After much speculation, the Government has now published details of its so-called Great Repeal Bill. It is safe to say that majority of people will have found it a great disappointment. The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will repeal the 1972 European Communities Act, bringing an end to Britain’s membership of the European Union. European laws will no longer take precedence over UK laws and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will be removed. So just how much control are we taking back? Untangling European law will be a messy affair. In reality, if and when the Bill becomes […]

At 11:30 this morning the Queen delivered her speech to the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Here, the Queen set out a rather limited detail agenda for Government over the next two years. The intention is to avoid a Queen’s Speech entirely next year, when we will be mid-way through our negotiations on exiting the EU. Instead of the usual Royal Regalia, coaches and full pageantry, the Queen arrived by car wearing wore a blue coat and hat (perhaps saving time changing to get to Royal Ascot later in the afternoon). Her decision not to wear the […]

Yesterday Theresa May undertook her first cabinet reshuffle of the new parliament. I say first, it could well be the last. And it wasn’t so much of a reshuffle as a slight adjustment here and there.   The top jobs, Treasury, Home Office, Foreign Affairs and Defence all remained the same. Philip Hammond, who thought he was on the way out, was able to issue an ultimatum to the greatly weakened Prime Minister saying that he wanted a ‘softer Brexit’. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has asked for unity from the famously ruthless Tory members. It is true that if the Conservative […]

In a period of huge political uncertainty with Brexit, Trump and other world leaders including Putin jostling for stronger positions, Prime Minister Theresa May has thrown her hat into the ring by calling a UK General Election. If she manages to get her surprise snap poll, announced in Downing Street earlier today, through the House of Commons it will be held on 8 June this year. Mrs May wants her own mandate to counter Opposition arguments that she’s unelected which she feels weakens her Brexit stance. The PM spoke of a unifying campaign, in stark contrast to the EU referendum when […]