Tory ministers who abstained on a vote opposing leaving the European Union without a deal should resign or be sacked, a Brexiteer MP tells BBC Wales. Thirteen ministers defied government whips by abstaining on the vote on Wednesday night. David TC Davies says the MPs should not be in government. "I'm very concerned at the way in which she's [Theresa May] been undermined by members of her cabinet," he says "If these cabinet members have abstained on a whipped vote they should not be in government. "They should resign, or be sacked."
"Brexit Meltdown" is how the Times describes last night's extraordinary scenes in Westminster. For the Daily Mail, "chaos reigns". The Sun talks of carnage in the voting lobbies, with Tory MPs seen breaking down in tears. The Mail says Theresa May's authority has been left in tatters - with none of those ministers who rebelled to vote to rule out a no-deal Brexit expected to be sacked. The sketch writers express bewilderment. Tom Peck - for the Independent - says the "extravagantly complex" twists and turns in last night's voting was "never-to-be-surpassed lunacy", like Benny Hill on acid in the Commons. The Guardian's John Crace says Westminster descended into near anarchy - with every man and woman for themselves. The Daily Telegraph says that with the Conservative Party on the brink of open warfare, the chancellor used his spring statement to set out an alternative Brexit plan. The paper adds that by calling for a deal that MPs can "collectively support", Phillip Hammond was signalling he no longer backs the PM's withdrawal deal, and instead wants a compromise with Labour. The Huffington Post website sees this as a demand for Mrs May to back a customs union with the EU - the only position Labour will support. A "soft Brexit bribe" is the Daily Mail's more blunt description. The Financial Times praises the chancellor's position - saying Mrs May and cabinet Brexiteers must break out of their tunnel vision, that it's the PM's deal or nothing.
EU leaders are reported by the website Politico to be "bracing themselves" for a request from the UK to extend the Brexit process. But it says they're under no obligation to accept it and could well respond with their own terms. The Telegraph says Brussels plans to "play hardball" by demanding a long extension. A senior EU official tells the paper that a short delay would only pre-program a no-deal Brexit for the summer. Bloomberg quotes Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, who asks: "Why do you need a prolongation? Is it for organising a new referendum?"
ERG's Baker reveals plan to ENSURE UK leaves EU on March 29 - ‘There are things we can do’ STAUNCH Brexiteer Steve Baker last night revealed the Eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) has plans to ensure the UK leaves the EU on March 29.
The March 29 date is currently written into UK law despite efforts by some MPs to change it. The House of Commons will today vote on whether it wants to delay the UK's departure from the bloc. But the ERG’s deputy chair Mr Baker told ITV Peston his Eurosceptic allies have “things they could do” to ensure the original date is upheld.
He said: “It is still law that we are leaving on the 29th March. “As a matter of practice unless the law is changed we are leaving on the 29th March.” To which host Robert Peston asked: “Can you stop the law being changed?” Mr Baker replied: “There are some things we could do to prevent the law going through in the time that is available, yes.”
When asked if he “might do that” Mr Baker emphatically said: “Yes.” The hardline Brexiteer also indicated he would not be bullied into voting for Theresa May’s much-maligned Brexit deal unless it “changes substantially and the UK becomes an independent country”. He said: “If it doesn’t change substantially, if we can’t become an independent country, then no I won’t be voting for it. “And I know I will have the support of all the leaders of the campaign groups out there because I canvassed their opinion earlier today. “I asked them: in the light of this vote to take no deal off the table, in the light of the probable extension tomorrow, do you think we did the right thing yesterday?
‘Time to WAKE UP!’ Ireland issues furious Brexit warning - ‘UK could be FLOODED’ BRITISH businesses will suffer as the UK becomes “flooded” by EU produce if Theresa May enacts her no deal Brexit tariff plan, Ireland has warned.
Goods going directly from the Republic of Ireland to the UK, for example by boat from ports in Dublin or Rosslare to Britain, would still be subject to WTO tariffs.
However the Irish government source said Britain must “wake up” to the reality of EU producers sidestepping the new measures by shipping their produce to the Republic of Ireland tariff free and then simply driving their goods across the border as if the UK were still in the European Union.
He added: “Meanwhile UK produce becomes too expensive to export.”
He added: “If they get overwhelmed through Northern Ireland the documents say they’ll consider checks at ports.
“In other words, a customs border between Northern Ireland and mainland UK in Sammy Wilson’s constituency.
