The Canary tomato sector has managed to overcome the pandemic with rather acceptable figures. The campaign came to a close at Easter, a month earlier than normal due to a reduction in the harvest, with exports reduced by 18%. A total of 33,682 tons were sold abroad, compared to 41,331 a year earlier.

However, as of January 1, 2021, the UK will definitely leave the EU, and the Canary Islands will say goodbye to all the aid it has been receiving for the production and export of its crops to the United Kingdom.

Given the challenging scenario that the tomato sector is facing and its intention to reduce the production so as not to be left with unsold tomatoes next season, which starts in October and ends in May, the Government of the Canary Islands has announced that it will protect tomato growers, its crops and the employment the sector generates, which is key in some municipalities of the islands. Therefore, in the event that Brexit means the end of Canary tomato exports to the United Kingdom, the Government of the Canary Islands will cover the value of the productions intended for that market between January 1 and May. A total of 3 million Euro will be allocated to this end.

For its part, the Spanish Ministry of Public Works has decided to transform the compensations for transport allocated annually into "aid for market adaptation".

The subsidy will amount to 0.15 Euro per kilo exported over the next 4 years, which is estimated at around 3 million Euro. The sector will have to use that money to find solutions, such as cheaper transport arrangements or the search for new markets.

The Government of the Canary Islands has also asked Brussels for an increase in the amount of aid received by the sector per hectare and for the crop's marketing in the framework of the POSEI, following a study that revealed a sharp increase in costs because of the rise in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage. The goal is for the aid per hectare to go from 15,000 to 24,000 Euro, and for the aid for the crop's marketing to increase by 15% so that the sector can remain competitive.

Source: canarias7.es

See the article here:

Canary tomato growers increasingly concerned about Brexit - hortidaily.com

Meanwhile,Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill has said a united Ireland would offer Northern Ireland a "way back in" to the European Union, Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill said. Mr Frost also suggested a deal could be done next month - and insisted the UK had no intention of threatening the integrity of the EU's Single Market. Tweeting in advance of next week's meeting with EU opposite number Michel Barnier, Mr Frost said: "Our assessment is that agreement can be reached in September and we will work to achieve this if we can."

THIS BLOG HAS CLOSED. CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S LIVE UPDATES.

"As we keep saying, we are not looking for a special or unique agreement. We want a deal with, at its core, an FTA like those the EU has agreed with other friendly countries, like Canada."

Nevertheless, he warned: "The UK's sovereignty, over our laws, our courts, or our fishing waters, is of course not up for discussion and we will not accept anything which compromises it - just as we aren't looking for anything which threatens the integrity of the EUs single market."

Speaking prior to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to Northern Ireland today, Ms O'Neill, whose party is unequivocally committed to Irish unity, said planning needed to begin immediately - and claimed the UK Government's "reckless" approach to Brexit meant more people were likely to vote for it.

She said: "Now is the time to plan for unity and to start to put the facts on the table. "Let people understand what does an all-Ireland health service look like, what does an all-Ireland education system look like."

Large numbers of people in a border poll would vote for a united Ireland, Ms O'Neill said.

She added: "So for a lot of people in this decade we have in front of us, they're going to be considering which union they wish to be part of and the EU have offered us a route back in.

"So for some people it may not be about Britishness versus Irishness, it may be about do they value their European citizenship.

"I think that's going to be a very interesting debate."

Mr Johnson will outline the first stage of plans to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland's foundation during his visit.

Speaking in advance of his trip, he said: "Together, we will make sure Northern Ireland is ready to take full advantage of the many opportunities that lie ahead and that no part of Northern Ireland is left behind."

(THIS IS A LIVE BLOG - SCROLL DOWN FOR REGULAR UPDATES)

6:07am update: 2 million EU citizens granted right to stay in the UK after Brexit

TWO million EU citizens have been granted the right to remain in the UK after Brexit, the BBC has reported.

The two million EU citizens were already residing in the UK though an additional 1.5 million people who have lived in the country for under five years were granted pre-settled status.

Both statuses give holders the right to live, work, and use the NHS in the UK.

Under the Home Offices settlement scheme, EU citizens have until June 30 next year to apply for the status.

The government has said anyone living in the UK who fails to apply before the deadline will not be automatically deported.

However, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine blasted the fact the scheme does not provide settled status holders with any physical documentation proving their status.

She said: They must not become the victims of a new Windrush-style scandal.

4:03am update: US-UK trade talks hit 'deeply disappointing' whisky roadblock

Post-Brexit trade negotiations have taken a hit this week after the US said it would uphold 25 percent tariffs on Scottish and Irish single-malt whisky which have cost the UK 300 million in lost sales.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said she had previously warned against new tariffs on the UK, that fresh levies on blended whisky and gin had been avoided, and that tariffs on shortbread had been lifted.

However, existing tariffs on single malt whisky remain, which Scotch Whisky Association CEO Karen Betts said is deeply disappointing and inflicts huge damage.

Ms Truss said she is stepping up talks with the US to remove them as soon as possible.

1:48am update: FTSE drops over 'double whammy' Brexit and Furlough fears

The UKs FTSE 100 stock index fell 1.5 percent at close yesterday amid Brexit worries, analysts said.

The FTSE 100 represents the value of the 100 largest companies is the UK.

Joshua Mahony, an analyst from finance group IG, said the drop was because of a double whammy of concerns over Brexit and the end of the furlough scheme.

The next round of UK-EU Brexit talks are due to commence on Monday next week.

Edward Browne takes over live reporting from Steven Brown

5.45pm update: Boris Johnson rules outtrade border down the Irish Sea

Boris Johnson has said there will be a trade border down the Irish Sea "over my dead body" following Brexit.

During a visit to Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister reiterated his promise that businesses in the region would enjoy unfettered access to markets in England, Scotland and Wales.

He has also agreed to "intensify" partnership arrangements with the Republic of Ireland and said more work could be done on bilateral deals.

"There will be no border down the Irish Sea - over my dead body."

The next round of Brexit talks will begin on August 18 between the Prime Minister's adviser David Frost and the European Union's Michel Barnier in Brussels.

4.30pm update:Ireland panic: Brexit and COVID-19 blamed as Dublin faces devastating recession

Ireland has been warned the country could be heading for a devastating recession with both the outbreak of coronavirus and consequences of Brexit blamed.

According to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, the economy may have shrunk by 21 percent in April after businesses were forced to close following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Experts claim the crisis has been worsened by Brexit.

Last week, latest figures from the Exchequer found a deficit of 7.4 billion in public finances in July compared to a surplus of 896 million which was recorded in the same month last year.

The deterioration of 8.3 billion was reportedly due to increases in expenditure following the outbreak of the deadly virus.

3.35pm update: Irish Prime Minister sees 'landing zone' for Brexit deal

Ireland's Prime MinisterMichel Martin met with Boris Johnson today to discussthe UK's post-Brexit trade negotiations with the EU.

It seems to me that there is a landing zone if that will is there on both sides, and I think it is, said Martin, who became prime minister in June.

My own gut instinct is that there is a shared understanding that we dont need another shock to the economic system that a sub-optimal trade agreement would give alongside of the enormous shock of COVID, he told reporters in Belfast.

3pm update: Steven Brown takes over fromCiaran McGrath

2.46pm update: Johnson vows to develop UK's relationship with Ireland

The Prime Minister has promised to develop Britain's relationship with Ireland after meeting the new Taoiseach.

Boris Johnson greeted Micheal Martin with an elbow bump outside Hillsborough Castle in Co Down.

It was Mr Johnson's first visit to Northern Ireland since Stormont powersharing was restored in January, and his first face-to-face meeting with his Irish opposite number since a new Government was formed in Dublin.

Mr Johnson said: "I had the honour of meeting the Taoiseach several years ago. I am very pleased to develop our friendship and relationship now."

It was his first visit since the coronavirus pandemic struck and there have been calls for closer collaboration between Ireland and Britain to tackle the threat.

Mr Johnson added: "It's great to see you Taoiseach, it's great to be here in Northern Ireland, and we look forward to developing our relationship in all sorts of ways - east-west, north-south, you name it."

2pm update:Supertrawler plot - Brexit free-for-all as fisherman warns ships STAKING CLAIM in UK waters

With Britain due to sever ties with the European Union - and leave the Common Fisheries Policy - at the end of the year, a fisherman has warned foreign supertrawlers who regularly plunder UK waters may be seizing the current uncertainty to stake their claim in the meantime.

Jeremy Percy, director of the New Under Tens Fishing Association (NUTFA) was speaking after a study by Greenpeace revealed the massive vessels - none of which is UK-owned - have already doubled the amount of time they have spent fishing in specially designated Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) in 2020 compared with last year.

Greenpeace is calling for the Government to crack down on ships which operate in MPAs at the end of the transition period - but Mr Percy is concerned supertrawlers are increasing the time they spend in UK waters as part of a long-term strategy.

Mr Percy, whose organisation represents boats which are under ten metres in length, said he had become curious after seeing supertrawlers in action recently.

He added: "When we observed the vessels fishing off the Sussex coast, they didn't seem to be catching much.

"I explained this to a good friend of mine who is an expert in this sort of fishing and he didn't think they would be making any money there so the idea that they were continuing to build up a track record to strengthen their arguments post Brexit seemed sensible."

1.46pm update: Martin offers warm words to Johnson

Ireland's recently installed Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the relationship between him and Boris Johnson would work "very warmly".

He said: "We look forward to a very warm engagement.

"It is important for us both in terms of the British-Irish relationship which has been the cornerstone of much progress on the island of Ireland and between our two countries for well over two to three decades, and we want to maintain that.

"It is challenging times ahead with Covid, Brexit, all of that."

Mr Martin said it was particularly fitting the engagement was taking place so soon after the death of former SDLP leader John Hume.

