Leaked strategy paper 'shows Tory panic' over the union
Continuing to dismiss calls for a new independence referendum could be counterproductive but the campaign to save the union is “rudderless”, senior Tories have been secretly warned.
A leaked strategy document prepared by a political consultancy firm with links to the Conservatives, and circulated to figures including Michael Gove, put forward a series of possible tactics for dealing with a surge in support for the SNP and independence.
The memo, which was obtained by the Bloomberg news agency, suggests that a “velvet no” approach, involving rejecting a referendum in the short term, could buy time but that an overhaul to the devolution settlement could also be needed.
Leaked strategy paper 'shows Tory panic' over the union
Continuing to dismiss calls for a new independence referendum could be counterproductive but the campaign to save the union is “rudderless”, senior Tories have been secretly warned.
A leaked strategy document prepared by a political consultancy firm with links to the Conservatives, and circulated to figures including Michael Gove, put forward a series of possible tactics for dealing with a surge in support for the SNP and independence.
The memo, which was obtained by the Bloomberg news agency, suggests that a “velvet no” approach, involving rejecting a referendum in the short term, could buy time but that an overhaul to the devolution settlement could also be needed.
Send an email or letter to Boris over your concerns to the possibly breaking of an international law.I took it as we found a loophole, that could tuck us up.
Brexit: Peers inflict heaviest defeat for more than 20 years over bill that will break international law
Peers opposing the Brexit bill that the government admitted will break international law have inflicted the heaviest defeat for more than 20 years.
A motion warning the legislation “would undermine the rule of law and damage the reputation of the United Kingdom” was passed by 395 votes to 169 – a majority of 226.
A total of 39 Conservative peers rebelled against Boris Johnson, including Lord Keen of Elie, the former advocate general for Scotland, who resigned over the Internal Market Bill last month.
Lord Judge, a former lord chief justice, who proposed the regret amendment, said: "The fact of the matter is the law would be broken.
“There can be no getting away from it. You don't have to be a lawyer to understand the reputational damage to the United Kingdom.
“We cannot resile from the fact that we are breaking the law if this bill is enacted.”
The Constitution Unit, a research centre, said the defeat was the biggest government defeat in the House of Lords since reform in 1999.
The legislation provoked uproar in the EU and the USA, by paving the way to override the withdrawal agreement on the use of state aid and the customs checks required on goods crossing the Irish Sea.
The prime minister was accused of bringing a no-deal Brexit significantly closer and of undermining the still-fragile peace in Northern Ireland.
And, defending the “limited, contingent proposals" in the bill, he said the government “does not accept that these safeguard provisions render our country, as has been claimed, an international pariah”.
Send an email or letter to Boris over your concerns to the possibly breaking of an international law.I took it as we found a loophole, that could tuck us up.
Brexit: Peers inflict heaviest defeat for more than 20 years over bill that will break international law
Peers opposing the Brexit bill that the government admitted will break international law have inflicted the heaviest defeat for more than 20 years.
A motion warning the legislation “would undermine the rule of law and damage the reputation of the United Kingdom” was passed by 395 votes to 169 – a majority of 226.
A total of 39 Conservative peers rebelled against Boris Johnson, including Lord Keen of Elie, the former advocate general for Scotland, who resigned over the Internal Market Bill last month.
Lord Judge, a former lord chief justice, who proposed the regret amendment, said: "The fact of the matter is the law would be broken.
“There can be no getting away from it. You don't have to be a lawyer to understand the reputational damage to the United Kingdom.
“We cannot resile from the fact that we are breaking the law if this bill is enacted.”
The Constitution Unit, a research centre, said the defeat was the biggest government defeat in the House of Lords since reform in 1999.
The legislation provoked uproar in the EU and the USA, by paving the way to override the withdrawal agreement on the use of state aid and the customs checks required on goods crossing the Irish Sea.
The prime minister was accused of bringing a no-deal Brexit significantly closer and of undermining the still-fragile peace in Northern Ireland.
