Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 23rd May 2019

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The BBC news and television stars that are 'revelling' in Brexit

If many of the BBC's top presenters seem to be revelling in the never-ending Brexit saga, it may well be because they know what side their bread is buttered. "It's proving a bonanza for topping up freelance earnings and an astonishing number of people here are at it," whispers my man at the corporation. "The BBC editorial guidelines state quite clearly that presenters and reporters should not expose themselves to 'potential conflicts of interests' when it comes to stories they're involved in reporting, but they're in a situation where it's in their interests now to keep the Brexit story going." My attention is drawn to an outfit called The Speaker Bureau which touts such corporation luminaries as Andrew Marr, Laura Kuenssberg, Michael Buerk, Andrew Neil, John Pienaar, and Newsnight's Kirsty Wark and Nick Watt as "specialist Brexit speakers" for conferences and events, alongside overtly partisan figures such as David Davis, Liam Fox and Nick Timothy.
19th May 2019 - The New European

Poverty in the UK is 'systematic' and 'tragic', says UN special rapporteur

The UK's social safety net has been "deliberately removed and replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos", a report commissioned by the UN has said. Special rapporteur on extreme poverty Philip Alston said "ideological" cuts to public services since 2010 have led to "tragic consequences". The report comes after Prof Alston visited UK towns and cities and made preliminary findings last November. The government said his final report was "barely believable". The £95bn spent on welfare and the maintenance of the state pension showed the government took tackling poverty "extremely seriously", a spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.
22nd May 2019 - BBC

UN report compares Tory welfare policies to creation of workhouses

In his final report on the impact of austerity on human rights in the UK, Philip Alston, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, accused ministers of being in a state of denial about the impact of policies, including the rollout of universal credit, since 2010. He accused them of the “systematic immiseration of a significant part of the British population” and warned that worse could be yet to come for the most vulnerable, who face “a major adverse impact” if Brexit proceeds. He said leaving the EU was “a tragic distraction from the social and economic policies shaping a Britain that it’s hard to believe any political parties really want”.
22nd May 2019 - The Guardian

Amber Rudd to lodge complaint over UN's austerity report

The work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd, plans to lodge a formal complaint with the UN about the damning report on austerity in Britain by its special rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston. Rudd will argue that Alston is politically biased and did not do enough research. The minister is seeking guidance from the Foreign Office on the best way to respond after Alston compared her department’s welfare policies to the creation of Victorian workhouses.
22nd May 2019 - The Guardian

‘It’s cut-throat’: half of UK academics stressed and 40% thinking of leaving

One qualitative study found that academics are often isolated and anxious, in a system they feel is driven by financial targets and what one called a “treadmill of justification”. A second survey, by the polling company YouGov for the charity, found that 55% of higher education professionals describe themselves as stressed, and nearly four in 10 had considered leaving the sector in the past two years as a result of health pressures. One academic said: “I remember a time of camaraderie and collegiality. Now, the external pressures isolate and spotlight individuals.” Another said: “One of the key skills in current times is working against isolation. If you can’t, then it can be a very lonely job.”
21st May 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 20th May 2019

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UK property register 'needed urgently' to stop money laundering

Proposals for the first register of foreign-owned property aimed at preventing “McMafia-style” money laundering should be put in practice urgently and reinforced to plug potential loopholes, the government has been told. Draft legislation contains insufficient verification checks to deter criminals from submitting false information and could allow those exploiting trusts to circumvent controls, MPs and peers have said. More than £90bn is estimated to be laundered illegally through the UK each year, according to the all-party parliamentary committee scrutinising the registration of overseas entities bill. Illicit funds help sustain Britain’s inflated property market through the purchase of homes that are frequently left unoccupied, emptying the wealthier parts of London of residents.
20th May 2019 - The Guardian

Thomas Cook shares 'worthless', says Citigroup

Shares in Thomas Cook have plunged 30% after analysts at a bank said the travel firm's shares were "worthless". Thomas Cook's tour operations and airline are worth £738m, but its debt is around the same "and implies zero equity value", according to Citigroup. Citigroup's damning conclusion comes a day after Thomas Cook issued its third profit warning in less than a year and reported a £1.5bn half-year loss. Its outlook was "significantly weaker than expected," Citigroup said.
17th May 2019 - BBC

UK-based Poles call for revolt against having to apply for settled status

A Polish chef who has worked with Mary Berry and Jamie Oliver is leading a revolt by UK-based Poles against the Home Office’s requirement that EU citizens apply for settled status as part of Brexit. More than 7,000 people have signed a petition launched this week by Damian Wawrzyniak on the UK government and parliament website to change the wording of the settlement status process from “application” to “registration”. At 10,000 signatures, the government must respond. Wawrzyniak, a former chef at Noma in Copenhagen who has worked in Britain for 15 years and established his own UK restaurants, originally backed Brexit on the basis that it would make it easier for restaurants to select British produce. But he has changed his mind and says he will ultimately refuse to apply to live in the country he now calls home.
18th May 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit blamed as United Kingdom comes last at Eurovision with just three points in public vote

It is the first time the UK has come last in the Eurovision Song contest since 2010. Many took to social media to blame Brexit for the hostile reception from the rest of Europe.
18th May 2019 - The New European

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 17th May 2019

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Brexit political mess a 'crushing disaster' for UK business – CBI chief

The continuing political mess over Brexit is a “crushing disaster” for business in Britain with investor confidence at the lowest since the financial crash a decade ago, the Confederation of British Industry’s director general has said. Carolyn Fairbairn told business leaders in London that “the paralysis” in Westminster continuing “every day without a deal is corrosive” in its effect on Britain’s economy. She said the government and other political parties involved in the Brexit mess needed to sit up and pay attention to the realities in business and stop shirking their responsibilities to the country, where business leaders are already being forced to cancel expansion because the prospect of a decision on Brexit seems further away than ever. “From the heart of business to the heart of politics, resolve this gridlock, do whatever it takes and do it fast,” she said.
16th May 2019 - The Guardian

Thomas Cook Blames Brexit For Huge £1.5bn Half-Year Loss

Troubled holiday giant Thomas Cook has slumped to a £1.5 billion half-year loss as it warned Brexit uncertainty had seen Britons delay their summer holiday plans. The cash-strapped group’s pre-tax losses widened from £303 million a year earlier and the firm warned “challenging” trading over the peak summer season was set to put the full-year result under pressure. It now expects underlying earnings to fall over the second half as holiday firms cut prices to boost Brexit-hit demand and costs of fuel and hotels rise. Thomas Cook is planning further cost savings in the second half to offset tougher trading and higher fuel expenses, following its decision in March to shut 21 stores and axe more than 300 retail roles.
16th May 2019 - Huffington Post UK

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 16th May 2019

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Brexit drives firms to relocate to Germany

A record 2,062 foreign companies either set up shop or expanded their operations in Germany in 2018, acording to a report released Monday. The government-backed economic development agency German Trade and Invest (GTAI) said some 168 British companies had made Germany their home — or at least resettle part of their operations — in 2018. GTAI credited Brexit as a likely reason, with a 38% increase in the number of British firms moving operations to Germany since the Brexit vote in June 2016. "The figures prove clearly, Germany is a popular investment location for foreign companies," said Robert Hermann, GTAI's chief executive. "It's particularly noteworthy that never have so many British companies settled in Germany as they did last year." Hermann said those compiling the study had asked companies why they had relocated. "For almost a half — 45 percent Brexit was the reason for it," he said.
13th May 2019 - Deutsche Welle

Will drugs companies follow EU agency from London to Amsterdam?

Mark Dayan, policy analyst for the Nuffield Trust think-tank, and an authority on the impact of Brexit on health and life sciences, said that the physical departure of the EMA was “hardly going to help make the UK an attractive destination for pharmaceutical investment”, but it was the legal departure of the UK from the pan-European regulatory system that would cause the real problems. The market easily available to the NHS and British pharmaceutical companies would “shrink to a sixth or less of what it is today”, he added, because approvals granted in the UK would no longer be recognised by the remaining member states.
16th May 2019 - Financial Times

Holiday company Tui hit by Brexit uncertainty and 737 Max grounding

Europe’s biggest holiday company is being badly affected by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, as well as uncertainty over Brexit. In its results for the six months to the end of March 2019, the Anglo-German firm reported a 77 per cent increase in the usual underlying seasonal loss, up from €170m (£148m) to €301m. Blames diminishing demand among British holidaymakers
15th May 2019 - The Independent

Lack of restraint fuelling “violent bile” over Brexit as Bishop of Leeds speaks out

One of the country’s top clergymen is urging politicians to challenge “classic populist language” which is fuelling even deeper divisions over Brexit ahead of next week’s European elections. Nick Baines, the Bishop of Leeds, suggests the “lack of any legal or political restraint” has fuelled an increase in “violent bile” in the three years since the murder of Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox during the EU referendum.
16th May 2019 - The Yorkshire Post

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 15th May 2019

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Brexit could push UK companies into 'greater contact with corrupt markets' if EU trade deals lost

Brexit could push British companies into “greater contact with corrupt markets” and increase bribery, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned. With only a handful of trade deals in place as the clock ticks down to EU exit in October, the agency has sent top-secret files to the government detailing countries of concern. “It is a realistic possibility that the UK’s exit from the EU will impact the prevalence of bribery and corruption over the next five years, as UK companies potentially come into greater contact with corrupt markets,” the NCA’s national strategic assessment said. Director-general Lynne Owens told The Independent that further details of “corrupt markets” could not be made public.
15th May 2019 - The Independent

Welsh beaches and marinas named among the world's best

Wales has earned more than 100 accolades in the annual coast awards. Welsh beaches, marinas and a boat operator have once again been judged to be among the best in the world. Keep Wales Tidy has revealed the 86 coastal areas that met the high environmental and safety standards needed to receive the international Blue Flag, Green Coast Award and Seaside Award. Wales has more Blue Flags per mile than anywhere else in the UK. The Blue Flag is a world-renowned eco-label owned by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).
14th May 2019 - BBC

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 14th May 2019

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Brexit blamed for exodus of EU nurses and midwives

Over half of EU nurses leaving said Brexit was a contributing factor to them quitting the profession. Nearly 5,000 nurses and midwives from EU countries have quit the profession in the past two years, with many citing Brexit as a contributing factor. The number of EU-trained nurses and midwives working in the UK fell from a record high of 38,024 in March 2017 to 33,035 in March this year, a drop of nearly 5,000, according to official figures released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). When the NMC asked these staff why they were leaving, 51% said Brexit was a key contributing factor. Experts have warned that Britain’s decision to leave the EU is exacerbating the NHS’s growing staffing crisis and ‘urgent’ action is needed.
13th May 2019 - Nursing Notes

Britain risks following US on extreme inequality, says think-tank

A report by the IFS, to be published on Tuesday at the review’s launch, noted that while UK income inequality had been stable, this was largely because tax credits had offset worsening earnings inequality. “Benefit income received from the government may feel quite different, in terms of the dignity and security it brings, from income earning in the labour market,” said the report. But inequality “is not just about money”, added the report. Among other examples, it called attention to a rise in the UK of middle aged “deaths of despair”, from suicide, drug overdose or alcohol-related disease.
14th May 2019 - Financial Times

There's no such thing as a rape joke

Once you’ve experienced the life-changing, destructive trauma that is sexual violence, rape stops being a laughing matter. And you realise it never was a laughing matter, we just happened to live in a culture too uncomfortable with the topic to call out a rape joke for what it is: an insult to the actual trauma that rape has on real lives, and a gross denigration of human worth. Recently, Ukip MEP candidate Carl Benjamin refused to apologise for his ongoing rape jokes about Labour MP Jess Phillips. Ukip leader Gerard Batten has defended Benjamin’s jokes as ‘satire.’ But anyone who has ever claimed the mantle of free speech in defence of rape jokes has surely never been a victim of rape themselves. They’ve never had to face the seemingly insurmountable flood of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety that disrupts your life, upends your career and ruins your own sense of trust in other people and the rest of the world.
14th May 2019 - Metro.co.uk

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 13th May 2019

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Hundreds of foreign doctors mull leaving UK over 'crippling' fees

Hundreds of overseas doctors are considering quitting the NHS in protest at being charged thousands of pounds a year for visas and healthcare in order to work in the UK. Medics from around the world are considering taking their skills abroad, angered by high charges and fees. Immigration rules mean they must pay thousands of pounds a year for a working visa, and £400 a year for them and each member of their family to use the NHS. More than 500 doctors from outside the EU have voiced their concerns in testimonies given to EveryDoctor, a campaigning organisation run by medics to improve how the profession is treated.
12th May 2019 - The Guardian

Brexiteers want us to glory in isolation. Their vision is introverted and selfish

Two competing views of what it is to be British in the world are at the root of the Brexit deadlock. Until we reconcile them we can’t move on
12th May 2019 - The Guardian

Football faces Brexit chaos over EU player transfers to UK clubs

The new immigration regime is set to be rolled out from January 2021, at the end of the transition period that would come as part of the Brexit deal on offer from the EU. However, January also marks the mid-season transfer window, when clubs desperately attempt to secure last-minute deals to bolster their squads. There are concerns in Whitehall that some clubs are not alive to the changes, which will mean European players lose the automatic right to come and play for British sides.
12th May 2019 - The Guardian

Richest in Britain got €25bn richer since the Brexit vote

At least one group of UK residents is flourishing in Brexit Britain: An exclusive club of billionaires. The 15 Britons on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index have added £21.5bn (€25bn) to their fortunes since the country voted to leave the EU on June 23, 2016, including £14bn so far this year.
11th May 2019 - Irish Examiner

Dutch artist shouts 'CANCEL BREXIT' as he sculpts Theresa May being beheaded on Weston-super-Mare beach

A Dutch artist has said "cancel Brexit" as he sculpts the Prime Minister being beheaded on a Somerset beach. Sculpter and activist Johannes Hogebrink is currently creating a depiction of the beheading of Theresa May using sand at Weston-super-Mare beach. As Britain prepares to leave the EU, he said "to cut off England from Europe is to cut off her head", and added that if people can't "understand" his art then they "shouldn’t be allowed to vote"
11th May 2019 - Somerset Live

NHS EU exodus is 'unsustainable' says Oxford MP

Brexit is 'unsustainable' for the NHS, according to Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran. Her comments come after Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) recorded a 'significant rise' in the number nurses quitting their posts during March. As reported in this paper on Tuesday, the trust, which runs the county's acute hospitals including the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, has seen a higher number of EU nurses leaving, particularly Spanish nurses due to Brexit 'anxiety'. Speaking yesterday, Ms Moran said: "It is deeply upsetting to hear that hard-working EU staff members are leaving the NHS in droves in Oxfordshire – the Conservatives should be ashamed.
10th May 2019 - The Oxford Times

The UK will remain deeply intertwined with the EU after Brexit – just how much, the courts will decide

Much has been written on the relationship between Parliament and the government in the wake of Brexit. Very little attention has been given to the role of our courts after Brexit, which should not be overlooked. There are two important reasons why we should focus on this, writes Martin Brenncke (Aston Law School). First, judges will be key players in delivering the goals of the statute that takes us out of the EU, the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Second, this Act has the potential to intensify the shifting of power from Parliament to the courts.
9th May 2019 - Blogs.LSE.ac.uk

Man told to remove his 'bollocks to Brexit' hat before his FlyBe flight | Latest Brexit news and top stories

A man was told to remove a woolly hat with "bollocks to Brexit" on it before he could take his seat on a flight because another passenger reportedly found it offensive. IT consultant Derek Knowles was boarding FlyBe's flight BE664 from Knock, in west Ireland, when a flight attendant said he would not be allowed to sit down while he had his hat on. "She just took exception to it," said Derek. "She was polite but firm, saying it might be offensive to other people and I'm not allowed to wear it on the plane." The airline has since said that a passenger had complained about the hat, and even followed up by writing to FlyBe's CEO about it later.
9th May 2019 - The New European

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 10th May 2019

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Tata denies it is trying to sell Jaguar Land Rover to France's PSA

Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors has been forced to deny that it is on the verge of selling the British luxury car brand to the French owner of Peugeot. Britain’s biggest carmaker has been mooted as a potential target for PSA Group – the owner of brands including Peugeot, Citroën and Vauxhall – for months amid reports that India’s Tata was growing frustrated with JLR’s struggles. A “post-sale integration document” has been passed around senior executives at the companies, detailing the potential benefits of a tie-up, the Press Association reported on Thursday. However, both carmakers denied a sale is in the offing.
9th May 2019 - The Guardian

Polish mother says Brexit abuse forced her from UK

A Polish mother says abuse she has suffered since the Brexit referendum has forced her to leave the UK after 10 years. Magdelena Howlett, whose daughters were both born in the UK, has sold her home in Nottingham and returned to Eastern Europe because of concern for their safety. She said the abuse started two days before the referendum in June 2016 when a stranger swore at her in the street. But through concerns it would escalate she has not reported it to police. A 2018 study by charity Nottingham Citizens found about a third of 4,000 respondents had experienced a hate crime in the city, with Brexit identified as one of the major drivers.
9th May 2019 - BBC

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 9th May 2019

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Threats to MPs at 'unprecedented' levels, says Met chief

Threats to MPs are at "unprecedented" levels, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has said. The Met chief disclosed that the number of crimes reported by MPs more than doubled in 2018 from 151 to 342 and was on course to rise further this year. Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu told a parliamentary committee Brexit was a "huge driver" behind the increase. Women and people from ethnic minorities were being disproportionately targeted, Ms Dick added. So far this year MPs and staff have already reported 152 crimes and over 600 incidents while incidents involving MPs are now 126% higher than in 2015.
8th May 2019 - BBC

Business leaders warn against curbs on migrants’ dependants

UK proposals for new immigration rules after Brexit that would prevent migrants bringing family members with them risk making the country far less attractive to talented overseas workers, business leaders are warning. The UK has so far provided unusually generous arrangements for spouses and children accompanying migrants with job offers in Britain — including an automatic right to work for dependants. But experts argue that Home Office plans for a tougher regime after Brexit may undermine this approach: a proposed 12-month visa for lower skilled workers excludes dependants. A youth mobility visa for 18- to 30-year-olds, which is due to be expanded to include EU nationals, also does not allow family members. A report into dependant visa rules around the world by the law firm Fragomen described these omissions as “significant departure[s] from traditional UK immigration practice”.
9th May 2019 - Financial Times

ITV blames Brexit uncertainty for tumbling ad sales, but hopes Love Island will come to rescue

ITV has blamed Brexit uncertainty after advertising sales tumbled 7 per cent in the first three months of the year. The broadcaster said it hopes reality TV hit Love Island will come to the rescue. ITV, which produces shows including Line of Duty, warned that revenues would remain lower for the first half of 2019 because Brexit has reduced demand for advertising. Revenues dropped as much as 16 per cent in March compared to the same month last year. They are set to plummet by around 20 per cent in June as ITV comes up against an “exceptionally strong” June 2018, which was boosted by the Football World Cup.
9th May 2019 - The Independent

Figures reveal massive fall in nurses and midwives from Europe since Brexit vote

New figures show that the number of registered nurses and midwives from the European Economic Area registered in the UK highlight the massive fall since the Brexit vote. According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the number of nurses and midwives decreased by 5.9% between March 2018 and March 2019, from 35,115 to 33,035. The number of EEA nurses and midwives registering for the first time was just 968 between April 2018 and March 2019, up from the 805 who registered in 2017-2018 but a massive decrease compared to the 9,389 who registered in 2015-2016, before the Brexit referendum. Elsewhere in the survey findings, 51% of those nurses and midwives who trained within the EU, left the register and responded to the survey stated Brexit as a reason for encouraging them to consider working outside the UK. It has prompted anti-Brexit campaign group Best for Britain to publish an open letter, endorsed by the Royal College of Midwives CEO Gill Walton and signed by local midwives across the UK, slamming Brexit's impact on maternity services in the UK and calling for a final say on the Brexit deal.
9th May 2019 - The New European

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 8th May 2019

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EU staff leave Oxford hospitals in droves over Brexit anxiety

The UK’s decision to quit the EU continues to deepen the NHS staffing crisis with local hospitals reporting a ‘significant’ and ‘unexpected’ increase in the number of EU nurses leaving their posts in March. According to Oxfordshire hospital chiefs, the rise is largely down to an increase in Spanish nurses quitting the country because potential changes to rules in Spain threaten to render their work experience in the UK worthless after Brexit. Currently, Spanish nurses can build up points by working in the UK and other EU countries which can be used to improve their job prospects and salaries if they want to work in hospitals in Spain.
7th May 2019 - Oxford Mail

NHS nursing crisis worsened by Brexit exodus

Almost 5,000 nurses and midwives from EU27 countries have quit the NHS in the past two years, with many of those identifying Brexit as the trigger. The number of EU-trained nurses and midwives working in the NHS across the UK fell from a record high of 38,024 in March 2017 to 33,035 in March this year, a drop of 4,989, according to figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which regulates both professions. The 13% fall prompted renewed warnings that Britain’s decision to leave the EU was exacerbating the NHS’s growing staffing crisis. “The referendum result has made many EU nationals feel unwelcome. It’s no surprise nurses and midwives think they’ll be better off elsewhere,” said Sara Gorton, the head of health at the union Unison.
7th May 2019 - The Guardian

'A bigger blow than the 1956 Suez Crisis': Former top foreign office mandarin gives stark Brexit warning

Sir Simon Fraser, who was top mandarin at the Foreign Office for five years, described Brexit as a bigger blow than the 1956 Suez Crisis, which became an emblem of British foreign policy humiliation. The UK’s credibility as a country that “pragmatically conducts affairs” had been “badly damaged” by the fallout from quitting the EU, he said, adding that the country’s “pivotal” role as a link between the US and Europe had been hit. Sir Simon said he also believes the nation’s security will be diminished.
7th May 2019 - Evening Standard

Travelodge seeks 3,000 students as it faces Brexit staff shortage

Travelodge is aiming to recruit 3,000 students this summer with contracts that allow them to fit work around their studies, as the hospitality industry faces a Brexit-fuelled labour shortage. The budget hotel chain said its student recruitment drive was part of its plans to be “Brexit ready” and it is looking to fill roles across its existing 560 UK hotels, with 2,200 of the student jobs to be filled on a permanent basis, and 800 positions to be offered over the busy summer season. The jobs are in addition to the 3,000 roles Travelodge is planning to create over the next five years as it opens another 100 hotels. The company has already announced plans to try to fill some of those roles by tempting unemployed parents back into the workforce with flexible hours that fit around the school run.
7th May 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 7th May 2019

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Brexit ‘Threatens’ London’s Reputation As International Tech Capital

London tech firms say political uncertainty has had a direct effect on their ability to access capital, as venture funding shows sharp drop. The UK’s exit from the European Union is damaging London’s international reputation as a tech capital, as well as on the availability of venture capital and staff, a new poll has found. Trade body Tech London Advocates found that 87 percent of tech firms felt the Brexit process had tarnished London’s reputation as a business centre, while 39 percent said it had become more difficult to access capital in the City since the referendum. One in four of the 200 tech executives polled said they had lost out on investment as a direct result of exit from the EU, with start-up EcoSync, for instance, saying a large German venture capital firm had pulled the plug on a £300,000 investment due to uncertainty about the post-Brexit regulatory environment.
6th May 2019 - Silicon UK

Brexit will widen North-South divide, new report warns

A widening gap will emerge between the economies of the North East and the South East after the UK’s expected departure from the EU , a new report suggests. A study by law firm Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts that, at the end of 2020, Milton Keynes, Reading and Oxford will be the top three for economic growth, with no locations in the North or the Midlands in the top 10.
7th May 2019 - Evening Chronicle

Business leader warns of Brexit harm in years to come

CBI president John Allan said postponed investment will impact on the economy down the line. The damage that Brexit uncertainty could cause to regions like the North East might not be felt for a number of years, a leading business figure has said. John Allan, who is president of the CBI, as well as chairman of both Tesco and Newcastle-founded housebuilder Barratt, said around 80% of businesses were cutting back on investment as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
6th May 2019 - ChronicleLive

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 6th May 2019

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Brexit dangerously overshadows the UK’s social mobility crisis

The unravelling of the UK’s relationship with the EU, if it happens, will take time and the impact on our economy and society will be profound. Brexit will dominate political discourse and consume public policy effort for years to come. The fractures it has caused in our political parties will continue to widen and deepen over time. It is hard to see how the Labour and Conservative duopoly that has dominated British politics for the past century can survive.
4th May 2019 - Financial Times

We can't just go on hoarding like this for Brexit

Even with the timing of Brexit still highly uncertain — the extension will be reviewed next month, while Theresa May said last week that she wanted to leave the EU as soon as possible — many businesses appear to be opting to burn through their reserves. That could spell trouble for the economy, which was boosted by stockpiling. “While the immediate cliff edge has been avoided, the lack of a clear path forward means that many firms aren’t sure whether to maintain heightened levels of stockpiling, or run off what they have,” said Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce. “Without clarity on the UK’s departure date from the EU, it’s impossible to predict when, and if, extra stock will be needed, leaving businesses in the dark about how best to balance their orders.”
5th May 2019 - The Times

Brexit stockpilers and shoppers help Britain to outshine Europe

The economy shrugged off Brexit uncertainty in the first quarter of the year, boosted by unprecedented levels of stockpiling ahead of March’s deadline, official figures are set to reveal. City economists are forecasting growth of 0.5% in the three months to the end of March. If that rate is confirmed when data is released on Friday, it would mean Britain outshone continental Europe at the start of the year, despite the chaos surrounding Brexit. Figures last week showed the eurozone grew by 0.4% in the same period. Output was boosted as companies hoarded raw materials and finished products at a record pace early this year, fearful that a no-deal Brexit would disrupt supply chains. Retail spending showed little sign of Brexit-induced weakness, recent surveys indicate.
5th May 2019 - The Times

Site claiming to help EU citizens register to vote is shut down

An online service set up to help EU citizens in the UK to register to vote in the European parliamentary elections has been shut down after it emerged it was not working properly. Registertovote.eu, which was promoted by some MPs on social media, offered a form to fill in online and said it would submit the required paperwork to electoral authorities to allow people to vote. In order to take part in the election in the UK on 23 May, EU citizens from countries other than the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus have to fill in form UC1/EC6 and submit it to their local electoral office before midnight on Tuesday 7 May. Registertovote.eu was set up by four people at ChangeLab, a co-operative that does digital work for trade unions and campaign groups, after publicity about the low number of EU citizens who had registered to take part in the election.
5th May 2019 - The Guardian

Kamasi Washington says Brexit could make touring UK tricky for artists

Britain leaving the EU could make the country less appealing to international performers, one of the world’s leading jazz musicians has said. Kamasi Washington, whose album The Epic and his work with Kendrick Lamar made him a poster boy of the jazz revival, said Brexit was not an inviting idea to musicians and could make coming to England harder for smaller bands. “It is not an inviting idea … and then, yes, there will be the notion of coming to Europe and the ease of travelling from one country to the next. That is part of what makes touring possible for lots of artists,” the US saxophonist told the Guardian. “Once it becomes harder to get into a country, just logistically, much more planning would have to be involved,” he said. “It is a bit unknown at the moment. We don’t know how difficult it is to get a visa. But if you are playing in France and want to come to the UK, you don’t know how hard it will be.
5th May 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 3rd May 2019

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Cancer patient told ‘Brexit chaos’ has indefinitely delayed life-saving treatment

A cancer patient has been told his best chance of a cure has been delayed indefinitely ”because of Brexit”. Richard Kelly was due to start the cutting-edge treatment known as selective internal radiation therapy (Sirt) for cancer in his liver last month, alongside chemotherapy. But now the 53-year-old has claimed that his oncologist at Bristol Royal Infirmary told him: “The treatment had been delayed due to Brexit”. Mr Kelly told The Independent his consultant said: “NHS England were unable to set a budget for this kind of treatment because of the chaotic nature of the Brexit negotiations and the actual leaving of the European Union. Therefore this essential treatment was delayed, with no suggestion of a date when it would be available.” Consultants proposed he undergo the “groundbreaking” treatment method after they found signs the bowel cancer he was initially being treated for had spread to his liver and was “incurable” with surgery - though it could be contained with chemotherapy.
2nd May 2019 - The Independent

British teenagers able to apply for free EU rail passes despite Brexit

British 18-year-olds can apply for a free rail pass awarded by the European Union despite the looming Brexit deadline. The European commission announced on Thursday that 18-year-olds in the EU could apply for 20,000 “DiscoverEU” passes that allow travel to one or more countries, a repeat of the oversubscribed ticket giveaway launched last year. Successful applicants will have to take their trip, of up to 30 days, between 1 August 2019 and 31 January 2020. British 18-year-olds can apply for tickets, although the UK is scheduled to quit the EU on 31 October.
3rd May 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 1st May 2019

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UK's Brexit obsession will diminish country, says UN poverty expert

The United Nations global poverty expert, Philip Alston, has warned that Britain’s preoccupation with Brexit will leave the country severely diminished whether or not it leaves the EU because too little is being done to alter policies driving people deeper into poverty.
30th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

@NaomiOhReally A graphic of Ireland's ATM machine robbery spree by @NewstalkFM. The gangs steal diggers and use them to rip the whole machine out of the wall.

A graphic of Ireland's ATM machine robbery spree by @NewstalkFM. The gangs steal diggers and use them to rip the whole machine out of the wall.
30th Apr 2019 - @NaomiOhReally

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 30th Apr 2019

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UK consumers unfazed by Brexit storm, firms more upbeat: surveys

British consumers were unruffled by the latest twists and turns in the country’s Brexit drama and companies have dialled down their worry levels, two surveys published on Tuesday showed. The GfK consumer confidence index - which was conducted mostly in the run-up to a Brexit deadline that was eventually pushed back, the second such delay since March - held steady for a third month at -13 in April. Spending by Britain’s consumers has helped soften a slowdown in the overall economy, thanks to a combination of low unemployment, rising wages and modest inflation.
30th Apr 2019 - Reuters

Employee anxiety peaks despite government’s pledge to uphold workers’ rights post-Brexit

Despite the government’s pledge to keep and strengthen workers’ rights in a post-Brexit world, research from the CIPD has revealed that over a quarter (26 percent) of British employees have expressed job anxiety. Simultaneously, a recent article from the Guardian also states that 64 percent of people believe the stress caused by Brexit is bad for their mental health.
30th Apr 2019 - Workplace Insight

Brexit latest: Number of UK firms in critical financial distress soars 17%

The number of UK businesses in “critical” financial distress jumped 17 per cent over the year to the end of March, with a significant deterioration seen in the first quarter of 2019 as Brexit uncertainty deepened. Research by insolvency firm Begbies Traynor found that almost half a million businesses – one in seven of all UK companies – were in significant financial distress in the first three months of 2019. The number of significantly distressed companies in the property sector jumped by 13 per cent to 48,182 for the quarter, from 42,512 in the same period a year ago. Property was the worst-hit sector for the second quarter in a row, and was hurt by people holding off making big purchases including new homes.
30th Apr 2019 - The Independent

My mum fled to the UK from Somalia's civil war, now Brexit may uproot her all over again

In the case of my mother, she was suffering from PTSD from the war and followed my father, who had promised her a better life, to the UK. When I ask about the time she spent in the Netherlands, she says she doesn’t quite remember – with fresh memories of the war looming over her, she cared simply about providing for her children. Since then, she has lived and worked in Britain for well over a decade. She has in all respects (although I personally dislike the connotations of this word) “integrated” into British society. Now my mother feels a sense of anxiety whenever Brexit is mentioned. I also hold Dutch nationality, but my fears do not run as deep as hers. She has asked me numerous times if she will be forced to move again and worries because her memory of the Netherlands is hazy due to her suffering from shock at the time. It may seem like the least of politicians’ worries at the moment, but we need to treat the mental health of these former refugees more carefully.
30th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Government looking to charge EU students more to attend English universities after Brexit

Education ministers are looking at hiking fees for EU students at universities in England. Education Secretary Damian Hinds wants the new system in place for courses starting in the 2021/22 academic year. Under EU membership, EU nationals studying in the UK currently pay the same tuition fees as home students.
30th Apr 2019 - iNews

Brexit: UK to ask EU for citizens' rights assurance

The government will ask for assurances from the European Union on what happens to British citizens living in the bloc - and EU citizens in the UK - in the case of a no-deal Brexit. Tory MP Alberto Costa and campaign groups met the Brexit Secretary on Monday, calling for protections to be ring-fenced whatever Brexit's outcome. MPs supported an amendment to the PM's Brexit deal in February to secure citizens' rights. But the EU has rejected the plan. European Commission spokeswoma, Mina Andreeva said they would "not negotiate mini-deals", and the best way to protect citizens' rights was through the deal negotiated between the EU and UK. Around 1.3m UK citizens live in one of the other 27 EU member states, while the UK hosts about 3.2m EU nationals.
29th Apr 2019 - BBC

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 29th Apr 2019

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Fewer Brits choosing EU countries for holidays, travel firm says

Fewer British holidaymakers have booked a summer holiday inside the European Union this year amid continuing Brexit uncertainty, Thomas Cook says. The travel firm says almost half (48%) of the holidays it sold up until the end of February were to non-EU destinations, up 10% on last year. Despite this, the firm says Spain is still its most popular destination. Its findings chime with separate Post Office figures showing currency sales for long-haul destinations have jumped.
29th Apr 2019 - BBC

US startups publish warnings about Brexit in S-1s before their IPOs

Uber, Slack, and Dropbox are just some of the buzzy billion-dollar startups freaking out about the potential consequences of Brexit.
28th Apr 2019 - Business Insider

Home Office ‘chaos and incompetence’ leads to unlawful detentions, claim whistleblowers

Whistleblowers also allege that: a) Decisions on whether an applicant can stay in the UK, supposed to take six months, frequently take two years. During this time, applicants are in limbo, unable to work or rent property. b) People who have sought asylum are frequently unlawfully detained for up to six weeks in immigration removal centres. c) Personal performance targets indirectly encourage employees to reject applications without fully examining whether people have the right to remain in the UK. d) People with a strong case to remain in the UK are deported because of poor decisions made by insufficiently trained staff. e) Flights for deportations are frequently cancelled when asylum seekers protest on board and pilots refuse to fly
28th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

RBS sees profit challenge ahead amid Brexit uncertainty

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has warned continued Brexit uncertainty is "likely" to make income growth more challenging for the bank. The part-nationalised lender used its first quarter results, which showed a fall in profits, to say that while it was maintaining its outlook for 2019 it was particularly concerned about delays in business borrowing decisions. A collapse in business investment because of Brexit fog has been cited as a major drag on the economy - now set to be extended until up to 31 October following the UK's failure to secure domestic agreement on a withdrawal deal. RBS reported a 16% decline in operating profit before tax to just above £1bn from £1.2bn in the same period last year. Attributable profit before tax, which reflects one-off costs, came in at £707m. That was a fall of 12%
27th Apr 2019 - Yahoo!

“Brexit does split families” - anxious EU citizens unconvinced by Home Office reassurance

Brexit may have been re-scheduled for Halloween, but cross-party talks appear once again to have hit an impasse. Acutely affected by this perennial Brexit limbo are the 3.8 million EU citizens living in the UK, now having to apply to remain in a country that for many has been their home for decades. Laure Olivier-Minns, a French national who has lived and worked in the UK for over 30 years, is one of the many EU citizens who has felt forced to make the unimaginable decision to leave her life and British family behind in the UK, due to the increasing hostility of post-referendum Britain. We sat down in a cafe in Nantes, the hometown to which she recently returned, where she told me that her trust in her adopted country is gone.
27th Apr 2019 - openDemocracy

Brexit planning provokes considerable accountancy recruitment

Brexit has generally been positive for hiring, especially across public practice recruitment with growth plans in regional areas implemented by the Big 4 and Top Ten firms, with most now open to their employees working across various locations. 2018 was broadly a positive and successful year for the accountancy profession. Jobs registered supported this with a healthy split between replacement and expansion hires, as well as specialist roles within tax especially buoyant anticipating the impact of Brexit.
27th Apr 2019 - Accountancy Age

UK factories stockpile for Brexit at fastest pace in at least 60 years - CBI

With Brexit looming, British factories stockpiled over the last three months at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they’re increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday. The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey added to signs that Brexit and a slowdown in the global economy has lumbered manufacturers, who account for 10 percent of the British economy, with a headache. Expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.
27th Apr 2019 - Reuters UK

No-deal Brexit stockpiling latest: Warehouse space ‘unavailable’ ahead of Christmas

27th Apr 2019 - iNews

Brexit planning provokes considerable accountancy recruitment

Brexit has generally been positive for hiring, especially across public practice recruitment with growth plans in regional areas implemented by the Big 4 and Top Ten firms, with most now open to their employees working across various locations. 2018 was broadly a positive and successful year for the accountancy profession. Jobs registered supported this with a healthy split between replacement and expansion hires, as well as specialist roles within tax especially buoyant anticipating the impact of Brexit.
27th Apr 2019 - Accountancy Age

The Government Is Planning To Make EU Students Pay Higher Tuition Fees To Study At English Universities

Future EU students at universities in England will no longer have the right to pay the same tuition fees as home students, in highly controversial plans being drawn up by the government. BuzzFeed News has learned that education secretary Damian Hinds is proposing to withdraw home fee status and financial support from EU students starting courses in the 2021/22 academic year, whether Britain leaves the union with a deal or without.
27th Apr 2019 - BuzzFeed News

Brexit 'will hit older, less-skilled workers'

Brexit may have disappeared from the headlines thanks to a talks extension, but that doesn't mean we have dodged a bullet - it's just that the day of reckoning has been postponed. There was relief last week from the Department of Finance when it presented its economic forecasts that the delay meant the economy would not experience an immediate sharp stop.
27th Apr 2019 - Irish Independent

EU students to pay more to study in UK under Brexit plan

EU nationals living in the UK are being urged to use European elections next month to protest over a government proposal to make future students from the bloc pay more to study at English universities. Damian Hinds, education secretary, is proposing to end the preferential status enjoyed by EU students for courses starting in 2021-22, whether Britain is scheduled to leave the union. The proposal, first reported by BuzzFeed News, was not denied by the Department for Education and has already attracted criticism that the government is willing to hobble its thriving universities by turning away international talent. “Another dreadful idea from this dim-witted government,” said Gavin Esler, a former BBC journalist and a candidate for the Change UK party in next month’s European Parliament elections.
27th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 26th Apr 2019

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P&O takes legal action over no-deal Brexit preparations

P&O Ferries has begun legal proceedings against the government after being excluded from no-deal Brexit preparations, the latest fallout from Britain’s preparations for leaving the EU. The claim revolves around a £33m payment by the Department for Transport to Eurotunnel to settle claims it had been unfairly excluded from plans to keep cross-channel routes open in the event of a disruptive exit from the EU. Eurotunnel was angry that the government had ignored its “Le Shuttle” train service when it promised payments of £89m to two operators, Brittany Ferries and DFDS, to lay on alternative ferry services to prevent congestion at the main Dover-Calais artery.
26th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

EU workers in Britain are the most depressed about Brexit

Gartner, a research company, has conducted weekly polls of around 300 UK-based employees to see how they have been affected. The key week was towards the end of March when the official deadline for Brexit was scheduled (it has since been postponed twice). In that week, more than half of EU workers in Britain experienced disgust, anger and sadness. Those feelings have subsided a little since, but are still running at about 40% of EU workers.
26th Apr 2019 - The Economist

Invesco chief counts the cost of uncertainty over Brexit

One of the world’s biggest money managers has revealed the damage wrought by Britain’s protracted negotiations to exit the EU, saying the outlook should improve only when the terms of Brexit become clearer. Invesco, which manages $955bn in assets from headquarters in Atlanta, suffered big outflows from its UK business in the first quarter, when UK investors accounted for $3.9bn of the $5.4bn drained globally from Invesco portfolios for the period. In the fourth quarter flows from UK portfolios came to $3.3bn of $20bn globally, as a bout of market turmoil prompted investors around the world to shift money to safer assets.
25th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Investment slumps amid Brexit gloom

Almost a quarter of companies are not investing in their business this year due to Brexit uncertainty, a survey reports. Business leaders have been delaying major decisions until clarity emerges about Britain’s future trading relationship with the European Union. The proportion of companies planning to invest in development has fallen to 33 per cent from 74 per cent six months ago, research by Santander suggests. The figures come after the British Chambers of Commerce warned last month that business investment would sink this year to its lowest level since the financial crisis. The lobby group said that investment would fall by 1 per cent this year, down from a decline of 0.9 per cent last year. It would be the worst performance since 2009, when investment fell by 16.6 per cent.
25th Apr 2019 - The Times

Flylolo cancels Southampton Airport summer programme 2019

A flight operator says Brexit is to blame after cancelling its entire service from Southampton Airport this summer. Flylolo, which is based in Bognor Regis, blames the cancellation of 140 flights and 2,000 bookings on uncertainties caused by Brexit. As reported by the Daily Echo, the firm launched non-stop flights to Skiathos in Greece last year, but has now ditched all of its services from Southampton. A statement from the company says: "It is with the greatest regret that I have to advise that we are cancelling our entire Southampton programme for this summer.
25th Apr 2019 - Swindon Advertiser

Fearing no-deal Brexit, European funder orders U.K. researchers to transfer grants