Another Irish source said Mrs May’s new tariff plan underlines why the backstop insurance policy was necessary.
Europe is LAUGHING: How Europe's front pages show EXACTLY what they think of UK shambles THERESA May’s second Brexit deal was defeated heavily in the Commons on Tuesday. But there was fresh humiliation for the Prime Minister as Europe reacted to the Brexit blow.
How long will Brexit be delayed, can it be cancelled and will there be a second referendum? YOUR guide to what happens next as MPs 'rule out' leaving with No Deal
ANDREW PIERCE: Why is lemming Jacob Rees-Mogg STILL in denial about the fact that his disloyal tactics have risked our exit from the EU?
Usually calm and dignified, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the high priest of the Tory Brexiteers, was visibly taken aback when told by an interviewer on Tuesday night: ‘Historians will look back on this as the night you lost Brexit.’ Gulping for air, Rees-Mogg, who disloyally led a failed coup attempt against Theresa May in December, said: ‘I don’t acknowledge that.’ He then told his interrogator, the BBC’s Andrew Neil, that the March 29 exit date from the EU was still achievable. However, most sane people disagree. Indeed, most sane people don’t understand how hardline Brexiteers such as Rees-Mogg can have behaved as they have done and risk having no Brexit at all. The multi-millionaire Somerset Tory and his fellow European Research Group (ERG) members – with about 50 Tory MPs – have consistently portrayed themselves as guardians of a pure and uncompromising Brexit.
Government plan to axe no deal import tariffs savaged by all and no wonder
It is a stupid, panicked, ill thought out measure by a government lurching drunkenly towards a bridge over which an austerity wracked council has been unable to replace the railings
Remember when Boris Johnson said f*** business? It now appears that the entire Conservative government has decided that will be its operating principle. You can add in f*** jobs and f*** prosperity. I am, of course, referring to the decision announced this morning to scrap the majority of import tariffs under the the UK’s no deal plans - although I’m not sure dignifying anything as half baked as this with the word ‘plans’ really suffices - for a no deal Brexit. Some 87 per cent of them no less.
Before you say, but that won’t happen it’s just a bluff and it will be killed off by tonight’s vote, I remind you that no deal is still the default legal option. Whether it is formally cancelled depends very much upon the wording of the motion. It should also be noted that to get the extension of article 50 necessary to prevent it, something the CBI and many others have called for, the EU's member states will have to play ball and most of them are heartily sick of the UK government. Small wonder.
The problem with the tariff plan, which we are told is to protect consumers from immediate and sharp rises in prices, is that there will be no quid pro quo. British goods going the other way will be subject to a range of brutal charges that they do not currently attract, not just from the EU but from a range of other countries with which it has free trade deals that we currently benefit from and that trade secretary Liam Fox has failed miserably to get rolled over. UK plc was once a tolerably competitive economy. No deal will overnight make large swathes of it uncompetitive. How long exporting businesses that have already been operating with unprecedented uncertainty will be able to last in that situation is an open question.
Then there’s the situation at the Irish border. Let’s not forget that. “Our members in Northern Ireland are tearing their hair out,” said the one business group to me this morning. “Actually by now they probably haven’t got much hair left but you know what I mean.” There’s also not much point protecting consumers if they don’t have any money to spend through loosing their jobs and there’s not much point protecting consumers if there’s nothing much in the shops to buy. Apparently there’ll be no customs checks to keep goods coming in. Again, temporarily. So good news for those concerning themselves with the importation of illegal drugs. Let’s face it, we might all need to get high to get through this.
Tariffs will still apply in areas like agriculture, because we mustn’t upset the Tory farmers in the shires. But that’s about it. This is a stupid, panicked, ill thought out measure by a government lurching drunkenly towards a bridge over which an austerity wracked council has been unable to replace the railings.
But you don’t need me to tell you that. Business groups - none of whose members were properly consulted - basically said the same, albeit a little more decorously
Here’s Carolyn Fairbyn, the head of the CBI: “What we are hearing is the biggest change in terms of trade this country has faced since the mid-19th century being imposed on this country with no consultation with business, no time to prepare.”
Alan Renison, from the Insitute of Directors: “The belated, cack-handed way in which the Government has handled its no-deal planning is one of the main reasons why many businesses will not be prepared for this outcome by March 29th.” British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall: “There has not been enough consultation, preparation or planning to support the firms and communities that could find themselves at the end of a sudden shift in tariffs.”
