Civil Society Alliance
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

This is the final edition of our weekly e:bulletin as the Brexit Civil Society Alliance comes to an end this week. With the project wrapping up I wanted to have a special edition of the final bulletin where I share with you some of the resources we have created over the past few years of our work. I hope the bulletin has proved useful in keeping you up to date with Brexit happenings. I also hope you enjoy the resources outlined today! As usual there is some recommended reading for your Friday.

Civil Society Alliance
No Thanks M'Lords

This week the Government defeated amendments to give Parliament a greater role in future trade deals as it voted against multiple Lords Amendments to the Trade Bill. This week, we also published our new report “Seizing the Opportunity: The case for embracing civil society’s role in democracy” by Kathryn Sturgeon. You can download it today. As usual we have recommended reading for your Friday.

Civil Society Alliance
Bills To Be Paid

With the Brexit deal agreed what will come next? The FT reported this week that plans are already underway to regress on workers’ rights and some Brexit Bills are still making their way through parliament. We also have a guest piece from Kathryn Sturgeon about our new report “Seizing the Opportunity: the case for embracing civil society’s role in democracy.” As usual we have recommended reading for your Friday.

Civil Society Alliance
It's A New Year, It's A New Deal

Happy New Year! A trade deal between the EU and UK was agreed while we were all busy eating our Christmas dinner. In today’s E:Bulletin we look at some of the key parts you should be aware of. We have a new report about the case for embracing civil society in democracy coming out in January and we’d love to see you at our launch event (details below). As usual we have recommended reading for your Friday.

Civil Society Alliance
Is A Deal In The Oven?

This week talks over dinner between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen didn’t amount to much other than a new deadline for negotiations. This Sunday was picked as a deadline for a “firm decision”. Negotiations have been bubbling away for a long time now with the same three topics (fisheries, level playing field, and sovereignty) causing disagreements for both sides. We find out next week if a decision has been made.

Meanwhile, we have two excellent new podcast episodes out for you to listen to. A two part series about how ministers make law using delegated legislation, what the issues with this are, how it has affected the process of legislating for Brexit, and how you can campaign on it. We also look ahead to events in Parliament and as usual have recommended reading for your Friday.

Extension to transition period?

We have a look at whether there will be an extension to the transition period due to Covid-19, our rights after Brexit, and unfortunately, our events are cancelled for the foreseeable future. Instead, we will be focusing on delivering resources and information to you digitally. Stay tuned for more updates. 

In Politics

Extension to the transition period?

  • Coronavirus takes up all Government capacity

  • Johnson does not want to extend the transition period 

  • Necessity might take over

 With the globe’s concentration on coronavirus, it is no different for the EU and UK. In the EU, some countries have gone into lockdown to try and prevent the virus’ effects from spreading and worsening. The UK is also taking increasing measures, schools across the UK will shut indefinitely today. With all the Government's capacity (on both sides of the channel) taken up, rightly so, with dealing with the coronavirus, will there be an extension to the transition period? 

Johnson has previously ruled it out, and when asked at PMQs this week by Stephen Farry MP he replied by saying the priority is a coronavirus and the ‘other matter...has already been legislated for’. However, even the hardest Brexiteer Ministers will be wary about a potential no-deal Brexit in the middle of global health, and potentially financial, crisis. 

The European Policy Centre outlined why they believe a longer transition period is necessary- carrying out negotiations remotely is more difficult and the economic disruption coupled with the financial impacts of Covid-19 could ‘not only further fuel the downward spiral but trigger a full-blown financial crisis’.  Similarly, Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe told the Future Relationship with the EU Committee that not only does the virus makes an already compressed timetable for negotiations more compressed but it makes the task of business adaption much more difficult when added with the forced adaption that Covid-19 is causing. He concluded that “the addition of the virus means that the case for extension to transition much, much stronger, just to allow the economy to adapt and to put the requisite measures in place”. On extending the transition period due to Covid-19, the Institute for Government have also said that “both sides should leave such politics at the door when confronting Covid-19. Any decision to extend the deadline on the grounds of coronavirus must be made in good faith”.

In Policy

Rights after Brexit: what will change? 

  • Read our new report on rights after Brexit

  • Covers transition period and the  future relationship

We have published our ‘Rights after Brexit:what will change?’ report written by Kathryn Sturgeon. The report covers the changes to our rights as the UK leaves the EU, through the transition period, and what to expect in the future. It contains information on workers’ rights, benefits, voting and travel. It also covers changes to EU and UK citizens rights. 

Get your copy of the report to read and share here.

Potential UKSPF Delay

  • Coronavirus looks to delay the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Among the many things to be delayed by the coronavirus is the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). As reported by the Telegraph the CSR could be delayed until Autumn. This is problematic for organisations who are waiting for further information about the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. As we noted when the budget came out, the budget stated that we would hear about the UKSPF in the CSR. That was due to be in July, already years later than originally mooted by Conservative Ministers, but means civil society will potentially be waiting until the end of the year. 

In the meantime have a look at Equally Ours joint principles for the UKSPF and sign up here. 

In Events

Sadly, as you may already know, we have had to cancel our upcoming events due to Covid-19.This includes the Human Rights, Brexit, and Devolution conference in Edinburgh on the 25th March, and our Brexit and Civil Society roundtable in Bristol on the 31st March. 

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these cancellations. We are looking at alternative digital opportunities and will keep you in the loop on any developments.

Recommended Reading

  • The EU have published their draft agreement for the future relationship. Download here

  • The UK publishes its coronavirus bill here

  • Global Justice Now reacts to the new Trade Bill here

  • The Public Law Project is scrutinising the Coronavirus Bill, more information here.