And, defending the “limited, contingent proposals" in the bill, he said the government “does not accept that these safeguard provisions render our country, as has been claimed, an international pariah”.
Johnson will wait for US election result before no-deal Brexit decision
Senior figures in European governments believe Boris Johnson is waiting for the result of the US presidential election before finally deciding whether to risk plunging the UK into a no-deal Brexit, according to a former British ambassador to the EU.
Ivan Rogers, who was the UK’s permanent representative in Brussels from 2013 to 2017, told the Observer that a view shared by ministers and officials he has talked to in recent weeks in several European capitals, is that Johnson is biding his time – and is much more likely to opt for no deal if his friend and Brexit supporter Donald Trump prevails over the Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.
Rogers said: “Several very senior sources in capitals have told me they believe Johnson will await clarity on the presidential election result before finally deciding whether to jump to ‘no deal’ with the EU, or to conclude that this is just too risky with Biden heading for the White House, and hence live with some highly suboptimal (for Johnson) skinny free-trade agreement.”
The former ambassador to the EU – who quit under Theresa May’s premiership because of disagreements over Brexit strategy – remains in regular contact with senior government figures in EU capitals. Rogers said that if Trump won he and others in Europe believed Johnson would think “history was going his way” with his rightwing ally still in the White House. The prime minister would therefore be more likely to conclude he could strike a quick and substantial post-Brexit US-UK trade deal than if Biden emerged as president after the 3 November poll. By contrast, a Biden administration would prioritise rebuilding relations with the EU that have been damaged by Trump.
Rogers joined other former UK diplomats last night in warning that a Democratic administration under Biden would prove hugely problematic for Johnson and the UK government, threatening the so-called special relationship. “I don’t think either Biden or his core team are anti-British, but I think they are unimpressed by both Johnson and his top team,” he said.
“The UK’s absence from the EU will make it clearly less influential because it can no longer lead European thinking on the geo-strategic issues which will matter hugely to Biden. So [Biden] will put Berlin and Paris – and indeed Brussels – back at the heart of US thinking: not uncritically, because the US will still have serious issues with EU approaches on economic and security issues..”
Kim Darroch, a former UK ambassador in Washington, who quit the post in 2019 after the leaking of diplomatic cables in which he criticised the Trump administration as “inept”, said Biden might even favour a US-EU trade deal over one with the UK.
Darroch said: “Whoever wins in November the bedrock of the relationship – defence, security and intelligence collaboration – will remain as strong as ever. But if it’s Biden, there are likely to be some issues. The Democrats don’t like or support Brexit. They may prioritise trade deals with the Pacific region or the EU over a UK/US deal. They will block a trade deal with us if they think we are putting the Good Friday agreement at risk. And they remember and resent Johnson’s comments in 2016 about ‘the part-Kenyan president’ having ‘an ancestral dislike of the British empire’ – not to mention Johnson telling US diplomats that Trump was ‘making America great again’.”
Jonathan Powell, who served as a diplomat in Washington in the 1990s before becoming Tony Blair’s chief of staff and taking control of negotiations that led to the Good Friday agreement, said Biden believed Johnson had imperilled the Irish peace process. He said: “Biden is very proud of his Irish antecedents. He has always been active on Northern Ireland since before I was in Washington. He takes a close interest in the Northern Irish peace process and sees it as an outrage that Johnson has in his cavalier manner threatened peace in Northern Ireland for so little reason. So that is going to be chalked up against him.”
WTO. No thoughts on that at all, why would I? Most of the countries in the world are experiencing big recessions, so deals between countries should be at the forefront for most of their leaders. After the printing of all this money, inflation is normally the standard. Countries will be in the mire if inflation doesn’t come through at some stage.
At this moment in time, I’ve no thoughts on the Irish border whatsoever.
