We're begging for an extension and seeking trade deals with the mighty Liechtenstein. Everything is fine

...

The people in charge have had three years to make a success of Brexit, and here we are nine days away from Brexit and we don’t even know if we’re nine days away from Brexit yet. Sure, Theresa May is asking for an extension, but only in the same way that you’re free to ask your teacher for an essay extension, when they know full well you’re going to cram that time full of yet more useless procrastination.

By now, the leave camp promised everything would be sorted and we’d have all the trade deals ready to go the second after we leave the EU. Which is why it’s not the most reassuring thing when Liam Fox came out with a massive shit-eating grin to announce that he’s signed a deal with Liechtenstein, a country with a population roughly the size of Liechtenstein. Apologies if that doesn’t help clarify the size of Liechtenstein, but Liechtenstein is literally the go to example of somewhere as tiny as Liechtenstein. See the problem I’m having?

We are out of options and nearly out of time. So how have we spent our supposed last precious few days in the European Union? As is traditional, we’re having ourselves a constitutional crisis.

After seeing the government show up over and over again with the same deal and a good feeling about it this time, the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, decided he’d had enough and invoked a parliamentary convention so old that not even Jacob Rees-Mogg saw it coming from his vantage point of 1837.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/20/nine-days-brexit-clue-extension-liechtenstein

The March to Leave set off from a sodden field on Saturday morning, to begin its way over to London over a 14-day period.

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Angry rows broke out as the march started, with several counter-protesters assembling to get their views across.



Carrying love hearts bearing messages like "we love workers' rights" and "we love to have a say", they chanted “you can shove your Brexit up your arse”.

As Mr Farage arrived, a woman set off a flare with the EU colours, to shouts of "exit Brexit" from the counter-protesters. She was shepherded away by police, but no arrests were made.

It is understood that two two advertising vans, made by the anti-Brexit grassroots campaign Led By Donkeys, will also be following the march.



https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/17505822.brexiteers-march-to-leave-with-nigel-farage-in-sunderland/

Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys

Hiya @Nigel_Farage 👋#EpicProtestMarch

joe1563
We need to get behind these people leave means leave without any deal we would never get a deal that suits us they wouldn't allow it

adam'n'eveit
why aren't you on the march then?

Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys

Hi millionaire elite property tycoon and Farage funder @TiceRichard, is this the "epic protest march" you've been talking about? Cos right now there are more people in the queue at my local Tesco #MarchToLeave #EpicProtestMarch

North East 4 Europe #FBPE @NE4EU

One of the Farage lot has just punched a female member of NE4EU at his Sunderland march.

McWomble 🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇸✊✌️ @WombleFree

So this happened to me today at the ⁦@NE4EU⁩ protest at the start of Farage’s march not really a march. Nice people these Hard Leavers. ⁦@angelsforeurope⁩

Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys

We had a busy night at @ByDonkeys, covering Sunderland in our billboards. Farage's fake grassroots elite-funded circus has not gone unchallenged ✊

Despite an agreement by all groups to suspend campaigning in the aftermath of Jo Cox’s death, Arron Banks instructed the social media team at Leave.EU to “boost” an existing sponsored Facebook ad.

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Leaked emails and documents reveal that despite an agreement by all groups to suspend campaigning in the aftermath of her death, the millionaire businessman instructed the social media team at Leave.EU to “boost” an existing sponsored ad on Facebook.

New evidence also reveals that his campaign discussed secretly exerting influence and control over other groups, pumping in cash not properly declared to authorities, in a potential breach of spending laws.

Banks secretly bankrolled Labour’s Eurosceptic movement Labour Leave, funding at least three figures on its executive board, an office and computers. Labour Leave is under investigation by the Electoral Commission.

https://www.channel4.com/news/the-banks-files-brexit-funder-urged-campaign-to-press-it-harder-after-jo-cox-murder

Channel 4 News ✔
@Channel4News
Replying to @Channel4News

Business associates of the self-styled “bad boy of Brexit” offered to oversee a plan to create a massive new Russian gold company, and tried to arrange a personal meeting in Moscow with key players from a state-owned Russian bank.

