'It's time to think the unthinkable on Brexit' argues pro-EU Tory MP Sam Gyimah. 'It is no exaggeration to say we face the greatest political and constitutional emergency we've had in peacetime. This is not in response to any external threat or challenge. The tragedy is we have done this to ourselves. But because of that, we can step back fro...
Since Anglo-Saxon times, the Monarch has been required to rule for the benefit of the people. As with our law, our democracy is based on consent and has been evolutionary. Its genius is that as individual sovereignty replaced that of the monarch, the monarchy became the repository of the people's sovereignty. The people are sovereign and lend their...
Did you call me nebulous? The end of year festive cheer was in full swing as politicians exchanged pleasantries.Many pondered whether the leader of opposition called Theresa May a 'stupid woman' and Jean-Claude Juncker may have had equally kind words for our PM. It was rather a turbulent week in British politics - a vote of no confidence in Theresa...
By JOHN EAST 23 June 2016: The UK held a referendum on its membership of the EU, with the majority of voters choosing to leave (51.9% of the vote versus 48.1% voting to remain). 24 June 2016: Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intention to resign. 13 July 2016: Theresa May became Prime Minister. To fulfil the referendum Article 50 should ha...
The European Union is playing brinkmanship. It is making an offer of a 34-page composite "framework agreement", covering such matters as immigration, state aid, mutual recognition of industrial standards, agricultural products, air transport and land transport, where local rules would automatically adapt to be in line with EU law. The treaty would ...
Quelle difference! The tremendously effective protests throughout France against the arrogant and aloof president Emmanuel Macron began as a reaction to higher diesel taxes. For the gilded elite in Versailles to impose an environmental policy that would impoverish an already struggling populace was the straw that broke the camel's back. Macron was ...
Dr.Sarah Wollaston, Conservative MP for Totnes Constituency, has launched the following as a Private Members' Bill.It has started its journey through Parliament and the 2nd reading is on 25th January. European Union (Revocation of Notification of Withdrawal) Bill 2017 – 2019 Type of Bill: Private Members' Bill (Presentation Bill) Sponsor: Dr.Sarah ...
'If there is a no-deal Brexit it will be the worst thing that has happened to British universities in modern history'. So said Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at Oxford University, in a Guardian report on a letter by academic leaders three months before the withdrawal date. The EU represents progress, and Britain the past of empire a...
The media is trumpeting a very scary tune about a 'no deal' Brexit. Perhaps it's the swansong in their dark and gloomy concert. There will be hurdles, but we in Britain, will use our initiative and people are always at our best when we have to use our initiative. For those who would like to rename 'no deal', the Bruges Group is welcoming suggestion...
1.Why are you plotting to thwart the democratically mandated instruction of the majority in the United Kingdom - to leave the European Union – its customs union, single market, court and ECB dictates? You lost the 2014 referendum. Scotland's people voted to remain part of the UK. You have a dictator's attitude to the people: twist their arm, nag an...
Brexit - Our Future! With Rt Hon. Lord Lilley PC, Rt Hon. Sammy Wilson MP and Daniel Kawczynski MP Bruges Group Conference Morning Session - with Shanker Singham, Martin Howe QC, Andrew Bridgen MP and Ewen Stewart Afternoon Session - with Rt Hon. Mark Francois MP, Dr Gerard Lyons and Professor Patrick Minford Evening Session...
Hysteria is a taboo word nowadays. Derided for its original concept of female volatility wreaked by hormones, it also offends the postmodern elevation of emotional truth. Yet the feminist #MeToo movement, a moral panic of gender grievance, is becoming a case study of mass hysteria. Consider the reaction to the appointment of judge Brett Kavan...
There was, in the offices of the Daily Beast in Evelyn Waugh's Scoop, frequent use of the phrase "Up to a point, Lord Copper". As alert readers will remember, it actually meant "No". The EU and its supporters have a good deal in common with the Beast, when it comes to taking ordinary words and saying they mean something new and unexpected. Think "c...
Warning! If voted through, this agreement will be irreversible. Parliament will have bound its successors to the EU, possibly into the next century. The Outline Political Declaration prefacing this "deal" says we share basic values with other EU nations and reaffirms our commitment to the ECHR. This is supposedly the ideological basis for th...
