Monthly Archives: February 2022

Boris Johnsons government has claimed that Brexit has already proved a big success despite a new survey showing most British exports are struggling with red tape.

Treasury minister Simon Clarke said the UKs exit from the EU had allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape it has been a big success already.

The claim comes despite huge lorry queues at Dover as drivers get snarled up in red tape, and a new survey showing that most British exporters are struggling with customs controls.

Some 60 per cent of exporting firms surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reported difficulties in trading with the EU an increase from 49 per cent in January 2021.

The business body called of urgent action from the government to ease trading barriers with Europe on the second anniversary of the UKs departure from the bloc.

Though the BCC survey results relate to November 2021, the business body said the picturesof lorries stacked up near Dover offered a vivid illustration of additional problems with trade since full customs controls were introduced on 1 January.

One oftheissuesat Dovercurrentlyappears to be linked to the export of food products across the Channel, said William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC.

He added: Like many of the problemsthislooksto be down to a differing interpretation ofhow thetrade arrangements workafter leavingthe EU.

Each haulier is taking 10 to 20 minutes to clear checks at Dover, drivers and the Unite union have told The Independent with queues on the A20 stretching up to 15km.

The additional time is down to the codes needed for governments new Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) system and other export paperwork.

Though exports checks have been in place since last January, companies had 60 days to fill in customs forms after exporting. But since 1 January, the forms have to completed in full adding to the pressure on the GVMS and customs agents at the border.

Even longer delays have been experienced on the French side atCalais because of the additional red tape and rules of origin forms needed for imports from the EU into the UK since 1 January 2022.

The BCC called on both London and Brussels to streamline some of the red tape, suggesting they could eliminate or greatly reduce the complexity of export health certificates required of food exporters.

On Monday Mr Johnsonclaimed the governments Brexit freedoms bill aimed at making it easier to remove or amend EUregulations copied into UK law would encourage investment.

We wont diverge for the sake of it, but we are going to make sure this is the number one place to do business and invest because of the freedoms that we have, he told broadcasters during a visit to Tilbury docks.

Meanwhile, Mr Clarke told LBC: In reality [Brexit] has allowed us quicker vaccination, its allowed us to scrap free movement, its allowed us to begin free trade negotiations, its allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape. It has been a big success already."

A booklet will be issued to celebrate the benefits of Brexit will be issued this week to mark the two-year anniversary of the UK leaving the EU.

See more here:

Brexit has been big success says government despite 60% of exporters struggling with red tape - The Independent

Its the second anniversary since the UK officially cut ties with the EU, but plenty of people arent celebrating.

The prime minister and his cabinet have been promoting the occasion as a landmark success of their government, while trying to dodge further questions about the ongoing partygate scandal.

On Monday, Boris Johnson tweeted that the UK has now taken back control of our money, our borders and our laws and is developing this post-Brexit agenda of freedom.

Pro-Tory newspapers, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, have the prime ministers pledge to go faster on Brexit freedoms and blitz outdated EU red take with a new Brexit bill leading their front pages.

However, not everyone is so delighted and have questioned why this news emerged on the day senior civil servant Sue Gray unveils her redacted inquiry into the alleged No.10 parties, even though the UK left the EU two years ago.

Dominic Cummings, Johnsons former trusted aide, also accused the prime minister of being more interested in Brexit Day than in governing during a scathing weekend interview.

Speaking to New York magazine, Cummings claimed: I was sitting in No.10 with Boris and the complete fuckwit is just babbling on about, Will Big Ben bong for Brexit on the 31st of January?

He goes on and on about this day after day.

Despite being in the middle of renovations at the time, Big Ben chimed on January 31, 2020, to honour the political occasion.

Two years later and people still dont want to celebrate especially as No.10 faces further criticism over its alleged lockdown parties...

So, some pointed out that Brexit has not exactly been a success...

While others pointed out how Brexit appears to be the governments go to distraction technique...

