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BREXIT Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 13, 2017 10 Comments
As Brexit looms around the United Kingdom, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she may ask for approval to have another independence referendum. From CNN:
Sturgeon said it was clear that the UK was heading for a "hard Brexit" to the detriment of Scotland, and that Scottish voters deserved a choice of remaining in the European Union as part of an independent nation.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 13, 2017 0 Comments
Uh oh. UK Parliament Speaker John Bercow has found himself in deeper water after he revealed to students that he voted for the UK to remain in the European Union on the Brexit vote. From The Telegraph:
His fresh comments appear to breach the convention that Speakers of the House of Commons do not allow themselves to be drawn into political debate.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 24, 2017 11 Comments
The UK Supreme Court has decided that parliament must decide if the government can start the Brexit process. The ruling also stated that the "Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies did not need a say." Prime Minister Theresa may cannot begin talks with European Union (EU) leaders until parliament votes. May would like to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the part that allows a country to leave the EU, by the end of March.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on January 17, 2017 32 Comments
With German Chancellor Angela Merkel threatening U.K. with tough trade negotiations -- or ‘hard Brexit, -- for daring to leave the E.U., the Trump presidency has come at a very opportune time for the beleaguered British government. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed U.S.-U.K. trade deal could destroy EU's designs, Professor Ted Malloch said, the man tapped to be the next U.S. ambassador to the E.U. in the Trump administration while talking to the British newspaper Daily Express. Malloch, who is reportedly being vetted by the presidential transition team, was optimistic about a bilateral trade agreement once U.K. formally leaves the union. "I would hope on the day Britain triggers Article 50 [formal notification of withdrawal from the E.U.], Mrs. May will be able to announce we’ve just started discussions with the United States – an even larger market for free trade," Malloch said.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on November 24, 2016 11 Comments
The end is nigh for the European Union, predicts the chief architect of Brexit, Nigel Farage. Talking to an Italian TV station, the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) said, "In a few years time the European Union won’t exist.” Farage was asked about President-elect Donald Trump’s views on the E.U., Farage replied, "It doesn’t really matter," as the E.U. won't be around for long. Farage is the only European politician to have meet Trump since his election victory. The 52 year old British politician has been a lone voice calling for his country to opt-out of the Brussels Bureaucracy for most parts of the last 20 years. Once scorned and ridiculed by conservative and liberal elites alike, Farage has become a hero for various nationalist movements gaining strengthen within the E.U. member states.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 13, 2016 24 Comments
The push back against the progressive left's agenda that culminated in the election of President-elect Trump had been gaining steam for a while now and not just on this side of the Atlantic. Faced with poor economic growth, an influx of refugees, a sense of losing their national identity, and a variety of country-specific reasons, the entire Western world seems on the verge of the same sort of election-revolution we just witnessed in America. Heralded as the "the liberal West's last defender," Angela Merkel has been under intense pressure based on her open door policy to refugees, and she now finds herself feeling the growing dissatisfaction of the German people even more powerfully than before Trump's victory.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 03, 2016 33 Comments
The High Court in the United Kingdom ruled that Parliament must vote when Britain can start the Brexit process, meaning Prime Minister Theresa May cannot invoke Article 50, which opens a two-year window for talks to leave the European Union. The government plans to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court, but if the justices uphold it, "that would mean lawmakers, a majority of whom voted to stay, would have more influence over how Brexit is carried out and could theoretically delay or even stop the process."

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on October 02, 2016 3 Comments
In her speech at this weekend's Conservative Party conference, UK Prime Minister Teresa May revealed her plan to trigger Article 50 by the end of March next year and details of a "Great Repeal Bill" intended to repeal of the 1972 European Communities Act. Article 50 starts a two-year process to leave the European Union (EU), and the 1972 European Communities Act "allowed Britain to join what would become the EU the following year. It also enshrined the supremacy of EU law in the UK, making the European Court of Justice [ECJ] the ultimate arbiter in legal disputes." The Guardian reports:
Theresa May has confirmed she will trigger article 50 before the end of March 2017, setting in motion the two-year process of leaving the European Union. The pledge by the prime minister means the UK will leave the EU by spring 2019, before the next general election, with the prime minister also announcing plans for a “great repeal bill” to incorporate all EU regulations in UK law as soon as Brexit takes effect. May told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday she wanted to give “greater degree of clarity about the sort of timetable we are following” over the process for leaving the EU, as well as committing to enshrining workers’ rights in British law.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 29, 2016 8 Comments
As much as I enjoyed former French president Nicholas Sarkozy's colorful assessment of Obama and heartily disliked his open mike remarks about Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, it wasn't a huge surprise when Sarkozy lost his reelection bid. Last month, however, Sarkozy announced he's running for president again, and it seems that he has landed on Brexit as among the key issues of his campaign.  Indeed, Sarkozy has pledged to help the UK reverse its decision to leave the EU. The International Business Times reports:
Sarkozy claims he would reform the EU with German counterpart Angela Merkel, thus making it possible for the UK to organise another vote on whether to remain.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 04, 2016 9 Comments
Brexit has caused quite the kerfuffle among the countries of the European Union (EU), and amid the dire warnings of lasting DOOOM!, the Polish Finance Minister notes that Brexit shows that the EU is not the only option for the nations of Europe. CNBC reports:
The U.K.'s Brexit vote may have changed attitudes to the European Union across the continent, Polish Finance Minister Pawel Szalamacha told CNBC Friday, adding that the decision showed that the EU is "no longer the only choice for the nations of Europe." Szalamacha suggested that more countries could be prompted to leave the 28-nation bloc, such as those "with a strong sense of identity, some of the Nordic countries," or even some countries who may "feel that their destiny … is no longer within their hands." He added, "I don't think it's a sensible policy just to rely on the decisions of the major international players," not least because "some policy mistakes were committed."