He said: "We remember John at moments like this because he did so much to facilitate these kind of meetings and make them much more regular in the normal course of events."

Mr Johnson agreed that the meeting provided an appropriate moment to remember Mr Hume's legacy.

Shortly after arriving at the castle, the Taoiseach joined the Prime Minister for a walk in the grounds.

12.44pm update: Barnier retweets agenda

Michel Barnier has responded to David Frost's earlier announcement by retweeting a post by EU spokesman Daniel Ferrie in which he share the timetable for next week's meetings.

Mr Ferrie commented: "The agenda for next weeks round of EU-UK negotiations with @MichelBarnier & @DavidGHFrost is now available online. Talks will take place @EU_Commission in Brussels."

Mr Barnier added: "Within 5 months the transitional period #Brexit ends: United Kingdom leaves European Union single market & customs union.

"Changes are inevitable, with or without agreement on the new association."

12.35pm update: Brexit on the agenda for Boris during Northern Ireland visit

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has started a series of meetings with political leaders on a visit to Northern Ireland.

He is meeting with the region's First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill at Hillsborough Castle, where he will later have his first face-to-face meeting with Ireland's premier Micheal Martin.

Mr Johnson is visiting Northern Ireland for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

He is expected to outline the first stage of plans to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland's foundation.

Discussions are also expected to take place around the response to Covid-19, rebuilding the economy and Brexit.

12.09pm update:As US talks hit barrier, who should UK prioritise trade deal with? POLL

Brexit trade talks between the UK and US have been halted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Which country do you think Britain should prioritise a trade deal with?

After unshackling from the EU earlier this year Britain is trying to tie up swift trade deals with major partners like the US and capitalise on its new freedom to strike bilateral deals rather than EU-wide ones.

But talks hit a major stumbling block when both sides agreed to postpone negotiations until next spring due to ongoing concerns over the COVID-19 crisis.

As well as the US, the UK is also eyeing up trade deals with the EU, Japan, Australia and New Zealand in the coming months as it makes the most of its new found Brexit freedom.

11.44am update: 'We won't compromise,' warns David Frost

UK Chief Negotiator David Frost has said UK sovereignty over its laws, courts and fishing waters was "not up for discussion", adding that he would not accept anything which compromises any of that.

Mr Frost also suggested a deal could be done next month.

11.25am update: Trade talks agenda puts fishing centre stage

The importance of fishing rights has been highlighted after the publication of a timetable for trade talks due to get underway next week.

The agenda includes four two-hour sessions devoted to the issue on Wednesday and Thursday.

11.04am update: Theresa May's 'loathing' of ex-Irish leader derailed Brexit talks - shock claim

Original post:

Brexit: This is NOT up for discussion! EU sent ferocious warning on UK fishing waters - Daily Express

The organisation has urged that the EU internal dairy market is preserved and protected, while both parties acknowledge that the UK needs its room to manoeuvre.

In light of the upcoming negotiation rounds on the EU-UK future relationship, the European Dairy Association (EDA) has called for an unprecedented level of pragmatism to the EU-UK negotiations.

EU dairy exports currently amount to around 99 percent (by volume) of the UK dairy imports while around 92 percent (by volume) of the UK exports are destined for the EU, which EDA claimed have a high value for both parties.

Lets make sure that consumers on both sides can still enjoy a great variety of dairy products of high standards at reasonable prices; ideally by securing close cooperation with zero tariffs on dairy trade and as little border administration/costs as possible, EDA said in a statement.

According to EDA, failure to reach an agreement runs the risk of significantly disrupting dairy trade flows in both directions. The group warned that more than 1.2 million tonnes of EU dairy products might have to find new markets, or UK consumers will have to absorb the increased tariff cost.

We stand ready to discuss this pragmatism in order to secure a deal, as it is clear that the current impasse will be extremely damaging for consumers, farmers and companies in the EU and UK, the statement continued.

It speaks for itself that the level playing field provisions signed up to by the UK in the Withdrawal agreement as well as the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland included in the Withdrawal Agreement are honoured in negotiations.

Rest assured the dairy industry is not resting on their laurels our industries on both sides continues to prepare for the scenario of a hard Brexit and the economic and administrative consequences it will inevitably lead to during these times of COVID-19 and economic instability.

Follow this link:

European dairy industry calls for "pragmatism" in Brexit negotiations - New Food

PUBLISHED: 17:16 18 August 2020 | UPDATED: 17:56 18 August 2020

Adrian Zorzut

Independent MS Caroline Jones; Seneed.tv

Archant

A Welsh politician has left the Brexit Party because of its desire to see the Senedd abolished.

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Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only continue to grow with your support.

Caroline Jones, a former UKIP leader for Wales, said the Brexit Partys stance against devolution ran contrary to her own.

Jones, who lent her support to the party after becoming an independent Members of the Senedd (MS) in 2018, said the outfit had become irrelevant now the UK has left the EU.

She said: As a Brexiteer, there was no reason not to lend my support to the Brexit Party Group but this was under the understanding that the Brexit Party shared my view that devolved government should be reformed so that it works better for the people I represent in South Wales West.

Now that Brexit has been achieved, and the Brexit Party have indicated that they are anti-devolution and want to see the Senedd abolished, I have taken the decision to leave the Brexit Party Group in the Senedd and sit as a non-aligned Independent Member for the rest of this Senedd term until the next Welsh Parliament Election.

She added: Their current stance is one of an Anti-Devolution Party which is against my principles.

My belief is that Westminster doesnt provide all the answers and while devolution in Wales has a long way to go before it is truly representative of the people of Wales, it is something which the majority of people in our country voted for on numerous occasions.

I therefore honour that democratic decision and want to make devolution work for the people of Wales rather than undermine it.

Jones stood for UKIP in the European Election in 2014 and the general election in 2015 before becoming the lead candidate for the party in the South Wales West Assembly region and leader briefly in 2018.

A Brexit Party spokesman said: Caroline Jones has today informed Mark Reckless and the group that she will be leaving the Brexit Party group in the Senedd.

We would like to thank her for all the work that she has done while a part of the group and we wish her all the best in the future.

Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press with your support. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.

Read more here:

Politician leaves Brexit Party over anti-devolution stance - The New European

I personally challenged Mrs May about the problems in both the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration when I met her in February 2019, but she denied any problems even existed. With limited time and the need to actually Leave the political institutions of the European Union Boris Johnson managed to get some limited improvements over the line last October. However, the EU had no interest in changing the major details of an agreement which simply gave them what they wanted. One area which seems significant however is the issue of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The UK is now being held to ransom, obliged to support EU projects during the Transition Period and we are expected to do so for at least the next 20 years.

As always, the devil really is in the detail.

Just last month the UK was jointly liable for new EU loans - including 125 million to Greece to help build a power plant and 2 billion to Italy in the form of a COVID-19 investment into their healthcare system.

This is money which was insured by the UK money which should be focussed on our own financial problems due to this virus, or on our own NHS.

So, the UK has jointly financed these projects (though there is no way of telling how successful these so-called investments will be) but we have

sacrificed any possible return of profits as a result of the Withdrawal Agreement.

We are well and truly in a lose-lose situation.

Way back in 1973 when the UK joined the EU, we also joined the EIB and put in an original investment of 3.5 billion to help fund growth across the EU.

Now we are Leaving the EU and its institutions in full, surely this money should be returned and adjusted for inflation that would make it around 37 billion.

However, the EU is only returning the UKs original stake of 3.5 billion.

READ MORE:

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To make matters worse, the EU is only returning this 3.5 billion over 12 years.

If the boot was on the other foot its hard not to imagine the EU would be demanding immediate payment so why arent we?

I have regularly called for the Government to answer questions like this and have frequently written to MPs, Cabinet Ministers and the Prime Minister to ask why no action is being taken to correct these categoric failings of negotiation.

It is not even as if changes are not possible.

As the director of Get Britain Out I have clearly identified the loopholes built into the Withdrawal Agreement which give powers directly to the UK-EU Joint Committee - co-chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove MP on the UKs side, and the Vice-President of the European Commission for Inter-Institutional Relations and Foresight, Maro efovi on the EUs side.

These powers are clearly stated in Articles 164 and 166 of the Withdrawal Agreement, detailing how this Committee has the ability to change the Withdrawal Agreement.

While mutual consent would be required, decisions do not have to be approved by both sides parliaments, meaning change is far more possible without party politics interfering.

Interestingly, Maro efovi has often voiced his opposition to EU federalisation, meaning he may be more receptive to the UKs cause than other EU bureaucrats.

While this might not be a silver bullet to resolve all the problems in the Withdrawal Agreement, it is a valid option for the UK Government.

I implore Boris Johnson and Michael Gove to understand they have a duty to use the tools they have at their disposal to try and make the vital changes needed to free the UK from the EU and not leave us trapped in a permanent state of purgatory.

There is a legal obligation for this UK-EU Joint Committee to reconvene at least on an annual basis indefinitely.

This Government can still make changes up to the end of this year and they also have the capability to push for changes for years to come.

Negotiations may be hard, but changes must be made and fast.

These possibilities for change are, however, available to both sides. I fear, if this Government - fortified with Brexiteers - doesnt use this chance to change the Withdrawal Agreement the EU will simply wait them out until a more receptive politician sits at the table in Downing Street.

Expect the EU to take full advantage - if and when this happens - to claw back powers from the UK which have so far been lost to Brexit.

It is not too late for this country to free itself from the death sentence lurking within the Withdrawal Agreement, but firstly the Government must accept problems exist.

Actions must be taken to resolve this quickly. A lack of awareness is never an excuse.