The rest is here:

Boris Johnson Wants Us To Remember It's Brexit Day But No One Is On Board - HuffPost UK

From left: First lady Jill Biden, President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Carrie Johnson at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, last year.Getty

Tension over Northern Ireland may be delaying the end of Trump-era sanctions, an ex-ambassador said.

There is also "some resentment on both sides" over the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, he said.

A former State Department official said the US was frustrated with the UK's inaction on laundering.

President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson are presenting a united front as they hold crisis talks with other world leaders over how to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine.

But the so-called special relationship hasn't always run quite so smoothly since Biden took office.

President Biden was elected months after referring to Boris Johnson as "a physical and emotional clone of Donald Trump." He has repeatedly rebuked the prime minister, both in private and public, over ongoing Brexit disputes in Northern Ireland, which have yet to be resolved, while making pointed references to his own Irish ancestry.

For his part, Johnson raised eyebrows in Washington when Downing Street said he preferred not to use the term "special relationship," suggesting it made Britain sound "needy and weak," reports said.

So what is the state of UK-US relations, and given an ongoing row over illicit parties that could see Johnson replaced as prime minister what priorities might help a future prime minister to improve them?

At a personal level, relations between the Johnson and Biden camps are "pretty good" at the moment, said Peter Westmacott, the UK ambassador to the US under President Obama. Defense, intelligence-sharing, and much of foreign-policy cooperation remain strong, as evidenced by the coordinated actions on Ukraine.

But there remain significant tensions, most particularly over the Brexit situation in Northern Ireland, which "may be delaying the lifting of Trump-era sanctions," Westmacott said.

Biden has repeatedly warned that Johnson's actions could undermine the Northern Ireland agreement, the defense of which he considers a key part of his political identity, given his Irish ancestry.

Story continues

After the surprise resignation of Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, in December, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was tasked with overhauling the Northern Ireland protocol. Truss, a potential leadership rival to Johnson, has already received warm praise from Brussels following a second round of bilateral talks this week, although the impasse remains.

Westmacott also mentioned "some resentment on both sides" over the chaotic withdrawal of UK and US troops from Afghanistan last year, as well as other issues, including the case of Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat who faces criminal charges in the UK after being charged with causing the death of a teenager by dangerous driving.

The UK has also surprised some in Washington with a more muscular foreign policy than many expected it to adopt after Brexit, said Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who was a senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council under President Obama.

"The more internationalist dimensions of the British government have prevailed against the inward-looking impulse," Kupchan said. "And I think that's good news for the UK-US relationship."

That approach has been on display in Ukraine, where the UK has adopted a harder line against Putin than many of its European neighbors as the Russian president masses thousands of troops on Ukraine's border.

The crisis appears to have sharpened minds and brought NATO powers, including the UK and US, closer together. But there is also frustration in Washington over the UK government's failure to tackle "dirty money" flowing into London from Russia.

American officials are concerned that economic sanctions in Russia in the event of war with Ukraine would be ineffective because they could launder money so easily through the UK, The Times reported.

London has gained an unwanted reputation as a money-laundering hub for prominent Russian business figures with links to the Kremlin.

"There is a level of frustration" from Washington toward the UK about the issue, Max Bergmann, a former State Department official, told Insider. "The lack of action from the UK is troubling."

Bergmann this week proposed a UK-US "anti-kleptocracy" task force should Russia invade Ukraine, a measure designed to crack down on laundered Russian money as frustration in Washington about the UK's inaction grows.

"Crises are clarifying," he said.

"If Russia does invade Ukraine, there's going to be a strong push from the US, and I think inaction from the UK would be very damaging for the relationship."

But the consensus view was that the long-term relationship between the two countries would remain strong, whatever the current leaders' personal views of each other.

Westmacott said: "President Biden showed early on that he was not going to bear grudges against Johnson. But he thinks Johnson's support for Brexit was unwise and damaging to US as well as UK interests."

"He distrusts him over Northern Ireland, and like other leaders sometimes has difficulty in knowing when to take him at his word," he continued.

"Joe Biden is a pragmatist, and he is a people person," Kupchan said. "And he believes in the importance of building relationships. I don't see any differences over Brexit or any divergences of opinion in the past as affecting the relationship."

