
Brexit referendum: things are far from settled
Parliament Magazine has republished my blog post about what to expect next from the Brexit debate.
Parliament Magazine has republished my blog post about what to expect next from the Brexit debate.
I appeared on the BBC Sunday Politics show alongside Rachael Maskell MP, Amjad Bashir MEP and Baroness Warsi.
I wrote a piece for LabourList on the next move for the Labour party in response to the ongoing Brexit debate.
I took live questions on Facebook in a 90-minute conversation hosted by Jonny Walker, a high-profile local musician whom I bumped into in Bradford a couple of days ago.
I visited a market farmer near Goole and talked to ITV News about migrant labour in the agricultural sector.
After Gordon Brown’s speech in the European Parliament today, I took questions live from Sky News viewers via their live broadcast Facebook page.
I took part in a debate for ITV news, hosted in Bradford City Academy, against Philip Davies MP.
I spoke (in French) to Ouest-France media about the EU referendum in Britain.
I wrote a point-by-point criticism of Michael Gove’s argument for LabourList this week: Gove knows full well that most of his readers will not be conversant with the intricacies of EU procedures. He is cynically and dishonestly trying to exploit that, to try to restore his side’s chances to make inroads into the Remain vote. […]
I spoke to Atlantic Insight about the implications of the EU referendum debate in Britain. You can listen to the audio or read a transcript on their website.
Policy Network commissioned a piece from me on Labour’s role in the upcoming referendum, and published it today: Whatever we think of the balance of Cameron’s reforms — and they are mostly a mixture of trivial and useful, with a few bad ideas thrown into the mix — we are not forced, like the Tories, […]
I’ve just updated my detailed breakdown of Cameron’s deal and what it means. Read all the details here.
My opinion piece on migration and the EU has just been published by New Statesman: If we want to take seriously people’s concerns about immigration, first and foremost we must be honest about what gives rise to those concerns. And if immigration is a problem, it is emphatically not an EU problem. It suits the […]
I gave an extended video and written interview to ITV News today on the behind-the-scenes details of the European Council summit. A very difficult meeting to chair. You’ve got 28 prima donnas around the table who all think they are right and usually get their own way domestically. They’re suddenly in a meeting where none […]
My analysis of Cameron’s current EU negotiations was published this morning in Europe’s World: David Cameron seemed pleased with himself earlier this month when he stood up in the House of Commons and finally announced the details of the draft deal for his renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the EU – a draft that will […]
I wrote an article for Labour Movement for Europe’s op-ed series, assessing Cameron’s draft deal and what happens next in the ongoing debate about Britain’s EU membership. Are moments like these the first signs of genuine political engagement from a prime minister who has, up till now, been obsessed with trying to keep a lid […]
I write in the Huffington Post today that Europe is a political battleground where the left can, and do, win — which is why we must stay and fight: In fact, Labour is more united now on Europe than it has ever been – not just in parliament but at every level. Despite intense lobbying […]
A printable A4 sheet which covers all the key points of the EU’s relationship with international trade.
I contributed to a collected article published by LSE on MEPs’ views about the UK referendum. The role of the European Parliament in the UK’s renegotiation saga could be crucial or minor — depending on how the talks go — and in the ultimate case of an eventual Brexit, decisive as regards the terms and […]
A short piece I wrote a few weeks ago about Cameron’s plans to limit EU migration has just been published by Progress magazine: What does the government claim it wants to do? European Union freedom of movement, enshrined in the EU treaties, was not on David Cameron’s initial list of demands, but later became a […]
My autumn 2015 quarterly report.
My letter about the EU was the leader in today’s Guardian comments section: Paul Mason relies on tired old cliches – and, bizarrely, his dislike of the Belgian police – to justify his claim that there is no democratic control over the European Union (G2, 19 October). He talks of “vast bureaucratic structures” and “the […]
The European Parliament voted today for a more rigorous process of confirmation hearings for Commissioners, giving MEPs more power to cross-examine nominees. The proposals from the European Parliament constitutional affairs committee, in a report authored by Labour MEP Richard Corbett, include allowing follow-up questions in the event of non-answers; second hearings in case the answers […]
In the future, EU governments should present one male and one female candidate to the post of Commissioner in order to enable the President of the Commission to ensure gender balance in the European Commission. This is one of the key recommendations of a resolution drafted by Labour MEP Richard Corbett and approved today by […]