Nursed ratchet: Brexit talks end where they began, with a stand-off over sovereignty and standards

James Murray
clock • 11 min read

A UK-EU trade deal hangs in the balance as diplomats battle to resolve the irresolvable conundrum created by the UK's desire to maintain access to the world's largest market without abiding by its rules

Brexit has always been about one thing and one thing alone: sovereignty and what you do with it. Sure, the referendum was won with a pretty toxic side order of anti-immigration sentiment, nativist posturing,...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

James Murray
Author spotlight

James Murray

View profile
More from James Murray

Labour's commitment to net zero is unwavering, but leadership woes will bring policy uncertainty

'This is about economic stability as much as climate ambition': Business leaders welcome King's Speech

More on Policy

The waiting game: UK sustainability policy
Policy

The waiting game: UK sustainability policy

Without clarity and an end to a raft of policy delays from the government, the UK risks falling behind not because it regulated too much, but because it waited too long to decide, writes techUK's Craig Melson

Craig Melson, techUK
clock 14 May 2026 • 4 min read
Paris Agreement: The next challenge for Article 6 is implementation, not integrity
Policy

Paris Agreement: The next challenge for Article 6 is implementation, not integrity

The rules governing carbon credit trading in the Paris Agreement are sound - the question now is whether the capacity to apply them will be developed quickly and broadly enough to make the mechanism work, writes Ritika Tewari from the Project Developer...

Ritika Tewari, Project Developer Forum
clock 13 May 2026 • 4 min read
What your local council can actually do to tackle the climate crisis
Policy

What your local council can actually do to tackle the climate crisis

Local authorities may be blighted by under-funding and constrained by the UK's centralised system of government, but there are still lots of levers they can pull to advance climate action

Rebecca Willis, University of Manchester - The Conversation
clock 12 May 2026 • 5 min read