Jayne Adye is the Director of grassroots, cross-Party Eurosceptic campaign Get Britain Out

More:

Britain will be EU's patsy for 20 years unless we rip-up Brexit Agreement - JAYNE ADYE - Express

Treasury data published by the House of Commons Library showed the annual gross contribution to Brussels coffers was one of the highest in the UKs 47 years as a member of the European bloc. The huge sum from taxpayers - nearly a billion pounds more than the previous year - was equivalent to more than 500 for every household in the UK.

It would have been around 4.5billion higher without the rebate won by the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher during budget negotiations in the 1980s.

Figures showed around 5billion was returned to the UK under EU spending schemes last year, giving a total net contribution for 2019 of 9.4billion.

Tory MP Peter Bone, a leading figure in the Brexit campaign, said: This is a huge sum of money. It shows why this country was right to leave the EU.

Our contribution was set to rise even higher if we stayed in the EU. We have basically been subsidising other European countries.

"My constituents did not consider that a fair and reasonable deal.

Britain, which formally quit the EU at the end of this year, is expected to pay a similar amount to Brussels this year for continuing EU single market and customs union membership during the transition out of the blocs rules.

Britains obligation to contribute to the EU budget is set to end once the transition expires at the end of this year.

READ MORE: 'Fake British' super-trawlers from EU must be BANNED forever

But under the departure deals, the UK could still have to pay money to Brussels for many years.

The House of Commons Library research paper said: The UK and EU have some outstanding financial obligations to each other that they are settling through a financial settlement.

The obligations arise out of the UKs participation in the EU budget and broader aspects of its EU membership.

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The Office for Budget Responsibility, Whitehalls financial watchdog, has estimated that the settlement may cost the UK around 33 billion once the final payment is made, possibly in the 2060s.

Britains contribution has varied year to year based on economic performance and other Brussels criteria.

The biggest annual sum, a gross contribution of 16billion and net of 11.5billion, was paid in 2013.

Read the original:

Brexit Britain gave EU eye-watering 14.4bn in final year of membership -Right to leave! - Daily Express

A large number of British citizens live elsewhere in Europe and many have the right to vote in UK elections. Yet little is known about their political preferences given there are nodesignated overseas constituencies for expatriate representation. Drawing on new survey evidence,Paul Webb andSusan Collardwrite that while expatriate voters have traditionally been assumed to vote more often for the Conservative Party, this no longer seems to apply for those living in EU countries following Brexit.

New research shows a dramatic increase in the number of Britons who are choosing to quit the UK for countries in the European Union. Overall, the rate of migration has jumped by30%since the Brexit referendum of 2016, and there has been a five-fold increase in the number of Brits adopting dual citizenship in these countries (notably in Spain and France).

Even so, they retain the legal right to register and vote in UK elections at least, they do until they have been based abroad for more than 15 years. But what are the political preferences of British migrants who vote in the UK? And, more particularly, what impact if any has Brexit had on these preferences? We are able to shed some light on these questions in a new paper.

Time-limited voting rights for expatriates were introduced by the Conservative Party in 1985 after the creation of British citizenship (as opposed to Citizenship of the UK and Colonies) by the1981 British Nationality Act. Overseas electors are assimilated into the system of 650 parliamentary constituencies through registration in their last place of residence. The time-limit on the overseas franchise was increased under the Conservatives in 1989 from five to twenty years after leaving the UK, but reduced by Labour in 2000 to the current 15-year rule.

Historically, the issue of expatriate enfranchisement has polarised the two main parties, whose attitudes are predominantly informed by their respective expectations of electoral gains or losses: cultural stereotypes of expats as either wealthy or retired (or both) fuel widely shared assumptions that the majority would support the Conservative Party. Not surprisingly, therefore, Labour has traditionally opposed extension of expatriate voting rights.

This has been increasingly contested by expatriate campaigners claiming that this time limit is arbitrary and anachronistic in the internet era, but legal challenges in theEuropean Court of Human Rightsand the UK courts have been unsuccessful. Although the Conservatives Abroad expatriate organisation was instrumental in persuading the party leadership to include a 2015 manifesto pledge to deliver Votes For Life (VFL),the promise was not fulfilledand most British migrants supporting VFL lost faith in the partys will or capacity to deliver it. Recent developments make the introduction of VFL even less likely.

We can demonstrate this through a new survey of Britons living in the EU that we conducted in early 2020; while this reveals that the issue of VFL itself did not impact significantly on their voting behaviour in 2019, Conservative policy on Brexit mattered hugely and clearly turned them against the party. Only 17% of those who voted for the party in 2015 and then to Remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum (that is, some 95% of all 2015 EU-based Tories) still supported the Conservatives in 2019; by contrast, 90% of Leave-voting Tories stuck with the party in 2019.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats benefitted from this anti-Brexit backlash among expatriates in the general election. Even so, this backlash did little or nothing to diminish the Conservatives resounding victory in December 2019, because of the dispersion of overseas voters across 650 constituencies.

The creation of designated overseas constituencies for expatriate representation (as practised by countries such as France, Italy and Romania, and advocated for the UK by the Liberal Democrats since 2017), would address this question of representation. However, the absence of accurate data on the size and geographical distribution of the expatriate population, not to mention other administrative obstacles, renders implementation problematic, though certainly not impossible.

In any case, if Boris Johnsons government was to implement its 2019 election manifesto pledge to legislate for VFL, the enfranchisement of a further three million UK citizens would be consistent with its Global Britain agenda. But despite its parliamentary majority, the Brexit-induced antipathy of EU-based Britons towards the Tories revealed by our research would seem to make this scenario unlikely. More plausibly, in the post-Brexit era, the issue of expatriate representation seems destined to return to the margins of political debate.

Please read our comments policy before commenting.

Note: This article originally appeared at UK in a Changing Europe. It gives the views of theauthors, not the position of EUROPP European Politics and Policy or the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: Images Money (CC BY 2.0)

_________________________________

About the authors

Paul Webb University of SussexPaul Webb is a Professor of Politics at the University of Sussex.

Susan Collard University of SussexSusan Collard is a Senior Lecturer in French Politics & Contemporary European Studies at the University of Sussex.

Originally posted here:

British expatriates and the anti-Brexit backlash - EUROPP - European Politics and Policy

The Brexit process has been characterised by uncertainty it is more than four years since the referendum, and it is still not clear what the future relationship with our largest trading partner will be. But with the clock ticking, there is a growing imperative for businesses to plan and prepare for all eventualities.

A no-deal Brexit is an increasingly likely scenario and has several ramifications for those who trade with the EU. Whether a deal is agreed or our exit occurs on World Trade Organisation terms, there will VAT implications which are substantial and, in many cases, immediate.

There is a breadth of detail to cover, but in the interests of space and clarity, this article will primarily consider the impact of Brexit on the treatment of goods and services, the recovery of VAT and Fiscal Representation.

The treatment of goods moving between Great Britain and the EU will change significantly from 1 January 2021. It should be noted that the reference is to Great Britain and not the UK this is because the Northern Ireland Protocol means Northern Ireland will be treated differently. This will not be explored in this article, but it is essential that businesses that trade with Northern Ireland are fully aware of the implications post Brexit.

The concept of dispatches and acquisitions will no longer apply to GB-EU trade and will be replaced instead by exports and imports. Though zero rating for exports exist if the relevant conditions are met, crucially, imports are liable to import VAT and potentially customs duty. To mitigate the impact of this, some Member States allow for import VAT to be accounted for on VAT returns this is called postponed accounting.

This effectively minimises cash flow but may require an application or licence both of which are conditional, can be revoked, and arent automatic like the current mechanism for accounting for acquisition tax. HMRC is implementing postponed import VAT accounting for goods arriving from the EU this is automatic and will also be available for imports from countries outside the EU.

When it comes to the treatment of services, businesses can breathe a tentative sigh of relief as significant changes are unlikely. The UK looks set to continue to apply VAT place of supply rules in line with VAT Directive, in part to avoid instances of double or no taxation. However, businesses will need to consider the liability to be registered in the EU and the UK on an ongoing basis.

Businesses that engage in UK-EU trade of goods need to ensure that they review their supply chain and are fully aware of the implications post 1 January 2021. It may be possible to make changes to the supply chain to mitigate any negative impact by changing contractual relationships and consider the flow of goods but these will need to be done well in advance of January 2021 in order to be effective.

If and how VAT can be recovered post-Brexit is understandably a concern for many businesses. If a UK company is registered in the EU it can continue to recover VAT via returns, but the appointment of a fiscal representative may be necessary. If a business is not registered and not liable to do so, recovery will be via the 13th Directive. T

he 13th Directive has several drawbacks its a paper-based system with different time limits and potential issues of reciprocity which may prevent UK businesses from making claims in some countries. This will be a particular risk in countries where claims can only be made by businesses from named countries the UK is not on these lists as previously there was no requirement. Its not clear how quickly it will be added.

EU businesses registered for VAT in the UK can continue to recover VAT via the VAT return. However, if a business is not registered and not liable to do so, recovery will be via a paper-based system.

Key to this is that the UK currently applies the reciprocity principle if a UK business would be denied a claim in the country of the claimant. For EU businesses, this means running the risk that they are denied VAT returns if there is no reciprocity between their country and the UK.

Planning is key to ensuring that VAT can be recovered successfully especially when there are changing systems. Claims under the current mechanisms can be made for 2020 but the deadlines will be much shorter than at present. Claims under the new processes will need to be evaluated in order to ensure that no recoverable VAT is lost.

It will continue to be essential to ensure that VAT has been properly charged by the supplier as if it is charged incorrectly, it cannot be recovered from the Tax Authority.

Fiscal Representatives are local entities that act on behalf of non-resident businesses, and in some Member States have joint liability for VAT. From January 1st, UK businesses will have enhanced requirements for Fiscal Representation, although like much related to EU fiscal law, there are no hard and fast rules.

