Yesterday (Thursday 11 May) was a wonderful demonstration of why we are blessed to have a sovereign Parliament. The Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch had informed the Press before telling Parliament about the decision to remove the deadline for abolishing hampering EU legislation. Coming to the House to explain, she began with an unfortunate turn of...
The delicate balance of the Good Friday Agreement should be protected By Derrick Berthelsen Reprinted by permission of the Critic Magazine There are many reasons to vote against the Windsor Framework changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Several excellent articles have been published outlining why — in this and other periodicals — but tod...
Whatever the choreography we have a clog dance not a ballet. Sunak's 'deal' is yet another fudge. Involving the King in politics and the manipulation, copied from the EU, demonstrate a cynical disregard for probity. The Northern Ireland Protocol is a travesty. No Independent nation can agree to be ruled by a political court (The ECJ) whose sole rem...
The UK faces problems, problems that to a great degree are the fault of the political and financial establishment. There is no point in blaming every ill on Covid and Ukraine indeed it is only to the latter crisis that the establishment response has been sure footed. Otherwise, the failures are legion. Brexit has not been fully implemente...
The appointment of Chris-Heaton Harris as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was greeted warmly by unionists, ever hopeful that at long last we would have a Secretary of State who cared as much about protecting the rights of unionists as those of nationalists. Moreover, there was a great hope that this UK Government would break with the sy...
The Acts of Union is the present constitutional foundation of the United Kingdom. As the late Lord Trimble, the unionist architecture of the Belfast Agreement, said: The Acts of Union is the Union. The Northern Ireland Protocol "subjugates" (in the words of the Court of Appeal) Article VI of the Acts of Union, and therefore it follows that it subju...
Sir William Cash MPRt Hon David Jones MPMartin Howe QCBarnabas Reynolds The constitutional and legal position of the United Kingdom in relation to the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland (the "Protocol") is founded on Section 38 of the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 ("EUWAA 2020"). There are also pertinent issues relating to international ...
By Andrew Rosindell In 2019, we went to the polls with a simple choice, Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn, a choice to either Get Brexit Done or a choice for more dither and delay, maybe even a second referendum. Thankfully, the people of the U.K. voted to Get Brexit Done and they did so with an overwhelming majority. Unfortunately, our fr...
It is constantly claimed that the purpose of the Irish protocol is to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, but that is a lie. The real purpose is to disrupt the existing economic integration between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and instead promote integration between the province and the Irish Republic, and the chosen mechanism for...
Spartan victory: the inside story of the battle for Brexit, Mark Francois, paperback, 464 pages, ISBN 9798484798391, Kindle Direct Publishing, 2021. Mark Francois, the MP for Rayleigh and Wickford in Essex, and chairman of the European Research Group, has written a fascinating account of that part of the battle for Brexit that was waged in th...
"We were the 28 MPs who saved Britain, we saved our nation and this is the inside story of how we did it." The Rt. Hon. Mark Francois MP The Bruges Group led the intellectual debate for Britain to leave the European Union and now we have the story from within, the story of the ERG from an MP who was at the heart of Brexit. 28 Members of Parliament ...
Since before the 2016 referendum and continuing non-stop, those against GB leaving the EU including - Joe Biden and other US Democrats , most EU bureaucrats, several European politicians (particularly the French) and of course our own Re-joiners - have been pursuing the following rhetoric: "You must not go against or interfere with the 19...
Where is the evidence that this ruling has saved anyone from being exposed to sub standard or dangerous products? We have heard so much from the EU Big Wigs and European politicians about how important it is to have checks on goods going from one part of the United Kingdom to another – mainland UK to Northern Ireland - it is therefore vital to...
At Conservative Party Conference this year, we are delighted to be hosting the 'Liberty Zone' on Monday 4th October 2021 at the Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Road, Manchester, M3 4PF. We are holding our annual Party Conference event this year alongside Time 4 Recovery, a group set up to pressure the government with oppositi...