Fishing is a political issue, not a financial one, which imo gives it more weight. You do realise that passed figures on trade mean nothing at all, at this time. Trade will be totally disjointed. For instance, new car sales are down 20 to 30%. We import a fair amount of cars from the EU. If there’s a no deal, I’d expect fishing to become more financial, especially domestically. The U.K. can fairly easily ramp up meat and poultry production if needed. We could also cut meat imports from the EU if needed. That will depend on how ugly things could get. Btw, I don’t deflect anything, I take an overview, unlike your polarised view.
Letters: Britain at fault for Brexit fishing woes
Your interesting article did not explain why so much fish in British waters is now caught by boats from other EU countries (“Brixham fishermen hope Brexit will tip the scales for shrinking industry”, Business). In the late 1980s, grants from Europe were made available for fishing communities to modernise their boats and tackle. This funding had to be match-funded by national governments. Other governments supplied this funding, unlike the UK. The result was that British fishermen were unable to compete with the bigger, more efficient boats, and many sold their quota to French, Spanish or Dutch fishing companies. The quotas were introduced to preserve fish stocks.
The reason the future of fishing is so fraught in the Brexit negotiations is that other European nations paid British fishermen to be able to fish for what had been British quotas. Veronica Hardstaff, MEP for Lincolnshire 1994-1999 and former member of the European parliament fishing committee, Sheffield
The most serious threat to the UK fishing fleet is that 37% of fish caught by UK boats are landed in the European Economic Area, with the largest shares being exported to Norway, the Netherlands and France. The UK fleet may well want a larger quota of available stocks, but the main species found in UK waters are mackerel and herring, which do not have a UK market. The continuation of EU/EEA landing rights without tariffs, quotas or phytosanitary restrictions is far more important than sharing a few cod with France.A no-deal Brexit would result in the loss of substantial and valuable exports for the UK fishing fleet. Eric Goodyer Birsay, Orkney
Post-Brexit trade: Pricey wurst and cheesy leftovers
"No deal" on Brexit would push up the price of exported food sharply, as well as imported European farm produce, according to academic research The British food industry could switch to substitute for EU imports, or we could retrain our taste buds to native flavours, including a lot more herring The bid to increase sales beyond Europe has started with a Japan free trade agreement, but the quota for cheese turns out to be the bit that EU exporters leave behind
A study by Scottish Agriculture Colleges found the UK sold £356m-worth of sheep meat to the EU two years ago. If we'd been outside the EU, that would have carried an average tariff of 48%. For butchered boneless lamb, it rises to 62%.
To avoid passing on that cost, British farmers could try to sell it more cheaply, but that would require cutting the price of the average kilo of lamb by 51%. And that's not going to happen. So don't expect any Scottish lambs or little piggies to be going to France's markets.
Another recent study, carried out at the London School of Economics (the LSE) - sponsored by food producer, Arla - found that, even with a Free Trade Agreement removing tariffs, the likely regulatory obstacles would still carry a significant cost. British agriculture would see exports to Europe drop 36% even with a deal, says the LSE, and without one, 69%.
Fishing leader warns of risks as well as gains in Brexit There's a warning that Cumbrian fishermen could lose as well as gain in a no-deal Brexit, combined with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ron Graham, who chairs the Whitehaven Fisherman's Cooperative, says much of the west coast fishing industry has gone over the past 30 years, and Brexit presents the opportunity for British firms to get a greater share of fish from UK waters.
But he says if tariffs were imposed on fish exported to the EU, businesses already struggling because of the pandemic could go under.
If you're restricted on what you can sell because of price or because the markets are closed down elsewhere, it will inevitably have an effect on whether people can continue in the business."
Business groups have variously described a 22-minute call with the prime minister and the Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove as "terrible", "disappointing" and "more of a lecture".
The prime minister, who left the call after 15 minutes, was reported as saying that Covid had created "too much apathy" in the business community and they "needed to get ready".
Boris ‘hid in bedroom to avoid Brexit questions' days before becoming Prime Minister
Boris Johnson reportedly left ex-Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith banging on the front door while he hid in his bedroom to avoid talking about Brexit, days before he became PM.
The former Mayor of London and his advisers pretended not to be home despite IDS chairing Mr Johnson's leadership campaign, according to a new book by ex-Downing Street spin doctor Peter Cardwell.