Currently, 19 Member States have a requirement for non-EU businesses to have fiscal representation, but some like France previously signalled that this may not be the case for UK companies. Some countries may relax the requirement for UK businesses in the coming months, if there are appropriate mutual recovery provisions in place between the countries.

Whether exceptions are established or not, there is a lot for UK businesses to do to prepare, including planning for the transfer of existing registrations to Fiscal Representatives.

Each Member State has its own process and some Tax Authorities such as Belgium are contacting businesses now to inform them of the new requirement, in order to continue trading in the nation. It is therefore essential that planning is carried out as soon as possible, to avoid difficulties nearer the end of the transition period.

In conclusion, we find ourselves once again guessing at the likely VAT panorama, with the potential for the all-important future trading relationship details to be agreed at the eleventh hour and a no-deal Brexit looming large. The only way for the status quo to be maintained is an extension to the transition this is, at the current moment, looking very unlikely.

As such, businesses in the UK and the EU need to proactively consider and have plans in place around registrations, supply chains, and Fiscal Representation in good time, to ensure seamless trading in the new year and beyond.

By Andy Spencer, Director of Professional Services at Accordance

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Brexit and VAT - Accountancy Today

Italy would be the most likely of the "Big Four" member states to consider exiting the European Union if Brexit proves to be beneficial to Britain, according to a Euronews-commissioned poll.

Data from the Redfield and Wilton Strategies survey found that nearly half of Italians would be likely to support their country leaving the EU if the UK and its economy are regarded to be in good health in five years.

In the event, France and Spain both showed moderate support for changing its relationship with the bloc, while Germany was the member state least likely of the four major players to consider leaving the Union.

The poll findings come just weeks after the founding of a new anti-EU party in Italy.

Former TV journalist Gianluigi Paragone launched his "Italexit" party on July 23, just two days after Italy secured a considerable tranche of the EU's 750 billion recovery fund to help steady its pandemic-hit economy.

The survey gauged the opinion of 1,500 people in each of the four countries 6,000 people in total between July 17-18.

Of the EU's "Big Four," respondents in Italy were the most in favour of leaving the EU in five years' time if Brexit is seen to be benefiting the UK, with 45 per cent either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the idea of an "Italexit."

France was the next most favourable country but lagged considerably behind its Mediterranean neighbour at 38 per cent, followed closely by Spain with 37 per cent.

Germans were the least likely to consider such a move with just 30 per cent in favour.

Following a similar trend, the participants polled in each country were asked in a separate question whether they thought the UK would benefit from leaving the EU in the long-term, even if there were short-term economic problems.

A significant number of respondents in France (45 per cent) and Italy (43 per cent) all agreed that that the UK would prosper outside of the bloc.

In Spain, 35 per cent believed Brexit would ultimately be a success for the UK, while only 31 per cent of Germans agreed to some extent compared to 43 per cent who disagreed.

In light of the landmark 1.82 trillion EU budget and COVID-19 recovery package, political commentators have questioned the timing of the announcement of a new Eurosceptic party in Italy and its long-term prospects.

Promising to free Italy "from the cage of the European Union and the single currency," the nascent Italexit party has modelled itself on Nigel Farage's Brexit Party in the UK and hopes for similar success.

Originally elected in 2018 as a senator for the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), Italexit's founder and leader Paragone, 48, became an independent in the Senate earlier this year having been expelled from his party after he opposed it joining the pro-EU Democratic Party in government.

"It is too soon to assess the real electoral potential of the new Italexit party," Dr Mattia Zulianello, a political scientist at the University of Birmingham, told Euronews.

"The Italian party system is already overcrowded by the presence of various parties being critical of the EU, in various forms and degrees: Salvinis League, Melonis Brothers of Italy and the Five Star Movement.

"Such parties have considerable electoral support, and the electoral prospects of the new Italexit party will pretty much depend on its capacity to steal voters from these parties."

While a poll conducted in June by the Istituto Piepoli suggested only 7 per cent of Italians would vote for a party campaigning to leave the EU, there has been growing disillusionment with the European project in recent years.

In the Euronews-Redfield and Wilton Strategies survey, when asked whether they thought the EU membership had a positive or negative effect on their country, 32 per cent of Italians agreed that being a member state had a positive or very positive effect. 34 per cent thought being a member of the EU had a somewhat or very negative impact, the highest percentage among participants in the four countries polled.

This is in contrast to Spain, where 57 per cent of those polled believed EU membership had, on balance, a positive effect on the country compared to just 15 per cent who believed the opposite was the case.

47 per cent of Germans and 39 per cent of French people saw the effects of EU membership in a largely positive light compared to 19 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.

"Rather than rejecting the very idea of European integration per se, most Italians are unhappy with the concrete functioning of the EU and with the direction it is taking," according to Zulianello.

"In other words, there are many shades of Euroscepticism, meaning that increased discontent with the functioning of the EU does not necessarily imply real support for Italexit," he added. "Euroscepticism is a polyhedric phenomenon: it is not black or white."

"I am afraid that discontent with the EU will further increase in autumn, when the real extent of the economic crisis will become fully evident."

There are some crumbs of good news for the EU in the Euronews poll data. Asked how they would vote in a referendum on their country's membership of the EU held in the near future, all four countries showed favourable leanings toward staying in the bloc.

Germany registered the highest pro-EU sentiment with 67 per cent, followed by Spain with 63 per cent and France with 47 per cent.

The number of Italians who would vote to stay in the EU for the time being was a significant 43 per cent, compared to 31 per cent who would vote to leave.

"Overall, I am broadly negative on Italys long term prospects in the EU," said Dr Eoin Drea, a Senior Research Officer at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels.

"I believe the rising anti-EU sentiment is based on an economic stagnation which began in the early 1990s and has been made worse by the Great Recession starting in 2008 and now the Coronavirus epidemic," he added.

"And this is borne out in how younger Italians are now flocking to the more anti-establishment political parties. It is the Italian millennials which have been truly sacrificed by successive Italian governments in order to preserve the privileges of the older generations."

Similarly, when asked how they would vote in a referendum on being in the Eurozone, most people polled in each country said that they thought they would vote for their country to stay in the monetary union. 70 per cent of Germans said they would stay in the Eurozone compared to 64 per cent in Spain, 47 per cent in France and 41 per cent in Italy.

As well as trends of creeping Euroscepticism in Italy, the responses of those polled in France also presented "a very interesting case," according to Drea.

"I think the data shows that for all his apparent power and 'successes' in Brussels, President Macron is on very shaky ground in France in advance of the next presidential elections," he said.

"This is ironic because Macron has really succeeded - along with COVID-19 - in pushing Germany much closer to the French vision of a much more integrated and bigger Europe. But back home, I think the perception is that he is really one of the elite.

"I expect to see Marine Le Pen come back strongly onto our radar once normality hopefully returns in 2021."

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How likely are the 'big four' European economies to vote to leave the EU if Brexit works out? - Euronews

Boris Johnson is planning to use Brexit to tear up the UKs international obligations to make it easier to send back migrants to France.

The Prime Minister condemned the Channel crossings as dangerous and criminal amid an escalating war of words between Britain and France over the issue.

Downing Street said the UKs departure from the EU would allow the country to cut loose from the Dublin Regulations which place time limits on returns and, it is claimed, are open to abuse by those without a right to remain.

Immigration minister Chris Philp will hold talks with his counterparts in Paris on Tuesday to discuss tougher measures to stop migrants attempting the crossing of the worlds busiest shipping waters. More than 600 migrants have arrived in the UK by this route since last Thursday.

A French politician pushed back against the suggestions from inside the British government that the Royal Navy could be despatched to patrol the Channel and support Border Force boats, saying it would further endanger lives and was merely a political measure.

Speaking at a primary school in east London, Mr Johnson said: Be in no doubt whats going on is the activity of cruel and criminal gangs who are risking the lives of these people taking them across the Channel, a pretty dangerous stretch of water in potentially unseaworthy vessels.

We want to stop that, working with the French, make sure that they understand that this isnt a good idea, this is a very bad and stupid and dangerous and criminal thing to do.

But then theres a second thing weve got to do and that is to look at the legal framework that we have that means that when people do get here, it is very, very difficult to then send them away again even though blatantly theyve come here illegally.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: We are currently bound by the Dublin Regulations for returns and they are inflexible and rigid for example, there is a time limit placed on returns, its something which can be abused by both migrants and their lawyers to frustrate the returns of those who have no right to be here.

At the end of this year we will no longer be bound by the EUs laws so can negotiate our own returns agreement.

The Government would continue to work with French authorities on tougher measures including French interceptions at sea and the direct return of boats, he added.

The Ministry of Defence deployed a surveillance aircraft over the Channel, while Home Secretary Priti Patel met Border Force staff in Dover.

Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont told Radio 4s Today programme: This is a political measure to show some kind of resource to fight against smugglers and illegal crossings in the Channel, but technically speaking that wont change anything.

Lisa Doyle, director of advocacy at the Refugee Council, said: Seeking asylum is not a crime, and it is legitimate that people have to cross borders to do so.

Instead of scapegoating people in desperate circumstances, the Prime Minister and his Government could address this by ensuring that people do not have to take these risks.

When immigration minister Chris Philp meets his counterparts in Paris they are expected to discuss demands by the French government for more money to stop migrant crossings.

There have been reports that Paris wants an extra 30m from Boris Johnsons government to fund patrols off the French coast and prevent the boats getting anywhere near the UK.

Two years ago Theresa May agreed to spend nearly 50m on increased security at Calais and other French ports, including fencing and CCTV, to stop a repeat of the Jungle refugee camp.

This was an addition to the 2003 Le Touquet accord between the two nations which allows for UK border checks at Calais. The extra fencing was designed to stop migrants boarding lorries bound for Britain via the Channel Tunnel.

