More replies (6) S Comment posted by Strawcat, at 15:02 11 MarStrawcat 15:02 11 Mar Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.
Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well. 258 60
W Reply posted by World Leading Shambles, at 15:13 11 MarWorld Leading Shambles 15:13 11 Mar to Strawcat
" Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well. " World Leading Shambles replied: Tories aren't working (apart from for their donors, mates and landlords of Hancock's local)....... 177 40
More replies (8) R Comment posted by r1404, at 15:14 11 Marr1404 15:14 11 Mar So EU imports are given a free pass into GB whilst our exporters are hamstrung by Spaffers "great deal"
Sometimes I think that our Govt does not have a clue what it is doing 220 29
A Reply posted by Andy P, at 15:20 11 MarAndy P 15:20 11 Mar to r1404
" So EU imports are given a free pass into GB whilst our exporters are hamstrung by Spaffers "great deal"Sometimes I think that our Govt does not have a clue what it is doing " Andy P replied: It never did, Test and Trace!!?? 133 19
More replies (16) T Comment posted by That_Ian, at 15:03 11 MarThat_Ian 15:03 11 Mar "The UK has insisted the move is lawful and justified"
Yeah, of course it is. Ehem.
Party of the Rich blatant disregard for international rules is making a pariah out of the UK. Soon we will be begging anyone to do business, any business, with us. 243 54
More replies (40) S Comment posted by Skinnydog0_0, at 15:08 11 MarSkinnydog0_0 15:08 11 Mar Hahahahaha- taking back control of our borders- hahahaha
Yes just wave it all through!
This Brexit is just a total sham. 434 72
D Reply posted by daniel webb, at 15:12 11 Mardaniel webb 15:12 11 Mar to Skinnydog0_0
" Hahahahaha- taking back control of our borders- hahahahaYes just wave it all through!This Brexit is just a total sham. " daniel webb replied: Less trade barriers including checks during a pandemic / emergency is entirely consistent with taking back control of our borders. Because it is a decision made by the UK government we voted for.
Which anyway, you know borders meant freedom of movement ending. 59 271
More replies (34) P Comment posted by Popeye, at 15:05 11 MarPopeye 15:05 11 Mar Why did boris sign the trade deal if he never intended to honour it? Another ERG ruse to get their no-deal? 371 64
R Reply posted by RuralJohn, at 15:11 11 MarRuralJohn 15:11 11 Mar to Popeye
" Why did boris sign the trade deal if he never intended to honour it? Another ERG ruse to get their no-deal? " RuralJohn replied: you have to remember that there is a whole shed load of wealthy individuals who have made an bsolute mint out of Brexit 330 44
More replies (19) W Comment posted by World Leading Shambles, at 15:04 11 MarWorld Leading Shambles 15:04 11 Mar Ding..... That's the sound of the oven ready deal being put in the chiller, clueless incompetence once again 332 56
W Reply posted by WHERE IS MY APOLOGY, at 15:09 11 MarWHERE IS MY APOLOGY 15:09 11 Mar to World Leading Shambles
" Ding.....That's the sound of the oven ready deal being put in the chiller, clueless incompetence once again " WHERE IS MY APOLOGY replied: Ding......
That’s the sound of more Remoaning soundbites from a typical Remoaner who can’t get over the fact that we’ve left the corrupt EU and it’s failed project! 121 481
More replies (61) B Comment posted by bpmkent, at 15:08 11 Marbpmkent 15:08 11 Mar Johnson & co must be so glad for covid - they can blame all their failings around Brexit on covd & take no personal responsibility. 316 51
R Reply posted by r1404, at 15:17 11 Marr1404 15:17 11 Mar to bpmkent
" Johnson & co must be so glad for covid - they can blame all their failings around Brexit on covd & take no personal responsibility. " r1404 replied: Spaffer would not accept reposibility Covid or not 192 22
More replies (8) K Comment posted by Koopa Troopa, at 15:05 11 MarKoopa Troopa 15:05 11 Mar He could easily have signed an extension but the evil empire of the ERG would never have accepted that and would have made his life a misery had he tried. So, as well as export issues, we don’t have the resources to examine incoming goods. Take back control they said 🤣 261 35
S Reply posted by sw, at 17:26 11 Marsw 17:26 11 Mar to Koopa Troopa
" He could easily have signed an extension but the evil empire of the ERG would never have accepted that and would have made his life a misery had he tried. So, as well as export issues, we don’t have the resources to examine incoming goods. Take back control they said 🤣 " sw replied: Drugrunners charter. 33 4
More replies (6) S Comment posted by Strawcat, at 15:02 11 MarStrawcat 15:02 11 Mar Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.
Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well. 258 60
W Reply posted by World Leading Shambles, at 15:13 11 MarWorld Leading Shambles 15:13 11 Mar to Strawcat
" Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well. " World Leading Shambles replied: Tories aren't working (apart from for their donors, mates and landlords of Hancock's local)....... 177 40
More replies (8) R Comment posted by r1404, at 15:14 11 Marr1404 15:14 11 Mar So EU imports are given a free pass into GB whilst our exporters are hamstrung by Spaffers "great deal"
Sometimes I think that our Govt does not have a clue what it is doing 220 29
More replies (6) B Comment posted by Border Terrier, at 15:28 11 MarBorder Terrier 15:28 11 Mar Not so long ago we had frictionless trade operating across borders within the EU. It was the envy of the world. Up there with freedom of movement and the ability to work, live and study anywhere in the EU. With frictionless tariff and red tape free trading. Did I mention that Brexiteers.
and you voted to leave and abandon these great privileges.
and for what Brexiteers.
Global humiliation. 172 29
T Reply posted by threeflies, at 15:31 11 Marthreeflies 15:31 11 Mar to Border Terrier
" Not so long ago we had frictionless trade operating across borders within the EU. It was the envy of the world. Up there with freedom of movement and the ability to work, live and study anywhere in the EU. With frictionless tariff and red tape free trading. Did I mention that Brexiteers. and you voted to leave and abandon these great privileges.and for what Brexiteers.Global humiliation. " threeflies replied: Self respect, something you lack. 26 149
More replies (39) S Comment posted by Strawcat, at 15:07 11 MarStrawcat 15:07 11 Mar That oven ready deal is already way past it's sell-by date. Time to put it in the bin. 150 37
L Reply posted by Lizard, at 16:12 11 MarLizard 16:12 11 Mar to Strawcat
" That oven ready deal is already way past it's sell-by date. Time to put it in the bin. " Lizard replied: The simple -minded can't accept we've left. 33 120
More replies (18) J Comment posted by JustMyView, at 15:06 11 MarJustMyView 15:06 11 Mar Doesn’t this just mean it’s easier for the EU to export to the U.K. whilst the U.K. exporting to the EU remains difficult? I will expect the EU to be up in arms ...not. The EU must have a level playing field tilted in their favour. 106 15
G Reply posted by Gabriel_The_Frog, at 15:08 11 MarGabriel_The_Frog 15:08 11 Mar to JustMyView
" Doesn’t this just mean it’s easier for the EU to export to the U.K. whilst the U.K. exporting to the EU remains difficult? I will expect the EU to be up in arms ...not.The EU must have a level playing field tilted in their favour. " Gabriel_The_Frog replied: Quite...EU must be laughing their heads off at this...easy for them to export to us, hard for us to export to them !! Balance of trade will be worse than ever..... 155 9
More replies (16) B Comment posted by Bob McBobin, at 15:13 11 MarBob McBobin 15:13 11 Mar To be fair, we were all comfortable with EU standards and products pre January, so to have no checks on goods coming in sounds sensible. If longer term our regulations change then we can impose such checks, but in the meantime let’s not waste time and money checking goods for no reason.
If the EU wants to impose checks on our goods, well that is their choice/right. 111 28
R Reply posted by RM, at 15:46 11 MarRM 15:46 11 Mar to Bob McBobin
" To be fair, we were all comfortable with EU standards and products pre January, so to have no checks on goods coming in sounds sensible. If longer term our regulations change then we can impose such checks, but in the meantime let’s not waste time and money checking goods for no reason.If the EU wants to impose checks on our goods, well that is their choice/right. " RM replied: UK stops being an independent country if the UK relies on someone else the EU to check UK's borders. Also, that means good bye to new trade deals, eg US/UK & others. Who wants to have a trade deal with the UK if the UK does not control its borders? 58 19
More replies (10) U Comment posted by U Turn government, at 15:06 11 MarU Turn government 15:06 11 Mar Boris telling lies to th EU again 132 49
M Reply posted by MrBlueSky, at 15:13 11 MarMrBlueSky 15:13 11 Mar to U Turn government
" Boris telling lies to th EU again " MrBlueSky replied: Telling lies on what? 36 68
More replies (12) C Comment posted by Chris109, at 15:37 11 MarChris109 15:37 11 Mar As a small business owner who exports to the EU I can vouch for the fact that exporting our products has turned in to an utter nightmare. We are now quoted 12 days to ship to EU countries when it was 2 days.