A no deal scenario is by no means a legal or economic vacuum. After the UK leaves as seems increasingly likely it will be in a similar relationship with the EU as is any country outside of the EU (referred to in the EU Treaties as 'third States' or 'third countries'). This research addresses some legal aspects of the Brexit process as it ente...
MARTIN HOWE QC This article dated November 22nd 2018 appeared in Brexit Central. https://brexitcentral.com/withdrawal-agreements-northern-ireland-protocol-neither-backstop-temporary/ Within the draft Withdrawal Agreement ("WA"), 175 pages consists of a Protocol whose formal title is "Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland", together with 10 detailed ...
Parliament is not allowed to surrender law making to a foreign jurisdiction. Theresa May's withdrawal agreement seeks to hand our right to self-government to the European Union. The foundation of our democracy lies in the answer to the question: where is the origin of power? The answer is that all power is vested in, and consequently ...
The spectre of Charlemagne (Karl der Große) has tantalised demagogues in the western part of Eurasia for centuries. The dream of recreating his short-lived empire has cost countless millions of lives. European history is littered with the shades of failed empires. The result of personal egos, they were bound to fail when the egos dimmed. The latest...
Bright blue flags with the circle of yellow stars, hoisted with the hubris of progressive post-nationalism. The colours don't seem quite right, do they? In London, foreign tourists flock to our historic buildings, where the theme is red, white and royal blue. However, stand across the road from the Remain vigil at Westminster, defiantly waving your...
Amidst the political fallout in the UK following the government's controversial draft Brexit deal, an equally important development in Ireland went relatively unnoticed. During the ruling Fine Gael party's annual conference, foreign minister Simon Coveney confirmed that Ireland has no plans to prepare infrastructure for a hard border with the UK, e...
A calculated campaign is underway to effectively nullify the 2016 referendum and keep the United Kingdom in the European Union for the foreseeable future. The latest development in this ongoing saga is the attempt by the Prime Minister to extend the transition period bringing it closer to the next General Election in 2022. We all remember that duri...
Any sort of trade deal with the EU is bound to result in economic meltdown. Here's how and why. Author: John Poynton This graph shows our Balance of Payments Current Account – in effect our national profit and loss account, comprising mainly but not exclusively of trade – split into two separate components; our trade with the EU (the red line...
Many of those who insist that the 2016 referendum was only advisory are now demanding a second referendum. If the first one was only advisory, how could a second one not be advisory too? What they mean is that pro-EU MPs and unelected pro-EU peers should make the important decisions in this country, not the uncouth British people, who can't be trus...
Analysis of Theresa May's Brexit proposal. Can the UK claim to be an independent state? Introduction The current draft of the agreement "on Withdrawal of the UK from the EU and EURATOM" (the "Agreement") can be found here... https://ec.europa.eu/commission/files/draft-agreement-withdrawal-united-kingdom-great-britain-and-northern-ireland-euro...
For centuries, wool was the mainstay of our economy; so vital that Edward III ordered his Lord Chancellor to sit on the woolsack. Export of raw wool financed trade and new towns. Flemish and Huguenot weavers fleeing European persecution added their skills. By the 16th century, English cloth dominated European markets. It provided the trade good use...
If - and that's a big if - there were a parliamentary decision in favour of a fresh referendum on the EU, how should the Leave majority respond? Let's ask recalcitrant Remainers to put themselves in our shoes. What incentive would there be to vote again? What faith could Leavers have in the system, if they overcame the odds stacked against them for...
The EU's backstop is not an insurance policy but a trap (Roger Kendrick in BrexitCentral, 22 October.) "The backstop is not an insurance policy which will never be needed or used. It is an ingenious device developed by the EU to create a comprehensive lock on the future trade and regulatory policy of the UK thereby ensuring that the UK would be und...
Oddly, many who insist that the 2016 referendum was only advisory are now calling for a second referendum, for a 'People's Vote'. If the first one was only advisory, how could a second one not be advisory too? What they mean is that pro-EU MPs and unelected pro-EU peers should make the important decisions in this country, not the uncouth British pe...