The UK also hopes to use Brexit to free itself of the Dublin Regulations which place time limits on returns for migrants. For the French governments part, they want the extra money to step up patrols of the coastline. One politician said is unsustainable with the resources it currently has.

Pierre-Henri Dumont, the MP for Calais, told Radio 4s Today programme: We are already trying to do whatever we can, but if youve got dozens of crossings a day, thats very difficult for us to stop a boat.

It only takes five minutes to have a small boat at sea full with migrants, with a coast of 300km to monitor.

What is clear is that Paris does not want to see Royal Navy boats entering French waters. Mr Dumont said: I dont know if the British Government would be very happy to see the other way, if French vessels would enter without any ask, before or without any decision before, into British waters.

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Boris Johnson will use Brexit to make it easier to send back migrants to France - iNews

MERSHAM, England The fields around the quiet village of Mersham, just 20 miles from the white cliffs of Dover, are a vision of idyllic English countryside. Lush, green trees sway above rolling acres of golden wheat. The spire of a 13th-century church looms on the horizon.

But soon, something far less charming could mar this pastoral vista: a 27-acre parking lot with hundreds even thousands of idling trucks. If Britains exit from the European Union causes the chaos many fear, up to 2,000 vehicles headed for France could be held at a time here in an asphalt Brexit purgatory.

Four years after Britons voted narrowly to leave the bloc, the implications of that decision are dawning on some of those who live in an area where support for Brexit was strong. The parking area is widely being called the Farage Garage a reference to Nigel Farage, the nationalist politician who was one of the loudest voices for Brexit.

The noise and pollution would be huge, particularly if this is a 24-hour facility, said Liz Wright, an elected council member in the local municipality, Ashford, looking out over the site officially known as MOJO on a recent sunny morning.

This has happened so suddenly and without any consultation, added Ms. Wright, a Green Party member who voted to leave the European Union in 2016 as did six out of 10 people here but said she did not expect this to be the result.

Back then, Leave campaigners dismissed their opponents predictions of more bureaucracy and disruption to trade across the English Channel as project fear. Now, in the southeastern region that calls itself the garden of England, that fear has taken on a very real, tarmac form.

Though it left the bloc on Jan. 31, Britain remains tied to Europes customs system through the end of the year, so freight still enters from the Continent with minimal interruption. In preparation for what comes next, the government is spending 705 million more than $920 million to upgrade customs and border infrastructure.

Brexit supporters have made confident pronouncements that the new system will barely slow the flow of goods. But if it goes wrong, it could do serious damage to Britains economy and to the bucolic life here.

The site near Mersham is designed to check freight traffic arriving on ferries from France. But local politicians have been told that, if post-Brexit rule changes bring chaos to the Channel ports, this could also become a temporary place to park trucks.

People are very anxious about what might happen, said Damian Green, the Conservative Party lawmaker for Ashford and a former senior cabinet minister.

The worse case scenario will be miserable, possibly for a few months, but in the best scenario it wont have to be used at all as an emergency lorry park, he said.

Kent knows all about traffic mayhem around the Channel ports. In 2015, when French ferry workers went on strike, a line of 4,600 trucks stretched back 30 miles on one roadway.

On that occasion, the gridlock combined with a heat wave. Emergency teams handed out more than 18,000 bottles of water to stranded truckers, as perishable cargo went bad.

Delays at the border could cause significant knock-on effects for just-in-time supply chains, potentially precipitating widespread economic disruption while also turning parts of Kent into a lorry park, said a recent report from the Institute for Government, a research organization, on what to expect in January.

Even before the government bought the MOJO site, it was widely expected to become a warehouse. So construction work did not come as a surprise to many people, but the nature of the project did.

Those who think gridlock can be avoided include John Lang, who voted for Brexit and has not changed his mind. He described his home and tranquil garden close to MOJO as a little bit of paradise, and was confident it would stay that way.

Its in everyones interest to make it work, Mr. Lang said.

Local people who wanted to stay in the European Union feel vindicated, even if they are reluctant to crow about it.

I just think its so sad that this is another bit of countryside that we have lost, said Sheila Catt, an administrator in the health service. She worries about air pollution, as well.

The problem for Mersham lies partly in the geography of Dover, a short drive to the east, where one of the worlds busiest ports is crushed into a limited space bounded by the famous white cliffs behind it.

Today, as many as 10,000 trucks can pass through the port daily, rolling on and off ferries in a ceaseless flow of cargo, mostly to and from Calais in France.

With Britain operating under the European common market rules, trucks usually clear the port of Dover in around eight minutes. Only a tiny number of vehicles are stopped.

That arrangement is scheduled to end on December 31, when Britain is expected to chart its own course. The risk of disruption is high adding just two minutes to the time needed to process each truck, the Port of Dover has estimated, could produce a 17-mile backup.

Talks on a post-Brexit trade agreement between Britain and the European Union are deadlocked. But even if they strike a deal that eliminates tariffs, more checks on products will be required than at present, and there is simply no space to perform them at Dover. So trucks will stop in places like Mersham instead.

The chief executive officer of the port, Doug Bannister, said that the Dover-Calais ferry route was so important economically across Europe that any gridlock would likely be resolved fast. If there is disruption, Dover has systems in place to clear bottlenecks relatively quickly, he said, and Britain plans to phase in its rule changes, giving time to adapt.

But he acknowledged some unknowns out there, including, critically, how French authorities will handle freight checks at Calais. Any gridlock on one side of the Channel would spread quickly to the other if trucks cannot roll off ferries, the ferries cannot load other vehicles for the return trip.

Britains new system for electronic customs declarations is still being developed, and surveys suggest that smaller exporters are ill-prepared for the new bureaucracy, and are preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic.

I am very, very confident that there will be no disruption on January 1 primarily because its a bank holiday, said Mr. Bannister, but January 2 may be a different question.

At the MOJO site, Paul Bartlett, a Conservative Party representative on Kent County Council, welcomed the construction of a customs facility, and the jobs it could bring, but opposed its use as a holding pen for delayed trucks. One of the main frustrations is the lack of information, he said.

But sitting in the garden of the Farriers Arms, a country pub in Mersham, Jo Gregory said that the implications of Brexit were only starting to sink in.

I dont think people had thought it through until recently, said Ms. Gregory, a sales assistant who did not vote in the 2016 referendum and still doesnt have a firm view of Brexit.

But she is not staying here to make up her mind.

So worried is she about the MOJO development that she is moving home from one village about four miles from the site to another, Westwell, farther away.

Its going to be busier, its going to be noisier, she said, and its bad enough with the traffic we have at the moment.

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Near U.K.s Busiest Port, Brexit Hopes Are Layered in Asphalt - The New York Times

The government did not quite achieve the Brexit breakthrough it was seeking on Friday, when there was hope that a fast-tracked trade agreement with Japan might be reached. But it seems likely that a deal, essentially replicating one signed by the EU and Japan last year, will be done by the end of the month. Some kind of morale booster for Britains battered and bruised businesses would certainly be welcome.

As the clock runs down to the end of the transition period on 31 December, ministers are no longer bothering to offer the false hope of a relatively frictionless trade agreement with the EU. Even a Canada-style free trade deal will mean a vast infrastructure of compliance and checks: permits for lorry drivers to enter Kent, huge customs clearance centres and tracking apps are all in the mix. The government estimates that, from 2021, there will be over 400m extra customs checks a year on goods going to and from the EU.

As the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has acknowledged, re-litigating Brexit is a pointless exercise. But given the immediate context, the folly of not extending the transition period becomes more apparent with each passing week. The country is heading deep into recession and a possible winter resurgence of Covid-19. The explosion of new bureaucracy and red tape will compound the misery for businesses and add to their costs. From the pharmaceutical industry to the freight trade, alarm bells are now ringing loudly in companies being tested beyond their limits. The governments continuing insouciance is breathtaking.

Last week, the Department of Health airily advised medical suppliers to stockpile six weeks worth of drugs to cope with possible disruption at the end of the transition period. The effects of the pandemic on existing stocks and global supply chains make this a near-impossible task. The imposition of new customs and border controls will further destabilise supply chains. About 70% of prescription medicines in the UK come to Britain via the EU. The December departure date coincides with what is generally the busiest time of year for the pharmaceutical industry, even in a normal year. This year, the spectre of a flu outbreak combined with a Covid-19 surge looms. The deputy chair of the British Medical Association has described the situation as incredibly concerning.

The governments new border operating plans, unveiled last month by Michael Gove, were criticised by freight operators for lacking detail and relying on as-yet untested technology. Much will depend on the successful functioning of track and trace style technology to obviate the need for long queues and checks at borders. The smart freight system is not expected to be ready for testing before November, ahead of a January launch. The failure of the contact-tracing app tested on the Isle of Wight does not inspire confidence.

The prospect of fines for drivers who are not border-ready when entering Kent suggests that ministers will not hesitate to blame businesses when things start to go wrong. Given the pressures that employers and employees alike have been under since March, this would be wholly unfair.

As one senior figure in the pharmaceutical industry put it recently, there is a desperate need for a bit of breathing space as companies face an unprecedented set of variables and unknowns. But even at a time of national crisis, the theological demands of Brexit continue to trump all practical considerations. It is an irresponsible and reckless way to govern a country.

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The Guardian view on Brexit bureaucracy: tied up in red tape - The Guardian

LONDON Barely six months after Britain broke away from the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is increasingly consumed with trying to stop the breakaway of restive parts of the United Kingdom.

On Friday, Mr. Johnson sent his popular Treasury chief, Rishi Sunak, to Scotland, to tamp down nationalist sentiment that has surged there in recent months. Another top minister, Michael Gove, went to Northern Ireland with nearly $500 million in aid to help frustrated companies deal with new checks on shipped goods.

