In Hartlepool, a tough, proud port town whipped by bitter North Sea winds, people have long felt ignored by politicians in far-off London.

Not now, in Britain's Brexit-dominated early election.

Britain's political parties are battling to win Hartlepool and places like it: working-class former industrial towns whose voters could hold the key to the prime minister's 10 Downing Street office.

Once, it would have been no contest.

Hartlepool has elected lawmakers from the left-of-centre Labour Party for more than half a century.

But in 2016, almost 70% of voters here backed leaving the European Union.

More than three years later, the UK is still an EU member, and loyalty to Labour has been eroded by frustration.

Trawlers still land with holds full of fish, lobster and crab; but the number of boats has fallen, and fishermen rail against the quotas and red tape imposed by the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.

Fisherman Robert Corner, 74, says he will be voting for the Conservative Party on December 12.

"I am voting Conservative for the first time in my life this vote. I hope Boris (Johnson, UK Prime Minister) fetches us out of this friggen EU," he said.

Fellow fisherman Steve Horsley agrees and feels the Labour Party offers "nothing" to people like him.

"l've always been a Labour voter," said Diane Jordan, a hypnotherapist enjoying an evening of music and bingo at the Hartlepool Working Mans Club. "My parents were always Labour: my grandparents were always Labour. Hartlepool's always been Labour and now I'm not going to go Labour."

Jordan is now considering voting for the Conservative Party for the first time.

That's good news for Johnson, who pushed for the December 12 election, more than two years early, in hope of breaking Britain's parliamentary deadlock over Brexit.

If he gets a majority of the 650 House of Commons seats, he will be able to ratify his EU divorce deal – which he withdrew from Parliament last month after lawmakers demanded more time to scrutinize it – and take Britain out of the bloc as scheduled on January 31.

Tom O'Grady, a lecturer in political science at University College London, said the Conservatives need to win seats like Hartlepool to compensate for the likely loss of pro-EU areas in southern England and Scotland.

"They're going to have to gain seats in the north of England and the Midlands from Labour if they're going to win a big majority at this election," he said.

But the Conservatives' challenge is complicated by the insurgent Brexit Party, led by veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage.

Farage rejects Johnson's deal with the EU because it would keep the UK bound to the bloc's rules until the end of 2020, and possibly longer.

He'd rather leave the EU without an agreement, which would free Britain to strike new trade deals around the world.

It would also, according to most economists, leave the country poorer, by imposing barriers to business with the EU, Britain's biggest trading partner.

Supporters of a "hard Brexit" like Farage dismiss such claims, and accuse both Conservatives and Labour of watering down and delaying Brexit.

Hartlepool, where the Brexit Party controls the town council, is the party's top target in the election.

Richard Tice, the Brexit Party chairman and its candidate for Hartlepool hopes to win over former Labour voters who support Brexit.

"I am telling voters in Hartlepool they have been let down and betrayed by the Labour Party - that is betraying them on Brexit and has had a MP in this constituency for over 60 years and actually they have let down the voters here. I am going to pledge I am going to get a proper Brexit done. I am going to bring money and jobs into Hartlepool."

Mike Hill, who has been Hartlepool's Labour lawmaker since 2017 and is running for re-election, says he's not worried.  

Labour's complex stance on Brexit – it wants to renegotiate the divorce deal, then hold a new referendum on whether to leave the EU or remain – has angered some supporters.

But the party hopes its focus on social issues such as crime, health care and welfare – all affected by a decade of Conservative public-spending cuts – matters more to voters than Brexit.

He predicted locals might not warm to Tice, a wealthy property developer from the south of England.

"The Brexit Party seem to think they can come here with some southern billionaire candidate and just waltz into the place. Well, the people of Hartlepool are not fools," Hill said. "They can see right through that."

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE REPLAYING THIS STORY, WHICH RAN ON 13 NOVEMBER 2019, AS PART OF OUR UNITED KINGDOM ELECTION COVERAGE++

ARCHIVE: Hartlepool - 11 November 2019

1. Various of colourful houses on the Hartlepool shoreline

2. Various of lighthouse

3. Close up of Hartlepool Borough Council sign

4. Various of fishermen offloading crabs from a fishing trawler

5. Fisherman Steve Horsley working on a fishing net

6. Horsley and fisherman Robert Corner working on a fishing net

7. Corner holding fishing net

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Corner, fisherman:

"My father, my mother, everybody voted Labour (UK opposition party). Now I voted UKIP (UK Independence Party) for the last...twice (last two elections) and I am voting Conservative (UK ruling party) for the first time in my life this vote. I hope Boris (Johnson, UK Prime Minister) fetches us out of this friggen EU."

9. Tilt up of Horsley working on a fishing net

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Horsley, fisherman:

"Well (Brexit Party leader, Nigel) Farage started it off and the he walked away from it didn't he? You know I mean what was that about? And (Labour Party leader, Jeremy) Corbyn he has nothing at all for the likes of us people I don't think. Nothing at all."

11. Wide of Hartlepool Working Mans Club

12. Close of Hartlepool Working Mans Club sign

ARCHIVE: Hartlepool - 10 November 2019

13. Various of people in Hartlepool Working Mans Club

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Diana Jordan, hypnotherapist:

"I have always been classed as a Labour voter because my parents were always Labour, my grandparents were always Labour, Hartlepool has always been Labour and now I am not going to go Labour."

15. Various of lorry driver Clive Jordan at Hartlepool Working Mans Club

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Clive Jordan, lorry driver:

"I voted Labour all my life, but because of the way certain people are in Labour I have gone off of them now. I am not voting Labour no more. They've literally just blew it with me now."

ARCHIVE: London - 12 November 2019

17. Various of Tom O'Grady, lecturer in quantitative political science at UCL (University College London)

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom O'Grady, lecturer in quantitative political science at UCL:

"Seats like Hartlepool are seats where, if the Conservatives are going to win a big majority, they have to win seats like that. Hartlepool, about the 110th seat on the Conservatives' list of gains, but because the Conservatives are going to probably lose seats in Scotland to the Scottish National Party and lose seats in the south of England to the Liberal Democrats, they're going to have to gain seats in the north of England and the Midlands from Labour if they're going to win a big majority at this election."

ARCHIVE: Hartlepool - 11 November 2019

19. Various of a decommissioned oil rig at Hartlepool ship recycling facility

20. Wide of Brexit Party banner in Hartlepool town centre

21. Richard Tice, Brexit Party chairman and candidate for Hartlepool, talking to media

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Tice, Brexit Party candidate for Hartlepool:

"I am telling voters in Hartlepool they have been let down and betrayed by the Labour Party - that is betraying them on Brexit and has had a MP in this constituency for over 60 years and actually they have let down the voters here. I am going to pledge I am going to get a proper Brexit done. I am going to bring money and jobs into Hartlepool."

23. Wide of Labour Party campaigners including Hartlepool MP Mike Hill (red jacket) meeting in a parking lot

24. Close of Labour Party rosette on Hill's jacket

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Hill, Labour Party MP in Hartlepool:

"The Brexit Party seem to think they come here with some southern billionaire candidate (Tice) and just waltz in the place. Well, the people of Hartlepool are not fools. They can see right through that and they'll consider somebody thinking that they can parachute into this constituency as bit of an insult to be absolutely honest, because the town deserves better."

26. Various of Hill handing out Labour Party pamphlets

27. Close of Labour Party pamphlet comparing the Conservatives and Brexit Party with Labour

In Hartlepool, a tough, proud port town whipped by bitter North Sea winds, people have long felt ignored by politicians in far-off London.

Not now, in Britain's Brexit-dominated early election.

Britain's political parties are battling to win Hartlepool and places like it: working-class former industrial towns whose voters could hold the key to the prime minister's 10 Downing Street office.

Once, it would have been no contest.

Hartlepool has elected lawmakers from the left-of-center Labour Party for more than half a century.

But in 2016, almost 70% of voters here backed leaving the European Union.

More than three years later, the UK is still an EU member, and loyalty to Labour has been eroded by frustration.

Trawlers still land with holds full of fish, lobster and crab; but the number of boats has fallen, and fishermen rail against the quotas and red tape imposed by the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.

Fisherman Robert Corner, 74, says he will be voting for the Conservative Party on December 12.

"I am voting Conservative for the first time in my life this vote. I hope Boris (Johnson, UK Prime Minister) fetches us out of this friggen EU," he said.

Fellow fisherman Steve Horsley agrees and feels the Labour Party offers "nothing" to people like him.

"l've always been a Labour voter," said Diane Jordan, a hypnotherapist enjoying an evening of music and bingo at the Hartlepool Working Mans Club. "My parents were always Labour: my grandparents were always Labour. Hartlepool's always been Labour and now I'm not going to go Labour."

Jordan is now considering voting for the Conservative Party for the first time.

That's good news for Johnson, who pushed for the December 12 election, more than two years early, in hope of breaking Britain's parliamentary deadlock over Brexit.

If he gets a majority of the 650 House of Commons seats, he will be able to ratify his EU divorce deal – which he withdrew from Parliament last month after lawmakers demanded more time to scrutinize it – and take Britain out of the bloc as scheduled on January 31.

Tom O'Grady, a lecturer in political science at University College London, said the Conservatives need to win seats like Hartlepool to compensate for the likely loss of pro-EU areas in southern England and Scotland.

"They're going to have to gain seats in the north of England and the Midlands from Labour if they're going to win a big majority at this election," he said.

But the Conservatives' challenge is complicated by the insurgent Brexit Party, led by veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage.

Farage rejects Johnson's deal with the EU because it would keep the UK bound to the bloc's rules until the end of 2020, and possibly longer.

He'd rather leave the EU without an agreement, which would free Britain to strike new trade deals around the world.

It would also, according to most economists, leave the country poorer, by imposing barriers to business with the EU, Britain's biggest trading partner.

Supporters of a "hard Brexit" like Farage dismiss such claims, and accuse both Conservatives and Labour of watering down and delaying Brexit.

Hartlepool, where the Brexit Party controls the town council, is the party's top target in the election.

Richard Tice, the Brexit Party chairman and its candidate for Hartlepool hopes to win over former Labour voters who support Brexit.

"I am telling voters in Hartlepool they have been let down and betrayed by the Labour Party - that is betraying them on Brexit and has had a MP in this constituency for over 60 years and actually they have let down the voters here. I am going to pledge I am going to get a proper Brexit done. I am going to bring money and jobs into Hartlepool."

Mike Hill, who has been Hartlepool's Labour lawmaker since 2017 and is running for re-election, says he's not worried.  

Labour's complex stance on Brexit – it wants to renegotiate the divorce deal, then hold a new referendum on whether to leave the EU or remain – has angered some supporters.

But the party hopes its focus on social issues such as crime, health care and welfare – all affected by a decade of Conservative public-spending cuts – matters more to voters than Brexit.

He predicted locals might not warm to Tice, a wealthy property developer from the south of England.

"The Brexit Party seem to think they can come here with some southern billionaire candidate and just waltz into the place. Well, the people of Hartlepool are not fools," Hill said. "They can see right through that."

Hartlepool, United Kingdom - 11 November 2019

1. Various of colourful houses on the Hartlepool shoreline

2. Various of lighthouse

3. Close up of Hartlepool Borough Council sign

4. Various of fishermen offloading crabs from a fishing trawler

5. Fisherman Steve Horsley working on a fishing net

6. Horsley and fisherman Robert Corner working on a fishing net

7. Corner holding fishing net

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Corner, fisherman:

"My father, my mother, everybody voted Labour (UK opposition party). Now I voted UKIP (UK Independence Party) for the last...twice (last two elections) and I am voting Conservative (UK ruling party) for the first time in my life this vote. I hope Boris (Johnson, UK Prime Minister) fetches us out of this friggen EU."

8. Tilt up of Horsley working on a fishing net

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Horsley, fisherman:

"Well (Brexit Party leader, Nigel) Farage started it off and the he walked away from it didn't he? You know I mean what was that about? And (Labour Party leader, Jeremy) Corbyn he has nothing at all for the likes of us people I don't think. Nothing at all."

10. Wide of Hartlepool Working Mans Club

11. Close of Hartlepool Working Mans Club sign

Hartlepool, United Kingdom - 10 November 2019

12. Various of people in Hartlepool Working Mans Club

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Diana Jordan, hypnotherapist:

"I have always been classed as a Labour voter because my parents were always Labour, my grandparents were always Labour, Hartlepool has always been Labour and now I am not going to go Labour."

14. Various of lorry driver Clive Jordan at Hartlepool Working Mans Club

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Clive Jordan, lorry driver:

"I voted Labour all my life, but because of the way certain people are in Labour I have gone off of them now. I am not voting Labour no more. They've literally just blew it with me now."

London - 12 November 2019

16. Various of Tom O'Grady, lecturer in quantitative political science at UCL (University College London)

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom O'Grady, lecturer in quantitative political science at UCL:

"Seats like Hartlepool are seats where, if the Conservatives are going to win a big majority, they have to win seats like that. Hartlepool, about the 110th seat on the Conservatives' list of gains, but because the Conservatives are going to probably lose seats in Scotland to the Scottish National Party and lose seats in the south of England to the Liberal Democrats, they're going to have to gain seats in the north of England and the Midlands from Labour if they're going to win a big majority at this election."

