Brexit

Wednesday

Andrew McQuillan

Northern Ireland has been the biggest loser from Brexit

In the decade since the vote to leave the European Union, arguably no issue has consumed more energy, column inches, political capital and careers than how to solve the problem of Northern Ireland. It was on that narrow, jagged border between North and South that the substantive skirmishes took place between the UK and EU on what their future relationship would look like. While Michel Barnier and Lord Frost arguing the toss over the finer points of agri-food regulation may lack the luster of the Battle of the Boyne or the romantic connotations of 1916, it was no less significant a moment in Northern Ireland’s history.

northern ireland

Tuesday

Robert Tombs

The real threat to democracy after Brexit

Ten years after the Brexit referendum, its long-term impact on British politics is evident. Not so evident is why this is the case. Every general election sees comparable debates. So too did the 1975 referendum on membership called by Harold Wilson. But none of these other elections has ever produced such an extreme and long-lasting reaction, or a concerted attempt to use both informal and formal methods – constitutional and legal – to block the result.

brexit

Friday

Michael Simmons

Was Brexit worth it – and can Burnham save Britain?

From our UK edition

55 min listen

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s assistant editor Isabel Hardman and the editor of The New Statesman Tom McTague. Plus, in a special episode this week, the Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons joins for the first half of the episode, before political editor Tim Shipman jumps in later on. This week: was Brexit worth it? As we approach the tenth anniversary of the vote to leave the European Union, the Spectator’s editor – and former prominent Vote Leave campaigner – Michael Gove makes the case that not only was Britain right to leave, but it has benefitted from leaving. The past decade however has been marked by domestic political chaos, so to what extent was Brexit a symptom or a cause of Britain’s structural problems?

Was Brexit worth it – and can Burnham save Britain?

Wednesday

Claire Fox

Does Britain have Bregret? Don’t believe it

From our UK edition

In the build-up to the tenth anniversary of the EU referendum, we’ve heard lots of claims about Bregret. There are some Remain nostalgists who are convinced that, after a decade of listening to their wise counsel about how much better we’d be if we’d stayed in the glorious EU, those misled numpties who voted the wrong way must surely have changed their minds and be ready to slink back to Brussels. Recently, the Observer commissioned polling to prove the point. It’s true that rejoining attracted the largest single share, at 33 per cent. But the options for staying out of the EU, taken together, commanded a clear majority: 55 per cent. Mysteriously, the paper decided not to publish. Darn it, why does the public keep giving the wrong answer?

Michael Gove

The Brexit decade: was it worth it?

It may not feel or sound like it but Keir Starmer is a born-again Brexiteer. His achievements in office may be nugatory, his search for a legacy tragicomic, but there are countless actions this government boasts of which simply would not have been possible if we had stayed in the EU. Earlier this year, Labour moved to protect our steel industry with a tariff package possible only because we have an independent trade policy. I was delighted this month when the minister in the Lords made it clear this was a Brexit benefit. Those same Brexit freedoms allowed the Chancellor last month to cut tariffs on more than 100 foodstuffs to ease the cost-of-living crisis.

Matt Ridley

Britain must finally embrace gene editing

From our UK edition

Around the turn of the century, the world embarked on an experiment. The Americas embraced the genetic modification of crops; Europe rejected it and stuck with the old ways of generating new plant varieties – bombarding seeds with gamma rays, mostly. The results are clear. Both economically and ecologically, the Americas won: more productive farmers, reduced use of pesticides, more investment in innovation, fewer emissions. By the time of the Brexit vote in 2016, polls showed the British people were no longer against genetic modification of crops. Protests by boiler-suited eco-toffs had fizzled out. But European red tape made changing our policy impossible.

Martin Vander Weyer

Brexit was a huge opportunity shamefully mishandled

From our UK edition

The Damascene moment in my personal Brexit journey came not when my pen hovered over the referendum ballot on 23 June 2016, but a month earlier. In Amsterdam for a British commercial property jamboree, I was about to speak on a panel with the pro-Remain pundit Steve Richards and the ultra-federalist Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt. ‘What you need here is a tub-thumping pro-Leave rant,’ I told the organiser. So that’s what I attempted, including some low jibes at the glowering Belgian, who for comic effect I claimed was my cousin. Then I called for an out-or-in show of hands and lost it (this was an audience reliant on European investors) by roughly 500 to five. Afterwards I thought: did I really offer a blueprint for freedom and prosperity or was that just undergraduate knockabout?