The tell-all account, published on Wednesday, promises to lift the lid on the Prime Minister's turbulent relationship with many senior backbenchers, including Sir Iain.
His book The Secret Life of Special Advisers recalls the "farcical scene" in the days before Mr Johnson officially took over from predecessor Theresa May.
Former Work and Pensions Secretary, Sir Iain was brought in by Mr Johnson to help convince Tory MPs who were unconvinced about his stance on Brexit.
“IDS attempted to ring him several times to suggest they have a strategy discussion at the campaign’s headquarters at the home of Andrew Griffith, a Sky executive who later worked in Downing Street and became an MP in December 2019," Mr Cardwell recounts in the book.
However, Mr Johnson "ignored both calls and texts until finally IDS texted to say he was on his way round".
The book continues: "With IDS en route, Boris quickly ordered his entire team to race up the stairs to the first floor of the house and, well, hide from their alleged campaign chairman as he rapped on the door of the building, demanding to be let in.
"Eventually, IDS gave up knocking on the door and ringing the bell, and the Johnson team gingerly made their way downstairs again to their makeshift offices to resume their work."
Public would blame Boris Johnson for collapse of Brexit talks, poll finds
A majority of the British public would blame Boris Johnson if Brexit talks fail to reach a deal, a new poll has found.
The survey piles pressure on the government to negotiate an agreement, as last-ditch talks are set to move to Brussels after an intense week in London.
Sixty-five per cent of the public now believe the government has "generally failed" in its negotiating objectives, the new YouGov poll says, while 57 per cent say UK side would be to blame for a no-deal.
It comes as the head of the UK's leading employers' organisation warned that the British economy has been left in "suspended animation" while the government leaves striking a Brexit deal to the last minute.
A government claim that the new UK-Japan trade agreement will lead to cheaper soy sauce has been shot down as it was pointed out that Britain pays 0% tariffs under an EU deal.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) made the claim in a tweet during Tuesday night’s broadcast of The Great British Bake Off, where it was Japanese week and the bakers made kawaii cakes.
Department for International Trade @tradegovuk The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan.
The trade secretary, Liz Truss, keen to promote the benefits of the much-heralded post-Brexit deal with Japan, retweeted the post.
But it was pointed out that the tariff on soy sauce from Japan is already 0% thanks to a free trade agreement between Tokyo and the EU.
Seb Dance 🌹🇪🇺 @SebDance · 27 Oct We already have a zero-tariff deal with Japan via the EU, oh and the UK imports a lot of its soy(a) sauce through the Netherlands where, come 1 Jan, the likely lengthy delays and additional paperwork will probably *add* cost to the consumer. Otherwise great stuff, Liz! Quote Tweet
Department for International Trade @tradegovuk · 27 Oct The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan 🇯🇵
Department for International Trade @tradegovuk · 27 Oct The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan 🇯🇵 Dean Hochlaf @Dhochlaf · 27 Oct The most popular soya sauce brand in the UK is manufactured in the Netherlands with ingredients not from Japan...
A government claim that the new UK-Japan trade agreement will lead to cheaper soy sauce has been shot down as it was pointed out that Britain pays 0% tariffs under an EU deal.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) made the claim in a tweet during Tuesday night’s broadcast of The Great British Bake Off, where it was Japanese week and the bakers made kawaii cakes.
Department for International Trade @tradegovuk The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan.
The trade secretary, Liz Truss, keen to promote the benefits of the much-heralded post-Brexit deal with Japan, retweeted the post.
But it was pointed out that the tariff on soy sauce from Japan is already 0% thanks to a free trade agreement between Tokyo and the EU.
