Tag: Brexit

Sinn Fein Becomes Biggest Party in Northern Ireland Assembly

Sinn Fein, an Irish nationalist political party which has links to the Irish Republican Army (IRA), has won a historic victory by becoming the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time. In last week’s UK local elections, Sinn Fein won 27 of the 90 seats in the Stormont assembly, beating the…


UK Delays Post-Brexit Checks on EU Import for 4th Time to Avoid Disruptions

The UK government has once again delayed the introduction of post-Brexit border checks on imports from the European Union, citing risks of disruption at a time of rising costs of living. The government has dropped plans to restrict imports of chilled meats from the EU and to impose further checks on plant and animal products,…


UK’s Johnson Hails Macron Victory, Stresses Common Stance on Ukraine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his reelection and said he looks forward to working with the French president on issues such as the war in Ukraine. Final results of the runoff election on April 24 showed Macron beat his right-wing opponent Marine Le Pen with 58.54 percent of the vote,…


Judge Suspends Northern Ireland Minister’s Order to End Sea Border Checks

A High Court judge in Northern Ireland has suspended an order from a unionist minister to end port checks required under the UK–EU agreement on post-Brexit trade. Northern Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), issued a unilateral direction on Feb. 2, instructing his officials to stop the agri-food…


UK to Launch Brexit Freedoms Bill to Speed up Removal of EU Law

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out plans for a “Brexit freedoms” bill to end the special status of EU law and enable the government to amend or remove outdated EU law more easily. On the two-year anniversary of the UK’s departure from the European Union, Downing Street unveiled plans it says will ease…


Former Brexit Minister Says Planned National Insurance Hike ‘Never Necessary or Justified’

The UK’s former Brexit minister on Monday became the latest senior Conservative MP to pressure Prime Minister Boris Johnson to scrap a tax hike due in April. Lord David Frost, who recently resigned from the Cabinet over the government’s taxation and other policies, denounced the scheduled £12 billion ($16 billion) National Insurance hike as being…


The Tyranny of Polling: The UK 1 Year After Brexit

Commentary Political editor Toby Helm, in discussing an Opinium survey, reports that one year after the United Kingdom left the European Union, more than “six out of ten voters believe Brexit has either gone badly or worse than they expected.” Interestingly, the poll results also indicate that “7 percent of Remainers think Brexit has gone…


UK Foreign Secretary Threatens to Override Brexit Pact Over Northern Ireland

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned the European Union that she is prepared to unilaterally override parts of the post-Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland if the negotiations fail. Truss was handed responsibility for the negotiations after Lord Frost resigned as Brexit minister last month. She will hold her first face-to-face talks with her EU…


Government Collapse an ‘Inevitability’ If Northern Ireland Protocol Not Addressed, Says First Minister

It is an “inevitability” that the government in Northern Ireland will collapse again unless issues around the Northern Ireland Protocol are resolved, First Minister Paul Givan said on Monday. The Protocol, a part of the UK’s Brexit deal, left Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market to avoid a hard border between the region and the…


UK to Relax Immigration Rules for Care Workers Amid Staff Shortages

The UK government announced on Friday that it will relax immigration rules on care workers to tackle acute staff shortages in the social care sector. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it will make temporary changes to the health and care visa to make social care workers, care assistants, and home care…