Experts have long predicted that Brexit would strengthen centrifugal forces that were pulling apart the union. But in Scotland, in particular, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated those forces, forcing Mr. Johnson to mount an elaborate some say belated charm offensive with the Scottish public.

The situation is less acute in Northern Ireland, where reunification with the Republic of Ireland still seems a distant prospect. Yet businesspeople there, including those loyal to London, worry they will be hurt by a costly, bureaucratic trading system between Northern Ireland and the rest of the union.

Mr. Sunak, who as chancellor of the Exchequer is coordinating the British governments economic rescue effort in response to the coronavirus, noted that 65,000 Scottish firms were getting 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) in loans to survive the lockdown. The pandemic, he said, had reaffirmed the enduring value of the union.

If I look at the last few months, to me that is a good example of the union working really well, Mr. Sunak said, after touring a factory in Glasgow that makes generators. He brushed aside questions about independence, saying, I dont think now is the time to be talking about these constitutional questions.

The problem is: A majority of the Scottish public seems to disagree. In an average of recent polls, 52.5 percent of people say they would vote for Scottish independence. That is a dramatic swing from the 2014 referendum on independence, when Scots voted to stay in the union by 55.3 percent to 44.7 percent.

It is also the first time the polls have consistently shown a majority for breaking away, said John Curtice, a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and Britains leading expert on polling.

The numbers have clearly alarmed the government. Mr. Sunak is the fourth cabinet minister to visit Scotland in the last month a list that has included Mr. Gove and the prime minister himself.

The U.K. government is sufficiently worried that it is sending people north on a regular basis, Professor Curtice said. London may only have woken up to this in the last couple of weeks, but its a long-running story.

Nationalist sentiment was already building last year, Professor Curtice said, as Britain hammered out a withdrawal agreement with the European Union. Scots voted overwhelmingly to stay in the European Union during the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Pro-independence feelings have hardened in Scotland during the pandemic because many people there believe that Scotland has done a better job managing the crisis than the Johnson government in neighboring England. Englands per capita death rate is higher than Scotlands, and it continues to record more cases.

Under the terms of limited self-government in the United Kingdom, Scottish authorities are responsible for matters like public health, while the British government handles immigration, foreign policy and, importantly, Mr. Sunaks rescue packages to protect those who lost their jobs in the lockdown.

Scotlands overall performance during the pandemic is open to debate; it is far smaller and more sparsely populated than England. Some epidemiologists say it ranks in the middle of European countries in dealing with the virus.

Still, Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is far more popular in polls than Mr. Johnson, and her Scottish National Party stands to run up a huge mandate in parliamentary elections next May. That would make it harder for Mr. Johnson to refuse a Scottish demand to hold another referendum.

Political analysts said the Scottish National Partys strategy has long been clear: to appeal to people who voted to remain in the United Kingdom in 2014, but also to stay in the European Union two years later.

To wait until the polls shifted in Scotland was strikingly nave, said Anand Menon, a professor of European politics at Kings College London, referring to Mr. Johnsons effort to woo the Scots. The question is, whether this frantic activity is too little, too late.

Mr. Gove, who holds the title of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, faced a different dilemma in Northern Ireland. Britains withdrawal agreement from the European Union, analysts said, actually helped ease nationalist tensions because it preserved an open border between north and south on the island of Ireland.

But the deal came with a trade-off. Instead of bisecting Ireland, the border will effectively run up and down the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland, though part of the British customs territory, will adhere to a maze of European Union rules and regulations, which means goods shipped from England, Scotland and Wales will require customs checks.

Mr. Gove said the British government would pay 200 million ($260 million) to defray the cost of this paperwork for companies and 155 million ($202 million) for a new light touch technology system to streamline the process.

I dont accept the argument that theres a border down the Irish Sea because Northern Ireland businesses, Northern Ireland people will continue to have totally unfettered access to the rest of the U.K, Mr. Gove said during a visit on Friday to a carpet factory in Portadown.

His words, analysts said, were designed primarily to soothe unionists, who worry that Brexit will distance Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom and hasten its eventual reunification with the Irish republic. In assuaging the unionists, however, they said he would antagonize nationalists, whose emphasis is on fortifying Northern Irelands connection with the south.

Michael Gove is a smooth talker, but nationalists wouldnt believe a word that would come out of his mouth, said Monica McWilliams, an academic and former politician in Belfast. Those who voted against Brexit wont be convinced by him, even if he is handing out pieces of candy.

In a week shadowed by the death of John Hume, the Nobel Peace Prize-winner and architect of the Northern Irish peace process, the reunification of Ireland is not an immediate concern for Mr. Johnsons Conservative government. But in both countries, the prime minister faces building pressures.

To some analysts, it exposes a contradiction at the heart of Mr. Johnsons unrelenting drive to leave the European Union.

You had a Brexit that took no account of the wishes of people in Scotland or Northern Ireland, said Bobby McDonagh, a former Irish ambassador to Britain. But that exists in parallel with a Conservative Party that celebrates the United Kingdom.

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Brexit Behind Him, Boris Johnson Tries to Quiet Scotlands Calls to Leave U.K. - The New York Times

Photo: Shutterstock

Not only must businesses grapple with the coronavirus pandemic but many will soon have to once again wrestle with the UKs decision to leave the EU, with difficult decisions having to be made over the sourcing of talent, write Gillian McKearney and Pip Hague.

In the midst of Covid-19 and business continuity planning, its important that employers and particularly HR teams do not lose sight of the other pressing issue Brexit and in particular the impact this will have on the workforce.

With fears of further waves of Covid-19, especially as winter draws near, many businesses are struggling to focus on anything else. But, with only four months to go until the UK departs from the EU, how many employers have dropped the ball?

Research released by the CBI has revealed that one in five businesses are less prepared for Brexit now than at the start of the year due to Covid-19. Half of businesses are no more prepared for our departure than they were at the start of the year. Lastly and perhaps causing the most cause for concern, 21% of respondents said that their Brexit preparations had actually derailed since the start of the year.

There are winners and losers when it comes to the impact of Brexit on businesses who need non-native workers. For those who are already sponsor license holders, there will be certain advantages when the UKs new points-based immigration system kicks in: a lower minimum salary level, increase in roles available to sponsor and no advertisement requirement. Industries dependent on a consistent influx of EU workers, such as hospitality, retail, manufacturing and construction etc are likely to be the most impacted.

The UKs departure could raise a lot of questions and doubts over the stability of their workforce. Now while Brexit is a multifaceted complex issue and although we officially Brexited on 31 January 2020, the UK still has no clarity on whether we will exit with or without a deal. The transition period is due to end on 31 December 2020. On the 1 January 2021, the UKs Australian-style points-based immigration system will kick in, marking the most significant developments in UK immigration law in 40 years. This is important as there are certain things that employers who rely on EU workers can and should get in place before this cut-off date.

With not long to go, lets look at the key actions HR can do now to make the transition easier.

The quickest way for employers to safeguard the future of their workforce and keep their trained workers is to direct their EU staff about the EU settlement scheme, the scheme introduced to allow EU, EEA and Swiss citizens to continue living and working in the UK after the cut off period of 30 June 2021. Its the responsibility of the individual to make their application to the scheme, which means employers cannot require them to apply and cannot check that they apply. This makes the jobs of HR teams harder, but they should continue to put a robust process in place to oversee who is and isnt applying and to analyse what roles and which areas of the business are likely to suffer.

The latest stats released from the government showed that at the end of June 2020, there were over 3.7 million applications to the scheme. While this is a positive figure and shows than many of our EU workers are likely to stay post-Brexit, the number of refused applications is increasing. Employees and employers have common goals here, which is to remain in the UK and keep working. Be risk averse and apply sooner rather than later.

Our clients are often surprised to hear about the various opportunities available regarding workplace planning. Now is the time to be alive to and take advantage of the cut off date. The key cut-off date is triggered at 11:59pm on 31 December 2020. Provided an EU citizen enters into the UK by the 31 December 2020, theyre permitted to stay and work and have up to 30 June 2021 to apply to the scheme. This period is a blessing in disguise for some businesses. Its the time to plan recruitment drives and resource work contracts. 1 January to 30 June 2021 is a grant of extra time to allow eligible EU nationals to apply to the scheme.

Businesses need to be particularly cautious about checking the Right to Work documents for those EU nationals recruited during this period. If they arrived after 1 January 2021, they will be subject to the new immigration system and require a visa to work.

We recognise that while the EU settlement scheme will be of great use to many, there will eventually come a time when worker shortages will be an issue again. Therefore, employers may wish to consider whether they should apply for a sponsor licence because recruiting in and outside of the EU will be the same, with some advantages as mentioned above.

There are different types of sponsor licences, requirements and responsibilities for employers. If there is uncertainty around whether a licence is best, employers need to ask themselves the following questions:

Once an employer decides whether a sponsor license would be of value to the business, its best to apply for a licence sooner rather than later to ensure its available to use at the end of the year, minimise delays or disruption to workforce planning.

The changes to the UKs immigration system will herald a new era for the UK and while no business can entirely be prepared for what will happen at the end of the transition period, its important that employers do as much forward planning as possible.

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Immigration and EU workers: Brexit hasn't gone away - Personnel Today

During a meeting of the EU-UK Joint Specialised Committee on citizens rights last week, the Commission agreed British people living in the EU can move to a different country to the one they are residing in for purposes including work and study.

However, according to campaigners briefed on the plans, the right to onward movement comes with limitations as people will need to prove five years of continuous residence in the bloc.

Since the UK voted to leave the EU back in 2016, Brits living in Europe have been demanding the continuation of free movement rights.

They claimed the EUs offer in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement represents a diminution of their movement rights.

They argued their career prospects within the bloc would be jeopardised if they lost the ability to move freely when the transition period ends in December.

