Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK will come to an end with Brexit. As the government published new details of its position, the PM said the UK would take back control of our laws.
The UK is falling out of favor as a must visit English speaking destination for young travelers wanting to study, tour and work, a wide-ranging new report has warned. Visa controls, currency fluctuations and an unfriendly impression following Brexit are putting one in five young visitors off coming, says the British Educational Travel Association.
The UK will no longer be under the direct jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) after Brexit, a government policy paper will say. Ministers say they want a special partnership with the EU, but it is neither necessary nor appropriate for the ECJ to police it. However critics say the word direct leaves room for the ECJ to still play a part.
The UK government has set out proposals to ensure trade in goods and services can continue on the day the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. A position paper calls for goods already on the market to be allowed to remain on sale in the UK and EU without additional restrictions. It also calls for consumer protections to remain in place.
In the latest in a series of papers setting out its Brexit negotiating plans, the government will say disputes need to be resolved in a clear and sensible way, saying it is determined to agree new arrangements. This will be crucial for both UK and EU citizens and businesses that buy and sell across borders, it says.
Lord Peter Hain has called on the government to soften its approach to ”taking the UK out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).” The former secretary of state claimed that such a move could result in Northern Ireland losing millions of pounds of peace funding. The ECJ oversees reconciliation grants to North Ireland in the region of £240 million.
Removing all trade tariffs and barriers would help generate an annual £135bn uplift to the UK economy, according to a group of pro-Brexit economists. A hard Brexit is economically much superior to soft argues Prof Patrick Minford, lead author of a report from Economists for Free Trade, which insists that eliminating tariffs, either within free trade deals or unilaterally, would deliver huge gains.
Lord Hague has compared Brexit to taking control of a gun, saying it is possible to find a solution without using it to “shoot your foot off”. The former Conservative leader said he believes there is sufficient common ground among the different political parties to negotiate with the EU.
The number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has fallen this year, early UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) figures show. In total, 416,310 people have taken up places, down 2% compared with the same point last year.
Scottish and Welsh environment ministers are to meet to co-ordinate opposition to Brexit legislation. The two administrations fear the Westminster government is planning to take over powers which are currently devolved, but exercised in Brussels.