Hartlepool, United Kingdom - 11 November 2019

18. Various of a decommissioned oil rig at Hartlepool ship recycling facility

19. Wide of Brexit Party banner in Hartlepool town centre

20. Richard Tice, Brexit Party chairman and candidate for Hartlepool, talking to media

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Richard Tice, Brexit Party candidate for Hartlepool:

"I am telling voters in Hartlepool they have been let down and betrayed by the Labour Party - that is betraying them on Brexit and has had a MP in this constituency for over 60 years and actually they have let down the voters here. I am going to pledge I am going to get a proper Brexit done. I am going to bring money and jobs into Hartlepool."

22. Wide of Labour Party campaigners including Hartlepool MP Mike Hill (red jacket) meeting in a parking lot

23. Close of Labour Party rosette on Hill's jacket

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Hill, Labour Party MP in Hartlepool:

"The Brexit Party seem to think they come here with some southern billionaire candidate (Tice) and just waltz in the place. Well, the people of Hartlepool are not fools. They can see right through that and they'll consider somebody thinking that they can parachute into this constituency as bit of an insult to be absolutely honest, because the town deserves better."

25. Various of Hill handing out Labour Party pamphlets

26. Close of Labour Party pamphlet comparing the Conservatives and Brexit Party with Labour

LEAD IN

Brexit uncertainty has led to some jitters within the travel industry ahead of the traditional getaway to tourist hotspots like Lapland.

Some are noticing later bookings than usual, but the delay in Brexit has been welcomed by others serving the UK market.

STORY-LINE

Santa doesn't have to worry about renewing his passport to travel the globe and visit UK children this year.

He was saved at the last minute by the latest January Brexit extension.

The UK is due to leave the European Union by the end of January, while Finland, the official home of Santa Claus, remains a member.

It's been three years since Brits voted in a referendum to leave the EU, and an air of uncertainty has hovered over many industries ever since.

Kirsi Jokela is originally from Lapland and now works in London for the Nordic travel company, Best Served Scandinavia.

She says one thing she has noticed since the referendum is that Brits are booking holidays to Lapland much later in the year than previously, a possible result of economic uncertainty.

However she says the quantity of bookings is still high:

"We are actually looking forward to one of our best Decembers yet, we still have a few rooms available."

She adds that due to counter currency exchange fluctuations and the weakening of the pound, they are now offering price guarentees.

"We've been offering a Brexit price guarantee which means that we will honour the exchange rate at the time of booking, which seems to be encouraging people to book."

Ilkka Lankinen is the chief experience officer at one of Lapland's main tourist attarctions, Santa Park.

Speaking in London he says the Brexit extension is " definitely good news for us, and also because the UK market is great for us, we love the UK guests and they love us. Now we have snow, now we have cold and now we have no Brexit at least at the moment so it's looking good for Christmas."

Sean Tipton from the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) agrees that economic uncertainty around Brexit doesn't seem to be putting off the average Lapland tourist.

Firstly, he says, many choose package deals which are paid for in sterling and secondly most are aware that it is not a cheap holiday destination to begin with.

However he adds that there are two major practical considerations to take into account once Britain is no longer a member of the EU.

"First of all your European health insurance card gives you access to state medical care which is very good in Finland, you won't be able to use that, so you need to have decent travel insurance," he says.

"And check your passport, because you'll need at least 6 months validity left on the end of your passport, which currently you don't, but again that's only an issue if your passport is due for renewal. So if it is check it and renew it now, it doesn't take very long, it's a pretty efficient process."

Tipton advises that during these uncertain times, which have also recently seen major travel group Thomas Cook collapse, it's always safer to book a package holiday.

Rovaniemi, Finland - 12 December 2018

1. Low shot of Santa walking through forest at Santa Claus Village

2. Santa arriving at sleigh

Rovaniemi, Finland - 16 December 2018

3. Tracking of reindeer pulling sleigh at Santa Claus Village

4. Various of tourists taking reindeer sleigh rides

London, UK – 17 October 2019

5. Tilt down from World map to Kirsi Jokela, Scandinavia Product & Trade Sales Manager, 'Best Served Scandinavia'

6. Close of Best Served Scandinavia brochure where Jokela is looking at images of Lapland

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirsi Jokela, Scandinavia Product & Trade Sales Manager, 'Best Served Scandinavia'

"I think what we've noticed is that people are booking a lot later than they used to, which might sometimes mean that they don't get their first choice of holiday, but we are actually looking forward to one of our best Decembers yet, we still have a few rooms available."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 12 December 2016

8. Pan right of sunrise on River Kemijoki

9. Close of frozen branch

10. Tilt up of snow-covered tree

11. Wide of sunrise on River Kemijoki

London, UK – 17 October 2019

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirsi Jokela, Scandinavia Product & Trade Sales Manager, 'Best Served Scandinavia'

"So one thing that could change post Brexit is the currency exchange and we've been offering a Brexit price guarantee which means that we will honour the exchange rate at the time of booking, which seems to be encouraging people to book."

Rovaniemi, Finland – 9 December 2017

++NIGHT SHOTS++

13. Wide of Santa Claus Village

14. Tilt down of Santa Claus Village entrance

15. Santa Claus and elves packing presents

London, UK - 4 November 2019

16. Tilt down people dressed as Finnish characters at Visit Finland stand at World Travel Market at ExCeL London

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Ilkka Lankinen, Chief Experience Officer, Santa Park, Arctic World, Finland:

"Since Brexit is now at least postponed for some time, that's good news, and I think that the market feel at the moment at least that we are getting is that it's kind of a stand still because everybody is waiting to have a decision one way or another way."

18. Mid of people dressed as Finnish characters posing for photos with WTM visitor

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Ilkka Lankinen, Chief Experience Officer, Santa Park, Arctic World, Finland:

"It's definitely good news for us, and also because the UK market is great for us, we love the UK guests and they love us. Now we have snow, now we have cold and now we have no Brexit at least at the moment so it's looking good for Christmas."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 10 December 2016

20. Low shot of child on ice slide at Snowman World ice bar

21. Pan left of children using ice slide

22. Pull out of corridor in ice bar, chandeliers hanging from ceiling

23. Pull focus between chandeliers

London, UK – 17 October 2019

24. Pull focus from orchid on desk to receptionist and sign reading (English) ABTA The Travel Association

25. Close of sign reading (English) ABTA The Travel Association

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"If you look at the ways that people get to go to Lapland on these trips to see Father Christmas they're generally packages. Now one of the advantages of a package is you pay it in Sterling, so you don't have to worry about fluctuations of exchange rates, obviously there will be maybe day to day expenses when you get there but people are aware of the fact that it's not the cheapest destination to travel to so I don't think budget is really a problem for most people going, and again once you are there it's a pretty magical experience and it's not something you're going to do every year it's probably a one off when your kids are very small."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 16 December 2018

27. Various of tourists melting marshmallows by fire

London, UK – 17 October 2019

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"First of all, your European health insurance card gives you access to state medical care, which is very good in Finland. You won't be able to use that. So you need to have decent travel insurance. And the chances are you are not going to fall ill but it's always a possibility so have decent travel insurance."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 10 December 2016

29. Wide of Santa and sleigh

30. Close of reindeer

London, UK – 17 October 2019

31. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"And check your passport, because you'll need at least 6 months validity left on the end of your passport, which currently you don't, but again that's only an issue if your passport is due for renewal. So if it is check it and renew it now, it doesn't take very long, it's a pretty efficient process."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 12 December 2018

++NIGHT SHOTS++

32. Wide of lights at 'Santa Claus Village' at night

33. Pan from Christmas tree to building

34. Pull focus of lights on Christmas tree

35 . Various of Santa Claus reading letter

London, UK – 17 October 2019

36. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"By Thomas Cook going that's created opportunities for the travel companies that are left so that is a way is a form of boost to them. But I can't deny there might be other travel companies going out of business, that's why it's important that you book a package holiday, because as we saw with Thomas Cook if you've got a package you will continue with your holiday as normal, if they go out of business while you're there and they'll bring you home free of charge. And if you're due to go you'll get a full refund. So don't worry about it in that sense, but the chances of you being personally affected by a travel company failure are pretty small."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 10 December 2016

37. Various of Santa Claus riding away on sleigh

LEAD IN

Brexit uncertainty has led to some jitters within the travel industry ahead of the traditional getaway to tourist hotspots like Lapland.

Some are noticing later bookings than usual, but the delay in Brexit has been welcomed by others serving the UK market.

STORY-LINE

Santa doesn't have to worry about renewing his passport to travel the globe and visit UK children this year.

He was saved at the last minute by the latest January Brexit extension.

The UK is due to leave the European Union by the end of January, while Finland, the official home of Santa Claus, remains a member.

It's been three years since Brits voted in a referendum to leave the EU, and an air of uncertainty has hovered over many industries ever since.

Kirsi Jokela is originally from Lapland and now works in London for the Nordic travel company, Best Served Scandinavia.

She says one thing she has noticed since the referendum is that Brits are booking holidays to Lapland much later in the year than previously, a possible result of economic uncertainty.

However she says the quantity of bookings is still high:

"We are actually looking forward to one of our best Decembers yet, we still have a few rooms available."

She adds that due to counter currency exchange fluctuations and the weakening of the pound, they are now offering price guarentees.

"We've been offering a Brexit price guarantee which means that we will honour the exchange rate at the time of booking, which seems to be encouraging people to book."

Ilkka Lankinen is the chief experience officer at one of Lapland's main tourist attarctions, Santa Park.

Speaking in London he says the Brexit extension is " definitely good news for us, and also because the UK market is great for us, we love the UK guests and they love us. Now we have snow, now we have cold and now we have no Brexit at least at the moment so it's looking good for Christmas."

Sean Tipton from the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) agrees that economic uncertainty around Brexit doesn't seem to be putting off the average Lapland tourist.

Firstly, he says, many choose package deals which are paid for in sterling and secondly most are aware that it is not a cheap holiday destination to begin with.

However he adds that there are two major practical considerations to take into account once Britain is no longer a member of the EU.

"First of all your European health insurance card gives you access to state medical care which is very good in Finland, you won't be able to use that, so you need to have decent travel insurance," he says.

"And check your passport, because you'll need at least 6 months validity left on the end of your passport, which currently you don't, but again that's only an issue if your passport is due for renewal. So if it is check it and renew it now, it doesn't take very long, it's a pretty efficient process."

Tipton advises that during these uncertain times, which have also recently seen major travel group Thomas Cook collapse, it's always safer to book a package holiday.

Rovaniemi, Finland - 12 December 2018

1. Low shot of Santa walking through forest at Santa Claus Village

2. Santa arriving at sleigh

Rovaniemi, Finland - 16 December 2018

3. Tracking of reindeer pulling sleigh at Santa Claus Village

4. Various of tourists taking reindeer sleigh rides

London, UK – 17 October 2019

5. Tilt down from World map to Kirsi Jokela, Scandinavia Product & Trade Sales Manager, 'Best Served Scandinavia'

6. Close of Best Served Scandinavia brochure where Jokela is looking at images of Lapland

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirsi Jokela, Scandinavia Product & Trade Sales Manager, 'Best Served Scandinavia'

"I think what we've noticed is that people are booking a lot later than they used to, which might sometimes mean that they don't get their first choice of holiday, but we are actually looking forward to one of our best Decembers yet, we still have a few rooms available."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 12 December 2016

8. Pan right of sunrise on River Kemijoki

9. Close of frozen branch

10. Tilt up of snow-covered tree

11. Wide of sunrise on River Kemijoki

London, UK – 17 October 2019

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirsi Jokela, Scandinavia Product & Trade Sales Manager, 'Best Served Scandinavia'

"So one thing that could change post Brexit is the currency exchange and we've been offering a Brexit price guarantee which means that we will honour the exchange rate at the time of booking, which seems to be encouraging people to book."

Rovaniemi, Finland – 9 December 2017

++NIGHT SHOTS++

13. Wide of Santa Claus Village

14. Tilt down of Santa Claus Village entrance

15. Santa Claus and elves packing presents

London, UK - 4 November 2019

16. Tilt down people dressed as Finnish characters at Visit Finland stand at World Travel Market at ExCeL London

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Ilkka Lankinen, Chief Experience Officer, Santa Park, Arctic World, Finland:

"Since Brexit is now at least postponed for some time, that's good news, and I think that the market feel at the moment at least that we are getting is that it's kind of a stand still because everybody is waiting to have a decision one way or another way."

