Week ahead: Post-Brexit trade talks begin and Crufts dog show returns

A Leonberger rests during Crufts Dog Show. Photo: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

Politics

Post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and the European Union are due to formally get underway on Monday.

Come December 31 this year, at the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK will no longer be a part of the EU Single Market or Customs Union and the aim of the talks is to secure a “comprehensive free trade agreement” and agreement on questions such as fisheries, internal security and aviation.

Post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and UK are due to get underway this week. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

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Transport

Weekday rail commuters will get their first taste of travel on services under public control on Monday.

Back in January, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Parliament that the Northern franchise would be taken into public ownership and the Government began operating services yesterday.

The decision followed months of poor performance by Northern, with delays and cancellations becoming commonplace for passengers across the North. Whether that will now change remains to be seen.

Anniversary

Tuesday marks 35 years since the end of the Miners’ Strike in 1985.

The major industrial action was led by Arthur Scargill and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in an attempt to prevent the closure of collieries after the Government questioned how profitable the mines were.

Around 165,000 miners went on strike in March 1984 but a year later, on March 3, NUM delegates narrowly voted to call of the demonstrations.

Dogs

Crufts dog show returns to Birmingham on Thursday, with a fresh batch of canine antics.

Organised by the Kennel Club, each year Crufts brings together some of the most meticulously bred, highly trained dogs on the planet to find out who really is the best girl or boy.

Events include testing the competitors’ agility and obedience, whilst the highest honour is the Best in Show title, which seeks out the single most impressive animal from the thousands that take part.

It typically attracts more than 20,000 competitors and hundreds of thousands of visitors and is broadcast to an international television audience.

March

Events will be taking place in the UK and around the world to mark International Women’s Day on Sunday.

The campaign theme this year is #EachforEqual, celebrating how individual actions, conversations, behaviours and mindsets can have an impact on larger society and collectively influence change towards a gender equal world.

A march will be taking place in London championing in particular the power and passion of women and girls who are on the frontline of responding to climate change.

Auction

The George Medal awarded to a former boxer for his bravery when he supported Princess Anne during a kidnap attempt in London in 1974 is to be offered at auction this week.

Presented by Dix Noonan Webb in their auction of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria on Wednesday and Thursday, the medal is estimated to fetch between £15,0000 and £20,0000.