Even when you complete the paperwork correctly there is no guarantee shipments will be delivered, they end up stuck waiting for customs clearance for no apparent reason.
Stupid Brexit! 85 6
T Reply posted by That_Ian, at 15:39 11 MarThat_Ian 15:39 11 Mar to Chris109
" As a small business owner who exports to the EU I can vouch for the fact that exporting our products has turned in to an utter nightmare. We are now quoted 12 days to ship to EU countries when it was 2 days.Even when you complete the paperwork correctly there is no guarantee shipments will be delivered, they end up stuck waiting for customs clearance for no apparent reason.Stupid Brexit! " That_Ian replied: I just hope you didn't vote Leave in 2016....?
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU; 2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU; 2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
I have to disagree as I think that The Guardian article raised some valid points, and some of the stuff that is going wrong is clearly down to Brexit.
I think that Boris has acted stupidly on a number of issues, and lied about others.
Continually breaking international law is unlikely to inspire confidence with any trading partner.
He has unilaterally extended grace periods, in order to limit damage to the economy. Yet when the EU offered to extend the transition period, his response was that he would rather die in a ditch than accept any extension. Both of these measures would have solved the same problem. There is something wrong with a man that would prefer to break an agreement, than reach a friendly negotiated agreement. Why would anyone with any sense do this?
Who knows when the grace periods will end, but when they do conditions are likely to get worse rather than better.
The NI difficulties are down to the agreement that he negotiated, but he is prepared to blame anyone except himself.
As we were taking back control of our borders. You wouldnt have to be a genius to think that the first step to accomplishing this might be to create some infrastructure. Yet here we are almost 5 years on from the referendum, and our border posts are just holes in the ground. You can make excuses, but I dont think think that there was ever a point in negotiations where we were staying in the customs union. So we knew 5 years ago that border posts would be required. Despite the billions spent on preparations, no border posts.
Whatever you think of shellfish exports. I think I read that they lose around 75% of their value when not sold live. So delays dont really work. Companies losing money, and those losing their jobs will probably not agree with your views. I wonder how many in the fishing industry are sick as parrots that they voted for Brexit.
I am not sure how things will pan out when it comes to cars in the longer term. How many manufacturers will relocate to Europe? What about the Japanese now that they have an EU deal?
Having a glut of any product usually means a fall in prices. Good for consumers, not for producers.
I really think that Boris is an embarrassment. He is more of an Arthur Daley than a Prime Minister.
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU; 2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
I have to disagree as I think that The Guardian article raised some valid points, and some of the stuff that is going wrong is clearly down to Brexit.
I think that Boris has acted stupidly on a number of issues, and lied about others.
Continually breaking international law is unlikely to inspire confidence with any trading partner.
He has unilaterally extended grace periods, in order to limit damage to the economy. Yet when the EU offered to extend the transition period, his response was that he would rather die in a ditch than accept any extension. Both of these measures would have solved the same problem. There is something wrong with a man that would prefer to break an agreement, than reach a friendly negotiated agreement. Why would anyone with any sense do this?
Who knows when the grace periods will end, but when they do conditions are likely to get worse rather than better.
The NI difficulties are down to the agreement that he negotiated, but he is prepared to blame anyone except himself.
As we were taking back control of our borders. You wouldnt have to be a genius to think that the first step to accomplishing this might be to create some infrastructure. Yet here we are almost 5 years on from the referendum, and our border posts are just holes in the ground. You can make excuses, but I dont think think that there was ever a point in negotiations where we were staying in the customs union. So we knew 5 years ago that border posts would be required. Despite the billions spent on preparations, no border posts.
Whatever you think of shellfish exports. I think I read that they lose around 75% of their value when not sold live. So delays dont really work. Companies losing money, and those losing their jobs will probably not agree with your views. I wonder how many in the fishing industry are sick as parrots that they voted for Brexit.
I am not sure how things will pan out when it comes to cars in the longer term. How many manufacturers will relocate to Europe? What about the Japanese now that they have an EU deal?
Having a glut of any product usually means a fall in prices. Good for consumers, not for producers.
I really think that Boris is an embarrassment. He is more of an Arthur Daley than a Prime Minister.