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Russian money and Brexit are undermining the UK-US relationship. Here's how a future prime minister could improve it. - Yahoo News

The ambitious plans are revealed in a new report heralding an enormous opportunity for the UK to be at the forefront of green economies - as an independent country. Reconfirming the UKs commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the report lists several ways Brexit Britain will establish itself as a key player in the fight against climate change.

It is part of a 108-page document, titled 'The Benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU', which was published on Monday.

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere - meaning a net zero economy fully offsets its carbon emissions.

The UK was the worlds first major economy to set a target of being net zero by 2050.

The Government report states: There is enormous opportunity for the UK in net zero and to seize this opportunity we must move first.

By 2030 low carbon goods and services globally are expected to be worth between 1.1 trillion and 1.8 trillion per year.

In the UK the green economy could support up to two million jobs, including in our industrial heartlands.

We want to help our manufacturing sector lead the world in the green industrial revolution.

The report goes on to argue that Brexit is key to the UKs position in the green economy.

It adds: Following Brexit, the UK now has the flexibility to determine our own decarbonisation pathways to 2050, in a way that fully utilises the unique strengths and opportunities of UK diplomacy, industry and innovation.

We have already published the Net Zero Strategy, Energy White Paper and Prime Ministers Ten Point Plan on how to drive a green industrial revolution and we led the way towards global net zero through our hugely successful hosting of Glasgow COP26.

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said these gilts will be used to finance vital green Government projects across the country, including things like clean transportation, renewable energy and preserving our natural environment."

Mr Sunak added: In helping us to build back better and greener, it will also help to create jobs as we transition to net zero.

The UK has also taken advantage of its exit from the EU by introducing new or amended regulations across eight product categories - to reduce bills for consumers and support their right to repair on products.

The reports adds that existing product policies already reduce the average dual fuel bills by around 75 and saved eight metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2021, with further significant potential carbon and energy savings outlined in our Fifth and Sixth Carbon Budgets.

The UKs newfound independence when it comes to trade is also crucial to promote global trade rules which are aligned to net zero, states the report.

When the UK appears at COP27 in November, it will do so independently from the EU, allowing it to drive UK priorities.

Here is the original post:

Brexit Britain to lead way in 1.8TRN global business - boom of 2 million UK jobs by 2030 - Express

The push against a Russian invasion of Ukraine is being led by Brexit Britain while EU nations drag their feet, one of Boris Johnsons ministers has claimed.

Treasury minister Simon Clarke singled out Germany for criticism, as the UK government prepares to set out new sanctions against Moscow in the event of an invasion.

Brexit Britain is one of the foremost opponents of the actions of the [Vladimir] Putin regime, he said. If you look at the EU, it is countries like Germany that are dragging their feet in the response to this crisis.

Mr Clarke told Sky News: We are the ones tightening this sanctions regime, making sure we support our Nato allies and standing up to Putin in a way that is, frankly, leading the continent rather than following it.

The Treasury minister also denied the idea that the UK was compromised by the flow of suspected dirty Russian money into London, claiming British politics was fundamentally clean.

Asked by host Kay Burley about donations to the Conservative Party from Lubov Chernukhin a former banker who holds both Russian and British citizenship and others donors originally from Russia, Mr Clarke said: No-one has taken money from the Russians.

The minister added: Lets be very clear about this. One needs to be a UK national to make a donation. Any such donations are declared and properly scrutinised.

Mr Clarke said there was nothing wrong with any person in business having a link with any country, as long as it is legally-acquired wealth, adding: How they choose to spend it at that point is a matter for them.

The Treasury minister said: I think its important we dont muddy the waters on this issue. To do so is to undermine a wider faith in politics. I believe British politics to be fundamentally clean.

Mr Clarke said he did not believe MrJohnsonhad lied about parties at No 10 during the pandemic and described the PM as a good man ahead of the imminent release of a redacted version of the Sue Gray report.

He also told LBC that Brexit has allowed us to get rid of a load of red tape it has been a big success already, as the government prepares to release a booklet to celebrate the benefits of Brexit.