Let’s not forget the TUC, the members of which represent many of those whose jobs will be threatened. Director general Frances O’Grady weighed in with: “Ending all tariffs in a no-deal Brexit would be a hammer blow to our manufacturing industries and the communities they support. The government is flying blind.” It is indeed. Faced with that sort of thing, most governments would be inclined to stop and think, to put on the breaks, and call people in to talk. Apparently there’ll be some of that taking place today. It’s too little, too late. If only Britain had a half decent opposition there might be an opportunity there. But it doesn’t. So fasten your seat belts.
Theresa May: Back me or risk losing Brexit altogether.
Theresa May is urging MPs to back a three-month Brexit postponement or face the threat of a much longer delay, in a desperate bid to persuade her pro-Leave rebels to back her withdrawal agreement next week. After a cabinet "gang of four" and several more ministers abstained and 17 backbenchers voted against the government in a Commons vote ruling out no deal, the Prime Minister has issued an ultimatum to Tory Brexiteers. In what many MPs see as a last roll of the dice for the beleaguered PM and her Brexit deal, she is effectively challenging her rebel MPs who have now defeated her deal twice: Back me or risk losing Brexit altogether.
In the third showdown on Brexit this week, MPs will debate a motion telling the rebels that if the Commons votes for her withdrawal deal by next Wednesday the Government will seek to extend Article 50 until June 30. But the Government's motion also warns MPs that if her EU withdrawal deal is defeated for a third time next week European leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels on Thursday are likely to demand a much longer Brexit delay, possibly up to two years. The latest Commons debate comes 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Commons when Mrs May lost control over her feuding party and was left powerless and unable to sack her ministerial rebels when they inflicted another humiliating defeat.
MPs vote AGAINST second referendum as Labour condemned for abstaining - ‘Spineless!’ LABOUR MPs have come under fire after abstaining from a vote on amendment which could have paved the way for a second EU referendum.
Frontbenchers quit 'spineless' Labour after shambles over second referendum vote
MPs comprehensively rejected an attempt to secure a second referendum on Brexit on Thursday as fresh Labour divisions were exposed by the vote with front bench resignations. The Commons voted by 334 to 85 votes, a majority of 249, to reject a cross-party motion calling for a second referendum which had been tabled by Independent MP Sarah Wollaston. Labour’s leadership told MPs to abstain, arguing now was a time focus on trying to find a compromise solution and extending Article 50 rather than pushing for a second referendum. However, three frontbenchers were among 18 Labour MPs who voted against the motion including Ruth Smeeth, who resigned as parliamentary private secretary to deputy leader...
Don't despair, the people will have a Final Say on Brexit. It's now inevitable Labour members and activists need to redouble their efforts in campaigning for a second referendum – and they need to do it now
The vote in the commons rejecting a second referendum looks dispiriting for those of us who want our Final Say on Brexit. The proposal, put forward by Sarah Woolaston of The Independent Group, went down by 85 to 334 votes. She didn’t manage to achieve a much greater each than what you might call the “usual suspects” – her Independent Group, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Green Party. Labour officially abstained; the Conservatives whipped against it. Few in the two major parties defied their whips. Some 25 Labour MPs voted for a peoples vote referendum; but 18, including front benchers, went against, with at least one consequent resignation. As the process grinds on, and with a truly determined Labour whipping operation, those figures could easily be much, much closer. Even against determined government resistance, if it continues to be clear that parliament remains in deadlock, more and more MPs will seek to put the question back to the people.
]Labour members and activists will surely make their passion for a second referendum known. They need to redouble their lobbying efforts – now. Labour is a democratic party that respects conference as sovereign. It is high time for Jeremy Corbyn and his front benchers to behave like they believe that.
The second possibility is a grand bargain between the two main parties. This goes under the name of the Kyle-Wilson plan, named after two Labour backbenchers: Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson. There are variants on the theme but the basic bargain is a crude one: Labour will help pass May’s deal in return for it being conditional on a popular vote (and a genuinely open one with remain on the ballot paper).
