This is the only blog that deals with how Britain will leave the EU, and how it will affect its relationships with its European partners.

The blog was founded in February 2017 by me, Robert Grieve. I am a British journalist based in Brussels.

Art of the Zoo is the name of the blog because it is a work of art to me, and because I want to include everyone in this process – I want people to be part of this decision making process.

Art of the Zoo is my own creation, and will support no other political party or organisation. This is my personal opinion – if you don’t like it, go somewhere else!

In a recently published article “The Art of the Zoo” (www.thezo.co.uk) Dr. Dogra attempts to illustrate the current political situation in the UK with a zoo analogy. It is an interesting and creative piece that uses symbolism to explain the situation and make it more accessible to non-UK readers.

It is worth noting that at the time of writing the article, the outcome of the referendum was not known and so many experts have commented on how surprised they have been by the result. The author’s predictions about how he thought Brexit would affect the UK are now increasingly being proven incorrect.

The author states that “I am astonished at what self-interested people will do for money – it makes me feel like I’m living in a zoo.” This may well be true but it is ironic given what has happened since David Cameron resigned after losing the EU referendum and Theresa May called a General Election: both decisions were made because they were seen to be in those politician’s own self-interest rather than that of their party or country (in fact, I think his actions could well make him liable to prosecution under several laws).

His analogy is also rather simplistic as he suggests that “If one of our lions left its cage, ventured outside, then

We are on the cusp of a brave new world. The UK people have voted to leave the EU and no one knows how exactly this will happen. What we can be sure of is that there will be a long period of uncertainty and that nothing about the UK’s relationship with Europe will remain unchanged.

Talks will take place with European leaders but it is far from certain that we will reach an agreement about trade, freedom of movement or financial contributions. There are many issues to discuss and much work to do in a relatively short space of time so it might not be until 2019 before we know what sort of Brexit deal has been agreed.

With this in mind I have decided to launch this blog in order to run my thoughts and ideas past you, the readers, and hopefully open up some debate as to what the impact of Brexit could be on the UK’s position as an art market.

The primary purpose of the UK in the EU is to create an awkward block on everything. This is not an axiom of the European project, merely a fact.

It’s not that Britain is always and automatically opposed to whatever it is proposed. Nor is it that Britain’s interests are diametrically opposed to those of other member states. It is simply that Britain’s membership of the club means that whatever option comes up – opt-out, opt-in, opt-over – the UK will say No in a very British way.

The best example of this was the creation of the Eurozone. The purpose was to create a single currency and a single economic policy for all members. To do this, they had to get rid of exchange rates between countries, which leads neatly into the next step: a common fiscal policy, so that one country can’t end up in poverty while another gets rich by sucking off its economy like a giant vampire squid (not that I’m saying that any EU country does this – or even could do this).

But if you have a single currency and a single economic policy, then you have one fundamental choice: either you leave each member state with its own separate set of tax and spending rules (which makes no sense) or you

In the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union, “Leave” could be a word that has two meanings. It might refer to the UK leaving the EU, of course. But it is also an abbreviation for “Leave Alone”, and that is what many want for other reasons: to leave alone their fellow citizens who feel differently about this issue.

The Leave campaign has tried to keep its distance from the wave of xenophobia that followed last year’s influx of refugees from Syria and elsewhere. But when Boris Johnson, one of the leaders of that campaign, was asked whether Turkey would be allowed to join the EU if it applied in the future, he replied: “It is highly unlikely.”

Translated into plain English, his answer was: No, because they’re not white enough. It wasn’t so much a dog whistle as a call to hunt down immigrants with dogs.

On 20 April 2016, a few days before Boris Johnson gave that interview, I visited my local zoo. I arrived early in order to watch the keepers feed the animals before most of them had woken up. The gibbons shrieked as they were fed pieces of fruit through the bars of their cage; then I saw two otters lazing in their pool below