'We'll take UK to court!' EU ambassador claims bloc had 'no alternative' to legal action
…Joao Vale de Almeida told the BBC's Today Programme that the UK Government is in breach of the Northern Ireland protocols. The European Union ambassador added that Britain has also broken the good faith obligation with the trading bloc.
Michael Gove’s promise of a ‘green Brexit’ has been broken say environmental groups
Michael Gove’s promise to deliver a “green Brexit” has been savaged by environmental groups, who warn that vital protections are being watered down.
Safeguards for chemicals, nature, air quality and waste are all weaker since the UK left the EU, they say – despite the pledge that stronger rules would be “a special prize” from leaving the EU.
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
The Brexit deal was astonishingly bad, and every day the evidence piles up
Now we know that British exports to the European Union plummeted by a cataclysmic 41% after Brexit on 1 January, what next? This is not the “slow puncture” predicted, but a big bang. Yet so far, it registers little on the political Richter scale.
It should shake the government to the core, but voters are well protected from this unwelcome news by our largely pro-Brexit press. Nor does BBC news, under Brexiteer mortar fire, dare do enough to rebalance the misinformation. Saturday’s Financial Times splashed that killer trade figure on its front page, but the Daily Express splashed “Flying start for US trade deal”. There is no “flying start”. Meanwhile, an EU legal action against Boris Johnson is starting this week, for his reneging on the Northern Ireland protocol and thereby imperilling the Good Friday peace agreement.
The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express and Daily Telegraph barely cover the EU trade fiascos, says Dr Andrew Jones, part of an Exeter University team monitoring Brexit media stories since the referendum. Currently, Jones says, those papers’ main Brexit story is Britain’s triumph over the EU on vaccines. That trope always omits the fact the UK could have purchased the same volume while in the EU, but it has become the Brexiters’ clinching case.
Prof Katharine Tyler, of the same Exeter team – and currently re-interviewing voters from Lincolnshire, the south west and Newcastle – finds no shifting views in either leavers or remainers. Nor does she expect real-world effects to have much impact given Brexit’s strong connection to national and personal identity. Bad trade news bounces off sovereignty-seekers, for whom any economic price was always worth paying.
Unless people read the Guardian, the Financial Times and a very few others, the Brexit damage is still invisible, with no lorry queues jamming motorways nor empty supermarket shelves: these may yet happen when delayed import controls are imposed next January.
Manufacturers may say they are in “Dante’s fifth circle of ****” but their loss of exports is out of sight of most of the public. Take Seetru, a Bristol industrial valve-maker I’ve followed throughout Brexit. Half its exports were to the EU: as UK exports to Germany fell by a shattering 56%, its managing director, Andrew Varga, finds his products “stuck for eight weeks in German customs, swamped by bureaucracy, massively clogged”. Fearing the loss of his just-in-time customers, he’s flying his products to Germany at “10 times the cost”.
He calls “doctrinaire and ideological” the creation of a UK kite mark, forcing him to re-register 30,000 products under two systems. “That,” he sighs, “is what they call sovereignty.” Brexit never “took back control” or escaped “Brussels bureaucracy” but instead blocked the borders with impenetrable thickets of red tape.
No extra time, no illegal “grace period” unlocks the impossible Irish conundrum now heading to court. Once out of the single market and customs union there were just two options, both terrible: a UK-splitting customs border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; or a peace-deal-breaking hard border within Ireland. No wonder Johnson lied about what he had signed.
The only answer is Norway-shaped: putting all the UK into the single market and the customs union restores frictionless trade, with no Irish borders. But Britain is still emotionally miles away from recognising that necessity.
Meanwhile, this Pandora’s box of a Brexit swarms out new pests daily. Take the 83% collapse of a fishing and shellfish industry that was once the Brexit campaign’s talisman. David Frost and Michael Gove seem never to have known that each boatload of seafood needs 71 pages of customs forms; nor did they understand the fatal fish “depuration” rules that left stock rotting on the dock.
Political optics were all that mattered to these brilliant negotiators, so they thought they could abandon the services and the banking sector, despite services making up 80% of our economy and financial services 10% of tax receipts. So City firms have moved £1.3tn of assets to the EU already, and within one month Amsterdam has overtaken the City as Europe’s largest sharetrading centre.