That might be attractive for a prime mister in a tight corner, and she is certainly there. When she loses her third go at the “meaningful vote” next week, she might well declare to the House the following: “Mr Speaker, plainly, the government has been unable to win the support of this house for our proposed exit form the European Union. We regret but respect the decision of the House. We will, therefore now move to take our case to the people, in order to fulfil and confirm the mandate for Brexit they gave us in 2016. I shall now invite other parties to consult with us on the procedures and in due course take the necessary steps with the Electoral Commission. I shall inform the European Union of our intention to ratify the Brexit deal we agreed with them in the court of public opinion. The people will have the Final Say.” Something like that, anyway. Who knows, she might even win. It would make a nice change for her, and at last the country would be able to live with itself, a democratic decision taken with the facts on the table and the possibilities known. It’s inevitable.
Theresa May explodes at 'disloyalty' of her Cabinet rebels who defied orders to help Labour Brexit amendment pass
Theresa May exploded at her Cabinet members yesterday (Thursday) – accusing them of 'disloyalty' for defying orders over a key vote. The Prime Minister gave a dressing down to Amber Rudd, David Gauke, Greg Clark and David Mundell after they helped Labour rule out a No Deal Brexit in all circumstances. The confrontation came in a Cabinet meeting yesterday that followed a complete breakdown of party discipline in a string of key votes on Wednesday night.
Mrs May tore into the group for undermining her plan to confront MPs with a choice between her deal and a long delay to Brexit. One Cabinet source said Mrs May accused Miss Rudd and other Remainer rebels of 'disloyalty' for abstaining in the vote. Another told The Times: 'She went bat****.'
During the meeting, Chancellor Philip Hammond is said to have tried to explain the open rebellion by ministers, saying there was 'confusion' around Wednesday night's votes.
He had been seen rowing with Chief Whip Julian Smith ahead of the division on Wednesday. But Mr Smith told those assembled there was no excuse to break collective responsibility.
He praised Sarah Newton for doing the honourable thing in resigning as a junior DWP minister so she could vote against, according to The Spectator. When Mr Clark attempted to explain his actions by saying he was 'confused', Mr Smith is said to have walked out of the meeting. Mr Clark's efforts to justify himself were said to have 'ended badly' after Mrs May shut him down.
Later, Remainer ministers described the criticism of their conduct as unfair. One source said: 'They challenged the Chief Whip and the PM over the handling of the vote. They never had the chance to discuss the whipping of the final vote – if they had, it would not have happened.'
Meanwhile a row broke out after reports circulated that the rebels had been told by a Number 10 aide that they could abstain on the vote. Mrs May's Parliamentary Private Secretary, Andrew Bowie, is said to have told ministers they would not be fired as a result.
But Nigel Evans, joint executive secretary of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, said that all MPs had received a text telling them they were on a three-line whip.
'Apparently Cabinet ministers were confused last night as to whether they were on a three-line whip or not,' he said. 'Well, funnily enough, I received a text that told me on my phone that I was on a three-line whip. They received the same text. It's amazing that you can be a Cabinet minister and still not know what a three-line whip text means.'
Mrs May's chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, was also accused of 'going rogue' and overruling whips by suggesting Cabinet ministers could abstain. Furious MPs called for him to be sacked after the vote was lost. But it was unclear whether he had actually told them to abstain. Another MP said that 30 rebels were seen holding a caucus before the vote. They are said to have made a collective decision then to abstain on the vote, undermining reports that they were told they could abstain.
The MP said it was 'outrageous' that they could defy the whip and keep all their 'ministerial baubles'. Yesterday, Work and Pensions Secretary Miss Rudd tweeted a letter she had sent to constituents defending her move.
'Last night I abstained on the main motion in the House of Commons which asked whether we should leave the European Union without a deal,' it said. 'To do so would, in my view, do generational damage to our economy and security. 'It is a mistake to leave the EU without a deal, but it is right to prepare to do so just in case so we can mitigate any damage as best as we can...'
Brexit-backing Wetherspoon boss lashes out at Remainers in company report
Wetherspoon, which is the owner and operator of more than 900 pubs in the UK and Ireland, saw profits tumble by 18.9% to £50.3m ($66.5m) in the six months to 27 January, 2019. Although revenue rose 7.1% to £889.6m ($1.2bn), it was not enough to offset spiralling costs, mainly from labour, which jumped by around £33m. “As previously indicated, costs in the second half of the year will be higher than those of the same period last year. The company anticipates an unchanged trading outcome for the current financial year,” Martin said.
Comments
Tory ministers who abstained on a vote opposing leaving the European Union without a deal should resign or be sacked, a Brexiteer MP tells BBC Wales.
Thirteen ministers defied government whips by abstaining on the vote on Wednesday night.
David TC Davies says the MPs should not be in government.