Fiona Godfrey, co-chair of the British in Europe campaign, said: We received good news on combining our Withdrawal Agreement status with other EU immigration statuses, which should provide some UK citizens in the EU with some further mobility rights.

We now need clarity on how those rights will be evidenced.

The Commission also confirmed 25 out of 27 EU countries will differentiate between those who have spent five years or more in the bloc and those who havent used the biometric residence cards for British nationals.

The other two countries, who were not named, are reportedly considering an alternative method of demonstrating five-year residency.

READ MORE:Post-Brexit Britain: Demand to scrap VAT on school uniforms

Under the Withdrawal Agreement, Brits with a permanent EU residence are able to leave the country and return without losing their status.

During the meeting, the UK and EU heard views from campaign groups British in Europe and The3Million which represents citizens on either side of the Channel.

Although this is a step forward for Brits in the EU, Ms Godfrey says more is needed to ensure citizens on both sides are able to exercise their rights.

She continued: We are five months away from the end of the transition yet only seven of the 27 countries have opened application procedures.

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A second wave of lockdowns will further delay applications.

Some [EU countries] are extending the grace period but if we go into this winter without a vaccine [for coronavirus] we may need to see it extended into 2022.

It is delusional to think that the Withdrawal Agreement can be implemented perfectly in six to 18 months in our circumstances.

Luke Piper, head of policy at The3Million, argued there needs to be more progress addressing the treatment of EU citizens in the UK after the end of the transition period.

He said: Whilst solutions were presented by the EU to address some of the concerns raised by British in Europe, there remain some fundamental differences on interpretation of the Withdrawal Agreement around scope and rights.

We look forward to further contributions and frank conversations.

We trust the Specialised Committee will work in the spirit of the Withdrawal Agreement and fulfilled the purpose for which it was established to resolve these and future challenges.

According to Politico, the UK Home Office has suggested an EU Settlement Scheme which goes beyond the rights of the Withdrawal Agreement.

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: We are closely monitoring member state implementation during the transition period in line with what has been agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement.

We continue to call on the EU and member states to ensure timely implementation and clear communications for UK nationals in the EU, as the UK has done for EU citizens in the UK.

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Britons residing in the EU after Brexit transition ends to get extra free movement rights - Express

The UK formally left the European Union back in January after voting to leave in 2016 and negotiations are currently deadlocked with both sides unable to come to an agreement.

As the end of the transition period draws closer and closer, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to end the year with or without a trade deal in place.

As Mr Frost is set to take up a new post as National Security Advisor (NSA) in September, the chief Brexit negotiator will continue to oversee talks with the EU.

He is believed to have told colleagues he will stay on if a trade deal has not been agreed with Brussels by autumn.

Mr Frosts appointment as the NSA is believed to be a signal to the bloc that Britain will walk away if a deal is not struck over the summer.

A government source told the Sunday Telegraph: Hes said he will stay in charge of the negotiations until they have been completed.

He will take up the new post in September by plans to spend 90 percent of his time on the trade talks if thats what is needed.

When his new role was announced Mr Frost said EU talks would remain my top single priority until those negotiations have concluded, one way or another.

The next round of Brexit talks are due to resume on August 17.

READ MORE:Brexit warning: Frost told EU not fazed by no deal threats

Following the announcement of his new role, former Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the move by Mr Johnson.

She said: Why is the new national security adviser a political appointee with no proven expertise in national security?

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove defended the move by the Prime Minister and said Mr Frost was highly qualified and would be accountable to Mr Johnson.

Mr Gove said the negotiator would neither be a civil servant nor a special adviser but have the status of an envoy.

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Mr Johnson called Mr Frost as experienced diplomat, policy thinker and proven negotiator, with a strong belief in building Britains place in the world.

He added: In his new role I am confident he will make an equal difference to this countrys ability to project influence for the better.

As well as his new role, Mr Frost was also given a peerage by Mr Johnson after he was one of his key advisers as foreign secretary.

The deadline for negotiations has been pushed back to October following the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but there is no sign of an agreement yet.

One of the main disputes in the negotiations is fishing as the EU wants to maintain its rights to Britain's fishing waters.

Under the controversial Commons Fisheries Policy (CFP), all member states are given access to EU waters via quotas.

As the UK has a large coastal area, critics have often argued the system is unfair.

Back in June, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier suggested the UK would be treated as an independent coastal state.

According to reports at the time, Mr Barnier told other diplomats a compromise would have to wait until other parts of the trade deal were being finalised.

EU sources said the Frenchman is looking for a whole trade deal which relies heavily on fishing rights.

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David Frost will remain committed to crunch Brexit talksdespite new role in September - Daily Express

The UK Internal Market white paper would see Westminster define how the devolved nations would interact with it post-Brexit.

The UK governments plans for interacting with the devolved nations post-Brexit is a power grab, said Plaid Cymru. The Party of Wales has responded on Monday to the Westminster Governments consultation on the UK internal market.

The response called the proposed legislation an encroachment over devolved powers and raised concerns with the actual process of consultation on the proposals.

The UK Internal Market white paper, presented in the House of Commons in July, would see Westminster define how the devolved nations would interact with it post-Brexit. Some of the proposals contained were described by Plaid Cymru as a power grab.

One example given in the consultation response is building regulations, which have diverged significantly in Wales since devolution in 2011. However the white paper claims that divergent approaches to building regulations could be a barrier to design and plan projects across the UK.

Devolved administrations shouldnt be forced to accept goods produced according to lower standards in other parts of the UK, continues the response. This would be the case under the governments non-discrimination and mutual recognition proposal, it added.

The inclusion of building regulations in the proposed legislation contradicts the governments claim that pre-existing differences would be excluded and is a clear example of how the proposals will undermine the current devolution settlement, it concludes.

The party said that a sham four- week- consultation is not a proportionate amount of time and that suggested the Government sees its proposal as a fait accompli. It further criticised the fact that the consultation and white paper were not jointly put forward by Westminster and the devolved administrations.

In addition it called for key decisions related to the internal market to be be subject to approval by the devolved parliaments.

Speaking on behalf of the party, Liz Saville Roberts MP said said that Westminster has been chipping away at two decades of devolution.

She added: Four weeks and a series of loaded questions over the summer whilst Parliament isnt sitting is all this Westminster Government has given people in terms of a consultation on a fundamental shift in the constitution of the UK.

It is as if the Westminster Government cannot even hide its contempt for devolution. This is a power grab, plain and simple.

Sophia Dourou is a freelance journalist

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'Sham' consultation slammed amid fears of post Brexit power grab - Left Foot Forward

A company is in line to save 73m from a post-Brexit trade shake-up, after campaigning to leave the EU and donating money to the Conservatives.

Tate & Lyle Sugars has secured a sweet deal that will also see cane imported from countries with lower employment and environmental standards, Greenpeace alleged, following an investigation.

It looks like the government has granted them their wish, said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, on the new arrangements.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

But the firm said it was a complete fantasy that it wanted to import cheap, poorly produced sugar, under a shake-up at the end of the year, and defended its lobbying.

Gerald Mason, its senior vice president, told The Observer: Weve never hidden our issues with Europe. Weve been quite transparent about it.

The controversy comes after the government said companies will be able to import 260,000 tonnes of raw sugar cane from anywhere in the world, tariff-free, from January.

However, the only company that currently imports raw sugar cane is Tate & Lyle one of the few large employers that publicly backed Brexit.

Its name was also carried on the lanyards worn by everyone who attended the 2017 Tory conference, a sponsorship is recorded as an 8,000 donation by the Electoral Commission.

The new tariff-free quota equates to a 72.8m saving, according to analysis by Greenpeaces Unearthed investigations team.

A referendum is held on Britain's membership of the European Union. Fifty-two per cent of the country votes in favour of leaving

AFP via Getty

David Cameron resigns on the morning of the result after leading the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU

Getty

Theresa May becomes leader of the Conservative party and prime minister, winning the leadership contest unopposed after Andrea Leadsom drops out

Getty

The High Court rules that parliament must vote on triggering Article 50, which would begin the Brexit process

The prime minister triggers Article 50 after parliament endorses the result of the referendum

Getty

Seeking a mandate for her Brexit plan, May goes to the country

Getty

After a disastrous campaign, Theresa May loses her majority in the commons and turns to the DUP for support. Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party makes gains after being predicted to lose heavily

AFP/Getty

David Davis and Michel Barnier, chief negotiators for the UK and EU respectively, hold a press conference on the first day of Brexit negotiations. Soon after the beginning of negotiations, it becomes clear that the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will prove a major sticking point

AFP/Getty

The government suffers a defeat in parliament over the EU withdrawal agreement, guaranteeing that MPs are given a 'meaningful vote' on the deal

Following a summit at Chequers where the prime minister claimed to have gained cabinet support for her deal, Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary along with David Davis, the Brexit secretary

Reuters

The draft withdrawal agreement settles Britain's divorce bill, secures the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa and includes a political declaration commiting both parties to frictionless trade in goods and cooperation on security matters. The deal also includes the backstop, which is anathema to many brexiteers and Dominic Raab and Esther McVey resign from the cabinet in protest

Getty

After several failed attempts to pass her withdrawal agreement through the commons, Theresa May resigns

Reuters

Boris Johnson is elected leader of the Conservative party in a landslide victory. He later heads to Buckingham Palace where the Queen invites him to form a government

Getty

Boris Johnson prorogues parliament for five weeks in the lead up to the UK's agreed departure date of 31 October.

