UK will be following EU standards for ever and a day. Long-term choice is whether to follow EU standards from outside the EU, without the benefits of the single market and without a say in those standards. Or to negotiate the UK's return to the EU.

The Brexit non-tariff barriers that were mostly ignored by a government with a simplistic view on trade. Can be reduced to a degree by patient negotiation and some regulatory alignment, can't be eliminated outside of a single market. theguardian.com/politics/2024/…

More importantly, a substantial majority of voters who express an opinion wants UK to stay in ECHR. And if you told some who want to leave the ECHR that doing so would trash the Good Friday Agreement and the trade agreement with the EU, I suspect majority would be even bigger!

🚨🚨 I would say 'EU law for dummies' but this is seriously an excellent concise explainer clarifying what the different EU institutions do and their role. 👇👇 #eulaw #eupolicy

For those who think the issue of Brexit will go away, the frontier of age/Brexit preferences is steadily shifting in a pro-EU direction - and is likely to continue to do so as a result of population replacement. Data via British Election Study

Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime. Monet died poor. Vermeer had to borrow money to survive. Sisley died unrecognised and poor.

Instead of telling modern day creative people that they're worthless to society, Tory MPs should try and celebrate them for the joy and…

Brexit *has* prostrated our democracy - we now have no say in decisions that affect us hugely- while multiplying paperwork.

Are there other countries that hate their own strengths as much as the UK?

Indeed. But the problem there is that Brexit has not brought and will not bring any net gain in autonomy/sovereignty. UK has lost a say in things that affect it.

Four things seem true:
- Brexit can never work as well as being in EU;
- Brexit can work better than now;
- every viable step to make Brexit work better involves moving closer to EU. Some mean following EU rules;
- so UK will in end seek to return to EU and get its votes back

In EU = vote and influence on the carbon border system applying to UK. No problem for Northern Ireland.
Outside EU = no vote, probably have to adopt EU system anyway, even if so, still extra red tape, especially but not only in Northern Ireland.
politico.eu/article/northe…

A football fan's lost weekend, with 'lost' being operative word.
'My' teams 4.
Opposition 14.
Belgium 0 Spain 7 (live at ground)
Palace 2 Man City 4 (in pub)
Union 2 Cercle Bruges 3 (live at ground)
Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh...!!

Nothing new about MPs getting into naive entanglements....

So the rationale is:
'British students have insufficient exposure to other languages - so let's make it worse!'
politico.eu/article/brits-…

'We don't want our young people going abroad to learn languages because they don't speak languages' is an odd approach🤡

... and remember 'Turing' which was going to replace Erasmus ? Barely met more than half its targets, we read👇with 80% universities 'reporting difficulties'

Latest proof that Brexit=massive waste of time and money.

The *real* patriotic conservatives are beginning to stir - those who reject isolationist delusions and have decency and the UK's interests and reputation at heart.

Withdrawing from the ECHR has consequences. Leaving aside the reputational damage, there will be issues in respect of our relations with the EU: under the Withdrawal Agreement in respect of the Windsor Framework on NI 1/3

Someone has to pay for Brexit. And a lot of that cost falls to ordinary UK shoppers. ft.com/content/38498a…

Begijnhof/Béguinage in Leuven. An urban haven of peace...