Displaying items by tag: Brexit

Theresa May will make an unscheduled return visit to Brussels for Brexit talks on 24 November, as the UK and EU strive to do a deal in time for the summit of European leaders the next day. After a two-hour meeting with EU officials on 21 November, the PM said progress was being made on the future shape of EU-UK relations. The EU is now in a race against time to complete the text of an accompanying declaration on its future relations with the UK, covering trade, security and other issues, amid concerns from several member states. Before her first trip to Brussels, Mrs May had come under fire from every imaginable Brexit faction in the House of Commons, but reiterated that her deal delivered on the promises of Brexit and ensured a continued close trading relationship with the EU.

Prime minister Pedro Sánchez says that Spain will reject the draft Brexit deal unless the status of Gibraltar is clarified. Spain claims the peninsula, ceded to the UK by a 1713 treaty, and wants to ensure that future EU talks with the UK do not cover it. Throughout the Brexit negotiations, Spain - along with Ireland and Cyprus - has conducted separate talks with the UK about specific border issues. On 19 November foreign minister Josep Borrell said that talks on Gibraltar had to be ‘separate negotiations’, and Mr Sánchez followed up by emphasising that any future negotiations should only be bilateral, without involvement by the EU.

On 15 November, the day after Theresa May persuaded her cabinet to endorse the draft EU agreement, two cabinet ministers (including Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary) and three junior ministers resigned in protest, and Mrs May had to defend her actions against a chorus of criticism by MPs. At the time of writing her survival was far from certain. However, she resolutely defended the deal, saying, ‘The course I have set out is the right one for our country and all our people. Am I going to see this through? Yes.’ Meanwhile, Michel Barnier and his colleagues also have to ask the 27 EU members to approve the draft agreement, which might raise further difficulties. On 25 November, the draft deal will go to an EU summit, and in December it will need to be approved by Parliament.  Given the degree of turmoil, your prayers are needed more than ever. To help you in this, you might want to use the declaration issued by Passion for the Nation, entitled ‘The Mother of Parliaments’. See http://passionforthenation.uk/

The UK will join Italy next year as the slowest-growing economy in Europe, before holding that title alone in 2020, according to a European Commission forecast. These gloomy predictions are based on a soft Brexit - meaning that Britain is expected to lag behind all its EU peers even if Theresa May can reach a deal with Brussels before 29 March.  The commission expects consumer spending growth to remain weak, continuing a poor performance since the June 2016 referendum. The result will be GDP growth of only 1.2% in 2019 and 2020. The forecast came as the IMF sounded the alarm over the mounting risks to the European economy from a no-deal Brexit, the escalation of trade disputes around the world, and high levels of Italian government debt.

Wages are rising and unemployment rates are at their lowest for more than 40 years, so these should be boom times for young people. However, rising rents, bills and living expenses mean that one in five aged 25-34 will spend over 60% of their pay on payday. A further 3% find themselves in the red. Meanwhile, house prices in England have risen by 173% over the last 20 years, and around a quarter of 20-34-year-olds still live with their parents - with slim chances of owning a home any time soon. Those living in rented accommodation find high rents eating up income, making it impossible to save for a deposit on a home. Pray for Philip Hammond as he prepares next week’s budget. May the undetonated timebomb of Brexit have no adverse influence on his proposals, and may they give opportunities for economic growth and prosperity for young and old alike in the nation’s future.

Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, was challenged by British and Irish parliamentarians on the potential for violence if Brexit allowed any physical infrastructure to return to the Irish border. Senator Frank Feighan said that the people of Ireland would tear it down with their own hands, adding, ‘That’s what’s coming from the people on the ground, not from me’. In December 2017, both sides agreed to a ‘backstop’ position to avoid a hard border if a wider trade deal failed to be struck. Negotiators are now unable to translate this backstop decision into a legally binding commitment. Ms Bradley also expressed the opinion that if there were a second referendum, the vote to Leave would be even stronger.

The Brexit divisions appear to be reshaping UK politics. In this time of turmoil we can pray for every ungodly plan or schedule to be completely broken. Ask God to inspire Theresa May, the Cabinet, and the advisers and technocrats working behind the scenes to embark onto the track and the timing that God purposes for the UK’s future relations with Europe, Ireland and the wider world. May every unnecessary burden currently being carried by those responsible for the nation’s future wellbeing be replaced with workable strategies. Rumbling on, the domestic front around Universal Credit is providing a fresh headache for Mrs May. Pray that this unpopular welfare policy will not distract her from a clear Brexit process. As the bloc’s leaders walk away from seeming deadlock, key mediators and advisers are working behind the scenes. Pray for God to give them the solutions that will not put Northern Ireland’s peace process and the Good Friday Agreement at risk. (Linda Digby - Prayer Alert team)

Mrs May has faced the Commons for the first time since the EU rejected her Brexit plan. We can pray for a plan to be agreed that respects the United Kingdom’s 2016 vote. There is mounting pressure from some Tory MPs to change course in the run-up to a crucial meeting of EU leaders next week. Pray for God to inspire Theresa May and her cabinet to recognise and agree on a good strategy that will ‘put God’s agenda for the national interest first’ in all talks and future votes. Mrs May recently said she had a duty to voters to ensure the UK left the EU in March in a way which protected jobs. May God help her fulfil that duty. The DUP's ten MPs could vote against the Budget if they consider any Brexit deal breaks their ‘red line trade barriers’.

The UK government is demanding action from the EU amid strong frustration over the lack of proposals from Brussels on a post-Brexit relationship. Speaking to CNBC recently, several members of the Government appeared frustrated about the EU’s attitude. Chris Grayling said, ‘At the moment, it is very much a question of Europe responding with its proposals. Currently there is nothing on the table.’ Trade secretary Liam Fox said it is the EU's ‘duty’ to help the UK and put forward their proposals. ‘They said they were not very happy with what the UK offered; in which case let them bring forward their own proposals. Under Article 50 we have the right to leave the EU, and they have a duty to help us in that future relationship. Let's see them now deliver what they promised to do in that treaty.’

Despite Theresa May's earnest hopes, Europe is not supporting the Chequers border plan, and some of her own Conservative Party are not behind her. Theresa May accused the EU of failing to treat the UK with respect, capturing positive newspaper headlines the next day. But she now faces the Tory party conference, from 30 September to 3 October. Pray for God to strengthen her as she faces a cabinet civil war over EU membership. Ask God to dilute the deep differences of opinion within the Conservative party and soften the sharp edges of aggressive voices. The clock is ticking towards the Brexit deadline of March 2019. The next milestone is 18 October, when Donald Tusk expects the British government to provide a solution that will avoid a hard border in Ireland. Unless this problem is resolved, no final treaty with the UK on trade and other matters will be agreed.