Daily, new stingers fly out of the Brexit box. “Au revoir to au pairs”, mourns the Telegraph, with no visas for student family helpers because they earn under £20,480. The British Cactus Society mourns the loss of its industry to customs barriers. Students mourn the needless loss of Erasmus, its inferior Turing replacement abandoning cultural swaps for teachers.
How’s global Britain doing? We used to be good at soft power, spreading UK influences in culture, language and the ideals of democracy; but that liberal stuff nauseates the most ideological Brexiters. So they swing their wrecking ball at the BBC, the UK’s worldwide voice, cutting its funding level by 30% while putting its cherished independence under sinister attack. The British Council, spreader of English language and culture, is cut too. Even UK collaboration in global scientific research – on antimicrobial resistance and the climate crisis – is halved. Cutting aid to Yemen mid-famine sends a spine-chilling message about what Britain has become.
Refusing the new EU envoy ambassadorial status is a political gesture to keep the Brexit base fired up. Fighting the EU in the courts may be relished by them. The more damage Brexit does, the louder those who Ken Clarke calls “headbangers” yell for “revenge”. Mark Francois, chair of the hardcore pro-Brexit European Research Group, this week calls not just for tearing up the “intolerable” Northern Ireland protocol, but for defaulting on the £20bn owed to the EU. Treaty-defaulters, debt-dodgers – these wreckers make us new enemies and no new friends.
There is no upside, so will all this damage ever outweigh the spiritual belief that Brexit saved our national sovereignty? What that trigger might be, no one knows. Labour will plug away, exposing myriad flaws in the dreadful trade deal. The shadow trade secretary, Emily Thornberry, scored a hit this week by forcing the government to reveal no economic impact assessment was ever made on the Brexit deal, despite one for every other trade treaty, even with Albania. No extra penny of advantage comes from Liz Truss’s trade deals, all identical to existing EU deals. Who but remainers notices?
Labour is increasingly aggressive in attacking Brexit fallouts, despite bombardment by Tories as “remoaners”. The question is when the sheer weight of evidence exposes how astonishingly bad the Brexit deal is. The remain ship sailed long ago, but the boat to Norway may eventually dock here. In the meantime, EU legal action reinforces our government’s reckless isolationism. There the ministers stand, as if reprising that wartime cartoon from the cliffs of Dover: “Very well, alone!
Noticeable that imports falling far slower than exports. Which means that our businesses are less adaptable than those of other countries.
I don't like the Brexit deal we actually have. But there is no other deal that a Conservative Government could have done. Other Parties, yes. But not a Conservative one.
The public voted for Brexit. The public voted consistently for a Conservative Government. The public has got the Government that it voted for, and the type of Brexit that the majority endorsed (knowingly or otherwise). Particularly the fishermen and farmers wanted.
I, like you, are uncomfortable with it. But there is no realistic alternative.
Fortunately, it looks like the economic damage will be less than many feared. But there will still be damage. Probably to more significant industries than shellfish fishermen.
Noticeable that imports falling far slower than exports. Which means that our businesses are less adaptable than those of other countries.
I don't like the Brexit deal we actually have. But there is no other deal that a Conservative Government could have done. Other Parties, yes. But not a Conservative one.
The public voted for Brexit. The public voted consistently for a Conservative Government. The public has got the Government that it voted for, and the type of Brexit that the majority endorsed (knowingly or otherwise). Particularly the fishermen and farmers wanted.
I, like you, are uncomfortable with it. But there is no realistic alternative.
Fortunately, it looks like the economic damage will be less than many feared. But there will still be damage. Probably to more significant industries than shellfish fishermen.
The fact that imports have fallen less than exports surely points to the EU just being more organised and much more ready than us. They have fully implemented the rules on their side, and we have had to have grace periods. When the grace periods end exporters will surely face more problems.
I also think that Polly Toynbee makes a lot of sense in the second Guardian article.
I still cant understand how the Tory party moved from "anyone but Boris", to electing him as their leader.
I just hope he gets his comeuppance sooner rather than later.
Theresa May surely had a better deal. Pity she didnt have their current majority.
Looking back, I think there was a window where if Keir Starmer was the Labour leader the opposition parties could have ousted Theresa Mays government and we might have had a different outcome.
That ship has sailed.
I am not sure what the long term solution might be, and they surely cant carry on as they are.
Dominic Raab tells UK officials to trade with countries which fail to meet human rights standards in leaked video
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been accused of throwing human rights campaigners in repressive states “to the wolves” after he said the UK will seek trade deals with countries which do not meet international standards on the issue.