Seb Dance 🌹🇪🇺 @SebDance · 27 Oct We already have a zero-tariff deal with Japan via the EU, oh and the UK imports a lot of its soy(a) sauce through the Netherlands where, come 1 Jan, the likely lengthy delays and additional paperwork will probably *add* cost to the consumer. Otherwise great stuff, Liz! Quote Tweet
Department for International Trade @tradegovuk · 27 Oct The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan 🇯🇵
Department for International Trade @tradegovuk · 27 Oct The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan 🇯🇵 Dean Hochlaf @Dhochlaf · 27 Oct The most popular soya sauce brand in the UK is manufactured in the Netherlands with ingredients not from Japan...
What makes Gove more dangerous than Boris is a) he's more intelligent-but not in a good way and b) he's so closely aligned to DomCum, its frightening.
Just watch the BBC drama 'Roadkill' to play out Gove's final destination
Campaigners hail dramatic government climbdown in battle to protect post-Brexit food standards
A dramatic government climbdown will protect post-Brexit food quality, delighted campaigners say – after fears that chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef would be allowed in.
In another U-turn, Liz Truss has bowed to pressure to give teeth to a new watchdog to prevent trade deals, particularly with the US, watering down food and animal welfare standards.
Just three weeks ago – as The Independent revealed – the trade secretary used an obscure Commons rule to deny MPs a vote on the controversy, sparking fury.
Now the new Trade and Agriculture Commission will be made properly independent, permanent and given the power to scrutinise each deal for its impact on food, welfare and environmental standards.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) hailed “a landmark moment”, saying: “This significant commitment to primary legislation on food standards is exactly what we have been calling for.”
And Neil Parish, a Tory rebel on the issue, said: “It’s been hard work, but I think we’re in a much better place now. We wanted firm guarantees in legislation and that is what we’ve got.”
Anne McIntosh, a Conservative peer and campaigner, said: “All our farmers ever wanted was fair competition and a level playing field and the government has recognised this and addressed these concerns.”
Ms Truss was forced to concede the setting up of the Commission in the summer – but it had no budget, an advisory function only and was due to be wound up after six months.
Once permanent and independent, campaigners believe it will not sanction lower standards, achieving the “same objective” as an outright legal ban on acid-washed chicken, for example.
However, the climbdown is a huge blow for Ms Truss’s hopes of striking a quickfire trade deal with Washington, which has insisted access for its agricultural products is a red line.
Brexit: Boris Johnson misses EU deadline to explain breach of international law
Boris Johnson is facing further legal action from the EU after he missed a deadline to explain why he is planning to break international law over Northern Ireland.
At the start of October the European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the UK over the prime minister’s planned Internal Market Bill, which breaches the Brexit agreement signed earlier this year.
The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday that the deadline to respond to the letter has now come and gone without a UK response, meaning the court action against the UK will move to the next phase.
Ministers have already admitted in parliament that the bill will break international law, but say the policy is justified because the law would only be broken in a “limited and specific” way.
The bill would overrule the withdrawal agreement Mr Johnson signed by banning border checks on goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, which are set to commence under the agreement from 31 December. The prime minister had signed up to the union’s customs code to get a deal, but now says Britain should be exempt from parts of it.
The issue of the Northern Irish border continues to dog talks despite hopes it had been resolved in the withdrawal agreement.
Comments
Continuing to dismiss calls for a new independence referendum could be counterproductive but the campaign to save the union is “rudderless”, senior Tories have been secretly warned.
A leaked strategy document prepared by a political consultancy firm with links to the Conservatives, and circulated to figures including Michael Gove, put forward a series of possible tactics for dealing with a surge in support for the SNP and independence.
The memo, which was obtained by the Bloomberg news agency, suggests that a “velvet no” approach, involving rejecting a referendum in the short term, could buy time but that an overhaul to the devolution settlement could also be needed.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/leaked-strategy-paper-shows-tory-panic-over-the-union/ar-BB1adTPG?ocid=msedgntp
Senior figures in European governments believe Boris Johnson is waiting for the result of the US presidential election before finally deciding whether to risk plunging the UK into a no-deal Brexit, according to a former British ambassador to the EU.