Channel 4 News ✔
@Channel4News

Tonight, a Channel 4 News investigation will reveal for the first time how a finance company substantially owned by Banks drew up a business pitch for a Kremlin-linked oligarch called Siman Povarenkin to merge six Russian gold miners into a single company. https://www.channel4.com/news/the-banks-files-how-brexit-bad-boy-arron-banks-was-eyeing-a-massive-russian-gold-deal …

Channel 4 News ✔
@Channel4News

The Banks Files: Did Arron Banks bribe a South African police chief to have a business rival investigated?https://www.channel4.com/news/the-banks-files-did-arron-banks-bribe-a-south-african-police-chief-to-have-a-business-rival-investigated …

Channel 4 News ✔
@Channel4News

Tonight we reveal Brexit funder Arron Banks ignored campaign suspension after Jo Cox’s murder, urging social media team “up the spend” and “press it harder”.

Watch the third instalment of #TheBanksFiles in full here:
https://www.channel4.com/news/the-banks-files-brexit-funder-urged-campaign-to-press-it-harder-after-jo-cox-murder …

The First Ministers of Scotland and Wales have joined together to tell the Prime Minister her "reckless" behaviour over Brexit "must stop now".

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart Mark Drakeford spoke out after politicians in Edinburgh and Cardiff took a "united and historic step" to vote against both Theresa May's withdrawal deal and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

...

Afterwards the two first ministers said: "For the first time in the 20-year history of devolution, the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament voted simultaneously to oppose a damaging no-deal Brexit.

"The vast majority of members across both chambers voted in agreement that a no-deal outcome would be completely unacceptable and that an extension to Article 50 is the best way forward to protect Wales, Scotland and the UK as a whole."

...

In Edinburgh MSPs overwhelmingly passed a motion stating this by 87 votes to 27 with one abstention, while in Cardiff a similar motion was approved by 37 votes to 13.

https://stv.tv/news/politics/1436043-scottish-and-welsh-parliaments-unite-against-no-deal-brexit/

Brussels has accused Britain of enabling tax avoidance by big business in a move that may foreshadow a post-Brexit battleground.

In its annual report on the UK, the European Commission drew particular attention to dividend tax arrangements, which it claimed made Britain attractive for “treaty shopping” and “aggressive tax planning”.

The UK has incurred the EU’s ire on tax avoidance before but Brussels has never used the annual report to voice its concern. The accusation puts Britain in a small group of countries to be named and shamed that includes Luxembourg, Cyprus, Ireland and the Netherlands.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/european-commission-warns-britain-over-dividend-tax-avoidance-xck2dt5hq (paywalled, but reading the rest of the article only requires registration)

Theresa May told the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, in Sharm El Sheikh last weekend that she might need to delay Brexit to implement necessary legislation even if MPs back the withdrawal agreement later this month, according to a diplomatic note seen by BuzzFeed News.

The note is of a briefing made to the ambassadors of the EU’s remaining 27 member states on Friday morning. It reveals that May told Tusk on Sunday that she would need extra time in the form of a “short and technical extension” to implement legislation if MPs back her deal in a meaningful vote she has promised will take place by March 12.

This is the first time the prime minister has acknowledged that Brexit may have to be delayed beyond March 29, even if her deal wins the support of the House of Commons. It suggests the only scenario in which Britain will leave the EU later this month is with no deal.

...

It is understood that May also told Tusk during their meeting in Egypt that her ambition is to leave on the 29th.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/theresa-may-told-donald-tusk-that-brexit-might-have-to-be

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has paid out 33 million pounds to settle a claim with Eurotunnel which runs the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France after the firm took legal action over the process to award ferry contracts to cope with a no-deal Brexit.

Eurotunnel had begun court action after the Department for Transport contracted ferry companies in December to ensure supplies to the state-run National Health Service (NHS) and other critical imports should Britain leave the European Union on March 29 without a deal.

One of the companies awarded a contract was Seaborne Freight, a decision that provoked criticism as the company did not have any ships and the deal was subsequently terminated last month.