18. Mid of people dressed as Finnish characters posing for photos with WTM visitor

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Ilkka Lankinen, Chief Experience Officer, Santa Park, Arctic World, Finland:

"It's definitely good news for us, and also because the UK market is great for us, we love the UK guests and they love us. Now we have snow, now we have cold and now we have no Brexit at least at the moment so it's looking good for Christmas."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 10 December 2016

20. Low shot of child on ice slide at Snowman World ice bar

21. Pan left of children using ice slide

22. Pull out of corridor in ice bar, chandeliers hanging from ceiling

23. Pull focus between chandeliers

London, UK – 17 October 2019

24. Pull focus from orchid on desk to receptionist and sign reading (English) ABTA The Travel Association

25. Close of sign reading (English) ABTA The Travel Association

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"If you look at the ways that people get to go to Lapland on these trips to see Father Christmas they're generally packages. Now one of the advantages of a package is you pay it in Sterling, so you don't have to worry about fluctuations of exchange rates, obviously there will be maybe day to day expenses when you get there but people are aware of the fact that it's not the cheapest destination to travel to so I don't think budget is really a problem for most people going, and again once you are there it's a pretty magical experience and it's not something you're going to do every year it's probably a one off when your kids are very small."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 16 December 2018

27. Various of tourists melting marshmallows by fire

London, UK – 17 October 2019

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"First of all, your European health insurance card gives you access to state medical care, which is very good in Finland. You won't be able to use that. So you need to have decent travel insurance. And the chances are you are not going to fall ill but it's always a possibility so have decent travel insurance."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 10 December 2016

29. Wide of Santa and sleigh

30. Close of reindeer

London, UK – 17 October 2019

31. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"And check your passport, because you'll need at least 6 months validity left on the end of your passport, which currently you don't, but again that's only an issue if your passport is due for renewal. So if it is check it and renew it now, it doesn't take very long, it's a pretty efficient process."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 12 December 2018

++NIGHT SHOTS++

32. Wide of lights at 'Santa Claus Village' at night

33. Pan from Christmas tree to building

34. Pull focus of lights on Christmas tree

35 . Various of Santa Claus reading letter

London, UK – 17 October 2019

36. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Tipton, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) spokesperson:

"By Thomas Cook going that's created opportunities for the travel companies that are left so that is a way is a form of boost to them. But I can't deny there might be other travel companies going out of business, that's why it's important that you book a package holiday, because as we saw with Thomas Cook if you've got a package you will continue with your holiday as normal, if they go out of business while you're there and they'll bring you home free of charge. And if you're due to go you'll get a full refund. So don't worry about it in that sense, but the chances of you being personally affected by a travel company failure are pretty small."

Rovaniemi, Finland - 10 December 2016

37. Various of Santa Claus riding away on sleigh

The National Wallace Monument in Stirling was built over a century ago to pay homage to one Scotland's most famous freedom fighters, Sir William Wallace.

The monument overlooks the site where Wallace led his men in the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge, which the Scottish side won.

For many Scots who would want to see their country independent from the United Kingdom, Wallace is a symbol of their yearning for self-determination.

The National Wallace Monument is a politically neutral charity that takes no stance on Scottish independence.

Edinburgh-based actor Gilchrist Muir says he's always felt Scottish rather than British and has long viewed the U.K.'s Union Jack flag as "a symbol of oppression."

For one of his more regular acting jobs, Muir dresses up in chain mail and leather as Sir William Wallace, recounting to tourists how the 13th century Scottish independence hero defeated English invaders in the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge. Wallace was later executed in London in 1305 - hanged, disemboweled and beheaded as a traitor to England's King Edward I.

Mel Gibson played Wallace in the 1995 movie "Braveheart." Posing for tourists' photos with his long sword, Muir borrows Gibson's signature cry from the film, howling: "Freedom!"

But out of costume, chatting in an Edinburgh pub over a beer, he's deeply pessimistic about any shift in Westminster's stance.

"It's like I'm a passenger in a car that's out of control, and the driver's left, and you have no say over where the car's going. That's what it feels like right now. The Parliament has been hijacked. We have no say. Scotland has no voice," he says.

In 2014, Scots had a chance to go it alone.

Voters took part in a referendum in which they were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

They cast their ballot, having been told their votes might be the most important they'd ever cast, as the choice wouldn't be offered again for at least a generation.

So when the ballot-count delivered a clear 55-45 split against independence, that seemed to settle it: Scotland would, for the foreseeable future, remain with England, Wales and Northern Ireland in a United Kingdom governed from London.

But less than two years later came another epoch-shaping and even more earth-shaking referendum, the Brexit poll.

While the UK voted to leave the European Union, Scots distinguished themselves as the biggest dissenters.

Not only did Scotland vote overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, it was the only one of the UK's four parts where not a single constituency delivered a "Yes" vote to leave.

Simply put: Scotland is being dragged largely unwillingly toward a messy divorce, scheduled to take place on 31 October, quite possibly without an agreement to cushion expected blows to businesses and households.

Disgruntlement with Brexit and machinations in Westminster that have pushed the UK ever closer to a No Deal departure is so keenly felt in Scotland that independence is back as an issue.

Many who voted no to independence are now apparently changing their minds.

Chris Deerin, director of the Reform Scotland think-tank, was a firm "No" in 2014, describing the idea of a breakup of the union with Britain as "utterly bizarre" and "almost unthinkable" in his political commentaries at the time.

As Brexit looms, Deerin's tune is changing.

"If Scotland is independent in 2025, 2030, I think Brexit will pretty obviously be the main reason for that. ... It has set Scotland against England."

Scottish flags, with a white cross on a blue background, hang inside and outside the distillery where Dale McQueen brews gin.

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, who champions calls for a second independence referendum by 2021, opened his new factory this year in Callander, with spectacular views of surrounding crags.

McQueen says he hopes to be able to plow profits from his fast-growing business into a second referendum campaign.

"Scotland didn't vote for Brexit and so, against the will of the Scottish people, we are being forced out of Europe," he said, adding "I'm certainly of the opinion that Scotland could be a much more prosperous country living on its own economy, making its own rules."

Rather than be shackled to what they suspect could become a diminished and isolated post-Brexit UK, advocates of independence are clamouring for another referendum to allow Scotland to strike out on its own, and perhaps even re-join the EU at some point.

But Scots wanting a second shot at independence won't automatically get one.

The UK government has repeatedly ruled out the possibility, saying Scots had their say and that a second vote could heap further division on the country already riven by generational, regional, political and economic divides over Brexit.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hardball negotiating tactics since he took office in July, replacing Theresa May after she failed to get Parliament's backing for her Brexit deal with the EU, suggest to some Scots that he's especially unlikely to yield.

Johnson has taken steps to suspend Parliament for part of the remaining weeks before the Oct. 31 departure, shrinking options and time for lawmakers who want to stop a chaotic no-deal departure. Johnson's critics have likened him to a dictator and his maneuverings to a coup.

"Are you a democrat or not? Do you respect the will of the Scottish people or not" said Ian Blackford, a lawmaker with the pro-EU Scottish National Party, addressing Johnson as the U.K. Parliament reconvened Tuesday in London.

"The Scottish people did not vote for Brexit. The people of Scotland did not vote for a no-deal Brexit. They did not vote for the Tory party and they certainly did not vote for this prime minister," Blackford added during the raucous debate.

Britain's Parliament will attempt to defy Johnson's Brexit plans on Wednesday as lawmakers seek a way out of the impasse that has gripped the nation since the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.

The House of Commons is confronting Johnson over his insistence that the U.K. leave the EU on Oct. 31 even without a withdrawal agreement to cushion the economic blow. On Wednesday, it will consider a measure that will try to block a departure without a deal, amid cries from lawmakers that a no-deal Brexit will cause irreparable harm.

Stirling - 1 September 2019

1. Various of Wallace Monument in Stirling:

2. Actors in front of monument re-enacting events around the Battle of Stirling Bridge, which was led by William Wallace

3. Visitors watching

4. Gilchrist Muir, acting as William Wallace, UPSOUND (English) "I did not come here to talk or be bought. I came here to win back my country's freedom for its people."

5. Wide of actors and visitors

Edinburgh - 1 September 2019

6. Actor Gilchrist Muir sitting at Maggie Dickson's pub in town centre

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilchrist Muir, actor:

(++The National Wallace Monument is a politically neutral charity that takes no stance on Scottish independence - Muir's views do not represent the charity's views++)

"I feel like I'm, it's like I am a passenger in a car that's out of control and the driver's left and you are just, you have no say over where the car is going. So, that is what it feels like right now. The parliament has been hijacked. We have no say. Scotland has no voice; it hasn't had for quite some time."

Stirling - 1 September 2019

8. Wide of old Stirling Bridge over which the Battle of Stirling was fought, with Wallace Monument in the background

9. Various of plaque commemorating Battle of Stirling

10. Wide tilt down to Chris Deerin standing on Forthside Footbridge

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Deerin, journalist, political commentator and director of the Reform Scotland think tank:

"If Scotland is independent in 2025 or 2030, I think Brexit will pretty obviously be the main reason for that. It will give momentum to the cause, it has exposed all sorts of problems with the union, it has set Scotland against England and Westminster seems very distant from Scotland at the moment."

12. Wide of old Stirling Bridge over which the Battle of Stirling was fought, with Wallace Monument in the background

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Deerin, journalist, political commentator and director of the Reform Scotland think tank:

"You know, my case (at time of first independence referendum) was very much that the role of Britain in the world was an important one. And I think by taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom, what is left is inevitably diminished, both geographically, economically, perhaps morally a bit as well. And it didn't seem like a good time for that to happen, but since then, Britain has decided to leave the EU, Donald Trump has gone into power in America, we have all sorts of things happening on the European continent - populists on the rise - and I think it just sort of... everything is changing. And I think we should all be looking at some of the received wisdom and perhaps some of our own accepted viewpoints and just asking whether those are still the right views to have. As an individual, I am certainly more open-minded to the idea of an independent Scotland than I was before."

Callander - 1 September 2019

14 Various of exterior of McQueen Gin Distillery

15. Various Dale McQueen, owner of distillery, pouring a sample of gin, drinking

16. Wide of the Saltire, Scotland's flag, on wall at distillery

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Dale McQueen, owner McQueen Gin Distillery:

"Scotland didn't vote for Brexit and so, against the will of the Scottish people, we are being forced out of Europe. So we are being seen in action not to have any democratic voice. So we are voting for something that we are not getting."

18. Photograph against distillery shop wall of McQueen and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon at opening of distillery

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Dale McQueen, owner McQueen Gin Distillery:

"I'm certainly of the opinion that Scotland could be a much more prosperous country living on its own economy, making its own rules."

Glasgow - 31 August 2019

20. Various of "Stop the Coup" protest in George Square, held in response to prorogue of parliament

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Pew, railway industry worker:

"It (the suspension of parliament) has made me much more open to the idea of Scottish independence than I would have been, had we not been in the situation where the Westminster government was being closed down with an apparent desire to effectively force through a No Deal Brexit."

Edinburgh - 3 September 2019

22. Various of people walking in town centre

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Pauline (Surname not given) vox pop:

"I think it is just the general mood in this country. I think there is a recognition that as part of the UK, Scotland doesn't matter and our opinion doesn't matter, what we vote for doesn't matter. We are not an equal in the union, whereas we would be within the EU - our voice would matter."

24. St Giles Cathedral

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Ishbel MacDonald, vox pop:

"I mean I do believe in the UK as a union, but I think the way things are, I might have to vote to leave the union, because I can't really accept the government we have in Westminster. The whole system is broken, it is anti-democratic - I don't really want to be part of it."

26. Scottish flag

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Honor Flynn, vox pop:

"It (the suspension of parliament) has actually made it stronger for me for independence. It has definitely made it stronger and a lot of my friends actually voted 'no' and now everyone of them is going to be a 'yes' voter if it (second Scottish referendum) happens again."

28. Pan of Edinburgh town centre

29. Various of Scottish and Union flags waving in the wind

For almost as long as Britain and the European Union have been wrangling over Brexit, Melvin Burton has been preparing for a bumpy landing.

He's growing vegetables, drying fruit and buying in bulk.

He reels off the cornucopia of cans filling his shed and the cupboard under his stairs: "tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, corned beef, tuna, honey, baked beans, tins of ham....."

The 45-year-old, who lives with his wife and 8-year-old son in a village near Cambridge in eastern England, said he started buying goods in bulk a year and a half ago, but felt no one seemed to accept that there was a "real problem."

Plenty of people think there is a problem now.

Britain is scheduled to leave the EU in less than a month, on March 29, but its departure terms are still unknown.

A U.K.-EU deal designed to ensure a smooth departure has been rejected by Britain's Parliament, and lawmakers are due to vote in mid-March on three starkly differing options: leave with a deal, leave without a deal, or postpone Brexit.

Quitting the bloc without a deal would, overnight, bring tariffs, customs checks and other barriers between Britain and the EU, and could bring gridlock to British ports.

U.K. officials and companies have been bracing for potential trade disruption by stockpiling everything from ice cream and chocolate cookies to essential medicines and body bags.

But the government still warned this week that British people and businesses are unprepared for the shock of a "no-deal" exit.

Britain imports almost a third of its food from the EU, even more during the early spring "hunger gap," when domestic crops have yet to be harvested and retailers rely on fresh produce from Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and further afield.