The prospect of Brexit, the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, has loomed long and large over researchers, but the effects on funding, so far, have been speculative. Now, a European funding agency has made a pre-emptive strike in advance of Brexit, changing a policy that directly impacts grants in the United Kingdom. The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Association, in Brussels, is requiring that U.K. grant holders shift financial administration to a partner in Europe by 1 May. COST says the change will prevent disruption if Brexit occurs without a deal to smooth the transition, and that it does not affect participation by U.K. scientists. But U.K. grant holders say the policy change is premature, disruptive to research—and in at least one case it has led to a staff layoff. “The bureaucratic nightmare of moving these grants is pretty horrendous,” says Nic Walton, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
25th Apr 2019 - Science Magazine

MPs warn post-Brexit environment plans fall ‘woefully short’

Proposals to replace the EU’s strong environmental protections after Brexit “fall woefully short”, according to a highly critical report from a cross-party committee of MPs. The environment secretary, Michael Gove, said in December that the UK’s environmental standards would be enhanced after Brexit. But the MPs’ report said the proposals “severely downgrade” the environmental principles that underpin current EU rules. It said the new Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), proposed as a replacement for the EU’s enforcement mechanisms, lacks independence from Gove’s office and has limited powers. The report from the environmental audit committee also criticises planned exclusions from environmental rules, which one expert called “absurd”.
25th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Japanese firms could pull out of UK in no deal Brexit - Japan PM in STERN WARNING to UK

Speaking after meeting top EU officials, Mr Abe said it was vital to ensure “legal stability” in the UK by avoiding a hard Brexit. Britain has long acted as a “gateway to Europe” for Japanese firms but a hard Brexit could trash the prosperous trading relationship. Mr Abe made the warning after meeting with EU presidents Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels for the 26th EU-Japan summit.
25th Apr 2019 - Express.co.uk

UK law firm Fieldfisher readies for Brexit with Irish merger

UK law firm Fieldfisher is to merge with Irish firm McDowell Purcell, as the legal sector in England and Wales steps up preparations for Brexit. Since the June 2016 referendum, lawyers in England and Wales have rushed to join the Irish Roll of Solicitors in an effort to protect their rights to practice in the EU after the UK leaves the bloc. There were approximately 2,200 such applications from 2016 to 2018, according to the Law Society of Ireland. Of the 18,460 solicitors on the Irish roll, more than one in ten qualified in England and has joined since the Brexit vote. So far, however, few UK firms have established offices in Ireland: Pinsent Masons opened an office in Dublin in late 2017, while DLA Piper, one of the biggest law firms in the world, has announced plans to follow suit.
25th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Brexit: McKee death 'shows need to solve Irish border issue'

The death of journalist Lyra McKee shows the need to "find an answer" to the Irish border question in the Brexit talks, Emily Thornberry has said. The shadow foreign secretary urged ministers to accept that a customs union with the EU was the way to avoid a hard border and preserve peace. Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington rejected a link between the border or customs arrangements and the murder. Treasury minister Liz Truss said it was "very wrong" to connect the two.
25th Apr 2019 - BBC

Post-Brexit immigration policy that shuts out low-skilled migrants won't suit anyone

The public debate on immigration typically depicts employers as favouring migrants for reasons of cost and superior “work ethic”. The public is usually seen as opposed to all but highly skilled migration, while migrants themselves are viewed as having little aspiration beyond low-skilled work. These three misunderstandings have led to the policy proposals in the recent white paper, which place tight limits on low-skilled migration which could considerably reduce EU migration. The policies will prove particularly problematic for employers in lower-skilled sectors – but evidence also suggests that they aren’t what the public want either.
25th Apr 2019 - The Conversation - UK

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 25th Apr 2019

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The best place to build a life in English? The Netherlands

If Brexit happens, the Netherlands will probably have the EU’s largest English-language university system. Dutch offices, too, have become the most anglophone in continental European history. Are you a foreign bank or media company moving to Amsterdam? File your documents with the regulator in English. Settle your disputes in the brand-new, English-speaking Netherlands Commercial Court. Hire Dutch staff who will ­happily speak English even among themselves. The Netherlands is finding a new role: as the English-language economy in the EU that the world needs after Brexit. (Ireland will get some of the pickings, but it’s less populous, in the wrong place and has inferior infrastructure.)
25th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Paris Is Going All Out for London’s Brexit Exiles

The French capital hasn’t always been seen as welcoming, but its government, schools and businesses are determined to make new residents feel at home.
23rd Apr 2019 - Bloomberg

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 24th Apr 2019

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Theresa May warned her post-Brexit immigration strategy could close quarter of NHS services

NHS executives have described Theresa May’s post-Brexit immigration strategy as the “most destructive policy proposal for NHS recruitment” amid fears it could force some hospitals to close “25 per cent of services”, The Telegraph can disclose. Senior health officials have claimed the Government’s proposals for a £30,000 salary threshold on workers moving to the UK is “appalling” and could jeopardise efforts to attract the 50,000 nurses required by the health service. The Telegraph has been leaked the minutes and a transcript of a high-level meeting between NHS and Whitehall officials in January, which lays bare the opposition to Mrs May’s flagship immigration policy.
23rd Apr 2019 - The Telegraph

Brexit could 'shut a QUARTER of hospital services, leaked NHS warning reveals'

Top NHS officials have reportedly warned that Theresa May's immigration plans post-Brexit could shutter "25 per cent" of services in some hospitals. NHS executives described the plans as the “most destructive policy proposal for NHS recruitment” and could cause chaos in hospitals across the UK. Documents leaked to The Daily Telegraph show that NHS chiefs met senior civil servants in January to share their fears. Among their concerns were fears that a proposed rule which would stop people who would earn less than £30,000 moving to the UK could make it more difficult to fill empty nursing posts.
23rd Apr 2019 - Daily Mirror

British companies are planning to stockpile for the 'nightmare' of a Christmas time no-deal Brexit

British companies are already making plans to stockpile for a no-deal Brexit on October 31. They are concerned that the UK could leave the European Union without a deal in the run-up to Christmas time, when demand for many goods — including food, clothes and medicine — rockets. One of the UK's biggest beer companies is set to stockpile "two or three times as much" as it did in the run-up to March 29, a figure involved told Business Insider. British businesses have already spent billions of pounds on no-deal planning.
21st Apr 2019 - Business Insider

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 23rd Apr 2019

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Thanks to Brexit, I've got 30 days to leave my home in France

I have 30 days to leave my home thanks to Brexit. our local prefecture, which last week wrote to us to tell us that we had 30 days to leave the country. The reasons they gave is that there was no proof that James is self-supporting (we were not made aware of any missing information from our application – if we had we’d have provided it) and that my business does not make enough. Between us we need to prove that we have €1175.00 per month to live on. The feeling of panic I got from the moment I opened those letters is still with me now. It sits in the pit of my stomach as a constant reminder of the nightmare we are now living.
21st Apr 2019 - The Independent

Tory minister says EU citizens fleeing domestic abuse should go home

UK immigration Minister Caroline Nokes has said that vulnerable EU migrant women living in Scotland and fleeing domestic abuse should just return to their own countries, it has emerged. Nokes made the statement in a letter to Kirsty Blackman MP, who is campaigning for a change in law to stop EU women who are judged not to be exercising their treaty rights – because they are not working, studying or able to support themselves – having to choose between staying in a dangerous, abusive relationship or facing destitution. Blackman said that she was shocked by Nokes letter and branded the Home Office “heartless” and “wilfully ignorant”.
21st Apr 2019 - The National

London-born baby with British-resident parents denied UK status

A baby that was born in the UK to two British-resident parents has been denied the right to live in the country. Human rights lawyers called the decision “shameful” and “potentially unlawful”. Dr Charles Kriel, a US national and special adviser to a parliamentary select committee, was returning to Britain from Florida with his fiancee Katharina Viken and their 15-week-old daughter, Viola Pearl Viken-Kriel when they were stopped by border officials. They said his child did not have the right to reside in the country. Instead they said she could enter the UK but only on a six-month tourist visa specifying that she must not work or use public services.
20th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Brexit: I felt unwelcome and returned to Poland

PachYa is a Polish singer who lived in the UK for 10 years, but she no longer felt welcome in the country after Brexit. So she moved back to Poland with her daughter Amelia. Two years later she returns to Nottingham and thinks about what she has left behind.
19th Apr 2019 - BBC

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 18th Apr 2019

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Brexit: Irish government will pay for European health card for citizens in Northern Ireland after EU exit

Ireland will pay for the European Health Insurance Card for citizens in Northern Ireland after Brexit if necessary, the foreign minister has said. Simon Coveney, who also serves as the country’s Tanaiste (deputy to the Taoiseach) said his government will work to ensure that “Irish citizens in Northern Ireland continue to be EU citizens in all circumstances.” Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Mr Coveney said that while Irish citizens in Northern Ireland are EU citizens, they will not be resident in the EU after Brexit, “which obviously poses challenges.” He explained: “In terms of the rights of EU citizenship, we are working, and have been working to ensure certain EU programmes and benefits – notably, the EU Health Insurance Card.” The free European Health Insurance Card ensures that EU citizens have access to state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any EU countries.
17th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Coveney: Irish citizens in Northern Ireland continue to be EU citizens in all circumstances

17th Apr 2019 - Belfast Telegraph

Registering EU citizens in the UK will create an underclass

Under the scheme, Europeans from 26 member states (the Irish have guaranteed rights) must complete an application and provide evidence of residency in the UK for the past five years. There are legitimate moral questions around registration of those who have lived and worked in Britain for decades, contributed to the economy, the National Health Service and the education system. They are part of the rich social and cultural legacy of European migration to Britain. Leaving these considerations aside, the government faces unavoidable questions about what happens to those who fail to register, or are unable to provide evidence of residency.
17th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Nicola Sturgeon pleas for EU citizens not to abandon Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon has written to more than 200,000 Europeans living in Scotland telling them not to abandon their lives here because of Brexit. The First Minister has made the emotional plea in an open letter in which she assures EU citizens that Scotland “is your home”.
17th Apr 2019 - The Scotsman

Brexit – The effects on Landlords

One of the most controversial aspects of the government’s hostile policy is the right to rent policy that requires landlords to check the immigration status of their prospective tenants. If it doesn’t get struck down or repealed after the recent high court ruling, it could be significantly expanded to include European citizens. Due to the burdens from the government, some landlords were already reluctant to rent to non-EU citizens, and in the post-Brexit world, they may only want to rent to exclusively British tenants because of concerns of falling foul of the government’s rules. The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) is seeking clarification from the government, and a meeting has been set for the end of April
17th Apr 2019 - Property Reporter

Mirror and Express team up for campaign to bring people together amid Brexit divisions

The Mirror and Express newspapers have teamed up, despite their “polarised” political views, for a campaign to bring “the nation back together” amid the divisions brought about by the Brexit vote.
17th Apr 2019 - Press Gazette

No-deal Brexit could harm Aurivo co-op’s milk processing activities

A no-deal Brexit could hit a significant part of co-op Aurivo’s milk processing business, its chief executive Aaron Forde has warned. Operating profits at Aurivo fell 23 per cent to €3 million last year. Figures released by the north western-based business show sales rose 4 per cent in 2018 to €443.8 million from €426.4 million in 2017. Speaking after the co-op published its results, Mr Forde noted that Brexit posed “considerable challenges” to the co-op, as 16 per cent of the more than 400 million litres of milk it processes a year comes from Northern Ireland. Mr Forde explained that milk from the north would have to be exported again to a non-EU country to avoid tariffs should the UK crash out of the bloc without a deal.
17th Apr 2019 - The Irish Times

Greta Thunberg tells EU to forget Brexit and focus on climate change

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old who inspired thousands of school children to take action on climate change, has told Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to forget Brexit and focus on climate change. The teenage climate activist told off EU leaders for holding three emergency summits on Brexit and none on the threat posed by climate change.
17th Apr 2019 - CBBC

Martin Lewis reveals SIX worrying ways Halloween Brexit will affect every Brit

Martin Lewis has identified six key ways Brits will be impacted. "If we leave without a negotiated deal, commonly known as a 'no-deal' Brexit – then the landscape will change, and will change rapidly, and you will need to take action." Mr Lewis then identified six things which will happen if the UK left without a negotiated deal. Worryingly, Martin says: House prices could plummet, The European Health Insurance Card may no longer be valid, Travel insurance may not cover you for Brexit disruption, You would need to renew your passport early, EU citizens living in the UK would have to apply to stay here after 2020, Taking pets to Europe could become harder.
17th Apr 2019 - Birmingham Post

House prices rise at slowest rate in six years as Brexit hits growth

House prices across Britain have increased at their slowest rate for more than six years, with London experiencing its biggest slump in a decade as Brexit concerns drag on growth. The Office for National Statistics said average house prices in the UK rose by 0.6% in the year to February, the lowest rate of growth since September 2012, and down from 1.7% in January. The price of an average London home fell by 3.8% over the year, the steepest drop since the depths of the last recession in mid-2009, and faster than the 2.2% decline recorded in the year to January. The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation unexpectedly remained at 1.9% in March, unchanged from a month earlier, offering some respite for UK households.
17th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit delay welcomed by leading UK chemists

Researchers across the UK have breathed a collective sigh of relief following the government’s decision to avoid crashing out of the EU on April 12. The EU agreed a Brexit delay of six months, with a date now set for October 31. The UK can exit earlier if Parliament ratifies the withdrawal agreement, but for many in the scientific community the delay rekindles hopes for Brexit to be doused. ‘Any form of Brexit would be catastrophic for UK science,’ says Fraser Stoddart, 2016 chemistry Nobel prize winner who is now based at Northwestern University in the US. ‘Most of the research community in the UK want to see the back of Brexit.’ Stoddart is more optimistic about the situation given the extension.
17th Apr 2019 - Chemistry World

Brexit panic: Germany urged to take urgent action as economy slows due to UK's EU exit

The German government has been urged to offer companies incentives in a bid to boost corporate research and development after cutting its forecast for 2019 economic growth for the second time in three months, with Economy Minister Peter Altmaier blaming concerns over Brexit for a slowdown driven by a recession in manufacturing. To counter the slowdown, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz plans to support corporate research and development with incentives worth 1.27billion euros ($1.43billion) annually from 2020, a draft law seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.
17th Apr 2019 - Express.co.uk

Brexit was supposed to return control – but for LGBT+ people all it’s done is taken it away

What I want to know, is that if Brexit is meant to “give us back control”, then why are LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalised groups feeling like we are losing control when it comes to our safety as a result of the Brexit process? Looking back to 2017, the Home Office released official statistics looking at the increase in hate crimes here within the UK. Looking at the figures from 2012-2013, there had been a recorded rise of reported hate crimes of 123 per cent, and more specifically looking at 2017, the year after the referendum campaign, a rise of 17 per cent on the year previous.
17th Apr 2019 - The Independent

T-Systems opens new London HQ in post-Brexit support for UK

German giant T-Systems has opened a new London headquarters in a move which it says demonstrates its post-Brexit support for the UK. The new office - in Rathbone place, Fitzrovia - was opened by T-Systems global CEO Adel A-Saleh.
16th Apr 2019 - Channel Web

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 17th Apr 2019

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SMEs making cuts due to Brexit

The majority of UK SMEs are still completely in the dark over what to expect, or how to better prepare for life after Brexit, according to new research released today. According to a survey of 1,200 SME owners across the UK, commissioned by Simply Business, three quarters of self-employed people admit to feeling unsupported ahead of Brexit. A third have decided to delay growth plans and further investment in their business, while 8 per cent stated that they’re having to make redundancies to cut costs. Bea Montoya,of Simply Business, said: “There isn’t a blueprint for what happens after Brexit.”
17th Apr 2019 - Yorkshire Post

No-deal Brexit threatens ‘innumerable problems’ for environmental projects

A new report called 'Brexit, The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and the Environment: Issues Arising and Possible Solutions' was launched in Leinster House on Tuesday. A disorderly exit could “cause a major environmental headache on the island of Ireland” in the absence of a clear common rulebook regarding species, emissions, water quality and hazardous waste. “It is likely that Brexit (in any form) will interfere with Good Friday/Belfast Agreement cross-border co-operation and place obstacles in its way in general, but in particular in the area of environmental co-operation,” it says. “A hard border or a customs border would represent a potential physical obstacle to cross-border environmental projects, potentially causing innumerable problems from movement of staff on projects and goods necessary for the carrying out of projects, to the more abstract problems cause by regulatory divergence and governance changes as a result of Brexit.”
16th Apr 2019 - The Irish Times

Brexit: Environmental rules in Northern Ireland 'at risk'

A paper by Dr Ciara Brennan from Newcastle University and Dr Mary Dobbs from Queen's University points out that where big infrastructure projects affect protected sites, Daera will be responsible for advising on whether there is an "overriding public interest" in proceeding. That would replace the role currently undertaken by the European Commission. The academics suggest planning officials in infrastructure would be asking approval from colleagues in Daera, a situation which, they claim, could lead to "conflicts of interest" where "the government is seeking approval from itself".
16th Apr 2019 - BBC

Manufacturers fear flipside of no-deal Brexit boom

Foreign customers of UK businesses are raising their demand for goods and services in advance of a no Deal Brexit exit but such a surge is unlikely to last businesses are saying
16th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 16th Apr 2019

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Brittany Ferries BLAMES BREXIT after EU shipping giant costs INCREASE by £43 million

Brittany Ferries, which ships around 200,000 trucks across the English Channel each year, says the financial hit has increased dramatically in the past two years following the referendum. The France-based company transports goods across the channel from the UK to ports in France, Spain and Ireland. In 2017, 4.8 million heavy goods vehicles operated through those routes.
15th Apr 2019 - Daily Express

Brexit no deal planning has destroyed thousands of Britain's rarest orchids, it emerges

Brexit no-deal planning meant a council destroyed 17,000 of Britain's rarest orchids in one day - and it will take up to eight years for them to grow back. Volunteers from Kent Wildlife Trust had been lovingly tending the purple carpet of rare bee and common orchids for over 15 years. A spokesperson said they were "devastated" by the news. As well as 9,000 Pyramidal Orchids and nearly 8,000 Common Spotted Orchids, it was also home to Bee Orchids, and the extremely rare Man Orchid. Not only did they attract and sustain a thriving population of bees, but 20 different butterfly species were sustained by the verge. Now, all that remains of the verge is a lump of mud after Kent County Council ordered it to be bulldozed to make way for a drainage ditch due to Operation Brock, intended to tackle queues coming to and from Dover in the case of a No Deal Brexit.
15th Apr 2019 - The Telegraph

Airport boss raises Brexit and tax concern

The boss of Scotland's busiest airport has said the industry is currently "not a comfortable place to be", because of high taxes and Brexit uncertainty. Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar said he was expecting a solid summer, but insisted the Scottish government must cut air passenger duty. He also said certainty over the UK's deal for leaving the EU was needed so airlines could invest confidently. Government plans to cut air passenger duty have been hit by legal issues. Scottish ministers want to replace the tax with an alternative, then cut it by 50%, before eventually scrapping it completely.
15th Apr 2019 - BBC

Irish hospitals hope to recruit Irish nurses in UK worried about Brexit

The number of UK-based Irish nurses looking to return to Ireland to work within the HSE has seen a “sharp rise” according to organisers of a Nursing & Midwifery Job Fair held in London at the weekend. Recruiters from Dublin’s Beaumont and the Coombe maternity jospitals as well as other Irish hospitals were in London on Saturday, hoping to lure nurses working in the UK to work in Ireland. While Irish citizens will retain their rights after Britain leaves the European Union, Brexit was a push factor. “Brexit was a contributing factor for me looking into going back home,” says 22-year-old Irish student nurse Caoimhe Ludden. “I’m like everyone else in London who just thinks the whole [BREXIT] thing is a joke.”
14th Apr 2019 - The Irish Times

London Finance Job Openings Halve in Two Years on Brexit Jitters

Job vacancies in London’s finance industry have halved in two years as uncertainty over Brexit knocks business confidence, a survey by recruiter Morgan McKinley has found. The number of jobs available in the city’s financial services industry and the number of finance professionals seeking new jobs have each fallen by more than half in the past two years, the recruiter said, although both measures rose slightly from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of this year. “The inability of the government to reach consensus on a Brexit deal has crushed confidence among City employers,” Hakan Enver, managing director at Morgan McKinley, said in a statement.
14th Apr 2019 - Bloomberg

Brexit: Dangerous toys, cars and household goods could flood into the UK

Crucial delays to rooting out unsafe products could be triggered unless ongoing access to the European Safety Gate rapid warning system is thrashed out, according to Which?
15th Apr 2019 - Daily Mirror

UK could be flooded with dangerous products after Brexit, consumer group warns

15th Apr 2019 - CNN

Foundation Trust suffers £27m hit from rail delays and Brexit

A specialist trust which has been a major beneficiary of the current financial regime is at risk of missing its “control total” by £27m, after an expected accounting adjustment was scuppered by delays to a rail project and Brexit uncertainties. Royal Brompton and Harefield Foundation Trust was expecting to report a near breakeven position in 2018-19, after benefitting from an upward revaluation of Chelsea Farmers Market, an investment property it owns. The value of the property was expected to rise by £20m, which would have scored within the trust’s income and expenditure position for the year. However, according to a finance paper to the trust board on 27 March, there has been a downward revaluation of £7m.
15th Apr 2019 - Health Service Journal

Does the man who coined the word Brexit regret it? ‘I wouldn't have if I had copyrighted it’

In a piece called ‘Stumbling towards the Brexit’, Wilding described the UK establishment’s fractured relationship with the EU, and a swell in anti-European rhetoric: “Unless a clear view is pushed that Britain must lead in Europe at the very least to achieve the completion of the Single Market, then the portmanteau for Greek euro exit might be followed by another sad word, Brexit.” It wasn’t until 2016 when representatives of the Oxford English Dictionary called him that he was told that the word had been traced back to him as the first person to use it. It was then made the dictionary’s word of the year. Wilding isn’t just another political pundit – he’s a former solicitor in EU law, former media director of the UK’s Conservative Party and former advisor to then-British Prime Minister David Cameron.
15th Apr 2019 - The Journal.ie

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 15th Apr 2019

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Dangerous products could swamp UK after Brexit, warns Which?

The public will be at risk from delays in identifying unsafe goods if the UK leaves European safety system. Dangerous cars, electrical goods and toys could flood into the UK after Brexit unless the government urgently reforms the current “failing” safety enforcement system, a consumer group warned on Monday. Which? says the public will be vulnerable to delays in spotting and dealing with unsafe products unless continued access to the European Safety Gate system is negotiated. Its new analysis shows the scheme, under which 31 European countries alert each other to products with serious safety problems, issued 34% more notifications in 2018 than a decade ago
15th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

EXCL Home Office reports itself to data watchdog after Settled Status emails breach

The Home Office has been forced to report itself to data watchdogs after it accidentally shared the emails of hundreds of EU citizens applying to stay in the UK after Brexit.
14th Apr 2019 - Politics Home

A major bridge is closed ‘indefinitely’ because no one can pay to fix it. Welcome to modern Britain

One of the major arteries into our capital was rammed due to the closure for “safety reasons” of Hammersmith Bridge, one of the few Thames crossings. It’s closed “indefinitely” because, apparently, no-one can afford to repair it.
14th Apr 2019 - iNews

A curse on Brexit and those who created this crisis – Joyce McMillan

Another dangerous corner, another handbrake swerve, another delay to Brexit; and I guess I am not the only Remain supporter now looking forward to the next seven months with relief, yes, but also with a sense of absolute dread. Already, almost before the new “flexible” Brexit extension has been announced, the sound of people digging themselves further into their entrenched positions is loud in the land.
13th Apr 2019 - The Scotsman

Brexit: How the new delay has hit four businesses

It was an early-hour announcement that allowed many of the UK's business owners to finally get a few hours of restful sleep. In Brussels on Thursday, the EU granted the UK a six-month extension, thus eliminating the immediate threat of a no-deal Brexit. But for companies that have been preparing for a sudden exit, it was no more than a temporary reprieve. "It's a bit of uncertainty that isn't helpful," says Andrew Graham. His 70-year-old company, Graham and Brown Wallpaper, has been stockpiling raw materials for months at its factory in Blackburn. "Quite frankly, we could do with knowing where we're going," he told the BBC.
13th Apr 2019 - BBC

Drugmakers Stockpiling for Brexit Ask, How Long Do We Wait?

Bracing for possible border delays in the event of a messy, no-deal Brexit, pharma companies are trying to ensure the steady flow of vital medicines to patients. After U.K. and European Union leaders agreed to push Brexit back to the end of October, drugmakers are sharing the pain of another six months of uncertainty that’s hitting British companies across the board. “How long are we going to be overstocked?” said Hugo Fry, managing director of French drugmaker Sanofi’s U.K. business. “There’s a certain level of balance sheet pressure that comes into play. How long do we wait? In theory, the European Union could give another extension.” Among other Brexit preparations, Sanofi has augmented its U.K. supplies to about 16 weeks on average. If principal routes are disrupted, the French drugmaker will have to fly its flu vaccine into the U.K., a costly step, Fry said. Novo plans to keep stockpiles at roughly 18 weeks, while it has pushed back access to space that it reserved on airplanes to move its products.
13th Apr 2019 - Bloomberg

Brexit: Welsh resorts to 'benefit" from EU exit uncertainty

Holidaymakers look set to embrace staycations in Wales this year as Brexit sparks nervousness about European holidays, tourism chiefs say. The Easter holidays were due to be the first break after Britain left the European Union, before the government delayed the initial 29 March deadline. Tourism bosses say the weak pound and uncertainty could add to the 10 million annual overnight trips to Wales. The Wales Tourism Alliance is positive there will be a "Brexit bounce".
13th Apr 2019 - BBC

'Biggest' UK tulip grower stockpiles bulbs over Brexit

The UK's biggest outdoor commercial tulip grower has said it has been stockpiling bulbs as uncertainty over Brexit continues. Belmont Nurseries, near King's Lynn, said the future of the UK's relationship with the European Union (EU) was a cause of major concern. "We're very much UK based, but we do also sell to Europe," nursery director Mark Eves said. "If the lorry is held up at port for any length of time the bulbs simply won't get the fresh air they need blown across them during transport which means they won't flower - basically, they'd be ruined." The EU has granted the UK a six-month extension, eliminating the immediate threat of a no-deal Brexit.
13th Apr 2019 - BBC

Calais boss lets loose: Brexit voters 'given WRONG information - Brussels is a necessity'

Jean-Marc Puissesseau, who is also deputy mayor of the French city, revealed his frustrations to Express.co.uk within Calais over Brexit saying he was not sure how an extension would help when the UK has already had three years to negotiate. He accused Brexiteers of giving UK voters the “wrong information” which led them to vote Leave in the 2016 EU referendum. As he revealed Port Boulogne Calais’ new €6million (£5.17million) facilities, which have been set up as part of preparations for a no deal Brexit, the French boss said he was surprised at Britain’s decision to unshackle itself from the bloc because “Europe is a necessity”.
13th Apr 2019 - Express.co.uk

Why Brexit has driven thousands back to their allotments

Even though the threat of a no-deal Brexit receded last week – until October, at least – I hope that our interest in allotments won’t do the same. It’s use them or lose them, and periods of indifference lead to allotment provision being chipped away, usually irreversibly, as they are filled in with new housing developments. What this last couple of years shows is that crises will always come along, and that when they do we turn to allotments and to our ability to grow our very own basil, spring greens, spinach, sage and lavender.
13th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

'Incompetent, self-interested s****': Fear and loathing on the doorstep over Brexit

"We are struggling to get anyone to deliver leaflets, even members of our executive don't want to go out." This theme of Conservatives being unable to turn out their own members was commonplace across the country. One exasperated Tory councillor told me: "Every association I've spoken to are struggling to get their members out. "Members are saying, why should I get s*** on the doorstep and doors slammed in my face when I'm as angry as they are?"
12th Apr 2019 - Sky News

Brexit continues to impact the UK housing market

Demand from buyers remained in negative territory in March and sales and new property coming on to the market continued to decline, according to the latest residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Respondents still envisage a modest improvement in activity 12 months ahead but modest fall in house prices at a UK level are expected over the next couple of quarters, although the regional picture remains mixed. The market report also shows that in March, enquiries from new buyers saw the eighth negative reading in a row, with 27% of respondents seeing a fall in buyer demand and that demand falling across all parts of the UK
12th Apr 2019 - Property Wire

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 12th Apr 2019

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Brexit a major drag on UK housing market, say surveyors

Average stock levels on estate agents’ books close to a record low while enquiries from buyers fall for eighth month in a row
11th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Brexit: Home Office sorry for EU citizen data breach

The Home Office has apologised to hundreds of EU citizens seeking settled status in the UK after accidentally sharing their details. It blamed an "administrative error" for sending an email that revealed 240 personal email addresses - a likely breach of the Data Protection Act. The department may now have to make an apology in Parliament. In a statement to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, it said it had since improved its systems and procedures.
11th Apr 2019 - BBC

'This is Brexit at its best' claim five protesters who blocked off an Aldi

The group of around five people parked their vehicles across the road so delivery trucks could not pass...A small group of Brexiters blocked a main road into an Aldi supermarket depot - because they want Brexit to happen now. The group of around five supporters came in cars and camper vans and blocked Chester High Road, in Neston, last night. In a video taken by a passerby members of the group can be seen brandishing placards and wearing British flags around themselves. Meanwhile a man with a microphone shouts 'this is Brexit at its best' as another woman, with a flag wrapped around her head, shouts 'we are here'.
11th Apr 2019 - Liverpool Echo

IMF says Brexit delay means businesses face more uncertainty

The decision to extend the UK’s Brexit deadline will mean another six months of uncertainty for business, the head of the International Monetary Fund has warned. Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, said that while she welcomed the fact that Britain would not leave the EU without a deal on Friday, nothing had been resolved. The decision gave more time for discussions between the political parties and for companies to prepare for all options, Lagarde said. “On the other hand, it is obvious it is continued uncertainty. And it does not resolve, other than by postponing what would have been a terrible outcome.” The IMF said earlier this week that leaving the EU without a deal risked pushing the UK into a two-year recession.
11th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Operation Brock 'deactivated' on M20 after Brexit delays

A no-deal Brexit plan in which one side of a motorway was reserved for lorries is to be removed after Britain's departure from the EU was delayed. Operation Brock, intended to tackle queues created by delays at the border, had been in place since 25 March. One side of the M20 was used only by HGVs heading to Dover, with all other traffic restricted to a contraflow system on the opposite carriageway. Highways England said work would begin overnight to "deactivate" the system. The UK's departure from the EU had been set for 29 March, but has now been extended until 31 October.
11th Apr 2019 - BBC

Anger as ‘Nightmare’ Brexit Delay ‘Screws’ U.K. Firms

For Pooch & Mutt, the U.K.’s hesitation by the Brexit door is more than an annoyance; it’s costing real money. The British maker of superfoods for pets built up about 400,000 pounds ($520,000) worth of extra product as it prepared for the potential disruption of a no-deal Brexit on March 29 and April 12. Now that the split has been delayed a second time, the supplier to Waitrose supermarkets, grocer J Sainsbury Plc and Pets at Home Group Plc needs a loan to cover the cost of its stockpile. “It just screws us,’’ said founder Guy Blaskey, saying the storage expense means less money to hire staff. “Until we know what’s going on, we need to keep our stock levels high.’’
11th Apr 2019 - Bloomberg

Property prices in London and South East hit by Brexit, surveyors say

Brexit is being blamed for continuing uncertainty in the housing market, with prices expected to edge downwards over the coming months. Demand from buyers is falling, with the number of new inquiries down for the eighth consecutive month, according to The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). And the average time for a home to sell - 19 weeks - is the longest since 2017, which is the joint lowest since the institution started recording this.
11th Apr 2019 - Sky News

Germany's Mittelstand are hardly prepared for Brexit

Germany’s mid-sized manufacturers, collectively known as the Mittelstand, form the backbone of the world’s fourth-largest economy. The fifth-biggest export market for their precision-engineered machinery and components is Britain, especially its car industry. Brexit, then, should be a worry. Yet according to bvwm, their trade association, only 17.6% of Mittelständler surveyed at the end of 2018 said they were “well prepared” for Brexit. Fully 77% thought Brexit would not affect them.
11th Apr 2019 - The Economist

'Please do not waste this time,' EU council chief tells UK after another Brexit extension

The latest Brexit extension “is as flexible as I expected and a little bit shorter than I expected, but it’s still enough to find the best possible solution,” said Donald Tusk, president of the European Council. EU leaders and the U.K. government have agreed to a “flexible extension” of the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31. Many EU leaders had wanted a much longer extension possibly until March 2020, but French President Emmanuel Macron said he took responsibility for blocking such a long delay.
11th Apr 2019 - CNBC

Brexit uncertainty affecting mental health of 1 in 3 UK adults, study shows

Uncertainty about the future of Brexit is affecting the mental health of a third of UK adults, a new survey has found. Around 33 per cent of people said Britain's departure from the European Union has had a negative effect on their wellbeing, according to a poll by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Older people were more likely to be affected by anxieties over Brexit with 37 per cent of over-65s saying it had a negative impact on their mental wellbeing, compared with just 28 per cent of 16-24 year-olds. Louise Taylor, a counsellor based in Cheshire, said the UK's uncertain future had left people feeling powerless, which was directly impacting their mental health. “While some people may be genuinely worried about their job, some people may have uncertainty in life anyway,” Ms Taylor said. “Brexit just adds to it by making the stress in their lives worse.”
11th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Thieves blowing up cash machines 'to buy guns and bombs for Brexit'

Footage has emerged of the moment a cash machine was ripped from a wall in Northern Ireland. It comes after police warned of similar incidents involving ATM machines in North Wales over the past few months, the latest just a few weeks ago in Llanrwst. The raid in Londonderry however is the eighth in its region so far this year, with fears growing that its of political significance, as reported by Belfast Live . The shocking CCTV footage, of the incident early Sunday morning, shows a republican gang member operating a digger as it smashes into a shop - while two accomplices watch on. Once the safe was removed from the wall, the thieves loaded the ATM into their van and drove away - yet to be officially identified.
11th Apr 2019 - Daily Post

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 11th Apr 2019

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Foreign nationals seeking 'settled status' in UK after Brexit hit by computer woes

Foreign nationals who have lived in the UK for years are being driven to despair by a government scheme aimed at guaranteeing their rights after Brexit. The Settled Status Advice Service, a campaign group which was set up to help applicants with the process, said technical issues with the online application system had been a “major issue” for EU nationals. Some have been unable to get their email addresses verified, while others have faced blank web pages at different parts of the online application process with no clear route forward.
10th Apr 2019 - Politics Home

Epilepsy and cancer drugs on record-high shortage list amid Brexit uncertainty

Medicines vital for managing epilepsy, cancer and life-threatening asthma attacks are among a record number of products which are currently facing shortages made worse by Brexit uncertainty. The number of drugs which the government is having to subsidise through the “concession” pricing list for short supply medicines has more than doubled since October. Britain’s impending exit from the European Union (EU) coupled with manufacturers’ views of the country as a “less attractive market” had caused the “significant” problems, according to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), which draws up the list.
10th Apr 2019 - The Independent

More than 400,000 EU nationals apply to stay in UK after Brexit

More than 400,000 European nationals have applied to secure their stay in the UK after Brexit, the Home Office has disclosed. The number of applications received by the EU settlement scheme has increased by about 200,000 since it went live at the end of last month. More than 230,000 people applied during test phases before the full launch on 30 March. The Home Office also announced that 57 organisations would receive funding to help vulnerable applicants. Up to £9m has been set aside to ensure support is available to an estimated 200,000 individuals who may be marginalised or need extra help submitting their application.
10th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Loss of EU doctors is a disaster for the NHS

It is disheartening that many doctors are feeling less welcome, writes Dr Chaand Nagpaul. Plus David Jost says Peterborough lost a very fine GP after the referendum
9th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 10th Apr 2019

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EU doctors’ Brexit dilemma: do we stay or do we go?

They believed they were in a welcoming country. Three hospital consultants discuss how their lives have been upended by Brexit
9th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit linked to 'significant' medicines shortage faced by pharmacists

Brexit has contributed to a shortage of some medicines at pharmacies in England as the number of in-demand drugs subsidised by the Government reached a record high, it is claimed. Supply issues partly blamed on Brexit planning and contingency have caused an official list of “concession” priced medicines to reach its longest since 2014, when it was first introduced. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), which draws up the list, said Britain’s exit from the EU coupled with manufacturers’ views of the country as a “less attractive market” had caused the “significant” problems
9th Apr 2019 - Express and Star

ATM thefts 'being carried out by dissidents to fund Brexit war chest'

It is believed the gang responsible for some of the 12 robberies in Northern Ireland and the Republic since October has netted £603000.
9th Apr 2019 - Belfast Live

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 9th Apr 2019

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Home Office denies rejecting Ofsted director's Brexit settled status application

The Home Office has insisted a deputy director of Ofsted hasn't been 'denied settled status' under their scheme for EU nationals. Daniel Muijs, who is Deputy Director of Research and Evaluation for the education watchdog, said he had been “rejected” in a post on Twitter . He wrote: “Have just found out my application for settled status in UK has been rejected. “I now need to find evidence of residence since 2013. Not a good feeling.”
8th Apr 2019 - Daily Mirror

Ofsted chief not accepted for 'settled status'

8th Apr 2019 - BBC

Operation Brock: No-deal Brexit plan is safe despite crashes and breakdowns, Highways England claims

After a series of accidents, criticism from ferry companies and port operators reserving judgement, Highways England has insisted its no-deal Brexit plan is safe and effective. Operation Brock was designed to ease congestion if traffic towards the port of Dover grinds to a standstill. But the vice president of ferry operator DFDS saying he was “not at all impressed” with the plan, while Dover port bosses meanwhile, said they were reserving judgement on the operation's success although they admitted admitted they are not convinced it is the best solution. Highways England however, said there had only been an estimated half a dozen crashes and breakdowns in the contraflow system in Kent since it was introduced on 25 March, although a spokesman admitted he was unable to provide accurate figures.
8th Apr 2019 - The Independent

No-deal Brexit means less food variety - Wales' first minister

Wales could see "less variety of food" in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the first minister has warned. Mark Drakeford said there were products on supermarket shelves now which would not be there after a no-deal - something he called a "genuine risk". Although the impact would be "devastating" on industries, he said there would not be food shortages. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the UK food industry was "highly resilient".
8th Apr 2019 - BBC

Irish funds industry group sets up office in Brussels ahead of Brexit

The lobby group for the Irish funds industry is to open an office in Brussels to beef up its European Union advocacy ahead of Brexit. Amid fears of a clampdown on financial services across the EU in the absence of the UK, its chief advocate, Irish Funds, has appointed former BNY Mellon executive Umar Ahmed as its new head of EU affairs. From next month, Mr Ahmed will lead the industry body’s engagement with the EU institutions, regulatory authorities and other stakeholders. Irish Funds chief executive Pat Lardner described the move as a “a natural extension” of the group’s domestic advocacy strategy but acknowledged Brexit made it that bit more urgent.
8th Apr 2019 - The Irish Times

City of London alarmed at EU’s no-deal Brexit equity trading plan

Fund managers holding European equities are praying that a no-deal Brexit is avoided this week. Europe operates the world’s most integrated cross-border share trading marketplace but the UK’s possible sudden departure from the EU would cleave this network into two: EU and non-EU markets.
8th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Leaving London: voices from the financial front lines of Brexit

The current trickle of new arrivals is stirring concern about upward pressure on property prices and extra competition for places at international schools. The FT has spoken to people in six of the cities affected by these moves — Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Amsterdam, Milan and Madrid — to hear how Brexit is playing out.
8th Apr 2019 - Financial Times

Rise in cost of probate has been delayed by Brexit turmoil

Plans to increase the cost of probate for grieving friends and families sorting out the wills of loved ones are being repeatedly delayed by Brexit, amid a widespread backlash against their implementation. The proposals, dismissed by critics as a “stealth death tax”, would introduce a sliding scale of charges to replace the current flat rate of £215 for granting official approval of any will. The increases had been due to come into effect on 1 April but no date has been fixed for a parliamentary motion in the Commons that would pave their way. They were expected to raise £155m a year for the Treasury. Brexit has been blamed for eating into parliamentary time.
8th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Cork hotel sees big decline in UK customers since Brexit vote

Mr Grant’s UK clients traditionally came from two sectors – individual or family clients and tour operators. Yet since the vote for Brexit the numbers coming to him from first category have dropped significantly. He says this is primarily due to changes in exchange rates, which means Ireland is more expensive for British visitors than before. “The change in currency since the vote has made Ireland 22 per cent more expensive purely on the exchange rate, not to mention the fact that costs are also rising here since the recession.
8th Apr 2019 - The Irish Times

Brexit confusion could hit EU tenants in UK, say landlords

EU citizens will face problems renting properties in the UK because of Brexit, private landlords have said. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said the confusion over Brexit meant some landlords were likely to refuse EU citizens as future tenants because the government had failed to give them clear instructions over the settled status scheme introduced last week. “They do not follow every twist and turn of Brexit and it is unreasonable to assume that they are going to be able to divine the details of the settled status scheme from statements made by Theresa May or government ministers,” said David Smith, the RLA’s policy director.
8th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: 'No extra funding' for no-deal Portsmouth port

The government has provided only 10% of the money needed for no-deal Brexit plans at Portsmouth, according to the channel port's director. Mike Sellers said contingency plans would cost £4m, but the Department for Transport (DfT) had provided £345,000. He said the government was "not accepting there is going to be a potential issue at Portsmouth". The DfT said the estimated risk of disruption did not warrant extra funding. Mr Sellers said delays at the port, which could be caused by post-Brexit customs checks, could cause congestion across Portsmouth and supply issues to the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. He said there were currently only 13 lorry lengths between the port and the motorway.
8th Apr 2019 - BBC

Wealthy Chinese Still Beating Path to U.K. Even With Brexit Woes

Political gridlock and years of Brexit drama haven’t dampened demand from wealthy Chinese for U.K. investor visas. Chinese applications for Tier 1 investor visas rose 19 percent to 144 in 2018 from a year earlier, according to data obtained from the Home Office by private equity firm Growthdeck. The number applying has almost doubled since 2016, when the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. Chinese comprised 63 percent of the 228 applications last year, up from half in 2017, according to Growthdeck. Hong Kong was second with 26.
8th Apr 2019 - Bloomberg

Thousands of Brits have made a home in France. Brexit could complicate their lives.

