Emmanuel Macaroon, self-styled President of France, irritated other EU leaders at last night's Brexit summit by repeatedly attempting to thwart a successful Brexit purely to satisfy his own domestic agenda:
By the end of the first round of speeches, 17 leaders had endorsed a long extension to the end of this year and three more said they could accept it. Only France was holding out for a short-term delay until June at the latest, while others that shared its view were willing to compromise.
Some of the conditions Macron was looking for were unreasonable, one European official said. The French had been pushing for reducing U.K. voting rights on EU decisions because of the plan to leave.
His recalcitrance angered the other leaders, according to three officials briefed on the talks.
“We are solving your domestic problems at this point," EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told Macron, according to one of the officials.
And now we are officially back to square one, with Nigel Farage launching a political party dedicated to getting the UK out of the EU:
Ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said his new Brexit Party has similar policies to his old party but there is a "vast difference" in personnel.
He said the party's European election candidates were mainly business people and "high achievers who want to put the confidence back into British politics".
Mr Farage said UKIP had allowed the far right to take over and that "the brand is now tarnished"
The Brexit Party is being officially launched in Coventry.
once Farage takes over... Britain should consider re-voting on other referendums.. like those illegal sharp Spoons... and refugees.. because refugees go home after it's safe in their home country...
since the presentence has already been set that re-voting is an option…...
Brexit Party absolutely STORMS the UK’s European elections:
The Brexit Party was the clear winner in the UK's European elections, with the pro-EU Lib Dems coming second.
The Conservatives and Labour suffered heavy losses, with the former expected to get less than 10% of the vote.
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said he was ready to "take on" the Tories and Labour in a general election.
Out of the MEPs declared, Mr Farage's party has won 29, the Lib Dems 16, Labour 10, Greens seven, the Tories four, the SNP three and Plaid Cymru one.
Mr Farage told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "With a big, simple message - which is we've been badly let down by two parties who have broken their promises - we have topped the poll in a fairly dramatic style.
"The two party system now serves nothing but itself. I think they are an obstruction to the modernising of politics... and we are going to take them on."
Change UK has lost six of its 11 MPs following a disappointing performance in last month's EU elections, when it failed to get a single MEP elected.
The party announced that a new party leader, Anna Soubry, had been elected.
She said she was "deeply disappointed" that Heidi Allen, Chuka Umunna, Sarah Wollaston, Angela Smith, Luciana Berger and Gavin Shuker had left.
The departing MPs said they would be "returning to supporting each other as an independent grouping of MPs".
Change UK - formerly known as the Independent Group - was formed earlier this year by MPs who quit Labour and the Conservatives.
It pledged to push for any Brexit deal negotiated by the government to be voted on at a referendum - or "People's Vote" - in which it would campaign for the UK to remain in the EU.
But in last month's European Parliament elections, it gained only 3.4% of the vote.
As the ruling Conservative party looks to elect its new leader (the leader who will manage the UK's exit from Europe) polls show that the party's members are demanding Brexit at literally any price and would be happy if Nigel Farage was their new party leader:
I noticed in looking at the Brecon vote tallies that UKIP was still on the ballot, separate from the Brexit Party. If UKIP still exists, why did Farage consider it necessary to start a new Brexit Party?
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” ― Voltaire
I noticed in looking at the Brecon vote tallies that UKIP was still on the ballot, separate from the Brexit Party. If UKIP still exists, why did Farage consider it necessary to start a new Brexit Party?
After the Brexit referendum Farage stepped down as leader of UKIP, and when he came back he noticed the party had been taken over by neo-nazi hooligans. Farage didn't want to associate with these people so he had to found a new party.