For sure this is due to Brexit. Note that the Swedish position is understandable, as they take a dim view on non-EU immigration.
Catio MilesAnother sad story thanks to #Brexit and to the lack of preparedness of the British state. In short: the wife blames the dead husband as apparently was his obligation to take care of her paperwork. And Britain and the Guardian blame Sweden. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
What do we say to the interview with Falconer - the new minister in charge of negotiating with the EU. Lets first say something positive - lest people think we are only negative: - He talks about EU - He says something - instead of the usual nothing. .. (1/x) www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Labour seeking ‘deeper relationship’ with EU under Burnham, new minister saysExclusive: Hamish Falconer wants ‘sense of renewed pace’ in post-Brexit talks while staying within Labour’s red lineswww.theguardian.comIf this continues, Burnham will go the way of Starmer: Not getting closer to EU means no improvement in cost of living, and chasing Reform voters was always futile.
The ObserverBurnham’s ‘feelgood’ domestic politics takes us further away from Europe A postponed Brussels summit has yet to be rearranged, pro-EU ministers have been shuffled out of the cabinet and the new PM has not so far met any of the bloc’s leaders ✍️ @tombaldwin66.bsky.social https://bit.ly/3Ul3TUW
This shows that the universities in UK can very well survive on a ‘mere’ 9790 pounds/year tuition fee. To use this fallacy as an argument against a Youth Mobility scheme with EU reeks of incompetence at best and bad faith at worst.
Margot Finn'Universities are accepting lower-achieving British undergraduates after a 10 per cent drop in international students, who pay up to seven times as much for a degree.' Not exactly "news" to anyone in the sector... 1/3
This is very true - and a stain on UK until it is remedied:
Carole CadwalladrThis article quotes Matthew Elliot & Toby Young on how Arron Banks is a threat to free speech. There aren’t enough lolz in my body to respond to that. These men. All these men. Completely silent for the years when Banks waged a brutal & highly public war on my reporting
Interesting analysis from an era long gone - 2016, when UK was still a member. Look at how far the EU was willing to go to keep UK in. This shows the folly of trying to compromise with someone that is unwilling. This should not happen again.
Tom JenkinsInteresting analysis from a certain @stevepeers.bsky.social 👇🏼. This is far away from what the Brexit debate degenerated into: eg Boris Johnson Compares French President To WWII Prison Guard Giving UK 'Punishment Beatings' eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-...
Indeed Iran may prevent the US from becoming a dictatorship, and do us all a favour.
Laurence - highest score ever in the Neasden Cognitive TestIran's intention to see Trump punished personally is perfectly understandable in the circumstances. Many in the west would see this as doing them a big favour. Iran plots to deal Trump a blow in midterms by keeping him entangled in war | Iran | The Guardian share.google/Dt9jVXfG6CiQ...
These progroms can continue because of silence from the authorities.
Adam BienkovThe continued political silence over the spread of these anti-migrant, anti-refugee pogroms in the UK is a disgrace. This one has been going on for three nights in a row now and the Home Secretary and Prime Minister haven't said a single word about it www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Old thread on the history of the UK relation with the EU. It shows that already at the start of the European Coal and Steel Community (the predecessor of the European Economic Community, and later the EU), the UK had a very difficult relation with Europe. On that, nothing has changed.
Roland SmithLong thread on how Brexitism started and evolved over 75 years, drawing from Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon's 'Continental Drift'. Global Britain, Free Trade, Cakeism, Federalism, anti-federalism, EEA, Winston Churchill, Empire, 52-48 referendums, Enoch Powell, 1975, Thatcher.... It's all here. /1
A comment on the "Beyond Brexit: A new deal for Britain, Ukraine and Europe" essay published today.... I used to get mad at this, but now I see it as mainly comical. How we regard this is irrelevant anyway: Nothing penetrates the UK bubble.
Alexander ClarksonLike, it doesn't seem to occur to the UK author of this piece that being arrogantly condescending to respected Italian policymakers is not necessarily the best way to get the support needed in Rome if you want to get any reforms to European integration through the Commission, EP or EUCO
Ideas are normally always helpful, but UK participating in a Single Market only for goods, without Freedom of Movement and payments to EU cohesion funds may be the exception. I note that the issue of who makes the rules in this Single Market for goods (hint: it won't be UK) is sidestepped entirely.
Simon UsherwoodNick Boles on his plan for a European confederation. Paper with Demos coming later www.thetimes.com/article/8459...
The Tories on their road to oblivion:
Dan SohegeI grew up among Conservative politics. This is beyond that now. Defending a neo-nazi candidate shows how far Badenoch has shifted them to the far right. There is now no difference between her party and that of Restore and Reform. That should not be normalised. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
This looks like a good calculation, and this will be good for the world.
KealsIn Iran’s calculation of this round of wasting everyone’s time, they have 91 days until a new branch of government that will fuck with Trump & Co. and won’t fund war is elected.
Sensible advice and (our) beautiful art; what is not to like?
European CommissionIt’s hot across Europe right now. Millions of us are feeling it - in cities, towns, and villages across the continent. When heatwaves hit, small actions matter ⬇️
This is a valuable contribution to the EU debate on how to manage geopolitical risks - such as weaponisation of migration. First it was Belarus, and now Ceuta. Enemies of the EU use migration as a tool to harm EU. Measures, procedures and above all solidarity between Member States is required.
POLITICO EuropeOPINION: Recognizing that migration can be weaponized is not alarmism — it is realism. The EU must now equip itself with the legal and operational tools it needs to defend its external borders, writes Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
This is taken way too seriously. Reform is a kind of Dad’s Army. A bit odd and funny, but thankfully not involved in anything serious.
Derrick Wyatt's Law and Policy Blogwww.bbc.co.uk/news/article... France has hit out at a Reform UK plan to return migrant boats using the Navy, saying the proposals would violate its sovereignty and breach international law. As even this blogger worked out as soon as Reform announced its unworkable and provocative policy.
Sure we can discuss the Reform plan of using the Navy for the Small Boats seriously (see my last repost), but it is more fun to get the English dictionary out: Nonsense gobbledygook gibberish balderdash poppycock How good would it be if UK media looked at this Reform proposal a bit more closely.
Phillwatson FBPE 🇬🇧🇨🇭 🇪🇺🖖 🔶This almost word for word what the Tories said about a lack of a return agreement with France in 2022
A serious discussion of what will actually happen when "put the Navy in the Channel" is enacted. TL;DR: The Navy will become - for this task - the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (and that is inefficient but othewise fine).
Ash Oro1/14 A brief break from #TheHormuzCrisis. I've never really explained why the phrase "put the Navy in the Channel" to stop #SmallBoat crossings isn't, in itself, a serious maritime strategy. It sounds decisive. From a maritime perspective though, it raises far more questions than it answers.
“This abysmal Iranian catastrophe is already defining Trump’s presidency. The bloody stain, the blame and the shame, if not the war, will last forever.” Simon Tissdal talks about the Iran war in refreshingly clear moral terms: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Decades on from the US’s disastrous campaign in Afghanistan, Trump is making all the same mistakes | Simon TisdallThe president has blundered into a ‘forever war’ with Iran he can’t win, but refuses to end. Such hubris has a long history, says Guardian foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdallwww.theguardian.comAmazing to see there are still people that think the US will protect them.
ShipwreckGulf allies have asked the U.S. in recent weeks for more air-defense interceptors and continued guarantees that the U.S. military will protect them if the tit-for-tat fighting drags on, officials have said.-WSJ