Hands up, who still thinks the Conservatives are a low tax party? If your hand is up, might I suggest you put it swiftly down and start writing some letters to the 321 Tory MPs who this week voted in favour of the biggest tax hike since the Second World War. Someone ought to inform them. Someone also might want to disband CCHQ come the next general...
I had the opportunity to speak to the Honorable John Manley, a long serving Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Government, having served in key posts such as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Foreign Affairs – among others. John Manley is also known for having authored the Manley Report on Afghanistan in 2007 and having been...
Economic victory in a free trade world will always go to the strongest economy – and the disparity is growing. Against this a new concept has emerged: technology sovereignty. This recognises that IT infrastructure lies at the heart of a modern society. And it's about far more than access to broadband. Networked computers are not only essentia...
Kendall O'Donnell and I, as contributors representing The Bruges Group, had the opportunity to speak to the Honorable Christopher Pyne, a long-serving former Cabinet Minister in the Australian Government, holding portfolios ranging from Education to Defence. We spoke on matters ranging from the domestic, such as Australia's Covid policy and the nat...
Kendall O'Donnell and I had the opportunity to speak to Jim Gilmore, former US Ambassador to the OSCE, Governor of Virginia, and Chairman of the Republican National Committee, among other roles. We spoke on matters international, regional, and domestic, on topics stretching from President Biden's foreign policy, European security and the EU's role ...
How the Commonwealth of Nations Can Become the Most Innovative Bloc in the World By Alexander Flint Mitchell MSc Dissertation for Business Innovation with EntrepreneurshipBirkbeck, University of London2020 ABSTRACT Much has been written on the three topics of the literature review of this thesis: innovation, the Commonwealth of Nations' ...
Panelists: Barry Legg (Chair), Lord Dodds of Duncairn, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, James Webber Lord Dodds, former Westminster Leader of the DUP: On the recent resignation of Edwin Poots: resignation provides the opportunity to "move forward…in a more constructive way"The imposition of the NI protocol has been the main contributory factor to ...
Panelists: Barry Legg (Chair), Lord Dodds of Duncairn, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, James Webber Barry Legg, Chairman of the Bruges Group: Our next speaker is Bernard Jenkin. Bernard is Chairman of the House of Commons Liaison Committee, on which all select committee chairmen sit. Previously, he was Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee,...
Europäische Wirtschaftsgemeinchaft conference Berlin 1942 and the Mitteleuropäischer Wirtschaftstag (MWT) This was the report and conference by the leading Nazi economists during WW2 which planned a European Economic Community: http://www.jar2.com/Files/Nazism/The_Europeische_Wirtschaftsgemeinchaft_Berlin_1942.pdf When I started looking i...
By Professor James Blyth The Fishing Saga The story of the UK's fishing rights scarcely needs re-telling, but it is well worth remembering. They are part of the internationally agreed economic resources of the UK, and are located primarily within the North Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. They fall within the UK's exclusive economic zone (EEZ),...
The Great Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008 has left many cadavers in its wake; zombified economies with under performing companies kept under life support by a presumed modern monetary theory, not too dissimilar to what Japan embarked on in the late 1990s. Quantitative Easing where the quantity is never enough, and the pressure is such that central b...
Twilight of the Gods" was Richard Wagner's last in the cycle of music dramas called, "The Ring of Nibelung," which is based on old Norse mythology prophesying war among beings and gods that results in the burning and remaking of the world. It is always deeply dissatisfying when a negative prediction comes true—especially predictions which are meant...
I had the opportunity to speak to Todd Muller, MP for the Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand, the Opposition National Party's Spokesperson (Shadow Minister) for Trade, Export Growth, and Internal Affairs, and the Former Leader of the Opposition. We spoke on matters international and domestic, concerning Britons, New Zealanders, and hi...
As the Chancellor prepares to deliver his Budget, we want to make clear a few brief advisories to Mr Sunak on what this historical Budget should contain. First of all, there has been plenty of speculation from countless newspapers and TV reports that the Chancellor is plotting tax increases, namely corporation tax and potentially freezing tax bands...
