What does 2018 hold in store for us all?

So, a little belatedly for no real good reason, here are some of the major likely themes of 2018 - time to decide how it will pan out...




1. Brexit - will the current deal stick or will we move back to a no-deal scenario?


2. Remain - will the continual campaign to have a re-vote finally work, via the House of Lords, Judiciary or some other contrived nonsense?


3. Election - A 2017 election was a shock, but with the Tories in disarray is it out of the question to consider there could well be a 2018 election?


4. Trump - Again, for many reasons, will he see out the year at President of the USA


5. North Korea, could 2018 be the year, with the Winter Olympics in Seoul and sanction biting, the year things turn really nasty?


6. It's World Cup year, with Russia in charge could they win it all themselves or will Germany finally win in Moscow?


7. Economy - very goldilocks 2017, will 2018 prove to be a continuation?

Despite progress, Northern Ireland will still lead to a hard brexit

Not that this is such a terrible thing, but it remains the conclusion of the latest EU proclamations.


Via the excruciating Kamal Ahmed, here is the latest BBC breathless interview to end Brexit with Pierre Moscovici.




"How can you have no border - no hard border - and not have at the same time internal markets and custom unions?" Mr Moscovici asked.


"Because goods can come through that non-border - there would be a non-border between a part of the UK and Ireland, which is a part of the EU, so you see, that would be very complex.


"It's hard to imagine that there is no hard border, and at the same time, no internal market and no customs union, there would be a contradiction there."


So the issue here is taking last week's euro fudge at face value. Clearly, there was no real answer on Northern Ireland and both sides agreed on regulatory alignment as a meaningless phrase designed to allow for the money to be put on the table. The EU still see the UK as some kind of local region which it is indulging.


But in the end, this may yet kill the deal. If the EU decide their rules must be followed for the Good Friday agreement et al to stand, then they are in effect demanding the unification of Ireland and splitting it up politically and economically. The DUP will not vote for this and neither will many Tory MP's.


So, really, the fudge is not sweet enough. Of course, going on history, the EU will find another way around this at the last minute. But with remainers really getting excited on a potential second referendum then 2018 is going to be far from plain sailing.