Friday

Melissa Kite

Once we Brexiteers get our Irish passports, we can go anywhere

“There’s a flat rat under the mat!” I shrieked, and wondered whether that was the sort of jaunty phrase that could be used for elocution lessons. I had lifted this mat by the main staircase to hoover the floor beneath it and there it was, a perfectly flat rat in the shape of a cartoon dead beast beneath this mat. I began laughing uncontrollably, because if you’ve ever seen a flat rat under a mat you will know that it is intrinsically funny, whatever your views on rats. You will laugh even if you don’t like rodents, or indeed if you like them way too much. Even if you are a member of the Rat Preservation Society, when you see one flattened paper-thin, stuck to your floorboards, I challenge you not to burst out laughing, while jumping up and down.

Tuesday

Henry Hitchings

Nothing works: The End of Everything, by M. John Harrison, reviewed

From our UK edition

For more than half a century, M. John Harrison has been writing about decay and dispossession in a style that is at once restless and exacting. Often an audacious weaver of science fictions, he has also operated in a ruggedly realistic vein – though the distinction would probably strike him as bogus, a marketing position rather than useful framing. The End of Everything occupies typical Harrison terrain, with notes of J.G. Ballard and David Lynch as well as more than a hint of Stanley Spencer’s paintings (think compost heaps and clutter).

Wednesday

The Spectator

The EU can’t save Labour

From our UK edition

Amid the rubble of this government lies a tattered standard – the regimental colours of the current Labour party. The blue and gold of Brussels is now the binding force that holds together the different factions of this government. Keir Starmer and those who wish to replace him are united in their conviction that a refreshed, closer relationship with the EU is central to their destiny and Britain’s. Starmer’s wish to once more hoist the European flag is understandable. He positioned himself to succeed Jeremy Corbyn by becoming the face of Brexit resistance. In the days, not so long ago, when he had a following, it was because his supporters believed he would lead Britain back into the heart of Europe. Now, Starmer wants to play that old tune.

Thursday

Charles Grant

EU déjà vu: the emergency brake is back!

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform and Tim Shipman join James Heale to reflect on the rumours about Britain's latest set of negotiations with the European Union. There are reports that the EU may be willing to accept some form of mechanism, that the UK could use, should Britain ever wish to temporarily halt the number of inbound students. Perhaps we could call such a mechanism an 'emergency brake'. Sound familiar? What does this tell us about the dynamics of the EU, how the UK-EU relationship works – and how inevitable was the result in 2016? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.

EU déjà vu: the emergency brake is back!

Wednesday

The Spectator

Letters: Let children drink

From our UK edition

Chagos stupidity Sir: To British Establishment watchers, Michael Gove’s dissection of the dubious and devious machinations of Jonathan Powell, Richard Hermer, Philippe Sands et al over the Chagos Islands (‘The guilty men’, 31 January) should come as no surprise. Powell, in the Irish Troubles context in particular, has form. His negotiating position more resembled that of an imported diplomat than an official of the UK government. What is surprising in the Chagos fiasco, however, is the seeming gullibility of some at least on the American side. Are they, one wonders, working to a covert agenda of withdrawal and retrenchment, or are they just very stupid? Terry Smith London NW11 Democracy denial?

Wednesday

The Spectator

A decade on, Brexit still means Brexit

From our UK edition

It’s been almost a full decade since Britain voted to leave the European Union. Inside Labour, whatever words are muttered about accepting the referendum’s result, the consensus remains that Brexit was a mistake. Ministers compete to see who can flirt most openly with re-entry, despite their party manifesto pledges not to rejoin the single market or customs union, or to reintroduce freedom of movement. Keir Starmer has attacked the ‘wild promises’ of Brexit supporters and said Britain must ‘get closer’ to the single market. David Lammy and Wes Streeting have both lamented the ‘damage done by Brexit’ and called for a customs union with Brussels – a proposal that Peter Kyle, the Trade Secretary, suggested would be ‘crazy’ not to consider.

