Britain will remain a “very important pillar” of the United Nations after Brexit, the organization's secretary general has said. Antonio Guterres’s comments appear to contradict the fears of some opponents of Brexit that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU might throw into question its position as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, alongside the US, Russia, China and France.
Britain’s two main parties emerged from May 3 local elections in England in a draw, with Labor making gains but failing to capture target councils from the Conservatives. Ukip (Independent party) was almost wiped out, losing all but three of its 126 seats, but the Liberal Democrats had a good night, gaining 75 seats and winning control of four more councils.
Theresa May has asked officials to draw up revised proposals for post-Brexit customs arrangements after a key meeting with her most senior ministers. The Brexit sub committee met on Wednesday to try to agree on a new model to replace the UK's membership of the customs union.
Internal divisions on Gibraltar within Spain’s ruling Partido Popular have been laid bare in two versions of a parliamentary motion to be debated in the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Spanish Senate on Thursday.
The European Union economy slowed in the first quarter of the year, official Eurostat figures have showed. Economic growth in the Euro zone slowed to 0.4% for the period from January to March 2018, compared with 0.7% in the previous quarter. Growth in the 19-country single currency bloc reached 2.5% year-on-year.
Senior Brexiteer MPs have delivered an “ultimatum” demanding Prime Minister Theresa May drops one of the government's preferred post-Brexit customs options. A 30-page document passed to the BBC says a “customs partnership” would make meaningful trade deals “impossible” and render the International Trade Department “obsolete”.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said that there is “a real risk” that no agreement will be reached with the UK in talks on its withdrawal from the political bloc. Speaking on a visit to the Border area of Ireland, Mr Barnier said that the EU was preparing for all options, including the possibility that Brussels and London cannot reach a deal on the UK’s departure in March 2019.
Lords have voted to give Parliament a potentially decisive say over the outcome of Brexit talks. An amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill giving MPs the power to stop the UK from leaving without a deal or to make Theresa May return to negotiations was approved by 335 votes to 244. Its supporters said Parliament, not ministers, must “determine the future of the country”.
Voters in London are expected to punish Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party at local government elections this week which could embolden critics of her Brexit strategy, but are not expected to trigger her downfall.
By Gwynne Dyer - If the model is broken, should you try to fix it, or scrap it and get a new one? In questions of technology, increasingly the answer is: scrap it. Computer repair shops are dying out: if your laptop doesn't work, just buy a new one. What applies to consumer technology, however, does not necessarily apply to politics.