Each E.U. country has established its own plan for how to treat resident Brits in the event of a no-deal Brexit. In 11 of the 27 member countries, British citizens would automatically be allowed to stay as long as they like. But in 17 countries, they would only get a grace period before they would need to try to claim residency. In France, they would have up to a year to get their papers in order, or face losing their medical coverage and potentially deportation.
7th Apr 2019 - The Washington Post

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 8th Apr 2019

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The NHS is underprepared for a no-deal Brexit – and I am one of the thousands that might die as a result

On Wednesday night, BBC Newsnight revealed some life-saving drugs have proved impossible to stockpile – including those used to treat epilepsy – and that the doctors who had been given this information had been told to keep quiet. Back in January the health secretary Matthew Hancock told parliament that the requisite medicine supplies had been stockpiled in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Last night we learned that was not the case. Currently, a no deal would mean potential shortages of three important drugs for epilepsy, bipolar disorder and neuropathic pain. This would be life threatening for patients.
5th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Google Pay tells Euro users it has ditched UK for Ireland ahead of Brexit

Google Pay has this week shifted its service provision for all non-UK users in the European Economic Area from Britain and into Ireland ahead of Brexit. Up until now, the Google Payments terms of service have been offered by Google Payment Limited, a company incorporated in the UK. But the ad and search giant this week revealed it had had to change the terms due to the UK's "evolving" relationship with the European Union. UK residents' payments will continue to be processed in Blighty. In an email sent to all users in the EEA except those in the UK, and seen by The Register, it said the terms of service would, as of 4 April, be provided by Google Ireland Limited.
5th Apr 2019 - The Register

Customs industry 'not ready for Brexit'

Britain's customs system is not ready for Brexit - and could still take another three years to be prepared. That is the view of one of the most high-profile figures in the British customs industry, who chairs a key committee advising the government. He told Sky News that plans had been "left to the last minute". Peter MacSwiney is chair of the Brexit committee at the Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC). It represents the leading players in the industry and liaises with both the government and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the implications of Brexit.
5th Apr 2019 - Sky News

First British passports without 'European Union' printed on cover issued

British passports without the words European Union on the front cover have been issued despite the Brexit delay. The burgundy passports were introduced from March 30, the day after Britain was expected to leave the EU. Some passports including the words European Union will continue to be issued while the remaining stock is used up. But those applying for a new travel document will not be able to choose between the two. Dark blue passports, reminiscent of travel documents before the UK joined the EU, will be available from the end of the year.
5th Apr 2019 - ITV News

As the UK updates its .eu Brexit advice yet again, an alternative hovers into view

On Friday, the UK government again updated its advice for Brits with .eu internet addresses. If we were to summarize it in a sentence it would be: god knows what's going to happen but you should probably prepare for the worst. That updated advice comes after the company that operates the .eu registry, EURid, was forced, yet again, to change its advice. A notice on EURid's dedicated Brexit webpage now reads: "Due to ongoing uncertainties over the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, EURid has placed on hold any plan regarding domain names registered to individuals and undertakings located in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar."
5th Apr 2019 - The Register

No-deal Brexit would be 'catastrophic', farmers warn

The National Farmers' Union says confidence levels among British farmers are at their lowest since the start of the decade. Cereal farmers have told Sky News leaving the EU without a deal would be "catastrophic" and the continued uncertainty is having a huge cost to business. Unlike some livestock farming, arable farmers have not been offered any protection against cheaper imports and also face the prospect of an increase in export tariffs
5th Apr 2019 - Sky News

Home Office makes £2m a month from child citizenship fees as parents driven into debt

The Home Office makes £2m a month from child citizenship fees, figures show, as campaigners warned charges are driving parents into debt and even forcing them to skip meals. Data obtained through a freedom of information request by community organising group Citizens UK, reveals the department is raking in £24m a year – or around £500,000 a week – on charges for children to register for British citizenship. That is the equivalent of £71,429 each day The cost of a citizenship application for a child is £1,012 while cost of processing is £372. This means Home Office makes an estimated £640 profit from each child application it receives. All the fees are non-refundable so are not returned if the application fails.
6th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Cornish daffodils left to rot from lack of eastern European workers due to Brexit

The lack of manpower has been described as a devastating blow for the daffodil picking industry which generates around £45m a year for the UK economy. Britain is by far the world’s largest producer of daffodils, with about 75 per cent grown in Cornwall.
6th Apr 2019 - Cornwall Live

Dig deep to bloom after Brexit | Ireland

Cash-flow fears are taking root among Irish firms reliant on the UK, but a rainy day fund will help to weather the storm
7th Apr 2019 - The Times

Brexit plea over Scotland's perishable exports

Scotland's transport secretary has called for time-sensitive exports to be given priority in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Michael Matheson has written to his UK counterpart Chris Grayling asking for goods such as Scottish seafood to be given space on ferries. He warned that livelihoods were being put at risk by this "lack of support for exporting businesses". The UK government said it was preparing for "all possible" Brexit outcomes. Mr Matheson claimed that the Department for Transport had failed to take action despite the issue being raised in previous correspondence from the Scottish government. He said: said: "With an annual value of £944m, seafood accounts for 58% of Scotland's total food exports. "Seafood is highly perishable and therefore dependent on the sort of swift and reliable transport connections which would be damaged by a disorderly UK exit from the EU."
7th Apr 2019 - BBC

Small firms at Brexit’s sharp end

Well over one million UK SMEs, around a quarter of the total, were concerned about how Brexit would affect the success of their business. We also examined how Brexit uncertainty varies according to the size and location of companies and their business orientation. SMEs represent a core part of the UK economy, accounting for 99% of all UK firms and 60% of total private sector employment. They are crucial for innovation and productivity growth and have disproportionately driven job creation since 2010. They are also particularly affected by institutional and political uncertainty and less resilient when it comes to unforeseen events such as Brexit.
7th Apr 2019 - The Scotsman

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 5th Apr 2019

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Civil servants handling no-deal plans offered mental health support

Civil servants have been offered mental health support to help ease the stress of preparing for a no-deal Brexit, it has emerged.
4th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

MPs offered mental health support to help cope with 'extraordinary pressures' of Brexit

4th Apr 2019 - Yahoo!

'All I hear is anger and frustration': how Brexit is affecting our mental health

Feeling low and anxious? Suffering from disrupted sleep? Could Brexit be damaging your mental health? A Britain Thinks poll of more than 2,000 people, the results of which were released this week, found that 83% of those surveyed were sick of hearing about Brexit, while 64% thought it was damaging their mental health. The poll found that the dominant words people use in relation to Brexit have changed: in 2017, it was “confusing” or “uncertain”; now, it is “broken” and “chaos”. No politician is singled out, because we’re blaming all of them equally; except for David Cameron, who has a special, individuated space in the nation’s psyche as the man who unleashed this hell. Wishing for the politics of a lost age is the last thing people do when they have given up: it isn’t an acceptance of the status quo, but rather frustration at not being able to put these hideous worms back in their can.
5th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

No-deal Brexit threatens North’s £1.3bn beef and lamb industry, organisations warn

Farmer and meat industry representatives in Northern Ireland have warned that a no-deal Brexit is the “absolute worst possible outcome” for Northern Ireland’s £1.3 billion beef and lamb industry. As negotiations on how the United Kingdom exits the European Union appear to be reaching a climax the Ulster Farmers’ Union, the North’s Livestock and Meat Commission, and Meat Exporters’ Association have demanded that “every effort” is made to avoid Britain crashing out of the EU. “A no-deal will jeopardise our ability to export. It will undermine our domestic market. It is crucial decision-makers fully understand the devastating economic and social impact it will have on Northern Ireland, ” the three organisations said on Thursday. “This is not project fear. This is project fact,” they added.
4th Apr 2019 - The Irish Times

Brexit: Police Chief Says MPs, Activists And The Press Have A Responsibility Not To Inflame 'Febrile' Atmosphere

People with a platform, including activists, politicians and the press, should be careful about the language used to discuss Brexit in order to avoid inciting bad behaviour, one of the country’s most senior police officers has warned. Police chiefs said they had been planning for the worst case scenario and felt confident they were well able to react to any disorder caused by the UK leaving the EU, no matter what option the government chooses. The contingency planning has involved preparations for protests, riots, disruption at the UK’s ports and maintaining the supply chains of food, fuel and medicine. Pointing out that there is an “incredibly febrile atmosphere” as a result of Brexit, the National Police Chiefs Council’s new chairman, Martin Hewitt, said prominent individuals who have a platform have a responsibility in the way they conduct themselves.
4th Apr 2019 - Huffington Post

Leaked file shows stark contrasts for Britons in EU after no-deal Brexit

A leaked EU document lays bare for the first time the differences in how British nationals will be treated by the bloc’s member states after a no-deal Brexit, with two countries emphasising that requests to stay could be rejected on public order and security grounds. The European commission paper presents a hotchpotch of attitudes among the EU27, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland, to the Britons living in their territory should the UK leave without a negotiated deal. Brussels has recommended in the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK nationals should not be considered to be staying illegally straight away but that contingency measures should be temporary with national migration policies returning “back to normal as soon as possible”.
4th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

Serbia advises citizens to avoid travelling to UK due to ‘major political chaos’

Serbia’s foreign minister has suggested that citizens should not travel to the UK because of the danger posed by “major political chaos”, according to local media reports. Ivica Dacic’s remarks, which he described as “cynical”, were made in response to cautionary travel advice about travelling in northern Kosovo, issued by the British embassy in Pristina.
4th Apr 2019 - The Independent

Lorries face huge queues in a no-deal Brexit, say industry insiders

The government is drawing up plans for dealing with a massive increase in the number of lorries needing official paperwork in the wake of a potential no-deal Brexit. Industry insiders have told Sky News they fear that document checks could lead to huge queues on the motorways leading to Channel ports in Kent - undermining work to speed lorries through from Dover to Calais. At the moment, only a small fraction of hauliers need a permit - known as a transit document - to take goods between the UK and mainland Europe. However, if the UK was to leave the EU without a deal, that figure could go up 10 times - perhaps more, with thousands of drivers needing to obtain permits.
4th Apr 2019 - Sky News

London town halls make plans to let EU citizens take part in European elections

London town halls are preparing to write to hundreds of thousands of EU citizens in the capital to tell them they can take part in European elections if they are held. They will send out the letters if the Government decides to press ahead with the European polls in order to get a long Brexit extension rather than crash out without a deal. Lewisham council is the lead town hall in London for the European elections and a spokesman said: “The Regional Returning Officer, Janet Senior, can confirm that all London authorities are making appropriate preparations and contingency plans to deliver these elections, should the decision be made that the UK will be taking part.
4th Apr 2019 - Evening Standard

Brexit: Some drugs 'cannot be stockpiled' for no-deal

The health service has been unable to stockpile certain drugs in case of a no-deal Brexit, potentially putting patients at risk, documents show. Confidential NHS England files - seen by BBC Newsnight - suggest supply chain issues mean some drugs used to treat conditions like epilepsy and bipolar disorder "cannot be stockpiled". Potential shortages would have "a significant impact", documents say. The Department of Health said supplies "should be uninterrupted".
3rd Apr 2019 - BBC Newsnight

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 4th Apr 2019

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Civil servants offered counselling for no-deal Brexit stress

British civil servants were offered specialised support to deal with the strain of preparing for a no-deal Brexit, the BBC has learned. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spent £40,000 on counselling services in London, York and Bristol. The surgeries were primarily for those working on "emergency preparedness in case of a no deal scenario". The government said the wellbeing of its staff was "always a priority". The three-month contract, which was awarded to Gloucester-based employee assistance firm Care First, was brought to the BBC's attention by the data firm Tussell. It was designed to bolster Defra's in-house mental health services while the department made changes to its support programmes, and ended on the 31 January.
4th Apr 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Police warn MPs and campaigners not to inflame tensions

Politicians and campaigners should take care not to "inflame" tensions in the UK caused by Brexit, a senior police chief has warned. The Metropolitan Police Service's Assistant Commissioner, Martin Hewitt, said people should think carefully to avoid inciting others to violence. The warning follows increased concern about intimidation of MPs. Police have 10,000 officers ready to deploy at 24 hours' notice as part of possible no-deal Brexit preparations.
4th Apr 2019 - BBC

Police amass 10,000 officers in preparation for no-deal unrest

Police chiefs have voiced fears that inflammatory rhetoric from politicians and activists could fuel Brexit tensions as they revealed they have amassed their biggest ever peacetime reserve of 10,000 officers to deal with potential unrest in the event of no deal. The chair of the National Police Chiefs Council, Martin Hewitt, warned “prominent individuals” involved in the protracted Brexit debate should avoid inciting anger given the “febrile” and “emotive” atmosphere, amid concerns of violence and disorder.
4th Apr 2019 - The Guardian

EU orders UK to recover illegal tax aid from multinationals

Britain will have to recover millions of euros from some multinationals after EU antitrust regulators ruled on Tuesday that an exemption in a UK tax scheme was illegal. The European Commission’s decision, following a 16-month investigation, is part of an ongoing crackdown against multinationals benefiting from sweetheart tax deals offered by EU countries. The EU investigation focussed on Britain’s Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules, which are aimed at attracting companies to set up headquarters in Britain and discourage UK companies moving offshore.
3rd Apr 2019 - Reuters

UK immigration rules ‘deny’ NI-born Irish citizens access to EU rights

The UK government is under pressure to clarify immigration rules that human rights activists say undermine the rights of Northern Ireland-born Irish citizens under the Belfast Agreement. Les Allamby, chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, said changes in UK immigration laws treating people in Northern Ireland automatically as British citizens (or British subjects) “goes against the grain” of the 1998 agreement underpinning the Northern Irish peace process. He was referring to the changes to immigration rules published on March 7th but highlighted this week by citizens’ rights campaigner Emma DeSouza, a Northern Ireland-born Irish citizen embroiled in a lengthy appeals process after her US-born husband’s application for residence was rejected.
3rd Apr 2019 - The Irish Times

Brexit: BBC to move channels to Amsterdam so it can keep broadcasting in no-deal

The BBC is moving some of its TV channels to Amsterdam so it can keep broadcasting to the EU if there’s a no-deal Brexit . Auntie’s director-general confirmed reports it was examining creating a European office so it can carry on providing services within the bloc. Lord Hall told the Commons Public Accounts Committee today: “It’s simply us being cautious and saying we have channels that we run, a market in the rest of Europe that we want to make sure we can continue doing. “If we were to move somewhere - and it depends entirely on what happens with the negotiations over Brexit - it would be a handful of people, four or five people.
3rd Apr 2019 - Daily Mirror

Brexit: BBC prepares for Dutch move

3rd Apr 2019 - Broadband TV News

MEPs denounce BBC’s use of ‘white supremacist’ language

A cross-party group of European Parliament lawmakers has accused the BBC of normalizing "white supremacist language" in its Brexit coverage. In a letter addressed to the BBC's director of news and current affairs on Thursday, 14 British MEPs called for journalists to receive advice on the use of "extreme right dog-whistles," the Independent reported.
3rd Apr 2019 - Politico

Ministers’ “Power Grab” from Doctors over Brexit Medicine Shortages

In what MP Jonathan Ashworth calls ‘an extraordinary power grab’ from doctors, the Government passed its ‘Serious Medicine Shortages Protocol’ in February, without parliamentary debate. A legal challenge to overturn the new law was refused permission in the High Court last Friday, with lawyers planning to appeal. The law, designed for emergencies, lets Ministers direct pharmacists to prescribe different drugs to patients if there is a serious shortage. Pharmacists could then alter patients’ prescriptions in line with that guidance, without calling their GP. Doctors received letters about the plan last month. One GP explained her worries on receiving the Government letter: “Pharmacists will be able to override and change prescriptions in event of shortages. This may sound OK, but could in fact be dangerous because they aren’t currently party to the patient’s records.” She added: “I do feel worried because in my 26 years as a GP, I have never received a mailing from the Government about something that could willfully endanger patients.”
3rd Apr 2019 - Byline Times

'We’re not being given a viable future': how Brexit will hurt British music

From customs holding up CD and vinyl deliveries to visa issues putting roadies out of work, the UK music industry is nervous about what Brexit may bring
3rd Apr 2019 - The Guardian

May seeks to reassure bosses over shifting Brexit plan

The prime minister has tried to reassure the bosses of some of the UK’s biggest companies about her undulating Brexit strategy amid efforts to persuade corporate Britain to publicly endorse her latest change of tack. Sky News understands that Mrs May held a call with the co-chairs of her business councils on Tuesday night, shortly after announcing that she would seek a further extension to Article 50 and hold talks with the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn aimed at forging a parliamentary consensus. A source close to the discussion said that Mrs May was keen to gauge support among the heads of companies such as BT Group, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Rolls-Royce for her sudden shift toward a softer Brexit.
3rd Apr 2019 - Sky News

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 3rd Apr 2019

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Brexit: Councils left in the dark, MPs say

The government needs to stop leaving councils "in the dark" over Brexit and urgently provide more support, MPs say. The Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government committee said ministers should prioritise making sure that EU funding will be fully replaced after the UK leaves the EU. Its report said plans for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund need to be fast-tracked to fill the gap. The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April. The government has said that after Brexit it will replace EU funds for poorer parts of the UK with the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund to reduce inequalities across the country.
3rd Apr 2019 - BBC

Brexit: UK risks 'trashing relationship' with Europe, says Siemens boss

Britain is at risk of "trashing its fabulous relationship" with the rest of Europe because of its failure to secure a Brexit deal, a top businessman says. Jurgen Maier, the UK chief executive of Siemens, told the BBC's Today programme: "We are at a point of crisis right at this moment in time. "We need to find a way forward so we can re-establish that trust to give us the confidence to invest here again." Confidence in Britain would return once the situation was resolved, he added. Mr Maier said: "If I was going to go to my board today and say here is another factory that I want to open for a major infrastructure project in the UK, I can tell you that with this turmoil right now, we would not be putting that over the line. "I'm saying to our parliament, 'enough is enough' and this is the week where a decision needs to be made.
2nd Apr 2019 - BBC

Two malicious devices found on railway lines 'linked to Brexit', police believe

Two “malicious obstructions” found on railway lines in the UK are linked to Brexit, police believe. British Transport Police (BTP) said short-circuiting devices were left on tracks near Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, and Netherfield, Nottinghamshire, last month in “a serious and deliberate attempt by someone to cause significant sabotage and disruption to Britain’s rail network”. Detectives investigating the attempted sabotage “believe it relates to Britain’s exit from the European Union”. The devices, installed at Yaxley on 21 March and Netherfield on 27 March, were detected by Network Rail workers and removed without disrupting services. A note found attached to the devices warned: "We will bring this country to its knees if we don't leave."
2nd Apr 2019 - The Independent

Police investigating pro-Brexit 'sabotage' attempts to disrupt rail network

2nd Apr 2019 - Daily Mirror

Police investigating after 'pro-Brexit' sabotage attempt on railway tracks

2nd Apr 2019 - ITV News

CBI chief's warning to politicians amid Brexit stalemate

While business groups gave a cautious welcome to the domestic olive branch, Ms Fairbairn said: "Welcome steps must be breakthrough not false dawn. "Business confidence slumping, growth stalled and UK reputation in tatters. "Tories must compromise on red lines and Labour come to table in good faith. No excuses, no time wasting, no party politics. Enough is enough."
2nd Apr 2019 - Yahoo!

Brexit: Bickering MPs ignore stark reality of no-deal – Scottish Retail Consortium

While eyes are transfixed on the unfolding political drama, the stark reality is firms are spending valuable money and effort on contingency planning for a disorderly Brexit. A lasting trade deal would have genuine benefits for Scots. It would help retailers keep down prices and ensure shoppers continue to have the widest possible choice on shop shelves. A ‘no deal’ Brexit by contrast would hit the poorest, who typically spend proportionally more of their family budget on groceries, clothing, and medicines. This is because these items can attract import tariffs. Thin margins in retail mean extra costs are likely to be passed on to consumers. Also, a significant portion of the food we buy comes from the EU, and needs transported quickly.
2nd Apr 2019 - The Scotsman

Brexit has already irreparably damaged research

A no-deal Brexit could be catastrophic for research. A timely reminder of what’s at stake came on 28 March, when UK-based scientists once again won the largest share of the prestigious European Research Council advanced grants, claiming more than 21% of the awards and €112 million (US$126 million) in total. A no-deal exit would instantly sever the United Kingdom from the scheme. Everyday research would take a hit as supplies, clinical trials, data collection and travel suffer disruption.
2nd Apr 2019 - Nature

Polish mum blames attitudes to Brexit for failing residency test at Jobcentre

A young Polish mother says she believes attitudes to Brexit are responsible for her failing a residency test, leaving her without benefits despite living in Scotland for eight years. Agnieszka Maziarek, 26, from Edinburgh, who passed her first residency test two years after arriving in Scotland in 2011, says she is now dependent on loans from friends and food vouchers.
2nd Apr 2019 - The Scotsman

The Rare Businesses That Can’t Wait for Brexit

Unlike the vast majority of British business leaders, though, Lance Forman isn’t worried. In fact, he isn’t really worried about Brexit at all. The fourth-generation owner of Britain’s oldest salmon curer told me that his family’s company has survived fires, floods, and displacement. “What we learned from each of those catastrophes is that change provides great opportunity for renewal,” Forman said. He believes Brexit will do the same
2nd Apr 2019 - The Atlantic

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 2nd Apr 2019

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Protesters strip off in House of Commons during Brexit debate

A group of protesters have been arrested after stripping off in the House of Commons as MPs debated Brexit. Direct action group Extinction Rebellion said semi-naked activists had glued their hands ...
1st Apr 2019 - Sky News

Holiday bookings hit by 'unanswered questions' on Brexit, easyJet warns

Easyjet has warned that "unanswered questions surrounding Brexit" are weakening demand as it heads into its key summer trading period. Shares in the low-cost airline fell 9% after it said it was now "more cautious" about its expected financial performance in the key second half of its financial year from now until the end of September. Chief executive Johan Lundgren said the carrier was operationally well-prepared for Britain's departure from the European Union but that it was seeing "softness" in the market in both the UK and Europe.
1st Apr 2019 - Sky News

For Many British Businesses, Brexit Has Already Happened

For more than three decades, London has attracted global banks, trading operations, hedge funds, asset managers and sovereign wealth funds, becoming a global financial center second to none. Brexit has jeopardized that status.
1st Apr 2019 - The New York Times

Factories rush to stockpile for Brexit

UK factories stockpiled goods for Brexit at an unexpectedly high rate last month, boosting manufacturing growth to a 13-month high, according to a closely watched survey. The research, by IHS Markit/CIPS, found that the rate of increase in stocks hit a survey record high for the third month in a row. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose to 55.1 in March, from 52.1 in February. A figure above 50 indicates expansion. The PMI has remained above that benchmark for 32 months in a row.
1st Apr 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Will flights be disrupted?

The EU has agreed measures to allow "basic connectivity" for a year, to prevent planes being grounded the day after a no-deal Brexit. UK Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg has confirmed that this will be reciprocated. This doesn't provide the exact same access as before, though. It allows for "point-to-point" trips - from the UK to another EU country and vice versa. But it doesn't cover onward flights to other European countries - or flights by EU carriers between two UK cities.
1st Apr 2019 - BBC

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 1st Apr 2019

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Travel advisory for Canadians in Britain warns of ’acts of violence’ linked to Brexit

Global Affairs Canada has issued a travel advisory for Canadians in Britain, warning them of possible violence in the wake of today’s latest twist in the country’s Brexit drama. The department issued the updated advisory as British politicians rejected the latest attempt to coalesce around a path out of the European Union. In the advisory, officials warn of “acts of violence” and confrontations between demonstrators and security forces around the parliamentary buildings and near Westminster Abbey in London.
29th Mar 2019 - Toronto Sun

Brexit app for EU citizens to work on iPhones by end 2019 – Javid

Sajid Javid has announced that the controversial Brexit app for EU citizens’ residency rights will finally work on iPhones. The home secretary has struck a deal with Apple a year after the Home Office was ridiculed for developing an app that only fully worked on Android phones, even though iPhones account for 48% of the market.
30th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Post Offices running out of 'no-deal Brexit driving permits' - what you need to know

UK drivers have expressed anger after some Post Offices around the country have run out of the driving permits required to travel in the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The backlash comes because if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on April 12 EU countries will not recognise a UK driving licence without an additional permit. In a statement to ITV News, the Post Office confirmed a high demand for the permits and assured worried travellers that more stock would arrive by 2 April.
30th Mar 2019 - ITV News

Cash for NHS repairs 'delayed by Brexit'

The Scottish Government has blamed Brexit for its failure to deliver a long-awaited investment plan to help address a £900m maintenance backlog in the NHS. Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said the medium-term NHS Capital Investment Strategy had been held up because of Brexit uncertainty and its impact on the Scottish budget.
30th Mar 2019 - Herald Scotland

Photos: Lorry park works underway at Manston airport site

Works are being carried out at the Manston airport site in preparation to stack up to 6,000 lorries when (or if) the UK exits the European Union.Some £4.9million of government funding is being spent to increase the capacity to hold 6,000 – rather than the initial projection of 4,000 – lorries.
20th Mar 2019 - The Isle of Thanet News

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 29th Mar 2019

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200,000 nurses have quit the NHS since 2010

Research conducted by the Labour Party and verified by the House of Commons Library shows that between 2010 and 2018 over 200,000 nurses left the NHS with a staggering 163,094 leaving for reasons ‘other than retirement’. Meanwhile, the number of workers who quit for health reasons has doubled and the total number of staff leaving the NHS due to a poor work-life balance has more than tripled.
28th Mar 2019 - Nursing Notes

Scots cite Brexit as ‘single most important issue’ when considering independence

Brexit is now the most important issue for Scots when considering if the country should be independent, according to a new opinion poll. More than two-fifths (43%) of voters cited this as one of the three key issues they would consider when deciding if Scotland should be independent – just ahead of the 42% who said the economy was the most pressing factor. In 2014, the year of the independence referendum, the future of the economy was given as the main concern by 46% of voters, with EU membership only ranking as the sixth most important issue.
28th Mar 2019 - Hampshire Chronicle

Scots urged not to stockpile medication in run-up to Brexit

Scotland’s chief medical officer has warned shortages of medicines “may occur” in the wake of a no-deal Brexit but said people should not stockpile drugs. Dr Catherine Calderwood said members of the public – as well as GPs, pharmacies and hospitals – should not try to build up their own supply of medication. She issued the advice in a letter sent to NHS board chief executives, local authority leaders and the leaders of integration authorities – which bring health and care services together.
28th Mar 2019 - Your Local Guardian

Brexit: No-deal advocates 'peddling myths'

Politicians advocating a no-deal Brexit are "peddling myths and misleading the public", the vice-chair of the NI Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) has said. Declan Billington said there is "no good outcome" from a no-deal scenario. Mr Billington attacked Conservative Brexiteers in Westminster, some of whom have said they will not back a deal and would prefer to leave the EU on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms. "To find that so close to a no deal, the myths are still being peddled is hugely concerning because they're trying to sleepwalk us into a disaster for our local economy. "That's what we see coming out of the London politicians," he told BBC Newsline.
28th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit police unit ‘heavily deployed’ since launch

A team of more than 300 police officers set up for incidents relating to Brexit has been “very heavily deployed and busy” since it started last week, Police Scotland has revealed. The dedicated unit for Brexit-related emergencies has already been dispatched to deal with protests and “increasing febrile” behaviour in the streets, according to Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr. Funding for the additional officers is a source of concern, with the force’s budget revealed to be facing a large shortfall.
28th Mar 2019 - Your Local Guardian

Brexit uncertainty stalls housing starts at 165,000 a year

Housing starts stagnated at 165,160 in 2018, despite Government efforts to pump up housing supply to achieve its flaunted building target of 300,000 homes by the mid-2020s.
28th Mar 2019 - Construction Enquirer

PSNI chief fears losing European arrest warrant in event of no-deal Brexit

A senior police officer has voiced concern that the European Arrest Warrant could disappear in the event of a no-deal Brexit. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs told a Policing Board seminar in Belfast that this week alone, five people are being brought back to Northern Ireland under the policing tool. Making a presentation called Policing The EU Exit, Mr Mairs said police are concerned about the risk of losing this power if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. He also outlined potential risks from a no-deal Brexit including additional infrastructure or checks at the Irish border generating violent attacks and the exploitation of differences between the north and the Republic. He emphasised that police do not want to see the perception of a "safe haven" for criminals created either north or south of the border after Brexit.
28th Mar 2019 - Irish Independent

Coffee industry ‘crisis’ looms due to fears of post-Brexit barista shortage

According to the UK Coffee Report, created by Allegra World Coffee in partnership with The London Coffee Festival, 6,517 new coffee shops are expected to crop up nationwide by 2023, which could lead to a shortage of baristas. There are currently 160,000 baristas working in the UK, but the research claims that 40,000 more will be needed to accommodate the looming surge of coffee shops. Given that the industry relies heavily on overseas workers, the report suggests that Brexit could have an adverse affect on yet another key part of our lives.
28th Mar 2019 - The Independent

Scottish firms lack contingency plans for no-deal Brexit

More than half of Scottish businesses reliant on European Union funding do not have a no-deal Brexit contingency plan, new research indicates, as the UK’s departure date looms amid a political stalemate and ongoing delays. A report by law firm Anderson Strathern found that just 45 per cent of Scots firms that receive funds from the EU have a full strategy in place
28th Mar 2019 - The Scotsman

Britain can keep its meat affordable after Brexit, but will need to eat totally differently

Ed Barker, who represents the National Pig Association, said to i: “We buy a relatively small range of pig meat products. We only use certain parts of the animal and the surplus is exported. “Here, we eat lots of loin meat, used for bacon, and legs, which are used for cooked ham and gammon. We sell lots of belly, shoulder, and offal. The offal market here is virtually non-existent, even with chefs and restaurants talking about it. “Brexit could impact this and lead to a higher cost of production. Trade could become more expensive, which will lead to higher costs for consumers. The carcass balance we have, basically, would be fractured – meat in demand would go up in price and cheaper cuts would become cheaper, or, worse, wasted. “We actually have enough pigs to be self-sufficient, but only if British habits change radically. We over-consume some cuts and under-consume others. “In a no-deal Brexit, bacon might end up being 5-6 per cent higher in price. Retailers won’t absorb that.”
28th Mar 2019 - iNews

Brexit 'risks German-Scots investment'

German companies could pull investment out of Scotland if post-Brexit trade becomes too difficult, a leading industry group has said. The risk was highlighted by Alexander Altmann, from the British Chambers of Commerce in Germany. German companies such as manufacturer Siemens and supermarket Lidl employ thousands of people in Scotland. German business leaders have come to Scotland to press the case for the UK to maintain free trade after Brexit. Mr Altmann told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that most German companies wanted to see the UK stay in the customs union, which would mean no taxes on goods moved between EU countries and the UK.
28th Mar 2019 - BBC

If the Erasmus scheme closes after Brexit, how else can I study abroad?

For many students, a jaunt abroad is the highlight of their time at university. But political uncertainty caused by Brexit means more than 17,000 British students who planned to study in Europe with Erasmus+ from September have been left in limbo. This is because a technical note, published by the government at the end of January, failed to guarantee funding for the scheme if Britain leaves the EU without a deal. It would be a huge loss. Jane Racz, director of Erasmus+ at the British Council, says the scheme gives students a chance to gain language skills, to understand different cultures and to build confidence. But there are other options. We run through some of the affordable alternatives to Erasmus+ for those who fear they could miss out.
28th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Calais port ready for Brexit 'whenever it happens'

The Port of Calais is ready for Brexit "whenever it happens" after spending millions of pounds preparing for the UK to leave Europe without a deal. Jean-Marc Puissesseau, the port's boss, told Sky News that he had overseen €6m of work designed to prepare the port for Brexit, and claimed that if the plans were followed "there should be no more delays after Brexit than there were before". His words are in stark contrast to many analysts in France, Britain and beyond who have claimed that Brexit, and particularly a no-deal Brexit, would lead to long delays at Calais as lorry drivers were subject to more onerous customs checks.
28th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Brexit has ganged up with Alzheimer’s against my mother

It’s tempting to think that the sudden deterioration of my mother’s mental health could be linked to Brexit and our country’s collective nervous breakdown. I know it’s just a coincidence. But I believe that she and many others with Alzheimer’s disease are Brexit victims because the government’s focus on leaving the EU has created a policy vacuum that has cut adrift the most vulnerable people.
28th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit leaves Tate scrambling to assure EU museums over Van Gogh loans

it has now emerged that the opening this week of Van Gogh and Britain, the gallery’s spring blockbuster, went ahead only after a last-minute diplomatic scramble to assure European galleries that any masterpieces loaned to the exhibition would not get stuck in a chaotic post-Brexit UK. The British and Dutch governments were both enlisted to assure lenders that their works would not be subject to hefty import taxes when they returned to the EU if Britain crashed out with no deal, the Guardian has learned. The Tate show was also specifically raised among European member states as a problem that needed an urgent resolution, before the European commission circulated new guidance on customs rules – barely a fortnight before the exhibition opened – to settle nerves.
28th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: Firms tell MPs to 'stop chasing rainbows'

MPs need to stop "chasing rainbows" when it comes to resolving the Brexit impasse, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Brexit uncertainty is already doing "real world damage" to the UK economy, the BCC's Adam Marshall told the group's annual conference on Thursday. He also said leaving the European Union in a disorderly way would be a "flagrant dereliction of duty".
28th Mar 2019 - BBC

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 28th Mar 2019

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Kent plans for areas ‘cut off’ by Brexit traffic jams

Parts of Kent might become “cut off” by traffic jams following the UK’s departure from the EU and might need special help to receive basic supplies, according to the county council expected to be the worst hit in the event of post-Brexit travel and trade disruption. Fiona Gaffney, the council’s Brexit co-ordinator, said the Isle of Thanet on the northeastern tip of Kent was among the areas where delivery of supplies, movement of emergency vehicles and other essential travel could become particularly difficult.
27th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Councils warned to prepare for potential hate crime increase after Brexit

Local councils are being warned to brace for an increase in community tension and localised ‘trigger events’ as the UK leaves the EU. In the latest of a series of updates sent by the Government, Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City councils have been advised there could be increased community concerns about hate crime after Brexit.
27th Mar 2019 - Nottingham Post

Brexit Is Making Life Tough for Amsterdam Homebuyers

Dozens of companies have added Amsterdam offices as a result of the U.K.’s impending departure from the European Union, and some 2,400 jobs have been created in the Netherlands, with officials predicting many more will come. Real estate agents say they speak English with half the buyers or renters who show up for home viewings, and lender ABN Amro Group NV has stationed a Brexit team of 10 people at Amsterdam’s airport to offer mortgages to potential homebuyers flying in from London.
27th Mar 2019 - Bloomberg

I’m glad I left Brexit Britain. My EU friends who didn’t are stuck in limbo

Surprise, surprise: your rights will likely not be protected as the government once promised. For the very few who still had hope that Brexit would not affect them this may come as a shock and cause serious concern about their future in the UK. For me, it is reassurance that I did the right thing in leaving the UK last September.
27th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

How disties are reacting to the new Brexit deadlines

Border blockages and price cutting may not even be the biggest threats to the channel in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Dave Stevinson, MD of QBS Software, warned that changes to currency rates could have the biggest effect on pricing. "Changes in currency are a bigger risk than excess inventory, which would probably be covered by price protection or contracts between the vendor and distributor," he explained. "My advice to resellers and disties is to have a strong look at their foreign exchange policy in the next few weeks and months - a big swing can wipe out all the profit."
27th Mar 2019 - CRN

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 27th Mar 2019

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Brexit: Flu vaccine 'could be airlifted into UK'

Drugs company Sanofi has plans to fly supplies of flu vaccine into the UK if other transport routes are disrupted after the country leaves the EU. Hugo Fry, the managing director of its UK arm, told BBC Radio 5 live's Wake Up To Money that the flu vaccine was one it was not possible to stockpile. "We prepare in different ways and have prepared many different routes into the UK," he said. "If we have to in the end, we will airlift it in." He added: "We are eating the cost of that but patients and citizens are our primary concern, so we're quite happy to take that cost and make that planning."
26th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit: No-deal EU exit could see 140 extra officers sent to Kent

Up to 140 police officers a day could be drafted into Kent to deal with the impacts of a no-deal Brexit. Police are preparing for gridlock on the roads if anticipated delays at the Port of Dover and Folkestone create long queues of lorries on the M20. Officers are also ready to tackle any protests or disorder that occur, Kent Police Assistant Chief Constable Peter Ayling said. The Home Office has so far given the force £4.3m to pay for preparations. Additional officers could be "mobilised" from other forces in the UK, according to Mr Ayling, a member of emergency planning group the Kent Resilience Forum.
26th Mar 2019 - BBC

GP practices are struggling – and Brexit will only make things worse

Staff sickness and uncertainty caused by Brexit have worsened NHS staffing shortages. A recent NHS staff survey showed that just under 40% are unwell with stress, the highest that we have seen in five years. And with health and social care relying heavily on staff from the EU, Brexit has the potential to compound our existing recruitment and retention problems. According to a report last week, the shortfall in GPs in England will almost triple from 2,500 to 7,000 by 2023-24. There are already 1,300 fewer family doctors than in 2015.
26th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Gender pay gap expert among top professors quitting Brexit Britain

Across UK's universities it is the same story. Leading EU academics in climate policy and economics and most disciplines are worried about how grant funding from the EU will be replaced. They have had enough of hostility – and in many cases they are off
26th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

No-deal Brexit mitigation plans ‘hampered by poor DfT engagement’ Select Committee told

Giving evidence to the Commons Brexit Select Committee, Portsmouth City councillor, Gerald Vernon-Jackson said preparations for a no-deal EU Brexit plan had been “hampered by poor engagement from the DfT” and there’d been “systematic refusal from the DfT to engage in any way”.
26th Mar 2019 - Isle of Wight News

The myth of British good-humour and resilience was born during World War II and is about to die a Brexit death

A 1942 report into the UK says "The average European, he writes in an accompanying note, has a “rough and ready perception of the Englishman” who is – among other things – “inclined to lecture other people for not doing things as Englishmen would do them, although quite ignorant of the reasons why others act differently from us”. Europeans also perceive a country that cannot be depended on “because we won’t say what we really want or what we are going to do”.
26th Mar 2019 - Yahoo!