Anyone remember Watney's Red Barrel? This ubiquitous, tasteless brew was a product of the overhaul of the British brewing industry in the 1960s and 70s, as the plethora of local breweries steeped in heritage were systematically bought out by the 'Big Six' of Bass Charrington, Whitbread, Watney Mann, Scottish & Newcastle, Allied and Courage. Up ...
Between the huffing, puffing and wheezing as a group of us old farts peddle away on our stationary bikes in the gym, there is often a lot of banter, especially taking the micky about the football teams each of the chaps support.The reason we are all there at the Heartcare gym is due to all of us having various heart problems or, as in my case, suff...
Supporters of Brexit have disagreed with each other – sometimes quite vehemently – when it comes to trade issues. Which model shall we go for? WTO? Canada? Norway? Take your pick, but you'll find someone equally committed to Brexit who will tell you that you're wrong. The focus of the Brexit debate has been trade and no one would deny that our futu...
In the context of Brexit, things would be so much tidier if it wasn't for Northern Ireland. The province not only obstinately voted Remain, but also inconveniently promises to bring with it a new, uniquely porous, EU land border. If somehow one could leave Northern Ireland as a member of the EU and have the frontier redrawn in the Irish Sea, life w...
The EU has accused one of its members, Hungary, of not upholding European Values. The EU parliament has voted to 'launch action' against the government of Viktor Orban. There are many charges, but according to Judith Sargentini, the EU parliament's rapporteur on Hungary: The main issue is that Hungarian citizens are losing out on an inclusive democ...
Steve Baker MP presents five videos updating Brexit and explaining its significance: 1 - Self-government and trade 2 - The Withdrawal Agreement 3 - What is possible: the internal market vs a Free Trade Agreement 4 - What's wrong with Chequers, the Government's plan? 5 - It is time to make an advanced FTA work for the who...
The phenomenon of fake news has become a major story in itself. CNN constantly dishing the dirt on Donald Trump with no pretence of impartiality; the Guardian blaming Russian interference for Brexit; conspiracy theories abound. Economy of truth and sensationalism are not new, but undoubtedly the problem has worsened with the internet, which has spa...
The politics of Europe is such that we have in past centuries witnessed many revolutions of the kind which lead to conflicts.Today, once more, under the "leadership" of the EU we are witnessing another test.The British in their caution and concern are stepping away from the EU in the hope that Brexit will mitigate the creation of the Grand EU monoc...
One remarkable feature about the EU is the degree to which national governments of the member states obey it almost without question. Ordered by the European Court of Justice to hand over large sums of their taxpayers' money to Brussels as a fine for some technical infringement of the EU treaties, they do so like lambs and virtually without questio...
Although the future of Britain after Brexit still remains uncertain, there is plenty that can be done to ensure that you are ahead of the game when it comes to claiming back PPI. Here we are going to go through some of the top tips as to whether or not PPI will be affected by Brexit and how you can prevent it. What Does Brexit Mean For Banking? To ...
Mass media, according to a letter sent to the government of Poland, 'are the property of the whole human family. Everybody has a right to use them'.This was not a complaint to the allegedly dictatorial Law & Justice party of today, but to the bluntly oppressive communist regime in 1978. The bishops of that traditionally Christian land, whose pe...
Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, Chairman, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good afternoon. I wish to thank the Chairman and Ms Melissa Crawshay-Williams for their kind introduction and to congratulate and thank the members of our Council for their kindness, courtesy and professionalism in arranging this event. I wish to speak of the changing...
On 20th September 1988 Lady Thatcher made her seminal Bruges Speech. As Prime Minister famously said to the College of Europe in Bruges; "We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them reimposed at a European level, with a European super state exercising a new dominance from Brussels." This speech revol...
The way in which the EU goes about producing the laws that bind the rest of us - whether our politicians like them or not - can be difficult to understand. If you're not intimately familiar with it, don't worry. You're in good company. If really interested, you'll find it in Arts.288-299 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a tur...