In a leaked video call with staff in the Foreign Office (FCDO), Mr Raab said that Britain would miss out on trade with future “growth markets” if it insisted on dealing only with countries which meet the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Amnesty International said his comments would “send a chill down the spine of embattled human rights activists right across the globe”.
Ireland Brexit FURY: Taoiseach erupts at UK over 'EU bashing' as tensions boil over
The European Commission has now formally launched legal action against the UK over an alleged breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Irish Prime Minister Mr Martin had warned Britain's decision to extend post-Brexit grace periods "exacerbates uncertainty and instability". On Monday, he also said: "Unilateral action to disapply or not to implement aspects of the protocol does nothing but corrode trust."
But now Mr Martin, a firm opponent of Brexit, has launched another furious attack against the UK, accusing the nation of "EU bashing" which he claimed historically, "has been a feature of United Kingdom domestic politics".
The Taoiseach added he hoped that would ease following Brexit but that the indications are, to some extent, that it's still "alive and well".
Ireland's Prime Minister fumed: "Historically, EU bashing has been a feature of United Kingdom domestic politics.
"I was hoping post-Brexit that that might ease somewhat. The signs are it's still to a certain extent, alive and well.
The Brexit battle was lost – we must accept that and change our way of thinking
For better or worse, Brexit has happened and without the upheaval of a total “no deal” outcome. Some of the leading characters in the drama have moved on. Nigel Farage is launching a war against “wokeness” and is hunting for Red Guards as part of his campaign against Chinese infiltration. The Conservative Remainers who stood and fought were wiped out politically, as were all defectors from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. Some of us retired to do other things.
What survives of the Brexit debate is a wearily predictable: “we told you so”. Remainers rightly point to all the additional red tape from border checks and the rules of origin problems creating tariffs within supply chains. The collapse – by 40 per cent – in exports to the EU may well have been amplified by Covid checks. But it also represents a long-term decline in our trade with our biggest trade partner with entirely predictable, and predicted, economic costs. We did tell them so.
But Leavers are entirely fair to point to the shambolic EU vaccination programme and the petulant European response to the fact that, for once, Britain did something well, helped by a nimble national medicines regulator. It would have been technically and legally possible for us to run our own vaccine programme as an EU member state, but the likelihood is we would have been persuaded to participate in what has been a slower and less effective regime.
But instead of refighting history, the focus should be, from all of us, on how to make the best of a new reality. There is much to do. Key elements in the EU relationship haven’t been concluded yet, including critical rules of engagement for financial services. The promised new trade agreements with the likes of the US have yet to emerge. And the promised opportunities from new post-Brexit “freedoms” have yet to be revealed.
One person who needs to snap out of old ways of thinking is the government’s chief Brexit negotiator, Lord Frost. I remember him as one of my middle-level officials in the Department of Business. He has since become a politician and made it to the Cabinet without ever troubling the electorate.
For reasons which remain obscure, he has landed a really big job: to rebuild good relationships with decision makers in Europe in order to ensure that Britain obtains the best possible terms in respect of the many technical issues which will keep surfacing in the trade relationship.
He has since given an excellent impersonation of a bull in a china shop. He is tearing up a carefully constructed set of arrangements on the Northern Ireland protocol, negotiated by a serious politician: Michael Gove.
His first resort in negotiation seems to be to break international law whose observance is – or was – the bedrock of Britain’s reputation abroad. Among those he has wrong-footed is the foreign secretary, whose attempts to lecture the Chinese on not breaking international law are being made to look ridiculous and hypocritical.
Another minister still locked into a pre-Brexit mode of thinking is the trade minister, Liz Truss, who is seemingly engaged in a “race” with the EU to sign a trade deal with the US. Such things may excite the Brexit faithful but suggest a remarkable degree of wishful thinking about the priorities of the Biden administration. And nothing is more likely to guarantee a bad deal than to announce in advance that you are desperate to get one quickly. The Brexiteers themselves repeatedly deployed this argument for countenancing the disaster of “no deal” with the EU, but have forgotten it in relation to the US, even though we actually do hold plenty of cards in that negotiation.
I haven’t shifted at all from my view that Brexit was a historic mistake and will prove costly in the long term. But we cannot live in the past. That battle was lost and will not be re-joined for quite some time. We should now be looking at every possible way to turn this dubious new world to our advantage.