Brexit drives warehouse move to jobs black spot

Logistics and warehousing group Clipper's expansion expansion into Sheffield is an example of how brexit is impacting on the labour market as labour shortages force companies to change tack and to search for staff to fill the roles previously carried out in many cases by EU migrants
26th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

What a no deal Brexit would mean for British fashion

Last year the British fashion industry contributed some £32 billion to the British economy. What’s more, at last count, it employed some 890,000 people. The last thing that we – that I – want to see, is our industry retract due to Brexit. Rather, we want to see British fashion continue to provide opportunity and engagement, to inspire young people to be creatives and entrepreneurs and for British Fashion to be continued to be recognised as global leaders in creativity, innovation and business.
26th Mar 2019 - British GQ

First picture of new Brexit driving licence as DVLA steps up preparations for no deal

The first picture of a new driving licence has been unveiled as the DVLA steps up preparations for the increasing fear of a no deal Brexit.
27th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

Roaming charges could return in event of No Deal Brexit

Roaming charges could make an unwelcome return in the wake of a no deal Brexit, with the European Union confirming that rules governing the cost of using smartphones while travelling will not apply in the UK. In new guidance, the EU said, “Companies providing mobile communications services, such as voice calls, text messages or data will no longer be bound by EU roaming rules when operating in the UK.
27th Mar 2019 - uSwitch.com

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 26th Mar 2019

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Majority of UK business leaders believe costs and red tape will rise after Brexit

Over half (58 percent) of UK business leaders expect costs to rise after Brexit, even if a deal is struck and just over a third (38 percent) believe that access to local business funding and grants will also become more challenging post-Brexit,
26th Mar 2019 - Workplace Insight

Warning of legal limbo for 3m EU citizens living in UK after Brexit

EU citizens living in the UK would be stripped of their freedom of movement, housing and social security rights by Home Office legislation introduced to regulate immigration following Brexit, a parliamentary report has warned. Despite repeated government reassurances that their privileges will be protected, a study by the joint committee on human rights (JCHR) concludes that more than 3 million Europeans living in Britain would be left in legal “limbo”. The cross-party committee, whose members are drawn from the Commons and the Lords, argues that EU citizens’ rights should be protected by primary legislation rather than reliant on statutory instruments approved by ministers at a later date.
26th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brussels confirms return of border checks under no-deal Brexit

British travellers will get a stamp in their passport every time they enter and leave the European Union in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the European commission has confirmed. The announcement on border checks was revealed days after the British government secured a short extension that shifts the Brexit deadline to 12 April. “The risk of a no-deal scenario is becoming increasingly likely,” an EU official said. The EU’s Brexit no-deal plans “cannot replicate the benefits of being an EU member” and were not “mini-deals or a negotiated no deal”, but unilateral measures to avoid disruption for the EU side, the official said.
26th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Europeans living in UK told to secure settled status for Brexit

EU nationals are being encouraged to secure their right to keep living in the UK with just weeks to go until Brexit. Adverts on billboards and at bus stops and railway stations will be rolled out across the country ahead of the full opening of the Home Office’s settlement scheme this weekend. Any EU national that has lived continuously in the UK for five years can obtain settled status, meaning they are free to go on living and working in the UK indefinitely.
25th Mar 2019 - Metro.co.uk

Britain's Roma community fears post-Brexit future

There are 300,000 Roma in Britain, but some members of this already persecuted minority lack documentation and they are extremely worried about losing their residency status after Brexit
25th Mar 2019 - Al Jazeera

British no more: Why some UK citizens face Brexit dilemma

The number of UK citizens acquiring the nationality of another EU country has shot up since the 2016 Brexit referendum. For many Britons living in Germany, France or Italy, dual nationality solves questions about freedom of movement to work in the EU, pensions and healthcare. But a handful of EU countries, including Austria, do not generally allow dual citizenship. That makes things complicated for people like British opera singer Stephen Chaundy, who has lived in Vienna with his family for many years, but often works in theatres and opera houses in Germany.
25th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Queen's University staff paid early due to uncertainty

Staff at Queen's University in Belfast are to be paid their salaries three days early this month due to "ongoing uncertainty relating to Brexit". QUB staff are usually paid on the final working day of every month. However, because of fears about the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, this month's payment date was brought forward to Wednesday, 27 March.
25th Mar 2019 - BBC

'England became smaller and bigger': what 'home' means in Brexit Britain

Headlong theatre company's latest production, Acts of Resistance, plugs into people power in four communities across the country - Plymouth, Kendal, Bristol and Mansfield.
25th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Half a MILLION Britons shun holidays amid Brexit fear - avoiding European destinations

British holidaymakers are shunning trips overseas – with the looming presence of Brexit uncertainty potentially playing a part. The number of trips abroad taken by UK residents has dropped, according to new figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The data put overseas travel and tourism and trips made in November and December 2018 under the spotlight. The final months of last year marked a period of deep uncertainty amid the UK’s Brexit outlook.
25th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

Brexit: Agri-tech company says lack of progress 'frustrating'

Northern Ireland agri-tech company Devenish has said Brexit will cost it approximately £1.7m next year. Chief executive Richard Kennedy told BBC News NI's Inside Business programme that the lack of progress had been frustrating. Headquartered in Belfast, Devenish has manufacturing sites and offices across the world. Mr Kennedy said the rough calculation of costs still stands even in the event of a commercially favourable Brexit.
25th Mar 2019 - BBC

Yes, there's a petition in favour of a no-deal Brexit

Over five million people have signed a petition to revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU. It’s the biggest petition in parliamentary history, and the one with the fastest sign-up. But what about if you’re a hard-line Brexiteer and don’t want to be left out? Don’t worry, there’s an alternative petition you can sign.
25th Mar 2019 - Metro.co.uk

Revoke Article 50 Brexit petition reaches five million signatures

A petition to stop Brexit now has now surpassed five million signatures - making it the most popular to ever be submitted to the Parliament website. The Revoke Article 50 campaign has now overtaken a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum which reached 4.1 million signatures.
25th Mar 2019 - Manchester Evening News

Lorry drivers ‘mystified’ at start of no-deal Brexit speed limits

Lorry drivers are “mystified” as to why no-deal Brexit plans have been brought in so early, branding the idea “inflexible” and “outdated”. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) made the claim today after the deployment of Operation Brock, which sees lorries heading for Europe driving at 30mph along the coastbound carriage of the M20. All other traffic, including lorries carrying out UK deliveries, must now use a 50mph contraflow of two lanes in each direction on the London-bound side of the road.
25th Mar 2019 - The Scotsman

Housebuilders fear Brexit will lead to timber prices rise

Scotland’s builders are concerned that Brexit could lead to an increase in timber import prices and see vital funding for major infrastructure projects disappear, according to construction and property consultancy Thomas & Adamson.
25th Mar 2019 - Scottish Construction Now

The show must go on: How Brexit is dominating the British arts world

When Article 50 was triggered in 2017, Sky Arts responded by inviting 50 artists from various disciplines to consider what it means to be British. They have invested £2 million in the project, which begins today with a four-part series, plays and art works across the country. Philip Edgar-Jones, director of Sky Arts and head of entertainment at Sky, hopes to lighten the mood: “We didn’t want this series to be dark and brooding. One thing that really does unite us in the UK is humour.”
25th Mar 2019 - Evening Standard

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 25th Mar 2019

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Brexit: Kent County Council prepares for no-deal disruption

A council has employed extra staff, stockpiled supplies and warned schools against closing as it prepares for six months of no-deal Brexit disruption. Kent County Council is preparing for queues on the M20 and backlogs at the Port of Dover if existing border arrangements end next Friday. Additional trading standards officers are in place at the port. Schools have been told to suspend teaching and take on a "carer role" rather than closing if short staffed. Advice to head teachers warns that closing schools could "result in several hundred working parents having to leave their place of work to look after their child".
21st Mar 2019 - BBC

Operation Brock: M20 to partially close in no-deal Brexit test

23rd Mar 2019 - Sky News

Kent schools warned to plan for stranded children under no deal Brexit

22nd Mar 2019 - iNews

DfE preparing for pupils who 'can't get home' in no deal Brexit

22nd Mar 2019 - TES

Brexit: This is what business uncertainty looks like

"I think stockpiling will continue for the next six months at least, until everybody knows how the transition periods are going to work, if there is an agreement made, so we know how the border control processes work and settle down. "Personally I just want to see a decision made so that the industry, the whole of the industry, can get on with doing their jobs. 110% capacity is not an efficient way to operate but we need to service our customers and make sure their needs are met so we are squeezing every ounce of space that we can out of the units."
22nd Mar 2019 - Sky News

Brexit: Petition to remain in the EU hits 3 million signatures

A petition calling on the UK to revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU has gathered more than four million signatures in under three days. By 14.30 CET on Saturday it had attracted more than 4.2m names making it the most popular one ever on the UK parliament's website. "The government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is 'the will of the people'," it reads. "We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now, for remaining in the EU. A People's Vote may not happen - so vote now."
23rd Mar 2019 - Euronews

No-deal Brexit: What is the UK government doing to prepare?

EU leaders have agreed on a plan to delay the Article 50 process, offering to postpone Brexit for at least two weeks beyond the original 29 March exit day. Theresa May says she still wants to leave the EU with a deal, but if she cannot win the support of MPs then the possibility of a no-deal Brexit remains. So with the clock still ticking, what is the government doing to prepare for a no-deal Brexit?
23rd Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit fears boost British tourism

Uncertainty about Brexit is the biggest single problem facing UK businesses right now. However, for some sectors that uncertainty is proving to be a real benefit. The British tourism industry has seen a surge in business so far this year. Ashbourne Heights Holiday Park in Derbyshire’s Peak District has seen its bookings rise by over 60%.
22nd Mar 2019 - BBC

I spoke to 40 UK-based Polish women about Brexit – here's what I found

Then there are those, mostly with families, whose livelihoods cannot be that easily transferred to another place. These women are therefore anxious about Brexit – particularly on how it may effect their children’s future. Ksenia, for example, told me: “I might have to apply for residency or citizenship, which is costly. Now that I started a family here and I have a child here, that’s linked to new worries. Will I have problems accessing the NHS or getting social assistance?”
22nd Mar 2019 - The Conversation - UK

Will Mini Plant Oxford move shutdown date because of Brexit?

Oxford's Mini plant will not be moving its planned shutdown period despite the UK's Brexit date shifting by at least two weeks. EU leaders last night agreed an extension to article 50, meaning the UK will not now leave the union until April 12 at the earliest. Prime Minister Theresa May was told if she can get her deal through parliament next week then the withdrawal date could be further extended until May 22 in order to pass the necessary legislation. But the last-minute developments won't impact on BMW's plans to close its Cowley factory for four weeks after the original Brexit date of March 29.
22nd Mar 2019 - Oxford Mail

Brexit go slow protests - when they will happen on M6, M62, M4, M5, A494 and A30

A go-slow protest at the way Brexit has been handled is expected to cause traffic chaos at locations throughout the UK later today. The Brexit Protest and Direct Action Group UK, which now has 24,000 Facebook members, is scheduled to take its campaign to ...
23rd Mar 2019 - Daily Post

Ports braced for Brexit protests, with further go-slows planned on M62 at Manchester and Warrington

Holyhead Port is bracing itself for a Brexit protest tonight. The Brexit Protest and Direct Action Group UK, which now has more than 24,000 Facebook members, is set to demonstrate there over the Government's handling of leaving the EU. According to campaign leader Ian Charlesworth, from Deeside, a convoy of vehicles is set to roll into Holyhead Port at 10pm (March 23) - but what form the protest will take is yet to be fully decided.
23rd Mar 2019 - Daily Post

The Brexit blockades that are confirmed as going ahead (including on the M5) as cost of protests to the South West is revealed

The planned action has been branded as 'hopelessly irresponsible' by Tim Jones, chairman of the South West Business Council. Mr Jones said: "Our usual estimate for disruption on this vital route is £1million an hour, but given the timing on what is the most crucial time of the week for deliveries and employee movements, I think you can easily add 25 per cent to that. "It is hopelessly irresponsible and flies in the face of how the South West economy supports itself. Small businesses cannot withstand this and this is literally taking cash away from people."
22nd Mar 2019 - Gloucestershire Live

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 22nd Mar 2019

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UK businesses watch Brexit political chaos with ‘sense of horror’

Britain needs a whole new plan if politicians are to avoid a chaotic departure from the EU, according to the director-general of the UK’s largest business association, the CBI. Carolyn Fairbairn said businesses were looking at the parliamentary infighting around Brexit with “a sense of absolute horror”.
20th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Post-Brexit trade ruling sparks accusations of a ‘land grab’

European fund managers have called on regulators to reconsider plans that would prevent them from trading some of Britain’s biggest stocks in London in a no-deal Brexit, amid accusations that the EU is mounting a “land grab” of UK share trading. Investors were surprised by a ruling late on Tuesday from the European Securities and Markets Authority, the pan-European administrator, which detailed some 6,200 stocks that EU-registered investors would have to trade in the EU if the UK leaves the bloc without a deal. The list included 14 stocks whose home listing is in London and which trade overwhelmingly on the city’s main exchange, such as Vodafone, Rio Tinto and BP. All 6,200 stocks are either EU-based or have a second, highly active listing in London, such as Ryanair.
20th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

NHS could be short of 100,000 nurses in a decade

A report co-authored by the Nuffield Trust, Health Foundation and King’s Fund predicts that in the next five years nurse shortages will double and GP gaps nearly treble if major action isn’t taken. The health think tanks suggest a combination of international recruitment, student grants, a significant overhaul of the current system and an investment of at least £900m is needed to address the widening workforce gap. It recommends offering a £5,200 grant for living expenses to student nurses, tripling the number of postgraduates in training and bringing 5,000 more students onto nursing courses every year.
21st Mar 2019 - Nursing Notes

Next profits fall but boss says Brexit not affecting spending

Profits at retail chain’s stores slump by more than a fifth but online arm reports growth. CEO says customers are numb to Brexit and the results do not relate to it
21st Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Kent pupils could be left stranded by no-deal Brexit gridlock, warns council

Teachers in schools in Kent have been told they may have to suspend classes and “adopt a carer role” in the event of disruption caused by a no-deal Brexit. The warning comes as the government confirms it has activated a team in a nuclear-proof bunker under the Ministry of Defence to provide army support in a no-deal scenario. No-deal planning will move from the Cabinet Office to daily meetings of the government’s emergency committee Cobra from next week. Also the military’s Operation Redfold will have authority to direct some 3,500 military personnel to move food and fuel and help with traffic congestion in Kent.
21st Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit and How Japanese Companies Are Navigating Its Uncertainties

Japanese companies that have invested in Britain offer an interesting example of how international business is coping with the political tumult roiling the UK economy over Brexit. Japanese firms operating in the UK and the Japanese ambassador to London have been uncharacteristically outspoken about their dissatisfaction with Brexit and its inept handling by British politicians. However, they are not rushing to exit the UK. Instead, they are making limited, defensive moves while they wait for clarity to emerge from the chaos.
21st Mar 2019 - Harvard Business Review

Brexit is 'real risk' to Scottish firms

"We're at quite a serious point," Aquascot's CEO Mr Overton told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme. "If we do see a no-deal exit from the EU, that's gong to be problematic to quite a number of players in the food and drink sector. "It's probably most extreme for those people who export high-value perishable products and seafood. Shellfish, farmed salmon and farmed trout come into that." He added: "We're heading into a period - it could be in the coming weeks - of real risk. "That risk has been looked at and thought about, but frankly it's a big challenge. (There are) big red flashing lights on at the moment."
21st Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Europe's no-deal preparation 'falls short', say businesses

Business lobby groups have written to the European Commission, warning that its own no-deal Brexit plans "fall short of what is needed to limit major disruptions", Newsnight has learned. The letter is from Business Europe - an umbrella body for lobby groups across the EU, including Britain's CBI. It warns of possible disruption to flights, drug supply shortages and data-sharing interruptions. The Commission said it was in frequent contact with stakeholders. But the document suggests European companies - not just UK firms - are extremely nervous about the economic repercussions of a no-deal Brexit on 29 March.
21st Mar 2019 - BBC

Firms that planned for a no-deal Brexit in March now plan for June

Companies braced for a no-deal Brexit may empathise. Those with contingency plans for March 29th surely feel relieved that the government is trying to extend the Article 50 talks. Nine in ten firms prefer an extension to crashing out, according to the Confederation of British Industry (cbi), a lobby group. Yet the prospect of a short delay, with no new plan for how to agree on a deal, merely moves the cliff edge back. Firms that had hoped to cancel their costly no-deal plans must now remake them.
21st Mar 2019 - The Economist

UK's top toilet roll supplier stockpiling in case of no-deal Brexit

One of the UK’s biggest suppliers of toilet and kitchen roll has been stockpiling about 3.5m rolls in UK warehouses in preparation for a no-deal Brexit. The German firm Wepa said it had been storing an extra 600 tonnes of toilet and kitchen roll in the last three to four months to safeguard supplies in Britain, in case the UK crashes out of the EU without an agreement on 29 March. The company has also built six weeks’ supplies of the cardboard core used inside the rolls, as this cannot be sourced from the UK in sufficient quantities and is imported from EU countries in eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
21st Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: Toilet paper maker stockpiles in a case of no-deal

21st Mar 2019 - BBC

'Go-slow' protest planned on the M62 motorway over Brexit

Brexit - or lack of it - appears to be dominating all parts of society. Now protests over delays to the process of leaving the European Union are even being planned for the M62 motorway. Dozens of members of the Brexit Protest and Direct Action Group UK Facebook group have said they would be taking part in a 40mph 'go-slow' drive between Leeds and Liverpool on Saturday, reports Examiner Live. The protest action could see traffic in both directions affected, with protesters travelling westbound from Leeds to junction 18 at Simister Island, and eastbound from Liverpool to the same junction. Almost 60 members of the group have signed up so far.
21st Mar 2019 - Manchester Evening News

Small firms have 'no resources' for no-deal Brexit planning

Small businesses are resigned to whatever happens with Brexit as they do not have the resources to plan for a no-deal scenario, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. The organisation has told Sky News that many are finding it impossible to make decisions ahead of a week's time when the UK could be leaving the EU if the prime minister's efforts to agree an extension to the current 29 March deadline fail. Alan Soady, from the FSB, said: "A lot of small businesses don't have the kind of resources, and specialist teams to do contingency planning. "They don't have the money or expertise. That's why many have found it so difficult to plan, and prepare for the possibility of an unplanned no deal.
21st Mar 2019 - Sky News

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 21st Mar 2019

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Brexit food stockpiling loan ad banned

A financial services company has been ordered not to reuse an advert in which it tried to persuade people to take out a loan, in case they wanted to stockpile food because of Brexit. Cash On Go, trading as Peachy.co.uk, sent out an email saying, "it's a good idea to have a little stockpile ready." The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint from a reader who said the advert was irresponsible. Peachy said it referred to Brexit light-heartedly and to make it topical.
20th Mar 2019 - BBC

Watchdog bans advert encouraging loans to fund Brexit food stockpiles

20th Mar 2019 - The Independent

UK aiming to keep EHICs if there's a no-deal Brexit - but they may not work on exit day

The UK Government has proposed to EU member states that the European Health Insurance Card arrangement should stay the same until the end of 2020, even if we leave the European Union with no deal - but says protections may not be in place on the day we leave. In a written statement to Parliament, health minister Stephen Hammond wants to guarantee that the "reciprocal healthcare rights", which include the use of the EHIC, will remain until the end of 2020 if a no-deal Brexit occurs. If there's a deal the rights will remain until at least the end of 2020. But Hammond adds that whilst steps have been taken to ensure this does occur, EHICs "may no longer be valid" in a no deal scenario.
20th Mar 2019 - Money Saving Expert

UK manufacturers in despair at Brexit impasse, says CBI

Britain’s manufacturers are in despair at the failure of politicians to end the Brexit impasse, according to the CBI, which reported a drop in output in March as businesses cut back production. Export order books increased among the 358 manufacturers in the survey, supported by the low level of sterling, but this was cancelled out by a decline in domestic demand to leave the industry in a weakened position ahead of a decision in parliament on Brexit. The total orders balance fell back to +1% in March after picking up to +6% in February from a three-month low of -1% in January, the CBI said. Prospects for the industry were likely to worsen following the recent slowing in the global economy, which was expected to undermine the demand from foreign buyers for UK manufactured goods.
20th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

UK retirees in EU say NHS plans under no-deal Brexit are 'sick'

The government has been described as sick and uncaring by an organisation representing more than 10,000 British nationals in Europe over NHS healthcare plans for pensioners in a no-deal Brexit scenario. British nationals who have retired to EU countries have reacted with fury to what they describe as an insulting and offensive offer by the government to cover healthcare costs for up to one year if they had applied for or are undergoing treatment before exit day. This is in contrast to the current reciprocal arrangement whereby the NHS reimburses EU member states for treatment of those who have paid into the UK national insurance system for a qualifying number of years.
20th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Unprecedented drug shortage linked to Brexit, NHS bosses say

Hospitals across England are experiencing medicine shortages due to "stockpiling and price pressure as the Brexit deadline approaches", NHS Providers has told BBC Newsnight. The trade association warned some trusts had seen shortages of up to 160 different drugs in the past six weeks. This was compared with just 25 to 30 drugs in normal times, it said. The Department of Health said there was "no evidence" the "small number of supply issues" were related to Brexit.
20th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit: How one French port town is preparing

Dieppe, on the Normandy coast, is tied to Sussex by centuries of sea crossings. Nowadays, the ferry from Newhaven is a gateway to France - carrying up to 40 lorries and 600 passengers two or three times a day in each direction. As the UK makes preparations for a possible no-deal exit from the EU, how are people in Dieppe responding?
20th Mar 2019 - BBC

Sunderland Council plans post-Brexit Nissan lorry park

A council is planning to create a temporary lorry park to help Nissan deal with any post-Brexit port delays. Sunderland City Council is planning a six-month lease at Deptford Terrace to create a waiting area for lorries bound for the Washington factory. It said there was already a "problem" with lorries parking around the area awaiting a delivery slot. The authority estimates delays at ports could see a "two-fold increase" in the number of waiting lorries. In an email sent to councillors by the Chief Officers Group, council bosses said: "Were there to be delays at ports nationally as a result of a No Deal EU Exit, then supply lorries would set off earlier to meet their delivery deadlines and overnight parking could increase greatly."
20th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit: The choice facing British citizens living in Germany

The continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit means the rights of UK citizens living in EU countries are still to be guaranteed. Instead of waiting to see what's in store, an increasing number of British people abroad are applying for citizenship in the European country where they live and work. Germany was the place that welcomed most new citizens from the UK in the year following the referendum.
20th Mar 2019 - BBC

The Scream: Munch London show 'not intentionally timed with Brexit'

Curator at British Museum says date of exhibition featuring artwork is 'pure serendipity' - having conceived the exhibition five years ago, the timing of its opening, according to its curator, Giulia Bartrum, is “pure serendipity – certainly at the moment when we are all worrying about bloody Brexit. But that’s actually sheer coincidence.”
20th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

What No Deal Brexit tariffs mean and how cost of imported Volkswagen cars, steak and cheese could rise – but it means cheaper wine

Shoppers could pay more for items such as steak and cheese, cars and clothing as a result of a no deal Brexit - but it will also make hundreds of products cheaper. Usually there's no tax - known as a "tariff" to pay on goods being imported into the UK from the EU. But if a trade deal with the EU isn't agreed, a tax on one in 10 European Union imports to the UK will be introduced. And there's a fear that these higher taxes could be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices. The temporary tariff regime would last for the first 12 months after a no deal Brexit while the Government comes up with a permanent solution. Some observers see the move as a threat to the EU from Theresa May, to convince them to give Britain a better Brexit deal or see taxes slapped on their exports.
20th Mar 2019 - The Sun

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 20th Mar 2019

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Brexit: Less than half of trusted trader applications approved

Less than half of the applications from UK firms for "trusted trader" status have been approved by HMRC since 2016, Newsnight has learned. The status is a quality marker, which the government says allows firms to fast-track their shipments through customs. This could be crucial if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Hauliers say they have been given "chaotic information". HMRC said businesses must "meet strict compliance standards" for the status.
19th Mar 2019 - BBC

UK business groups urge Theresa May to come up with Brexit plan B

British business groups that threw their weight behind Theresa May’s Brexit deal are now pressing Downing Street to come up with a “plan B” in case she fails to get her agreement through the House of Commons. The prime minister received lukewarm support from business leaders for her withdrawal agreement when it was agreed with the EU in November, with many backing it mainly because it prevented the severe disruption of a no-deal Brexit. But now executives are increasingly anxious that if parliamentary gridlock continues, the UK could crash out of the EU without a deal on March 29 when it is scheduled to leave the bloc. They also worry that if the Brexit deadline is extended, political paralysis will continue if Mrs May fails to devise an alternate plan.
19th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Where is the DUP’s £1bn ‘bung’? Our schools and hospitals are broke

David Sterling, head of the Northern Ireland civil service, complained: “Our system of government was not intended to function in the absence of elected representatives … Without ministers, we have no one with a democratic mandate to set new policies … There is also ongoing work regarding planning for the sensible spend of the [£1bn] moneys. However, this is another area where the absence of ministers is handicapping us.”
19th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

No-deal Brexit: UK to pay some health costs of retired Britons in EU

The government has thrown a potential £500m Brexit lifeline to 180,000 British pensioners in EU countries outside the UK who rely on the NHS to pay for their healthcare. The health minister, Stephen Hammond, has said the government is committed to covering all treatments that began before exit day for up to 12 months afterwards in the event of no deal. “The UK government has committed to fund healthcare for UK nationals (and others for whom the UK is responsible) who have applied for, or are undergoing, treatments in the EU prior to and on exit day, for up to one year, to protect the most vulnerable,” he said in a ministerial written statement.
19th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Cancer doctor shortage threatens patient welfare says report

A shortage of cancer specialists could be putting patients at risk, according to a new report. The study from the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) said cancer centres were reporting "dire" staffing levels with more than half of vacant posts being empty for more than a year. It said almost 1,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every day and demand for radiotherapy is going up 2% every year, while demand for chemotherapy is rising 4% a year. In 2018, there were 863 full-time equivalent clinical oncology consultants working across the UK's 62 cancer centres.
19th Mar 2019 - Sky News

7 Brexit terms no-one ever wants to hear ever again

There are now several phrases and terms which have sufferers of Brexit fatigue people running as soon as they hear them Perhaps the most devastating damage caused by Brexit has been to the English language. The Mirror discusses seven terms which people are starting to get fatigued with hearing
19th Mar 2019 - Daily Mirror

Plans for Brexit blockade on M5 to bring 'huge area' to standstill could take place this weekend

Lorry drivers could stage their anti-EU blockade on the M5 as early as this this weekend, it can be revealed. Brexit Direct Action is calling on drivers to block major motorways around the country if the Government does not leave the European Union on Friday, March 29.
19th Mar 2019 - Somerset Live

Brexit 'information vacuum' fuelling NHS drug shortages, trust bosses warn

Hospitals are already facing drugs shortages as a consequence of Brexit, with an "information vacuum" hampering their ability to plan for no deal, NHS trust leaders have warned. One hospital chief executive said they are currently unable to source more than 160 medicines on a daily basis, an increase from about 30 in normal circumstances. Other chief executives said Brexit had already had a negative impact on staffing, with EU nurses and doctors leaving the service, and poses a threat to future vaccination programmes and the maintenance of hospital infrastructure. All complained of a lack of meaningful guidance from NHS England to local hospital trusts, describing planning as "high-level and sketchy" and "like navigating through treacle"
19th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Man mocked for "drunkenly" spending over £600 on no-deal Brexit stockpile

A woman has mocked her husband on Twitter after he "drunkenly" ordered £600 worth of items in preparation for a no-deal Brexit. Juliet East shared a picture of husband Tony Smollett's supermarket haul, which includes 144 rolls of toilet paper, more than 50 tins of food and numerous bottles of wine. In the post, she wrote: "THIS is what my husband's drunken £600 No Deal shop looks like"
19th Mar 2019 - Sky News

'It could be terrible for us': how one British high street is preparing for Brexit

Ordering and delivering within 24 hours will not be possible. I worry the flower business will go online and never come back,” he says. “And, personally, I won’t go there.” Bothamley’s Dutch suppliers are worried, too, he tells me, adding that Holland is a world centre for the flower trade. “They can manage without us.” He needs them, however. We look around the shop; even the South African proteas come via the Netherlands. There is one jug of daffodils from Lincolnshire. “People don’t like the air miles, but it’s a global business. Practically every carnation on sale comes from Colombia. Those roses are Italian.”
19th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

'A riskier place to go': academics avoid conferences in Brexit Britain

According to Sandro Carnicelli, senior lecturer in events and tourism management at the University of the West of Scotland, UK academics may also find going to conferences more difficult. “Most academics are funded by research projects and a lot of those projects are European,” he says. “Some partners in Europe are cautious about including British academics in proposals for funding, because they believe there may be issues in getting funding approved.”
19th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: Holders of UK licences in Ireland face weeks off road

Holders of UK driving licences who have applied to swap them for Irish permits due to Brexit have been told they must stay off the road possibly for weeks while awaiting new licences. There are thousands of UK licence holders in Ireland, who have been advised to change their licences as they will be invalid in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Fianna Fáil transport spokesman Robert Troy said the Road Safety Authority (RSA) confirmed to him a demand of up to 500 applications per day was being seen. Amid backlogs caused by a rush of applications for licence exchange, drivers are being told by the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) that it is illegal for them to drive until they get their new permits.
19th Mar 2019 - The Irish Times

Citi sets post-Brexit Frankfurt trading hub in motion

Citigroup’s new broker-dealer in Frankfurt is now fully operational as the US bank finalises its Brexit contingency plans with political negotiations stuck in limbo less than two weeks before the UK’s official leaving date. Citi’s German investment firm has begun trading on the main European exchanges and issuing in capital markets on behalf of institutional and corporate clients that can no longer be served through its British entities, the lender said. It has also begun clearing on the Eurex exchange. Unable to wait any longer, in recent months banks have put the finishing touches to their structural changes as the UK heads into more Brexit uncertainty after parliament rejected the deal on offer.
19th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

No-deal Brexit could mean £130m hit to research budgets

Universities have raised the alarm about the potential loss of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of EU grants from the UK in the case of a no-deal Brexit. They warned that life-changing research “could be days away from stalling” and urged the government to set up contingency plans to protect UK access to research funding. Researchers who have submitted applications for the latest round of funding from the European Research Council (ERC) say they are still in the dark about what will happen to their submissions in the case of no deal.
19th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Scots living in remote communities claim they are ‘f*****’ because of Brexit

Scots living in remote areas have issued a stark warning that “we are f*****” as result of Brexit, an official report as revealed. The blunt language appears in a document published by Scottish Rural Action (SRA). It featured on a side banner on page four of the document.
19th Mar 2019 - The Scotsman

Overseas students choose UK business schools despite Brexit

The percentage of overseas students making Britain their first choice for business school has increased since the EU referendum, suggesting that fears about Brexit damaging the sector were overblown. The resilience of the British market is attributed to declines in the value of the pound after the vote to leave the EU, which has made tuition fees in Britain relatively cheap for international students, particularly for people who would otherwise apply to US business schools.
19th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

@PortdeCalais HVs drivers: for a rapid transit, those documents will be needed on the port of Calais: International consignment note (CMR) The Master reference number MRN (barcode) If you are transporting sanitary or phytosanitary goods: the pre-notification document

BREXIT: From 29/03 00.00, HVs drivers: for a rapid transit, those documents will be needed on the port of Calais: International consignment note (CMR) The Master reference number MRN (barcode) If you are transporting sanitary or phytosanitary goods: the pre-notification document
19th Mar 2019 - @PortdeCalais

How Brexit will affect UK travel – from visas to traffic delays at the Eurotunnel

On February 1, EU ambassadors agreed to allow UK citizens visa-free travel to Europe - even with a no deal Brexit. This means Brits travelling to any of the 26 countries in the borderless Schengen area will be allowed visa-free travel for a temporary stay for up to 90 days. The allotted 90 days can be taken in any 180-day period. The European Council said its decision was based on an assumption that EU nationals would enjoy the same privilege when heading to the UK for a short stay. And they warned that a visa would quickly be imposed should that not be the case. The European Parliament is now expected to pass the decision into legislation.
19th Mar 2019 - The Sun

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 19th Mar 2019

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Cancer doctor shortage threatens patient welfare says report

A shortage of cancer specialists could be putting patients at risk, according to a new report. The study from the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) said cancer centres were reporting "dire" staffing levels with more than half of vacant posts being empty for more than a year. It said almost 1,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every day and demand for radiotherapy is going up 2% every year, while demand for chemotherapy is rising 4% a year. In 2018, there were 863 full-time equivalent clinical oncology consultants working across the UK's 62 cancer centres.
19th Mar 2019 - Sky News

M1 and 'all major roads in Yorkshire' set to be targeted by Pro-Brexit go slow protests

Angry lorry drivers are set to stage a nationwide pro-Brexit go-slow protest which could bring Britain's motorways to a standstill. Truck and HGV drivers across the country are planning a series of demonstrations across the UK on Friday and Saturday, threatening to disrupt rush hour traffic.
18th Mar 2019 - The Yorkshire Post

Brexit crisis tipped for British asparagus as EU seasonal workers stay away

Uncertainty over eastern Europeans’ employment rights and how long they can stay, combined with a fall in the value of the pound, meant Germany and the Netherlands were now considered more attractive destinations. “They go somewhere which is most straightforward and any, even minor, hurdles you put in their way is just nudging them ever closer to going somewhere else,” he said. With just 11 days to go until Britain is due to leave the EU, the government is yet to agree a withdrawal arrangement or an extension, meaning the risk of a disorderly “no-deal” Brexit cannot be ruled out.
18th Mar 2019 - Reuters UK

Brexit billionaire chooses BMW engine for 'British' 4x4 project

The UK’s richest man, expat Brexit supporter Jim Ratcliffe, has enlisted Germany’s BMW to supply engines for a “British” successor to the Land Rover Defender, after handing the vehicle design contract to another German firm last year. Ineos, the chemicals company Ratcliffe founded in 1998 that is responsible for his estimated £21bn fortune, said BMW had joined a partnership aiming to build an “uncompromising” new 4x4 vehicle. He called the tie-up with BMW a “major step forward” in its plans, called Projekt Grenadier, to build a vehicle to be marketed to customers around the world.
18th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Hundreds of Scottish police on standby for Brexit fallout

Police in Scotland will be ready to respond to any emergencies during an “unprecedented set of circumstances” after Brexit, a senior officer has said, with hundreds of officers ready to step in should protests or logistical issues arise. Assistant chief constable Steve Johnson, Police Scotland’s EU exit tactical commander, said the force would be prepared to handle a range of potential challenges presented within the coming months. It included having 360 officers on standby to cover unforeseen eventualities. Johnson, who met the Scottish justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, said preparations would extend to any delays at ports, as well as possible political protests.
18th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: Wales sets out environment protection plans

Action to ensure protection of wildlife and the environment is not lost after Brexit has been unveiled by the Welsh Government. It said it was committed to maintaining and enhancing existing standards. But a 12-week consultation will ask how potential breaches of environmental law should be investigated in future. Nature groups have warned that time is running out to get these safeguards in place.
18th Mar 2019 - BBC

Travelodge targets parents to fill post-Brexit staffing gap

Budget hotel chain Travelodge is targeting parents who want to return to work to fill a potential post-Brexit staffing gap if EU worker numbers fall. It plans to open 100 new hotels creating 3,000 jobs by 2023, and says it hopes to attract parents by offering flexible hours and school hour roles. The firm, which in 2012 was on the brink of administration, reported strong sales and profits for last year. Travelodge said sales rose 8.8% to £693.3m in 2018. Staff from the EU make up nearly a quarter of all jobs in the hospitality sector. But there are concerns that proposed regulations could dictate what type of workers are allowed to come to the UK after Brexit. The government is consulting on a minimum salary requirement of £30,000 for foreign workers seeking five-year visas.
18th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit or no Brexit, universities must be bridge across a Europe simmering with discontent

Looking around the situation in Europe can be an uncomfortable experience for those who believe in inclusive, open and progressive societies. The rise of populism in many capitals and a growing disregard for evidence-based policymaking is worrying, particularly for those of us working in universities with a mission to advance our collective knowledge base and to work collaboratively to meet the problems our societies face. No part of Europe is immune. We have seen discontent in France, Italy, and even in countries which in the last 30 to 40 years have been more stable politically, like Germany and the UK. Universities spanning countries and sharing education and ideas, can be the beginning of a process to put some of what has been lost together again once more
18th Mar 2019 - The Telegraph

Brexit fears dampen spring property revival as asking prices fall

Brexit anxiety has all but killed the traditional spring property revival, pushing down asking prices across the UK by 0.8% in the year to March, according to property website Rightmove. Inner London saw the sharpest falls, followed by boroughs across the rest of the capital and surrounding counties, as separate reports showed that Brexit uncertainty was also damaging UK exports and the broader economy.
18th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Revealed: The Swindon hospital risk assessments for no-deal Brexit

In one risk assessment, GWH’s head of procurement warned hospital executives: “There could be difficulties in manufacturers sustaining support (repair, parts and documentation) for devices, if we are not part of an agreement with the EU.” The hospital said it had contacted EU-citizens on the staff roster, informing them of changes to the rules requiring non-UK nationals to pay for settled status. The staff turnover rate for EU nationals was lower now than it was six-months-ago. Currently, it stands at almost 19 per cent compared to 23 per cent half a year ago.
18th Mar 2019 - Swindon Advertiser

Northern Ireland’s farmers urge DUP to back Brexit deal

Ivor Ferguson has farmed quietly in Northern Ireland's County Armagh for decades. But Brexit has thrust him into the political battle in faraway Westminster.
17th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Thousands of children 'could become undocumented' after Brexit

Thousands of children of EU nationals risk becoming a new “Windrush generation”, a children’s legal charity has said. They are concerned that vulnerable children could become undocumented in the same way as the Caribbean children who came to the UK decades ago only to suffer at the hands of the Home Office’s hostile environment decades later. An estimated 900,000 EU national children are in the UK with about 285,000 born in the country. Coram Children’s Legal Centre fears that children in foster care, in care homes, and others from vulnerable families could slip through the net of the new Home Office registration scheme for EU nationals after Brexit.
18th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Children's rights could suffer after Brexit, charity warns

18th Mar 2019 - Aljazeera

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 18th Mar 2019

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Brits spend over £4.6 billion as Brexit stockpiling peaks

Britons have spent over £4.6 billion stockpiling household goods in preparation for a hard Brexit, according to new research. A survey carried out by finance provider Premium Credit shows that 17% of the country has started hoarding food, drink and medicine – with about 2.4 million people having spent more than £500 stockpiling. A further 6.1 million have spent up to £500 while one in five, or 19%, have spent over £1,000 on hoarding. Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union in less than two weeks, but with Parliament in a deadlock over Brexit, the country is at acute risk of crashing out without a deal, causing havoc to supply chains. Of those stockpiling, 80% of people surveyed said they have done this with food, 63% with medicine and 43% with drinks
17th Mar 2019 - ITV News

Lorry drivers threaten to stage UK-wide blockades if Brexit is delayed

Truck drivers are reportedly planning to stage UK-wide blockades on highways if the country does not leave the EU on March 29. Brexit Direct Action, an anti-EU group, claims it has received lorry-loads of requests from Brexiteers to put on mass blockades of Britain’s major transport links, reports The Express. Brexit Direct Action wrote on Twitter: “Several social media groups have been in contact to ask if we’ll help gather support for a national truck drivers protest if #Brexit is delayed.” Another tweet said: “Brexiteers all over the country are planning to bring this country to its knees by blocking the main arterial routes - M1, M6 M25, M62, A1, A55, M5, M4, M42, M55, M61, A66 etc.
17th Mar 2019 - Somerset Live

Brexit protesters reveal when and where North Wales go-slow will take place

A go-slow on the A494 in protest at the Government's handling of Brexit will take place next week. The Brexit Protest and Direct Action Group has revealed it will be held on Friday, March 22, at 7pm.
15th Mar 2019 - Daily Post

BREXIT BLOCK: Lorry drivers threaten to CLOSE UK transport links if exit is delayed

Truck drivers are planning to stage UK-wide blockades on highways if the country does not leave the EU on March 29, which they would see as a “Brexit betrayal”.
17th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

Brexit’s most disturbing aspect is the casual adoption of extremist views

Brexit Britain has gone from the promises of sunny uplands to sounding like Gloria Gaynor – ‘we will survive’
16th Mar 2019 - The Irish Times

Irish passport applications averaged 3,000 every day this year ahead of Brexit

There has been almost a quarter of a million applications for Irish passports in less than three months, with more than 3,000 people on average applying every day so far this year. Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said more than 230,000 applications have been received to date this year. The figures mean there have been two applications every minute on average. Mr Coveney said the figures represent a 30 per cent increase on the same period last year. It comes after 2018 proved to be a record year with the highest number (860,000) of Irish passports ever issued.
17th Mar 2019 - The Independent

Visa extension to boost numbers of overseas students in UK after Brexit

International students will be given visa extensions of up to a year to look for work in the UK as part of a package of government measures to boost numbers of overseas students after Brexit. The move represents a break with current policy, where students are allowed to stay for just four months after graduation. Announcing the strategy, the Department for Education (DfE) said: “There is no limit on the number of international students that can study in the UK, and to ensure the UK continues to attract and welcome them, the post-study leave period will be extended to six months for undergraduate and master’s students, and a year for doctoral students.”
17th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Edinburgh tram extension is no Brexit insurance policy – John McLellan

It would be a fool who would predict that all the issues about Britain’s relationship with Europe will be resolved by Spring 2023, the latest date for the introduction of the new service, but even for supporters of the £207m project it is surely fanciful to claim that three miles of track is somehow an insurance policy against the worst vagaries of international relations. But we are, as they say, where we are. Brexit is in the hands of 650 people in Westminster, each seemingly with their own agenda which the Government has been powerless to control, but 36 people in the City Chambers have decided the tram completion should go ahead no matter what it costs or how long it takes.
17th Mar 2019 - The Scotsman

Brexit delay could cost millions in extra payments to ferry firms

Any delay to the UK leaving the EU could cost the government tens of millions in extra payments to keep its no-deal ferry contracts in place. The extra costs will be a fresh political blow to the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, after the collapse of one contract with an operator that had no ferries and a lawsuit by Eurotunnel that was settled out of court at a cost of £33m. It seems unlikely the contracts will now be realised after MPs voted to instruct Theresa May to seek an extension to article 50, which would delay Brexit beyond 29 March. According to the Financial Times, the cost of the delay could reach £28m. Brittany Ferries, which has contracts worth £46.6m under the deal, said the terms “included fair and proportionate compensation in a deal scenario, taking account of the significant preparatory work and concomitant costs incurred”.
16th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Sweden 'cannot guarantee Brits' future in no-deal Brexit', EU minister tells The Local - The Local