On the matter of extraditions to EU member States, the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and the EU, coming into force on 1/1/21, has added the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the benchmarks of fundamental human rights. This opens new possibilities for contesting unjust and arbitrary arrest warrants from those States, as I...
I spoke to former Labour MP for Vauxhall, Kate Hoey, now Baroness Hoey of Lylehill and Rathlin (County Antrim, Northern Ireland), after sitting for 30 years as a Labour MP and spearheading Labour Leave during the referendum and the subsequent years until her retirement from the House of Commons in December 2019, she was made a life peer i...
The term 'Indo-Pacific' first came into practical use by the British Government in the 1960s during the height of the empire's process of decolonisation. As a strategy, it sought to conceive what the UK's position within the region would be as the country gradually withdrew its influence there. The structural constraints of the Cold War—which had m...
Many of us have been saddened to learn of the atrocious inhumane treatment by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang over recent months. Although constantly denied by the CCP, evidence of genocide is undeniable. The CCP claim they are offering 're-education camps' to Uyghurs, said to offer family planning programmes and...
I caught up with former Brexit Party MEP, Ben Habib who now runs the pressure group 'Unlocked', campaigning for an end to lockdown and highlighting the economic and social damage of remaining in lockdown. You can watch the full conversation on YouTube, with links to the videos throughout or digest a condensed summary on each question and debate poi...
In November, Nigel Farage tweeted, "Biden hates the UK," https://twitter.com/nigel_farage/status/1325166010106851328?lang=en. That statement may have been deliberately unnuanced for effect, but it contains more than an element of truth. So too, many on this side of the Atlantic wonder if Biden, hell bent to roll back the policies of his predecessor...
The Government's deal with the EU coupled with last-minute law changes in Brussels produce a new set of legal obligations which will renew concerns about UK involvement in 'Military EU'. Why was the Brexit vote actually a reprieve for the remain campaigning establishment? Because it meant they would never have to explain the arrival of EU mili...
For years, politicians and industry associations have claimed that the UK can simply ignoring EU defence contract rules which require an international competition where the cheapest bid wins. If the rules were rigid, UK defence and shipbuilding industry would lose many UK Government contract overseas. But the rules are not rigid, they have always c...
For all the grand declarations of "new beginnings for old friends", Ursula von der Leyen's most recent assault on the British people again exposed the wolf behind the wool. Despite the midnight back-track, the fact that the European Commission had believed itself justified to announce plans for a vaccine export ban, cannot be easily forgiven. Those...
On Dec. 1st the Home Office stated to Parliament that, "There is no intention for extradition to any EU jurisdiction after the end of transition period to be made subject to a court ruling that there is a prima facie case." As I explained in https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1372705/Brexit-latest-news-EU-laws-european-arrest-war...
By David Scullion It's been a fortnight since the Northern Ireland Protocol was introduced and yesterday in parliament the DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson secured an Urgent Question on the problems it has caused in that short time. Responding, Michael Gove (who privately hinted to Brexiteer MPs it would never be introduced) said that there had been "c...
By Richard Percival Nicola Sturgeon has been pestering President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen and other Brussels officials with letters and emails in a desperate attempt to get Scotland to rejoin the EU, leaked correspondence seen by Express.co.uk shows. About 25 letters and emails released under Freedom of Infor...
If anything the hysterical clamouring of EU supporting re-moaners (now relabelled Re-Joiners) has increased since January 1. Those of us who had hoped that democratic realism might have inoculated the afflicted should not be surprised. The fanaticism of EU acolytes and collaborators is religious in its intensity and belief. Indeed, there is a paral...
Since becoming an active anti-EU campaigner in 1996 when I joined and was selected as a Referendum Party candidate, along with many of my fellow Eurosceptics, I have been called by the EU supporters of being: 'A little Englander', ' a xenophobe', 'swivel eyed','far right' a 'racist', and somehow or other even a 'monetary xenophobe'! None of these i...