Supermarket chief executives have warned the government that the country's available storage space is full, and "even if there were more space it is impossible to stockpile fresh produce, such as salad leaves and fresh fruit."

The government says there will be severe disruption to cross-Channel freight and "reduced availability and choice of products," especially fresh fruit and vegetables, if Britain leaves the EU on March 29 without a divorce deal.

And it has warned that "there is a risk that consumer behavior could exacerbate, or create, shortages in this scenario."

Some people, like Burton, are taking no chances. He's a member of a Facebook group titled "48 Percent Preppers," with more than 10,000 members.

The name refers to the 48 percent of electors who voted to remain in the EU in Britain's 2016 referendum.

"Remain" voters make up the bulk of Brexit hoarders; "leave" supporters are apt to dismiss warnings of food and medicine shortages as "Project Fear."

Members of the group and several similar online forums swap tips on what to buy and how to store it, whether to stock up on fuel and how to knit their own clothes.

"Originally when the group was formed it tended to be people who were sort of interested in prepping, you know, the curiosity and increasingly what happened is we are getting more and more mothers with families and young children or elderly or people who are disabled coming and who are very concerned," said Burton.

Others have seen a commercial opportunity. One company in northern England sells "Brexit boxes" containing freeze-dried food, a water filter and a fire-starter for almost 300 pounds (400 US dollars).

In London, seed importer Paolo Arrigo put together 12 months' worth of easy-to-grow seed packets, carrots, beans, lettuce, pumpkin, tomatoes and labelled it a Brexit Vegetable Growing Survival Kit. He has sold hundreds in a few weeks.

"By sowing something each month, you can harvest something each month," said Arrigo, who runs his family's business, Seeds of Italy.

"And that means that you've got a supply of fresh vegetables to feed your family in case there's any interruption in supplies."

Arrigo's business is relatively Brexit-proof, because "seeds sell better in a crisis." But he thinks leaving the EU is a big mistake, and understands why people are worried.

"I had never heard the word 'preppers' before a month ago, and I kind of assumed it was Americans who were buying guns and ammo and tinned food and water," Arrigo said.

"Now I belong to four Brexit preppers' websites. Whether you agree with it or not, it is a thing. People are stockpiling, and that is because of the uncertainty."

Many Britons think the Brexit preppers are overreacting, and they remain a minority.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said this week that "we're not picking up evidence of household stockpiling in any material sense."

Some sceptics compare Brexit hoarding it to the Y2K millennium bug: a catastrophe that never came to pass.

But Burton, who tests software for a living, says internet meltdown was avoided at the turn of the millennium because "we spent vast quantities of people and money and man hours making sure it didn't happen."

He's not confident Britain is that well prepared for Brexit _ though he hopes he's wrong.

"Really I'd like to go back to normal life," Burton said.

"Normal life was that I would come home on a Friday and have a look, see what was on TV, order an Indian takeaway and then settle down for the evening."

Little Port - 1 March, 2019

1. Various of "Brexit prepper" Melvin Burton stacking tins in his garden shed

2. Burton stacking tins UPSOUND (English) Melvin Burton, Brexit prepper:

"So I've got red kidney beans, I've got quite a few cans of those. I'll put that up there. Then we have baked beans, And we also have pork. I'll put that there. Chopped tomatoes. That goes up there.  Honey."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Melvin Burton, Brexit prepper:

"We hit over 10-thousand people, I think a week ago and we are generally getting about a couple of hundred people a day.  And that seems to be increasing rapidly as we get closer to Brexit. Now originally when the group was formed it tended to be people who were sort of interested in prepping, you know, the curiosity and increasingly what happened is we are getting more and more mothers with families and young children or elderly or people who are disabled coming and who are very concerned."

4. Various of Burton in his kitchen vacuum-packing jars of grains

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Melvin Burton, Brexit prepper:

"We're more like Women's Institute so it's more like, you know, we spend a lot of time swapping jam recipes and then talking about how best to dehydrate apples and store them and things like that. So it's not really about 'I'm going to go out and hunt squirrel' and things like that and make bear traps out of my shoe laces. We don't cover any of that and make bear traps out of my shoe laces we don't cover any of that. We don't really see that as ...well, one: it's not a viable scenario, it's not really likely, if things got as bad as that, I think the chances are I'd just give everything away of what I have to everyone who possibly needs it and then probably just go and live in Europe."

6. Close-up of Burton removing dehydrated pears from his dehumidifier and dropping into a jar

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Melvin Burton, Brexit prepper:

"I want to go back to normal life. I mean this is a pain in the neck. Really. Because I have to make sure that none of this goes out of date, because if it goes out of date I've got to throw it away and I'm trying to keep on top of everything. And it's an additional expense. Each weekend I'm juggling around, moving things about, so I can put stuff in and really I'd like to go back to normal life. Normal life was that I would come home on a Friday and have a look, see what was on TV, order an Indian takeaway and then settle down for the evening."

8. Burton carrying food to his garden shed

London - 1 March 2019

9. Various of Paolo Arrigo, owner of "Seeds of Italy", in his shop packing seeds into his "Brexit Vegetable Growing Survival Kit"

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Paolo Arrigo, Owner of Seeds of Italy:

"So seeds sell better in a crisis than they do in a boom and that's been the same through time. And we were at home one night and we thought we'd, just after a drink actually, and we thought we'd put together this pack which is essential varieties, things that you can sow all year, or harvest all year. Varieties that can be grown in containers, varieties that can be stored or preserved. The kit in itself, you know, has its own merits but we've tied it together with Brexit and all of the reports of food shortages etc" 11

11. Close up of Brexit Survival Kit bag

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Paolo Arrigo, Owner of Seeds of Italy:

"Well if Brexit happens there are some very quick, very fast growing varieties like cut and come again lettuce. If you were to sow that in let's say June, you'd be eating it three weeks later, like the bags you buy in the supermarket. So there are varieties that are quick growing. Then there's other varieties that are slow growing, but the plan is in there if you sow something each month of the year then you can harvest something each month of the year as well and you get a continuous supply."

13. Employee of the shop writing a packing list of seeds

14. Close-up of writing

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Paolo Arrigo, Owner of Seeds of Italy:

"I had never heard the word preppers before a month ago and I kind of assumed it was Americans who were buying guns and ammo and tinned food and water. But you know now, I belong to four Brexit preppers websites on social media and there's been a huge spike in preppers' websites. Whether you agree with it or not, it is a thing, people are stockpiling and that is because of the uncertainty."

16. Employee packing seeds ready for delivery

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Paolo Arrigo, Owner of Seeds of Italy:

"Okay so as a small business it's impossible for us to plan. You know, we don't have millions of pounds like the big corporations do to buy stock and to stockpile. And in fact we have been trying to stockpile, but as goods are coming in, as seeds are coming in, they're flying off the shelf so quickly that we found that we haven't been able to stockpile ourselves. But yeah I mean it's the uncertainty that's fueling the stockpiling at the end of the day. None of us know what's going to happen in a month's time. The can has been kicked down the road yet again by the government and small businesses cannot operate in this environment, it is impossible."

18. Arrigo putting newly arrived seeds onto the shelves

UK BREXIT CHRISTMAS

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

RESTRICTIONS: AP CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 6:26

SHOTLIST:

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

London, UK - 29 October 2018

1. Close of British Lion Christmas decoration, by Aerloom London, at the Spirit of Christmas Fair 2018 at Olympia London

2. Mid of crown Christmas decoration being placed between two British Bulldog decorations

3. Wide of display featuring various Christmas decorations by Aerloom London

4. Founder of Aerloom London Ania Zankowska speaking to customer

UPSOUND (English) Customer: "Are these sprouts or cabbages?"

Ania Zankowska, Founder, Aerloom London: "Sprouts. The idea was to create a Brussels Sprout"

5. Mid of stand of Brussels Sprout decorations next to Aerloom London gift bags

6. Top shot of Brussels Sprouts decorations next to cracker decoration reading 2018

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ania Zankowska, Founder, Aerloom London

"It was just natural to go with the British theme to celebrate the fact that I live in the Kingdom, which obviously was very unusual for me coming from Poland. So the first collection comprised of typically British pieces and they are very popular now, not just in Britain but all around the world."

8. Mid of Queen decoration in front of Corgi decoration

9. Pull focus on side angle of Queen decoration

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ania Zankowska, Founder, Aerloom London

"I'm not feeling it (Brexit) yet, of course we're all very much curious about what's going to happen in the future. I'm remaining very positive. I work very closely with the Department of Trade and Investment, who assure me that the situation will be well monitored and the support I've received will be continued."

11. Mid of stand of Brussels Sprouts decoration

12. Top shot of Zankowska organising boxes of decorations

13. Tilt down wreath with decorations

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Ania Zankowska, Founder, Aerloom London

"The best sellers in my collection are the Queen ornaments, the bulldogs and the lions and this is very much supported by the sales with the British retailers and I think everyone feels immensely proud to be British during Christmas time."

15. Close of bow being tied on gift bag

16. Wide of visitors walking past Christmas tree at Spirit of Christmas event

17. Tilt down from ceiling of Olympia to stands at Spirit of Christmas

18. Wide of visitors walking past Village Workshop stand

19. Tilt up of gingerbread Big Ben

20. Wide of gingerbread Big Ben

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Itet Radcliffe, Founder, Village Workshop

"I was really looking for something iconic that will relate to England, and if you see Big Ben then immediately it's London, it's England."

22. Mid of Radcliffe arranging gingerbread houses on stand

23. Mid of gingerbread items on stand

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Itet Radcliffe, Founder, Village Workshop

"We sell through online shops and they distribute to Europe and they haven't given us any indication that things will be changing. For this year definitely we haven't seen any change, no repercussions at all."

25. Tilt up gingerbread Big Ben

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Itet Radcliffe, Founder, Village Workshop

"Well I think people like to associate what they are buying as made in England. I think on that line, yes, here people are quite aware of where it's coming from, so made in England is quite a lot of difference."

27. Close of top of Big Ben

28. Wide of Eadie family members working on The Oxton Liqueur Company stand

29. Mid of customer trying flavoured liqueur

30. Various of flavoured liqueur bottles

31. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Eadie, Owner, The Oxton Liqueur Company

"Well in the run up to Brexit we've seen the currency move from about 140 to about 110 (British pound to Euro), so we've seen an increase in the price of goods that we buy from Europe of about 25 per cent. So that for us is all our glass, that comes from Italy, from Germany and from France. So already there's been a huge impact, what will happen after Brexit we'll have to see, but time will tell."

32. Mid of flavoured liqueur bottles

33. Customer trying flavoured liqueur

34. SOUNDBITE (English) Christopher Eadie, Owner, The Oxton Liqueur Company

"You know the exchange rate swung 25 percent, it may turn around, there may be a movement in the other direction, that would be good. Obviously for people exporting it's been incredibly beneficial. So it depends on which side you're on as to whether you've benefited or whether you haven't."

35. Mid of flavoured liqueur bottles on front of stand

36. Wide of visitors climbing stairs in event hall with shopping bags

37. SOUNDBITE (English) Stuart Hunter, Portfolio Director, Clarion Events (Organisers of Spirit of Christmas Fair)

"At the moment in terms of Brexit having any impact to us and the show we're not seeing any, but obviously we do have a lot of conversations with our exhibitors and obviously there's some nervousness, I think certainly probably overall this year in terms of the trade side of business, there's been a bit of a sluggish approach to some of the retail elements."

38. Mid of packaged Christmas puddings

39. Mid of Christmas pudding in front of wooden boxes reading (English) "Made in the UK"

40. SOUNDBITE (English) Stuart Hunter, Portfolio Director, Clarion Events (Organisers of Spirit of Christmas Fair)

"It remains to be seen whether the spend will be the same as we are on site this week, we'll find that out, exhibitors will tell us. We measure that post show as well so we do lots of research. But on the evidence of today it's felt busy, buzzy, lots of shopping bags going out of the doors, so it feels like it's business as usual for us."

41. Mid of bauble on Christmas tree

LEADIN:

The UK is preparing for its final Christmas before leaving the European Union.

Retailers at the annual Spirit of Christmas event in London have mixed feelings about how Brexit will affect future trade.

STORYLINE

The British lion: a symbol of pride and patriotism in the UK.

But as Britain prepares to leave the EU there is ongoing uncertainty about the country's future - not least about how it will affect trade.

At this year's Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia in London, retailers and exhibitors are showcasing their goods for the festive period.

Ania Zankowska, the founder of Aerloom London, has an array of quintessentially British looking Christmas decorations. As well as a lion she has the Queen, corgis, crowns and British bulldogs.

And as we approach Brexit she's even got "Brussels" Sprouts.  

As someone who originated from Europe - she was born in Poland - her British pieces were originally a celebration of her move to the UK.

She says they remain incredibly popular to this day: "Not just in Britain but all around the world."

With business still booming Zankowska says she hasn't suffered any negative effects from Brexit yet:

"I'm remaining very positive. I work very closely with the Department of Trade and Investment, who assure me that the situation will be well monitored and the support I've received will be continued," she says.