'Kill protocol or kill Union' Boris under pressure to break Brexit deal to save UK
The anger from Unionists comes as checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Britain are not just frustrating businesses and consumers but threaten the Union with the UK. Speaking to Channel 4 news, Jim Allister MLA, who leads Traditional Unionist Voice, a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland said: "Either we kill the protocol or it kills the union." He said how his party and the Democratic Unionist Party had become united on "the same plan and page of saving the union" following a U-turn by the DUP on their position on the protocol.
The DUP U-turned in their support for the Northern Ireland protocol after supporting Brexit.
The rising frustration comes as the DUP has begun to lose support following the Northern Ireland border row in which some voters have begun to switch their allegiance to the centrist non-sectarian Alliance Party.
The Alliance Party says no to the protocol and no to an Irish sea border.
Deliveries with a NASTY bill from Europe: More and more shoppers are being hit by hidden import fees - even if they think they're buying British
For consumers, it's one of the body blows of Brexit. Since Britain left the EU, tens of thousands of shoppers have been hit by a raft of unexpected extra charges when buying goods from websites based in Europe.
In some cases, there have been demands of nearly a half as much again on top of the asking price before couriers would hand over the goods.
Not only are these being imposed when consumers were promised a tariff-free future - but many of the shoppers had no idea that the websites were based overseas, and were never warned at the check-out that they would have to pay more.
To make matters worse, the retailers often don't understand what charges they should apply under the new post-Brexit rules — some are rigorous in demanding the extra costs, while others don't bother and still more are charging far more than they should, often unwittingly.
So what exactly is behind these additional bills? Here, we explain the complicated mix of VAT, customs and delivery charges, which has left shoppers baffled, angry and often without their shopping...
THE VAT BOMBSHELL
Some of the extra charges come in the form of a VAT bill, to be paid on delivery of the goods.
Before we left the EU, a British internet shopper buying, say, a shirt from Spain, would be quoted a price that included 20 per cent VAT and the retailer would pass on that VAT to the Spanish treasury.
Likewise, Spaniards buying British goods on the internet would be charged VAT by the retailer who passed it on to HMRC.
Now we have left the EU, UK shoppers are expected to pay the VAT themselves on many goods from EU websites - and retailers should not be including VAT in the price on the site for those goods.
'The sales are now treated as exports,' says Michelle Dale, a VAT specialist at the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.
'They incur no taxes in Spain. But when they arrive in the UK there will be 'import VAT' to pay to HMRC.'
But it is more complicated than that. For products from the EU worth less than £135, the EU retailer should be levying the VAT from the customer and passing it on to the HMRC, which means there should be no extra charge on delivery.
For goods worth £135 or above, the VAT should be paid in Britain by the customer on delivery.
However, while larger firms have registered with HMRC and will collect the VAT on behalf of the British customer, many smaller companies haven't done the paperwork, or think it is too much hassle to register with HMRC.
It means it's a lottery as to whether you are charged VAT by couriers and on what value products. Often, customers are being charged twice — both at the point of sale and on delivery.
Penelope Pullan, 53, an author from Loughborough, lost 3 st during lockdown and decided to buy new clothes.
She ordered a cashmere cardigan and some tops from Scotch & Soda, which she thought was a British company, but it is based in Amsterdam. The bill came to £265.41 including 'free delivery' and VAT. She was later told by UPS that 'charges on delivery are due' for VAT and duty of £105.41.
Penelope (left) was shocked that the driver asked her to pay the fees if she wanted the parcel or it would be returned.
The clothes were sent back to Scotch & Soda and she has been refunded. She says: 'I couldn't take the risk. It was an utter mess.'
CLOBBERED BY CUSTOMS DUTY
That arbitrary figure of £135 is also the value at which customs duty becomes liable post-Brexit and it will have to be paid on delivery as well as any VAT.
The duty level depends on what the item is, but it ranges from about 2 per cent up to 25 per cent of the value of the product, with most fashion items incurring about 10 per cent to 12 per cent.
This duty has to be paid by the UK shopper, not the EU shop. Delays are also leading to cancellations.
Anthony Bale, 46, an academic from South London, bought some sportswear online for £116 on January 6 from Spanish brand Joma.
Using the 'track my order' function, however, Anthony could see that his parcel was still sitting at Madrid airport until February 5.
Anthony then got an update to say the parcel had been sent back to Joma.
A further week later, the sportswear company emailed him with an explanation: 'We have to cancel your order, as we are having logistical issue and delayed in custom [sic] as a result of Brexit.' Anthony was later refunded by the company.