The Bruges Group Statement on Britain's EU Exit https://www.brugesgroup.com/blog/statement-on-britain-s-eu-exit ERG Star Chamber Legal Analysis The full text of the Star Chamber's analysis of the trade deal https://lawyersforbritain.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ERG-Legal-Advisory-Committee-Opinion-on-EU-UK-Trade-and-Cooperation-Agreeme...
The standard mantra in EU trade negotiations is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Everyone knows this, except apparently British trade negotiators who have accepted the very opposite by acceding to the EU's sequencing of negotiations. First was the divorce bill. The UK agreed to pay a £40bn settlement when under international law t...
By Dr Lee Rotherham Epicharmus, a Greek comic writer of the fifth century BC, had this maxim: "Stay sober and remember to be sceptical." It is as good a piece of advice as we are likely to deploy at present. We are at a time of flux and flex in the Brexit talks. Helpfully, Michel Barnier has reportedly now figured out how to get his Zoom work...
Two days ago, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office the Rt. Hon. Michael Gove MP made an extraordinary statement in the House of Commons. In his opening remarks he stated: "Throughout 2020, we have worked intensively to ensure that the withdrawal agreement, in particular the Northern Ireland protocol, will be full...
By David Scullion There was expectation of a Brexit trade deal announcement on Sunday night, but then we were told the differences between the two sides were too great to bridge. Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, the EU commission President, spoke on the phone and, we're told, asked both of their negotiating teams to work out what the big dif...
By The Rt. Hon. Sammy Wilson MP - DUP Member of Parliament for East Antrim As the U.K. edges toward a final deal on its future relationship with the European Union, it is important that we ensure the agreement delivers on what was promised. Already it is clear that last year's Withdrawal Agreement was fatally flawed. It leaves Bruss...
Starting with the implications of the second lockdown, the former Cabinet Minister said it will be damaging for the economy though not as damaging as last time. The virus should be taken seriously – and treatments should be sought etc. – but let's get life back to normal for those free from the disease or not at much risk, he said. Sir John hopes t...
Initial article on The Bow Group By Robert Oulds and Dr Niall McCrae "You'll own nothing, and you'll be happy" (World Economic Forum, 18 November 2016). Covid-19 is a crisis too good to waste for UN agencies and other transnational bodies. The coronavirus pandemic has led to governments around the world signing up to the 'Great Reset' designe...
President Trump will win big since Republican voters are super energised and are turning out in massive numbers to vote for him, on the other hand Democrat voters are not enthused by the incompetent and senile 'Sleepy' Joe Biden. The polls that predict Biden is winning the US election so far, which is already underway, assume that there's...
Link to the full paper by the Centre for Brexit Studies By The Rt. Hon. Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP (Conservative Party MP), Martin Howe QC (Intellectual Property and EU Law; Chairman of Lawyers for Britain), Professor David Collins (International Economic Law, University of London), Edgar Miller (Managing Director of Palladian Limited;...
As the US general election approaches, it is very much in our interests on who wins, there are some people in the Conservative Party suggesting it would be beneficial for Joe Biden to be inaugurated and to walk into the White House on 20th January, following the US general election next week. However, I think there'd be nothing worse than Mr B...
By stating that the UK should prepare for a no-deal Brexit as both sides refused to compromise, the Rt Hon Michael Gove produced a shattering rebuke to Macron's hardliner posture over the negotiations. This change of tone from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster exhibits an overdue realisation that Britain must have a plan for all eventualitie...
By Shanker Singham As the Agriculture Bill makes its way through Parliament, the UK faces a critical choice in its international trade policy. It is widely understood in trade circles that agriculture is the gate through which all trade policy flows. Long the bugbear of world trade, agricultural sectors all over the world have rigidly op...
By Jonathan Stanley Downing Street would have us believe we are making progress on a free trade deal with the EU. Beyond trying to give away as much of our fish as possible for as long as possible I'm not so sure. Ultimately the Irish border remains a big issue and the recent Internal Market Bill, badly marketed by No.10, only confirms this. ...
As negotiations began the week of an EU summit on the 15th October, there was talk of the EU pressing their chief negotiator Michel Barnier to insist on tough enforcement rules for any UK trade deal. This came as a result of their shock to the Internal Market Bill, yet while any dispute resolution mechanism is normal for any trade deal, the words '...
