It is clear from the Declaration that the Council’s directives for negotiating the future relationship with the UK have departed substantially from it.
“Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Saves lives” now needs to end up as “Get back to work. Protect the economy. Save livelihoods.”
Economically and politically, Beijing takes advantage of asymmetric openness: we’re open to them, but they are not to us.
The formal deadline for agreeing an extension to the transition period is close, but Britain is unlikely to ask for one.
As a member of his first Cabinet, I was tested in Northern Ireland – as elsewhere the new government reduced the defict and reformed public services.
Exactly a decade after forming a government with the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats are languishing on the political fringes – where did it all go wrong?
The choice could have profound consequences for the future of the UK economy, not just for next year but for decades.
We should take inspiration from other countries which display best practice: Australia and New Zealand.
To remain in it for any longer than necessary would leave the fragile economy we will have after Covid-19 very vulnerable.
Plus: An outpouring of affection for Johnson. We reach Defcon Raab. The EU messes up (again). And: could Sleepy Joe wake up as President?
It will take a vast New Deal of actual spending to lift Europe out of Coronavirus slump and head off a deflationary depression.
It is a supreme irony that the EU has effectively ended free movement, while the UK continues to embrace it
We should make tariff reductions conditional on meeting standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection which are as good as our own.
“I’ve talked to senior members of the NHS and they’ve reassured me…some of those ventilators from abroad are coming from EU countries.”
The new parliamentary party is more Eurosceptic, and a majority government better-positioned to absorb rebellions. And yet…