  • NCVO has published guidance on the coronavirus and what it means for your organisation, available here

  • See how the Government is progressing with its Brexit Bills here

  • Hundreds of EU nationals told they don’t have the right to stay in the UK, figures show

Shutdown?

Will Parliament shutdown? This was mooted by the Times and could have wide-ranging scrutiny implications. Northern Ireland Protocol continues to be a key issue ignored by the UK Government. Have you signed up to Equally Ours UKSPF principles yet? All of this and more in our latest bulletin. 

In Politics

Parliament shutdown?

The Times is reporting this week that Parliament could shut down from now to the end of summer recess in an effort to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. This shut down would mean that there is no scrutiny of the Government during the negotiation of the future relationship.

 A shut down of Parliament would mean that select committees can’t sit, Ministers will not be hauled in front of MPs in the Commons and key Brexit legislation would once again be delayed.

This would mean the Environment Bill, that has just received its second reading, would stall in its progress. The Immigration Bill was only brought to Parliament on Thursday and could now be delayed until autumn with a shut-down. Therefore, the establishment of a new immigration system would have to happen in an even shorter time span.

This would also leave the question of what will the UK Government do in July when the deadline for extending the transition period arrives? So far the UK Government has said it will not request an extension but if Parliament is shut down this may necessitate an extension because of the delay to implementing post-Brexit arrangements across a number of areas, including, immigration, agriculture, fisheries and the environment. 

While the potential shutdown would be for the right reasons to help prevent the spread of a virus, it leaves serious questions about scrutiny and proper procedure during this very important negotiation period. Note that Parliament has a very limited, if not non-existent role in the negotiations anyway but a shut-down certainly would make matters worse.  

In Policy

Northern Ireland Protocol

The new Withdrawal Agreement that Boris Johnson negotiated was different from the one Theresa May negotiated because it put a border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland down the Irish sea. The Withdrawal Agreement set out the rules for what happens to Northern Ireland, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol. Since the Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed and became law the protocol has not received the attention it deserves. 

The UK Government has yet to set out how it intends to actually implement the protocol. This has created large amounts of uncertainty for people and organisations in Northern Ireland. One issue of uncertainty is what customs checks will be on goods moving between NI and GB. Johnson has repeatedly said that there will be no checks, however, experts disagree.

If goods move from GB to NI that are then moving from NI to the Republic of Ireland then the goods are subject to EU tariffs. This is because they have entered the EU single market. The EU and the UK have agreed that the UK has to collect EU tariffs on goods when they move from GB to NI.

Business in Northern Ireland are trying to prepare for this scenario but the UK Government, who are the ones to decide, have not yet released details as to how all this will be collected/administered. Furthermore, as Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, highlighted in an event at the Institute for Government this week (watch here) business is willing to engage but the UK Government will not and is not engaging with business in NI. Which leads to great concern that the UK Government has to implement a controversial and difficult policy but is not releasing detailed plans nor engaging with organisations (business or civil society) on the ground. 

In Policy

“Serious divergences”

This is the end of the first week of negotiations between the UK and the EU’s future relationship. Judging by the reports from Michel Barnier, Johnson has not quite built a bridge between the EU and UK (despite his love of them). Unsurprisingly, a level playing field has not been agreed and crucially Johnson has refused to formally commit to the European Convention on Human Rights.

The UK does not have to abandon its commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights to ensure Brexit has happened. This is a separate entity to European Union membership. Adam Wagner has a detailed Twitter thread about the European Court of Human Rights and the convention. Furthermore, there is a great plain-English explanation about what the convention means for you here.

What this lack of commitment does signal domestically though is the Conservative’s intentions to ‘update’ the Human Rights Act (which brought the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law) and make changes to judicial review. 

In Events

Human Rights, Brexit and Devolution

  • When: Wednesday 25th March

  • Where: Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh City Centre, 80 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TH

As the UK establishes new post-Brexit agreements and law, how can we best protect and continue to progress human rights across the 4 UK regions? Join us for this conference packed with in-depth insights focusing on the different opportunities and challenges around human rights for the UK as a whole and within each part of the UK post-Brexit, with space for in-depth discussion and networking with other organisations from the 4 regions

Full programme and registration is available here.  

Recommended Reading & Actions

  • Equally Ours have published their shared principles for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and are encouraging organisations to sign up. You can view them and sign up here.
    Over the last year, we have been working with colleagues across the UK to develop a set of shared principles which we all agree should underpin the UKSPF. It is essential that equality, social inclusion and non-discrimination are integral to any new funding system.
    View the shared principles here and sign up now.

  • Home Office announces £8 million to help vulnerable people apply to the EU Settlement Scheme- more information available here. 

  • The Trade Justice Movement’s priorities for the EU-UK future relationship is available here. 

  • JCWI has worked with MP Kate Green to table a motion which calls on the Government to grant automatic settled status to all EU nationals and their family members: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/54603/eu-settlement-scheme. JCWI are asking people to write to their MP using our lobbying tool to ask them to add their name to the motion- their lobbying tool is available here. Retweet their call to action here 

A Channel of Difference

More negotiations this week as the UK has published its official negotiation mandate for the future relationship between the EU and UK. The Environment Bill received its second reading and we look at the impacts on rights, standards and governance of the environment. Equally Ours have published their shared principles on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. You can read and sign up to them. We have exciting events you can attend and as usual some recommended reading for your day.

On to the Next Act.

This week the Withdrawal Agreement Bill became the Withdrawal Agreement Act and therefore, pending ratification by the EU, the UK will leave the EU on the 31st January. While this feels to some like the end this is just the beginning of a complicated negotiation. This week we go over the bills passage through Parliament, what next and what the Government has signalled it will look for in the future relationship.