Reading Time: 5 minutes Freedom has a price. Most people aren’t willing to pay it. – Jack Kevorkian (American activist) The government’s recent decision to sharply increase the cost of giving up British citizenship represents a new low point in the Brexit saga. Just as you thought that the UK government couldn’t get any more cynical in its treatment […]
Brexit Negotiations
Freedom Of Movement – Caught In The Tape
Reading Time: 4 minutes In agreeing a deal for EU citizens in the UK, and British citizens in the EU, Theresa May has promised to keep the administrative red tape to a minimum. EU citizens, living in the UK, will still have to justify their eligibility for “settled status”, in what the UK government promises to be a streamlined […]
Brexit Musings (21) – Why The Dalai Lama Should Replace David Davis
Reading Time: 4 minutes And how many of even the most besotted Tory Europhiles would risk bringing down the Government, when the alternative is national ruin under Marxism? On the long march to Brexit, this was a critical moment. She and her war cabinet should take pride in a decision that puts Britain’s interests first. – Daily Mail […]
Brexit Musings (20) – Online EU Registration And Gartner’s Hype Cycle
Reading Time: 5 minutes According to UK home secretary, Amber Rudd, an application system for EU nationals wanting to remain in the UK after Brexit (are there any?) will be, “as easy as setting up an online account at LK Bennett”. If you are anything like me, you won’t have heard of LK Bennett, yet alone opened […]
Brexit Musings (18) – “Passeports, s’il vous plaît.”
Reading Time: 3 minutes This is a fitting tribute to the future of reason, where everything is so logical and clear-cut. The UK has finally won me over, and convinced me to renew my UK passport even though I have a French one. The passport will not be “blue” but “bleu”….Merci les Amis. Brexit is a sad affair for […]
Brexit Musings (17) – Brits In Europe: Status Quo Or Status Gone?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, the more it changes, the more it is the same thing. The EU and UK have done it again, and our EU rights, as British citizens living elsewhere in the EU, are close to being officially trampled on. The British fish, swimming in the North Sea, are likely […]
When EU Twitterbots Encounter Daniel Hannan’s Spam
Reading Time: 5 minutes The title of Daniel Hannan’s latest blog post, published in the Daily Telegraph, says it all. The UK is a bad boy who is under fire from the monster in Brussels, who thinks he knows best. But do notice that even concerning walking away with no deal, the UK hasn’t begun its preparations […]
Brexit Is No Longer Divorce – It’s Adultery
Reading Time: 6 minutes The Mansion House speech, delivered by Theresa May, clearly attempted to define what the UK wants out of Brexit. What it did not do, is deliver concrete solutions. If the EU is to abide by its principles, and not sell its soul to a potential bidder, Theresa May should have very little, if anything, to […]
The Irish, The Brits, And The EU: Bordering On Insanity
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you think about it, the two most controversial and painful aspects of the Brexit negotiations, up to now, both concern the notion of national borders, and who can or cannot cross them. Now, we have the whole of Northern Ireland, not knowing whether it will end up with a hard border, and where the […]
Brexit Musings (16) – Home-Made Customs Pie
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, starts talking about wanting to remain in a modified customs union, and big industry starts applauding him for such nonsense, you can be pretty sure that the UK is in trouble – big time. On this side of the North Sea, we must feel compassionate, and not mock the afflicted. […]