"I'm very concerned at the way in which she's [Theresa May] been undermined by members of her cabinet," he says
"If these cabinet members have abstained on a whipped vote they should not be in government.
"They should resign, or be sacked."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-47529293
For the Daily Mail, "chaos reigns".
The Sun talks of carnage in the voting lobbies, with Tory MPs seen breaking down in tears.
The Mail says Theresa May's authority has been left in tatters - with none of those ministers who rebelled to vote to rule out a no-deal Brexit expected to be sacked.
The sketch writers express bewilderment.
Tom Peck - for the Independent - says the "extravagantly complex" twists and turns in last night's voting was "never-to-be-surpassed lunacy", like Benny Hill on acid in the Commons.
The Guardian's John Crace says Westminster descended into near anarchy - with every man and woman for themselves.
The Daily Telegraph says that with the Conservative Party on the brink of open warfare, the chancellor used his spring statement to set out an alternative Brexit plan.
The paper adds that by calling for a deal that MPs can "collectively support", Phillip Hammond was signalling he no longer backs the PM's withdrawal deal, and instead wants a compromise with Labour.
The Huffington Post website sees this as a demand for Mrs May to back a customs union with the EU - the only position Labour will support.
A "soft Brexit bribe" is the Daily Mail's more blunt description.
The Financial Times praises the chancellor's position - saying Mrs May and cabinet Brexiteers must break out of their tunnel vision, that it's the PM's deal or nothing.
EU leaders are reported by the website Politico to be "bracing themselves" for a request from the UK to extend the Brexit process. But it says they're under no obligation to accept it and could well respond with their own terms.
The Telegraph says Brussels plans to "play hardball" by demanding a long extension.
A senior EU official tells the paper that a short delay would only pre-program a no-deal Brexit for the summer.
Bloomberg quotes Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, who asks: "Why do you need a prolongation? Is it for organising a new referendum?"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-47563544
STAUNCH Brexiteer Steve Baker last night revealed the Eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) has plans to ensure the UK leaves the EU on March 29.
The March 29 date is currently written into UK law despite efforts by some MPs to change it. The House of Commons will today vote on whether it wants to delay the UK's departure from the bloc. But the ERG’s deputy chair Mr Baker told ITV Peston his Eurosceptic allies have “things they could do” to ensure the original date is upheld.
He said: “It is still law that we are leaving on the 29th March.
“As a matter of practice unless the law is changed we are leaving on the 29th March.”
To which host Robert Peston asked: “Can you stop the law being changed?”
Mr Baker replied: “There are some things we could do to prevent the law going through in the time that is available, yes.”
When asked if he “might do that” Mr Baker emphatically said: “Yes.”
The hardline Brexiteer also indicated he would not be bullied into voting for Theresa May’s much-maligned Brexit deal unless it “changes substantially and the UK becomes an independent country”.
He said: “If it doesn’t change substantially, if we can’t become an independent country, then no I won’t be voting for it.
“And I know I will have the support of all the leaders of the campaign groups out there because I canvassed their opinion earlier today.
“I asked them: in the light of this vote to take no deal off the table, in the light of the probable extension tomorrow, do you think we did the right thing yesterday?
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1099896/brexit-news-latest-steve-baker-ERG-ITV-Peston-leave-EU-March-29-theresa-may-vote
BRITISH businesses will suffer as the UK becomes “flooded” by EU produce if Theresa May enacts her no deal Brexit tariff plan, Ireland has warned.
Goods going directly from the Republic of Ireland to the UK, for example by boat from ports in Dublin or Rosslare to Britain, would still be subject to WTO tariffs.
However the Irish government source said Britain must “wake up” to the reality of EU producers sidestepping the new measures by shipping their produce to the Republic of Ireland tariff free and then simply driving their goods across the border as if the UK were still in the European Union.
He added: “Meanwhile UK produce becomes too expensive to export.”
He added: “If they get overwhelmed through Northern Ireland the documents say they’ll consider checks at ports.
“In other words, a customs border between Northern Ireland and mainland UK in Sammy Wilson’s constituency.
