Gavin Esler: YES – it would be a hugely patriotic act
One definition of a patriot is someone who always wants to do the best for their country. By that definition, rejoining the EU would be one of the most patriotic acts any British citizen could contemplate.
Why? Because the supposed “benefits” of leaving the EU have been impossible to find, the results so divisive, and the backlash against leaving the bloc (especially by those too young to vote in 2016) is real and growing. One of the leading advocates for Leave, Jacob Rees-Mogg, was so desperate to find something good to say about the Brexit disaster that he asked readers of the down-market tabloid The Sun if they could identify the benefits for him. We are still waiting.
The false promise of Leave was to spend the fantasy £350 million a week we supposedly sent to the EU on improving “our NHS” instead. Those who work in the National Health Service say it is, in fact, now facing its worst crisis since its foundation in 1948. While Brexit benefits are non-existent, the dreadful effects of Brexit self-harm are everywhere.
By any obvious metric, including damage to the UK’s GDP, trade barriers, loss of jobs in the finance sector, loss of much needed EU workers, and even loss of Britain’s reputation for common sense and fair dealing, Brexit has been the most stunning example of political self-harm since the Suez Crisis in 1956. At least Suez was a temporary political disaster solved by quickly removing British troops from the canal zone and removing the prime minister responsible, Anthony Eden. Unfortunately Brexit is the mess that still envelopes us, although it has hastened the removal of not one but four failed Conservative prime ministers – David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – none of whom could make it work or get it permanently “done” as promised.
If an election were held today, the Conservatives who made the mess would be all but wiped out. Right now, they run no local councils anywhere in Scotland or Wales and their reputation even among unionists in Northern Ireland is that of an English nationalist party that doesn’t understand much about Ulster.
Rejoining the EU would also be beneficial for our friends in the EU, but it is extremely unlikely at least for now. Labour party leader Keir Starmer views talk of rejoining as a distraction. The swing voters he needs to win a general election may have voted for Brexit and he does not want to alienate them. EU nations may also be wary of the ludicrous ways in which the UK has behaved since the 2016 Brexit vote.
But if the UK fails to rejoin, voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland may vote for Leave in a different way – by voting to Leave the UK itself. Four successive polls show Scottish voters now favour independence. The UK as currently constructed, therefore, may in the 2020s cease to exist. If rejoining the EU is not a live issue in Westminster, it should be – not merely to make the UK richer but also to make it more likely to stay United as a Kingdom.
Sholto Byrnes: NO – here's an even better proposition
Referendums, the British people were told, were meant to settle momentous questions for a generation. Way back in 2004, then British prime minister Tony Blair said it was time to “let the people have the final say” on the EU. “It is time to resolve once and for all whether this country wants to be at the centre and heart of European decision-making or not,” he said. Except when the referendum was held in 2016, there turned out to be nothing “final” or “once and for all” about it for the Remainers. Because the unexpected happened. They lost. And that is why we are all still talking about it.
Lies were told, it was said – and there were indeed untruths and scare tactics on both sides. But when has that ever invalidated a democratic election? Normally we trust the voters to see through the fog of campaign promises. One problem with the EU, however, is that it is institutionally deceitful. Take the EU constitution. It was signed by all member states in 2004, but failed after Dutch and French voters rejected it in referendums in 2005. How did the EU react to this democratic defeat? They simply rearranged the text, as its author former French president Giscard d’Estaing admitted, and snuck it through as the Lisbon Treaty.
The EU is always determined to increase its powers, whatever the voters say. A second referendum in the UK would thus continue another undemocratic EU tradition, which is that if a country gives the “wrong” answer to a question about the EU – as the Irish and the Danes found – they are asked to vote again so they can give the “right” answer. Referendums, it seems, are only the “final say” if they go the EU’s way.
The democratic deficit in the EU – which has three “presidents”, none of whom the ordinary voter has any say in – is a profound danger in an institution whose leading lights want to become a “United States of Europe”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said so, as has former EU parliament President Martin Schulz. Former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt even wrote a book under that title.
Do Britons really want to be a part of a United States of Europe? I doubt it, but that is the EU’s true destiny. None of this has changed. What has changed is that for many, Brexit has not appeared to be much of a success. But that has been only one version of Brexit. There are many. The referendum question was: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” There is nothing stopping the UK rejoining the single market or the customs union. There is nothing stopping reinstating freedom of movement, even, if the will is there.
If French President Emmanuel Macron’s European Political Community gets off the ground, the UK should join: it represents precisely the two-tier, looser continent-wide body that Eurosceptics hoped for years the EU could become. It didn’t. It never will. That’s why the UK left – and should never rejoin.
Outside, the UK can continue to share the continent’s culture, its history, gastronomy and other glories, and come as close to the EU in terms of trade as is liked, while thankfully being free of its inward-looking tendencies, its rampant Islamophobia, and its scornful attitude to the Global South. But for Britain once again to be “confined and limited” to this “area across the channel", as the great Labour cabinet minister Peter Shore put it in 1975, would "be a contraction and a reduction of all the things with which we have been concerned. It is the world we belong to, and it is mankind of which we are a part".
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