In 1989, events that led to the fall of the USSR overshadowed one that arguably would have an even greater economic, cultural and political impact. According to Poole College of Management, outsourcing was formally identified as a business strategy that year. The collapse of Carillon in January 2018, the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of po...
A policy model for a clean Brexit - no queues at Dover, no Irish hard border Membership of the EU Customs Union and the (largely contrived) Irish border issue are once more on the front pages. After success in the Lords, Remainers smell blood and are slavering at the prospect of defeating the Government in forthcoming Commons votes. Given thi...
There are several indicators that the US economy is doing very well at the moment. According to a recent BBC report: "The US economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly four years in the second quarter, expanding at an annualised rate of 4.1%, official figures show. The gains were driven by strong consumer spending and a surge in exports"[1] In addi...
The price of a pint is stretching the working man's wallet too far. The results of excessive taxation are plain to see, with more and more pubs closing down and replaced by flats, a convenience store or an Islamic centre. These metamorphoses are a sign of the times: the rising population (with particular growth of largely teetotal Muslim communitie...
A report by Victoria Hewson, Senior Counsel of the IEA's International Trade and Competition Unit There are three main factors behind the fears in relation to medical provisions post-Brexit. Here we examine what the potential problems are and the available solutions: 1. New tariffs would raise prices It has been suggested that the prices of ...
In the aftermath of both the Genoa bridge collapse and the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, left-wing politicians and media were quick to scandalise their political opponents, ranging from sociological critique of callous capitalism to blunt reference to the 'fascist' Italian government or a Tory cull of the poor. Coverage of the Genoa calamity in the ...
The 'silly season', they call it - when Parliament has closed for the summer holidays, and the newspapers scramble for titbits. Last week the media pounced on a commentary by the recently-resigned Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, the flaxen-haired politician pretending to be an essayist (or is it the other way round?). Don't ban the burqa, Boris wr...
Since the late 1970s, I had been travelling and doing business in the Soviet bloc and USSR. Soon after its collapse, I was working for a German company, responsible for its major interests in Ukraine and development in Central Asia. The fall of the USSR was sudden and to the ill informed, unexpected. Those of us who knew it, had wondered for years ...
Gresham was a 17th century banker and trader, after whom Greshams, the North Norfolk Public school is named. Mr Gresham is most famous for 'Gresham's law' which states that, 'Bad money drives out good.' In Gresham's time of coins, it meant that, one would always spend a 'fake' coin or one with less precious metal content and keep the good ones; a b...
This week, it was announced to big fanfare that: 'The UK's worsening housing crisis has led the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) to set up a £50,000 prize for anyone who can solve it – with Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg as judge.' https://twitter.com/iealondon/status/1021311057426608128 'Competitors are being asked to propose a single policy i...
Of course the mere idea of armed foreign militias patrolling British streets sounds outlandish and is usually rejected by most Brits as absurd and impossible. However, let us consider the matter more closely. The EU's plan to eventually morph into a single European State was proclaimed openly by the founders, and even later by the likes of Helmut K...
As the Brexit talks continue to escalate, so too does the effect that Brexit is having on the finance industry. With many hesitant to take out short and long-term loans, the finance industry has experienced a slight slump that is slowly beginning to improve. Here, we're taking a closer look at the impact of Brexit on the financial sector. Effects O...
Two things that are not generally knnow about the European Arrest Warrant, and how it could be struck down... https://savebritishjustice.wordpress.com/2018/06/27/two-things-that-are-not-generally-known-about-the-european-arrest-warrant-and-how-it-could-be-struck-down/ 1. People do not realise how profoundly different the systems of criminal law use...
EU Strategic Funding of Defence and Security Analysts This research looks at the EU's strategic funding of defence and security analysts and groups in the UK and more widely across Europe. This has important implications for the debate in the UK over the UK's involvement in the EU's swiftly evolving defence, security and military plans. The a...
When Peter Mandelson was in the Labour Government and later a highly paid EU Commissioner, I was struggling running the small family business my late father had started in 1946. We just about survived the recession of the early nineties caused by the folly of the UK joining the EU exchange rate mechanism, which bankrupted a large number of small bu...