Another Irish source said Mrs May’s new tariff plan underlines why the backstop insurance policy was necessary.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1099630/brexit-latest-no-deal-tariff-northern-ireland-backstop-irish-border
THERESA May’s second Brexit deal was defeated heavily in the Commons on Tuesday. But there was fresh humiliation for the Prime Minister as Europe reacted to the Brexit blow.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1099621/europe-laughing-front-pages-newspapers-reaction-uk-brexit-shames-theresa-may-deal
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6806245/How-long-Brexit-delayed-cancelled-second-referendum.html
Usually calm and dignified, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the high priest of the Tory Brexiteers, was visibly taken aback when told by an interviewer on Tuesday night: ‘Historians will look back on this as the night you lost Brexit.’
Gulping for air, Rees-Mogg, who disloyally led a failed coup attempt against Theresa May in December, said: ‘I don’t acknowledge that.’
He then told his interrogator, the BBC’s Andrew Neil, that the March 29 exit date from the EU was still achievable.
However, most sane people disagree. Indeed, most sane people don’t understand how hardline Brexiteers such as Rees-Mogg can have behaved as they have done and risk having no Brexit at all.
The multi-millionaire Somerset Tory and his fellow European Research Group (ERG) members – with about 50 Tory MPs – have consistently portrayed themselves as guardians of a pure and uncompromising Brexit.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-6806727/ANDREW-PIERCE-lemming-Jacob-Rees-Mogg-denial-disloyal-tactics.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/03/13/revealed-plot-delay-brexit-two-years-cabinet-ministers-betray/
It is a stupid, panicked, ill thought out measure by a government lurching drunkenly towards a bridge over which an austerity wracked council has been unable to replace the railings
Remember when Boris Johnson said f*** business? It now appears that the entire Conservative government has decided that will be its operating principle. You can add in f*** jobs and f*** prosperity.
I am, of course, referring to the decision announced this morning to scrap the majority of import tariffs under the the UK’s no deal plans - although I’m not sure dignifying anything as half baked as this with the word ‘plans’ really suffices - for a no deal Brexit. Some 87 per cent of them no less.
Before you say, but that won’t happen it’s just a bluff and it will be killed off by tonight’s vote, I remind you that no deal is still the default legal option. Whether it is formally cancelled depends very much upon the wording of the motion. It should also be noted that to get the extension of article 50 necessary to prevent it, something the CBI and many others have called for, the EU's member states will have to play ball and most of them are heartily sick of the UK government. Small wonder.
The problem with the tariff plan, which we are told is to protect consumers from immediate and sharp rises in prices, is that there will be no quid pro quo. British goods going the other way will be subject to a range of brutal charges that they do not currently attract, not just from the EU but from a range of other countries with which it has free trade deals that we currently benefit from and that trade secretary Liam Fox has failed miserably to get rolled over.
UK plc was once a tolerably competitive economy. No deal will overnight make large swathes of it uncompetitive. How long exporting businesses that have already been operating with unprecedented uncertainty will be able to last in that situation is an open question.
Then there’s the situation at the Irish border. Let’s not forget that. “Our members in Northern Ireland are tearing their hair out,” said the one business group to me this morning. “Actually by now they probably haven’t got much hair left but you know what I mean.”
There’s also not much point protecting consumers if they don’t have any money to spend through loosing their jobs and there’s not much point protecting consumers if there’s nothing much in the shops to buy. Apparently there’ll be no customs checks to keep goods coming in. Again, temporarily. So good news for those concerning themselves with the importation of illegal drugs. Let’s face it, we might all need to get high to get through this.
Tariffs will still apply in areas like agriculture, because we mustn’t upset the Tory farmers in the shires. But that’s about it.
This is a stupid, panicked, ill thought out measure by a government lurching drunkenly towards a bridge over which an austerity wracked council has been unable to replace the railings.
But you don’t need me to tell you that. Business groups - none of whose members were properly consulted - basically said the same, albeit a little more decorously
Here’s Carolyn Fairbyn, the head of the CBI: “What we are hearing is the biggest change in terms of trade this country has faced since the mid-19th century being imposed on this country with no consultation with business, no time to prepare.”
Alan Renison, from the Insitute of Directors: “The belated, cack-handed way in which the Government has handled its no-deal planning is one of the main reasons why many businesses will not be prepared for this outcome by March 29th.”
British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall: “There has not been enough consultation, preparation or planning to support the firms and communities that could find themselves at the end of a sudden shift in tariffs.”
Let’s not forget the TUC, the members of which represent many of those whose jobs will be threatened. Director general Frances O’Grady weighed in with: “Ending all tariffs in a no-deal Brexit would be a hammer blow to our manufacturing industries and the communities they support. The government is flying blind.”
It is indeed.