In a statement, the British government said it had reached agreement with Eurotunnel, whose holding company is Getlink, to settle the case and ensure the Channel Tunnel would continue to keep passengers and freight moving after Brexit.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-eurotunnel-idUKKCN1QI4BR

What May said about allowing MPs to vote on extending article 50

This is what Theresa May said in her opening statement about offering MPs a vote on extending article 50 if a Brexit deal has not been agreed by 12 March.

As I committed to the house, the government will today table an amendable motion for debate tomorrow.

But I know members across the house are genuinely worried that time is running out, that if the government doesn’t come back with a further meaningful vote or it loses that vote, parliament won’t have time to make its voice heard on the next steps. I know too that members across the house are deeply concerned by the effect of the current uncertainty on businesses.

So today I want to reassure the house by making three further commitments.

First, we will hold a second meaningful vote by Tuesday 12 March at the latest.

Second, if the government has not won a meaningful vote by Tuesday 12 March then it will – in addition to its obligations to table a neutral, amendable motion under section 13 of the EU Withdrawal Act – table a motion to be voted on by Wednesday 13 March at the latest, asking this house if it supports leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement and a framework for a future relationship on 29 March.

So the United Kingdom will only leave without a deal on 29 March if there is explicit consent in this house for that outcome.

Third, if the house, having rejected leaving with the deal negotiated with the EU, then rejects leaving on 29 March without a withdrawal agreement and future framework, the government will, on 14 March, bring forward a motion on whether parliament wants to seek a short limited extension to article 50 – and if the house votes for an extension, seek to agree that extension approved by the house with the EU, and bring forward the necessary legislation to change the exit date commensurate with that extension.

These commitments all fit the timescale set out in the private member’s bill in the name of [Yvette Cooper].

They are commitments I am making as prime minister and I will stick by them, as I have previous commitments to make statements and table amendable motions by specific dates.

Let me be clear, I do not want to see article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on 29 March.

An extension beyond the end of June would mean the UK taking part in the European parliament elections. What kind of message would that send to the more than 17 million people who voted to leave the EU nearly three years ago now? And the house should be clear that a short extension – not beyond the end of June – would almost certainly have to be a one-off. If we had not taken part in the European parliament elections, it would be extremely difficult to extend again, so it would create a much sharper cliff-edge in a few months’ time.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2019/feb/26/brexit-latest-news-developments-theresa-may-chairs-cabinet-amid-reports-she-is-about-to-announce-u-turn-on-giving-mps-potential-vote-to-extend-article-50-politics-live

Laura Kuenssberg ✔
@bbclaurak

Understand PM will make 3 ‘further commitments’ today - meaningful vote by Mar 12th , if that falls vote on 13th on whether Commons would support leaving with no deal , third, if MPs reject no deal, there will be vote on extending

No-deal Brexit panic after ministers realise the UK doesn't have the right pallets for exporting to the EU

LONDON — The UK government is due to hold emergency talks with industry leaders today after discovering that the country doesn't have the right pallets to continue exporting goods to the European Union if it crashes out without a deal next month.

Pallets are wooden or plastic structures which companies use to transport large volumes of goods. Under strict European Union rules, pallets arriving from non-member countries must be heat-treated or cleaned to prevent contamination, and marked to confirm they meet a series of EU rules.

Most pallets currently used by British exporters do not conform to these rules meaning that British export business could potentially grind to a halt next month in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

DEFRA last week confirmed to industry leaders that the United Kingdom will not have even close to enough EU-approved pallets for companies to use for exporting to the EU after a potential no-deal exit.

https://www.businessinsider.com/brexit-michael-gove-ministers-to-hold-emergency-meeting-over-no-deal-chaos-2019-2

Brexit could be delayed until 2021 under plans being explored by the EU’s most senior officials, at a time of growing exasperation over Theresa May’s handling of the talks, the Guardian can reveal.

A lengthy extension of the negotiating period is gaining traction as the EU’s default position should the Commons continue to reject May’s deal, and a request emerge.

Replacing the 21-month transition period with extra time as a member state would allow the UK and the EU to develop their plans for the future relationship with the aim of making the contentious Irish backstop redundant.

Brussels is determined to avoid offering a short extension only to have to revisit the issue in the summer when the government again fails to win round parliament.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/24/brexit-could-be-delayed-until-2021-eu-sources-reveal