In an interview with The Local, Sweden's EU minister said he was currently unable to guarantee what the status of Brits in Sweden would be one year after a no-deal Brexit, but said he was confident that "any problems will be sorted out". "We don't really want [a no-deal Brexit] to happen. But if it does, and there is a serious risk that it might, then we feel that we are pretty well prepared for that situation," Hans Dahlgren told The Local. "It doesn't mean that would be without problems."
16th Mar 2019 - The Local Sweden

Doctors claim ‘Brexit is costing us lives’

Signatories claim that along with the funding issues the NHS is currently facing, the service is also overstretched due to the loss of thousands of European staff. “As doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals from the South East, we see the damage Brexit is already inflicting on our treasured National Health Service,” they added. “Make no mistake about it. Brexit is costing us lives. “No one voted to leave the NHS overstretched and underfunded. We were promised an extra £350 million a week. But today, our NHS is facing a nightmare.
16th Mar 2019 - Hampshire Chronicle

Brexit: Welsh farmers’ union calls for Article 50 to be revoked

One of the UK’s leading farmer representative bodies is calling for Article 50 – which set the original deadline for the country to leave the EU – to be revoked altogether. The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) says that the article should be revoked to better reflect the votes that took place in the UK parliament this week.
15th Mar 2019 - Agriland.ie

Ford Fears Double-Whammy From May's No-Deal Brexit Tariffs

Ford Motor Co. said it will be hit twice by U.K. tariffs to be imposed in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The U.S. company, which only makes engines in Britain, would be taxed on exporting them to assembly plants in mainland Europe and then face import duties for bringing finished vehicles back to the U.K. for sale, it said in a statement Wednesday. Competitors that manufacture engines elsewhere and then ship them to the U.K. for assembly, by contrast, would incur no charges thanks to a tariff-free regime that Prime Minister Theresa May’s government plans to offer for auto-component imports.
14th Mar 2019 - Bloomberg

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 15th Mar 2019

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House prices will fall this year as Brexit uncertainty freezes market, Budget watchdog predicts

House prices across the UK are expected to drop by the end of the year for the first time since 2012, according to an official Government watchdog. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which analyses the Government's finances, predict that house prices will fall by 0.3 per cent in 2019. It's a sharp contrast to its five-year forecast made in October 2018, which saw house prices rise by more than three per cent in the last three months of the year. Experts have blamed the lagging property market on a dragged out Brexit and lack of affordability.
14th Mar 2019 - The Sun

No deal Brexit could mean passports are checked at Porthcawl

Bridgend council also says its catering services, which takes care of catering in schools and care homes, have stockpiled six weeks of goods as a precautionary measure
14th Mar 2019 - Wales Online

Doctors given post-Brexit advice on patient prescriptions

Doctors and pharmacists are being told not to give patients extra prescriptions in advance after Brexit. The NHS has stockpiled medication in case of difficulties in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal at the end of this month. There have been concerns that it may be problematic to get some supplies into the country because of a potential backlog at ports.
14th Mar 2019 - Yorkshire Evening Post

Brexit confusion providing below cost bargain holidays for UK travellers

Senior travel industry executives surveyed by The Independent unanimously reported an apparent reluctance to commit to short breaks and longer holidays over the next few weeks in the run up to 29 March and across the Easter school break. They blame uncertainty over international travel in the event of a no-deal departure from the European Union (EU) – the present Brexit default. The consequences would range from British driving licences and the passports of millions of UK travellers losing validity for the EU, to confusion over arrangements for medical treatment. As a result, air fares and hotel rates are tumbling.
14th Mar 2019 - The Independent

Brexit uncertainty 'holds back house moves'

Buyers and sellers are "sitting tight" as Brexit uncertainty continues to freeze the UK property market, surveyors have said. Some 77% of members asked by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that the Brexit impasse was holding back activity. New buyer enquiries, sales, and homes being put on the market all fell in February, the survey said. This would mean a "challenging spring" for housing and the economy, it sa
14th Mar 2019 - BBC

The Young People Staring Down an Endless Brexit

For a number of reasons, Brexit has been an invidious political process. But one of the most unsettling has been the mismatch between the generations that voted for Britain’s departure and the generations that will have to bear the consequences. Around seventy per cent of those under the age of twenty-four voted Remain, while sixty per cent of those older than sixty-five voted Leave. “It’s really, really scary to watch politicians who are trying to implement something which the vast majority of us don’t want and have never wanted,”
14th Mar 2019 - The New Yorker

Austerity created this mental-health crisis. Brexit has sent it into overdrive

Calls not to politicise mental-health issues fall flat when an era of cuts and uncertainty sees our mental wellbeing plummet writes Dr Frances Ryan
14th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Tim Martin: ‘If there’s a no-deal Brexit I’ll bring the price of beer down’

Tim Martin says that the company’s four non-executive directors differ with him on Brexit: “I don’t talk to them much about it because it’s too emotional.” David Page, an old friend and founder of the Franco Manca pizza chain, who voted Remain, says it is “as personal to him as the pubs. I think he’s sad about how divisive it has become but when Tim makes up his mind, it takes an earthquake to change it.”
14th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Brexit Is Already Affecting UK Businesses — Here's How

According to a survey of over 7000 business leaders in the UK...We find that Brexit has been an important source of uncertainty for many UK businesses. We estimate that this led to a 6% reduction in investment in the first two years after the referendum, with employment also around 1.5% lower. And Brexit is likely to reduce future UK productivity by around half a percentage point via a batting average effect of output being reallocated away from higher productivity firms toward lower productivity ones. The majority of businesses anticipate that Brexit will eventually reduce sales and increase costs.
14th Mar 2019 - Harvard Business Review

Brexit: Farmers' Union of Wales and NFU want more time

Farming unions in Wales have called for more time until Brexit to protect the industry. The Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) urged MPs to reject a no-deal Brexit under all circumstances, while NFU said an extension to leaving the EU needed to be "as long as necessary". There are concerns a no-deal Brexit would have a "devastating impact" on Wales' lamb exports. Concerns have also been expressed within the steel and car industries. Meanwhile, First Minister Mark Drakeford said what was announced under the new tariff regime demonstrated the "catastrophic effect" a no-deal Brexit would have on the Welsh economy. "It exposes us immediately to all sorts of headwinds in terms of international trade that will make the task of securing jobs here in Wales in manufacturing, in agriculture, even more difficult," he said.
14th Mar 2019 - BBC

Classic car industry fears Trump and Brexit roadblock

The UK's continuing Brexit uncertainty is another factor said to be weighing heavily on the sector. Malcolm Barber, co-chairman of auction house Bonhams, which has its headquarters in London, says Brexit has led to "caution" among UK car collectors "as it has in most industries in Britain".
14th Mar 2019 - BBC

What a spike in toilet paper sales says about Brexit

While British lawmakers fumble through Brexit negotiations, sales of two items might hint at how the public is bracing for impact: toilet paper and painkillers. On a recent earnings call, David Potts, chief executive of British supermarket Morrisons, said that the chain had seen a “small amount” of stockpiling and that sales of these two goods had risen more than 7 percent in the past year. “We’ve seen quite a tick-up in painkillers and toilet rolls [sales],” Potts said, according to reporting from Reuters. “Whether that has any bearing on how people are feeling about Brexit, I don’t know.”
14th Mar 2019 - The Washington Post

Brexit: Unexploded bomb found at Chris Grayling's 'no-deal lorry park' airport

Bomb disposal crews have been called to Manston Airport - which the government may need to use as a lorry park if there's a no deal Brexit in 15 days
14th Mar 2019 - Daily Mirror

Brexit raises food safety concerns

Those arguing that the UK is woefully unprepared for its departure from the EU on 29 March were given further ammunition last week as the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee took evidence from Public Health Minister Steve Brine MP and Food Standards Agency Chair Heather Hancock. Although major preparations have been made, the Committee heard, significant uncertainty remains concerning the UK’s relationship with the EU on food safety issues. Brine said that the FSA would be highlighting to Defra (the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) the importance of continued scientific collaboration with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which undertakes food safety risk assessments on behalf of the EU, but admitted the terms were still a matter for negotiation. “We will not be able to contribute to the strategic direction of EFSA,” he said. “Access to EFSA’s risk assessments – that is a matter for negotiation. Their scientific opinions are made publicly available but the supporting data is not published. So following exit, if we don’t have access to the data, we may have to source our own.”
14th Mar 2019 - Fruitnet

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 14th Mar 2019

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Business leaders welcome rejection of no-deal Brexit but urge action

Business leaders welcomed MPs’ vote to reject a no-deal Brexit under any circumstances but urged the Government to turn it into action. The pound appeared to rise significantly after the vote on Wednesday as fluctuations in Sterling were driven by "politics instead of economics”, according to one expert. MPs have “voted in the interests of businesses and households” by voting to rule out leaving the European Union without a deal, according to the City of London Corporation’s policy chairwoman Catherine McGuinness. The move is a “victory for common sense”, she said.
13th Mar 2019 - Belfast Telegraph

Business leaders welcome rejection of no-deal Brexit but urge action

14th Mar 2019 - AOL.co.uk

Retailers welcome Commons no-deal Brexit rejection

The two main retail bodies in Northern Ireland and the Republic have welcome the rejection of a no-deal Brexit in the Commons On Wednesday night, a majority of MPs voted in favour of an amended motion ruling out the UK leaving the EU without a deal at any time and under any circumstance. While the motion is not legally-binding, Retail NI chief executive Glynn Roberts said it provides "some degree of certainty" for businesses and said the Commons must now agree to seek an extension to the Article 50 departure date of March 29.
13th Mar 2019 - Belfast Telegraph

UK VFX industry weighs the cost of Brexit

In either a deal or no deal scenario the cost of the government’s current immigration proposals could see work relocated away from Soho, denting the health of the wider creative industries. “If there is a down-turn in the UK VFX industry as a result of a restricted talent pool, I believe the loss will not only be an economic one,” says Antony Hunt, CEO of the Cinesite Group. “The UK film industry will also lose some of the ‘soft power’ – or cultural influence –we currently have in the world. That loss cannot be quantified but will be hard felt.”
13th Mar 2019 - IBC365

Brexit: How will the new tariff system work?

A no-deal Brexit has always meant that the UK would have greater flexibility to set its own trade tariffs. The government has now set out its plans on how it would take advantage of that opportunity. It has said it will cut tariffs to zero on 87% of the goods it imports if the UK leaves the European Union with no deal in place. Business Secretary Greg Clark told the BBC before Wednesday's publication of the plans that the changes would have "big implications" for some sectors
13th Mar 2019 - BBC

ID cards a possibility after Brexit, says UK immigration minister

Ministers could potentially consider some type of post-Brexit ID card system for the UK, the immigration minister has said, saying this would be a response to the sheer complexity of residence rules once free movement ends. Giving evidence to the EU home affairs subcommittee in the House of Lords, Caroline Nokes said particular difficulties could arise in the event of a no-deal Brexit, as there would be seven separate ways under which EU nationals could legally be in the UK.
13th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Morrisons sees signs of Brexit stockpiling by shoppers

Morrisons has revealed evidence of hoarding by customers as the clock ticks down to Brexit with the outcome still unclear. With just 16 days to go until the UK is due to leave the EU, the supermarket chain admitted it had seen sales growth in the high single digits for some essential items. Chief executive David Potts said: "We've seen quite a tick up in painkillers and toilet rolls this financial year. "Whether that's got any bearing on how people are feeling about the Brexit process, I don't know."
13th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Holidays on hold and uncertainty over pets as Brexit confusion continues

As the outcome of Brexit remains unknown, people in Derby are putting holidays on hold as they wait to understand what they might need when travelling to the European Union.
13th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Civil service stressed and floundering amid Brexit paralysis

With just 16 days until Brexit, evidence is emerging of deep tensions in Whitehall as the civil service battles to plan for a no-deal scenario. Civil servants say they have been frustrated by political paralysis, gripped by inter-departmental rows and shorn of key staff while trying to implement the biggest change to the state’s machinery since the second world war. Bob Kerslake, a former head of the civil service, said the root of this frustration was the failure of UK politicians to decide on a plan to leave the EU. “For every task in hand there are at least two streams – the deal and the no deal – and with it a duplication of tasks. What I am getting from them is a desire to serve the government but they cannot do so without instruction and time is running out to prepare properly, one way or the other.
13th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 13th Mar 2019

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Brexit news: Travel Insurance warning - medical fees could soar by 900 per cent in no deal

Brexit uncertainty could see travellers forking out almost 900 per cent extra for their medical care abroad, travel insurance experts have claimed. In the case of a no deal scenario, the protection offered by the current European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is unknown. Yet it might offer no assurances at all, with Admiral Travel Insurance estimating treatment for food poisoning could cost £2,000 should a British traveller fall ill overseas. Meanwhile for a more serious operation such as an appendix removal, this fee could surge by almost 900 per cent post March 29.
11th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

Sanofi building drug stockpiles ahead of Brexit | Business News

Hugo Fry, UK managing director of Sanofi, supplier of medicines including insulin and flu vaccines, reveals how it is preparing for Brexit.
12th Mar 2019 - Sky News

EasyJet shores up EU supply chain in case of no-deal Brexit

Low-cost airline easyJet is stockpiling parts for its aircraft in continental Europe, in case a no-deal Brexit severs its supply chains. Johan Lundgren, chief executive, said easyJet had also been transferring three aircraft a week to its new Austrian subsidiary, which now had a fleet of 130. He said the airline was “stockpiling” spare parts for the Austrian fleet, “so as part of our Brexit preparations we’re making sure we’re not reliant on spare parts . . . only in the UK”. He said easyJet had “pre-purchased a number of spare parts” and allocated them to the right facilities.
12th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Norton motorbike boss: Brexit has kicked us up the backside

He voted Remain, but now thinks that leaving the European Union could revolutionise Norton's fortunes. "All day long we would have preferred to remain but now we've looked and reviewed our business model in the light of Brexit," he told me. "We have the potential to be bigger, better and stronger, to go across a wider range of export territories than we would ever have looked at if we had stayed Remain." Mr Garner is a confident, cheerful and eloquent businessman with a background as unusual as his company.
12th Mar 2019 - Sky News

'IRA' says it is responsible for parcel bombs - police

A group calling itself the IRA says it was behind the parcel bombs sent to three London transport hubs and the University of Glasgow last week, according to police. Officers say the group claimed five devices were sent but only four have been found so far. Police Scotland and the Metropolitan Police have said the claim was received by a Northern Ireland media outlet using a recognised codeword.
12th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Brexit news: Brexit will see WINE and CAR prices rise - but you could have YOUR tax CUT

The most recent news to come out of Brexit has shown the price of wine and high-value cars could go up. According to a report by the Wine and Spirit Association, 99 percent of wine drunk in Britain is imported - and half of this is produced in the EU. According to a study done by the Journal of Wine Economics, customers may have to pay up to 25 percent more by 2025 in the event of a hard Brexit. If the UK exit the EU with a softer version of the withdrawal agreement, the price would only go up by 11 percent, the research shows.
12th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 12th Mar 2019

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Medicines and power station supplies will have priority on no-deal Brexit ferries ahead of food

Medicines and raw materials to keep power stations going will have the top priority for space on cross-Channel ferries if there is a no-deal Brexit - ahead of food supplies - the Government has revealed.
11th Mar 2019 - Daily Mail

Ryanair's UK investors to lose rights in no-deal Brexit

Airlines not majority-owned by EU nationals or companies risk losing ability to fly within bloc. So...British citizens who own shares in Ryanair will be barred from buying more stock, voting on company resolutions or attending annual shareholder meetings if a no-deal Brexit goes ahead, the Dublin-based carrier said on Monday.
11th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

'Absolutely devastating': British lamb farmers fear impact of no-deal Brexit

A so-called meaningful vote in Parliament due Tuesday evening could help determine the fate of Theresa May's Brexit deal — and so, too, the fate of millions of British lambs being born right now. At the heart of the issue is a no-deal Brexit scenario that could put the brakes on the export of prized British lamb. As Brexit and lambing season converge, an industry threatens to unravel in a costly, unpalatable mess. About 20 million lambs are born in the U.K. every year. There's way more domestic lamb than Brits actually consume, so well over a third is exported — and a full 90 per cent of those exports go to the European Union.
12th Mar 2019 - CBC News

No-deal Brexit would leave UK vulnerable to fresh horsemeat scandal

A no-deal Brexit could leave the UK vulnerable to ‘food fraud’ as a result of suppliers cutting corners in an attempt to offset rising prices, industry experts believe. One of the most high-profile instances of food fraud was the 2013 horsemeat scandal when it emerged multiple supermarkets were selling processed beef products that contained horsemeat.
11th Mar 2019 - iNews

Brexit no deal fear causes UK Passport website crash as Britons update their documents

Brexit sparked panic among British passport holders who flocked to renew their document on the website, only to be met with an error message on-screen. The UK Passport office’s official site crashed at the weekend as worried travellers sought to make sure theirs was fit for travel. Last month, Express.co.uk reported how millions could potentially be rendered invalid in light of a no deal Brexit. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit divorce deal will face a meaningful vote ahead of March 29, with further crucial House of Commons votes on the UK’s departure from the EU due this week.
11th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

Brexit: 10 ways you could be affected by no-deal

The BBC discuss 10 possible ways in which people might be affected by a No Deal Brexit
11th Mar 2019 - BBC

No-deal Brexit 'could bring return of low-welfare egg imports'

Billions of eggs produced by hens kept in battery cages could be back on the UK menu in the event of a no-deal Brexit unless the government acts to protect consumers, the industry will warn this week. The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) and the welfare group Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) have joined forces to seek assurances from ministers that consumers will not be exposed to eggs or egg products from non-EU countries such as the US, Ukraine, India and Argentina where animal welfare standards are significantly lower.
11th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit could spell disaster for Edinburgh tram extension

We are also only a couple of weeks away from Brexit day. Due to the inept Conservative government we don’t know even now, after two years of dithering and procrastination, whether we will leave with the awful deal negotiated by Mrs May, a “no deal” which would damage Edinburgh significantly or a delayed deal. Why does this matter? The business case for the new tram line relies on income from passengers. Those figures could change dramatically if numbers of passengers at Edinburgh Airport fall as a result of a “no deal” Brexit (for example). The case also relies on a special dividend from our excellent Lothian bus company.
11th Mar 2019 - Edinburgh News

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 11th Mar 2019

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Northern Ireland businesses voice fears of 'no deal' Brexit

More than 50 businesses have written an open letter to MPs expressing concern over the prospect of a 'no deal' Brexit. Local businesses believe that the failure to approve a deal with Europe on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will have significant repercussions for the local economy. Such a scenario will both hinder indigenous and foreign direct investment, it would result in significant job losses and will stifle opportunities for the next generation across Northern Ireland.
10th Mar 2019 - CBI

No-deal Brexit could damage Scotland’s housing sector, minister warns

A no-deal Brexit could cause serious problems for Scotland’s housing sector, the housing minister has warned. Kevin Stewart will say that leaving the EU without a deal could damage investor confidence in residential assets and the build-to-rent market when he writes to housing organisations and stakeholders next week. He will also say that inflation and interest rate fluctuation could affect rents, the financial health of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and the availability and cost of finance for new-build homes.
10th Mar 2019 - Yahoo!

Business owner fights back tears whilst talking about the damage that Brexit could do to her company

With just 20 days to go until Brexit and still no deal in sight or any idea as to what on Earth is going on, British people are starting to get worried.
10th Mar 2019 - Indy100.com

Science has dim view of Brexit voters’ brains

Researchers gave 11,225 volunteers psychological tests before the referendum and asked how they intended to vote. Results suggest that leavers tended to be less numerate, more impulsive and more prone to accept the unsupported claims of authoritarian figures. “Compared with remain voters, leave voters displayed significantly lower levels of numeracy and appeared more reliant on impulsive thinking,” said the researchers. The study was commissioned by Britain’s Online Privacy Foundation and analysed by scientists at Missouri University.
10th Mar 2019 - The Times

Brexit: NI consumer faces 'dip in living standard'

Consumers could face rising costs post-Brexit, a retail expert has warned. NI Retail Consortium director Aodhán Connolly said a no-deal Brexit would mean a rise in household costs. Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's On Your Behalf, he said he had heard of a small amount of stockpiling, but advised people not to panic buy. Mr Connolly was one of a panel of experts who addressed Brexit concerns at the Consumer Council's consumer parliament in Belfast on Friday.
9th Mar 2019 - BBC

Police banned from taking holiday ahead of Brexit as Met fear 'civil disorder'

Restrictions have been put in place to stop police officers taking annual leave as the Brexit deadline draws ever-closer. The move, according to police chiefs, will mean there will be “sufficient officers and staff available” to deal with any issues that may arise from Brexit. The Metropolitan Police has “placed restrictions” on the amount of leave their staff can take, as well as other forces such as Hampshire Police. Officers said restrictions apply to “certain dates in March and April 2019”, though they told Sky News they would not be cancelling all holiday for officers. It said the measure was to “allow the service to have sufficient officers and staff available to deal with any issues arising from the UK leaving the EU”.
9th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

German port casts anxious eye across the sea at Brexit

...back in Cuxhaven, both Mr Zint and Mr Barth sounded confident that even a no-deal Brexit would leave their business broadly intact. But they — like much of the rest of German business — found it hard to hide their bewilderment at the political course set by the UK. Mr Zint said: “When you see that the head of Airbus questions whether the company can still have production in the UK, or when Honda says they will close their plant, you would expect that more people would voice their concerns regarding Brexit.”
9th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

'Stockpiling for no-deal Brexit buffers my family from risks'

A Sky Data poll has revealed 28% of people are stockpiling in preparation for a no-deal Brexit, or have thought about doing so. In Cornwall, Nevine Mann and her family have been buying extra food and supplies since last summer to make sure she is prepared if there is no deal as Britain leaves the European Union.
9th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Nobel-winner Paul Nurse on Brexit: ‘The UK is turning in on itself’

Scientists fear the UK has lost its way because of Brexit, and scientific research could suffer as a result, the head of the UK’s biggest biomedical research lab has warned. Nobel prize-winner Paul Nurse said scientists were concerned that the UK’s decision to leave the EU was driven by the country becoming less outward-looking. “The motivation for Brexit seems to be a turning in of the country on itself. Turning away from the rest of the world, not just Europe. And science thrives on the exact opposite,” the former Royal Society president told New Scientist.
9th Mar 2019 - New Scientist

French customs strike delays Eurostar, airports ahead of Brexit

As French customs officers staged the sixth day of a work-to-rule strike this Saturday, airport officers joined customs workers in charge of Eurostar trains and of the Channel port of Calais, sparking travel chaos throughout the week. Eurostar trains from Paris to London were running up to two hours late, trucks were stacked up on the approaches to the Channel port of Calais and long lines were reported in airports across France on Saturday. As the Brexit deadline of March 29 approaches, French customs officers are demanding higher pay and better working conditions with actions all over France.
9th Mar 2019 - France24

Online shopping after Brexit: Higher prices, slower deliveries

Rocketing prices, customs hold-ups, delivery delays, obstacles to returning unwanted purchases and a dramatic curtailment in the retail choices and rights available to Irish consumers are just some of the problems online shoppers here may be hit with if the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal in three weeks’ time.
9th Mar 2019 - The Irish Times

Of Civil Wars and Family Feuds: Brexit Is More Divisive Than Ever

Like the election of President Trump, the 2016 Brexit referendum vote crystallized divisions between cities and towns, young and old, the beneficiaries of globalization and those left behind. And far from fading, the Brexit divide seems to have become entrenched within many British workplaces, families and social circles. The divide shows no sign of narrowing.
9th Mar 2019 - The New York Times

Brexit casts cloud over British holidaymakers’ plans

The Brexit effect is beginning to cast a shadow over a traditional aspect of British life: holidaymakers’ pursuit of European sun. With concerns rising about a no-deal Brexit that could involve border delays, the travel industry is reporting that UK consumers have changed their behaviour in recent weeks. Data from the research group GfK show that summer bookings for overseas holidays from the UK were rising until the last week in January. But since then there have been falls of 9-10 per cent when compared with the same weeks last year.
8th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Female EU citizens in UK fear post-Brexit discrimination as system is confused by maiden names

Women from EU countries living in the UK fear discrimination after Brexit because the registration system is confused by their maiden names. The glitch will be place them in danger of being denied jobs, housing or NHS treatment, campaigners say – even after being given “settled status” to stay with a promise of protected rights. The warning is being issued to coincide with International Women’s Day, as part of wider fears that Brexit will be a “trap” for abused women, those who work part-time or have taken career breaks.
8th Mar 2019 - The Independent

'No decision' on post-Brexit environment body for NI

Civil servants have said they have not taken a decision on whether to extend an independent environmental protection agency to Northern Ireland post-Brexit. That is in spite of publication of a letter from a senior official that appeared to indicate it was to happen. In it he said the extension of proposed legislation covering England to include Northern Ireland had been sought and agreed.
8th Mar 2019 - BBC

No-deal Brexit threat to 'billions of pounds' of chemicals

A no-deal Brexit threatens billions of pounds of chemical imports, the head of the Chemical Industries Association, Stephen Elliott, has warned. He says secondary legislation, needed to copy EU regulations into UK law, contains "significant gaps". The loophole could halt UK imports of chemicals by EU-registered companies from countries outside the EU, he says. "Put simply, the drugs don't work, the cars don't run and the planes don't fly without chemicals and chemistry." Unless the law is changed, he says, the import of "billions of pounds worth of chemicals," used across UK manufacturing, would have to come to a sudden halt if the UK left the EU with no deal on 29 March
8th Mar 2019 - BBC

Geneva motor show: Brexit, electric cars and luxury dominate agenda

BMW gave a clear signal that a no-deal Brexit, in which trade defaults to World Trade Organization terms, including tariffs on cars and parts, could prove destructive for the British car industry. BMW’s Mini brand would face a “huge burden”, according to the board member Peter Schwarzenbauer, which might make it consider moving out of its Cowley plant in Oxford. Top executives from Toyota, Bentley and Vauxhall’s owner, PSA all expressed similar concerns about short and longer-term costs if barriers to trade between the UK and EU are erected. Maxime Picat, PSA’s operational director for Europe, said: “It’s difficult for me to imagine that you can rebuild a UK automotive industry, self-centred, looking only at the UK.”
8th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

UK minister says migrant workers may still be allowed to come to work in tourism industry after Brexit

A UK Brexit minister has said special allowance could be made for migrant workers to come and fill jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry if it can be shown they are needed. On a visit to Edinburgh, Tory peer Lord Callanan, who has been number two at the Brexit department since 2017, said freedom of movement would end when the UK leaves the EU but the government was still consulting on what immigration rules should then apply. “If there is a necessity for immigration in certain sectors that is one of the things we will take into 
consideration.”
8th Mar 2019 - Edinburgh News

Privatising the seas: how the UK turned fishing rights into a commodity

In the early 90s – against the wishes of the main fishermen’s organisations – the government formalised the right of “sector” fishermen to move licences and track records between vessels, opening up a new kind of trade in quota. Detaching track record from vessels in this way ensured quota taken out of the pool would never come back to it. This was followed by other deregulatory moves, like the liberalisation of quota “swaps” between POs. In 1999, the UK replaced track records with “fixed quota allocations”, which give the holder an unchanging share of the UK’s quota. These were dished out to vessels in the sector based on their catches in the mid-nineties. This change discouraged the “race to fish”, but also made quota easier to swap, sell or lease to others.
7th Mar 2019 - Unearthed

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 8th Mar 2019

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Life expectancy falls by six months in biggest drop in UK forecasts

British adults’ life expectancy has been cut by six months in the biggest reduction in official longevity forecasts. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, which calculates life expectancy on behalf of the UK pension industry, declined to speculate on why longevity is deteriorating for men and women in England and Wales. Some analysts, however, blame austerity and cuts in NHS spending, others point to worsening obesity, dementia and diabetes.
7th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

UK community groups receive funding to help vulnerable EU migrants

UK organisations such as food banks, addiction centres and libraries are to receive public funds to help vulnerable EU nationals apply for settled status, to avoid a “second Windrush” generation losing their legal rights after Brexit. Migration campaigners have been warning that the pressure to register 3.5m EU citizens with new immigration credentials in the next two years could result in mass disenfranchisement, especially among the elderly, disabled, homeless and mentally ill. Those lacking internet access or necessary language skills are also at risk. Immigration officials are working on the basis that as many as 10 to 20 per cent of all EU nationals in the UK could be considered vulnerable and in need of assistance with the process.
7th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Brexit is a 'huge help' to Irish republicanism, says dissident leader

Brexit is a “huge help” to Irish republicanism and will fuel violent resistance to British rule in Northern Ireland, a dissident republican leader has claimed. The UK’s departure from the European Union has refocused attention on the border and the “colonialist” partition of Ireland, boosting efforts to politicise a new generation of Irish nationalists, Brian Kenna, chairman of the political party Saoradh, told the Guardian. “Brexit has been a small pilot light in reigniting that side of physical force to British occupation,” he said. Kenna spoke in an interview before three improvised explosive devices were found at separate transport hubs in London on Tuesday. At least two of the packages bore Irish stamps and postmarks.
7th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

No Deal Brexit will impact on catering in schools, hospitals and care homes

Public sector catering includes schools, universities, hospitals, care homes and prisons; and therefore caters for some of the most vulnerable in our society. It is estimated that 10.5 million people in the UK rely on public sector catering for some of their food, of which some are completely reliant for all of their meals. Away from all the Brexit arguing, are people, young and old, who will suffer in the event of a No Deal Brexit.
7th Mar 2019 - Sunderland Echo

East Midlands Airport battles to keep cargo moving amid Brexit uncertainty

East Midlands Airport officials are in the dark on whether all cargo will be subject to further checks after Brexit. Extra border force officers are on standby if more checks are required on cargo from the EU after Brexit. About 365,000 tonnes of freight passes through the airport every year, making it the second largest freight airport in the UK after Heathrow. No one seems to know what will happen after the UK leaves the EU or whether all cargo will be subject to further checks. "We're still waiting for government guidance on how that will look," Mr Morris says.
7th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Eurostar cancellations and Eurotunnel delays continue

Cross-Channel train services are being thrown into chaos again today as militant French trade unions continue a 'Brexit-style' checking system. Eurostar was reporting cancellations and delays to services from its Paris hub, where long queues started to build from 6am. Although nothing has yet changed, 'aggressive' questioning and passport checking has begun, travellers said. Meanwhile ferry firm DFDS announced on Twitter at 6am that delays had already reached 60 minutes on its Dover to Dunkirk service. One frustrated driver in Calais shared a video online as he drove past parked trucks for more than four minutes in what is believed to be a 15-mile tailback.
7th Mar 2019 - Daily Mail

Brexit 'means fresh look' at boosting Scottish farming

Britain's departure from the EU could be an opportunity to "look afresh" at boosting Scotland's agriculture industry, a leading expert has said. Prof Wayne Powell, principal of Scotland's Rural College, said rural economies in places such as New Zealand and Norway were well ahead of Scotland. The main EU subsidy paid to UK farmers is to be phased out after Brexit. Experts have said Scotland's economy could be boosted by £4.5bn with a rural university.
7th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Will UK Government hear the prayers of Scots? – leader comment

Brexit was supposed to have been pretty much sorted last year. We were supposed to be entering an orderly transition period towards the end of this month. But it’s now March and no one is able to say with any certainty what is going to happen next. As MPs flirt with the idea of a no-deal Brexit – despite the catastrophic effect this could have on our economy and, also, relations with the EU – they should bear in mind that, across Scotland, people are literally praying for this crisis to be averted.
7th Mar 2019 - The Scotsman

Birds Bakery begins stockpiling as Brexit deadline looms

Birds is stockpiling a number of ingredients it imports from the European Union as the Brexit deadline looms closer. Staff at the well-known bakery, based in Derby, revealed on Sky News that they have started squirrelling away their stash from the continent due to the uncertainly of what will happen come the end of the month. Mike Holling, head of retail at the company, is calling on the Government to end the uncertainty "once and for all". He said: "Fifty percent of our ingredients comes from the UK and 40 per cent come from outside the country but from the European Union.
7th Mar 2019 - Derby Telegraph

'Terrified' produce growers in southern Spain brace for Brexit pain

Farmers in Spain are concerned that Britain’s impending departure from the European Union could have a huge impact on their business. The trade in fresh produce hinges on getting goods to market promptly. By throwing up borders with the 27 countries remaining in the EU, Brexit could mean long, costly waits for trucks at customs posts. The prospect of UK import tariffs, volatile exchange rates and a potentially wounded British economy is also setting off alarm bells among farmers, workers and officials on the Mediterranean coast.
7th Mar 2019 - The New European

Brexit: Why are vets being recruited?

The Irish government is advertising a 4m euro (£3.4m) contract to recruit vets to carry out animal inspections in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Northern Ireland has already recruited additional vets and says further appointments are planned. It remains unclear whether any checks could take place at the Irish border. But EU law says animal products (including livestock) have to be inspected at the point they enter the single market. "We could see a surge in demand for border checks on animals and animal products," says Aurelie Moralis, president of the Northern Ireland branch of the British Veterinary Association.
7th Mar 2019 - BBC

'I'm embarrassed!' Top violinist vows to leave the UK due to Brexit

A top violinist has claimed he is ready to leave the UK due to Brexit, claiming he was “embarrassed” to be associated with the country. Nigel Kennedy lashed out at Brexiteers, claiming most of those who voted to leave did not realise the consequences. And he praised calls for a second referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. Speaking to Germany newspaper Die Welt, Mr Kennedy said: "I'm embarrassed to be British - even though I'm half Irish.
7th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

UK considers post-Brexit research fund open to world

The UK government is considering creating an international research fund to fill a gap left by the loss of prestigious European Union funding after Brexit. Adrian Smith, director of the Alan Turing Institute in London, will lead a “major” project with the research community to look at establishing such a fund, UK science minister Chris Skidmore told a parliamentary science committee on 5 March. He said that such a fund, if established, would be open to international as well as British scientists.
7th Mar 2019 - Nature

How five smaller UK firms are preparing for a no-deal Brexit

Britain has 5.7m small and medium-sized enterprises, defined as businesses with fewer than 250 employees, and concerns about a potentially disorderly departure from the EU span many sectors. Theresa May’s deal is due to be put to a parliamentary vote on Tuesday. If the government is defeated, MPs will vote on successive days on whether to block a no-deal Brexit and whether to extend the departure date. Meanwhile, British SMEs try to plan for an uncertain future.
7th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: Why Derby isn't changing its mind about voting Leave

In 2016, nearly 60% of voters in Derby opted to leave the European Union and there is very little evidence since then that Derby regrets that decision. "It was divisive. It continues to be divisive. But issues like funding for the NHS, council cuts, immigration and a feeling of regaining sovereignty are still very strong amongst our readers," says Oliver Astley, digital content editor of the Derby Telegraph. And whilst in some areas of Britain there is some evidence to suggest a change of heart towards Brexit, a recent poll carried out by the newspaper suggested that the result would remain the same if a second referendum was held.
7th Mar 2019 - Sky News

European parliament to keep Scotland office after Brexit

The European Parliament has decided to retain an office in Scotland after Brexit. BBC Scotland understands the parliament's Edinburgh operation will stay open until at least the end of next year. MEPs said it would provide advice to EU citizens living in Scotland and Scottish organisations seeking to maintain EU links. The Scottish government said it hoped the office would become permanent.
7th Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Millions face 'Friday deadline' to renew passports in case of no-deal, says Which?

Millions of UK holidaymakers have been warned they need to renew their passports by tomorrow or face being barred from entering several European countries under a no-deal Brexit. Up to 3.5 million people risk falling foul of rules for entering countries in the Schengen zone, such as France, Spain and Italy, according to consumer group Which?. The rules state that visitors from non-EU countries must have at least six months left on their passport before its expiry date on the day of travel.
7th Mar 2019 - Sky News

Brexit has turned me into a prepper

I’d never stockpiled anything in my life, until the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit loomed. No one knows what will happen if Britain crashes out of the EU in 24 days; as of today, there is no plan. I laughed at the Y2K preppers, stockpiling canned goods and batteries in anticipation of computers failing to cope with the year 2000. But now I’m starting to understand: on March 29, at 11 am sharp, we step off the cliff.
6th Mar 2019 - Vox.com

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 7th Mar 2019

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Garages predict Brexit price rises and parts shortages

As many as 45 percent of garages have taken steps to get ready for Brexit (and possibility of ‘no deal’) by switching to UK-based suppliers. A study by WhoCanFixMyCar surveyed a network of independent garages across the UK. It found that one in six garages have been stockpiling parts ahead of the projected EU exit date of Friday 29 March. More than half (52 percent) of garages anticipate an increase in labour costs after Britain has left the EU. And almost two thirds believe drivers will be hesitant to get repairs done for fear of cost increases. More than half of garages also predict that parts will be more expensive, with 42 percent saying the availability of parts in the UK post-Brexit was in doubt.
6th Mar 2019 - Motoring Research

UK's Brexit preparations 'shambolic', haulage chief says

A recent trial involving 80 trucks had been a farce he said as 10,000 trucks go through the UK port of Dover daily. “How could you possibly make that a useful test? “We are 17 working days from a potential no deal Brexit which will be very unfortunate indeed for truck drivers facing 20km long queues and for the rest of us who rely on supplies, 95% of which come on trucks.”
6th Mar 2019 - BreakingNews.ie

EU citizens brand registration 'insulting' ahead of Brexit

The plan is crazy, it is deeply unsettling. Under UK government plans, around 185,000 people living for years but EU citizens by birth have to apply for settled status after Brexit and go on a register. With 25 days to go until the UK leaves the EU, STV News heard some of their concerns.
6th Mar 2019 - STV

Brexit 'likely to cause cancer test delays'

Hospitals are likely to experience delays to cancer testing and treatment regardless of the result of next week's Brexit vote, BBC Newsnight has learned. The Royal College of Radiologists has told doctors to prepare for possible delays for some drugs used to detect cancer if there is a no-deal Brexit. It says clinicians should reduce their workload in the days after 29 March, when the UK is due to leave the EU.
5th Mar 2019 - BBC

Huge queues as French customs staff stage Brexit drill for Eurostar at Gare du Nord in Paris

Train services from Paris to London were delayed and there were huge queues today as French customs staff staged “Brexit-style” security checks at the Gare du Nord. The border officials imposed a “work-to-rule” as they demanded a boost to their workforce to deal with extra checks after the UK quits the European Union. As passengers and trains were hit by delays of up to two hours, one border guard declared: “This will be what it is like after Brexit. Back to 1970s.”
6th Mar 2019 - Evening Standard

A third of British billionaires have moved to a tax haven

A third of British billionaires have moved to tax havens after an exodus over the past decade, a Times investigation has found. They are among 6,800 Britons controlling 12,000 UK firms from low-tax jurisdictions. The Exchequer is denied billions a year but many of the bosses still reap the benefits of British assets. Some have bankrolled political parties while living offshore as successive governments have failed to enact a law passed in 2009 that would have banned large donations from anyone resident abroad for tax purposes. Many have been awarded honours or hold titles, with at least one viscount, one baron, six knights and one dame among the billionaires.
6th Mar 2019 - The Times

What would a no-deal Brexit mean for your supermarket shop? – Which? News

How will a no deal Brexit impact food prices, and will there be food shortages? What foods will be most impacted? We've spoken to the British Retail Consortium to better understand how your supermarket shop would be affected
6th Mar 2019 - Which?

My quest for a Brexit-proof passport

Marek Kohn recounts a personal journey as he sought a passport from the country of his father's (not his) birth, Poland, across a two year time period as Brexit forces many people to think about who they are and where they belong
1st Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 6th Mar 2019

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Shropshire medics issue warning over 'crippling' effects of Brexit on NHS

Doctors and nurses from Shropshire are among the signatories to a letter warning of the damage Brexit is doing to the National Health Service.
2nd Mar 2019 - Shropshire Star

One in ten shoppers ‘stockpiling food to prepare for no deal Brexit’

One in ten shoppers claim to have started stockpiling food to prepare for a no deal Brexit, according to Kantar Worldpanel As Brexit uncertainty intensifies, the latest grocery market share figures, published today from Kantar Worldpanel, show year-on-year ...
5th Mar 2019 - The Yorkshire Post

French customs agents disrupt Calais port ahead of Brexit

Traffic jams built up on Tuesday around the French port of Calais as customs officers worked to rule, carrying out tighter checks on lorries heading for the Channel Tunnel and the ferry port. The action, which began on Monday, is aimed at improving pay and staff numbers ahead of the UK's expected departure from the EU on 29 March. Dunkirk, further up the French coast, is also affected. "Brexit is a catalyst for deeper anger," said one union official.
5th Mar 2019 - BBC

How Brexit could affect the price of renting: ‘I’ve heard from other landlords that they are putting rents up’

The latest data shows rents across Britain actually fell for the first time in a decade last year. The biggest falls were in Yorkshire and Humber, where rents dropped by £21 (3.63 per cent), and London, where rents were down by £30 per month from 2018. How Brexit will affect renters really depends on two things: your landlord and whereabouts you live in the country.
5th Mar 2019 - iNews

What Happens to London’s Food Scene After Brexit?