By Catherine McBride On Friday the BBC headline news included an item entitled: Shoppers could pay more after no-deal Brexit. The story was planted by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) who said that tariffs would add £3.1bn a year to the cost of importing food and drink unless the UK and the EU can strike a free trade agreement. This was a ...
Link to initial article By Julian Jessop Brexit talks resumed this week with growing hopes that a trade deal can be done in time for the October EU summit. This follows speculation that the UK has softened its position after Boris Johnson was 'shocked by a London School of Economics report suggesting that no deal would cost Britain up to three time...
People have asked whether the UK remains under EU defence policy during the transition.The answer is yes, the UK remains EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) until 31st December 2020. This policy is a general term which not only includes the common formation of decisions and strategy, it also describes the political-military stru...
Over the past week there have been announcements from Michael Gove regarding the provisions for international lorries leaving the UK after December 31st, something which apparently Macron's government sees as abhorrent. The labelling of these announcements as 'intimidation' by Clément Beaune, Macron's Europe Minister, further shows the EU's hypocri...
When you examine the history of America you find two waves of migration from Ireland. The first, the Scotch-Irish, were to the vanguard of creating and establishing schools, universities, banks and the United States of America itself (11 of the 45 US Presidents derive direct descent from). The second wave, a century later, of Irish emigration built...
Boris Johnson: a Churchillian moment France political commentators have for months patiently waited for Boris Johnson to renegade on his promise to the electorate. They have sought to help him pretend that we have left the EU whilst keeping close ties with the superstructure. The European Union has sought to manipulate our exit from the get-go and ...
European technocrats and their British supporters have been left aghast by the government decision to present the Internal Market Bill, designed to protect the integrity of the United Kingdom. The remainer machinery, which has remained largely dormant over the past few months, has awaken in defence of international law and the United Kingdom's stan...
As reported in The Sunday Telegraph last week, and again today, some Treasury officials have been flirting with the idea of tax increases to foot the bill for the COVID measures put in place and for the lockdown that the left and media were so desperately pressuring for. However, according to several media sources, Number 10, Boris Johnson and Domi...
The election of Erin O'Toole as the Canadian Tories' new leader demonstrates that value-based politics and value-based trading partnerships are truly possible. Erin O'Toole, previously his party's Shadow Foreign Minister, was one of the most vocal advocates in favour of a CANZUK (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) alliance and ...
First published in The Critic by David Scullion https://thecritic.co.uk/no-escape-for-britain-brexit/ After concluding the latest round of Brexit talks, the UK's chief negotiator David Frost said, 'considerable gaps remain in the most difficult areas' and that on the sticking point of fisheries the EU has failed to understand that the UK position a...
In the aftermath of the British exit from the EU, the concept of CANZUK, a largely economic alliance between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, all of which have the monarchy, the same common law systems, and parliamentary democracy, among others. However, the question remains, what has stopped these four countries, throughout ...
Brexit may have gone quiet lately in the mainstream media, but between now and the end of October will be critical. Remain have been defeated in trying to keep us in the EU, their plans for a 'People's Vote' have been defeated, and their attempts to extend the transition period have been defeated. Their last hope is that between now and October our...
The week before last, the Minister of State for Universities, Michelle Donelan, announced that EU, EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be granted home fee status and access to student loans at universities in England from 2021. While the move should not have come as any real shock to those properly following the Brexit saga, the decision has bee...
Having experienced the entire process of leaving the EU since the Maastricht rebellion, through to the passing of the sovereignty clause, Section 38 of the Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020, including the result of the referendum itself, I am thoroughly aware that there must be no ECJ jurisdiction after 31 December 2020. The Governm...
Roland Vaubel Professor emeritus of Economics Universitaet Mannheim Germany Mr. Barnier seems to misunderstand the argument for maintaining a level playing field. The laws of a country, above all, ought to reflect the preferences of its people. It follows that the laws ought to differ between countries if, and to the extent that, the preferences of...
