Brexit past, present and future

Philip Bushill-Matthews

It is six years since the Brexit referendum, heralded by the winners as a new dawn of opportunity for the United Kingdom – freed from the shackles of Brussels. Vox Populi, Vox Dei: the voice of the people was the voice of God, so of course the outcome had to be obeyed. The people would…

Biden to visit Belgium in June

President Joseph Biden will travel to the United Kingdom and Belgium in June 2021.  This will be the first overseas travel by President Biden. This trip will highlight his commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalizing the Transatlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners to address global challenges and better…

Boris Johnson: The Gambler

They say a truly historic prime ministerial term in office is marked by the incumbent having an “ism” after their name. Of course, we had Thatcherism, then Blairism but whether such an “accolade” can be afforded to the present tenant on No.10 is another thing altogether. Certainly, Boris Johnson brought the sort of “baggage” to…

EU-UK Negotiations Set to Continue

The UK-EU trade deal prioritises sovereignty over economics. Politicians will soon be talking about how to improve the deal. Very little about the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU has been settled, writes Charles Grant. One particular comment that I heard during the Brexit negotiations has lodged in my memory. In September 2020, a senior…

UK Labour Winning Public Trust

5 months ago UK Labour lost a general election with a landslide defeat. Remarkably, under their new leader Sir Keir Starmer, they look as though they could reverse their catastrophic decline under Corbyn. In his first television broadcast responding to the Prime Minister’s statement on Sunday night about how the UK will emerge from lockdown,…

UK Election Campaign

UK party leaders have defended their Brexit policies ahead of the UK election in December. The first televised debates between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn took place. Brexit dominated the first half of  the debate and the two leaders each had important messages to get across on the vexed topic. David Shiels, of the leading UK based…

Intelligence report on Russian interference in UK Brexit referendum “may never see the light of day”

A sensitive report into Russian interference in the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016 is being sat on by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.The report is the work of the Intelligence and Security Committee of the UK parliament, chaired by Dominic Grieve.  Before it can be published, the Prime Minister must give his approval for publication,…