As Britain prepares to leave the EU—with no agreement ensuring an unimpeded flow of goods between the two yet in place—both sides are ramping up their no-deal preparations: a scenario rife with fears of supply-chain disruptions, increased food prices, and economic uncertainty. Ottolenghi fears the situation could upset the country’s esteemed food scene, as well its internationalist culture that has allowed his restaurants and others to thrive
5th Mar 2019 - The Atlantic

Hard Brexit Means Hard Times on the Toilet

In the case of the United Kingdom, where the average resident uses an unrivaled 110 rolls of toilet paper per year, the highest figure in Europe, any meaningful measure of forward planning would require more real estate than is currently available. This is just one of the terrible challenges that the paper industry—and the public—may face in the coming months, said Andrew Large, the director general of the Confederation of Paper Industries, the leading trade association for the U.K.’s paper-based industries.
5th Mar 2019 - Foreign Policy

Booze cruise back in fashion as Britons stock up before Brexit

The booze cruise is back in fashion as shoppers stock up on cheap wine from across the Channel before the Brexit deadline on 29 March. Sales at Majestic Wine’s Calais stores soared 49% last month and pre-orders are up 78% in March as shoppers take advantage of France’s low alcohol taxes while they can. Nearby Calais Wine Superstore said its pre-orders for March are up 100% and sales are up 51% since January. The huge increase in Calais sales comes amid evidence that one in 10 Britons have begun stockpiling groceries while a further 26% are considering doing so.
5th Mar 2019 - The Guardian

Europeans are watchful but calm about Brexit

Differences on Brexit capture the way in which perceptions of the UK and EU’s future prospects are filtered through each country’s experience of recent European crises, its party political landscape and social cleavages. Far-right, rightwing populist and anti-establishment voters are much more likely than people on the centre-right, centrists or moderate leftists to think that the UK will prosper as a non-EU member.
5th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

BBC faces probe over 'biased reports and pointless stories' after both political sides claim it's not impartial

Regulators have launched an inquiry into the impartiality and 'depth' of the BBC's news and current affairs coverage. The Ofcom probe follows bias claims from both sides of the political divide – especially over Brexit. It also comes amid growing fears that serious news coverage is 'in retreat' and allegations from rival news providers that the BBC uses too much 'clickbait' – celebrity or frivolous stories with little public service value – to lure online readers.
5th Mar 2019 - Daily Mail

BBC staff to receive ‘unconscious bias’ training

BBC staff are starting to undergo “unconscious bias” training. Staff are being asked to complete online courses. A spokeswoman said training is being provided to all staff and is designed to make the BBC a “better and more inclusive” place to work. The BBC said it early February that it would “roll out” unconscious bias training.
5th Mar 2019 - The Scotsman

How Brexit broke the BBC

One strand of criticism unites the Remain and soft Brexit factions—that the BBC is so obsessed with “balance” that, on Brexit issues, it gives credence to nonsense. And there are heavyweights in the BBC who worry about this too. One senior presenter put it like this: “We should encourage debate… while being more militant about our core approach—that we are fact-based, and question and test all sides of the debate. We should not be doing vanilla ‘on the one hand’ versus ‘on the other hand’ journalism. I am sympathetic to the arguments about the danger of ‘false equivalence,’ and think we should be clear about the weight of arguments. But if a substantial number of people believe, so to speak, that bananas are blue we have to treat that seriously. Seriously, but robustly.”
5th Mar 2019 - Prospect Magazine

Brexit: Northern Ireland businesses not ready for no-deal

Northern Ireland businesses will not be ready for new border procedures if there is a no deal Brexit later this month, senior customs officials have warned. The HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officials were giving evidence to MPs on the Public Accounts Committee. Jim Harra told the committee that even if border processes were announced today there is "insufficient time for traders who wish to comply to get ready."
6th Mar 2019 - BBC

Transport group warns of no-deal Brexit threat to trade

A national association representing Ireland's transport and logistics industry has accused the Government of being unprepared for a no-deal Brexit scenario. Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) has called on the Government to "advance and clearly communicate" contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit or, it warns, the country will face "significant threats to its supply chain". Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, FTAI General Manager Aidan Flynn said: "A no-deal Brexit would have a seismic impact on the UK’s trading environment and in turn, the freight distribution and logistics sector on both sides of the Irish Sea.
6th Mar 2019 - RTE.ie

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 5th Mar 2019

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Schemes with 'Brexit Day' valuations must review options, warns Aon

As many as 15% of UK funds/schemes have a valuation date of 31 March 2019 - which is a Sunday this year - but their funding position will likely be impacted by the UK's planned departure from the European Union (EU) on 29 March. Valuations on 31 March will therefore be driven by market conditions at the close of markets on ‘Brexit Day', which could be an "atypical day on the financial markets". The firm warned that if no action is taken now, then this could lead to more difficult valuation negotiations.
4th Mar 2019 - Professional Pensions

Brexit uncertainty drives insurers to waste time and money

The issue of contract continuity has been particularly difficult. Many UK-based insurers have sold long-term policies to customers elsewhere in the EU — and vice versa — using the free movement of services rules. But there have been concerns that Brexit will stop insurers paying out on those policies, as free movement of services will no longer apply. So UK-based insurers have been setting up subsidiaries elsewhere in the EU and going through a court-approved process called a part VII transfer to shift the old policies into them. In February, for example, Aviva moved £9bn of business to Dublin. According to the Association of British Insurers, 36 insurance companies have issued part VII transfer notifications, covering 29m contracts. George Swan, partner at law firm Freshfields, said: “There’ll be a flurry of part VII transfers over the next few weeks. Some have hearings scheduled for the last few days of March.” It has cost millions of pounds to get these transfers done, which insurers justify by saying they needed to remove any uncertainty for their customers. Unfortunately, it turns out that this process, too, might turn out to be unnecessary
4th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Fundraising drought suggests nerves over Brexit

The flow of new debt and equity deals hitting markets slowed to a trickle in January and the following month has shown little sign of a pick-up, particularly in the UK, suggesting that Brexit is weighing heavily on companies’ plans to raise money. For the opening two months of 2019, the number of new bond deals in the UK was 40, the lowest since 1995, and a drop of two-fifths compared with the same period last year, according to data from Refinitiv. Total proceeds reached $26bn, down by almost a half.
4th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

'Time is running out!' Manufacturers in Brexit plea as exports fall behind domestic orders

Research by Make UK and business advisors BDO LLP revealed business are stockpiling goods, which is driving part of their production. But the report warned exports have been unable to pick up since dropping last year, with Brexit uncertainty throughout Europe continuing to mount. Employment plans have been ramped up, indicating that rather than making long-term investments, manufacturers are opting to hire a flexible workforce in the short-ter
4th Mar 2019 - Express.co.uk

Insurance firms to begin issuing 'green cards' for cross-border travel in event of no-deal Brexit

Motorists in the north are being issued 'green card' insurance documents to ensure they are covered when driving across the border in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Following a warning from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) last month that anyone planning to cross the border will need to get a Green Card to cover their trip
5th Mar 2019 - Irish Independent

French grid operator readies hard Brexit day-ahead power auction plan

French electricity grid operator RTE has prepared an auction mechanism which would permit continuity in day-ahead electricity auctions between Britain and France in case there is no deal for Britain to leave the European Union on March 29. RTE said in a note to power market participants it had submitted market terms and conditions to the French energy market regulator CRE, and would be able to implement the new terms of the auction from March 30. It added that a no-deal Brexit would have no impact on yearly, monthly and intraday France-England power capacity auctions because the auctions are carried out on a bilateral platform dedicated to the French-English border.
5th Mar 2019 - Reuters

What would a no-deal Brexit mean for universities and research?

Overseas students from EU countries make up around 5% of those in England and are treated the same way as local ones. They pay at most £9,250 ($12,230) a year for tuition and have access to generous state-provided loans to meet the cost. The government has promised to extend this support to EU students starting courses in 2019, but hasn’t said what will happen after then. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, it would have little incentive to extend financial support to EU students.
5th Mar 2019 - The Economist

No-deal risk to South Lanarkshire schools as Brexit looms, says council

Children in South Lanarkshire could lose out on education services as a result of a no-deal Brexit. Risk registers have been updated across the council, with the education department one of the latest to add a Brexit risk. A report to the education resources committee on Tuesday, February 19, about the updated risk register and control plan marked Brexit as a “top council risk”. The report stated: “Failure to agree a deal could have significant impacts on funding and finance, workforce and employment, procurement [and] legislation. “A no-deal Brexit could place additional demand on services due to reduced growth, higher unemployment, inflationary and other budget pressures, supply chain interruption, customs and regulatory issues.”
4th Mar 2019 - Daily Record

“There’ll be an uprising”: Hartlepool on life as a Brexit town with no deal in sight

Leavers and Remainers alike in the coastal community are concerned about the outcome of Westminster's recent dramas. The New Statesman looks at Hartlepool, how the years of austerity have the city and how it would react to the various Brexit scenarios
4th Mar 2019 - New Statesman

Here's What British People Would Eat in a Worst-Case Brexit

There’d at least be plenty of meat and potatoes, but forget “five-a-day” fruit and vegetables. And with months until U.K. harvests, traditional Sunday roast dinners would be light on the trimmings for a while. “We’ll have food, but the supply chains and logistics would need to handle a major change,” said Sue Pritchard, director at the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission at the Royal Society of Arts. “Maybe we’ll need to revive the British tradition of a good meat and three veg roast!”
4th Mar 2019 - Bloomberg

How would a no-deal Brexit affect the UK economy?

The Financial Times lays out how no deal would affect three vital sectors (ports, food and policy response) this year. The analysis indicates that predictions of chaos are likely to prove an exaggeration, but that disruption is almost certain. There would be ripple effects across the economy.
4th Mar 2019 - Financial Times

Brexit: ‘We are all racing to this March 29th deadline’

Irish businesses are racing to prepare for Brexit and most are expecting it to be a No Deal Brexit so are activating plans for the worst case scenarios
4th Mar 2019 - The Irish Times

Travel after Brexit: All you need to know about Eurostar, Eurotunnel and ferries

The UK is set to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019. Brexit has profound implications for travellers. The Independent updates its readers on what it knows about changes to travel after the Brexit deadline is reached
4th Mar 2019 - The Independent

Businessman who voted leave calls for second Brexit vote due to impact of leaving EU

A business owner who supported Leave in the 2016 EU referendum is among a group of Nottinghamshire small business leaders and sole traders demanding an opportunity to vote once more on whether the UK should leave the European Union
4th Mar 2019 - Nottingham Post

Has Brexit made British property MORE popular?

A poll of 450 high net worth investors based in these four countries indicated that 85 per cent of those invested in either residential or commercial property were still keen on the asset class and looking for new investment opportunities in Britain. The cost of buying British property has been pulled down since the Brexit vote by the fall in the pound, however, a tax crackdown has made it more expensive.
4th Mar 2019 - Daily Mail

Sheep farmers' concerns of no-deal Brexit

The Scottish government said the UK leaving the EU without a deal would be "catastrophic". Phil Stocker, of the National Sheep Association, said efforts were being made to grow the domestic market and there had been some successes in selling UK lamb to Japan and countries in the Middle East. But he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme there was not enough time to create a market big enough to handle the amount of lamb produced. He said: "If you think of the volume that goes into the European market and think of the time if takes to agree trade deals, it is going to take some years - six, eight, 10 years - to open up equitable markets across the world."
4th Mar 2019 - BBC

Britain's Ethnic Minorities Worry About Their Careers After Brexit

After looking at how Brexit will affect young women more, latest research exclusive to Forbes shows that there is a worrying racial lens to Brexit. Ethnic minorities in the U.K. are more concerned about the negative impact of Brexit on their careers than their white counterparts. In fact, 52% of ethnic minorities surveyed feel that Brexit will negatively impact their career progression, compared to only 16% of their white counterparts.
4th Mar 2019 - Forbes

Brexit cannot be an excuse for politicians to ignore our knife crime epidemic

With more young people dying across the UK in knife crime and numbers rising sharply, the Daily Telegraph ponders whether legislators obsession with Brexit has led to them taking their eye off the ball with regard to dealing with knife crime
3rd Mar 2019 - The Telegraph

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 4th Mar 2019

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Meat export orders cancelled due to Brexit

The British Meat Processors Association said they've been inundated with calls from companies reporting that overseas customers are now cancelling orders and buying their product from other countries due to the lack of clarity around Brexit.
2nd Mar 2019 - The Pig Site

UK meat businesses already feeling Brexit effect

3rd Mar 2019 - Global Meat News

Desperate Cumbrian farmers on 'suicide watch' after being driven to the brink by late payments, weather woes and Brexit

Desperate farmers are on the emotional and financial brink after being hit by late payments, weather and Brexit. Distressed farmers are calling crisis networks and a The Cumberland News learnt some farmers are on “suicide watch”.
1st Mar 2019 - In Cumbria.com

Brexit and bad weather puts UK farmers at risk of suicide, say charities

3rd Mar 2019 - The Guardian

UK pays Eurotunnel 33 million pounds over 'secretive' no-deal Brexit ferry contracts

Britain has paid out 33 million pounds to settle a claim with Eurotunnel which runs the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France after the firm took legal action over the process to award ferry contracts to cope with a no-deal Brexit.
1st Mar 2019 - Reuters UK

Government pays Eurotunnel £33m over Brexit ferry case

3rd Mar 2019 - BBC

Brexit exodus as QUARTER of civil servants working on deal quit inside last six months

Over 500 civil servants have left the Department of Exiting the EU since its creation in July 2016 - DEXEU should have 700 staff. 516 staff left since its creation in July 2016 to last December. FOI figures show.
2nd Mar 2019 - Daily Mirror

No-deal Brexit threatens cull of 10m lambs

Millions of British lambs may have to be slaughtered and then buried or burnt, rather than eaten, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, government officials have told farmers. This is because UK lamb may be banned from sale to the EU from March 30 under meat hygiene rules applied to non-EU countries. If exports are allowed to continue, they would face tariffs of 45%.
3rd Mar 2019 - The Times

Spain unveils measures to protect 400,000 Brits if no-deal Brexit

The Spanish government has issued a range of measures aimed at protecting British citizens in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The royal decree, approved on Friday, gives British residents of Spain access to healthcare until at least the end of 2020. Spain will also provide residency for an estimated 400,000 Britons and preserve freedom of movement across its border with Gibraltar.
2nd Mar 2019 - The Telegraph

No-deal Brexit: Supermarkets prepare for looting and riots amid fears of food shortages

Supermarkets are planning for possible disturbances in the event of a No Deal Brexit, according to a new Kantar report.
1st Mar 2019 - iNews

Crown dependencies face crackdown on secret companies

Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man face a financial transparency crackdown, after Conservative MPs ambushed prime minister Theresa May to demand an end to secret company ownership. The three crown dependencies are exempt from EU rules requiring countries to publish registers of the real owners of companies. Transparency campaigners argue that the lack of disclosure has aided large-scale money-laundering. Jersey has previously warned that such a move would “trigger a constitutional crisis”, because the crown dependencies are self-governing and not represented at Westminster.
1st Mar 2019 - Financial Times

It's four weeks to go until Brexit day, so would Britain still vote Leave amid this chaos? Let's look at the polls

Slightly more people now believe the decision to Leave was wrong than they did before according to UGov polling reflecting a shit in public opinion over the last 10 months
1st Mar 2019 - The Telegraph

German Companies Have a Brexit Plan: Send the Bill to the Brits

A meeting of German businessmen identified the pitfalls they face with regard to the UK dropping out of the EU a) British components may no longer count as EU content and that could affect whether they meet tariff-free criteria with partners like Japan and South Korea b) Accessing corporate IT systems from British subsidiaries may breach EU data-sharing rules c) Accounting systems need to be able to allow the U.K. to reclassify as a “third country” for tax purposes to avoid potential penalties d) Contracts need to be reviewed to clarify which country’s laws are being applied and where conflicts will be resolved e) Sending employees across the channel to attend conferences could raise visa issues
27th Feb 2019 - Bloomberg

MPA calls for national interest to trump party politics on Brexit

Tthe Mineral Products Association (MPA) is calling for all MPs, whether ‘leavers or remainers’, to wake up to the need for the national interest to trump party politics over the coming weeks.
27th Feb 2019 - Politics Home

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 1st Mar 2019

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Brexit uncertainty and job cuts ‘fuelling spike in foodbank use’

Firms are slashing hours and cutting jobs over Brexit fears – prompting more people than ever before to turn to foodbanks for help, it has been claimed. Frontline volunteers say the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s EU exit is playing a significant role in why so many people are struggling to put food on the table, alongside Universal Credit payment delays. It comes as demand for foodbanks in parts of Suffolk and north Essex soared by as much as 50% year-on-year in February. Stowmarket and area foodbank manager Mike Smith warned local people are “really struggling” at the moment after sending out 100 emergency food parcels this month, up 51% from 66 in 2018.
28th Feb 2019 - East Anglian Daily Times

Border IT Systems Aren’t Ready for Brexit: Plan A Scratched, Plan B Troubled

“The government assesses readiness of traders as one of its most significant risks” Six of the eight IT systems deemed “most critical for day one” after Brexit are at serious risk of not being delivered on time or in an adequate condition. Worrying, it said that HMRC had decided last month that a flagship new Customs Declaration Service (CDS) to handle and risk-assess customs declarations, and account for payment of duties, would not be ready for a no-deal Brexit. But the fall-back option, the existing Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system, is riddled with issues and also may not be ready in time.
28th Feb 2019 - Computer Business Review

How EU-reliant small British businesses are preparing for Brexit

Hardly a day goes by without a business announcing relocation to the EU, or warning of how dangerous Brexit would be for the UK economy. These have included aerospace firm Airbus, which employs more than 14,000 people in the UK. Electronics multinationals Sony and Panasonic have both moved their European headquarters from the UK to the Netherlands, while financial services company JP Morgan announced 4,000 of its staff could be moved from London in the event the UK crashes out of the EU. While multinational firms have sufficient capital and resources to plan and pivot, just over a month before the UK is due to leave the EU, most smaller businesses can only wait and hope.
28th Feb 2019 - Al Jazeera

FCA gives finance firms 15-month reprieve in case of no-deal Brexit

The UK financial regulator confirmed that firms will have a 15-month grace period to comply with rule changes in the event of a cliff-edge Brexit in 29 days’ time. The Financial Conduct Authority on Thursday published a series of “near-final” rules around Brexit, although they still need approval from the Treasury. They include a waiver for firms around changes that the FCA has had to introduce as a result of the UK leaving the European Union and therefore the bloc’s rule book.
28th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Scrap plans for No Deal visas

The Russell Group is calling on the Home Secretary and Immigration Minister to scrap plans for a 36-month visa for EU nationals coming to the UK in the event of a No Deal Brexit. The European Temporary Leave to Remain (ETLR) scheme would discriminate against Scottish universities and any future EU students wanting to study engineering and medicine courses, which last more than three years.
28th Feb 2019 - The Russell Group

Womad festival struggling to book artists due to Brexit uncertainty

Chris Smith, the festival’s director, said it was getting harder each year to get people to perform. “It is harder to book artists because of Brexit … We are struggling to overcome it and let artists know they are welcome here and [that] people still want to experience their great music,” he said. “Lots of artists are finding they can get to Europe but fear taking the next step to the UK, particularly if there is there is no passport union. It will become more complicated. When we are out of the EU the passport arrangements will change, so artists coming from wherever will get into Europe but worry they then won’t be able to cross the Channel.” While he noted their concerns may be unfounded because it was too early for artists to make official visa applications, he said there was a feeling this year of people asking: “Can we be bothered? Is this a process we want to put ourselves through?”
28th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

UK house prices growth subdued in February with Brexit looming

"After almost grinding to a complete halt in January, annual house price growth remained subdued in February,” Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said. “Indicators of housing market activity, such as the number of property transactions and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, have remained broadly stable in recent months, but survey data suggests that sentiment has softened.” He added that “measures of consumer confidence weakened around the turn of the year and surveyors reported a further fall in new buyer enquiries over the same period”.
28th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Uncertainty over Brexit is ruining our personal lives

I have never been here before. I don’t mean: “I’ve never looked at the ranks of government with such distaste and despair,” because there was no way of knowing, 10 years ago, that things would get this much worse. No, I mean, I’ve never felt the public realm bleed so relentlessly into my personal life that I’m drenched in unknowables and can’t make any decisions at all. All questions end: “Wait and see what happens in March, I guess.” “Do we move house?” is merely the headline uncertainty that probably only affects a few. Where do you go on holiday when you don’t know what’s going to happen to the pound? This stuff matters
28th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage to lead nationwide Brexit march through Sunderland and Hartlepool

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is to lead a nationwide Brexit march to London through both Sunderland and Hartlepool. The Leave Means Leave protest - which begins on Wearside on Saturday, March 16 - will end in the capital on Friday, March 29, to mark the planned day the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.
28th Feb 2019 - Sunderland Echo

What to do if you get injured on holiday and how this might change after Brexit

As much as we like to think it will never happen, getting injured when abroad is commonplace, but how many Brits know what action to take should the unthinkable happen when on their travels? Paul McClorry, Head of Travel Litigation at specialist injury lawyers, Hudgell Solicitors, has given his advice on what to do if you are injured on holiday, and how this might change once Britain leaves the EU
28th Feb 2019 - Doncaster Free Press

‘I’d vote Leave more emphatically than in 2016’: Three farmers on why they still back Brexit

Some farmers have absolutely no regrets about losing their EU subsidies after voting Vote Leave and say they would do so with even more gusto this time
28th Feb 2019 - iNews

Brexit warning: UK farmers feeling ‘stark’ impact of deal uncertainty - 'irresponsible!'

With the March 29 Brexit day fast approaching and Theresa May still attempting to convince Parliament to back her deal, a delay to Britain’s departure is looking increasingly likely. But a lack of clarity over future trading arrangements means £514 million worth of British grain exports are at risk as farmers struggle to plan ahead. NFU combinable crops board chairman Tom Bradshaw said a divorce deal is needed to allow trading contracts to be put in place with European buyers
28th Feb 2019 - Express.co.uk

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 28th Feb 2019

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Brexit: Critical no-deal plans running late

A third of the government’s most critical no-deal Brexit plans are behind schedule, ministers have admitted, as they blamed business for ignoring warnings about the need to prepare. In a bleak assessment of the economic impact of no deal published yesterday, the government said that 10 per cent of all food could be subject to shortages as well as price rises. It warned that cross-Channel disruption would be increased by the failure of British companies to register for customs formalities. The paper revealed that of the 240,000 businesses that trade only with the EU, 40,000 had registered with the government to export, which would result in goods being turned back at the French border. “The lack of preparation for EU controls greatly increases the probability of disruption,” it stated.
27th Feb 2019 - The Times

The Tory plan for no-deal medical shortages is staggeringly negligent

A no-deal Brexit … is expected to have an immediate and drastic effect on supply chains” for medicines. From the pen of an op-ed writer, such language might seem alarmist. But this comes from a report published this week in the Lancet, a world-class scientific journal – and it should terrify you. The scale of the problem is huge. You will know someone affected, even if you are not. NHS figures show that almost half the population regularly takes a prescribed medicine. And around 75% of the medicines the NHS uses come into the UK from the EU.
27th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

IT systems to run UK borders 'may not be ready for no-deal Brexit'

Six out of eight critical IT systems required to allow the UK’s borders to function under a no-deal Brexit are in danger of not being ready, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. The National Audit Office has also concluded that with 31 days to go before the UK is due to leave the EU, the readiness of UK’s businesses are a “red-rated” risk if the government crashes out of Europe. The findings were released on Wednesday evening in a memo sent to the public accounts committee. Meg Hillier, the chair of the committee, said serious questions remained about whether the UK would be prepared at the border, and what this would mean for individuals and businesses.
27th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Government identifies 7000 medicines for no-deal Brexit planning

Companies that supply these 7,000 medicines have been asked to provide a six-week buffer stock, and health minister Stephen Hammond said in a written ministerial statement on 25 February 2019 that “the majority of companies have confirmed that stockpiling plans are in place”. Hammond also announced that the government had bought “tickets” from two cross-channel ferry operators that run routes to Poole, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Immingham and Felixstowe, away from the straits of Dover, which are expected to become congested if there is a no-deal Brexit.
26th Feb 2019 - The Pharmaceutical Journal

No-deal Brexit would lead to food shortages and cost business billions, government reveals

Ministers also admitted that up to a third of “critical” infrastructure projects were now behind schedule, partly due to firms failing to view a no-deal scenario as “sufficiently credible”. Members of the public are also failing to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, according to the 15-page document, which warned that industries like the automotive sector would be “severely” impacted by new tariff and non-tarriff barriers if the Commons does not back the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by Theresa May.
27th Feb 2019 - PoliticsHome.com

UK citizens living in EU 'still entitled to social security benefits' in case of no-deal Brexit

EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the 27 EU countries will keep any social benefits acquired before withdrawal in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Text adopted by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee subject to full EU Parliament approval aims to safeguard people's entitlements to social security benefits based on insurance, employment or residence. The contingency measures would apply to EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in one of the 27 member states who have acquired social entitlements due to the free movement of people. The measures will be adopted across the EU only if the UK leaves with no withdrawal agreement in place. The European Commission will assess how the measures are working one year after the regulation is implemented and produce a report for the EU Parliament and MEPs
27th Feb 2019 - Edinburgh News

@AlbertoCostaMP I’m hugely grateful to those colleagues who have very kindly supported my amendment to ringfence rights for those EU citizens in the UK and those in UK citizens in the EU.

1/4 Can’t begin to say how brilliant it is to see my amendment in black and white on the order paper today. I’m hugely grateful to those colleagues who have very kindly supported my amendment to ringfence rights for those EU citizens in the UK and those in UK citizens in the EU.
27th Feb 2019 - @AlbertoCostaMP

UK will pay: German businesses to OVERCHARGE Brits after Brexit 'why should WE suffer?'

A leading industrial lobby, which is based in the region around car giant Volkswagen’s headquarters, is leading a charge for “price adjustments” to cover the costs of exporting to Britain in event of a no-deal Brexit. Smaller firms are also following the lead after Lueneburg Chamber of Commerce published “five Brexit tips”, which includes charging Britons more to cover potential customs duties. The plans have been pushed out to over 10,000 people as part of an effort to prepare businesses near Hamburg for a hard Brexit
27th Feb 2019 - Express

‘They LOATHE her!’ British expats in Spain FURIOUS with May over Brexit health chaos

‘Brexpats in Spain’ co-founder Anne Hernandez said Spanish-based Britons with existing medical problems are “very concerned” with 30 days until Brexit and health rights still not guaranteed. EU-based British pensioners are currently able to access free healthcare though the S1 scheme, which is ultimately paid by the British government. But this week the government warned British nationals may have to pay for private health insurance in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
27th Feb 2019 - Express.co.uk

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 27th Feb 2019

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Germany promises ‘better pay, weather and food’ to tempt NHS nurses to leave UK after Brexit

A German hospital is trying to lure NHS nurses to leave the UK after Brexit with promises of better pay, weather and food. The University Hospital of Dusseldorf has placed adverts in two Polish newspapers published in Britain, hoping to convince Poles currently working in NHS hospitals to swap Britain for Germany. The adverts, written in German and Polish, feature Dusseldorf’s attractive skyline against blue skies with the River Rhine in the foreground. As well as telling Polish nurses they could boost their salaries, the adverts also point out Germany had better weather and cuisine than Britain.
26th Feb 2019 - The Independent

No-deal Brexit could put vulnerable people at risk, officials warn

A no-deal Brexit could result in failures of social care providers that may put vulnerable adults at risk and seriously affect councils and the NHS, according to a leaked civil service document. The official warnings are contained within a Department of Health and Social Care presentation passed to the Guardian that has been prepared for a meeting of its EU exit delivery board to be held on Tuesday.
26th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Vauxhall says it won't shy away from the 'dark side' in no-deal Brexit

The chief executive of Vauxhall owner PSA Group said the carmaker would not shy away from unpopular decisions, including shutting factories, if there is a no-deal Brexit. Carlos Tavares said PSA has built up stockpiles of parts and products in preparation for disruption, and that “the bureaucracies of supply chain are going to be disruptive if there is a no-deal [Brexit]”. However, Tavares also said that the Vauxhall brand’s appeal to Britons could provide the company protection not available to European rivals in the UK’s large car market.
26th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

‘Beyond insane’: why one woman fears no-deal Brexit could kill her

A woman who has been on kidney dialysis for 21 years has told how she fears she could die in a no-deal Brexit because irresponsible politicians are playing with people’s lives. She says she is so concerned that she is prepared to go on dialysis strike outside Downing Street to drive home the dangers facing her and other home dialysis patients. Madeleine Warren needs a daily supply of 15 consumables including syringes, blood lines and acid fluid to allow her to conduct home dialysis five nights a week, but the supply is threatened in a no-deal scenario as half of the items are made in the EU.
26th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Britain's Other Irish Border Is Also a Big Brexit Problem

Some Irish haulage companies are looking at avoiding the UK as a stepping stone to mainland Europe and switching to direct ferry routes from Ireland to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. CLdN Cobelfret SA, Irish Ferries and Brittany Ferries have all added extra roll-on, roll-off caapcity on direct routes to Europe - any delays in customs check jeopardise haulage contract business, particularly with food delieveries
26th Feb 2019 - Bloomberg

Theresa May to impose agricultural tariffs in no-deal Brexit

Theresa May has decided to protect sensitive agricultural and manufacturing sectors if Britain leaves the EU without a deal — but to slash duties on all other goods imports in a no-deal Brexit. While many British farmers are intensely worried about being wiped out by cheap imports, the decision to use tariffs to protect products such as beef, lamb, milk and cheese would increase the price of many foodstuffs from the EU and expose other products to competition from other parts of the world
26th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Pharma industry steels itself for no-deal Brexit

Despite all the industry’s planning, many potential problems are beyond its control — such as congestion at ports and the regulatory regime on both sides of the English Channel. Both could affect whether there are sufficient supplies of vital drugs. Moreover, both the UK government and business have recognised that investment in the sector could be dented, because Brexit implies extra costs for pharmaceutical companies, which in turn could affect patients’ access to medicines. David Jefferys, an executive at Eisai, the Japanese pharma company, who has the regulation brief at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said companies could not eliminate the possibility of patients facing drug shortages in the event of no-deal.
26th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Brexit may clip wings of UK game shooters

Britain’s shooting parties may find themselves short of pheasants and partridges to kill next season if transport delays prevent chicks being imported from France, game exporters say. 40 percent of the pheasants and nine in every 10 of the partridges shot in Britain are imported, nearly all from France, where exporters specialise in breeds that are popular in Britain, such as ring-neck pheasants and red-legged partridges. “It is mainly day-old chicks that will be a problem, we only have 24 hours to send them over,” said Denis Bourasseau, whose company Gibovendee in western France controls about half the exports of game bird eggs and hatchlings to Britain. “There is a real risk for British hunters in case of disrupted logistics, be it a hard Brexit or not. If we can no longer ensure the welfare of animals, concretely we will no longer be able to export them.” He estimates British shoots will see about a 10 percent reduction in the 40 million gamebirds released each year as a result of Brexit. Shortages would have been greater in the past, when most game birds were exported live.
26th Feb 2019 - Reuters

Any form of Brexit will hurt the NHS, but a No Deal will be worst, warns leading medical journal

A Brexit deal desperately needed to avoid disastrous consequences for the NHS. Any Brexit is negative for the NHS, but No Deal must be avoided. Leaving the EU leaves hospitals struggling to fill jobs and supply medicines, the report concludes
26th Feb 2019 - Daily Mail

Reports: Brexit will hurt the UK games industry and reduce investment

Jas Purewal, lawyer and co-founder of Games4EU, suggest that with the current deal on the table the UK will lose the EU laws on data adequacy and immediately replace them with a copy. “If the EU moves ahead with further regulation of interactive entertainment, the current Brexit direction of travel means the regulation would go ahead without British involvement but still be binding on the UK both formally, as a result of any likely exit deal, and practically, given the size of the EU market and the publishers’ strong preference for common EU products wherever possible,” he explained. We will also lose access to EU start-up grants, which can be in the millions of euros, these have been used by new studios to kick start their business.
26th Feb 2019 - The Sixth Axis

Minister prepares sector to face possible 'no deal' Brexit

The Minister talked about the continuing preparedness work that the Government as a whole was doing, and the specific work in relation to fisheries at both national and EU level. “Today was about ensuring that our fishing representatives are fully informed of the preparedness work that is underway. If the EU fleet is excluded from UK waters it would have serious implications for the Irish fleet,” explained Creed. “To minimize that possible impact, there must be a co-ordinated EU level response by the Commission, relevant Member States and fisheries stakeholders,” he continued.
26th Feb 2019 - Fish Information and Services

Brexit: ITV could suffer

Carolyn McCall, ITV’s CEO, warned in November last year that ad-income for the fourth quarter (to December 31st) could fall by 3 per cent and that last month could suffer by as much as 8 per cent. Patrick Wellington, an analyst at investment bank Morgan Stanley , suggests in a note to clients that ad-revenues could slide by up to 20 per cent during February, and that there would be a modest recovery in April, flat in May but tumbling between 15 per cent -20 per cent in June and July (although those months last year also saw the peak benefits of the World Cup football screenings).
26th Feb 2019 - Advanced Television

How to protect yourself against scams during Brexit period of change

Consumers are being urged to take steps to protect themselves after a government publication warned that scams could increase during Brexit. The document, which looks at the impact of a no deal Brexit on financial services, warns there may be a greater risk of scams during any period of change.
26th Feb 2019 - The Shields Gazette

Brexit to harm UK's cherished health service, experts say

A British exit from the EU without a deal would have “an immediate and drastic” impact on availability of medicines and vaccines as well as affecting health system funding and staffing, experts warned on Monday. Although a no-deal Brexit was the worst scenario, even a negotiated divorce from the European Union would also damage the National Health Service (NHS), the experts said in a review published in The Lancet journal.
27th Feb 2019 - Reuters

Delay to Brexit could mean a 'damaging double cliff-edge'

Delaying Britain’s departure from the EU would be better for the economy in the longer term – but the move could also have a damaging impact on firms that have spent two years preparing for a 29 March exit and now face the prospect of planning for a double cliff-edge, in March and June, business leaders have warned.
27th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 26th Feb 2019

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Brexit ‘will cause significant harm to the NHS’

The availability of medicines and vaccines, the healthcare workforce, NHS financing and access to medical research would all be negatively impacted by a no-deal Brexit, according to a review published in medical journal The Lancet. The authors warn “little evidence exists that the UK is prepared for any of the eventualities set out in their analysis”. The report adds: “For instance, the recently published NHS 10-year plan ran to 136 pages, with only two mentions of Brexit, neither of which offered any detail about what it might mean or how any threats would be addressed.”
26th Feb 2019 - Evening Express

No-Deal Brexit Will Seriously Damage NHS, Academics Warn In The Lancet Review

A no-deal Brexit will cause “significant harm” to the NHS, top health academics have warned in a new paper. The medical journal The Lancet says that any form of leaving the EU will harm the health service, but that quitting without a withdrawal agreement will be “by far the worst option”. The medical journal outlines how NHS staffing numbers, finances and medicine will be impacted under four Brexit scenarios, and concludes that the only way to avoid damaging healthcare is to remain a member of the bloc. The authors warn “little evidence exists that the UK is prepared for any of the eventualities set out in their analysis”.
26th Feb 2019 - Huffington Post UK

Brexit could trigger major surge in animal testing as EU rules are invalidated, experts warn

Experiments on animals may have to be replicated if UK companies cannot access testing data for everything from household products to medicines. Animal testing could surge in the UK after Brexit as companies are forced to duplicate procedures underpinning the safety of everything from medicines to household cleaning products. Experts have warned of unnecessary harm to animals, as well as considerable costs for businesses, amid the uncertainty of a potential no-deal outcome. Chemicals found in an enormous variety of products are currently regulated under an EU programme known as Reach. If the government cannot agree on a deal that maintains its access to the system, it has said it will create its own UK-based version that essentially “copy and pastes” from the EU database.
25th Feb 2019 - The Independent

BlackRock CEO unhappy with UK's handling of Brexit — report

The chief executive of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has criticised the UK government’s handling of Brexit, saying it has become a problem for every private sector company in the world. The comments from Larry Fink, made in an interview with CNBC, come as UK Prime Minister Theresa May struggles to renegotiate the terms of a withdrawal agreement struck with Brussels last year, and avoid a no-deal Brexit on March 29. Fink told CNBC: “Brexit is an immediate problem, and it’s a problem that’s quite frankly annoying every private sector organisation in the world today. “The irresponsibility right now of the UK in coming to a resolution is putting more and more private sector organisations on alert.”
25th Feb 2019 - Financial News

The hidden cost of Brexit: how political wrangling has derailed vital consumer protections

Vital consumer protections have fallen by the wayside thanks to the Government’s slow progress on Brexit, experts have claimed. More than half of the consultations launched by government departments in 2018 are still waiting for a response, according to the Consultation Institute, a watchdog. Official guidelines state that a reason for delay should be given if responses are not published within 12 weeks. This target was not met in 204 of 414 cases last year. Among the policy discussions that have stalled are a solution to the care funding crisis, reform of leasehold home ownership and proper regulation of the funeral plans sector. Social care was the issue that arguably cost Prime Minister Theresa her majority in 2018 and it is still not addressed
25th Feb 2019 - The Telegraph

@BCCAdam 17 days’ notice for businesses, employees, investors and communities on what may be the biggest economic and trading change they face in a generation. Unbelievable. #Brexit

A parliamentary vote on March 12th for something that’s meant to take effect on March 29th. 17 days’ notice for businesses, employees, investors and communities on what may be the biggest economic and trading change they face in a generation. Unbelievable. #Brexit
24th Feb 2019 - @BCCAdam

Failure to agree a special post-Brexit intelligence deal would cause ‘significant damage’ to both UK and EU security

Britain would have less access to EU information systems than the US, Canada and Australia. In a lengthy paper calling for a bespoke UK-EU permanent security arrangement, it argues that Britain makes a disproportionate contribution to over 40 EU data systems and cooperation arrangements so it’s in “neither party’s interest to unnecessarily impede this flow of critical information”. RUSI research fellow Alexander Babuta calls on the EU to consider creating new precedents for a third country to be granted access to certain critical databases - regardless of whether there is a deal.
26th Feb 2019 - The Sun

Britons face five-hour airport queues in Spain with no-deal Brexit

British tourists to Spain could face airport queues of five hours or more after a no-deal Brexit, according to analysis by Which?, and the consumer group suggests travellers should take food, water and even nappies to survive prolonged delays
26th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Eurostar owner allays Brexit chaos fears

The biggest shareholder in Eurostar has sought to allay fears that Brexit might hit - or even halt - the cross-Channel train service. Guillaume Pepy, head of France's SNCF railway company, told French media that it was working to ensure smooth travel "whatever the [Brexit] scenario". He said "details" still needed to be worked out, but the service's "fundamentals" would not be affected.
26th Feb 2019 - BBC

Hard to stomach – the malnutrition emergency in the NHS

“Today, malnutrition affects at least 3 million people in the UK.” This was the sobering statistic shared by Declan O’Brien, Director General of British Specialist Nutrition Association (BSNA), as he addressed an early morning roundtable in the House of Commons. The BSNA event, sponsored by David Tredinnick MP, brought together parliamentarians and concerned health professionals to discuss the challenges faced by patients at risk of malnutrition and how the NHS can shape greater support for the future. Chairing the event, Mr O’Brien laid out the reality of the situation. “Currently one in three people in care homes, one in 10 visiting their GP and one in four people admitted to hospital are malnourished,” he said. “We know the number of malnourished people is increasing rather than decreasing, so we have a real problem.”
26th Feb 2019 - Politics Home

Diabetics stock up on insulin over Brexit fears

Diabetics and insulin providers in Britain are stockpiling the precious medicine to avoid potential shortages in case Britain leaves the European Union without a deal in just over month's time. Diabetes UK and another group, JDRF, have called on the government to provide more details on its preparations in case of a no-deal. They point out that in addition to insulin, people with diabetes use other drugs and imported products such as needles, insulin pumps, and devices used to measure blood glucose levels.
26th Feb 2019 - France 24

Hub in Belgium to keep NHS supplied in event of no-deal Brexit

The government has created a logistics hub in Belgium where vital medical supplies will be stockpiled to stop the NHS running short of equipment if there is a no-deal Brexit. The Department of Health and Social Care has also arranged to get NHS supplies – including drugs – into Britain using seven new ferry routes, to bypass the chaos that is widely expected in and around Dover in the event of no deal. The Department for Transport has agreed to pay two companies, Brittany Ferries and the Danish firm DFDS, £88.8m to transport products from the hub across the Channel over the next six months. Suppliers, including pharmaceutical companies which will store their products elsewhere, will be given priority access to the ferries.
25th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Mirror owner warns over Brexit as it makes £200m writedown

Simon Fox, the chief executive, said the write-down reflected the difficulties in generating advertising revenues locally and Brexit uncertainty. He said: “If there is a no deal there is a chance we could see a downturn in advertising.” Reach has prepared for Brexit by increasing stockpiles of newsprint imported from Norway and Canada, he said. The company said while average monthly page views for its websites grew by 6% to more than 1bn last year, digital advertising revenues had been hit by “algorithm changes made by Facebook and Google early in 2018”, which reduced the amount of Reach content being distributed via these platforms.
25th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

British Companies Are Frantically Preparing for a Messy Brexit

There are limits to how much more some industries can prepare. For food manufacturers, chilled storage is full and fresh food can’t be stockpiled. To try to stock up any more would be prohibitively expensive, said William Bain, a policy adviser at the British Retail Consortium, which represents more than 5,000 retailers. “People are busting a gut to make sure they do what’s deliverable,” Bain said. “Six months ago, people didn’t feel we’d be in this position, but it’s where we’ve landed.’’ Some major firms still have their finger hovering over the nuclear option: to move outside the U.K., said a FTSE 100 chief executive officer, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential plans. If Britain confirms it’s in a no-deal scenario, those companies will go, the person said.
22nd Feb 2019 - Bloomberg L.P.