It comes as the Foreign Office is expected to set out plans to toughen the UKs sanctions regime on Monday in a bid to target Russias financial interests.

Mr Clarke said that if Russia were to take further action against Ukraine, sanctions would be tightened, targeting businesses and individuals with the closest links to the Kremlin.

However, officials in Washington are said to fear that suspected dirty money flowing into London will undermine efforts to sanctionRussia in the weeks ahead.

US State Department officials have expressed dismay and frustration at the British governments failure to tackle the flow of Russian funds into the city, according to The Times.

A report from the Centre for American Progress, a think-tank close to Joe Bidens administration, has warned the US will have to take the lead in countering Russian kleptocrats because the UK has become a major hub for Russian oligarchs and their wealth.

Tory peer Lord Agnew who dramatically quit as Whitehall efficiency tsar earlier this week claimed the government had rejected the chance to put forward anti-fraud legislation in the next parliamentary year, attacking the decision as foolish.

Tory MP John Penrose, Mr Johnsons anti-corruption chief, warned the government against delaying an economic crime bill that would expose the kleptocrats use of shell companies to buy British property.

Mr Penrose said the well of excuses has run dry after years of promising legislation on tackling the problem warning that it would be about as popular as a cup of cold sick if the proposed bill is ditched or kicked into the long grass.

Link:

Brexit Britain leading opposition to Russia as EU countries drag their feet, claims minister - The Independent

The Prime Minister celebrated the two-year anniversary of Getting Brexit Done by announcing the creation of the Brexit Freedoms Bill. In a release, he said the bill will ensure that the special status of EU law in the UK will come to an end as well as guarantee that it can be more easily amended or removed.

It will also involve a major cross-government drive to cut 1billion of red tape for businesses and improve regulation.

It follows the PMs New Years Day pledge to go further and faster to maximise the benefits of Brexit in 2022.

Political analyst Mujtaba Rahman branded the release Mr Johnsons answer to David Frost and Tory hardliners.

His tweet came shortly after Lord Frost told GB News that Number 10 was hit by instability and chaos.

READ MORE:John Curtice outlines MP best placed to replace Boris as PM

Regarding infrastructure and Levelling Up, the country can more easily exclude poorly performing suppliers and enhancing our public health system by reforming clinical trials and medical devices legislation.

Reforming environmental regulation, 80 percent of which came from the EU, will help deliver cleaner air, create new habitats, and reduce waste, while changing the rules on gene-edited organisms, to enable more sustainable and efficient farming, the Government said.

Leaving the bloc has also allowed the Government to support business and industry in a better and more agile way, it said.

Since Brexit, the UK has taken an ambitious approach in financial services areas previously regulated by the EU, simplifying unnecessary reporting burdens firms, the Government said.

All of this combines to make the most of an unprecedented opportunity to forge new alliances and strengthen our partnerships around the world as Global Britain.

Unveiling the Bill, Mr Johnson said: Getting Brexit Done two years ago today was a truly historic moment and the start of an exciting new chapter for our country.

We have made huge strides since then to capitalise on our newfound freedoms and restore the UKs status as a sovereign, independent country that can determine its own future.

The plans we have set out today will further unleash the benefits of Brexit and ensure that businesses can spend more of their money investing, innovating and creating jobs.

Our new Brexit Freedoms Bill will end the special status of EU law in our legal framework and ensure that we can more easily amend or remove outdated EU law in future.

Attorney General Suella Braverman said: Setting up a mechanism to deal with these legacy EU rules is essential.

It underpins our ability to grasp important opportunities provided by Brexit.

It means we can move away from outdated EU laws that were the result of unsatisfactory compromises within the EU, some of which the UK voted and lobbied against but was required to adopt without question.

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Take THAT, David! Frost sent reeling as Boris slaps down ex-Brexit chief with FIVE points - Daily Express

Reputation, more often than not, is a kind of delusion. To take but one example, the British imagine themselves, of all the nations on earth, to have a unique passion for talking about the weather.