Ivan Rogers, who was the UK’s permanent representative in Brussels from 2013 to 2017, told the Observer that a view shared by ministers and officials he has talked to in recent weeks in several European capitals, is that Johnson is biding his time – and is much more likely to opt for no deal if his friend and Brexit supporter Donald Trump prevails over the Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.
Rogers said: “Several very senior sources in capitals have told me they believe Johnson will await clarity on the presidential election result before finally deciding whether to jump to ‘no deal’ with the EU, or to conclude that this is just too risky with Biden heading for the White House, and hence live with some highly suboptimal (for Johnson) skinny free-trade agreement.”
The former ambassador to the EU – who quit under Theresa May’s premiership because of disagreements over Brexit strategy – remains in regular contact with senior government figures in EU capitals. Rogers said that if Trump won he and others in Europe believed Johnson would think “history was going his way” with his rightwing ally still in the White House. The prime minister would therefore be more likely to conclude he could strike a quick and substantial post-Brexit US-UK trade deal than if Biden emerged as president after the 3 November poll. By contrast, a Biden administration would prioritise rebuilding relations with the EU that have been damaged by Trump.
Rogers joined other former UK diplomats last night in warning that a Democratic administration under Biden would prove hugely problematic for Johnson and the UK government, threatening the so-called special relationship. “I don’t think either Biden or his core team are anti-British, but I think they are unimpressed by both Johnson and his top team,” he said.
“The UK’s absence from the EU will make it clearly less influential because it can no longer lead European thinking on the geo-strategic issues which will matter hugely to Biden. So [Biden] will put Berlin and Paris – and indeed Brussels – back at the heart of US thinking: not uncritically, because the US will still have serious issues with EU approaches on economic and security issues..”
Kim Darroch, a former UK ambassador in Washington, who quit the post in 2019 after the leaking of diplomatic cables in which he criticised the Trump administration as “inept”, said Biden might even favour a US-EU trade deal over one with the UK.
Darroch said: “Whoever wins in November the bedrock of the relationship – defence, security and intelligence collaboration – will remain as strong as ever. But if it’s Biden, there are likely to be some issues. The Democrats don’t like or support Brexit. They may prioritise trade deals with the Pacific region or the EU over a UK/US deal. They will block a trade deal with us if they think we are putting the Good Friday agreement at risk. And they remember and resent Johnson’s comments in 2016 about ‘the part-Kenyan president’ having ‘an ancestral dislike of the British empire’ – not to mention Johnson telling US diplomats that Trump was ‘making America great again’.”
Jonathan Powell, who served as a diplomat in Washington in the 1990s before becoming Tony Blair’s chief of staff and taking control of negotiations that led to the Good Friday agreement, said Biden believed Johnson had imperilled the Irish peace process. He said: “Biden is very proud of his Irish antecedents. He has always been active on Northern Ireland since before I was in Washington. He takes a close interest in the Northern Irish peace process and sees it as an outrage that Johnson has in his cavalier manner threatened peace in Northern Ireland for so little reason. So that is going to be chalked up against him.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/johnson-will-wait-for-us-election-result-before-no-deal-brexit-decision/ar-BB1amtYE?ocid=msedgntp
"No deal" on Brexit would push up the price of exported food sharply, as well as imported European farm produce, according to academic research
The British food industry could switch to substitute for EU imports, or we could retrain our taste buds to native flavours, including a lot more herring
The bid to increase sales beyond Europe has started with a Japan free trade agreement, but the quota for cheese turns out to be the bit that EU exporters leave behind
A study by Scottish Agriculture Colleges found the UK sold £356m-worth of sheep meat to the EU two years ago. If we'd been outside the EU, that would have carried an average tariff of 48%. For butchered boneless lamb, it rises to 62%.
To avoid passing on that cost, British farmers could try to sell it more cheaply, but that would require cutting the price of the average kilo of lamb by 51%. And that's not going to happen. So don't expect any Scottish lambs or little piggies to be going to France's markets.