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 25th Feb 2019

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Government 'May Have Relied On Google Maps' To Draw Up No-Deal Brexit Port Plans

Emergency plans to tackle no-deal Brexit chaos at UK ports are so “very basic” transport chiefs stand accused of using Google Maps to draw them up. Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association, made the startling allegation to HuffPost UK as he slammed “simplistic” proposals the government has drawn up for maritime chiefs. Bosses at Dover and Portsmouth are braced for potential ferry gridlock amid fears crashing out of the EU on March 29 could lead to food and medicine shortages.
22nd Feb 2019 - Huffington Post UK

Ministers spend £100m on Brexit consultant contracts

The government has agreed contracts worth £104m for outside help on Brexit, according to analysis for the BBC. Since the EU referendum, Whitehall has hired companies to do consultancy work to prepare for the UK's EU exit. Companies with the most valuable Brexit contracts include Boston Consulting Group, PWC and Deloitte, according to analysis firm Tussell.
22nd Feb 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Ireland warns residents UK driving licences won't be valid in No Deal

Ireland has warned its residents that UK driving licences will no longer be valid in a no deal Brexit. Drivers who live in the Republic are being urged to exchange their UK licences urgently for an Irish one before March 29. The announcement came this week from Ireland's National Driver Licence Service (NDLS). A statement by the NDLS said UK residents who visit "from time to time on holidays" will still be able to use their UK licence. NDLS rules also make clear visitors can drive on a foreign licence for up to a year providing it is current and valid. But people who live in Ireland have been told: "Your UK driving licence will not be valid to drive here in Ireland".
22nd Feb 2019 - Daily Mirror

EU expects UK request to help avoid food shortages under hard Brexit

“I’m sure that the United Kingdom will be giving us a phone call to make sure that in the first few days or few weeks of any particular hard Brexit that there is a joint effort on behalf of the UK and the European Union to mitigate the damage to the citizens of the UK in relation to food,” Hogan told Reuters on the sidelines of the Paris farm show. “I don’t think they will want a situation where they will have a logistical problem at their ports, that they will have food shortages and food prices going up in the shops,” Hogan added. The EU would prefer a “soft” Brexit with a transition period, as set out in last year’s withdrawal agreement agreed by May and the other 27 EU countries, but was “ready for the worst-case scenario”, Hogan said.
23rd Feb 2019 - Reuters UK

One million self-employed braced for digital tax burden days after Brexit

More than a million self-employed people and small business owners will be hit by a burdensome new tax-reporting regime to be introduced just days after Britain leaves the EU. From April 1 the Government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules will force small business owners with a turnover above the £85,000 VAT threshold to keep all records digitally and submit them to HMRC using approved software. Self-employed people including local shop owners, barristers and landlords will be among those who must comply with the new regime, when businesses are likely to be under severe strain and adapting to new trading conditions post Brexit.
23rd Feb 2019 - The Telegraph

UK food supply under threat from no-deal Brexit

In Calais and Dover, no new infrastructure has been built to prepare for customs checks should controls be required. London has yet to provide exporters and importers any clarity around its proposed trading regime with countries outside the EU. And companies from supermarket chains to big food processors such as Nestlé say they have no idea what labeling requirements will be in place should no deal be reached. “Obviously as importers of food, it’s really important that we know if there will be tariffs applied and if so what that is going to look like,” said Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets in the U.K. “There are a number of countries such as Iceland, Norway and Mexico — important for imports of food — where we are still uncertain what the trading arrangements will be on day one of a no-deal Brexit."
23rd Feb 2019 - Politico

Poles will return east to higher wages and jobs, and UK will lose out

Britain’s old reputation as an attractive place for economic migrants to come and work now lies in tatters. The message is clear: we want your money, but not your people. Eastern Europeans no longer flock to Britain; quite the reverse. Figures last week showed that 76,000 EU workers left last year, while the number of non-EU migrant workers rose by 159,000. Fresh statistics expected on Thursday are likely to show the decline continuing. However, evidence indicates that such immigration has been beneficial for the economy and in the long run we will be the losers
24th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

The Japanese aren’t daft – that’s why they’re getting out of Brexit Britain

A new Japanese consensus has formed. The Conservative party and its leaders cannot be trusted. They ignore warnings, break their word and do not understand business – personified by Old Etonians Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Brexit is a first-order disaster, striking at the heart of how Japanese companies organise themselves as “lean manufacturers”. As Honda’s Patrick Keating, its European government affairs manager, briefed a meeting in Swindon in September, Brexit is likely to interrupt the just-in-time delivery of 2 million parts a day – a fifth of which come from EU suppliers. Those suppliers would have to fill out 60,000 customs declaration forms a year, he warned. One in five of its UK workforce are EU nationals. The world of tariff-free barriers – access to the EU’s free-trade agreements with other countries, and ability to move staff between countries promised by Thatcher – has evaporated in front of Honda’s eyes.
24th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Bosses' alarm over EU visas | Business

Many British companies will find it impossible to do business in Europe in the event of a no-deal Brexit, leaders have warned, due to waiting times of up to six months for work permits. If Britain leaves without a withdrawal agreement on March 29, free movement of UK nationals to the remaining 27 EU nations will immediately cease. The time it takes to process an application for a work permit varies from about a month in Holland to six months in Italy. However, immigration experts say the existing application system for short-term visas and work permits could be overwhelmed with demand.
24th Feb 2019 - The Sunday Times

UK food imports from EU face '£9bn tariff bill' under no-deal Brexit

The government is expected next week to spell out its plan to mitigate a potential £9bn food-price shock from a no-deal Brexit, as analysts predict the cost of staples such as beef, cheddar cheese and tomatoes could soar. With just over a month until the Brexit deadline, the Department for International Trade is expected on Monday to publish a list of new import taxes, or tariffs, that will apply to 5,200 products, including food and clothing, should the UK crash out of the EU without a deal.
24th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 22nd Feb 2019

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The Home Office Is Still Owed Most Of The Fines It Has Issued To Employers Using Undocumented Migrants

At least half – and potentially more than two-thirds – of fines owed to the Home Office by employers using undocumented workers have gone unpaid in the last five financial years. Many of these employers have exploited undocumented workers as a way to pay far below the minimum wage. The introduction of more stringent fines was part of Theresa May’s “hostile environment” strategy when she was home secretary.
21st Feb 2019 - BuzzFeed News

Some cancer treatment may be delayed post-Brexit

NHS trusts will have “no choice but to prioritise” which patients receive cancer treatment if a no-deal Brexit delays the import of radioactive isotopes, the Royal College of Radiologists has warned.
19th Feb 2019 - Health Service Journal

Remain or leave? Carmakers confront hard Brexit choices

“It would not be true to say that a hard Brexit automatically means the closure of plants in the United Kingdom, neither for us, nor for other manufacturers, but it would certainly mean they come under greater scrutiny,” a car industry leader in the UK said. British workers would have to deliver productivity gains that offset tariffs and supply chain friction. everting to a regime of cross-border tariffs and World Trade Organization rules, after decades of free trade, would force Aston and its suppliers to trace and document where all the parts in a vehicle come from, he told Reuters. “When you’ve got 10,000 parts on a car and then you’ve got all of the sub-parts and the sub-parts, you quickly get up to hundreds of thousands of parts. And do you honestly know where they’ve all come from? Often not,” he said.
21st Feb 2019 - Reuters

London's Heathrow Airport could see trade boost in no-deal Brexit

London Heathrow Airport could be boosted by extra trade if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal and Britain’s seaports and roads get clogged up with extra congestion, the airport’s chief executive said on Thursday.
21st Feb 2019 - Reuters

Bin lorries raising awareness of EU citizens' rights after Brexit tell them 'this is your home'

A London council has sparked debate over its ad campaign offering information to EU citizens on their rights after Brexit. Tower Hamlets is displaying posters on 11 bin lorries around the borough, signposting people to its website and encouraging them to "secure your right to stay here". The message read: "Are you one of the 41,000 EU citizens who live in Tower Hamlets? This is your home too." It was accompanied by an arrow pointing to the back of the lorry.
21st Feb 2019 - Sky News

Pay farmers to avoid cull of lambs after no-deal Brexit, union says

The National Farmers Union president, Minette Batters, questioned what would happen to British produce if no deal is agreed that allows goods to be accepted. “With 900 hours to go, it’s unacceptable for government to leave British businesses having to take this gamble,” she said. Nick von Westenholz, the director of EU and international trade at the NFU, said sheep farmers were particularly vulnerable because they rely heavily on exports to the EU that could be halted for months if the UK crashes out of the bloc on 29 March. “The negative impact on the sheep sector will be felt within weeks because of the time [of year],” he said. The EU has said it could take up to six months to authorise imports from UK food producers. The NFU says this would be a de facto trade embargo, leaving sheep farmers with no option but to slaughter surplus animals.
21st Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Scottish packaging firm Macfarlane Group makes Brexit plan

The boss of the UK's biggest protective packaging distributor has a "high degree of confidence" it could still serve customers after a no-deal Brexit. Peter Atkinson of Macfarlane Group said there would be difficulties if Britain crashed out of the EU, but added that contingency plans were in place. His comments came as the Glasgow-based firm reported a ninth year of successive growth.
21st Feb 2019 - BBC

Yes, there’s Brexit. But the inaction on the fit-for-work scandal is shameless

“Fit-for-work tests”, the linchpin of the austerity era’s pernicious “welfare reforms”. Introduced by New Labour, but accelerated dramatically by the coalition government, these assessments have falsely pushed disabled and severely ill people off benefits, and even towards suicide.
21st Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Are we stockpiling in case of a no-deal Brexit?

There are fears that a no-deal Brexit might disrupt supplies of food from abroad. So how many of us are stockpiling groceries ahead of the leave date? Here's what some are doing in the Yorkshire town of Baildon.
21st Feb 2019 - BBC

For the Dutch, Brexit is a mistake – and a big opportunity

An advert in the Netherlands features a hairy beast warning about the looming departure of Britain from the EU. Move over Project Fear, this is Project Fur: a campaign aimed at urging businesses to brace themselves for a no-deal Brexit. So what do the Dutch make of the big blue Brexit monster? While the British media has been busy laughing at photos of the muppet-like creature straddling a desk as the Dutch foreign minister watches on, the truth is that this campaign has actually passed many people by. This is a shame: there are good reasons for Dutch folk to worry about the impact of an acrimonious Brexit. Such an outcome would be in no-one’s interests. But just as British supporters of Brexit talk of it as an opportunity, so too do many people in the Netherlands – only from their point of view this will come at Britain’s expense.
21st Feb 2019 - The Spectator

No-deal Brexit 'could disrupt London commuter trains'

Rail passengers commuting into London could have services disrupted by freight trains if a no-deal Brexit causes logjams at the Channel tunnel, it has emerged. Go-Ahead, the company behind the rail operator Southeastern, said it was working with the government to try to ensure commuters were not affected. But David Brown, the chief executive of Go-Ahead, which runs some of the biggest rail and bus networks in Britain, said there was a risk some passenger services could give way to goods. He also warned of a potential future shortage of bus drivers, revealing that job applications from Europe had dried up since the UK’s EU referendum in 2016.
21st Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Medical industry sounds alarm on risks posed by no-deal Brexit

Some of the UK's biggest pharmaceutical companies, research hospitals and medical industry groups say it is now impossible for them to be prepared for a no deal Brexit, which would put the future of medical trials in doubt. They say leaving the EU at the end of next month without a deal would also potentially delaying life-saving breakthroughs in fields such as cancer care. A blizzard of no-deal notices have been sent to medical firms this week by the industry watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with warnings that much of its important guidance and online services will not be available until the day of Brexit itself.
21st Feb 2019 - The Telegraph

Aer Lingus given six months to fix Brexit EU ownership issue

The European Union has given Aer Lingus and two related airlines in Spain a six-month deadline, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, in which to restructure its shareholding and thus ensure it is eligible to continue operating as a European company. This is the result of Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling being owned by British holding company International Airlines Group (IAG). According to EU rules, only companies that are majority owned by EU shareholders are able to operate flights between member states. A no-deal Brexit raised the prospect of Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling being stripped of their EU flying rights.
21st Feb 2019 - The Irish Times

Tourists face £52 visa for EU after Brexit as Spain blocks waiver

British tourists may have to pay to visit European countries after Brexit because of Spanish demands over the status of Gibraltar. Legislation being put in place to ensure Brits are able to travel visa-free within Europe after leaving the EU was derailed by Spain during talks in Brussels. The country was reluctantly backed by the other 26 member states when on Wednesday it re-ignited the argument over whether the British overseas territory should be described as a ‘colony’ in the EU’s statute book.
21st Feb 2019 - Metro

Despite Brexit, London will remain the VC capital of Europe

Leaving the single market will have the least impact on the most ambitious startups. The EU’s regulatory harmony has always been somewhat offset for startups by its linguistic and cultural diversity. In any case, these companies place no geographic bounds on their aspirations. The UK’s prosaic but fundamental strengths – a favourable time zone and the English language – will keep the country attractive as a springboard to launch a global company.
21st Feb 2019 - Wired.co.uk

On the rocks: Can the Scottish whisky industry survive Brexit?

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) trade body was not unique among UK industry in supporting a Remain vote. Business hates uncertainty - and the European Union accounts for over 30 percent of overseas Scotch whisky sales. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, after most people in England and Wales - unlike those in Scotland and Northern Ireland - voted to leave the bloc. If there is no deal agreed to govern that exit, then Britain is going to be trading with the EU and the rest of the world, on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms. "There is a risk of losing benefits, including lower tariffs, secured through the EU’s bilateral trade deals with markets representing around 10% of Scotch exports," according to the SWA.
21st Feb 2019 - Al Jazeera

Remain or leave? Carmakers confront hard Brexit choices

Many auto companies - from luxury marques like Aston Martin to mass-market brands such as Vauxhall - are working on ways to survive after March 29. On the outskirts of London, workers at Vauxhall's operation in Luton are preparing to produce a new line of commercial vans following fresh investment from the brand's owner PSA which they are counting on to sustain over 1,000 jobs. While post-Brexit market conditions remain a big unknown, Vauxhall boss Stephen Norman told Reuters Britain's exit from the European Union could present an opportunity to increase the brand's market share. He is pursuing a marketing campaign to boost demand for the company's modestly priced cars and SUVs.
21st Feb 2019 - Yahoo Finance UK

First minister says Wales needs to be first in queue for post-Brexit relief

First Minister Mark Drakeford said Wales needed to be at the front of the queue for any post-Brexit economic relief. He was in Llandudno Junction on Thursday for a cabinet meeting at the Welsh Government offices. Asked what his plan B was if companies such as Toyota and Airbus UK were to relocate after Brexit, taking away thousands of direct and ancillary jobs from the area, he laid the blame squarely with the Westminster government.
21st Feb 2019 - Daily Post

No-deal Brexit could cause food prices to soar by 45%, retailers warn

Retailers have warned that a no-deal Brexit will lead to “unaffordable” price hikes on food and drink for customers in both the UK and Ireland as well as causing shortages of some everyday items. Leaders of retail bodies said reverting to World Trade Organisation tariffs could make the cost of making fresh food and drink available to consumers increase by as much as 45 per cent – which is likely to be passed on to customers. Food and drink production will be made more expensive due to a combination of higher tariffs and new regulatory checks, according to Aodhan Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Thomas Burke, director of Retail Ireland and William Bain, the British Retail Consortium Europe and international policy adviser. The warning comes days after Birds Eye boss Wayne Hudson said food prices were likely to rise by up to 20 per cent “virtually immediately” due to new tariffs.
21st Feb 2019 - The Independent

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 21st Feb 2019

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Companies rush for Brexit trade clearance

There has been a surge in the number of companies looking for clearance to trade with Britain after Brexit. Revenue said yesterday that there had been a 300 per cent rise in applications for economic operators registration and identification (EORI) numbers so far in February compared with last month. There were just under 400 applications in January, rising to more than 1,600 in February. A spokesman for Revenue said that this was “basically just companies being proactive for trading with the UK after Brexit”
21st Feb 2019 - The Times

Brexit 'could risk children's safety', warn commissioners

Children's safety could be put at risk if the UK leaves the EU without proper plans for child protection, the UK's four children's commissioners warn. Child abuse, exploitation, abduction and how family law matters are dealt with if a child has one parent from the EU, are all "immediate issues".
21st Feb 2019 - BBC

Brexit: Aviva to move £9bn worth of assets to Ireland as it prepares for no-deal outcome

Britain’s second largest insurer has announced it will move £9bn worth of assets to Ireland as it prepares for Brexit. Aviva, which has more than 14.5 million, policyholders has received approval from the High Court in London to transfer €9bn (£7.8bn) to Dublin. It follows approval earlier this month to move £1bn to the Irish capital. The move, which is timed for 10.59pm on 29 March, is designed to deal with the consequences of a no-deal Brexit.
21st Feb 2019 - The Independent

European Medicines Agency loses battle to end UK lease over Brexit

The European Medicines Agency has lost a high court battle to cancel its £500m long-term office lease in London to move to Amsterdam because of Brexit.
20th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Britons may need £52 visa to visit mainland Europe after Brexit

British tourists travelling to continental Europe may need to pay £52 for a visa in a few weeks after Spanish demands over the status of Gibraltar again derailed Brussels’ preparations for Brexit. Agreement on legislation exempting UK nationals from requiring the travel permit is mired in a dispute over whether the British overseas territory should be described as a “colony” in the EU’s statute book.
20th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Retailers warn over no deal Brexit price hikes

Groups representing retailers in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK have issued a strong warning that a no-deal Brexit will lead to reduced availability of some goods. The joint statement from the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Retail Ireland and British Retail Consortium also cautions that if Britain crashes out of the EU on 29 March food and drink prices will rise. The organisations say that in the event of a disorderly Brexit increased tariffs of up to 45% and new regulatory checks will result in higher costs to suppliers.
20th Feb 2019 - RTE.ie

Brexit to make UK more vulnerable to interference from China, report warns

Economic uncertainties after Brexit could make the UK more vulnerable to Chinese interference, with Beijing using a variety of means to infiltrate Britain’s power structures, a leading think-tank has warned. There has been little focus in Britain on how China preys on targeted countries and there is a need for a cohesive programme to counter it, according to a report by the Royal United Services Institute, which charts the tactics used by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to achieve its aims. The report examines the “concerted strategy” allegedly used by Beijing, ranging from spreading surreptitious technological reach through mega-corporations like Huawei, to the “elite capture” of people in important positions and opinion-formers by the placing of “advisers”
20th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Will I face roaming charges abroad after Brexit?

Roaming charges have, until recently, been one of the most punishing things about going on holiday. And they soon could be again. Brexit has brought back fears that companies could re-introduce roaming fees and force people to pay extortionate amounts as they travel around Europe. Those charges disappeared because of EU rules – and could come back when the UK leaves as a result of a No Deal Brexit
20th Feb 2019 - The Independent

As a ‘No Deal’ Brexit Looms, the Art World Prepares for the Fallout

Some British traders seem unaware of the shock a no-deal Brexit could deliver to the world’s fifth-biggest economy. Andrew Legere, owner of Lantiques, a dealership based in Petworth, southern England, has been buying and selling old French furniture for more than 25 years. “I used to buy a lot of my stock in France, but now I have an established network of British dealers who buy in France for me. I’m anticipating that this should adequately sidestep the obstacle of Brexit,” said Mr. Legere. But wasn’t he aware that from March 29 it will be difficult, if not impossible, for dealers to drive a van over to France and drive it back filled with antiques?
20th Feb 2019 - The New York Times

Brexit: What happens to the Erasmus student scheme in a no deal?

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal before the exchanges for the next academic year have been finalised, then the government would need European agreement to keep taking part. That is true for both UK students planning to go to EU countries, and EU nationals hoping to come to the UK. So the government has said that it will negotiate with the European Commission to try to get the 2019-20 programme agreed, but those negotiations cannot start until after the UK leaves. That is why students have been receiving letters saying that the funding of their 2019-20 trips is uncertain. The Department for Education told BBC News that it was "seeking to engage the Commission as soon as possible to seek clarification and discuss further what they are proposing".
20th Feb 2019 - BBC

Brexit food shortages are not inevitable – keep calm and don’t panic buy

With no Brexit deal in place and March 29 fast approaching, fears are growing that the UK will struggle to maintain supplies of food currently sourced from the EU. A company producing £295 “Brexit boxes” containing freeze-dried food, a water filter and fire-starting gel, recently said it has sold 600, showing that this issue is close to the hearts (and stomachs) of the British public. But, clever marketing tricks aside, it is worth emphasising that doomsday scenario shortages are not inevitable.
20th Feb 2019 - Hartlepool Mail

Drivers will still have access to satellite navigation systems after Brexit

The EU is in the process of developing its own systems called Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). The UK has been heavily involved with Galileo, which is expected to be fully operational by the mid-2020s, and EGNOS, which is already up and running. We have spent around £1.2billion on the two programmes while UK companies have also provided expertise. When the UK leaves the EU we will no longer be able to take part in any further development, as the EU has said it must only be built by member states. Companies in the UK, which have previously worked on satellite payloads and security systems, will no longer be able to bid for contracts.
20th Feb 2019 - Lancashire Evening Post

EU raids salmon farmers in Scotland in price-fixing inquiry

European commission investigators have raided salmon farming businesses in Scotland and other European countries in an inquiry into suspected price-fixing by Norwegian producers. The anti-cartel investigators raided sales offices owned by Mowi, formerly Marine Harvest, in Rosyth in Fife, a Scottish Sea Farms site and a salmon farm operated by Grieg in Shetland on Tuesday, as well as sites in the Netherlands and other EU member states.
20th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

'Fanciful' to say Honda didn't consider Brexit when closing Swindon

Sir David Warren, former British ambassador to Tokyo, says UK-Japan trade and investment ‘held hostage’ by Conservatives’ internal politics. Claims that Brexit had nothing to do with Honda closing its only UK manufacturing plant are “fanciful”, according to a former British ambassador to Japan. The Japanese government has become increasingly vocal in recent weeks about the damage a no-deal Brexit would cause, while a number of big Japanese corporations have announced restructures. The Japanese foreign minister, Taro Kono, said on Tuesday that it was “absolutely necessary” for the UK to avoid crashing out of the European Union without a deal.
20th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Where next for British car manufacturing? -

BBC Newsnight reviews the Honda plant closure decision and then looks back at the history of the UK car manufacturing industry since the 1970s. Confirms Margaret Thatcher's pledge for the UK to remain in the UK common market and improvements in industrial relations were behind the successful rise in car manufacturing right up to 2016
19th Feb 2019 - BBC Newsnight

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 20th Feb 2019

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Stormont bonuses for no-deal Brexit staff worth £1.2m

Stormont chiefs could hand out more than £1.2 million in bonuses to staff under plans to entice more civil servants to join coordination teams for a no-deal Brexit. Civil servants are being offered a bonus of up to £1,500 to join the contingency proposals which would come into force if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, The Irish News yesterday revealed. The "Command, Control and Coordination" (C3) structures may involve staff moving onto a 24/7 rota for up to six months and a 'central hub' being established to handle a no-deal Brexit.
20th Feb 2019 - Irish Independent

Brexit causing ‘palpable decline’ in UK influence at the UN

Brexit is already leading to a “palpable decline” in British influence at the UN, and that influence would be in freefall but for the UK’s commitment to spend 0.7 % of gross national income on overseas aid, a study has found. The report by the UK branch of the United Nations Association suggests Britain will lose political capital on the 15-member UN security council and the larger general assembly in New York because its campaigns will no longer be automatically aligned with those of the EU.
20th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit uncertainty cannot be an excuse for inaction in public sector says Wales Audit Office

Planning for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit is being taken seriously across Wales but the picture varies across the country the Auditor General for Wales has said, although locally the efforts will be scrutinised quite close to Brexit itself.
20th Feb 2019 - Wrexham.com

Storm Brexit keeps up the high pressure

As dwellers on this island observed the Brexit storm-clouds on the horizon, there was an underlying belief that while Storm Brexit would be turbulent, it would never evolve into a full-blown no-deal disaster. There was an assumption that the British political establishment was undergoing some form of PRSD — post-referendum stress disorder — that would make them all crazy for a while, but that eventually common sense would be restored. Instead, the theatre of the absurd took up permanent residence in Westminster. Internecine war in the Tory and Labour parties has, if anything, got worse, while in Northern Ireland Sinn Féin and the DUP squatted in their partisan trenches.
20th Feb 2019 - The Times

People didn’t vote leave for my son to be separated from his mother

Deal or no deal, that’s the question on everyone’s lips right now. But for me and the 140,000 other European carers and stay-at-home parents living in the UK, it makes no odds. Either way we are being faced with separation from the people we love. Either way I am being told that I am unworthy of citizenship, unworthy of my family. All because I chose to do what any mother would do in my circumstances and give my son the specialised care he needed.
20th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

'Brexit gap' over wildlife protection is looming

Wales risks losing 80% of the laws that protect its environment after Brexit with no plans in place yet to replace them, nature charities have warned. Wildlife, habitats, air and water quality could all be affected, they have claimed. One organisation - WWF Cymru - has written to Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths calling for "urgent action". The Welsh Government said it was developing proposals and looking forward to taking them forward. But with less than 40 days to go until the UK is set to leave the EU, WWF Cymru's director Anne Meikle warned "the rug will be pulled out from our existing environmental protections".
20th Feb 2019 - BBC

HSBC sees UK business weaken amid Brexit uncertainty

Banking giant HSBC has reported tougher conditions in the UK in the run ... but we are still going to see a growth rate." On Brexit, he said: "The longer we have the uncertainty the worse it is going to be
19th Feb 2019 - Sky News

What are Brexit contingency plans for pharmaceutical industry?

AstraZeneca and other companies have frozen all manufacturing investments. Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker decided to halt further investments at its Macclesfield site in the summer of 2017. Its chairman, Leif Johansson, has said the UK needs to make sure it “does not become an isolated island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean”. David Jefferys, a senior executive at the European arm of the Japanese company Eisai, which makes treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and breast cancer, told the Guardian: “Nobody likes uncertainty. We are not making any new investments in the UK until there is clarity.” Other major drugmakers, such as Novartis and the Viagra maker Pfizer, have announced plans to close UK manufacturing or packaging sites by 2020. Both decisions were made after the June 2016 referendum but the companies said they were not linked to Brexit.
19th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Carmakers quitting Britain won't blame Brexit – it's not in their interest

In the months before the Brexit vote, Japan’s government warned that a victory for the leave campaign could have a negative impact on investments in Britain. The Japan Business Federation, noting that more than 1,000 Japanese firms have a presence in Britain, joined the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in pleading with Britain to remain in the EU. Since the referendum vote, Japanese companies have stayed largely silent. Like all major employers, they have broken cover in recent weeks to talk about the huge cost of a no-deal Brexit. But there have been precious few stories of companies, and especially those that sell directly to consumers, blaming factory closures or office relocations on the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
19th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Aviva to move €10.1bn in assets to Dublin as Brexit looms

Aviva has been given the green light to transfer €10.1bn (£8.8bn) worth of assets to Ireland as the insurance giant ramps up its Brexit contingency planning. The group, one of Britain’s biggest life insurance and pensions companies with 14.5 million policyholders, received approval from the High Court today to transfer €9bn (£7.8 billion). It follows approval earlier this month to transfer €1.1bn (£1bn) to Dublin. The relocation is designed to deal with the consequences of a no-deal hard Brexit, in which UK based financial services firms will lose passporting rights that allow them to function in the EU’s single market, the world’s richest trading bloc.
19th Feb 2019 - Irish Examiner

Investment paused and cancelled by Brexit, says Skates

Business investment in Wales is being "paused and cancelled" due to Brexit uncertainty, a Welsh minister has said. Ken Skates said an unnamed manufacturer has put on hold investment in north-east Wales "because of Brexit". The minister said the investment, which would create 250 jobs, "will be lost" in the event of a no-deal Brexit. He said ministers could possibly spend money on school and road building projects "to stimulate economic growth" if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
19th Feb 2019 - BBC

Brexit: UK will apply food tariffs in case of no deal

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has promised that the government will apply tariffs to food imports in the event of a no-deal Brexit, to provide "specific and robust protections" for farmers. His remarks come as the government is poised to release details of tariffs (taxes on imports) that would apply to thousands of products coming in from around the world, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Many supporters of Brexit argue that tariffs on food and other items should be scrapped in order to lower prices for consumers. But farmers fear that cheap imports and lower standards would destroy many parts of British agriculture.
19th Feb 2019 - BBC

Leave to remain? The voters who have changed their minds over Brexit

In my opinion, it is too late to stop Brexit. Businesses are already leaving and the damage is done. Faith in politicians is so low that seeing this through is very important to stop the rise of populism. In a way, I think it would be good to leave so that people realise we’re better off being part of the “club” rather than out of it. If we leave with no deal, in 12 months’ time, we may be begging the EU to take us back.
19th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Parts of public sector 'not ready' for no-deal Brexit

Some parts of the Welsh public sector have only made limited plans for a potential no-deal Brexit, a public spending watchdog has warned. The Wales Audit Office (WAO) said councils in particular have not spent money because of the political uncertainty. Risks highlighted by public bodies include the disruption of food supplies to hospitals, schools and care homes.
19th Feb 2019 - BBC

Sturgeon urges EU citizens to stay in Scotland after Brexit

Efforts to encourage EU citizens to stay in Scotland after Brexit are to be stepped up, Nicola Sturgeon has told members of the French parliament. The Scottish first minister addressed a committee of the Assemblée Nationale during a visit to Paris. She said she would "always make it clear that EU citizens are welcome". The Home Office is currently testing an application system for settled status in the UK, which it said 100,000 people had successfully taken part in so far. In January, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that fees for EU nationals to apply to stay in the UK after Brexit had been scrapped - although Ms Sturgeon said this was only after lobbying from other parties.
19th Feb 2019 - BBC

Brexit: NI Water stockpiles purification chemicals

Northern Ireland Water is stockpiling purification chemicals as part of its Brexit plan, it is understood. There have been concerns that disruption in trade with the EU, as a result of a hard Brexit, could lead to shortages of some chemicals. Most of the chemicals that NI Water uses are manufactured in the UK or Ireland. It will nonetheless hold months worth of additional stocks at its own premises and at supplier warehouses.
19th Feb 2019 - BBC

A ship has left the UK for Japan with no guarantee of unloading its cargo due to Brexit

The U.K. business minister has confirmed that a trade agreement with Japan won't be in place by the time Britain leaves the European Union. Cargo leaving Britain by sea will now be arriving at some ports after March 29th.
19th Feb 2019 - CNBC

At last, a Brexit dividend – shame it’s for the pedlars of fake medicine

The World Health Organization reported earlier this month that fake leukaemia medicine, packaged for the UK market to look like the genuine drug Iclusig, was circulating in Europe and the Americas. On all counts, people in the UK are vulnerable right now. The criminals’ business model depends on patients taking risks. And desperate patients will buy medicines from dodgy sources for lots of reasons, our research shows. If the medicine you need isn’t covered by your insurance or health service, you turn to the internet (think of the HIV-prevention pill PrEP in England and Wales, for example).
19th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Blue in the face: Dutch businesses heed furry Brexit monster

A furry blue monster aimed at spurring companies in the Netherlands to take Brexit seriously may look slightly odd but seems to be doing a good job, the Dutch government has said. The enormous Muppet-like creature, unveiled in a tweet last week showing it sprawling unhelpfully across the desk of the foreign minister, Stef Blok, had prompted 10 times more companies to take an official “Brexit scan”, the foreign affairs ministry said. A spokesman said on Tuesday that on the day Blok launched the campaign, 6,832 companies assessed the impact upon their businesses of Britain’s forthcoming departure from the EU at the brexitloket.nl website, compared with 691 the previous day.
19th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Irish government assured over power outage fears from no-deal Brexit

The Irish Environment Minister has assured a government committee that they are not anticipating blackouts or power outages on either side of the border in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
19th Feb 2019 - Belfast Telegraph

'It's the only life I've ever known'

Karin was born in Germany. After 35 years of living and working in Scotland, she is now worried about her citizenship after Brexit. Charity the Fife Migrants Forum say concerns may lead many EU nationals to avoid signing up for so-called Settled Status. The Home Office insists the scheme is a simple and straightforward way of protecting the rights of those EU citizens living and working in the UK.
19th Feb 2019 - BBC

Simon Coveney says people shouldn't stockpile medicines because of Brexit

Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that there is enough medicine in Ireland for 8 to 12 weeks in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and that people should not be stockpiling medicines, as it may cause issues later on.
19th Feb 2019 - TheJournal.ie

Brexit food shortages: Britons told to prepare for spam, canned peaches, and ‘a tonne of leeks’ in no-deal scenario

With a no-deal Brexit looming, supermarket bosses have again warned of the adverse impact it will have Stockpiling can only prepare the UK for so much as there's limited space and fresh food has a short shelf life One retail chief said it may well be that we all have to get used to canned goods like Spam
19th Feb 2019 - iNews

Hub set up in Belgium to ship critical NHS supplies under No Deal Brexit

Ministers have set up a “logistics hub” in Belgium to ship critical NHS supplies under a no-deal Brexit. The Department of Health has also reserved its own dedicated shipping channel from mainland Europe to the UK to ensure vital medical products get through.
19th Feb 2019 - The Sun

Britain's EU workforce in decline as numbers from elsewhere soar

The number of workers in the UK from elsewhere in the EU fell by 61,000 at a time when the number of British and non-EU workers soared, official figures show. It contrasted with an increase in the number of non-EU workers in the UK, rising from 1.16 million to 1.29 million in the same period. This was an increase of 130,000 compared with the equivalent period 12 months earlier, and the highest number since records began in 1997.
19th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

@KnoxTony “Dublin is our headquarters for our European bank now, full stop,” said Anne M. Finucane, vice chairwoman of Bank of America...

One big Brexit beneficiary is Dublin, where Bank of America, Citigroup and Barclays are expanding their ranks. “Dublin is our headquarters for our European bank now, full stop,” said Anne M. Finucane, vice chairwoman of Bank of America...
18th Feb 2019 - @KnoxTony

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 19th Feb 2019

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A digital gangster destroying democracy: the damning verdict on Facebook

Facebook is an out-of-control train wreck that is destroying democracy and must be brought under control. The final report of parliament’s inquiry into fake news and disinformation does not use this language, precisely, but it is, nonetheless, the report’s central message. And the language it does use is no less damning. Facebook behaves like a “digital gangster”. It considers itself to be “ahead of and beyond the law”. It “misled” parliament. It gave statements that were “not true”. Its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has treated British lawmakers with “contempt”. It has pursued a “deliberate” strategy to deceive parliament.
18th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

MPs give Big Tech a hammering over privacy and fake news

18th Feb 2019 - BBC

Key points from parliamentary inquiry into disinformation

The UK government should define digital political campaigning and online political advertising and reform electoral law, which is described as “unfit for purpose”, to make the sources of online political adverts clear. It specifically cites the case of Mainstream Network, a pro-Brexit campaign run by unknown individuals that spent £257,000 over 2018 promoting dozens of adverts targeted at specific constituents, encouraging them to write to their MP criticising Theresa May’s Chequers proposal. It complains that Facebook promised answers as to who was behind the campaign, but has thus far failed to provide them.
18th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

London bankers will need 'chaperones' for EU clients

Investment banks have warned merger and acquisition teams in Britain they cannot pitch business to clients in the European Union if there is a no-deal Brexit without an EU "chaperone" sitting in on their meeting. This is according to sources familiar with the matter. Banks including Nomura and Credit Suisse have told dealmakers in London that in a no-deal Brexit scenario they would have to loop in EU colleagues when talking to customers in continental Europe about specific advisory work and regulated products like loans or bonds. Even cold-calling of company executives to pitch for new business out of London could raise eyebrows among EU regulators if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal, the sources said.
18th Feb 2019 - RTE.ie

City relief as EU gives no-deal green light for clearing houses

Europe stepped up preparations for a no-deal Brexit on Monday after giving key parts of the City of London temporary access to EU customers in the event of a cliff-edge departure. The European Securities and Markets Authority, the EU financial regulator, has granted three UK-based clearing houses — LCH, ICE Clear Europe and LME Clear — licences to carry on doing business with European-based customers over the next 12 months even if politicians fail to strike an agreement.
18th Feb 2019 - Evening Standard

Honda closure may not be about Brexit, but it is about Brexports

Honda production is returning to Japan for the same reason Nissan production is returning, and Dyson production is heading to Singapore: these countries have new free trade deals with the EU. Japan’s deal will slash tariffs on cars exported to the EU from 10 per cent to zero by 2027. Politicians knew Japanese carmakers were in talks to make tariff-free EU trade possible but did absolutely nothing to counter it
18th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says no-deal Brexit could cause 'mother of all messes' for Formula One

With only 38 days until Brexit, Toto Wolff, team principal of reigning five-time world champions Mercedes, has predicted that a no-deal scenario could create the “mother of all messes” for Formula One. While Wolff stopped short of suggesting that Mercedes had any contingencies to abandon the UK, he signalled that a crisis was mounting.
18th Feb 2019 - The Telegraph

Fleets reminded of no deal Brexit driving licence implications

Fleets are being reminded that drivers may need an international driving permit (IDP) if they are going to drive abroad in the event of a no deal Brexit on March 29. Currently, drivers can use their Great Britain or Northern Ireland in all EU or European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland, but may need an international driving permit (IDP) to drive outside the EU or EEA. However, the DVLA says if the UK leaves the UK without a deal, people might need an IDP to drive in all EU and EEA countries, apart from Ireland.
18th Feb 2019 - Fleet News

‘We’re going back in time’: Brexit and the customs broker

When the Revenue Commissioners warned last month that the number of customs declaration forms filed a year could surge from almost 1.7 million to 20 million after the UK leaves the European Union, O’Hare was listening. He and brokers like him will, for the most part, be the ones helping traders to prepare the declarations. “I can see huge problems if it comes to a cliff-edge Brexit,” says O’Hare, whose Dundalk-based office is located just 6km (3.7miles) south of the Border.
18th Feb 2019 - The Irish Times

'A bit messy on the other side': Dutch economy braces for Brexit shockwave

The Dutch government says it's been in talks with 250 foreign firms considering moving or expanding operations into the Netherlands in the wake of Brexit. At least 42 made the move in 2018, according to figures recently published by a Dutch foreign investment organization. The European Medicines Agency is in the process of relocating from London to Amsterdam. Electronics giants Sony and Panasonic have announced plans to move their European hubs from Britain to the Netherlands.
18th Feb 2019 - CBC News

Commission adopts 'no-deal' Brexit contingency measures for rail

The European Commission has adopted proposals designed to help avoid major disruption to cross-border rail services between the UK and the European Union in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. The Commission is working with the European Parliament and Council to ensure the legislative measures can be in force ready for when the UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29/30. The proposals would ensure that safety authorisations for certain rail infrastructure, in particular the Channel Tunnel, can remain valid for a ‘strictly limited’ period of three months ‘to allow long-term solutions in line with EU law to be put in place’. This would be conditional on the UK maintaining safety standards identical to EU requirements, which the UK has already said it intends to do.
18th Feb 2019 - Railway Gazette International

New Cross Hospital chiefs draw up plans for 'no deal' Brexit

Talks are under way to ensure there are no disruptions to supplies of medicines and vaccines if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal next month. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital in the city, said there were three suppliers considered to be “high risk”. But health bosses said they were not likely to stockpile medicine, on guidance from the Department of Health.
18th Feb 2019 - Express and Star

Brexit: Food prices to rise up to 20% ‘virtually instantaneously’ after leaving EU, warns Birds Eye boss

Fans of fish fingers could see the prices of their favourite food shoot up "virtually instantaneously” should Britain crash out of the EU without a deal, the head of Birds Eye in the UK has warned. The frozen food specialist's managing director for the UK and Ireland, Wayne Hudson, said many food products would be affected by a disorderly Brexit. Manufacturers would have to pass tariffs of up to 20 per cent on to retailers, who would themselves have to decide how much of the extra cost to pass on to shoppers, he cautioned.
18th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Birds Eye issues Brexit warning; Reckitt profits rise

18th Feb 2019 - Daily Mail

Brexit: Will Britons living in the EU still get healthcare?

"We are in a situation now where many of our fellow-citizens living in Spain or France do not know in just over 40 days time whether they will have any health cover," Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative chair of the House of Commons health select committee told BBC News. We'll look at the situation in those two countries and Ireland. There is considerable uncertainty about what would happen if there is no deal but the government says it is in "close discussions" with EU member states and will do all it can to ensure patients can continue to access healthcare, whatever the outcome.
18th Feb 2019 - BBC

Chemicals companies shift to EU regulation in no-deal survival plan

The threat of a no-deal Brexit has prompted more than 50 chemicals companies to move regulatory approvals from the UK to the EU. The companies, which have operations in the UK, have applied to use European Union regulators for critical authorisations to protect their ability to do business legally. Their current authorisations will become worthless if there is no transition arrangement following 29 March, the planned date of Brexit, according to data provided to the Guardian by the European Commission.
18th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: Violence if hard Irish border returns report claims

There would be a return to violence in Northern Ireland if there was a hard Irish border due to a no-deal Brexit or a rushed border poll, claims a report. The new research was conducted by Irish Senator Mark Daly in conjunction with two UNESCO chairmen. Mr Daly said the report "highlights the responsibility of the UK government to stand by the backstop". Both the EU and the UK government have said they are committed to avoiding the return of a hard border after Brexit.
18th Feb 2019 - BBC

What are Brexit contingency plans for aerospace and defence?