But they have chosen this reputation for themselves, entirely unconcerned by observable reality. If they stopped to think about it, they might wonder whether the billions of other people elsewhere in the world just let the monsoons and the hurricanes and the murderously hot summers just come and go without ever creeping into conversation.

The Tories have a reputation for ruthlessness, in the sense that it has been bestowed upon them entirely by themselves, when the observable reality is the opposite.

Look, its not their fault theyve been made to wait this long to be told what absolutely everybody already knows, before they can summon the courage to do the bloody deed they probably arent going to do anyway.

In the meantime weve been treated to pantomime ruthlessness, as best encapsulated by David Davis doing his little Cromwell cosplay act in the House of Commons. Having stood up and told Johnson to in the name of God, go, the next day he had to admit he hadnt actually handed in his letter of no confidence yet, as that would be a bit mean.

Lucky Johnson. Almost as lucky, in fact, as that prankster who ambushed Theresa May, not with a cake but with a P45 form, during her party conference speech. He was lucky, David said at the time, that he didnt come anywhere near him, or hed have been down for a very long time.

Davis, arguably, is unlucky that there are long seconds, possibly even minutes of live TV footage, in which the lucky Simon Brodkin is crouched directly by Daviss feet, and Davis does not get around to uncrossing his arms, or even legs.

Besides, in the interminable wait for Gray, the Tories have already shown their hand. The hard Brexit gang appear to have concluded that they can hold a weakened Johnson to ransom. Lord Frost has resigned from the cabinet, having been in for well under a year (still has a job for life in the Lords though, what larks) and is now writing threatening opinion pieces in The Sun.

Hes telling Johnson that he cannot turn Britain into a high tax, high regulation, high control society. Frost, for what hes worth, which is not very much, joined the cabinet in March 2021, in the middle of a lockdown, and when hundreds of billions of pounds had already been borrowed in order to directly pay peoples wages. He has now quit the cabinet over policy differences that could hardly have been clearer when he joined.

He has praised a column by Allister Heath in the Sunday Telegraph, instructing Johnson to get rid of the neo-socialists, green fanatics and pro-woke crowd.

This kind of stuff has been coming to a boil for a while now. The Telegraph described Rishi Sunaks last budget, and principally the pledge made within it to raise national insurance to pay for social care as the death of Conservatism.

What these people are struggling to come to terms with is that the Conservatism they know and love has been dead for several decades. They have convinced themselves, not altogether unreasonably, that the referendum victory and the 2019 election victory, were a victory for their ideology. But they werent.

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The honest ones among them make no secret that they needed Johnson to do it, whom they imagine to be some sort of vote harvesting machine. But they cant bring themselves to see that the referendum was won in 2016 precisely because Dominic Cummings wisely binned all of the mad gibberish they believe in about Global Britain, low tax, low regulation, Singapore-on-Thames and so on, in favour of simple populist lies.

He also kept as many of them as possible away from the television as much as possible, rightly knowing them to be not merely ideologically repellent to normal people, but personally repugnant too.

Nor can they see that five months prior to the 2019 election, Johnson prime minister at this point stood outside Downing Street and announced he had a plan to fix social care ready to go. He may not have been telling the whole truth, especially on the ready to go part, but the general direction of travel was clear to see.

Though they may not realise it, not all of them anyway, they are reduced to making threats, rather than taking action, because without him they would suddenly have to face up to the complete irrelevance and electoral toxicity that has been their lot for a very long time, and still is.

They would suddenly realise that, for all the fun they think theyve had since 2016, theyve never won anything at all. And nor will they.

See the article here:

The hard Brexit gang think theyre holding Boris Johnson to ransom theyre not - The Independent

Britain's pig industry says it faces collapse after an exodus of east European workers led to a shortage of butchers and a backlog in slaughtering more than 170,000 pigs.

National Pig Association (NPA) Chairman, Rob Mutimer, and National Farmers Union (NFU) President, Minette Batters, announced this week that emergency visa measures designed to soften the impact of Brexit and COVID-19 were not working.

