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Tom Hayes

@tomhayes.bsky.social
5.2K followers 2.5K following 1.3K posts

Irish, lives in France, labour relations consultant, writes about Brexit, the world of work, and EU issues.

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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Yes, the UK should again join the EU. It is in all our interests. But it is not going to work if you have the combined Opposition saying they will immediately walk away from any new deal with the EU if it is returned to government. This is no small problem. Nor one that can easily be brushed aside
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
When you see the quotes from the Tories and Reform towards the end of this article, then you have to ask why the EU would spend time negotiating with the UK when any deal could be torn up in a matter of years. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Andy Burnham remains evasive over rejoining EU without referendum
The prime minister faces calls to put re-entering the bloc in Labour’s manifesto after the Estonian PM said Britain would be welcome back
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The comments towards the end of this piece by #peterforster seem to me to reflect the reality of the situation. Further, how would it look to other applicant countries, such as Ukraine, if the UK were seen to "jump the queue"? www.ft.com/content/3aa9...
ft.com
UK could be fast-tracked back into EU, pro-Brussels group argues
Best for Britain says alignment between London and bloc would speed up any rejoining process as Andy Burnham prepares ‘options’
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Some thoughts in this week’s Scribblings on what is happening in France, where I live. hayest.substack.com/p/scribbling...
hayest.substack.com
Scribblings
Is France Burning?
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
I think the Telegraph staff might find, if they look hard enough, that this is called capitalism, the sort of thing they constantly recommend for other people. The biter bit. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Telegraph owner poised to make newsroom job cuts in investment promise U-turn
Exclusive: German media group Axel Springer said to be planning between 50 and 100 editorial redundancies
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I am shocked, shocked I tell you that the Nobel Peace Prize did not go to Donald Trump.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It is worth remembering that after the "events" of 1968, the French Left did not come to power until 1981. Student protests are no harbinger of a left-wing victory in subsequent elections. Conservatism and a fear of violence are more likely to reassert themselves. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/w...
nytimes.com
For France’s Resurgent Far Left, Student Protests Are an Opening and a Threat
Far-left leaders are cheering on the students. Government officials accuse them of stirring up the unrest for political gain.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Manchester City announces that, after an internal investigation conducted by its own staff, it has been found not guilty of all charges against it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Reform clears its own officials of breaking party funding laws despite police investigation
Internal inquiry clears Dan Jukes and James Orr, who were filmed talking about scheme involving US donor
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I wrote several hundred blogs during the Brexit negotiations. I have spoken with some of the key people on the EU side. Like you, for professional reasons, I needed to know what was going on. I knew what was on offer then, and I know what would be on offer now. And "smart" FT columns do not hack it.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The UK has been told by the EU that there will be no sector-by-sector "salami-slicing" of the Single Market. Nor has the EU any interest in doing a Swiss-style deal with the UK. Look where the last newspaper columnist who had dealings with the EU on behalf of the UK ended. Remember Boris Johnson?
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
"He (Burnham) could trade single-market access for rule-acceptance, sector by sector, Swiss-style, and dare them (The Tories) to oppose it." Only one problem with this. It will not be on offer to the UK from the EU, no matter what some FT columnist thinks. www.ft.com/content/8832...
ft.com
Kemi Badenoch’s European nightmare
The biggest threat to this potential prime minister is that she defends an unpopular hard Brexit
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
There is no guarantee that Labour will win the next election.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I think this confirms what I said in my post last Sunday. How can the EU negotiate any sort of deal with the UK when the major opposition party threatens to tear it up if it gets back into government? www.ft.com/content/f923...
ft.com
Tory plan to rip up UK-EU food deal risks ‘huge uncertainty’, producers warn
Food and drink industry fears it may be forced to comply with different regulatory regimes every few years
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you. Who would have suspected dubious funding in a Tory Party election?
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
When you are stuck in no-man's land, out of the EU and on your own, this is where you end up. Caught between a rock and a hard place. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
UK car industry faces ‘difficult trade-off’ between Chinese and EU markets
Britain under pressure to put tariffs on cheap Chinese vehicle imports ahead of protectionist trade measures
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
You will see from today's Scribbling that I have not been unkind. Pragmatic realism, I would call it. I wish it were otherwise, but otherwise it is not going to be. When you get off a train, and the train moves on, it is very difficult to get back on.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
In this week’s Scribblings, I am back to one of my favourite topics – the relationship between the UK and the EU. hayest.substack.com/p/scribbling...
hayest.substack.com
Scribblings
No Early EU “Going Back” for the UK
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A prophet is always without honour in his own land.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
That is the nature of things. How often have you seen the same piece appear in the Financial Times, for instance? I would like to see the UK back in the EU. But there are too many in the UK who seem to think that all the UK has to do is ask, and hey presto, it is back in tomorrow. You know better.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I think the answer is: not anytime soon. The UK again joining the EU will be a long and winding road. I explain why I think this will be the case in my Sunday Scribblings coming up tomorrow.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Man City is the Lance Armstrong of football. All built on a lie.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Whatever the outcome of the Man City appeal, the damage is done. The world knows the club cheated and plundered its way to success. There is no honor in robbery. What has been said cannot be unsaid.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Another photo of Rich Men North of Richmont.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I think the next election is the problem. Who can predict the result? The EU is not going to waste time and resources discussing something with the UK that may never come to pass. Instead of the UK again joining the EU after the next election, the EU could be dealing with an even more anti-EU gov.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