Another exhibitor selling iconic British images this Christmas is the founder of Village Workshop, Itet Radcliffe.

Amongst her traditional gingerbread houses stands a large, gingerbread Big Ben, with Santa hanging off the top.

She says unless the online sites she sells through change their rules, after Britain officially leaves the EU on 29 March 2019, her business should remain stable:

"We sell through online shops and they distribute to Europe and they haven't given us any indication that things will be changing. For this year definitely we haven't seen any change, no repercussions at all," she says.

And she believes there is something about British made goods which still gives people the confidence to buy:

"Well I think people like to associate what they are buying as made in England. I think on that line, yes, here people are quite aware of where it's coming from, so made in England is quite a lot of difference."

While decorations representing British culture look to become a trend this Christmas, another product which will be popular is flavoured spirits and liqueurs.

The Oxton Liqueur Company is a family run business which hand makes fruity liqueurs from a farm in Nottinghamshire.

This year, alongside their Elderflower Gin and Bramble Whisky, they are showing off a Christmas Vodka.

But while the drinks themselves are very much made in Britain - the glass they sell them in comes from Europe. Owner of The Oxton Liqueur Company Christopher Eadie says Brexit related fluctuations in currency have come at a cost for him:

"We've seen an increase in the price of goods that we buy from Europe of about 25 per cent. So that for us is all our glass, that comes from Italy, from Germany and from France. So already there's been a huge impact, what will happen after Brexit we'll have to see," he says.

The Spirit of Christmas Fair is all about shopping and often a good indicator of consumer confidence and spending power.

Organisers say this year was a record year for visitor and exhibitor attendance.

Stuart Hunter is a Portfolio Director at Clarion Events which organises the Spirit of Christmas Fair.

He says Brexit is hot topic: "We do have a lot of conversations with our exhibitors and obviously there's some nervousness,"

However he adds:

"On the evidence of today it's felt busy, buzzy, lots of shopping bags going out of the doors, so it feels like it's business as usual for us."

The Spirit of Christmas Fair 2018 is on at Olympia London from 29 October to 4 November 2018.

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The scorching late summer sun of northern Portugal is ripening the black, super-sweet grapes that will go to make what European Union rules say is the only wine that can be called port.

Wine making has for several centuries been a way of life for many families here in the picturesque valley of the River Douro. It's a tradition the EU regulations are designed to protect.

"If it wasn't for wine, the Douro region would be on its knees," says 59-year-old Jose Pereira, a foreman for the Rozes port wine producer, as behind him two dozen local people pick the first grapes of the annual harvest. "Wine is our wealth."

For these workers and the local port wine producers, just like the makers of French champagne, Greek feta cheese or Italy's Parma ham, the EU's name-protection laws help ensure their livelihood by shielding them from industrial-scale, lower-cost copycats.

But port wine's second-largest export market is the United Kingdom, and the impending British exit from the EU is throwing port's almost 50 million euros' (58 million US dollars) worth of annual business there into doubt.

That's because London conspicuously isn't saying whether after leaving the EU next year it will keep the bloc's name protection rules. It could, for example, choose to let in rival port producers from the British Commonwealth, such as South Africa and Australia, as it casts around for post-Brexit trade deals.

Authorities in the United States have long fought against the EU's Geographical Identification (GI) laws, saying they amount to trade barriers - an argument that is not lost on the British government as it eyes closer business ties with Washington.

Product name protection is not a minor issue.

Last week, the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier singled it out as one of the three main outstanding questions, alongside a possible future border in Ireland and working out the post-Brexit EU-UK relationship.

Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer in intellectual property law at City, University of London, says Geographical Identification laws are "a very sensitive issue which could jeopardize the whole Brexit negotiations."

He reckons the British government, aware that the UK is a major market for the more than 3,000 EU-protected items, is using the issue as "a bargaining chip" to win advantages in other areas of the negotiations.

EU protected names are prized by businesses. The labelling comes with strict regulations on production and is regarded as a quality guarantee that helps branding and sales.

The EU says the scheme seeks to protect local economies and cultures against misuse of names or imitations.

The policy has been a flashpoint before, being a factor in holding up a trade deal between the EU and the United States, where Geographical Identification rules fall under trademark law and where feta and parmesan, for example, are considered generic names.

Portugal's port wine industry offers a look into how a protected name earns its special status and what's at stake for families and businesses in the Brexit talks.

The Douro Valley has an abundance of arresting landscapes along an almost 200-kilometre (120-mile) stretch, reaching from the Atlantic almost into Spain. The spectacular scenery places it on a par with other outstanding European wine regions, such as the Rhine Valley in Germany or France's Loire.

The valley's steep and stony slopes are scored with contours of green vines that ripple back from the river in corrugated lines. Terraces of ancient walls, hand-built in local brown slate, hold gravity at bay. The quiet landscape is punctuated with ridgetop clusters of whitewashed houses and port wine estates called 'quintas.'

Several factors, producers say, make this a singular place: it has weather extremes, with summer bringing heat well above 30 degrees Celsius and winter bringing snow and ice; grape varieties such as Touriga nacional, Tinta roriz and Barroca are unique to Portugal; the poor, bone-dry soil means fewer grapes but a high concentration of sugar; and the slopes, up to 600 metres (2,000 feet) high, offer varying angles of exposure to the sun.

Tractors and trucks have replaced the mules and oxen of yore, but plenty has remained unchanged - including grape-treading in a knee-high granite tank called a 'lagar,' which remains common.

Port is the queen of Portuguese wines. A bottle of 19th-century vintage port, which is the top of the range, can fetch more than 3,000 euros (3,500 US dollars) at auction.

It is a fortified wine, made by adding grape spirit to halt the fermentation and keep the grapes' natural sweetness. It allows wine makers to produce deep, delicately textured wines admired around the world.

It is an ironic twist of Brexit that Britishness runs through the history of Portugal's port wine trade like marbling.

The port business was largely created by, and flourished because of, the British. The port companies, or 'houses,' are called Taylor's, Croft's, Churchill's, Warre's, Sandeman, and Symington, among others.

Taylor's, for example, was established in the Douro Valley in 1744 by Bartholomew Bearsley. After him came, among other bosses, Joseph Taylor, John Fladgate, Frank Yeatman and Alistair Robertson, whose son-in-law Adrian Bridge is now the Managing Director.

Bridge's office is in Vila Nova da Gaia, on the coast by the city of Porto, where the port companies have traditionally brought their wines for aging and shipping.

Standing amid hundreds of centuries-old barrels piled in rows in a musky cellar with granite walls and a wooden roof, Bridge notes that Brexit is already hurting business as the British pound's drop in value against the euro has pushed up port's price on UK shelves.

Taylor's sells port to 105 countries around the world, but Britain is far and away the most important he says, though plans are afoot to expand port's presence in other markets.

He adds, with typical British understatement, that he expects Brexit to "require some degree of readjustment."

Raymond Reynolds, owner of Raymond Reynolds Ltd, a specialist UK Wine importer is not too worried about geographical denominations, which he believes are superceded by historic links between suppliers and buyers.

"They are trusted in terms of their quality and through to retailers and consumers that works as well," he says, adding "the only problem with Brexit is the uncertainty."

Britain and the EU have not yet finalised their divorce agreement, stirring fears among businesses of disruption to trade.

Douro Valley, Portugal - 12 September, 2018

1. Pan of Douro River near Pinhao, Douro Valley

2. Wide of slope with green vines

3. Mid of Ferreira port wine slope

4. Mid of Alves de Sousa port wine slope

5. Wide of protected landscape with sign

6. Close of sign reading (Portuguese) "Douro Wine Valley, World Heritage"

7. Change of focus from slope to vine leaf

8. Workers arriving to harvest

9. Tilt up from bucket to workers going up the hill

10. Close of bucket with grapes

11. Mid of workers

12. Close of worker cutting vines

13. Close of bucket filled with grapes

14. Tilt down from sun to workers walking

15. Set up shot for Jose Pereira, foreman of Rozes port wine producer

16. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Jose Pereira, foreman of Rozes port wine producer:

"If it wasn't for wine there would be a crisis, both for our employers and for us. Without the wine the Douro region would be on its knees. Wine is our wealth."

17. Tractor carrying grapes up hill

18. Wide of Quinta da Gricha entrance

19. Workers receiving and processing grapes from the harvest for Churchill's port wine production house

20. Various of grapes being processed

21. Tilt down of Rozes wine barrels

22. Wide of old bottles of port wine

23. Change of focus between vintage port wine bottles

24. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Luciano Madureira, oenologist, Rozes port wine production:

"Port wine is good because it's from here, from this region. This is a unique region, where people are very important, the climate, the soil – which is not very rich, eager to produce more but that can't give more than what it already gives. We are in the mountains so what we do is always in small scale but with extraordinary quality."

Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal - 11 September, 2018

25. Entrance to Taylor's port wine cellars house

26. Close of Taylor's symbol

27. Wide of wine barrels at cellar

28. Set up shots for Taylor's managing director Adrian Bridge

29. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Bridge, Managing Director, Taylor's port wine house:

"Well, I think that clearly when we are selling a product like Port - which we have done for hundreds of years – we have seen many disruptions, of war and pestilence over the centuries and perhaps if one puts the context of Brexit in these terms of an unfortunate blip that may cause some problems and probably requires some degree of readjustment, I think that would be fair."

30. Wide of royal warrant of appointment

31. Close of royal warrant of appointment reading (English) "By appointment to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II suppliers of Port Wine, Taylor's Port Portugal"

London, UK - 14 September, 2018

32. Various set up shots of Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer in intellectual property law at City, University of London

33. SOUNDBITE (English) Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer in intellectual property law at City, University of London:

"I don't think the Europeans will accept, the EU will accept a Brexit deal which does not protect feta cheese, Parmesan cheese or champagne wine also because the entire final Brexit deal will need to be ratified by national parliaments, 27 national parliaments. Can we imagine the Greek parliament or the Italian parliament or the French parliament having to ratify a final Brexit deal that does not strongly protect feta, parmesan or champagne? It will be difficult. That's why a deadlock on this issue could jeopardize the entire Brexit deal."

London, UK - 19 September, 2018

34. Wide shot of the Raymond Reynolds stall at "The Dirty Dozen" wine and spirits tasting event in Glazier Hall, London

35. Attendee tasting a wine

36. Pan up from bottles of Niepoort port wine to wine tasters

37. Close up of wine being poured

38. Shot of Raymond Reynolds pouring some Niepoort Bioma port

39. Cutaway corks

40. SOUNDBITE: (English) Raymond Reynolds, Owner of Raymond Reynolds Ltd, a specialist UK Wine importer:

"I don't have any fear in that sense (of Geographical Identification ending after Brexit) because you know your sources of supply, we work with our growers, there is a historic link. They are trusted in terms of their quality and through to retailers and consumers that works as well so the only problem with Brexit is the uncertainty."

41. Tilt up of bottle of port

42. Various of Raymond Reynolds with customers

STORYLINE

Britain and the European Union warned December 8th that talks on a post-Brexit free-trade deal are teetering on the brink of collapse, with just over three weeks until an economic rupture that will cause upheaval for businesses on both sides of the English Channel.

Officials downplayed the chances of a breakthrough when Prime Minister Boris Johnson heads to Brussels for face-to-face talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the next few days.

With negotiators deadlocked on key issues after months of tense talks, German European Affairs Minister Michael Roth said the bloc’s confidence in Britain was hanging in the balance.

Johnson’s Downing Street office said the situation was “very tricky” and collapse of the talks was a distinct possibility.

Johnson and von der Leyen, head of the EU’s executive arm, spoke by phone December 7th for the second time in 48 hours.

They said afterwards that “significant differences” remained on three key issues - fishing rights, fair-competition rules and the governance of future disputes - and “the conditions for finalizing an agreement are not there.”

The two leaders said in the joint statement that they planned to discuss the remaining differences “in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days.”

Leaders of the EU's 27 nations are holding a two-day summit in Brussels starting Thursday.

***

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Brussels on December 9th, ahead of crunch Brexit trade talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the evening.

The leaders of Britain and the European Union will meet for a dinner that could pave the way to a post-Brexit trade deal - or tip the two sides toward a chaotic economic rupture at the end of the month.

They have just a few hours over a multi-course meal to unstick negotiations that are deadlocked on key aspects of the future relationship for the EU and Britain.

The U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31st after 47 years of membership, but remains within the bloc’s tariff-free single market and customs union until the end of the year.

Reaching a trade deal by then would ensure there are no tariffs or quotas on trade in goods on Jan. 1st, although there would still be new costs and red tape for businesses.

Failure to secure a trade deal would mean tariffs and other barriers that would hurt both sides, although most economists think the British economy would take a greater hit because the U.K. does almost half of its trade with the bloc.

***

As Brexit talks enter their decisive final days, there's still a big catch: the fishing industry.

It is holding up the trade deal between the European Union and recently departed Britain, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of euros in annual production losses.

French fishermen are anxious about a looming no-deal Brexit, following months of talks by negotiators seeking to cobble together a trade deal in the wake of their Brexit divorce.