The British aerospace sector is bracing for a no-deal Brexit, which it estimates could mean billions of pounds in extra costs. The impact on some goods could equate to 38% of their sale value, according to one no-deal Brexit scenario modelled by ADS, a lobby group for the aerospace and defence sectors. The group estimates that new customs checks alone will cost an extra £1.5bn per year. While tariffs are less of an issue for the sector, as most finished aerospace parts are not caught by the levies, import VAT and tariffs on generic parts and raw materials could still add significant costs.
18th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Inside the London tech scene's frantic plan to stop Brexit

The Tech For UK crowd is mostly comprised of startup founders, developers, recruiters, marketing experts, social media strategists. They might have joined out of simple pro-EU sentiments, and/or out of worry for Brexit’s impact not only on their lives, but on their livelihoods and businesses. They have seen how VCs stopped liking the UK; they are fretting about European innovation grants drying up, or European tech workers talk about moving somewhere else; some of them, of course, are European citizens themselves. Dismayed by the fatalistic comportment of official trade organisations, these people eventually congealed into an unofficial pro-Remain guerrilla operation, determined to use their skills to make the Brexit train stall before it goes flying over the white cliffs of Dover. As Butcher puts it, this is an exercise in “civic technology.”
18th Feb 2019 - Wired

Brexit news: Travellers with booked flights could be hit with ‘Brexit surcharge’

Brexit is proving a headache for travellers, with ongoing negotiations and political uncertainty prompting huge confusion prior to the UK’s departure from the EU on March 29. A new warning has now been issued by experts for those who have already organised and stumped up the cash for their post-Brexit break.
18th Feb 2019 - Express

Maintain EU electrical safety standards after Brexit, ministers urged

The government is being urged to prevent consumer safety standards from slipping after Brexit, to avoid putting lives at risk from the growing number of potentially dangerous counterfeit electrical goods coming into the UK. As the country edges closer to leaving the EU, the charity Electrical Safety First (ESF) wants the government to prioritise consumer safety and protection, regardless of the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, which could be the UK crashing out without a deal.
18th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Britons stockpiling euros as Brexit day draws nearer

Britons have been stockpiling euros as the UK’s departure from the European Union draws nearer, new figures suggest. Sales of euros have been up on the previous year for each of November, December and January. While the numbers show British appetites for holidays on the continent have not been diminished by Brexit, they could also illustrate fears the pound could slump if the UK crashes out without a deal on 29 March. Post Office Travel Money, which handles one in four of all foreign exchange transactions, said there had been “strong demand” for euros in recent months.
18th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Airbus warns of ‘catastrophic’ no-deal Brexit

A top Airbus executive warned today that a no-deal Brexit would be "catastrophic" for the industry, adding that the company has already spent tens of millions of euros preparing for such a scenario. “There is no such thing as a managed ‘no deal,’ it’s absolutely catastrophic for us,” Airbus' Senior Vice President Katherine Bennett told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. “Some difficult decisions will have to be made if there’s no deal ... We will have to look at future investments," she added.
18th Feb 2019 - Politico.eu

EY Europe abandons London for Brussels before Brexit

Big Four firm EY has announced that it is shifting its legal entity from London to Brussels, ahead of Britain’s exit from the European Union. The move will bring the entity in line with continental auditing rules, while shielding it from changes in the recognition of professional qualifications between the UK and EU.
18th Feb 2019 - Consultancy.uk

Firms urged to step up Brexit plans as concerns mount

Brexit pressure is starting to grow on small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) here, new research has found, with two out of every five saying they are concerned about the issue. According to the latest InterTrade Ireland Business Monitor covering the fourth quarter of last year, rising costs are also a worry for a third of Irish SMEs. As the economy approaches full employment, attracting and recruiting the right employees remains an ongoing problem for smaller firms with more than ten staff, with one in every five saying it is a struggle.
18th Feb 2019 - RTE.ie

The Government has just admitted organic food exports are DEAD after a no deal Brexit

The Government has just admitted organic food exports are DEAD after a no deal Brexit: "Unless an equivalency deal is reached with the EU, or your UK control body is recognised by the EU, you will not be able to export organic food or feed to the EU."
18th Feb 2019 - UK Government

UK manufacturers warn of 'catastrophic' no-deal Brexit

Britain faces the “catastrophic prospect” of a no-deal Brexit next month due to the selfishness of some politicians and chaotic parliamentary proceedings, the head of the country’s main manufacturing association said on Tuesday. The strong warning from Make UK, previously known as the EEF, comes as Japanese carmaker Honda is expected to say it is preparing to shut its main UK plant with a loss of 3,500 jobs. Nissan earlier this month canceled plans to build its X-Trail sport utility vehicle in Britain, mostly blaming “business reasons” but also citing Brexit uncertainty.
18th Feb 2019 - Reuters

Berlin warns it will stop extradition of Germans to UK after Brexit

Under its constitution, Germany has strict limits to the extradition of its nationals. The only potential exceptions permitted are for requests from other EU countries, which are made via the European Arrest Warrant, or to an international court. This means Berlin will reject any British requests to arrest German nationals after Brexit, even if a planned 21-month transition period comes into force. During the transition period — an integral part of Theresa May’s deal with Brussels that can be extended to the end of 2022 — the UK would still apply EU law in full and stay under European Court of Justice jurisdiction.
17th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 18th Feb 2019

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Porsche warns UK customers of Brexit price rise

Porsche is warning UK customers they might have to pay 10% extra for cars delivered after Britain leaves the EU. The German firm wants buyers to sign a clause agreeing to a potential tariff, a move Porsche said is "precautionary". Porsche's owner Volkswagen declined to discuss if some of its other brands, including Audi, Lamborghini, Skoda, Bugatti, Seat, and Ducati might follow. A 10% surcharge would see the cost of an entry-level Porsche 911 rising from £93,110 to £102,421.
17th Feb 2019 - BBC

Porsche asks UK buyers to commit to 10% no-deal Brexit surcharge

15th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Theresa May's government is using 'blanket secrecy' to hide its no-deal Brexit plans

MPs have run out of time to force the government to publish details of over 320 Brexit "workstreams." The workstreams — spread across nearly 20 government departments — are intended to make sure the United Kingdom is ready for all outcomes on exit day, March 29. This includes no-deal. The government still refuses to publish details of whether these workstreams are on track. "It's secrecy for secrecy's sake and Brexit has become the excuse for that," senior MP Meg Hillier, who has been pushing for ministers to be more transparent about its Brexit work, told Business Insider. The government insists that the information is sensitive and cannot be made public.
17th Feb 2019 - Business Insider

@BBCPolitics No deal #Brexit: “We’ve spent tens of millions of euros” Airbus VP Katherine Bennett on preparations for a no deal Brexit

Airbus UK boss Katherine Bennett explains to Andrew Marr that the company has spent tens of millions of Euros on contingency planning for Brexit and she'd much prefer it to have been spent on apprentiships, training, investment for new jobs instrad
17th Feb 2019 - @BBCPolitics

Revealed: how Home Office hires out staff to hunt migrants

The Home Office is selling the services of its immigration officials to private companies in a move attacked as an escalation of the “hostile environment” strategy. According to internal documents seen by the Observer, the department is attempting to embed immigration officers at a rate of almost £60 an hour as part of an “enhanced checking service” being offered to public services, understood to include NHS trusts and local authorities, as well as private firms.
16th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

No-deal Brexit: Country by country guide to how the rights of Britons will be affected

With the UK parliament still gridlocked on how to find a compromise on Brexit, the likelihood of Britain exiting the European Union without a deal grows by the day. Here's what that would mean for Brits in each country
14th Feb 2019 - The Local Norway

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 15th Feb 2019

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Brexit: Scotland government demands lost EU funding be ‘replaced in full’ by Treasury after UK's exit

The Scottish government wants all lost EU funding currently received by Scotland to be “replaced in full” by the UK Treasury after Brexit. Representatives from both the Scottish and Welsh governments are due to meet with chief secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss in Cardiff on Friday. Ahead of the meeting, Scottish finance secretary Derek Mackay said he was “deeply concerned” about the lack of clarity over future budgets and wants assurances that Scotland would “not be financially worse off as a result of the EU exit”.
14th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Scots and Welsh ministers quiz Treasury on post-Brexit cash

14th Feb 2019 - BBC

No-deal Brexit could see UK locked out of EU infectious disease surveillance data, chief medical officer warns

A no-deal Brexit could see the UK lose access to an EU-wide online tracker of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer (CMO) for England, has told The Pharmaceutical Journal. Asked if the UK would still be able to access — and contribute to — The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s Surveillance Atlas of Infectious Diseases following a no-deal Brexit, she said that at the present time “we actually don’t know”.
13th Feb 2019 - The Pharmaceutical-Journal

American Meat Lobbyists List Demands For Post-Brexit UK-US Trade Deal

Lobbyists for the American meat industry have urged the US government to demand Britain drop antibiotics restrictions and the ban on ractopamine-fed pork as part of any post-Brexit trade deal. Speaking at an evidence session in front of the powerful US Trade Policy Committee in Washington last month, the lobbyists also warned forcing the UK to accept chlorine-bleached chicken would require “hard negotiating”. Craig Thorn, of America’s National Pork Producers Council, said Britain should drop its standards and stop testing pork for the parasitic worm trichinae.
13th Feb 2019 - Huffington Post

Porsche warns of 10% price rise after no-deal Brexit

Porsche has told its customers that they might have to pay up to 10% on top of the price of their car in import tariffs should there be a no-deal Brexit. The UK is currently due to leave the European Union on 29 March but has yet to strike a deal, meaning tariffs of up to 10% could be applied to imports and exports
15th Feb 2019 - Autocar

Cardiff gig to discuss Brexit and Welsh independence

Some of Wales' top musicians have launched a new movement urging people to discuss the country's post-Brexit future and independence. Charlotte Church, Super Furry Animals' Cian Ciaran and Welsh Music Prize-winners Boy Azooga are all involved. Yes Is More! launches at The Tramshed in Cardiff later as part of a series of cultural events. Ciaran, one of the organisers, said: "It's also about having fun and getting rid of our fears." Church said it did not matter how people voted in the EU referendum or whether they think Wales should be independent, but she wanted people to talk about the issues.
15th Feb 2019 - BBC

How might the Premier League be affected by Brexit?

The FA sees Brexit as a chance to increase the number of English players in the Premier League, which it says will boost the chances of the national team by exposing more players to the best football. But the Premier League has rejected this view, saying there is “no evidence” it would work. As part of their plan, the FA has called for a cut in the maximum number of non-homegrown players allowed in each team’s 25-player squad from 17 to 12.
15th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: 'Best outcome' is withdrawal agreement

The best Brexit outcome is that a withdrawal agreement is reached to allow "a smooth transition" from the EU, the chief executive of Invest NI has said. Alastair Hamilton made the comments following the announcement of 80 new jobs in Dungannon on Thursday. He said that it would be "difficult to quantify" damage caused by a no-deal Brexit.
15th Feb 2019 - BBC

Brexit 'monster' urges Dutch to prepare

The Dutch government sees Brexit not as the elephant in the room but as a giant Muppet-style monster lying on a desk. That is the picture tweeted by Foreign Minister Stef Blok, with the warning: "make sure Brexit doesn't sit - or lie - in your way". There is a link to an official website where Dutch firms can see the potential impact of Brexit on their business.
14th Feb 2019 - BBC

Five ways you can protect yourself from the Brexit house price slump

ouse prices have started to fall in many areas of the country, leading to fears of a full-blown house price crash. According to Halifax, the bank, UK house prices slumped by 2.9pc in January. Many areas in London and the South East of England have seen even bigger falls as pre-Brexit nerves cause a slowdown in the housing market. The Telegraph discusses how readers can protect themselves from any would-be Brexit house price slump
14th Feb 2019 - The Telegraph

British students at Dutch universities face steep fee rises amid Brexit uncertainty

As the terms of the United Kingdom’s split from the EU on the 29th of March remain unclear, British students at Dutch universities fear a steep increase in their tuition fees. Brexit could especially affect those students aiming to start a new degree in September.
14th Feb 2019 - Northern Times

A no-deal Brexit will starve diabetics of insulin – this despicable government really is ‘lower than vermin’

Diabetes UK and the JDRF, a charity focused on Type One diabetes, have issued their strongest statement yet with respect to that. “With just a matter of weeks between now and 29 March and, despite reaching out directly to the Department of Health and Social Care in December, we still have not seen the concrete detail needed to reassure us – or people with diabetes – that the UK government’s plans are robust enough to guarantee no impact on insulin and medicine supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit. “We are increasingly hearing from worried people who do not feel reassured by existing published guidance on this issue. With the information available to date, we feel unable to fully alleviate their concerns.”
14th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Brexit: we need to talk about staff concerns

In some cases, he says, the most useful thing business leaders can do is make information available to staff who might not otherwise know where to turn. But employer and employees may need more specialist advice: “One of the guys who has been married for 20 years has a German wife. She had never got round to taking out a British passport because there was no need.”
14th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

@BBCHughPym - A&E performance in England in January the worst since modern records began - 84.4% treated/assessed in 4 hours

A&E performance in England in January the worst since modern records began - 84.4% treated/assessed in 4 hours
14th Feb 2019 - BBC

Westfield’s £1.4bn Croydon development 'under review due to Brexit and structural changes on the high street'

The owner of the Westfield shopping centres today said it is “reviewing” its £1.4 billion new development in Croydon because of Brexit and “structural changes” on the high street. Work on the centre, which is hoped to be the catalyst for broader regeneration, was due to start in September but is now not expected to begin until next year.
14th Feb 2019 - Evening Standard

Jobs plan for North East re-launched as Brexit affects region

The body tasked with improving the North East’s economy is to re-launch its job creation plan to reflect Brexit and other factors affecting the region. The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) will today publish its updated Strategic Economic Plan, saying that Brexit, the North of Tyne devolution deal and other factors have meant it has had to look again at its plan.
14th Feb 2019 - Evening Chronicle

No-deal Brexit plans for Portsmouth likened to ‘Dad’s Army comedy’

Plans to prevent ‘chaos’ on Portsmouth roads in the event of a no-deal Brexit were likened to the comedy of Dad’s Army at yesterday’s full council. Leader of the city council, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, revealed preparations that would involve stopping lorries on junction 1 of the M275, by the Park and Ride, to check documentation. If everything is in order the lorries will be able to carry on to Portsmouth International Port to go to France. But any lorries without the correct paperwork will be directed to Tipner West until it is sorted out.
13th Feb 2019 - News On The Wight

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 14th Feb 2019

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Brexit doubts leave firms 'hung out to dry'

UK firms have accused the government of leaving them "hung out to dry" in the event of a no-deal Brexit. With less than 50 days until 29 March when the UK is due to leave the EU, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says 20 key questions remain unresolved. How to move skilled staff between the UK and EU, which rules to follow, and what trade deals will be in place are all still unknown, the BCC says.
14th Feb 2019 - BBC

Carney is right. Brexit could lead to a better, fairer kind of globalisation

The Guardian's Larry Elliott argues: Free market economics has created a world fit for multinationals. But we need less frictionless trade and more local control so Brexit is good
14th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Cautious Dublin reaps benefits of Brexit exodus

With the terms of the UK’s scheduled exit next month still in doubt, the Central Bank of Ireland is processing a large volume of applications from London financial institutions. A Dublin official familiar with the authorisation process says “a broad number” in excess of 100 groups are on track for approval “based on current circumstances”.
14th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

EU markets watchdog calls for rapid response powers after Brexit

After Brexit, the EU will have a large, liquid and interconnected capital market next door which is no longer subject to the bloc’s rules, Steven Maijoor, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, said. “This creates the need to have tools to react rapidly to new developments,” he told an industry event in Dublin. Lawyers said the comments signalled an arm’s length relationship with the EU for Britain’s financial sector after decades of being deeply interlinked.
14th Feb 2019 - Reuters UK

Eastern European companies fear 'chaos' of no-deal Brexit

Trade with central and eastern Europe already affected and local GDP could shrink by 5%. For Future Processing, there are three main concerns about a hard Brexit. First, the likelihood that the pound will plummet, creating currency risk. Second, that transport connections between Poland and the UK will be disrupted, making it harder for the Polish company’s representatives to visit British clients. Finally, that the UK breaking away from EU law will create legal uncertainty and potential additional costs as the Polish and British systems diverge.
14th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

@BBCNewsnight “The overwhelming feedback is that a no-deal Brexit would be extremely damaging… politicians are still not taking it sufficiently seriously” - Economics Editor Ben Chu

“The overwhelming feedback is that a no-deal Brexit would be extremely damaging… politicians are still not taking it sufficiently seriously” – our Economics Editor Ben Chu on what he’s been told by both big and small business firms today @BenChu_ | #newsnight
14th Feb 2019 - BBC Newsnight

@Peston Nicola Sturgeon says the Scottish govt will develop advice to people about how to handle Brexit over the coming weeks

When asked by @Peston if she would advise Scottish people to start stockpiling essentials, @NicolaSturgeon says advice will 'develop' over the next few weeks. #Peston
13th Feb 2019 - ITV News

Brexit: Government must 'get its act together' to prevent panic-buying and civil unrest, officials warn

The government needs to “get its act together” to prevent panic-buying and civil unrest over Brexit, officials have warned. A group coordinating contingency planning in London heard that with 44 days until Britain is due to leave the EU, authorities still have “no direct indication of what we’re planning for”. Fiona Twycross, chair of the London Resilience Forum, said people would stockpile food, fuel and other supplies because of the uncertainty.
13th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Brexit: Sturgeon steps up no-deal planning

The Scottish government has stepped up its preparations for a no-deal Brexit as it again called on Theresa May to rule out the possibility. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she still believes no deal can be avoided. But she said her government had a duty to plan for the possibility as best it could.
13th Feb 2019 - BBC

Anti-terror checks deliver fresh Brexit threat for UK hauliers

The freight industry has warned of the potential for a *fresh* Brexit ferry fiasco after it emerged all British truckers will be required to have counter-terrorism safety ...
13th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

@Peston Nicola Sturgeon tells Robert Peston her horror that we are discussing food and medicine shortages in a prosperous country

First Minister of Scotland @NicolaSturgeon tells @Peston that it is ‘frankly incredible’ we are discussing the possibility of food and medicine shortages in a prosperous country. #Peston
13th Feb 2019 - ITV News

@Peston CBI President tells Peston that many businesses are currently making plans to transfer out of the UK due to Brexit uncertainty

President John Allan says that many businesses are currently making plans to transfer out of the UK due to Brexit uncertainty. #Peston
13th Feb 2019 - ITV News

How the UK Visas and Immigration department is preparing for Brexit

After March 29, EU citizens will need to apply for settled or pre-settled status to remain in the UK. This obviously won't apply to your husband as he is Japanese but I can see why you are concerned about increased waiting times if most EU citizens do need to contact the UK Visas and Immigration department at a similar time. The good news is that the deadline for applying will be June 30, 2021, if we leave with a deal in place, or December 31, 2020 without a deal, so hopefully applications will be spread out over that time period.
13th Feb 2019 - The Star

Brexit delay will serve no purpose, PM tells business

The prime minister said delaying Britain’s departure from the EU would bring no end to Brexit uncertainty or get parliament closer to approving a withdrawal agreement, according to people who participated in the phone briefing with Mrs May. Her conference call with business leaders came after Mrs May told the House of Commons she needed more time to negotiate a revised Brexit deal with the EU. Her statement was met with weary horror by business leaders who reiterated the urgency of taking a no-deal Brexit off the table, which she has repeatedly declined to do.
12th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Ian Wright, CEO of @Foodanddrinkfed, says a no deal Brexit is "the biggest threat businesses have faced since 1939"

"This is really really scary... one in four food exporters could go out of business within six weeks" Ian Wright, CEO of @Foodanddrinkfed, says a no deal Brexit is "the biggest threat businesses have faced since 1939" #r4today | http://bbc.in/2DtPcUK | @dominicoc
12th Feb 2019 - BBC Radio4 Today

Carmageddon: The future is catching up with the motor giants

An argument is put to say the public comment from car companies expressing disquiet about Brexit is not the real reason. Technological change, the demise of diesel and middle class angst in China are the real reasons behind it. Only very reluctantly in the final paragraph is it admitted that Brexit 'might' be involved in the decision making process
9th Feb 2019 - The Spectator

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 13th Feb 2019

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UK's carmakers face twin concerns of global upheaval and Brexit

The British car industry faces a “pivotal moment” during the next few years of potential Brexit upheaval as manufacturers decide where to invest for the next generation of vehicle production. Car manufacturers tend to invest in cycles of roughly seven years, meaning companies that started production of new models more than three years ago face imminent decisions on where to invest next.
11th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit: EU citizens’ children could lose right to stay in UK, senior MP warns

The children of EU citizens risk losing their right to stay in the UK after Brexit because of flaws in the application system, a senior MP has warned. The alarm has been raised over youngsters who – in a repeat of the Windrush scandal – do not apply for the new settled status, perhaps because their parents believe them to be British. Campaigners giving evidence to the Commons Home Affairs Committee told MPs of “a real concern” that there are no “safeguards in place”.
12th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Chief Medical Officer Admits We May Not Be Able To Get Medicine After No-Deal Brexit

England's Chief Medical Officer has told LBC she is concerned that a no-deal Brexit could mean the NHS cannot get the medicine it needs to save lives. Professor Dame Sally Davies confirmed they have been stockpiling key drugs, but warned that these will only last for six weeks. Her comments reflect those of the Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, who said we must avoid a no-deal Brexit at all costs. Earlier this year, Mike Thompson told LBC: "Our message is, when parliamentarians come to think about the options in front of them, no-deal is something which they should avoid at all costs because of the challenges it will give everybody.
12th Feb 2019 - LBC

What Brexit means for Polish workers living in rural Wales

The CBI has warned a proposed post Brexit immigration policy could restrict Welsh businesses from employing overseas workers. Workers would have to earn £30,000 before firms could employ them, but the CBI says in many industries the average wage is less than that. One area of Wales which has attracted many foreign workers is Llanybydder in Carmarthenshire. Hundreds of Polish, Romanian and other EU nationals call the village and the surrounding area home. But ITV Wales has been told many are already leaving the UK, worried about the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
12th Feb 2019 - ITV News

The NHS is stockpiling body bags to cope with no deal Brexit

The NHS is stockpiling bodybags to cope with a no deal Brexit shortage, ministers have admitted. A letter from health minister Stephen Hammond to a fellow MP, giving assurances to one of his constituents, confirmed the macabre course of action, in a bid to offer reassurance that the NHS will continue to operate despite the disruption.
12th Feb 2019 - Daily Mirror

Brexit: No-deal plan for Channel Tunnel operations

Trains will be permitted to use the Channel Tunnel for three months if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, under a proposed European Commission law. The planned legislation, published on Tuesday, will give the UK and France time to renegotiate the terms under which the railway service operates. The law must be agreed by the European Parliament and EU member states. Britain leaving the EU with no deal is the default position on 29 March unless a withdrawal agreement can be approved.
12th Feb 2019 - BBC

How Brexit is changing the way Europe views the UK

Deborah Haynes, Sky Foreign Affairs Editor, visits and discusses Brexit with people in four European countries and ask them how their view of the UK is changing
12th Feb 2019 - Sky News

The unanswered Brexit questions for traders

The near-paralysis in the UK parliament over Britain’s exit from the EU has kept alive the risk that the country tumbles out of the bloc without a withdrawal agreement at the end of March. Regulators responsible for capital markets spanning both the EU and the UK have been forced to step up efforts to minimise disruption in the event of a “hard” Brexit. This month they have signed agreements on data-sharing and surveillance for trading and clearing. However, brokers, banks and investors remain anxious for guidance on what will happen to some key areas of trading should Britain leave the EU on March 29 without an agreement.
12th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

That sinking feeling: Brexit threatens German bathroom connection

The Guardian interviews a number of small but successful businesses working with the continent to better understand the complications they are facing due to the trading uncertainty of the UK government's failure to secure a Withdrawal Agreement
12th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Driving in the EU after Brexit: from licence validity to international driving permits, everything we know

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the current mutual recognition of driving licences between the UK and EU is expected to end. That will mean that British and Northern Irish driving licences will no longer be valid in Europe without additional documentation. It means UK visitors will need additional permits and any British expats living in Europe will need to obtain a local driving licence. Until March 29, expats can apply to exchange their GB or NI licence for one in their country of residence. After March 29, they will have to sit the driving test in that country in order to obtain a valid licence.
12th Feb 2019 - iNews

Bristol Port hopes to profit from a Brexit boost if no deal hits other UK ports

Bristol Port says it has put aside land to help other major UK ports in the event of disruption caused by a no-deal Brexit. The port - stretching for miles between the Bristol Channel and the M5 - covers nearly 2,500 acres - 800 acres assigned to so-called Temporary Storage Areas - some of which it says can be made available.
12th Feb 2019 - Sky News

At least Brexit has got us talking about how public money is spent

This spring should see a government spending review, to set the shape of public services into the 2020s. But this looks like becoming another casualty of Brexit, with uncertainty around when the review will take place and what spending it will cover. How can you make a plan when the prime minister is making big spending commitments on the hoof and the economy and public revenues face meltdown?
12th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

No deal Brexit: 'Food businesses facing extinction'

Food businesses could be facing "extinction" from the impact of a no deal Brexit, the Food and Drink Federation has warned. CEO Ian Wright told Today a disruptive no deal Brexit is "the biggest threat businesses have faced since 1939".
12th Feb 2019 - BBC

Attitudes harden in UK’s ‘Brexit capital’

Many fear that about 4,000 jobs in the potteries would be at risk if the government reacts by unilaterally slashing import tariffs as Liam Fox, the trade minister, mooted last week, and duties are imposed on ceramics exported to the EU. For the ceramics industry, any deal — including Mrs May’s — that preserves something of existing trading relations would be preferable to that alternative.
12th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

British port operator readies plan to boost capacity after Brexit

The largest investor in British ports is ready to boost capacity quickly by 30 per cent at its Essex terminal to ease congestion at other sites should the country crash out of the EU without a trade deal. Sultan bin Sulayem, chief executive of Dubai’s DP World, said the state-owned ports operator would be able to raise volumes even further at London Gateway over time by bringing more cranes and other equipment to the fast-growing facility.
12th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Spain's strawberry fields lie under a Brexit shadow

“Supply and demand are pretty well balanced in the market right now. A hard Brexit and a border closing could trigger an important crisis over its initial years. We could have a couple of difficult years that could even mean we have to reduce our crop hectarage a bit to adapt our supply to the demand all over again.” In other words, the surplus resulting from the closed UK market would upset the balance, drive prices down and force farmers to rethink their planting.
12th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

May's Brexit deal would mean checks on nine trucks a day – study

Warnings that Theresa May’s Brexit deal could create a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK are based on a myth, according to economic analysis. The deal that MPs have rejected would keep trade between Britain and Northern Ireland flowing smoothly, with ports having to check on average just nine trucks a day, the study found.
12th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Brexit fishing law a 'missed opportunity' for Wales

The Welsh Government said: "The Fisheries Bill is not the mechanism to take forward detailed negotiations between UK administrations, or between the UK and the European Union, on issues such as quota share. "We continue to press the case around quota shares with the other UK administrations as part of separate discussions." The department for environment, food and rural affairs said: "It is simply not true to say the Fisheries Bill doesn't deliver for the Welsh fishing industry. The bill creates more powers than ever before for the Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales.
12th Feb 2019 - BBC

Brexit immigration rules 'threat to Northern Ireland'

Proposed immigration rules after Brexit "risk causing significant harm" to NI businesses, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said. The government is currently consulting on a minimum salary requirement of £30,000 for foreign workers seeking five-year visas. The CBI said firms could face "severe difficulties" getting staff. Some sectors in NI are heavily dependant on workers from Europe, such as food and drink manufacturing. The average private sector wage in Northern Ireland is £22,000 and the CBI said 71% of all workers in the region earn below £30,000.
12th Feb 2019 - BBC

Welsh sheep farmers fear post-Brexit British branding

Farmers and food producers in Wales may suffer after Brexit if their lamb and beef is marketed under the union flag rather than with specific Welsh branding, industry chiefs have said. The body that markets Welsh lamb and beef has expressed concern that in some parts of the world UK red meat is viewed negatively. It is keen to make sure that after Britain leaves the EU there will be a clear way to differentiate between Welsh red meat and the UK-wide product.
12th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Could we see the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit much sooner than we think?

The Business Secretary, Greg Clark, warned last week that the real Brexit deadline for some exports is not 29 March but 15 February. This is because it takes six weeks to ship cars from the UK to Japan. If the UK crashes out of the European Union with no deal on 29 March it will also lose the coverage of the new Japan-EU trade deal, which means zero tariffs on cars sent between the two markets.
12th Feb 2019 - The Independent

Why Brexit scares Airbus and BMW: Lines of trucks at the EU border

A disorderly Brexit would cause customs checks at the UK border and disrupt the finely tuned manufacturing system. The companies have warned of immediate damage to their supply chains, while new trade barriers and higher costs after March 29 could eventually force manufacturers to rethink their business in the United Kingdom. "[The] worst case scenario would be just blockades, vehicles parked up because we don't know what's going on," said David Zaccheo, operations director at Alcaline. "It's difficult for me to obviously comment on that because we're not sure ourselves what's gonna happen."
12th Feb 2019 - CNN

Brexit could delay upgrades to Island Line Trains – SWR growing increasingly concerned

Delays to upgrading Island Line trains could be being caused by Brexit — with the government refusing to approve plans until the end of the financial year. An improvement plan for the Island’s oldest trains was put before the Department for Transport (DfT) at the end of May 2018 — as part of the franchise agreement the DfT must approve the plans before South Western Railway (SWR) can invest in the new stock.
12th Feb 2019 - Isle of Wight News

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 12th Feb 2019

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Businesses say Brexit burden means Gove's plans should be paused

The government has been asked to pause as a matter of “great urgency” consultations on all food, farming and environment issues because Brexit is choking the capacity of businesses to respond to Michael Gove’s plans. Leaders from 32 organisations across all sectors have written to the environment, food and rural affairs secretary to express their “deep concern” over the resources they are having to divert to protect against the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit. The intervention means that consultations on Gove’s pet projects, such as a bottle deposit scheme for England and Wales, could be delayed.
11th Feb 2019 - The Guardian

Food industry warns Gove on Brexit 'crisis'

11th Feb 2019 - BBC

British passports may not be valid for upcoming holidays, warns the UK Passport Office

With Brexit scheduled for Friday 29 March – and still shrouded in an air of uncertainty – the British passport office have started to contact people via text message to warn them about how the changes may affect any upcoming holidays in EU countries. The warning comes at a time when it’s becoming more likely that the UK may leave the EU without a deal in place. If that happens, British passport holders would lose their free travel access to countries in the EU and Schengen area. To try and minimise the disruption, travellers who may be affected are receiving text message reminders.
11th Feb 2019 - Lonely Planet Travel News

Brexit: Families already have £1,500 LESS to spend since 2016 referendum

Household incomes have taken a £1,500 hammering since the Brexit referendum, experts reveal today. The UK has experienced the sharpest slowdown in income growth of any comparable economy, reveals the Resolution Foundation think tank study.
11th Feb 2019 - Daily Mirror

Gina Miller: Brexit could erode LGBT+ rights in the UK

The government insists that it will continue to champion LGBT+ rights after the UK leaves the EU, but the government’s plan in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill to exclude the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights does not live up to its promise that Brexit should not lead to a reduction in rights. The inconvenient truth is the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is the only treaty binding on the UK that expressly protects against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
11th Feb 2019 - Pink News

UK, 3 non-EU nations ink ex-pat residency deal

The British government has agreed to allow citizens of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein already living in Britain to remain after Brexit even if the country leaves the European Union without a deal. The agreement finalized on Friday should remove the uncertainty a “hard” Brexit scenario posed for some 15,000 citizens of the three non-EU nations who live in Britain. The deal’s reciprocal arrangement also clarifies plans for some 17,000 British citizens who reside in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Those countries aren’t EU members, but belong to the much-smaller EEA EFTA group. EEA EFTA spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson said Monday the agreement secured their citizens’ rights in Britain “regardless of the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the U.K.”
11th Feb 2019 - Associated Press

The Brexit fears of 70,000 British pensioners living in Spain

Spain is the country in the EU with the largest number of British pensioners. (70,000). The UK pays Spain's Health Department 245m Euros a year to help cover the health costs of these British pensioners, but with no brexit leaving deal, Spain can simply drop treatment for these pensioners and without it they will be forced to return to the UK. Many are furious as they do not want to go back
10th Feb 2019 - El Publico

Taking your pets to Europe after Brexit

The Pet Passport is something that was agreed with the European Union, meaning British pets, including dogs, cats and ferrets can travel freely to Europe if they are holders of a passport. But in a ‘no-deal’ scenario, this arrangement would be scrapped. Your dog, cat or ferret must be chipped and have an up to date rabies injection. After allowing a month to pass a blood sample needs to be taken from your loved one and sent off to an EU approved doctor for analysis. The antibodies for rabies need to be at an approved level. Then three months must pass and a further check needs to be carried out. So, if you’re looking to travel to Europe this summer with your Pet, then you need to act now! In light of the risk of a no deal Brexit, we’ve taken the decision that pets are no longer allowed to travel with their owners destined for travel to Europe in our Motorhomes. However, Pets are still more than welcome to travel with their owners on holidays which are based in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
11th Feb 2019 - Motor Home Holiday Company

Beyond Brexit: How universities and companies are trying to look past the cliff edge

The increasingly palpable hard Brexit would end the UK’s participation in the prestigious European Research Council, and spell an uncertain future for grantees living in the country. “Some of this talent could leave overnight,” said one university leader. The government should cushion the fallout, was the suggestion at this information event, by relaxing immigration rules to allow more scientists from outside the EU into the UK.
11th Feb 2019 - Science Business

Meet the 'Brexit Preppers' stockpiling food for a No-Deal Brexit

People across Bristol are ‘prepping for Brexit’ by stockpiling food, drink, medicines and other essentials, in the event of empty supermarket shelves on the day we leave the European Union. They may well originally have been both Leavers or Remainers, but all say they are preparing for the worst if the supply lines that keep Britain fed are disrupted on March 30.
11th Feb 2019 - Bristol Post

Indian doctors protest UK's 'unfair' health surcharge on non-EU professionals

UK-based Indian doctors and healthcare professionals are campaigning against what they describe as an unfair doubling of a health surcharge imposed on professionals from outside the European Union (EU) living and working in Britain. The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), the UK's largest representative body for Indian-origin doctors, is lobbying the UK Home Office for a rethink over the charge, arguing that it would have an adverse impact on their attempt to recruit more healthcare professionals from India to meet staff shortages in the NHS.
10th Feb 2019 - The New Indian Express

EU governments provide Brexit relief for asset managers

European governments have stepped up efforts to grant crucial concessions to UK asset managers to limit the worst effects of a no-deal Brexit. France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are among countries that have amended national laws to ensure UK investment companies can still serve foreign customers. British groups manage at least £1.8tn for clients in the EU. Such relationships are in jeopardy because of the likelihood that Britain will crash out of the bloc without a deal on March 29.
10th Feb 2019 - Financial Times

Dutch say no-deal Brexit could hit 50 medicines

Dutch health authorities say that the supply of some 50 medicines used to treat life-threatening illnesses could be jeopardized if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal. However, the health ministry is not publishing the list, fearing it could lead to hoarding and price rises. In an update on Brexit preparations published Wednesday, the ministry says that the Dutch authority responsible for assessing medicines looked at about 2,700 medical products linked to the United Kingdom and has whittled down the list to around 50 whose supply could be threatened by a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.
6th Feb 2019 - Associated Press

2,000 EU nationals invited to meeting in Perth to discuss Brexit

Senior SNP politicians have invited the more than 2,000 EU nationals within their constituencies to the meeting. The UK Government expects EU nationals to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK. The Home Office is providing £9 million funding to help organisations provide advice about the scheme.
7th Feb 2019 - Evening Telegraph

Administrative Fall Out - News from the Brexit Cliff Edge - 11th Feb 2019

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Heidi Allen: “The fact people are trying to pick holes shows we must be a bit of a threat”

Ever since she railed against George Osborne’s welfare cuts, Heidi Allen’s relationship with the Conservatives looked fragile. After months of feeling disillusioned with her adopted party, she helped to form The Independent Group. Now interim leader of the rebranded Change UK, the South Cambridgeshire MP is hopeful for success at the European elections – but says Brexit cannot be everything that her party’s about. She talks to Sebastian Whale
26th Apr 2019 - Politics Home

@lisanandy This Stronger Towns announcment just keeps getting worse. Government now seems to be saying it’s spread over 7 years amounting to just £40m a year for ALL the North West’s towns.

This Stronger Towns announcment just keeps getting worse. Government now seems to be saying it’s spread over 7 years amounting to just £40m a year for ALL the North West’s towns. To put it in context in Wigan alone we’ve had cuts of £134m since 2010 with more in the pipeline
4th Mar 2019 - @LisaNandy

Brexit-hit Spanish nurses deepen NHS staffing crisis

10th Feb 2019 - TechRegister.co.uk

'Brexit barriers' to be installed on M20 this weekend

Highways chiefs say are using "lessons learned" from Operation Stack to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. Work on installing the temporary steel 'Brexit barriers' along the coastbound carriageway of the M20 begins this weekend, which will lead to the introduction of a 50mph speed limit along an eight-mile stretch. Planners have revealed more details about the timings of the works, saying the barriers will let lorries travelling to Europe flow free and keep traffic disruption to Kent to a minimum.
10th Feb 2019 - Kent Online

Work on M20 Brexit emergency fallback to commence this weekend

8th Feb 2019 - Motor Transport

Brits Will Face Immediate Return Of Mobile Phone Roaming Charges Under No-Deal Brexit, Government Reveals

Brits travelling in Europe will overnight face the return of mobile phone roaming charges in the event of a no-deal Brexit, HuffPost can reveal. A little-noticed government regulation laid before parliament on Tuesday confirms that the UK will revoke the current legislation that allows holidaymakers and business people to use their smartphones in the EU at no extra cost. The draft ‘statutory instrument’, which has been tabled as part of a raft of no-deal preparations, means that from March 29 phone users will be liable for surcharges when they travel on the continent.
10th Feb 2019 - Huffington Post UK

Diabetics in Britain worry a no-deal Brexit could put their lives at risk

The Road Haulage Association, a transport industry body, has warned of “disastrous queues at ports” if Britain doesn’t exit smoothly with a deal. For those who rely on lifesaving medicines, the thought of roads to and from ports turning into parking lots is distressing. As with many sectors, health care is deeply integrated across Europe, with sophisticated “just-in-time” supply chains uniting the 28-nation bloc. Up to three-quarters of all the drugs used by Britain’s state-run National Health Services come from or through the E.U.
10th Feb 2019 - The Washington Post

Theresa May's government fails to hire 1,000 new border workers to cope with Brexit

The UK government has failed to recruit the 1,000 new border workers it promised ahead of Brexit, despite pledging to do so a year ago. The delay means the UK could be unprepared to cope with the strain of a no-deal Brexit on its borders. A leading union chief representing border workers tells Business Insider that "[Border Force staff] can barely manage business as usual, let alone cope with these new challenges."
8th Feb 2019 - Business Insider

Hundreds of MI5 officers prepare for Brexit violence in Northern Ireland

A few days ago, the London-based newspaper The Daily Mail cited an unnamed “counterterrorism source” who said that MI5, Britain’s primary counterterrorism agency, had stationed a fifth of its force in Northern Ireland. The agency is allegedly monitoring a number of dissident republican groups —a term used to describe armed groups of Irish nationalists who continue to reject the nationalist community’s majority view to endorse the Good Friday Agreement back in 1998.
29th Jan 2019 - Intel News

Government immigration plans to cost employers more than £1bn after Brexit

The government’s new immigration plans will cost employers more than £1bn, according to a new report. Global Future, an independent think tank advocating “an open and vibrant Britain”, arguges the flagship proposals will also impose an £80m barrier to EU students, and the proposed “settled status scheme” post-Brexit “exactly mirrors the makings of last year’s Windrush scandal – but on a much larger scale”.
11th Feb 2019 - The Independent

U.K. Could Be Kicked Out Of Newly Launched Pharma Tech Security System Because Of Brexit

Saturday, February 9, 2019, sees the launch of the European Union (EU) Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD), but the U.K. could be kicked out of the newly launched pharma tech security system if it fails to reach a Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, resulting in a no-deal Brexit. Despite having plowed millions of pounds into the project, in less than 50 days time, when the U.K. is set to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, the U.K. could be forced to lock itself out of what has been dubbed the most high-tech medicines safety system in the world.
11th Feb 2019 - Forbes