Our party officers, the only decision-making mechanism in our party on these matters, […]
Brexit vote rebels compared to ‘Japanese soldiers not believing the war is over’
Downing Street is preparing for a fresh Brexit showdown with Conservative MPs with the first commons vote on the prime minister’s Northern Ireland Protocol solution to be held on Wednesday. The European Research Group of eurosceptic Conservative MPs is yet to deliver its final verdict on the so-called Windsor framework, however Downing Street expects any […]
Splitting and under siege, the DUP faces a Brexit showdown like no other
The discussion on the Northern Ireland Protocol has changed subtly in recent days — and not just because Brexiteers have new lingo, by way of the “Windsor Agreement”, to brandish. Rather, both the substance and tenor of the debate have shifted dramatically because the prime minister appears to have negotiated a better deal with the […]
How Sunak hopes the ‘Windsor Framework’ will end Brexit division
There was a triumphalist tenor to the prime minister’s press conference on Monday afternoon. After years of deadlock, Rishi Sunak was promising an end to the impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol which has incapacitated British politics since Boris Johnson signed off his “oven-ready deal” in 2019. Stationed alongside European Commission president Ursula von der […]
Windsor Framework: Rishi Sunak hails ‘real breakthrough’ on Northern Ireland Protocol
The prime minister has today unveiled a new Windsor Framework agreement with the European Union which he has heralded as a “decisive breakthrough” on the Northern Ireland Protocol impasse. The new framework was announced at a joint press conference attended by the prime minister and the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. […]
EU chief to meet Rishi Sunak in signal of NI Protocol talks breakthrough
Prime minister Rishi Sunak and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, meet today for “final talks” on the Northern Ireland Protocol, after weeks of rumours that a new post-Brexit agreement was close. Downing Street said Mr Sunak “wants to ensure any deal fixes the practical problems on the ground, ensures trade […]
‘Brexit and Scottish Independence are a consequence of failure, not a cause’
Has Michael Gove gone rogue (again)?
“What’s Michael Gove up to?” This perennial question is doing the rounds once more among Gove-watchers in SW1 after the Observer published details over the weekend of a “secret summit” on Brexit. The paper reports that the two-day summit in the Great Hall of Ditchley Park was a cosy cross-party affair, complete with an extraordinary guest […]
The fallout from the Labour-Conservative ‘secret’ Brexit summit points to a new political divide
Last week, a leading troupe of British politicians — from eras past and present — assembled in a quaint, picturesque Oxford country house for a conspicuously clandestine conference. It was a two-day affair and its guiding question, according to documents leaked to the Observer, was: “How can we make Brexit work better with our neighbours in Europe?”. […]
Brexit hitting economy ‘faster’ than expected, says Bank of England boss as rates hiked
The Bank of England announced at noon that it was hiking interest rates for the tenth time in a row. Decision makers on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to increase the bank rate from 3.5% to 4%, in a bid to bring down persistent double-digit inflation. The Bank also outlined that while the […]