Theresa May's dismissal of Boris Johnson's suggestion that technology could allow customs checks without physical infrastructure (to solve the Irish border issue) is perverse. Her claim that such systems do not yet exist is not true and one must query if Number 10 talks to anyone other than the Treasury. The UK was a pioneer of electronic clearance...
On July 19th, the EU Commission published the COM (2018) 556 Final document that sets out advice for the remaining 27 Member States on how to prepare 'for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 30 March 2019' https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication-preparing-withdrawal-brexit-preparedness.pdf Many Brexiteer...
Seizing the opportunity Speaking in London in April this year, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: '…the reality is all of that; you could not find two countries more close in every respect; family, culture, history and values. You know Australia was the sole country outside of NATO and the EU that expelled Russian diplomats in respons...
What is meant by treachery, and is it applicable to our establishment's sell-out to the EU? Conservative party members have been using the term about their leader Theresa May. Also implicated is the head civil servant of the Cabinet Office Europe Unit, Olly Robbins. Arguably, Robbins has been entreating to a foreign power, and is thus guilty of mis...
Magicians never reveal their secrets, but we all know that magic lies in the distraction of one's attention. This is exactly what the politics of prestidigitation is all about. Since Emmanuel Macron's coronation at the helm of the French state, we have never heard the French make as much noise as now.This former banker has mastered the art of showm...
A 'scrap of paper' was how the German Chancellor famously dismissed the Treaty of London (19th April, 1839), in which Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Russia all agreed to recognise the existence, neutrality and sovereignty of the newly – formed country of Belgium. "Peace for our time" was what PM Neville Chamberlain promised Britain, after me...
A comfort zone gives the comforted a false sense of safety. For now, it would be quite possible to carry on as if nothing significant has changed: assuring messages from Conservative Party HQ; 'crisis – what crisis' coverage on the BBC or comment pages of the Times; social media bubbles where agreeable opinions are heard. But believe us at th...
Contact your Member of Parliament Theresa May has decided to pursue a policy of Brexit in name only (BRINO). This arrangement will be worse than our current membership of the European Union as we will then be a vassal state. If this policy is implemented the electoral consequences for the Conservative Party will be dire. I urge all members of...
To state that a book is important may seem a cliché, but Frank Furedi's Populism and the European Culture Wars is undoubtedly so. Using Hungary as a case study, no writer has more clearly described the predicament of national culture and identity, set against the progressive EU goal of a borderless, multicultural continent. Yet the message is unlik...
We voted to leave the European Union on 23rd June 2016 and technically – even politically - it should be as easy as it was when we first joined what was then called the European Economic Community in 1973. However, the context has evolved and the European Union has no intention to let the United Kingdom leave its superstructure thus relying on an i...
Save the Oceans Stop recycling plastic by Dr.Mikko Punio is published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation and can be read in its entirety on the GWPF website. (See below) A marine plastic litter crisis has been declared and the mass media around the world has given their front pages over to the story for a while now. The European Union – ...
The British Government says that the case is closed on Poland's right to war reparations from Germany. This fails to acknowledge the true legal position and fails to do justice to our relationship with Poland. It is my strong belief that the UK's departure from the European Union presents the perfect opportunity for Global Britain to show its stren...
Like a broken clock, remainers are occasionally right. One example of this is the Irish border question which many leavers have ignored or dismissed for too long. While we don't believe this issue is as impossible to solve as remainers insist, it does require an appropriate amount of attention. So far, different proposals have been suggested to avo...
Robert Oulds and Alison McGovern MP debate Brexit and its effects on British business. Robert made it clear that there are many positives which will deliver favourable outcomes to Brexit for businesses, including access to markets around the world which would boost productivity and the economy. For businesses dealing with the EU and experiencing un...
The Euro is a currency. That would seem blindingly obvious, but it means that there are two ways in which the Euro could collapse and one way in which it could get massively stronger. A currency is not just a means of exchange for goods and services within a country, it is also an asset that has a shifting value against other currencies, that is, t...
On the second anniversary of the successful Leave vote, Robert Oulds condemns Airbus, in receipt of £16 billion from the EU, and BMW, for choosing this day to advise the UK to stay in the single market and customs union. While the eurozone lurches from crisis to crisis, the UK has its highest rate of employment in history and we should look forward...