"The situation is utterly dire on pig farms, both in terms of the backlog, and financially," the groups said in a joint letter to Britain's environment minister, George Eustice.

In October 2021, the government offered six-month emergency visas to 800 foreign butchers - but the NPA said it was aware of only 105 that arrived, or are due, using the seasonal scheme.

The trade bodies warned that farms were losing money on each pig and at least 30,000 sows had been lost over the last six months, equating to around 10 per cent of the English herd.

"We are already seeing a significant drop in breeding herd numbers, and we fear that if nothing changes, we could see a mass exodus from this industry over the next 12 months. Once we lose that production base, we won't get it back."

The trade bodies say tens of thousands of healthy pigs have been culled on farms by producers who have run out of space on their farms. The are calling on the government to convene an emergency summit with the supply chain to find solutions.

In the first week of 2022, some farmers reported that as few as 50 per cent of contracted pigs were taken by processors. Costs associated with the backlog, record pig feed costs and falling prices, meant farmers have been losing about 25 (30) per pig for nearly a year, they say.

They are also calling on the government to encourage retailers to run marketing campaigns to increase British pork sales, thereby encouraging processors to clear the backlog.

A government spokesperson said it expected progress on reducing the backlog of pigs on farms in the coming months.

The slaughter backlog within the British pig industry is almost certainly down to butcher shortages as a result of Brexit. However - there could be another reason too: the amount of people giving up meat altogether.

2021 was a big year for veganism in the UK and globally. And judging by the promising response to Veganuary this year, this is likely to continue into 2022 and beyond.

A record 500,000 people took the 2021 Veganuary pledge to only eat plant-based food this January, according to The Guardian.

So why are so many people going plant-based? There are three main reasons, according to the Vegan Society.

Eating a vegan diet could be the single biggest way to reduce our environmental impact on earth, a 2018 study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that cutting meat and dairy products from our diets could reduce an individual's carbon footprint from food by up to 73 per cent.

Many opt to go vegan to help stop animal cruelty. By refusing to pay for animal products, you reduce the demand for them, which means fewer animals are bred to suffer and die on farms and in slaughterhouses.

Having emotional attachments with animals is a big part of this reason, as vegans believe that all sentient creatures have a right to life and freedom.

Numerous health experts agree that going plant-based is one of the healthiest ways to live. Vegan diets provide protection against diseases like heart disease, cancer, and strokes.

Both the British Dietetic Association and the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recognise that veganism is suitable for every age and stage of life.

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British pig farmers 'fear ruin' over Brexit and the rise of veganism - Euronews

The North West Durham MP said one of his first actions after becoming elected was to ensure an upcoming EU directive on motorhome taxation would not apply to the UK. Mr Holden said the tax would have left some businesses "crippled" over having to pay tax on motorhomes as high as on a new Rolls Royce. The Conservative MP said he was spurred into action by Britain's upcoming departure from the EU at the time, insisting the UK should not have had to keep the diktat despite Brexit.

Speaking to GB News, Mr Holden said: "Within a few days of being elected, I found out that an EU directive was being put in which was going to see a 705 percent increase on tax on a motorhome.

|Basically, taxing the same a 40,000 motorhome, which some might buy as they're approaching retirement, as a new Rolls Royce every year.

"This was going to cripple local businesses, particularly 500 people in my constituency.

|So I thought, this is crazy, we're leaving the EU, and so why aren't we pursuing this?"

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He continued: "So one of the things I did was really push the Treasury, saying we've got to reverse this.

"This was going to have a direct effect on my constituency but also, it's not green to have people flying off when they can do 1,000 miles a year just having a bit of a motorhome holiday here in the UK."

Under the new EU directive, motorhomes would have been moved out of the commercial vehicle tax band to instead be taxed as normal cars.

The change was being influenced by Brussels' push towards greener policies, which included a review of emission regulations seeking to get drivers to opt for cleaner and more efficient engines.

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However, motorhome owners argued against the introduction of the new directive in the UK, noting motorhomes are normally used for short breaks or holidays thus consuming less than cars and should not be taxed the same.