You have to wonder what Farage's campaign themes will be: "Brexit Was A Bust - Keep Britain Broke". "Who Needs Economic Growth?" "A Country Fit For Crypto". "Expel all Europeans". Add your own. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Burnham’s reopening of Brexit debate is ‘biggest boost in my career’, says Farage
Reform UK leader tells supporters PM’s move has ‘opened up a huge flank to us’
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Let's not get carried away with any of this stuff. It will be at least 10 years before the UK has a new relationship with the EU, if ever. Nothing fundamental before the next general election - 3 years away - and then years of negotiations. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
irishtimes.com
Finn McRedmond: The Brexit ‘I told you so’ button is tempting for Ireland, but we should hold fire
In Ireland’s interests to work with Andy Burnham as obligingly as possible on the Europe question
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Easy to do a deal if you agree not to discuss the most difficult issues, to kick the can down the road. What will this "summit" actually deliver? Not much that will move the dial on EU/UK relations. Maybe it will just end up being a "Beach Boys" summit - Good Vibrations. www.ft.com/content/ef10...
ft.com
Burnham clears path to EU summit with post-Brexit breakthrough
UK and Brussels to go ahead with key November meeting after agreeing to kick talks on industrial subsidies into next year
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Time for football clubs to be owned by their fans and not by rich men from wherever? www.nytimes.com/athletic/764...
nytimes.com
Manchester City have become ‘Sham FC’. They deserve the heaviest punishment (Gift Article)
Nine years of wrongdoing - as laid out in the independent commission's damning judgment - disfigured English football
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Who will want to play for Mafia City? www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Sham City: verdict on financial breaches is damning and punishment must be severe | Jonathan Wilson
How can Manchester City be trusted under these owners after they were found to have devised £900m of ‘sham’ contracts?
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Politics is back. The UK electorate will be offered choices. The dead hand of Brexit is no more. Politics is about courage. The courage to go and do things. Burnham is showing that he has the courage to make choices. www.ft.com/content/d740...
ft.com
Andy Burnham says rejoining EU an option for the UK
Prime minister says ‘going all the way’ is an option as government reviews relations with 27-country bloc
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
You got to love the gender balance in this photo. A collection of Rich Men North of Richmond. Where are these singers just when you need them?
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Happy to give it a lash. We could call it something like: "Peeling the Orange: Only the Pips are Left".
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Time for Ireland to join Schengen?
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Maybe you should put scaffolds under the walking machines so they can get a sense of superiority as they look down. After all, is that not the whole purpose of the march, to project dominance? Or maybe as their power declines, to rage against the dying of the Orange light.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Since when do 14 seats out of 348 constitute a "surge"? www.irishtimes.com/world/europe...
irishtimes.com
What does far-right surge in French Senate election mean for next year’s presidential poll?
Marine Le Pen hails ‘breakthrough’, while hard-left party also gains seats
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Then apply to join the EU. Anything less is rubbish.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
In this week's Scribblings, I muse on whether Tony Blair has drunk Trumpian Kool-Aid. hayest.substack.com/p/scribbling...
hayest.substack.com
Scribblings
Blair has Drunk Trumpian Kool-Aid
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I decided to do up the WH like a Chinese restaurant in your honour.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Reads a bit like: "We shouldn't suffer because of Brexit. Brexit wasn't really our fault. Others made us do it. Can we sort of pretend it did not really happen, except, of course, for freedom of movement, which we will never agree to." www.ft.com/content/8748...
ft.com
Burnham to press EU chief to let UK participate in ‘Made in Europe’ policy
British prime minister to hold meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Some European thoughts in this week's Scribblings. hayest.substack.com/p/scribbling...
hayest.substack.com
Scribblings
Notes from Europe.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Here we go again. Can we be out, but also in, at the same time? I think you will find that the answer will be no. www.ft.com/content/c70c...
ft.com
On the EU, let Canada and Odysseus inspire Burnham
This wily prime minister can find a way to take advantage of new possibilities for a ring of outer nations
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We are out and want to stay out - no free movement of people for us - but we also want to be in - we want free movement for cars, but not people. Good luck with that argument.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Give then independence. Put border posts around the town. Exclude the town from the NHS and all other government services. Le the town go its own way.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
EU/Canada associate membership. Just tears in the rain.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Let's be clear about this. The EU did no such thing. UVD floated an idea. She is just the president of the European Commission. She is not the president of Europe, even if she thinks she is. It is the Member States which will decide this. Canada will not be an associate member of the EU anytime soon
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Where is Dan Hannan and the Anglosphere just when you need them? The shame of it. Canada and Australia throwing in with the EU. Can NZ be far behind? The next thing you know, Aussies will be speaking French.
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Doesn't this just come down to: "It's not fair that we are being treated like a third country just because we left the EU. We demand that we be treated like an EU country". www.ft.com/content/439d...
ft.com
The EU’s ‘Made in Europe’ policy spooks British industry
Bloc’s proposed restrictions threaten to cut UK companies out of valuable supply chains, including cars, energy and chemicals
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Does Lisa Nandy actually exist?
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Tom Hayes @tomhayes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"President Trump on Monday rejected calls from leading artificial intelligence executives for new limits on the technology, writing on social media that the only guardrail the industry needed it already had: “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.” Tad of delusion here.
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