GM Foods, the US-UK Trade Negotiations and Scottish Food Production: A Heady Mix
COMMENT | The first shadow boxing for the post-Brexit trade talks has begun. Wholly predictable hackles have been raised by the US ambassador, Woody Johnson, who has accused UK farming of being a ‘museum of agriculture’ which should embrace chlorine…
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The Endless Uncertainties of Brexit
COMMENT | Time is running short but uncertainty still reigns. And wherever Brexit goes next, uncertainty will remain a dominant feature. Political manoeuvrings continue. Theresa May’s strategy appears clear: to get a bit of legal cover that allows attorney general…
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What Comes after ‘No Deal’?
COMMENT | Recent weeks have seen a flurry of no deal scenarios played out in the media, by governments and by Brexit watchers. These have almost exclusively focused on the immediate economic impact of a no deal Brexit with concerns of food and medicine…
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Brexit and Scottish Independence: Two Sides of the Same Coin?
COMMENT | Some argue that the complexity and challenges – one might add chaos and damage – of the UK leaving the EU shows how hard it is to leave a union. Hence, so the argument goes, Scotland leaving the UK will be at least as difficult. I explore this in detail…
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The Costs of Brexit for Scotland
COMMENT | Around two-thirds of Scottish voters, perhaps as many as seven in ten, believe it is in Scotland’s elemental interests to be in the European Union. In the 30-plus months since the UK as a whole voted narrowly, and on a series of false premises and…
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Failing UK Politics Must be Called to Account
COMMENT | There’s a triple purpose to Theresa May’s refusal to rule out a no deal Brexit. Firstly, it is in part a forlorn negotiating tactic with Brussels – one that says we will do the UK great harm and the EU some harm if you don’t give in. Secondly, it’s a means to put…
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What Future for May’s Brexit ‘Renegotiation’?
COMMENT | As Brexit day draws ever closer, the present dysfunctional state of UK politics becomes ever more acute. The government remains weak and the opposition unclear, while challenges mount and time is short. The reality of the timetable must now loom…
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The UK’s Brexit Breakdown
COMMENT | The Westminster Brexit show teeters on without resolution. The looming deadline of 29th March is provoking some MPs into finding ways to take no deal off the table. But what is lacking – and is fundamental both to the crisis and to any resolution of…
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