Owners would have been facing hefty bills for owning a motorhome, estimated at 2,125 in the first year of ownership, dropping to 465 a year between years two and six - compounded by an additional 320 annual premium tax and then again dropping to 145.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the directive would be scrapped in March 2020, two months after the UK effectively left the European Union.

The National Caravan Council (NCC) hailed the decision as a significant victory for motorhome owners and thanked all MPs contributing to the decision.

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NCC Director-General John Lally said: "We have had extraordinary support from parliamentarians too many to mention them all but in particular Richard Holden MP, Sir David Amess MP, Emma Hardy MP, Karl Turner MP and David Davis MP.

"Rishi Sunak MP prior to becoming Chancellor had also indicated support.

Alongside the NCC, its members, and the wider industry, these MPs worked tirelessly to reverse this increase, knowing the impact it would have on British manufacturing, on jobs, and, potentially, on UK tourism.

"We offer our thanks to all of them and to the media, who highlighted how unfair the tax was.

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Taxing a motorhome same as a Rolls Royce! Brexiteer MP pushed to scrap insane EU tax - Daily Express

Boris Johnsons main claim to fame, as opposed to infamy, is (at least in the eyes of half the UK electorate), that he got Brexit done.

A year after Britains messy divorce from the EU, pundits and economists have been totting up the costs and benefits. Remainers and even government economists say weve paid through the nose. The Office for Budget Responsibility says leaving the EU will reduce our long-term GDP by around 4 per cent, compared to a fall of around 1.5 per cent caused by the pandemic.

Brexiters say its too early to gauge the political benefits or even financial outcome.

What about the EU perspective? The views of our leading frenemy, and nearest neighbour France, might be deemed a little jaundiced given the current, dire state of relations between the government of Johnson, the glib populist, and that of Emmanuel Macron, the show-boating Sun King, who has an eye on upcoming presidential elections.

For a more sober assessment of Brexit a year on, i talked to the Italian ambassador to the UK, another of the EUs big three economies, with whom Britain enjoys a steadier relationship, based on a degree of mutual affection and economic necessity (bilateral trade totals almost 40bn).

Raffaele Trombetta is a suave career diplomat and an anglophile, who arrived in London in 2018 with his British wife Victoria, joining their children who already lived in the UK. Back then, he expressed his admiration for the citys dynamism and unparalleled vibe, which already characterised London when he was first here as Consul in the 1990s.

How does the city feel now, post-Brexit?

He notes its difficult to disentangle the effects of Covid from those of Brexit on how London or the UK feels now compared with two years ago. But some metrics do tell a story. Trade between Britain and Italy is down this is not simply due to the pandemic, he says.

Theres been an impact from Brexit as well as Covid its very simple. He notes that exports to the rest of the world have increased since 2019. But unfortunately, not with the UK.

If you then relate 2021 to 2019. Actually, there has been quite a substantial reduction in the trade both ways, he says.

Typical Italian exports to Britain which totaled more than 25bn in 2019 include machinery, cars and car parts, pharmaceuticals, clothing, furniture, food, wine, and clothing. Italys small and medium sized businesses, which form a major part of its export economy, have been hit particularly hard from the extra red tape created by Brexit. These often family-owned businesses have had to make big changes in a small period of time.

Delay and hold ups have spelt trouble for one commodity, in particular: food. Perishables, from fruit to mozzarella and gorgonzola cheeses dont do well languishing in lorry parks.

Those products need to be consumed, he says.

This month new trade rules have kicked between Britain and the EU, with the introduction of full customs declarations and customs controls.

So obviously this is going to add again to the changes. We have been working hard to help Italian businesses.

So bilateral trade has taken a hit from Brexit. What are the upsides from Britains separation from the EU? Mr Trombetta, the diplomat, answers tangentially by complimenting British officials helpfulness in mitigating some of the problems caused by the separation.

Weve had good, very good cooperation from the UK authorities on citizens rights, for instance, he says.

A huge number of Italians over 470,000 still live in the UK. The official figure actually increased over the Brexit period, as those that decided to stay, scrambled to register with the Embassy to retain, among other things, voting rights at home.