Another recent study, carried out at the London School of Economics (the LSE) - sponsored by food producer, Arla - found that, even with a Free Trade Agreement removing tariffs, the likely regulatory obstacles would still carry a significant cost. British agriculture would see exports to Europe drop 36% even with a deal, says the LSE, and without one, 69%.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-54675708
There's a warning that Cumbrian fishermen could lose as well as gain in a no-deal Brexit, combined with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ron Graham, who chairs the Whitehaven Fisherman's Cooperative, says much of the west coast fishing industry has gone over the past 30 years, and Brexit presents the opportunity for British firms to get a greater share of fish from UK waters.
But he says if tariffs were imposed on fish exported to the EU, businesses already struggling because of the pandemic could go under.
If you're restricted on what you can sell because of price or because the markets are closed down elsewhere, it will inevitably have an effect on whether people can continue in the business."
Ron Graham
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/uk_leaves_the_eu
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-54652985
Business groups have variously described a 22-minute call with the prime minister and the Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove as "terrible", "disappointing" and "more of a lecture".
The prime minister, who left the call after 15 minutes, was reported as saying that Covid had created "too much apathy" in the business community and they "needed to get ready".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54622190
Boris Johnson reportedly left ex-Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith banging on the front door while he hid in his bedroom to avoid talking about Brexit, days before he became PM.
The former Mayor of London and his advisers pretended not to be home despite IDS chairing Mr Johnson's leadership campaign, according to a new book by ex-Downing Street spin doctor Peter Cardwell.
The tell-all account, published on Wednesday, promises to lift the lid on the Prime Minister's turbulent relationship with many senior backbenchers, including Sir Iain.
His book The Secret Life of Special Advisers recalls the "farcical scene" in the days before Mr Johnson officially took over from predecessor Theresa May.
Former Work and Pensions Secretary, Sir Iain was brought in by Mr Johnson to help convince Tory MPs who were unconvinced about his stance on Brexit.
“IDS attempted to ring him several times to suggest they have a strategy discussion at the campaign’s headquarters at the home of Andrew Griffith, a Sky executive who later worked in Downing Street and became an MP in December 2019," Mr Cardwell recounts in the book.
However, Mr Johnson "ignored both calls and texts until finally IDS texted to say he was on his way round".
The book continues: "With IDS en route, Boris quickly ordered his entire team to race up the stairs to the first floor of the house and, well, hide from their alleged campaign chairman as he rapped on the door of the building, demanding to be let in.
"Eventually, IDS gave up knocking on the door and ringing the bell, and the Johnson team gingerly made their way downstairs again to their makeshift offices to resume their work."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-hid-in-bedroom-to-avoid-brexit-questions-days-before-becoming-prime-minister/ar-BB1asyqC?ocid=msedgntp
A majority of the British public would blame Boris Johnson if Brexit talks fail to reach a deal, a new poll has found.
The survey piles pressure on the government to negotiate an agreement, as last-ditch talks are set to move to Brussels after an intense week in London.
Sixty-five per cent of the public now believe the government has "generally failed" in its negotiating objectives, the new YouGov poll says, while 57 per cent say UK side would be to blame for a no-deal.
It comes as the head of the UK's leading employers' organisation warned that the British economy has been left in "suspended animation" while the government leaves striking a Brexit deal to the last minute.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/public-would-blame-boris-johnson-for-collapse-of-brexit-talks-poll-finds/ar-BB1auyVm?ocid=msedgntp
A government claim that the new UK-Japan trade agreement will lead to cheaper soy sauce has been shot down as it was pointed out that Britain pays 0% tariffs under an EU deal.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) made the claim in a tweet during Tuesday night’s broadcast of The Great British Bake Off, where it was Japanese week and the bakers made kawaii cakes.
Department for International Trade
@tradegovuk
The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan.
The trade secretary, Liz Truss, keen to promote the benefits of the much-heralded post-Brexit deal with Japan, retweeted the post.
But it was pointed out that the tariff on soy sauce from Japan is already 0% thanks to a free trade agreement between Tokyo and the EU.