Szalamacha goes on to say he supports decentralizing the EU's power base in Brussels so that countries can have more control over their own economies and markets.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on August 27, 2016 8 Comments
Despite concerns that Prime Minister Theresa May will not uphold the June 23rd Brexit vote, it doesn't look like she is willing to let a three-ring circus develop in which protesters tout bogus climate change links to Brexit or equally bogus claims of economic doom. The Telegraph is reporting that she will invoke Article 50—the mechanism outlined in the Lisbon Treaty for leaving the European Union—without a vote in the Commons, thus denying the "Remain" supporters the opportunity to block or delay Brexit. The Telegraph reports:
Theresa May will not hold a parliamentary vote on Brexit before opening negotiations to formally trigger Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, The Telegraph has learned. Opponents of Brexit claim that because the EU referendum result is advisory it must be approved by a vote in the Commons before Article 50 - the formal mechanism to leave the EU - is triggered. However, in a move which will cheer Eurosceptics, The Telegraph has learned that Mrs May will invoke Article 50 without a vote in Parliament

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 27, 2016 23 Comments
The British Brexit leader Nigel Farage recently spoke at a Donald Trump rally and offered some words of encouragement for attendees. Real Clear Politics reported:
Former leader of the UK Independent Party Nigel Farage, credited for Brexit, addressed the audience at a Trump campaign rally in Jackson, Mississippi on Wednesday night. Farage left the UKIP after the United Kingdom voted to 'leave' the European Union.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 15, 2016 16 Comments
The Sunday Times has reported that Brexit may not happen until the end of 2019, a full year after the government hoped it would occur. These sources said Prime Minister Theresa May's "new Brexit and international trade departments will not be ready." The French and German elections may have a hand in the delay as well.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 20, 2016 23 Comments
One of the new pieces of good news coming from Europe last week was from Great Britain. In the wake of the #Brexit vote, U.K.'s new Prime Minister felt empowered to shut an entire government department.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has been facing criticism during her first few days in office over her decision to close the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change. The closure was reported on Thursday, May's first full day in office after the departure of David Cameron.
The unit will actually be folded into an expanded Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under Greg Clark.
It comes at a time when campaigners are urging the government to ratify the Paris climate change deal.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 17, 2016 11 Comments
The Brexit vote that resulted in David Cameron stepping down has also prompted a range of apocolyptic fear-mongering that British trade would collapse. In fact, numerous countries are beginning to explore free trade deals with Britain after its EU exit.  With the 2019 date for Britain's exit from the EU looming, the United States and Australia have emerged "at the front of queue" to line up trade deals.  Such deals with just these two countries "alone could be worth billions of pounds to the British economy." Australia, in particular, sees the opportunity to open up trading with Britain as a "matter of urgency." The Guardian reports:
Australia has called for a free-trade deal with Britain as soon as possible, in a boost for the newly appointed prime minister, Theresa May. In a phone call on Saturday, May spoke to her Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, who expressed his desire to open up trading between the two countries as a matter of urgency.
For her part, May states her belief that these talks are important in terms of showing that Brexit can work out well for Britons.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 11, 2016 6 Comments
Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the race for prime minister on Monday morning, leaving Home Secretary Theresa May as the only candidate left standing. Current Prime Minister David Cameron said he will leave on Wednesday since there is no need for an election. The Conservative Party officially named May as his successor:
"Obviously, with these changes, we now don't need to have a prolonged period of transition. And so tomorrow I will chair my last cabinet meeting. On Wednesday I will attend the House of Commons for prime minister's questions. And then after that I expect to go to the palace and offer my resignation. So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening," Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street on Monday.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 07, 2016 5 Comments
The United Kingdom will have its second female prime minister after David Cameron resigned when the kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The second ballot pushed Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom to the front. Justice Secretary Michael Gove came in third, thus eliminating him from the race. Conservative members will vote for the next prime minister and announce the winner on September 9.
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