Skip to Content

2020 Insight and Analysis Archive

Boris Johnson
Border issues

What happened when the UK Internal Market Bill met the Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol?

September 2020 - The purpose of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland was threefold: to protect the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and (as it was negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government) to allow regulatory divergence between Great Britain and the EU.

Professor Katy Hayward
UK in a Changing Europe

EU Flag
Border issues

View from Stormont Brexit Special

January 2020 - This Brexit special gets the view from Brussels, London, Dublin and the border.

Professor David Phinnemore
UTV

Parliament buildings at Stormont
Border issues

Now Stormont is back, Northern Ireland has hope once again

January 2020 - The DUP and Sinn Féin, gripped by the fear of new assembly elections, agreed a compromise. But there are no guarantees, and Brexit looms

Dr Katy Hayward
The Guardian

The coast of Ireland at the Irish Sea
Border issues

When the permanent Brexit deal is struck, NI will be watching especially closely

January 2020 - When we leave the EU on Friday more than one border will be affected.

Dr Katy Hayward
ITV Online

Harland & Wolff
Border issues

Brexit: what next?

February 2020 - More than any other issue, Northern Ireland – a region of 1.8m people on the periphery of the UK and the EU – has determined what has happened since the Brexit referendum for the whole of the UK and the EU.

Dr Katy Hayward
The UK in a Changing Europe

The coast of Ireland at the Irish Sea
Border issues

Danger lurks in complacency about Ireland's place in the EU

February 2020 - Has Brexit killed off Irish Euroscepticism? After Britain’s shambolic effort to extricate itself from the European Union, Irish attachment to membership has seldom been stronger, according to opinion polls.

Dr Katy Hayward
Irish Times Online

Harland & Wolff
Border issues

Post-Brexit trade a nightmare for Northern Ireland

February 2020 - The European Union Committee was in Belfast today to hear the concerns of local representatives from the freight sector, ports, ferry operators and Belfast International Airport.

Professor David Phinnemore
Belfast Telegraph

Parliament buildings at Stormont
Border issues

Ireland - ready for change

February 2020 - First, the power-sharing parliament was restored in Northern Ireland after three years in limbo.

Dr Katy Hayward, Professor Colin Harvey and Dr Peter McLoughlin
ABC Australia

Parliament buildings at Stormont
Border issues

Parliament and Brexit

March 2020 - Parliament faced unprecedented challenges during the tumultuous Brexit years – many of which remain unresolved – a new academic report finds.

Dr Katy Hayward
The UK in a Changing Europe

Brexit in Scrabble pieces
Border issues

Where are we with Brexit?

April 2020 - As part of the new Queen’s Policy Engagement Live Series, which aims to keep our academics connected with stakeholders, policymakers and the general public, Prof David Phinnemore gives an overview of what has been happening over the past few months and what is due to happen over the coming year with the Brexit process.

Professor David Phinnemore
Queen's Policy and Engagement Blog

Parliament buildings at Stormont
Border issues

The Specialised Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland

April 2020 - The purpose of the Brexit transition period is to provide time to determine and put in place the essentials of the future UK-EU relationship.

Professor David Phinnemore
The UK in a Changing Europe

Parliament buildings at Stormont
Border issues

Obscure committee could give North input into EU decision making post Brexit

April 2020 - The Specialised Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (to give it its full title) will meet for the first time today.

Dr Katy Hayward and Professor David Phinnemore
Irish Times

The coast of Ireland at the Irish Sea
Border issues

Northern Ireland: facing and fixing the post-Brexit democratic deficit

May 2020 - One of the promises (if that is not too strong a term for it) offered by the British government was that Brexit would mean ‘taking back control of our borders, money and laws’. This was a claim that resonated across the UK – including in Northern Ireland.

Dr Katy Hayward
The UK in a Changing Europe

The coast of Ireland at the Irish Sea
Border issues

Brexit shock: How Northern Ireland ‘could return to EU’ after UK departure

July 2020 - Brexit trade talks are at breaking point, as the UK is seriously considering walking away from the EU and the negotiation table- but an unearthed report claims that Northern Ireland could even return to the EU after the UK's departure.

Dr Katy Hayward
The Express

Harland & Wolff
Border issues

The Irish Sea border means chaos looms, even with a Brexit deal

August 2020 - In four months’ time, an avalanche of checks, paperwork and tariffs looks certain to hit Northern Ireland.

Professor Katy Hayward
The Guardian

Boris Johnson
Border issues

Spotlight: UK risks damaging international reputation with new bill -- experts

September 2020 - Britain's House of Commons (lower house of British Parliament) on Monday formally began debating the government's Internal Market Bill, which overrides parts of the Withdrawal Agreement that Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed with the European Union (EU) early this year.

Professor David Phinnemore
China.org

Brexit in Scrabble pieces
Border issues

Brexit drama comes to Washington

September 2020 - A pandemic distracted some Britons from the looming problems of Brexit, but they were just on the back burner. Even as cases of the novel coronavirus surged in early September, the simmering issues surrounding Britain’s European Union departure returned to a boil, reminding the country that they are not just unresolved — but perhaps unresolvable, too.