Faced with that sort of thing, most governments would be inclined to stop and think, to put on the breaks, and call people in to talk. Apparently there’ll be some of that taking place today. It’s too little, too late.
If only Britain had a half decent opposition there might be an opportunity there. But it doesn’t. So fasten your seat belts.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/brexit-no-deal-import-tariffs-slashed-business-groups-fury-cbi-iod-bcc-customs-checks-a8820666.html
Theresa May is urging MPs to back a three-month Brexit postponement or face the threat of a much longer delay, in a desperate bid to persuade her pro-Leave rebels to back her withdrawal agreement next week.
After a cabinet "gang of four" and several more ministers abstained and 17 backbenchers voted against the government in a Commons vote ruling out no deal, the Prime Minister has issued an ultimatum to Tory Brexiteers.
In what many MPs see as a last roll of the dice for the beleaguered PM and her Brexit deal, she is effectively challenging her rebel MPs who have now defeated her deal twice: Back me or risk losing Brexit altogether.
In the third showdown on Brexit this week, MPs will debate a motion telling the rebels that if the Commons votes for her withdrawal deal by next Wednesday the Government will seek to extend Article 50 until June 30.
But the Government's motion also warns MPs that if her EU withdrawal deal is defeated for a third time next week European leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels on Thursday are likely to demand a much longer Brexit delay, possibly up to two years.
The latest Commons debate comes 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Commons when Mrs May lost control over her feuding party and was left powerless and unable to sack her ministerial rebels when they inflicted another humiliating defeat.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/theresa-may-back-me-or-risk-losing-brexit-altogether/ar-BBUKpUF?ocid=spartandhp
Donald Trump Says Second Brexit Referendum Would Be 'Unfair'
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/donald-trump-says-second-brexit-referendum-would-be-unfair/ar-BBULJfj?ocid=spartandhp
LABOUR MPs have come under fire after abstaining from a vote on amendment which could have paved the way for a second EU referendum.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1100252/brexit-news-vote-second-referendum-labour-independent-group
MPs comprehensively rejected an attempt to secure a second referendum on Brexit on Thursday as fresh Labour divisions were exposed by the vote with front bench resignations.
The Commons voted by 334 to 85 votes, a majority of 249, to reject a cross-party motion calling for a second referendum which had been tabled by Independent MP Sarah Wollaston.
Labour’s leadership told MPs to abstain, arguing now was a time focus on trying to find a compromise solution and extending Article 50 rather than pushing for a second referendum.
However, three frontbenchers were among 18 Labour MPs who voted against the motion including Ruth Smeeth, who resigned as parliamentary private secretary to deputy leader...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/03/14/mps-reject-second-referendum-labour-frontbencher-quits-partys/
Labour members and activists need to redouble their efforts in campaigning for a second referendum – and they need to do it now
The vote in the commons rejecting a second referendum looks dispiriting for those of us who want our Final Say on Brexit. The proposal, put forward by Sarah Woolaston of The Independent Group, went down by 85 to 334 votes. She didn’t manage to achieve a much greater each than what you might call the “usual suspects” – her Independent Group, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Green Party. Labour officially abstained; the Conservatives whipped against it. Few in the two major parties defied their whips. Some 25 Labour MPs voted for a peoples vote referendum; but 18, including front benchers, went against, with at least one consequent resignation.
As the process grinds on, and with a truly determined Labour whipping operation, those figures could easily be much, much closer. Even against determined government resistance, if it continues to be clear that parliament remains in deadlock, more and more MPs will seek to put the question back to the people.
]Labour members and activists will surely make their passion for a second referendum known. They need to redouble their lobbying efforts – now.
Labour is a democratic party that respects conference as sovereign. It is high time for Jeremy Corbyn and his front benchers to behave like they believe that.
The second possibility is a grand bargain between the two main parties. This goes under the name of the Kyle-Wilson plan, named after two Labour backbenchers: Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson. There are variants on the theme but the basic bargain is a crude one: Labour will help pass May’s deal in return for it being conditional on a popular vote (and a genuinely open one with remain on the ballot paper).
That might be attractive for a prime mister in a tight corner, and she is certainly there. When she loses her third go at the “meaningful vote” next week, she might well declare to the House the following: “Mr Speaker, plainly, the government has been unable to win the support of this house for our proposed exit form the European Union. We regret but respect the decision of the House. We will, therefore now move to take our case to the people, in order to fulfil and confirm the mandate for Brexit they gave us in 2016. I shall now invite other parties to consult with us on the procedures and in due course take the necessary steps with the Electoral Commission. I shall inform the European Union of our intention to ratify the Brexit deal we agreed with them in the court of public opinion. The people will have the Final Say.”