Friday

Patrick Gibbons

Brexit’s back – and so is Truss

From our UK edition

16 min listen

There has been a flurry of UK-European activity across Britain this week, with the German state visit in London, the Norwegian Prime Minister signing a defence agreement in Scotland and the British-Irish council meeting in Wales today. Perhaps then it's inevitable that speculation over closer ties between the UK and the EU has re-emerged. Could Labour seek to rejoin the Customs Union? Would this help or hinder Reform? And would the EU even stomach it? Plus – Liz Truss launches a new show today. Will she say anything new? James Heale and Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform join Patrick Gibbons to discuss. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Thursday

Tim Shipman

Nick Thomas-Symonds: ‘The Brexit architects essentially ran away’

From our UK edition

With his owlish expression and affable manner, Nick Thomas-Symonds looks more like the academic that he was, rather than the political bomb disposal expert he has become. Brexit is the greatest political issue for a generation, yet Keir Starmer has chosen to put this softly spoken Welshman in charge of defusing it. The Cabinet Office minister, responsible for post-Brexit negotiations with the EU, is following in the footsteps of Olly Robbins and David Frost, but his lack of public notoriety says much about how things have changed as we approach the tenth anniversary next year of the vote to Leave.

Thursday

Anthony Seldon

I regret my intolerance over Brexit

From our UK edition

Cannabis smoke lingering along the sidewalks of Washington D.C. was the most palpable fruit of liberty since my last visit to the US capital. I’m in town to give a talk at Britain’s dazzling Lutyens Residence about the evergreen ‘special relationship’ ahead of the US’s 250th anniversary next July. Acting ambassador James Roscoe has stepped up with aplomb to fill Peter Mandelson’s big shoes, aided by his renaissance wife, the musician, author and broadcaster Clemency Burton-Hill. America’s anniversary will fall on the watch of its 47th President.

Tuesday

James Ball

The new power players running the world

From our UK edition

At the opening of The Hour of the Predator, Giuliano da Empoli describes Spain’s conquest of the Aztec empire, its doomed ruler Moctezuma II’s response (ineffective vacillation, delaying any course of action), its consequences and its relevance to politics today. It is a striking introduction to a brief, bracing and profoundly alarming book. The author argues that an alliance of tech bros and authoritarian rulers – whom he calls modern-day Borgias – are sweeping away the rules-based international order. He sees our elected leaders as comparable to the procrastinating Aztec emperor, appeasing and hesitating as the opportunity for action passes into history. Da Empoli has a peculiar vantage point.

Tuesday

Michael Simmons

Is Brexit to blame for Britain’s economic doom loop?

From our UK edition

22 min listen

Rachel Reeves is preparing for her first major Budget – but is Brexit really to blame for Britain’s black hole? Host Michael Simmons speaks to independent economist Julian Jessop about the OBR’s productivity downgrade, Labour’s tax plans, and whether Reeves is right to point the finger at Brexit.

Tuesday

Ross Clark

Trump returns to backwater Britain

President Trump returns to Britain this week for his second state visit, to a country which is much changed yet depressingly still the same. On his first, six years ago, Britain had yet to complete its departure from the EU, Elizabeth II was still on the throne and the Conservatives still in power – with three Prime Ministers to go before their eventual ejection from office. He will no doubt receive a warm and dignified welcome from King Charles, whatever is going through the monarch’s head – the impeccable neutrality of the British throne has survived the change of reign. Yet the President will find a country that is anything but transformed by Brexit or by its change of government.

Donald Trump

Friday

Tim Shipman

Tim Shipman, Colin Freeman, Rachel Clarke, Michael Gove & Melanie Ferbreach

From our UK edition

40 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Tim Shipman interviews shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick (plus – Tim explains the significance of Jenrick’s arguments in a special introduction); Colin Freeman wonders why the defenders of Ukraine have been abandoned; Rachel Clarke reviews Liam Shaw and explains the urgency needed to find new antibiotics; Michael Gove reviews Tom McTague and ponders the path that led to the UK voting to leave the EU; and, Melanie Ferbreach provides her notes on made-up language. Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.