Professor Katy Hayward
The Washington Post

Parliament buildings at Stormont
Border issues

Covid cases rise as testing crisis worsens: Politics Weekly podcast

September 2020 - On Monday, the internal market bill, described by the government as a key element of Brexit legislation, was passed in the Commons. Dublin is angry, Westminster is ploughing on, and Northern Ireland – as it has been so many times before – is stuck in the middle. To discuss how Stormont should respond, Jessica chats to Rory Carroll, the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent, and Prof Katy Hayward, a senior fellow at UK in a Changing Europe, based at Queen’s University Belfast.

Professor Katy Hayward
The Guardian Politics Weekly Podcast

The coast of Ireland at the Irish Sea
Border issues

Report: What Would No Deal Mean?

September 2020 - Professor Katy Hayward contributes to the UK in a Changing Europe's latest report 'What Would No Deal Mean?'

Professor Katy Hayward
UK in a Changing Europe

Giant's Causeway
Border issues

Boris Johnson fights to hold a pandemic-stricken UK together

September 2020 - As the second wave hits Britain, the Prime Minister is struggling to fend off a fresh independence push in Scotland and soothe Brexit unease in Northern Ireland.

Professor Katy Hayward
Financial Review

London city
Border issues

The UK Internal Market Bill – An Explainer

September 2020 - The UK Internal Market Bill has generated a lot of discussion and debate. Perhaps not enough. This Explainer puts the Bill in context, and summarises what it means for devolution within the UK and for Northern Ireland in particular, specifically with regard to the NI/IRL Protocol.

Professor Katy Hayward
Queen's Policy Engagement

The coast of Ireland at the Irish Sea
Border issues

Brexit: The Irish Sea Border

October 2020 - As full Brexit comes closer, the cost of your supermarket shop and online purchases may be affected. BBC Northern Ireland’s business and economics editor John Campbell investigates how consumers will have to adjust to the consequences of Northern Ireland’s position as a bridge between the UK and the EU. What will the goods border in the Irish Sea mean for your household budget?

Professor Katy Hayward
BBC Spotlight

Brexit in Scrabble pieces
Border issues

UK-EU deal still possible despite EU's legal action

October 2020 - Even before the end of the latest round of trade talks between Britain and the European Union (EU) on Friday, the EU has launched legal proceedings against the island country as the British government refused to ditch plans to override parts of the Brexit divorce deal.

Professor David Phinnemore
Xin Hua Net

Irish Sea
Border issues

UK Internal Market Bill Devolution and the Union

October 2020 - The UK Government anticipates a power surge for devolution after the end of the transition period, while the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales regard its Internal Market Bill as a power grab. This briefing addresses 10 questions to explain the arrangements proposed in the Internal Market Bill and their effect on devolution.

Professor Katy Hayward
UK in a Changing Europe

Cliffs of Moher
Border issues

How does the UK Internal Market Bill relate to Northern Ireland?

October 2020 - The UK Internal Market Bill has already generated a lot of controversy, not least for its clauses dealing with the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol. The UK government says these powers to breach the Withdrawal Agreement are a necessary ‘safety net’ to see unhindered trade across the UK; the EU has launched infringement proceedings in response.

Professor Katy Hayward
LSE Blog

Brexit in Scrabble pieces
Border issues

Britain's pharmaceutical industry and no deal

October 2020 - The spectre of ‘no deal’ has always loomed large over negotiations for a new relationship between the UK and EU. Every economic sector fears unprecedented disruption, but in the health sector, it is exacerbated by the equally unprecedented disruption associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Mark Flear
UK in a Changing Europe

Brexit podcast
Border issues

PODCAST: Brexit - Latest Insight and Analysis

October 2020 - Podcast with Professor David Phinnemore and Professor Katy Hayward.

Professor David Phinnemore and Professor Katy Hayward
Brexit - Insight and Analysis

Boris Johnson
Border issues

The UK is leaving the European Arrest Warrant – and extraditing criminals could be more difficult

November 2020 - The UK is to withdraw from the European Arrest Warrant after the end of the Brexit transition period – currently scheduled for the end of 2020.

Dr Amanda Kramer and Dr Rachael Dickson
The Conversation

The coast of Ireland at the Irish Sea
Border issues

Implementing the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Clarity at last?

December 2020 - Implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland was always going to be complex and challenging, particularly given the political and economic consequences of increased formalities, checks and controls on the movement of goods from Great Britain into Northern Ireland – the ‘Irish sea border’ issue.

Professor David Phinnemore
The UK in a Changing Europe

EU flag and London Phonebooth
Border issues

After 48 hours of ‘Brextensity’, Northern Ireland is still not ‘sorted’

December 2020 - It has been quite a 48 hours. A period marked by that mixture of tension and intensity such as has come to be uniquely associated with Brexit – ‘Brextensity’, if you will – and, yet again, much of it centred on Northern Ireland.

Professor Katy Hayward
LSE Blog

Parliament buildings at Stormont
Border issues

What is the post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland

January 2021 - Long before it had negotiated its withdrawal from the EU, the UK Government insisted on describing the months that would follow as ‘the implementation period’. The intention, one presumes, was to give the impression that the simple act of ‘getting out’ of the EU was the primary objective. What EU exit meant in practice was never spelled out; it just needed to be implemented.

Professor Katy Hayward
Fortnight Magazine