While French and other European fishermen currently take much of their catch in UK waters, a no-deal Brexit could end or significantly limit that.

Twenty-eight year old fisherman Mathieu Pinto is concerned about the prospects of a no-deal Brexit.

Docking his boat, L'Ophelea, in the French port of Boulogne-Sur-Mer after a night of fishing sea-snails or whelk, Pinto said that the vast majority of his catch comes from British waters and there will be a "huge impact" on his business.

Pinto believes the consequences of the end of the current fishing policies would mean war amongst European boats fishing across the same coastal waters in France.

There is essentially not enough to go around, he said.

Pinto talks with other fishermen here in Boulogne and he says they are all just as scared as he is.

He says he is not yet ready to sell his boat but as someone who learned the trade handed down through his family, he is quickly losing his passion.

As well as France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Denmark are among those directly implicated by the potential closing off of UK waters.

Brussels has proposed a 12-month period for continued reciprocal access to fishing waters but Britain has suggested this could be rejected.

For centuries, foreign fishermen shared the plentiful waters off Britain, and it has been no different since the UK joined the EU in 1973.

But as catches dwindled, sometimes to a fraction of their previous numbers because of ruthless overexploitation, the number of British fishermen has dwindled from 22,000 in 1975 to 12,000 in 2018.

Rightly or wrongly, EU trawlers venturing freely in UK waters came to be seen as a symbol of plunder and exploitation.

When Britain voted to leave, saving UK waters for UK fishermen became a rallying cry.

In an ideal scenario, British fishermen would have all the waters to themselves, able to expand what so long has been a diminishing industry but it's not that simple.

The EU came into the trade negotiations demanding that its boats continue being allowed to fish.

Even though Brexit left the bloc in a much weaker position, UK exports gave it leverage.

Some 80% of fish landed in the UK is exported, and three-quarters of that goes to the EU.

If the continent closes off its markets, fish would be left rotting on British quays.

The debate during the final days centers on how the issues of fishing rights for EU trawlers could be reconciled with low or no tariffs for UK exports through fish-processing hubs like Boulogne-sur-Mer.

***

Lorries travelling to the UK port of Dover were stuck in traffic jams that stretched back several kilometres on December 12th.

The queues built up even though it's three weeks before Britain leaves the European Union.

Logistics companies have reported a surge in demand for imports ahead of a potential no-deal Brexit.

The British government has warned that even with a deal, there could be queues as long as 100 kilometres if companies don't prepare the new paperwork.

***

Tensions were high in Dover on December 23rd as thousands of drivers remained stranded at the UK port.

Police were confronted by frustrated drivers in the road leading to the ferries, before backing away from the crowd.

People ran to return to their vehicles after officers signalled to move the traffic towards the port.

Many have been stuck in Dover for three days now after France banned travel from the UK on Sunday following news of a new variant of coronavirus spreading across south east England.

A deal was reached between the two countries to resume travel on December 23rd, as long as travellers showed a negative COVID test result from within the last 72 hours.

British Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said around 4,000 trucks may be waiting in the county of Kent to cross the Channel and urged other truckers not to head there until the backlog is cleared.

It will take “a few days” to test all the drivers before they can travel to France, he said.

***

Scuffles broke out at the UK's Dover Port on December 23rd when police attempted to clear a route for health workers to arrive as efforts to clear a backlog of stranded drivers continued.

A police escort led in a group of cars carrying National Health Service test and trace workers and people were instructed to return to their vehicles as testing was about to commence.

However, some drivers who were stranded at the port were protesting by blocking vehicles from leaving the port.

A man was removed by police officers when he laid down in front of a truck.

Another protester attempted to stop a bus of port workers from entering.

Gridlock at the English port had kept thousands of truckers and travellers stranded on Wednesday despite a deal with France to lift a two-day blockade imposed because of a new variant of the coronavirus that had isolated Britain and raised fears of food shortages.

Nations around the world began barring people from Britain over the weekend after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that scientists said a new version of the virus whipping around London and England's southeast may be more contagious.

***

Britain's Brexit negotiator David Frost left the UK Mission in Brussels to go to the EU Commission on December 24th, as the two sides appeared to be on the cusp of striking a trade deal.

Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and right into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year's Day.

After resolving the remaining fair-competition and almost all fisheries issues on December 23rd, negotiators combed through hundreds of pages of legal text that should become the blueprint for a post-Brexit relationship.

As during much of the nine-month negotiations, the issue of EU fleets in British waters proved the most intractable and divisive, with negotiators still haggling over quotas for some individual species as dawn came.

Still, sources on both sides said the long and difficult negotiations were on the cusp of being wrapped up as negotiators, holed up at EU headquarters in Brussels with a stack of pizzas, worked to deliver the text to their leaders on Thursday.

***

While corks may have popped in London and Brussels over reaching the relative certainty of a post-Brexit trade deal after years of delays and negotiations, there was one rocky speck of British soil still left in limbo.

Gibraltar, known colloquially as The Rock, is a UK colony jutting off the southern tip of Spain's mainland.

But it was not included in the agreement announced on Christmas Eve between the European Union and the UK to reorganise commercial and trade relations between the now 27-member bloc and the first nation to exit the group

The deadline for Gibraltar remains January 1st, when a transitionary period regulating the short frontier between Gibraltar and Spain expires.

If no deal is reached, there are serious concerns that a hard border would cause disruption for the workers, tourists and major business connections across the two sides.

More than 15,000 people live in Spain and work in Gibraltar, making up about 50% of Gibraltar's labour force, and their cross-border journeys help make up the 30 million annual crossings.

Oscar Aguilera is a 40-year-old resident of La Linea De La Concepcion, the Spanish town that borders Gibraltar.

Every day, he crosses the frontier to work for a cleaning company based on The Rock.

Aguilera says he relies heavily on a fluid border for his daily work commute and worries about what will happen if there is no deal.

The Rock was ceded to the UK in 1713, and for three centuries, the strategic outcrop of high terrain has given its navy command of the narrow seaway linking the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean.

Spain, however, has never dropped its claim to sovereignty over it and throughout the Brexit talks, it insisted it wants a say on the future of Gibraltar.

It succeeded in convincing the EU to separate the issue of Gibraltar from the wider Brexit negotiations, meaning that Madrid is handling all talks directly with its counterparts in Gibraltar and London.

The Spanish foreign ministry has warned that if an agreement is not reached before 1 January, the long lines of stranded truck drivers seen at the English Channel crossing could be repeated.

On Monday Spain's foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya reiterated that her government wants to reach a deal, adding that "there's no plan B", and that "either there's a deal with the United Kingdom or there's a hard border."

Lorenzo Pérez-Periañez, who represents the La Linea Association of Small and Medium enterprises, has no doubt that a hard border would be devastating for the economies of both Gibraltar and Spain.

But he is keen to stress that it's not all about the financial impact, as border restrictions will impact families living on both sides.

Gibraltar's population of about 34,000 was overwhelmingly against leaving the EU.

In the UK's 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU, because they felt the trade bloc would give them more leverage to deal with Madrid.

***

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on December 30th signed the post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union.

Johnson told the media after the signing that "this is not the end, it is a new beginning".

Britain’s House of Commons voted to approve the deal, paving the way for an orderly break with the bloc that will finally complete the UK’s years-long Brexit journey.

With just a day to spare, lawmakers voted 521-73 December 30th to approve the agreement sealed between the UK government and the EU last week.

It will become British law once is passes through the unelected House of Lords on December 30th and gets formal royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II.

The UK left the EU almost a year ago, but remained within the bloc’s economic embrace during a transition period that ends at midnight Brussels time -- 11 p.m. in London - on December 31st.

02:01:31

00:00:00

GVs of EU buildings as Brexit stalemate remains

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Brussels - 08 December 2020

1. Close of front of the European Commission logo

2. Wide of Christmas trees for sale in front of the European Commission

00:07:15

UK PM arrives at ambassador residence in Brussels

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Brussels - 9 December 2020

++NIGHT SHOTS++

3. Various of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson arriving at the residence of the U.K. ambassador to Belgium ahead of Brexit talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

00:12:07

French fishermen anxious over no-deal Brexit

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Boulogne-Sur-Mer - 10 December 2020

4. French fishing boat L'Ophelea arriving into Boulogne port after fishing overnight

5. Shellfish catch - whelk or sea snails- being unloaded from the boat

6. Fish and fishmongers

00:25:16

Lorries in long queues at Dover ahead of Brexit

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dover - 12 December 2020

7. Various of queues of lorries heading to Dover port

8. Dover port from the cliffs

00:37:16

Tensions high in Dover as some vehicles start move

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dover - 23 December 2020

9. Man confronts police officer in front of lorry

10. Row of police formed in front of lorry

00:45:16

Scuffles as police try to clear route for testing in Dover

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dover - 23 December 2020

11. Wide of man being removed from road by police officers

12. People demonstrating, one man stepping in front of bus

13. Police officers in front of road sign reading (English) "Return to vehicles, testing to commence"

00:57:16

Frost in Brussels on cusp of striking Brexit trade deal

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Brussels - 24 December 2020

14. The UK's chief Brexit negotiator leaving the UK mission getting into car to go to the EU Commission, car leaving

01:05:08

Gibraltar’s post-Brexit border with Spain in limbo

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gibraltar - 22 December 2020

15. Workers crossing border into Gibraltar from Spain

16. Spanish worker Oscar Aguilera entering Gibraltar

Gibraltar - 19 December 2020

17. Various of people walking in town, at cafe

01:24:18

Johnson signs post Brexit trade deal

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UK POOL

London - 30 December 2020

18. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson signing trade deal, UPSOUND (English) Boris Johnson: " Here it is folks, this is it. And I know the question you will all be asking yourselves is, have I read it? The answer is yes. And it's an excellent deal for this country. But also, for our friends and partners. "

LEAD IN:

With Brexit looming, fears are growing that border controls between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic could become a reality.  

If that happens among the worst affected industries in the border areas will be tourism which relies heavily on ease of travel between the two jurisdictions.   

STORY-LINE:

Just four kilometres (2.5 miles) south of the border with Northern Ireland, Belturbet in Co. Cavan in the Irish Republic is on the front line of the Brexit crisis.  

Tourism, in particular fishing and boat cruising, is the town's biggest industry, drawing in visitors from Europe and from all around Ireland both north and south.

During the Troubles, tourism in Belturbet was in decline, but since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which ended the conflict, things have been looking up.  

Investment in tourism infrastructure rose - including the construction of a new marina - drawing in visitors keen to explore the region known for its scenic lakes and rivers.  

But with Brexit looming locals are worried that the tourism industry could be badly affected.  

Cruising company ABC Boats has a base at Belturbet and another one over the border at Aghinver in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Just outside Belturbet, the Erne River marks the border itself, with one river bank in Northern Ireland and the other in the Republic of Ireland, illustrating the complexity of the issue which has stalled Brexit.

ABC's Sean Greenan, who manages the Belturbet Marina, says he's worried that European visitors in particular will stay away if Brexit results in new border controls.

"Our…majority of our customers come from…from Europe. So you have, you have German, eh Austrian, Switzerland, you know that's…that's ninety percent of our customers em, what way are they going to react? This is what we need to ask ourselves. What way are they going to react looking at coming to Ireland after Brexit?"  

The removal of the militarised border in 1998 increased cross border trade and fuelled economic growth which has benefited people both north and south.

The Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge marking the border just outside the town has become a potent symbol of north/south co-operation.

Opened in 1999 as a replacement for another bridge which was blown up during the Troubles, today cars and trucks travel across the border without hindrance.

The only way to tell that you have crossed the border is road markings which change on the bridge from white in Northern Ireland to yellow in the Republic of Ireland.

If a new border is constructed this marks the spot where locals fear security infrastructure will reappear stifling cross border co-operation.   

35 kilometres up river from Belturbet is Enniskillen in Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland,  which is also heavily reliant on tourism.   

Most visitors to Enniskillen travel up from the Republic of Ireland and locals are concerned that that could be jeopardised by Brexit.

Terry McCartney is the Managing Director of the Belmore Court & Motel, one of the largest hotels in the town.

"People flying into Ireland mostly fly into Dublin. Eh once they get into Dublin if they want to come north they have to hire a car. Will there be a border? Will there not be a border? Will they be able to bring their car across the border? Will they need a visa to come across the border? So those are all issues in terms of guests and residents em. But on top of that then we also have the issue of workers em. We have a number of jobs which are filled mainly by people who work…or who come from outside the UK and Ireland. After Brexit will those people be able to stay? Will be be able to get additional people to do those important jobs in in the accommodation sector? So em those are big issues for us and definitely very uncertain."

Back on the River Erne linking Belturbet and Enniskillen, life continues on at its leisurely pace, at least for now.

It's the years of uncertainty surrounding Brexit that have been the the biggest problem facing businesses like ABC Boats, says manager Sean Greenan.

"What we need as a company here, and what our clients need - knowledge. We need to know what's going to happen next year. We're going to want to need to know what's going to happen the following year. And at the end of the day we've got to deal with whatever that is. But we've got to know. You can't deal with anything until you know about it."

