Amidst all the Brexit carnage and panic, a moment of fun, well high farce anyway. The witless and ill-starred Transport Secretary Chris Grayling managed to prepare for a no-deal Brexit by agreeing a £14million contract with a ferry firm that didn’t own any ferries. Mystifyingly he and the deal stayed in place until … Read more
Another month, another flurry of excited panic as yet another deadline approaches. And we appear no nearer to any real closure than we were two years back. Even Tony Blair is sounding lucid: “We need to know the destination of the train before we get on it and depart the station; especially when … Read more
Untying the Gordian knot of the Ireland problem is where the majority of Brexit attention is being focussed. Though heaven knows there are multifarious other worries about customs borders and future trade requiring preparation which appear to be sliding under the radar. As far as Ireland is concerned, Leo Varadakar, the Irish … Read more
David Cameron opened Pandora’s Box with the Brexit referendum and then slunk away after it turned into a can of viperous worms. Looked at one way he was the unwitting agent for what had to happen, a necessary step along the way of dismantling the UK’s sclerotic political system. Not what he intended … Read more
John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, already under a cloud from allegations of bullying, caused a major upset yesterday in the chamber. He went against precedent to allow a vote which effectively skewered Theresa May, forcing her to produce a Plan B within three days if her Brexit deal is … Read more
Across the great ocean there’s another gigantic shambles with the maybe vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal (that no one likes) approaching fast. The politicians are tying themselves in knots while the public appear to be less fazed and are assuming it’ll all shake down somehow. Theresa May’s Term chart, 9 June 2017 … Read more
Scotland is standing on one foot watching the Brexit vote(s) with anxiety. Almost two thirds voted to remain within the EU and a shambolic exit might well tip the balance for a second Independence Referendum. The Act of Union between Scotland and England took effect on 1 May 1707 (JC) and has a … Read more
A modern equivalent of the most febrile period in English political history in the aftermath of the 17th Century Civil War is being re-run in Westminster for the next several years. Simon De Montfort’s first parliament chart, 20 January 1265 JC, has the same Solar Arcs running from 2016 to 2024 as were … Read more
The Ireland north-south border enshrined as a frictionless zone in the Good Friday peace agreement to end three decades of violent troubles is the unsolvable conundrum of Brexit. Weaponised gleefully by the EU and carelessly ignored by the Brexiteers it has assumed mountainous proportions, though as a customs border problem it could easily … Read more
A Tony Blair intervention usually evokes an exasperated sigh from the electorate who wish he’d bury himself somewhere far away. But for once his grandstanding on Brexit has been welcomed by everyone apart from Theresa May who accused him of “undermining” the Brexit talks by calling for another referendum and saying his comments … Read more