Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
There is currently much talk about how the likely extension of the Article 50 deadline affects the obligation or otherwise of holding European Parliamentary elections in Britain in May. What is the legal situation? Scenario 1: Article 50 deadline is extended up to a date before the new European Parliament first assembles on 2 July […]
Some Labour MPs are uneasy about our leadership calling for a referendum on May’s Brexit deal. They have four main arguments against this position. My latest article in Labour List challenges their assertions.
Looking beyond Westminster procedures, government splits, and other shenanigans, there are only four possible outcomes of the Brexit saga.
There was an interesting debate in the European Parliament yesterday with the Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte.
Last night, UKIP MEP Mike Hookem made a somewhat outrageous, disgraceful speech and immediately left the chamber. This was my response.
Despite her focus on it, the “backstop” is not the main problem (if indeed it is a problem) with her deal. There are plenty of other problems with it that she wants us to ignore.
Brexit has illustrated once again that the British press and politicians immersed in the notorious ‘Westminster bubble’ underestimate just how much their European colleagues understand them.
I have co-written an article for Labour List with Wakefield’s MP Mary Creagh. We recognise that some Labour MPs are hesitant about holding another EU referendum, but although we understand their caution, the arguments simply don’t stack up.
The “Norway Plus Group” of MPs have put forward a paper called “Common Market 2.0” as a possible alternative Brexit deal to current deal. I analyse how credible it actually is, in this long read.
I was invited to speak to members on the left of the political spectrum on the the possible way forward to a second referendum on Brexit.
Speaking at the People’s Vote rally, minutes before the meaningful vote is announced on 15 January.
Within 24 hours of losing the ‘meaningful vote’ by an unprecedented margin, Theresa May defeated a vote of No Confidence in her government. So how does Parliament proceed?
Although the new year has seen several Brexit options being discussed, in fact the actual options for Labour MPs on Brexit are increasingly clear. My latest article for Labour List.
Interviewed on Sky News alongside Charles Tannock MEP to discuss the developing situation with Brexit, as Theresa May returns empty handed from Brussels two days after the damaging no-confidence vote from her MPs.
Speaking in EP on the continued Brexit chaos as Theresa May cancels the meaningful vote on the Withdrawal Agreement that she expected to lose.
The 40 reasons to back the Brexit deal published by the Prime Minister to support her deal, are a frantic farrago of frequently fanciful falsehoods, failures, fibs or feeble fabrications. They are listed below with my comments on each of them in red, explaining why this entire document is so disingenuous and should not be […]
On the day that the EU Council agreed the Withdrawal Agreement and the text of the Political Declaration, I was interviewed by Adam Boulton on Sky News.
After nearly two years of wrangling, more between the rival factions within her own party than with the EU, over the manner of the UK’s mooted departure, Theresa May agreed last week to an unpopular Withdrawal Agreement. Then, like a disorganised undergraduate who realises the night before that a paper is due, she hurriedly threw […]
Theresa May has finally been able to convince (most of) her cabinet that Brexit requires reaching a deal with the European Union on the Withdrawal Agreement, but this is a bad deal for Britain for many reasons. First, the deal offers no clarity on the future relationship on which a five page document offers only […]
Richard Aikens has argued that the EU cannot succeed because it will become a federal state that most of its citizens do not want. He makes a number of assumptions and, in my view, latches on to several misconceptions, which I address in this piece.
Speaking in the European Parliament debate on the Evaluation of the Lisbon Treaty (for which I was Rapporteur) to dispel some of the false narratives that opponents of the EU like to peddle.
Speaking in the Conclusions of the October EC debate as the UK government misses yet another deadline, leaving only a few months remaining to negotiate any Brexit deal.
Writing for Labour List I argue Labour colleagues should not enable right-wing Tory and UKIP politicians – who fear that the people may have changed their minds – in opposing a public vote on the Brexit deal.
Uncertainty reigns supreme in the Brexit negotiations. But what is now clear is that Brexit will weaken our rights, protections and shared standards. And while many hundreds of articles have been written on customs unions and chlorinated chicken, scant attention has been paid to what Brexit specifically means for our youngest generation. How might children be affected by Brexit?
