Theresa May did not attempt to mask her discomfort while shaking hands with Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Reuters
Theresa May did not attempt to mask her discomfort while shaking hands with Vladimir Putin/CRIMSON TAZVINZWA//
British Prime Minister Theresa May confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK last year as the two leaders met at the G20 summit in Japan on Friday//euronews
“The prime minister said that the use of a deadly nerve agent on the streets of Salisbury formed part of a wider pattern of unacceptable behaviour and was a truly despicable act that led to the death of a British citizen, Dawn Sturgess,” May’s office said in a statement.
Putin confirmed he and May had discussed the issue but provided no details other than denying that Russia has ever had any aggressive intent with regards to anyone.
“She expressed her position in a rather tough manner, yes, this is true,” Putin said of his meeting with May on the sidelines of the G20 summit, but added that the meeting was “a small, but positive step in the right direction”.
Prime Minister Theresa May waits for Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir at Downing
LONDON (Reuters) – The British government’s talks with the Labour Party to try to break the impasse over Brexit will resume after the weekend, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokeswoman said on Friday.
May opened talks with Labour a month ago after her deal to leave the European Union was rejected three times in parliament, but despite both sides saying they are constructive, there is little expectation of breakthrough next week.
“It’s important that we get it right,” the spokeswoman said of the talks, adding that May understood the frustration of some in Britain over the delay to Brexit after voters punished her Conservative Party in local elections on Thursday.
People’s Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal
CRIMSON TAZVINZWA, AIWA! NO!|United Kingdom to be out of the European (EU) by 29 March 2019?
Lots of bookies of different sorts have ranges of markets on Brexit from PaddyPower’s “What foodstuffs will be rationed first in 2019?” to the above bet on whether or not the UK will leave the EU on March 29th.
What’s been very striking is the level of activity which is building up sharply as we get closer to the date. The Betfair exchange is just about the only one which publishes in real time how much has been agreed on every single market. There is no public information about other bookmakers.
I cannot recall any other non-election related betting which has seen these activity levels.
The most important remaining key BREXIT date. When is the United Kingdom leaving the EU?
Parliament will also pass an Implementation and Withdrawal Bill that sets out the full details of Brexit.
March 2019: EU summit to ratify Brexit deal
The 28 EU member states will meet in Brussels for the last time before Brexit, where they are expected to ratify the withdrawal agreement, if it has been passed by the UK parliament.
29 March 2019: Brexit Day
At 11pm on Friday 29 March next year, the UK will officially cease to be a member of the EU, although a transition period will remain in place until the end of 2020.
Another interesting market is this one where we are nearing crossover in the which will happen first – Brexit or TMay leaving. Charts, usual, from Betdata.io.
Brexit: Theresa May offers MPs chance to shape deal – as it happened
German Europe Minister Michael Roth said on Monday that even William Shakespeare would not have been able to think up a Brexit tragedy of such drama.
By Kylie MacLellan, William James and Elizabeth Piper
LONDON (Reuters)(AIWA! NO!) – British Prime Minister Theresa May sought to break the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit on Monday by proposing to seek further concessions from the European Union on a plan to prevent customs checks on the Irish border.
With little time left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on March 29, there is no agreement in London on how and even whether it should leave the world’s biggest trading bloc, and a growing chance of a dramatic ‘no-deal’ exit with no provisions to soften the economic shock.
British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street in London, Britain, January 21, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
After her Brexit divorce deal with Brussels was rejected by 432-202 lawmakers last Tuesday, the biggest defeat in modern British history, May has been searching for a way to get a deal through.
She told parliament she could not take a “no-deal” Brexit off the table as there was no approved alternative, and the EU would be unlikely to postpone Britain’s exit date – determined by the “Article 50” withdrawal notice – without an exit plan.
“No-deal will only be taken off the table by either revoking Article 50, which turns back the results of the referendum – the government will not do that – or by having a deal, and that is what we are trying to work out,” May said.
She said another referendum would strengthen the hand of those seeking to break up the United Kingdom and could damage social cohesion by undermining faith in democracy.
May vowed to be “more flexible” with lawmakers in trying to agree changes to the Northern Irish backstop, an insurance policy to ensure there will be no return to border checks between the British province and Ireland.
“I will then take the conclusions of those discussions back to the EU,” May said. “My focus continues to be on what is needed to secure the support of this House in favour of a Brexit deal with the EU.”
SHAKESPEAREAN DRAMA
Hardline supporters of Brexit in May’s Conservative party object above all to the fact that Britain cannot unilaterally end the backstop, which would keep it in a customs union with the EU until an alternative way of ensuring an open border is found. Brussels says this provision is non-negotiable.
May’s task is gargantuan: Convince the EU to reopen negotiations and then secure enough changes to gain the support of at least 115 lawmakers who previously voted against the deal.
The EU, which has an economy more than six times the size of the United Kingdom, says it wants an orderly exit, but senior officials have expressed frustration at London’s crisis.
German Europe Minister Michael Roth said on Monday that even William Shakespeare would not have been able to think up a Brexit tragedy of such drama.
Amid fears that the world’s fifth largest economy could drop out of the EU without a deal, some lawmakers are planning to wrest control of the process from the government.
The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the bloc was ready to work on the political declaration on future EU-UK ties, but that the withdrawal deal already agreed, which it accompanies, was the best one possible.
In a sign of how grave the political crisis has become, May was forced to deny a Daily Telegraph report that she was considering amending the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland. An open border with Ireland is widely seen as crucial to maintaining this peace.
CLOSED MIND
Ireland’s European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said Dublin would not engage in bilateral talks on Brexit, and would negotiate only as part of the remaining EU.
Ireland also rejected a proposal by Poland’s foreign minister that the backstop be time-limited.
The 650-seat parliament is deeply divided over Brexit, with different factions supporting a wide range of options including leaving without a deal, holding a second referendum and seeking a customs union with the EU.
Lawmakers will debate and vote on the next steps on Jan. 29, and before then they can put forward amendments to May’s proposals.
The opposition Labour Party put forward an amendment seeking to force the government to give parliament time to consider and vote on options to prevent a ‘no deal’ exit. Among them should be a permanent customs union with the EU and a second referendum on Brexit, the party said – both proposals that May has ruled out.
May had earlier chided Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for not taking part in cross-party talks, but he said May was in denial.”Her current deal is undeliverable,” he said.
Hilary Benn, a Labour lawmaker who chairs parliament’s Brexit committee, said: “While her door may have been open, her mind has remained closed because she has rejected stopping us leaving the EU with no deal, even though she knows it would be disastrous.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group of anti-EU lawmakers in May’s party, said Britain was most likely to leave without a deal.
But if the backstop were scrapped, he said most of the opposition from Conservative eurosceptics would be removed.
Sterling <GBP=>, which has flip-flopped over the past two-and-a-half years on different signals about the course of Brexit, rose slightly to around $1.29 on hopes of a compromise. On the day of the referendum in 2016, it was trading at $1.50. [GBP/]
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
EuronewsLatest Brexit poll shows UK would now vote to remain as ‘crossover day’ looms
Hyslop said it was welcome the UK government had finally bowed to pressure and scrapped the £65 registration fee for EU citizens who wanted to stay, but added that it should never have been introduced. She said this does not change the fact that EU citizens should not be asked to apply simply to retain the rights that they already have to live, work and study in Scotland. This has caused real anxiety for EU citizens in Scotland, who contribute so much to our economy and society.
