Euphoria in Brussels but the devil is in the detail

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/08/sufficient-progress-in-brexit-talks-announced-after-mays-dash-to-brussels

'Sufficient progress' in Brexit talks announced after May's dash to Brussels

Peeling away the euphoria of this morning's news from Brussels and the sketchy reports of late night or early morning meetings involving Theresa May, Arlene Foster, Jean Claude Junker, Leo Varadkar, Donald Tusk et al, there seems to me at least, to be a number of issues which remain outstanding and have perhaps been "kicked into the long grass" for resolution at a later date, if ever. The most contentious of these is the question of the border between Ulster and the Irish republic. Arlene Foster has said within the last few minutes that "there are still issues which need to be clarified".

Image result for irish border brexit deal

It seems to me that the statements, "no hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland" and "no border down the Irish Sea", certainly implies that Northern Ireland will remain as part of the single market and customs Union which is certainly contradictory to the position held by Theresa May and the hard line Brexit wing of her cabinet and party. I do not believe that the majority of the 17.4 million people who voted to leave the European Union on the 23rd June 2016, actually agreed with a "Hard Brexit" departure, since so many issues not least of all the Irish border question, remained unresolved. From today's "Agreement" it is not possible to draw any other conclusion than Northern Ireland will remain part of the single market and customs union after March 2018. If this is in fact the intention of today's agreement, how does this reconcile with the "Hard Brexit" scenario which has become the objective of many conservative MP's and cabinet members over recent months. "Brexit means Brexit" has been the standard response to any question on customs union, workers rights, EU nationals, single market and all the other issues associated with leaving the EU. The problem facing Theresa May is the fact that if special arrangements are granted to Northern Ireland to resolve the Irish border problem, then the rest of the United Kingdom such Scotland and even London would have compelling arguments for demanding that they too should have their own arrangements for remaining at least in part as members of the single market and customs union. The hardline Brexiteers in government and cabinet, and also certain parts of the United Kingdom media, would never accept this as a part of a solution.
What is abundantly clear, is that any solution must be the same for all parts on the United Kingdom. To have one area treated differently from another area is completely unacceptable and therein lies the problem. On the one hand there are those who demand a complete withdrawal from the EU seeking to rely on creating some form of trading agreement at a later date, and on the other, those demanding that issues regarding customs union, single market, workers rights, EU nationals and all other issues should be resolved before we depart the EU.
Theresa May has a huge problem. It will be interesting to see her soulutions.

Northern Ireland and Brexit. The return of "The Troubles"

Northern Ireland: police attacked in another night of disturbances | Northern Ireland | The Guardian When the "Brexit" debate was still filling our newspapers and our television screens, readers may remember why I had changed my mind since voting to leave at the referendum vote. Apart from the economic arguments, which had become crystal clear after peeling away all the lies and misrepresentations trotted out by Bozo Boris and his "Get Brexit Done" conspirators, there was always the problem of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Would it be possible to have a border between the European Union and the United Kingdom where people, goods and services could pass freely between the two nations without customs restrictions, tariffs, duties and all the other formalities? Would it be possible to have one part of the United Kingdom treated differently from other parts of the United Kingdom, particularly when Scotland for example had voted overwhe...

The writing on the wall

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-government-zero-hour-contract-ban-latest-a9257281.html?fbclid=IwAR0OW6qhoVnO9MVH-E9ruKFLnL_V3NQ5PMpYEkGGHEXskJxkAsrr2UJjRIs Two-thirds of voters want Boris Johnson ‘s government to ban zero-hours contracts, a poll has found. There will be many people over the coming months and years who will tell the "pollsters" that something should be done about the homeless, or the costs of electric, gas and water, or about the costs of public transport, or the failing (and privatised) NHS, or the excessive profits and tax avoidance of large corporations. etc. To all those I say, that if you did not vote Labour then you have only yourselves to blame and you must bear the consequences of your actions. Johnson a nd his sycophant cronies have been given a blank cheque to do as they please and sell off vast portions of the British economy to the Americans, (the takeover of British defence giant Cobham by a US private equi...

Greed and envy are good says Boris Johnson.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/embrace-culture-of-greed-says-boris-johnson-8968276.html Embrace culture of greed, says Boris Johnson Boris Johnson. "I stress – I don't believe that economic equality is possible; indeed some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity." Johnson delivering the annual Margaret Thatcher lecture at the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, Wednesday 27th November 2013 Boris Johnson seeks to emulate Thatcher. He appeals to the evil side of the "nasty" party, for a society where greed is good, where selfishness is encouraged, where division amongst people by envy and status is championed as a proper objective and where the excesses of business and government are regarded as appropriate and right for the advancement of the few at the expense of the many. Johnson is an evil man with evil intent...

Agenda 2019

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