Every year the International Council for the for the Exploration of the Sea and the European Union's Scientific, Technical and Economic Council for Fisheries make a suggestion of what the TAC should be for each stock. A stock of fish refers to a "particular species of fish caught in a particular geographic area". The European Commission drafts a pr...
On Friday the European Commission admitted that the Brexit transition period will not be extended, and that Britain must now prepare to police the border in the Irish Sea. In a meeting of the joint committee on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, Michael Gove told Maros Sefcovic, a vice-president for the commission, that the UK wou...
By Alex Johnson It is often said that all good things come to those who wait. Whilst patience is indeed a virtue, it is not always a profitable one. With the Brexit negotiations deadline being the 31st December this year and with enough delays already being made since the 2016 referendum, time is running short. When one realises that it has b...
By Victor Hill, first published on Master Investor The UK-EU Trade Talks – Why the pandemic has changed everything - Master Investor By Victor Hill https://masterinvestor.co.uk/economics/the-uk-eu-trade-talks-why-the-pandemic-has-changed-everything/ The Road to No Deal While Europe and the world have been monopolised by the Covid-19 pa...
Margaret Thatcher's Bruges Speech to the College of Europe in September 1988 - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqv8HF84EOs&t=1s The Bruges Group was set up in 1989 in honour of one speech, a now landmark address made by our then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the College of Europe on 20th September 1988 on the 'Future of Europe'. L...
There has been a telling change recently in the language used to describe the current status of the UK. Both Leavers and Remainers have dropped the pretence that Brexit happened on 31st January and are now openly referring to the 31st December as the date when the UK leaves the EU. While 31st January was the symbolic exit, the country has not in fa...
The absence of a pan-European fiscal union combined with the departure of the United Kingdom have left European finances is disarray. This has been exacerbated by a crisis that has sown divisions in a frail union with poorer states demanding that richer countries foot the bill to save the Union. When Germany's constitutional court questioned t...
Almost four years after we voted to leave the European Union (EU), Boris Johnson delivered on his promise to 'GET BREXIT DONE'. Little did we know at the time (on 31st January 2020) that the year was going to bring its own woes, which are now threatening to bring down the European dream of unity, solidarity, and borderless territory. In addition to...
Originally published in The Critic by David Scullion https://thecritic.co.uk/the-government-split-over-free-trade/ The Government is committed to signing Free Trade deals. The Conservative Party's 2019 manifesto said as much, and added: "Our trade deals will not only be free but fair". The UK has just started trade talks with the United ...
First published by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/05/06/longer-brexit-transition-pointless-dangerous-plays-straight/ Sir Nick Clegg is right. The terms of the Brexit transition are intolerable. They were bad for one year. The arrangement becomes progressively more dangerous over time. ...
First of all, may I say congratulations to Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds who announced the birth of a healthy baby boy this morning, just after 10 am. It emerged last week that Britain would neither apply for, nor accept an extension, if offered, to the Brexit transition period from the EU. In his briefings, Chancellor Rishi Sunak set the ...
COVID-19: The Exposure of the EU's Failings - Bruges Group Blog By Ethan Thoburn https://www.brugesgroup.com/blog/covid-19-the-exposure-of-the-eu-s-failings The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health emergency that in less than 6 months has brought the entire world to a screeching halt. From the deserted streets of Milan to a state of total loc...
Due to current global events everything is changing. For the people of the United Kingdom, this means that there is a very real chance that the incredibly important Brexit deadline could unfortunately be delayed. An idea entertained in 2013, voted on in 2016 and finally realised earlier this year, the UK is still far from being really free from the...
Since the Eurozone crisis nearly a decade ago, the dysfunction of European governments has long been a point of contention for the United Kingdom. Even as it's Mediterranean partners; Greece, Spain and Portugal descended into a depression, most European leaders seemed indecisive and undecided on a suitable course of action. Now with more than ...