Something like that, anyway. Who knows, she might even win. It would make a nice change for her, and at last the country would be able to live with itself, a democratic decision taken with the facts on the table and the possibilities known.
It’s inevitable.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-vote-second-referendum-final-say-ey-article-50-theresa-may-a8823706.html
Theresa May exploded at her Cabinet members yesterday (Thursday) – accusing them of 'disloyalty' for defying orders over a key vote.
The Prime Minister gave a dressing down to Amber Rudd, David Gauke, Greg Clark and David Mundell after they helped Labour rule out a No Deal Brexit in all circumstances.
The confrontation came in a Cabinet meeting yesterday that followed a complete breakdown of party discipline in a string of key votes on Wednesday night.
Mrs May tore into the group for undermining her plan to confront MPs with a choice between her deal and a long delay to Brexit. One Cabinet source said Mrs May accused Miss Rudd and other Remainer rebels of 'disloyalty' for abstaining in the vote. Another told The Times: 'She went bat****.'
During the meeting, Chancellor Philip Hammond is said to have tried to explain the open rebellion by ministers, saying there was 'confusion' around Wednesday night's votes.
He had been seen rowing with Chief Whip Julian Smith ahead of the division on Wednesday. But Mr Smith told those assembled there was no excuse to break collective responsibility.
He praised Sarah Newton for doing the honourable thing in resigning as a junior DWP minister so she could vote against, according to The Spectator.
When Mr Clark attempted to explain his actions by saying he was 'confused', Mr Smith is said to have walked out of the meeting. Mr Clark's efforts to justify himself were said to have 'ended badly' after Mrs May shut him down.
Later, Remainer ministers described the criticism of their conduct as unfair.
One source said: 'They challenged the Chief Whip and the PM over the handling of the vote. They never had the chance to discuss the whipping of the final vote – if they had, it would not have happened.'
Meanwhile a row broke out after reports circulated that the rebels had been told by a Number 10 aide that they could abstain on the vote.
Mrs May's Parliamentary Private Secretary, Andrew Bowie, is said to have told ministers they would not be fired as a result.
But Nigel Evans, joint executive secretary of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, said that all MPs had received a text telling them they were on a three-line whip.
'Apparently Cabinet ministers were confused last night as to whether they were on a three-line whip or not,' he said. 'Well, funnily enough, I received a text that told me on my phone that I was on a three-line whip. They received the same text. It's amazing that you can be a Cabinet minister and still not know what a three-line whip text means.'
Mrs May's chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, was also accused of 'going rogue' and overruling whips by suggesting Cabinet ministers could abstain. Furious MPs called for him to be sacked after the vote was lost. But it was unclear whether he had actually told them to abstain. Another MP said that 30 rebels were seen holding a caucus before the vote. They are said to have made a collective decision then to abstain on the vote, undermining reports that they were told they could abstain.
The MP said it was 'outrageous' that they could defy the whip and keep all their 'ministerial baubles'.
Yesterday, Work and Pensions Secretary Miss Rudd tweeted a letter she had sent to constituents defending her move.
'Last night I abstained on the main motion in the House of Commons which asked whether we should leave the European Union without a deal,' it said.
'To do so would, in my view, do generational damage to our economy and security.
'It is a mistake to leave the EU without a deal, but it is right to prepare to do so just in case so we can mitigate any damage as best as we can...'
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/theresa-may-explodes-at-disloyalty-of-her-cabinet-rebels-who-defied-orders-to-help-labour-brexit-amendment-pass/ar-BBUNfF2?ocid=spartanntp
Wetherspoon, which is the owner and operator of more than 900 pubs in the UK and Ireland, saw profits tumble by 18.9% to £50.3m ($66.5m) in the six months to 27 January, 2019. Although revenue rose 7.1% to £889.6m ($1.2bn), it was not enough to offset spiralling costs, mainly from labour, which jumped by around £33m.
“As previously indicated, costs in the second half of the year will be higher than those of the same period last year. The company anticipates an unchanged trading outcome for the current financial year,” Martin said.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/brexit-backing-wetherspoon-boss-lashes-remainers-company-report-profits-tumble-075719895.html