Officially, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government have no plans to ask the EU for an extension beyond December 31 of the transition period governing EU-UK relations under Brexit. Unofficially, such plans do exist, for it is clear that the coronavirus pandemic is consuming all government attention and making it impossible to conduct proper, detailed discussions on the long-term EU-UK relationship. As Professor of Politics, Professor Tim Bale pointed out in a recent article, it is striking that very few active politicians — Conservative or Labour — have challenged this and called for an extension of the transition.Find out more