Protecting the many gains made under the Good Friday Agreement and avoiding the return of a hard border are the most important things going forward, says Brendan Fey a local politician and pub owner.

"I believed that we were going to be an economic island - cross border, health, electricity, phones, everything. It has thrown everything up now, we have to get back to that. People talk about a united Ireland - I would just park that, that's not important just at the moment. The important thing is that we don't have borders anywhere on this island."   

The UK is due to leave the European Union on October 31st.  The British government is currently still trying to thrash out a deal with the European Union ahead or the EU summit on October 17-18.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland, October 9th 2019.

1. Wide aerial of town. ++MUTE++

2. Wide aerial of town and boats on river. ++MUTE++

3. Wide low-level aerial of boats on river. ++MUTE++

4. Close up zoom in of engraved plaque reading (English): "This project has been part financed by the EU special support programme for Peace and Reconciliation."  

5. Wide pan of passing cruise boat.

6. Wide tilt from water turbulence at back of boat to river.

7. Wide frontal view of cruise boat.

8. Close up of boat driver's face seen through windscreen.

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Greenan, ABC Boats Marina Manager, The Marina Belturbet.

"Our…majority of our customers come from…from Europe. So you have, you have German, eh Austrian, Switzerland, you know that's…that's ninety percent of our customers em, what way are they going to react? This is what we need to ask ourselves. What way are they going to react looking at coming to Ireland after Brexit?"  

10. Wide of road with passing traffic.

11. Medium of sign: 'Reject Brexit - Hard Border, Job Losses, Food Shortages.'

12. Medium of sign: 'Hard Border? Soft Border? No Border !'

13. Wide of bridge with passing traffic.

14. Close up of engraved plaque: 'Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge, Aghalane" - which sits on the border

15. Close up pan from white line on road to yellow line on road marking 'border' between Ireland and Northern Ireland

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland - October 10th 2019.

16. Wide aerial of town. ++MUTE++

17. Wide of town main street with traffic.

18. Medium of pedestrians.

19. Wide of hotel and cars on road.

20. Close up of British flag.

21. Medium of sign: 'Belmore Court & Motel'.

22. Medium pan of man entering hotel reception.

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Terry McCartney, Managing Director, Belmore Court & Motel.  

"People flying into Ireland mostly fly into Dublin. Eh once they get into Dublin if they want to come north they have to hire a car. Will there be a border ? Will there not be a border? Will they be able to bring their car across the border? Will they need a visa to come across the border? So those are all issues in terms of guests and residents em. But on top of that then we also have the issue of workers em. We have a number of jobs which are filled mainly by people who work…or who come from outside the UK and Ireland. After Brexit will those people be able to stay? Will be be able to get additional people to do those important jobs in in the accommodation sector? So em those are big issues for us and definitely very uncertain."

24. Wide pan of cruise boats.

25. Medium of fisherman.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland, October 9th 2019.

26. Wide frontal view of cruise boat.

27. Medium of boat driver seen from below.

28. Close up of speedometer.

29. Close up pan of man's face.

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Greenan, ABC Boats Marina Manager, The Marina Belturbet.

"What we need as a company here, and what our clients need - knowledge. We need to know what's going to happen next year. We're going to want to need to know what's going to happen the following year. And at the end of the day we've got to deal with whatever that is. But we've got to know. You can't deal with anything until you know about it."

31. Medium of Brendan Fey standing on riverbank jetty.

32. SOUNDBITE (English), Brendan Fey, Cavan Country Councillor and pub owner.     

"I believed that we were going to be an economic island - cross border, health, electricity, phones, everything. It has thrown everything up now, we have to get back to that. People talk about a united Ireland - I would just park that, that's not important just at the moment. The important thing is that we don't have borders anywhere on this island."   

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Archive  : Lough Erne, Enniskillen - 28 May 2013

33. Various of lake with cruise boats

34. Sunshine reflected on water

35. Cruiser on the water

36. Police speed boat on patrol

POOL

Archive : Lough Erne, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland - June 2013

37. Aerial tilt down of area around Lough Erne to Lough Erne Resort Hotel

LEAD IN:

With Brexit looming, fears are growing that border controls between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic could become a reality.  

If that happens among the worst affected industries in the border areas will be tourism which relies heavily on ease of travel between the two jurisdictions.   

STORY-LINE:

Just four kilometres (2.5 miles) south of the border with Northern Ireland, Belturbet in Co. Cavan in the Irish Republic is on the front line of the Brexit crisis.  

Tourism, in particular fishing and boat cruising, is the town's biggest industry, drawing in visitors from Europe and from all around Ireland both north and south.

During the Troubles, tourism in Belturbet was in decline, but since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which ended the conflict, things have been looking up.  

Investment in tourism infrastructure rose - including the construction of a new marina - drawing in visitors keen to explore the region known for its scenic lakes and rivers.  

But with Brexit looming locals are worried that the tourism industry could be badly affected.  

Cruising company ABC Boats has a base at Belturbet and another one over the border at Aghinver in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Just outside Belturbet, the Erne River marks the border itself, with one river bank in Northern Ireland and the other in the Republic of Ireland, illustrating the complexity of the issue which has stalled Brexit.

ABC's Sean Greenan, who manages the Belturbet Marina, says he's worried that European visitors in particular will stay away if Brexit results in new border controls.

"Our…majority of our customers come from…from Europe. So you have, you have German, eh Austrian, Switzerland, you know that's…that's ninety percent of our customers em, what way are they going to react? This is what we need to ask ourselves. What way are they going to react looking at coming to Ireland after Brexit?"  

The removal of the militarised border in 1998 increased cross border trade and fuelled economic growth which has benefited people both north and south.

The Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge marking the border just outside the town has become a potent symbol of north/south co-operation.

Opened in 1999 as a replacement for another bridge which was blown up during the Troubles, today cars and trucks travel across the border without hindrance.

The only way to tell that you have crossed the border is road markings which change on the bridge from white in Northern Ireland to yellow in the Republic of Ireland.

If a new border is constructed this marks the spot where locals fear security infrastructure will reappear stifling cross border co-operation.   

35 kilometres up river from Belturbet is Enniskillen in Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland,  which is also heavily reliant on tourism.   

Most visitors to Enniskillen travel up from the Republic of Ireland and locals are concerned that that could be jeopardised by Brexit.

Terry McCartney is the Managing Director of the Belmore Court & Motel, one of the largest hotels in the town.

"People flying into Ireland mostly fly into Dublin. Eh once they get into Dublin if they want to come north they have to hire a car. Will there be a border? Will there not be a border? Will they be able to bring their car across the border? Will they need a visa to come across the border? So those are all issues in terms of guests and residents em. But on top of that then we also have the issue of workers em. We have a number of jobs which are filled mainly by people who work…or who come from outside the UK and Ireland. After Brexit will those people be able to stay? Will be be able to get additional people to do those important jobs in in the accommodation sector? So em those are big issues for us and definitely very uncertain."

Back on the River Erne linking Belturbet and Enniskillen, life continues on at its leisurely pace, at least for now.

It's the years of uncertainty surrounding Brexit that have been the the biggest problem facing businesses like ABC Boats, says manager Sean Greenan.

"What we need as a company here, and what our clients need - knowledge. We need to know what's going to happen next year. We're going to want to need to know what's going to happen the following year. And at the end of the day we've got to deal with whatever that is. But we've got to know. You can't deal with anything until you know about it."

Protecting the many gains made under the Good Friday Agreement and avoiding the return of a hard border are the most important things going forward, says Brendan Fey a local politician and pub owner.

"I believed that we were going to be an economic island - cross border, health, electricity, phones, everything. It has thrown everything up now, we have to get back to that. People talk about a united Ireland - I would just park that, that's not important just at the moment. The important thing is that we don't have borders anywhere on this island."   

The UK is due to leave the European Union on October 31st.  The British government is currently still trying to thrash out a deal with the European Union ahead or the EU summit on October 17-18.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland, October 9th 2019.

1. Wide aerial of town. ++MUTE++

2. Wide aerial of town and boats on river. ++MUTE++

3. Wide low-level aerial of boats on river. ++MUTE++

4. Close up zoom in of engraved plaque reading (English): "This project has been part financed by the EU special support programme for Peace and Reconciliation."  

5. Wide pan of passing cruise boat.

6. Wide tilt from water turbulence at back of boat to river.

7. Wide frontal view of cruise boat.

8. Close up of boat driver's face seen through windscreen.

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Greenan, ABC Boats Marina Manager, The Marina Belturbet.

"Our…majority of our customers come from…from Europe. So you have, you have German, eh Austrian, Switzerland, you know that's…that's ninety percent of our customers em, what way are they going to react? This is what we need to ask ourselves. What way are they going to react looking at coming to Ireland after Brexit?"  

10. Wide of road with passing traffic.

11. Medium of sign: 'Reject Brexit - Hard Border, Job Losses, Food Shortages.'

12. Medium of sign: 'Hard Border? Soft Border? No Border !'

13. Wide of bridge with passing traffic.

14. Close up of engraved plaque: 'Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge, Aghalane" - which sits on the border

15. Close up pan from white line on road to yellow line on road marking 'border' between Ireland and Northern Ireland

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland - October 10th 2019.

16. Wide aerial of town. ++MUTE++

17. Wide of town main street with traffic.

18. Medium of pedestrians.

19. Wide of hotel and cars on road.

20. Close up of British flag.

21. Medium of sign: 'Belmore Court & Motel'.

22. Medium pan of man entering hotel reception.

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Terry McCartney, Managing Director, Belmore Court & Motel.  

"People flying into Ireland mostly fly into Dublin. Eh once they get into Dublin if they want to come north they have to hire a car. Will there be a border ? Will there not be a border? Will they be able to bring their car across the border? Will they need a visa to come across the border? So those are all issues in terms of guests and residents em. But on top of that then we also have the issue of workers em. We have a number of jobs which are filled mainly by people who work…or who come from outside the UK and Ireland. After Brexit will those people be able to stay? Will be be able to get additional people to do those important jobs in in the accommodation sector? So em those are big issues for us and definitely very uncertain."

24. Wide pan of cruise boats.

25. Medium of fisherman.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland, October 9th 2019.

26. Wide frontal view of cruise boat.

27. Medium of boat driver seen from below.

28. Close up of speedometer.

29. Close up pan of man's face.

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Greenan, ABC Boats Marina Manager, The Marina Belturbet.

"What we need as a company here, and what our clients need - knowledge. We need to know what's going to happen next year. We're going to want to need to know what's going to happen the following year. And at the end of the day we've got to deal with whatever that is. But we've got to know. You can't deal with anything until you know about it."

31. Medium of Brendan Fey standing on riverbank jetty.

32. SOUNDBITE (English), Brendan Fey, Cavan Country Councillor and pub owner.     

"I believed that we were going to be an economic island - cross border, health, electricity, phones, everything. It has thrown everything up now, we have to get back to that. People talk about a united Ireland - I would just park that, that's not important just at the moment. The important thing is that we don't have borders anywhere on this island."   

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Archive  : Lough Erne, Enniskillen - 28 May 2013

33. Various of lake with cruise boats

34. Sunshine reflected on water

35. Cruiser on the water

36. Police speed boat on patrol

POOL

Archive : Lough Erne, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland - June 2013

37. Aerial tilt down of area around Lough Erne to Lough Erne Resort Hotel

LEAD IN

With just weeks to go until the UK is due to exit the EU, 10 artists have exhibited works imagining Britain's post Brexit future.

The installation called 'George, the Union is Cross' marks the 10th anniversary of Moniker International Art Fair in London.

STORY-LINE

The Union Jack flag hangs on the wall of this art space in London - but the language and imagery around it is disturbing.

'Divide and Fool' has been graffitied across it and it's surrounded by a homeless man in a sleeping bag and Molotov cocktails on Brexit newspaper headlines.

This dark look at the future of Britain is part of an installation at the 10th anniversary of Moniker International Art Fair in London.

Famed Berlin art institution Urban Nation was invited to curate the exhibition and called it 'George, the Union is Cross'.

Urban Nation's director Yahsa Young brought together 10 of the UK's best street and urban artists for the project.

"When the decision of Brexit came about I could realise, because I travel a lot, I realised all over the world there were strong reactions within the creative field, because there were changes that were producing a lot of fear for artists as well as gallery owners as well as art fair managers," Young explains.

She adds that the artists she chose range from "very historically established positions, all the way to newcomers and really young artists," but stresses that it was important that they were all from the UK.

Street artist Hayley Welsh's interpretation of post Brexit Britain is a tent called 'Give Me Shelter'.

"I really wanted to kind of explore that idea of physically getting us all to duck down and go into a place where we can look at things in a different way. So this installation is all about that, about displacement, not knowing the next step forward and so kind of looking at Brexit but also looking at a wider, global problem that maybe this may also be a distraction from," she says.

Laura and Nick, who don't give their last names but simply go by the name Snik, created a wall hanging which features funeral flowers making up the word Great Britain with a broken G.