This is what Ive been working on to make sure that there are no long-term consequences in our relationship. If you look for the positive side, you know, we have maybe been encouraged to find new areas of cooperation.

And were trying to strengthen those areas we were already working on. Now we have a strategic dialogue on defence issues. Italy and the UK are working together on the big Tempest project.

Back in November, Italys Air Force Chief of Staff General Luca Goretti said that thanks to its leading role in developing the Tempest fighter aircraft, Rome could act as a bridge between Nato and Europe; for that read the UK and EU.

The Tempest project which includes BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and the British arm of Italian defence group Leonardo has an annual budget of 2bn from the British government until 2025.

Events on Ukraines borders have thrown the spotlight on European defence collaboration, particularly now that the UK, one of the continents two significant military powers (along with France) is semi-detached.

At a time when EU members, most notably France, are calling for greater defence teamwork within the bloc, Mr Trombetta is keen to flag up continuing UK-European defence co-operation.

Such co-operation, post-Brexit, is sadly lacking.

What we would have hoped for [post-brexit] would have been a chapter in the agreement on foreign policy and security but it didnt happen. For various reasons, Mr Trombetta says.

Other observers have been more direct in their criticism of the British government. Charles Grant, director of the London-based think-tank the Centre for European Reform, told The Guardian: Lord Frost refused to have any form of structured relationship on foreign and defence policy post-Brexit with the EU though the EU wanted one and we are paying a very heavy price as a result.

The UK has been weakened, with its influence and power on the European and world stages diminished. And on issues from climate change to Russia, the EU is missing out on British scientific and security expertise.

The EU has faced other big changes in the past 12 months including the departure of its political rock Angela Merkel. While the new Germany coalition finds its feet, theres been much talk in Brussels of Rome stepping up to assert its status as one of the EUs big three economies and challenge FrancoGermany dominance.

I asked Mr Trombetta if Italy is angling for a bigger role in the EU.

I dont think its a sort of competition, you knowbut it can be a positive thing. Its a fact: Italy is one of the big countries and we have played a key role in the EU.

He considers a key part of his mission to promote unsung Italian innovation in manufacturing, technology and design as well as the things perhaps veering towards cliche pizza, old architecture, and romanticised view of mafia crime, that the Brits love about Italy.

Its the same with Italians, he admits, however. Theyre fascinated with your Royal Family.

He sings the praises of the current occupant of the Prime Ministers office in Rome. Mario Draghi is a political heavyweight; a former President of the European Central Bank, with a contacts book that spans Washington to Beijing.

Draghis status contrasts with the lightweights and laughing stocks that have bedevilled Italys international reputation in the past two decades.

Mr Trombetta is confident that Italy and the EU will prevail although he regrets that it will be without the UK.

As a European and also the husband of a British woman, with two kids living in the UK, I was sad, to be honest with you, when Britain left. I still think it was important for the EU to have the UK within its membership, and also, of course, its my opinion that it was best for the UK to be part of the European Union.

But hes hopeful that the phasing out of the EU withdrawal agreement does not signal the end to constructive dialogue between Britain and the EU. We can build on that. And then well see where we will go and where we are in a few years, he says. Well also see where the EU will be in a few years time.

Some in Italy have wondered whether there could in the longer term be a way back from Brexit. For now, its done, but perhaps this may change in a generation or two, Massimo Ungaro, a London-based MP for Italys Democratic party, who represents Italian ex-pats, told the FT. Besides, they [the Brits] havent yet seen its true cost.

Mr Trombetta puts it another way. In addition to being mostly friends, and key allies and trading partners, we are like it says in that book, prisoners of geography.

Of course, he says Britain and Italy will continue to enjoy excellent relations. But in another positive note he predicts that despite the current bumpy patch, our relations with Paris will improve, too, because, fundamentally, the ties between Britain and France are really, so strong. It is, he says, common sense.

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Brexit a year on: Italys ambassador discusses cheese, trade, security concerns and reasons to be ch - iNews