On the day preceding the second anniversary of the pro-Brexit vote, Robert Oulds discusses why the Leave vote was successful, one reason being voters knew the UK needs to have control over its borders but being part of the EU denies this.Powerful EU leaders, in particular Chancellor Merkel of Germany, encouraged immigration from outside the E...
Robert Oulds of the Bruges Group in conversation with Dr Niall McCrae of Kings College London on the second anniversary of the EU referendum victory. Discussing how the people's majority decision to leave the European Union is being carried out by our elected representatives, Robert Oulds predicts increasing disillusionment with politics by p...
1. Introduction Despite Phillip Lee's last minute betrayal of the government, the House of Lord's amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill was defeated by twenty-six votes on 12th June. Whilst there is doubtless some celebrating, Mrs May is still not out of danger – in fact, the dissention amongst a number of Conservatives would appear to be growing. Th...
The demand to reduce carbon dioxide emissions imposed by UK and Scottish climate legislation has resulted in crazy energy policies, damage to industrial production and increased fuel bills, and as the EU Withdrawal Bill works its way through Parliament, it would be useful to unravel and analyse some of the historical influence of the EU prior to th...
Author:CATHERINE BLAIKLOCK Would you like to lend to the German government and get paid a grand total of 0.43% a year for 10 years? Or how about lending to the French government and getting 0.73% or to the Spanish government at 1.35%? An annual yield of 1.35% a year, lending to Spain and you are invested for 10 years. Doesn't sound very good, does ...
On the 5th of December 2017 the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis MP (speaking in a House of Commons debate) said: "She [The Prime Minister] said that there are areas in which we want to achieve the same outcomes, but by different regulatory methods. We want to maintain safety, food standards, animal welfare and employme...
Two rallies in London couldn't more starkly contrast the class divide in Britain. I was at the #FreeTommy demonstration on 9th June, a massive gathering in support of the jailed campaigner against child rape gangs. Legions of mostly white working-class blokes with a cause celebre. Inevitably a boorish element provided the material for damning...
The first thing we must do in examining the weakness of our government's current negotiating strategy is to look at the reality of the strength of our position as a nation. The first thing that everyone in Britain should know is the reason for this figure of 40 billion that we have agreed to pay to the EU. We do not owe them this money, in fact, we...
It may have come to the attention of some people that a recent tweet of mine created something of a heated debate. The tweet in question concerned the Foreign Office waiving war compensation rights following the reunification of Germany. I have also raised this issue in Parliament in the form of a written question and was shocked to find that Great...
Today Great Britain stands at a crossroads; it is here where we must decide whether we will stand strong and boldly go forward or whether we will cower before a group of unelected bureaucrats thrust out from power in their home countries. Our Brexit negotiations have featured heavily in the news recently over the Government's supposed plan to stay ...
In a particular scene from one of Britain's most beloved sitcoms 'Fawlty Towers,' the main character, Basil Fawlty, spends considerable time attempting to not insult a German family but ends up doing so in spectacular fashion. This moment was forever immortalised when Basil remarks 'You started it!' to which a German guest replies 'No we did not!' ...
As geopolitical stability in Europe is threatened by an increasingly belligerent Russia, Poland must look to strengthen her economic and regional security. While the current Polish government is already working towards this goal, it will need important strategic partners with converging interests to achieve this objective. Two longstanding allies t...
The Day for Freedom, in London on 6th May, was a showcase of characters I have followed and featured in my articles: for example, Milo and Sargon of Akkad. So I didn't want to miss it. Sadly, this invigorating and necessary event was either ignored by the mainstream media, or described by the contemptuous Guardian as a 'far-right rally'. Certainly ...
Never underestimate the talent of Remain in scoring own-goals. Tony Blair claiming to be the rebel with a cause; Lord Adonis accusing the BBC of Brexit bias (cough, splutter); and Ian McEwan urging a second referendum because the stubborn oldies will soon be dead. These anti-democrats pollute the airwaves with their verbal farts, but as opinion pol...