"The concept we had for this initially was basically showcasing the Great which used to be part of Great Britain is now dead," says Nick.

"So we decided funeral flowers is pretty much the best way to show that something bad has happened to this country and I'd be very surprised if we find a way back."

Other works on display include a dilapidated playground with George and the Dragon graffiti art and an eerie moving swing by Eelus and hanging pop art graffiti showing iconic figures crying by Pure Evil.

Internationally acclaimed street art duo Nomad Clan have chosen a room of black objects, including a table laid for a party and bunting, called 'Fade to Black'.

Nomad Clan artist Hayley Garner says it represents "how the pride has kind of draining out of Britain and we're becoming a bit of a joke to other places," while her partner Joy Gilliard describes it as a look at how Brexit will affect different class systems.

Meanwhile at the entrance to the exhibition visitors are invited to stand inside an airport style passport booth to pose for a photograph which will reveal how that will look at: "that moment of leaving".

The UK is due to leave the EU on 31 October - but a deal is still yet to be agreed.

Moniker International Art Fair runs at the Chelsea Sorting Office in London from 2 - 6 October 2019.

London, UK - 2 October 2019

1. Wide of exhibition space at 'George, the Union is Cross' installation at Moniker International Art Fair

2. Close of Union Jack reading (English) 'Divide and Fool' with 'Out' and 'In' placards either side - part of a work by street artist Dr. D

3. Mid of Evening Standard newspaper stand reading (English) 'Things can only get bitter'

4. Close of dummy of homeless man next to sign reading (English) 'While you argue over change some of us still beg for yours'

5. Woman taking photo of artwork

6. Pull focus to bus stop reading (English) 'Back stop'

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Yasha Young, Director of Urban Nation and curator of installation

"When the decision of Brexit came about I could realise, because I travel a lot, I realised all over the world there were strong reactions within the creative field, because there were changes that were producing a lot of fear for artists as well as gallery owners as well as art fair managers."

8. Close of writing on wall reading (English) 'Where now from here?'

9. Top shot of Metro newspapers reading (English) 'Get ready for Brexit', with Molotov cocktails on top

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Yasha Young, Director of Urban Nation and curator of installation

"This is going to be the last Moniker before decisions on Brexit and all of that so we decided that Brexit was going to be the theme and for the first time it was also going to be only UK artists and a great variety from very historically established positions, all the way to newcomers and really young artists, but all UK. And then I did a lot of research into the history of the UK and then finally I decided that the curation was going to be titled: 'George, the Union is Cross', for a variety of reasons."

11. Mid of tent artwork called 'Give Me Shelter' by street artist Hayley Welsh

12. Close of sign outside tent reading (English) 'Welcome Home'

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Hayley Welsh, street artist and creator of 'Give Me Shelter'

"So the artwork itself is a den that people are welcome to come inside and I hope people will kind of break that boundary of adulthood and crawl inside. So we've got a few things to find in there, I work a lot with found objects so there's a few things in there which we've repurposed."

14. Interior of tent artwork

15. People looking inside and climbing out of tent

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Hayley Welsh, street artist and creator of 'Give Me Shelter'

"I really wanted to kind of explore that idea of physically getting us all to duck down and go into a place where we can look at things in a different way. So this installation is all about that, about displacement, not knowing the next step forward and so kind of looking at Brexit but also looking at a wider, global problem that maybe this may also be a distraction from."

17. Various of work showing noughts and crosses on a Union Jack by street artist Fanakapan

18. Man walking past Great Britain written in funeral flowers

19. Pull focus on 'G' which is hanging off Great Britain

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Nick (last name not given), street artist from 'Snik'

"So the concept we had for this initially was basically showcasing the Great which used to be part of Great Britain is now dead. With Brexit happening the unity in this country has been destroyed. Whichever way you voted this country has been damaged. So we decided funeral flowers is pretty much the best way to show that something bad has happened to this country and I'd be very surprised if we find a way back."

21. Wide of Great Britain flowers

22. Tilt up of cubes covered in iconography relating to the UK by street artist PREFAB77

23. Various of work showing dilapidated playground with modern day George and the dragon graffitied on wall, showing a possible future for children post Brexit by street artist Eelus

24. Various of hanging graffiti works showing iconic celebrities crying by street artist Pure Evil

25. Various of 'Fade to Black', a black room with dining table and other dark objects, by street artists Nomad Clan

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Hayley Garner, street artist from Nomad Clan

"The 'Fade to Black' is like how the pride has kind of draining out of Britain and we're becoming a bit of a joke to other places. We travel around so we hear this a lot from other people. I think with it being dragged out and kind of all of the political mess that's happening at the minute, it's almost like what's the point, where's the colour, where's the energy now."

27. Various of 'Fade to Black' art work

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Joy Gilliard, street artist from Nomad Clan

"It's an exploration of the gradual disappearance of I guess working class culture and how generally, as Brexit is happening there's a lot of division and divisiveness. And we're sort of looking at how that affects varying different class systems."

29. Various of dark, graffitied 80s child's bedroom with fighting toy soldiers by street artist Donk

30. Close of Jeff Koons style balloon dog painted in EU flag pooping a Union Jack by street artist Whatshisname

31. Close of Union Jack dog by Whatshisname

32. Wide of man exiting photo booth by street artist Dotmasters

33. Close of airport style sign in front of booth reading (English) 'An interactive photo booth that captures that moment of leaving. The stomach churning moment you realise you've left the party. The floor pulled out from under you… caught on celluloid. This once in a lifetime moment of chaos, yours as a souvenir. A short sharp shock of art experience.'

34. Various of man showing his photo taken in booth

35. Various exterior of Moniker Art Fair with graffiti artist spray painting wall

36. Mid of sign reading (English) 10 Moniker International Art Fair, 2-6 October

LEAD IN

With just weeks to go until the UK is due to exit the EU, 10 artists have exhibited works imagining Britain's post Brexit future.

The installation called 'George, the Union is Cross' marks the 10th anniversary of Moniker International Art Fair in London.

STORY-LINE

The Union Jack flag hangs on the wall of this art space in London - but the language and imagery around it is disturbing.

'Divide and Fool' has been graffitied across it and it's surrounded by a homeless man in a sleeping bag and Molotov cocktails on Brexit newspaper headlines.

This dark look at the future of Britain is part of an installation at the 10th anniversary of Moniker International Art Fair in London.

Famed Berlin art institution Urban Nation was invited to curate the exhibition and called it 'George, the Union is Cross'.

Urban Nation's director Yahsa Young brought together 10 of the UK's best street and urban artists for the project.

"When the decision of Brexit came about I could realise, because I travel a lot, I realised all over the world there were strong reactions within the creative field, because there were changes that were producing a lot of fear for artists as well as gallery owners as well as art fair managers," Young explains.

She adds that the artists she chose range from "very historically established positions, all the way to newcomers and really young artists," but stresses that it was important that they were all from the UK.

Street artist Hayley Welsh's interpretation of post Brexit Britain is a tent called 'Give Me Shelter'.

"I really wanted to kind of explore that idea of physically getting us all to duck down and go into a place where we can look at things in a different way. So this installation is all about that, about displacement, not knowing the next step forward and so kind of looking at Brexit but also looking at a wider, global problem that maybe this may also be a distraction from," she says.

Laura and Nick, who don't give their last names but simply go by the name Snik, created a wall hanging which features funeral flowers making up the word Great Britain with a broken G.

"The concept we had for this initially was basically showcasing the Great which used to be part of Great Britain is now dead," says Nick.

"So we decided funeral flowers is pretty much the best way to show that something bad has happened to this country and I'd be very surprised if we find a way back."

Other works on display include a dilapidated playground with George and the Dragon graffiti art and an eerie moving swing by Eelus and hanging pop art graffiti showing iconic figures crying by Pure Evil.

Internationally acclaimed street art duo Nomad Clan have chosen a room of black objects, including a table laid for a party and bunting, called 'Fade to Black'.

Nomad Clan artist Hayley Garner says it represents "how the pride has kind of draining out of Britain and we're becoming a bit of a joke to other places," while her partner Joy Gilliard describes it as a look at how Brexit will affect different class systems.

Meanwhile at the entrance to the exhibition visitors are invited to stand inside an airport style passport booth to pose for a photograph which will reveal how that will look at: "that moment of leaving".

The UK is due to leave the EU on 31 October - but a deal is still yet to be agreed.

Moniker International Art Fair runs at the Chelsea Sorting Office in London from 2 - 6 October 2019.

London, UK - 2 October 2019

1. Wide of exhibition space at 'George, the Union is Cross' installation at Moniker International Art Fair

2. Close of Union Jack reading (English) 'Divide and Fool' with 'Out' and 'In' placards either side - part of a work by street artist Dr. D

3. Mid of Evening Standard newspaper stand reading (English) 'Things can only get bitter'

4. Close of dummy of homeless man next to sign reading (English) 'While you argue over change some of us still beg for yours'

5. Woman taking photo of artwork

6. Pull focus to bus stop reading (English) 'Back stop'

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Yasha Young, Director of Urban Nation and curator of installation

"When the decision of Brexit came about I could realise, because I travel a lot, I realised all over the world there were strong reactions within the creative field, because there were changes that were producing a lot of fear for artists as well as gallery owners as well as art fair managers."

8. Close of writing on wall reading (English) 'Where now from here?'

9. Top shot of Metro newspapers reading (English) 'Get ready for Brexit', with Molotov cocktails on top

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Yasha Young, Director of Urban Nation and curator of installation

"This is going to be the last Moniker before decisions on Brexit and all of that so we decided that Brexit was going to be the theme and for the first time it was also going to be only UK artists and a great variety from very historically established positions, all the way to newcomers and really young artists, but all UK. And then I did a lot of research into the history of the UK and then finally I decided that the curation was going to be titled: 'George, the Union is Cross', for a variety of reasons."

11. Mid of tent artwork called 'Give Me Shelter' by street artist Hayley Welsh

12. Close of sign outside tent reading (English) 'Welcome Home'

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Hayley Welsh, street artist and creator of 'Give Me Shelter'

"So the artwork itself is a den that people are welcome to come inside and I hope people will kind of break that boundary of adulthood and crawl inside. So we've got a few things to find in there, I work a lot with found objects so there's a few things in there which we've repurposed."

14. Interior of tent artwork

15. People looking inside and climbing out of tent

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Hayley Welsh, street artist and creator of 'Give Me Shelter'

"I really wanted to kind of explore that idea of physically getting us all to duck down and go into a place where we can look at things in a different way. So this installation is all about that, about displacement, not knowing the next step forward and so kind of looking at Brexit but also looking at a wider, global problem that maybe this may also be a distraction from."

17. Various of work showing noughts and crosses on a Union Jack by street artist Fanakapan

18. Man walking past Great Britain written in funeral flowers

19. Pull focus on 'G' which is hanging off Great Britain

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Nick (last name not given), street artist from 'Snik'

"So the concept we had for this initially was basically showcasing the Great which used to be part of Great Britain is now dead. With Brexit happening the unity in this country has been destroyed. Whichever way you voted this country has been damaged. So we decided funeral flowers is pretty much the best way to show that something bad has happened to this country and I'd be very surprised if we find a way back."

21. Wide of Great Britain flowers

22. Tilt up of cubes covered in iconography relating to the UK by street artist PREFAB77

23. Various of work showing dilapidated playground with modern day George and the dragon graffitied on wall, showing a possible future for children post Brexit by street artist Eelus

24. Various of hanging graffiti works showing iconic celebrities crying by street artist Pure Evil

25. Various of 'Fade to Black', a black room with dining table and other dark objects, by street artists Nomad Clan

26. SOUNDBITE (English) Hayley Garner, street artist from Nomad Clan

"The 'Fade to Black' is like how the pride has kind of draining out of Britain and we're becoming a bit of a joke to other places. We travel around so we hear this a lot from other people. I think with it being dragged out and kind of all of the political mess that's happening at the minute, it's almost like what's the point, where's the colour, where's the energy now."

27. Various of 'Fade to Black' art work

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Joy Gilliard, street artist from Nomad Clan

"It's an exploration of the gradual disappearance of I guess working class culture and how generally, as Brexit is happening there's a lot of division and divisiveness. And we're sort of looking at how that affects varying different class systems."

29. Various of dark, graffitied 80s child's bedroom with fighting toy soldiers by street artist Donk

30. Close of Jeff Koons style balloon dog painted in EU flag pooping a Union Jack by street artist Whatshisname

31. Close of Union Jack dog by Whatshisname

32. Wide of man exiting photo booth by street artist Dotmasters

33. Close of airport style sign in front of booth reading (English) 'An interactive photo booth that captures that moment of leaving. The stomach churning moment you realise you've left the party. The floor pulled out from under you… caught on celluloid. This once in a lifetime moment of chaos, yours as a souvenir. A short sharp shock of art experience.'

34. Various of man showing his photo taken in booth

35. Various exterior of Moniker Art Fair with graffiti artist spray painting wall

36. Mid of sign reading (English) 10 Moniker International Art Fair, 2-6 October