Simon Usherwood

Back when the Withdrawal Agreement was first concluded, I did wonder about whether there was a need for an explainer for each of the provisions contained within it, one graphic at a time, so that everyone could be more on top of it all. However, since there was rather a lot going on then (and […]

Last week saw the Commission launch a proposal on youth mobility with the UK. Covering almost all activities (including doing nothing) for 18-30 year olds, the presentation was one of not penalising the kids for the unfortunate break-up of the relationship. It was also a none-too-subtle pushback at the perceived efforts of the UK government […]

A bit of tricky one, this. It partly explains the hiatus in posting of late, although that might also be down to the rubbish weather. As we move towards a General Election, interest has naturally turned towards what a Labour government might look like and do. And EU policy is a recurring question. On the […]

Last week’s announcement of a package of measures to support the return of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive might not have produced much substantial change in UK-EU relations, but it has prompted me to update a number of key graphics. For newer readers, over the past [quickly checks; sighs] eight years, I’ve been making […]

The publication on Wednesday of a UK Command Paper “Safeguarding the Union” came largely out of the blue. For months the Secretary of State and budding author, Chris Heaton-Harris, has been talking with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) about returning to power-sharing in the Northern Ireland Executive. Last year’s Windsor Framework was supposed to have […]