Edinburgh Conference Postponed
Posted: Tuesday 10th March 2020
Our June Edinburgh conference will now be held on the 6th/7th November 2020 – the planned dates for our Rome conference.
We will endeavour to visit Italy next Spring.
Brexit
Posted: Tuesday 11th February 2020
It happened on 31st January, after 3 years of debate and wrangling. The UK Parliament passed the Withdrawal Act with barely a whimper following the pre-Christmas election.
There clearly are to be negotiations to determine the UK’s position vis-a-vis its future trading relationship with the EU. Another deadline looms in just over 10 months time for agreement on that (31st December 2020). Will there be enough time to finalise such talks and will the threat of a “no deal Brexit” come back to haunt everyone again as part of the negotiations?
The EU is finalising its negotiating stance even as this is posted. Boris Johnson has said he will not seek an extension for talks beyond 31st December. Will he have to change his mind? He is setting out his ‘red lines’ which include protecting the UK fisheries and the ‘City’ financial sector.
Below is one member’s UK view on the event. Thanks to Geoff Rogers for his opinions. What do you as members feel about the position?
David Lambert, Torus President
“The 2019 UK elections resulted in a Conservative majority larger than anyone expected. It was also the worst result for Labour since 1935 and a surprise to all, many of us thinking there would be a coalition and a possible return to UK political deadlock once again. The election seems to have changed the atmosphere in the UK, the calm after the storm if you like. Brexit on 31st January 2020 was an important date obviously but the same questions still remain, many observers outside Europe confused. The media headlines changed quite quickly after the election, with Harry and Megan taking over the main stories and now the Coronavirus obviously. The Brexit transitional period is causing some issues in itself, some arguing it is too short, others looking more at the end of 2022. However, with a large Conservative majority now, Boris Johnson has a clear mandate and it’s very difficult to see how any of his policies might be challenged.
The Brexit newspaper headlines have gone away for the time being and it does not often feature on the TV or radio. Businesses seem to be reporting more activity now as it appears clear the political uncertainty as well as the behaviour of our politicians gave rise to much of the conflict and unpleasantness. Many of those resigned and did not seek re-election and we have over 100 new and generally much younger MPs sitting in the House of Commons. A large number of the UK public are still EU re-joiners but it’s very difficult to see any change now, at least for the next 5 years.”
Members’ Web Site Addresses
Posted: Friday 31st January 2020
We have now added Website addresses for those members who have given their consent to this.
If any more members would like us to add their website details please contact David Lambert (d.lambert22@outlook.com).
We have also added some new files on our website relating to the 2019 Conferences in London and Bordeaux.
New TORUS Website Launched
Posted: Monday 23rd September 2019
The new TORUS Website was launched today; the address remains the same it has always been, www.torus.org.