There is a lot of huff and puff today because the European Union failed to agree on a rescue package – there will be no bonds to bail out the superstructure and worst they have had to resort to accepting junk bonds as collateral because Italy will be downgraded. They cannot afford to lose the United Kingdom's budgetary contribution. The European Un...
The UK has been a leading shipping hub, and its EU membership has profoundly enhanced its role in trade. However, on 29nth March 2017, the UK submitted its willingness to withdraw from the UE operations (Brexit), meaning that it will now become the third party according to the EU rules. Shipping will be one of the greatly affected sectors sinc...
Margaret Thatcher's Bruges Speech, 1988 on The Bruges Group YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqv8HF84EOs Today marks the death of our greatest peacetime leader, Margaret Thatcher, a woman who defined British politics for more than a generation. Elected as the first female leader of any major political party in the UK in 1975, su...
Just yesterday, the EU's President of the European Research Council, Mauro Ferrari, resigned over the EU's failure to act on his advice to set up a large scale, EU wide programme to combat COVID-19. Professor Ferrari only began the role at the turn of the year and submitted his resignation to the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen...
Last Wednesday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, celebrated 28 days in Number 11, following Sajid Javid's resignation, by presenting his budget to the House. This budget delivered by the Richmond MP is arguably the most favourable budget since the days of Nigel Lawson standing at the dispatch box outlining his financial forecasts and s...
Analysis by Prof MLR Smith & Dr Niall McCrae Before the coronavirus pandemic, who knew that the country with the largest Chinese diaspora in Europe is Italy? The leather sofa in many a British living room may have arrived with the label 'Made in Italy' but was quite possibly sewn by Chinese hands in the employ of a Chinese company. Let us expla...
I would like to share with you the speech and presentation I made at The Bruges Group annual conference in London on the 7th March. Whilst the UK officially left the EU on 31 January, it remains in its Single Market [paying some £1 billion (net) a month], its Customs Union and subject to the supremacy of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJ...
Andrea Jenkyns MP speech to The Bruges Group annual conference - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXpkxsAW20 On Saturday 7th March, we were hugely honoured to be addressed by Deputy Chair of the ERG, Andrea Jenkyns MP, at our annual conference. Andrea is a staunch Brexiteer and friend of The Bruges Group, she was a more than vocal critic of...
Boris Johnson and the Conservatives winning a more than impressive 365 seats last December, it gives the PM a working majority, something we haven't seen since the close of the Blair/Brown era.It is fair to say that the next step of Brexit will soon be taken; having left the EU further delays for implementation legislation were not tolerated. But w...
In Quentin Lett's estimable tome, 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain (2009), there was one surprising entry for a writer of such conservative leanings: Margaret Thatcher. The rationale for inclusion was her government's aggressive attitudes towards trades unions, especially the rough handling of striking miners at Orgreave in 1984, along with her lo...
This article was initially published on BrexitCentral https://brexitcentral.com/why-the-brexit-party-maintains-that-boris-johnsons-deal-is-not-brexit/ by Brexit Party MEP, Ben Habib Ben Habib believes there is an "understandable desire amongst many Brexiteers to accept Boris Johnson's deal". Everyone is battle weary, but it is preci...
Initially published in The Daily Telegraph by Martin Howe QC, Chairman of Lawyers for Britain https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/18/flawed-outcome-tolerable-price-pay-freedom/ First, the positives. Boris Johnson's deal is miles better than Theresa May's ghastly capitulation. The Northern Ireland backstop protocol in the Withdrawal A...
As I assume you know, the Benn Act, or more commonly known as the Surrender Act, isn't the most well thought out piece of legislation, as lined out by Chair of Lawyers for Britain Martin Howe QC at The Bruges Group 'Moment of Truth' event in Manchester during Conservative Party conference. This article will outline the loopholes that Boris Johnson,...
The Revised Political Declaration Introduction So far as we are aware the only material changes in the Withdrawal Agreement (Treaty) are to the NI Protocol, which means that the critical ECJ oversight and Art 184 link to the Political Declaration remain. I am told by UKREP that there are two changes to other Articles in the Treaty but they were una...
