MPs voted by a five-to-one majority to implement Brexit – as chosen by the electorate in last June’s referendum. The parliamentary vote was imposed by a court ruling last month, which found that the Prime Minister alone did not have the authority to leave the EU.

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Wednesday’s vote was an intermediary step in the adoption of the bill triggering the Brexit process. A final vote is expected to take place on 8 February.

The fate of devolved regions including Northern Ireland was among the points of debate this week.

The practicalities of Brexit for the agri-food sector were the focus of last Friday’s Navigating Global Trade conference organised by the Irish Farmers Journal. European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan argued that developing trade agreements with non-EU countries would be crucial in absorbing the Brexit shock and warned that UK farmers could be ”sacrificial lambs” in upcoming talks between their government and the EU.

The conference also saw New Zealand position itself in the future trade arrangements between the UK and Europe, in which agribusiness expert Michael Haverty from Andersons Consultants warned that the negotiating strength of the UK may not be as strong as some believe.

Listen to Brexit comments from the conference in our podcast below:

Listen to "Navigating Global Trade" on Spreaker.