Seb Dance 🌹🇪🇺
@SebDance
·
27 Oct
We already have a zero-tariff deal with Japan via the EU, oh and the UK imports a lot of its soy(a) sauce through the Netherlands where, come 1 Jan, the likely lengthy delays and additional paperwork will probably *add* cost to the consumer. Otherwise great stuff, Liz!
Quote Tweet
Department for International Trade
@tradegovuk
· 27 Oct
The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan 🇯🇵
Department for International Trade
@tradegovuk
·
27 Oct
The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan 🇯🇵
Dean Hochlaf
@Dhochlaf
·
27 Oct
The most popular soya sauce brand in the UK is manufactured in the Netherlands with ingredients not from Japan...
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/28/dfids-brexit-soy-sauce-price-cut-claim-prompts-backlash-bake-off
Oh and its Soy sauce, thickos!
A dramatic government climbdown will protect post-Brexit food quality, delighted campaigners say – after fears that chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef would be allowed in.
In another U-turn, Liz Truss has bowed to pressure to give teeth to a new watchdog to prevent trade deals, particularly with the US, watering down food and animal welfare standards.
Just three weeks ago – as The Independent revealed – the trade secretary used an obscure Commons rule to deny MPs a vote on the controversy, sparking fury.
Now the new Trade and Agriculture Commission will be made properly independent, permanent and given the power to scrutinise each deal for its impact on food, welfare and environmental standards.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) hailed “a landmark moment”, saying: “This significant commitment to primary legislation on food standards is exactly what we have been calling for.”
And Neil Parish, a Tory rebel on the issue, said: “It’s been hard work, but I think we’re in a much better place now. We wanted firm guarantees in legislation and that is what we’ve got.”
Anne McIntosh, a Conservative peer and campaigner, said: “All our farmers ever wanted was fair competition and a level playing field and the government has recognised this and addressed these concerns.”
Ms Truss was forced to concede the setting up of the Commission in the summer – but it had no budget, an advisory function only and was due to be wound up after six months.
Once permanent and independent, campaigners believe it will not sanction lower standards, achieving the “same objective” as an outright legal ban on acid-washed chicken, for example.
However, the climbdown is a huge blow for Ms Truss’s hopes of striking a quickfire trade deal with Washington, which has insisted access for its agricultural products is a red line.
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/campaigners-hail-dramatic-government-climbdown-114812768.html
Boris Johnson is facing further legal action from the EU after he missed a deadline to explain why he is planning to break international law over Northern Ireland.
At the start of October the European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the UK over the prime minister’s planned Internal Market Bill, which breaches the Brexit agreement signed earlier this year.
The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday that the deadline to respond to the letter has now come and gone without a UK response, meaning the court action against the UK will move to the next phase.
Ministers have already admitted in parliament that the bill will break international law, but say the policy is justified because the law would only be broken in a “limited and specific” way.
The bill would overrule the withdrawal agreement Mr Johnson signed by banning border checks on goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, which are set to commence under the agreement from 31 December. The prime minister had signed up to the union’s customs code to get a deal, but now says Britain should be exempt from parts of it.
The issue of the Northern Irish border continues to dog talks despite hopes it had been resolved in the withdrawal agreement.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/brexit-boris-johnson-misses-eu-deadline-to-explain-breach-of-international-law/ar-BB1aEi6E?ocid=msedgntp
The BBC has seen the plans for the new Border Control Post (BCP), which will be built at Larne harbour as a consequence of Brexit.
It is a facility for inspecting food and live animals when they arrive from other parts of the UK.
It includes designated areas for pets and horses.
BCPs will also be built at Belfast and Warrenpoint ports although construction work is yet to get underway.
At the end of the Brexit transition on 1 January, Northern Ireland will stay in the single market for goods.
The rest of the UK will not, so some products entering Northern Ireland from GB will need to be checked on entry.
The EU has particularly strict rules on food and animals, requiring all those products to enter through a BCP.
There will also be a new facility for inspecting pets and other small animals.
The major addition to the site is an inspection warehouse for food products.
It will have bays for six lorries and two vans and includes scanning equipment.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54810373