Stephen Morgan MP

The High Court rules that Johnson's prorogation of parliament is 'unlawful' after a legal challenge brought by businesswoman Gina Miller

Getty

Following a summit in Merseyside, Johnson agrees a compromise to the backstop with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar - making the withdrawal agreement more palatable to Brexiteers

Getty

As parliament passes the Letwin amendment requiring the prime minister to request a further delay to Brexit, protesters take to the streets in the final show of force for a Final Say referendum

Getty

The Conservatives win the December election in a landslide, granting Boris Johnson a large majority to pass through his brexit deal and pursue his domestic agenda

Getty

The withdrawal agreement passes through the commons with a majority of 124

Getty

Members of the European parliament overwhelmingly back the ratification of Britain's departure, clearing the way for Brexit two days later on 31 January. Following the vote, members join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne

AFP/Getty

A referendum is held on Britain's membership of the European Union. Fifty-two per cent of the country votes in favour of leaving

AFP via Getty

David Cameron resigns on the morning of the result after leading the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU

Getty

Theresa May becomes leader of the Conservative party and prime minister, winning the leadership contest unopposed after Andrea Leadsom drops out

Getty

The High Court rules that parliament must vote on triggering Article 50, which would begin the Brexit process

The prime minister triggers Article 50 after parliament endorses the result of the referendum

Getty

Seeking a mandate for her Brexit plan, May goes to the country

Getty

After a disastrous campaign, Theresa May loses her majority in the commons and turns to the DUP for support. Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party makes gains after being predicted to lose heavily

AFP/Getty

David Davis and Michel Barnier, chief negotiators for the UK and EU respectively, hold a press conference on the first day of Brexit negotiations. Soon after the beginning of negotiations, it becomes clear that the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will prove a major sticking point

AFP/Getty

The government suffers a defeat in parliament over the EU withdrawal agreement, guaranteeing that MPs are given a 'meaningful vote' on the deal

Following a summit at Chequers where the prime minister claimed to have gained cabinet support for her deal, Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary along with David Davis, the Brexit secretary

Reuters

The draft withdrawal agreement settles Britain's divorce bill, secures the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa and includes a political declaration commiting both parties to frictionless trade in goods and cooperation on security matters. The deal also includes the backstop, which is anathema to many brexiteers and Dominic Raab and Esther McVey resign from the cabinet in protest

Getty

After several failed attempts to pass her withdrawal agreement through the commons, Theresa May resigns

Reuters

Boris Johnson is elected leader of the Conservative party in a landslide victory. He later heads to Buckingham Palace where the Queen invites him to form a government

Getty

Boris Johnson prorogues parliament for five weeks in the lead up to the UK's agreed departure date of 31 October.

Stephen Morgan MP

The High Court rules that Johnson's prorogation of parliament is 'unlawful' after a legal challenge brought by businesswoman Gina Miller

Getty

Following a summit in Merseyside, Johnson agrees a compromise to the backstop with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar - making the withdrawal agreement more palatable to Brexiteers

Getty

As parliament passes the Letwin amendment requiring the prime minister to request a further delay to Brexit, protesters take to the streets in the final show of force for a Final Say referendum

Getty

The Conservatives win the December election in a landslide, granting Boris Johnson a large majority to pass through his brexit deal and pursue his domestic agenda

Getty

The withdrawal agreement passes through the commons with a majority of 124

Getty

Members of the European parliament overwhelmingly back the ratification of Britain's departure, clearing the way for Brexit two days later on 31 January. Following the vote, members join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne

AFP/Getty

It is being introduced after a long and public lobbying campaign by the company. Greenpeace said Tate & Lyle had held at least 10 meetings with senior ministers over the last three years.

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The Brexit fight split the UKs sugar industry, because the companys main rival, British Sugar, makes its product from beets produced by British farmers and has attacked the changes.

This is a sweet deal for a food giant with close ties to the Conservative Party and easy access to ministers, but its a bitter one for our environmental standards and farmers, said John Sauven, Greenpeaces executive director.

Ditching tariffs on raw cane sugar will boost imports from a handful of countries, all of which use pesticides banned in the UK for being harmful to wildlife and humans.

But Mr Mason said: In Australia and Brazil, which are two countries wed love to buy more from, they have the highest numbers of sugar producers who are certified for the highest ethical environmental standards in the world.

He defended Tate & Lyles links with the Tories, saying: Yes, we have ministers visit the refinery to talk about the issues.

We have Labour Party politicians, we have Lib Dem politicians. Anybody who can help us secure the future of our business in the UK, we will speak to very openly and transparently.

A Department for International Trade spokesperson said: The UK global tariff schedule is tailored to the UK economy and designed to back British businesses, ensuring they compete on fair terms with the rest of the world.

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Tate & Lyle: Brexit-backing firm that donated to Tories set to save 73m from trade change - The Independent

A Conservative donor that was one of the only large UK businesses publicly to back leaving the European Union will get a tariff break worth up to 73m next year in one of the governments first post-Brexit trade reforms, an Unearthed investigation has found.

Tate & Lyle Sugars (T&L) stands to be the sole beneficiary of a government decision to allow tariff-free imports of up to 260,000 tonnes of raw cane sugar next year, when the UKs post-Brexit transition arrangements with the EU come to an end.

The US-owned companys refinery in Silvertown, East London, is the countrys only importer of raw cane sugar the UKs other sugar producers use sugarbeet, grown domestically or in the EU.

The government move has provoked fury from British farmers, who say it is offshoring legitimate environmental concerns by forcing them to compete with sugarcane grown to lower environmental standards than the UKs.

T&L aims to increase imports from major cane producers like Brazil and Australia, which allow intensive use of hazardous and bee-killing pesticides that are banned in the UK. Brazil last year cancelled a 10-year-old ban on sugarcane growing in the Amazon rainforest.

The trade reform comes after years of aggressive campaigning by T&L for a Brexit that removes import tariffs on sugarcane.

Ministers need to come clean on what lobbying tookplace prior to this decision

Unearthed found the company met with government ministers to discuss trade policy and Brexit at least 10 times between 2017 and mid-2019, and sponsored the lanyards at the 2017 Conservative Party conference. That sponsorship was recorded by the Electoral Commission as a donation of 8,287.

Labour shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard said the government had serious questions to answer about the zero tariff quota.

Not onlyisthe government refusing to protect British farmers from being undercut by cheap imports,it isnow striking sweetheart deals with Tory donors in big business, he said.

Tate & Lylesconnections intothe Conservative Party run deep. Ministers need to come clean on what lobbying tookplace prior to this decision.

But Tate & Lyle Sugars senior vice president Gerald Mason said the company had been quite transparent about its issues with the EU.

Yes, we have ministers visit the refinery to talk about the issues, he told the Observer newspaper. We have Labour Party politicians, we have Lib Dem politicians. Anybody that can help us secure the future of our business in the UK, we will speak to very openly and transparently.

The Department for International Trade was approached for comment, but had not responded by time of publication.

Golden Opportunity

T&L has always seen Brexit as a golden opportunity to get rid of what it considers discriminatory tariffs imposed on sugarcane by the EU. This led it to become one of the only significant UK employers to back a hard Brexit, leaving even the EU customs union.

But T&Ls Gerald Mason said it was just wrong to see the new tariff-free allowance as Tate & Lyles quota.

Anybody can import [raw cane sugar], he continued. Anybody can refine it if they want to get into the industry.

Its not us that are going to get any money from this. Its our competitors that have been subsidised by the EU all these years. What it will do is allow us to buy from some extra countries that we cant buy from today. It is not a cash subsidy. We would never buy from suppliers where we have to pay the full tariff, because its uneconomic.

Under the UK Global Tariff that comes into force next year, imports of raw cane sugar outside the tariff-free quota would cost T&L 28 per 100kg, a similar rate to the 33.90 tariff currently in force under EU rules. This means if the company makes full use of next years 260,000 tonne quota it will save 72.8m on the standard rate. According to the Grocer magazine, T&L imported 447,000 tonnes of raw cane sugar in 2018-19.

T&L can and does already import some raw cane sugar tariff-free under EU rules, but this has to come from low-income countries like Mauritius and Belize that have higher production costs than Brazil or Australia. It can also import some raw cane sugar from Brazil under an EU quota for the country that gives a discount on the full tariff.

T&L says the EUs tariff restrictions on its imports from the biggest producers have resulted in its business running at a loss.

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Brexit-backing sugar refiner gets sweetheart deal on cane imports - Unearthed

While Labour dithered and argued with itself, Boris spoke for the 52 per cent who wanted to leave the European Union. The Referendum, of course, was back in 2016 and there were two key reasons for the popular vote favouring departure.

Firstly, politicians promised to address the issue of immigration, which had vexed too many people for too many years. Secondly, Boris promised 350 million for the NHS, which seemed to get the vote across the line.

It will be a generation before Britain contemplates Europe again. For now, politicians must resolve the messiest of divorces as we head towards a cliff edge with a crash out on World Trade terms possible.

Covid-19 has changed the world and though we are legally bound to depart, its reasonable to ask ourselves whether it will leave us better off or whether it will be an act of economic, social and cultural self-harm. If the 2016 vote were to be rerun today, the polls show it would be very close.

Covid-19 has taught us the value of having friends in neighbouring countries as international co-operation has brought about the best results in fighting the pandemic, so leaving the EU with relationships intact is important.

While Europe is flawed, it remains a formidable trading block and we shall be on the outside looking in, rather than influencing policy. The idea that doing trade deals is easy is incorrect and there are considerable concerns about our trade deal with the USA, particularly if Mr Trump is re-elected in November and eyes up the NHS.

Europe has slipped from a news agenda that has been dominated by one story since February: Covid-19.

The Government must work more quickly to prepare. People did not vote for job losses and lower living standards, though many fear just that. Plotting a course for the UK after leaving the EU was always going to be a challenge.

The onset of coronavirus has made that challenge a lot more difficult.

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Express & Star comment: Covid adding further issues around Brexit - expressandstar.com