Brexit News

Jeremy Corbyn is to step down as Labour leader after the party's poor performance in the general election. Who could replace him?  Sir Keir Starmer After much speculation the shadow Brexit secretary confirmed he was standing on 5 January. A former director of public prosecutions, he has proved a continual headache for the last two Conservative governments as they tried to keep their Brexit shows on the road. In the first […]

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is "not sure" a UK-EU trade deal will be struck by 31 December, the end of the Brexit transition period. Mr Macron said negotiations starting in March will be "tense", with fishing rights a key point of contention. It comes as the UK government signalled it would publish its mandate for the trade deal later this week. In the document, ministers are expected […]

New immigration rules would make a "major recruitment crisis" worse and lead to a "severe" shortage of carers, Care Forum Wales has warned. Chairman Mario Kreft said pay levels would have to rise significantly to attract "home-grown" staff. The Welsh government said the plans showed an "alarming lack of understanding" of Wales' economy and would unnecessarily damage prosperity. The UK government said it would end the reliance on "cheap" immigrant […]

The UK Government is pursuing a “dangerous, damaging and isolationist” path on Brexit, according to Scotland’s Constitutional Relations Secretary. Mike Russell said the Scottish Government is stepping up its “defence” against Westminster’s plans as it exits the EU. Boris Johnson’s administration is set to deliver a “hard, uncompromising, extreme Brexit, which rejects co-operation and collaboration and instead seeks to retreat into some mythical empire”, he said. Against that backdrop, Mr […]

EU leaders made no headway on Thursday in fractious talks on a joint 2021-27 budget that was left with a 75 billion euro (62.9 billion pounds) hole after Britain’s departure at a time when they face costly new challenges from climate change to migration. The joint budget is the most tangible expression of the European Union’s priorities over the next seven years - and its member states’ willingness to stump […]

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels this week to discuss the bloc's future budget plans. These negotiations are always challenging, tending to pit net payers against net beneficiaries. There are proposals from the European Commission and the Parliament that some countries think involve spending too much. This time, the talks are further complicated by the departure of the UK, which was a large net contributor. The talks are about the […]

China is ready to restart preparatory work with British officials on a future trade deal after a feasibility study was quietly paused last year during the Brexit deadlock, a top diplomat has said. Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to London, said it may take time before the two sides have detailed discussions as his country focuses on battling the coronavirus and Britain's newly-elected government settles in. But he told Sky News the […]

A demand for the return of "unlawfully removed cultural objects" has been included in the EU's negotiating mandate for trade talks with the UK - prompting claims Britain will be held to ransom over the Elgin Marbles. The British Museum has long refused to return the 2,500-year-old artefacts to Greece, which the country says were stolen from them by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when it was under […]

The government has announced its plans to introduce a "points-based" post-Brexit immigration system. Low-skilled workers will not receive visas and the Home Office said EU and non-EU citizens coming to the UK would be treated equally after UK-EU free movement ended, on 31 December. But how will the new laws affect some sectors? 1. A challenge for companies needing lower-skilled workers The broad promises of Brexit are giving way to […]