HIT BY HANDLING CHARGES
How does the UK shopper physically pay all this extra VAT or duty? 'It is up to the carrier, such as DPD or UPS to pay the import charges and collect them from the shopper before delivering the goods, but they will also levy a handling charge for doing this,' says Dale.
DHL, for instance, charges 2.5 per cent of the liable VAT and duty with a minimum fee of £11, while Royal Mail charges £8.
Lisa Walpole wanted to buy something for herself for her 40th birthday in lockdown on January 15.
‘I thought I’d treat myself and my twin brother, Andrew, to a jumpsuit. I’d bought one before, from OnePiece. And I thought it’d be really fun: a red, velour jumpsuit,’ she laughs.
The Norwegian company (now based in Amsterdam) claim to be responsible for the onesie boom a decade ago.
Lisa put in the order after New Year totalling £236, but later received an email from UPS demanding customs charges of £121. The mum-of-three, who is a trainee therapy counsellor, couldn’t get through to OnePiece.
But when UPS delivered the parcel to her home in Norfolk, no one asked her to pay. ‘The normal delivery driver was off. There was a replacement one and he didn’t ask for any money.’
But, a few days later, Lisa’s usual delivery driver rang the bell. ‘He said, “I am really sorry but I need to ask you to pay this money”.’
Lisa paid the bill by credit card. When she got through to OnePiece, she was promised a refund. ‘OnePiece did the right thing — eventually. It has now sorted out its website.’
PENALISED ON PRESENTS
To make matters worse, goods sent from abroad incur VAT if they are valued above £39.
Again, the recipient has to pay it, not the sender. If they are above £135 in value, they will also incur a customs duty of 2.5 per cent of the goods value.
WHAT ABOUT AMAZON OR EBAY?
Amazon, eBay, Etsy and other online marketplaces are now liable for paying VAT and duty on shoppers' behalf under new laws that came into force coincidentally at the end of the transition period on January 1.
So shoppers buying on these platforms should not be hit by unexpected charges — extra costs should be taken at the point of purchase.
But customers are still reporting problems.
Simon Grice, 60, a car mechanic from Sheffield, bought a 1970s Sicura watch from a Spanish watch dealer on eBay in early January. It cost £177, plus £15 postage and packaging.
But a week after paying via PayPal, he got an email from shipping firm UPS demanding a further £48 in import duties and VAT for the item to be released from Spanish customs.
Simon paid the fees, but the watch took another couple of weeks to arrive.
'From what I understood, Brexit was going to involve frictionless trade and I'd get any item within a week,' says Simon.
'I might get a small import charge, but I certainly didn't expect it to take four weeks and cost nearly £50 extra. I won't be shopping from Europe again.'
France's former ambassador in blistering attack on Boris 'Lies as instrument of power'
Speaking to France24 on Tuesday, Sylvie Bermann, who was France's ambassador to the UK until 2017 and authored the book "Goodbye Britannia", launched a blistering attack on Boris Johnson. In her book, she claimed the Prime Minister had been using misinformation as an "instrument of power" since before the Brexit referendum. Ms Bermann continued in her attack labelling Mr Johnson as someone who was "not supposed to be a Brexiteer".
The former diplomat added: "He was not supposed to be a Brexiteer.
"Of course we know what he wrote when he was in Brussels as the correspondent of the Telegraph what was called the Euro myth.
"It was an invention, of course, it showed that the EU was absurd and so on."
Ms Bermann branded the Prime Minister as an "unrepentant liar" in the interview along with a string of attacks on his character.
The former French diplomat also suggested that Mr Johnson "lies as an instrument of power" and suggested: "I think he wanted to be PM, that was his aim."
She added: "So when you have such a politician (as Johnson) of course it legitimises what was before the position of Farage."
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU; 2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
Do you think that Brexit is to blame for the Cheltenham results?
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU; 2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
Do you think that Brexit is to blame for the Cheltenham results?
No. But at least it spared us from having to obey Ursula von der Leyen. The only person who makes Boris look like a measured statesman.
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU; 2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
Do you think that Brexit is to blame for the Cheltenham results?
No. But at least it spared us from having to obey Ursula von der Leyen. The only person who makes Boris look like a measured statesman.
You are always quick to report on any perceived problems caused by Brexit.
Like pretty much everything in this world, there are upsides as well as downsides to change.
The EU has a tendency to act like it runs the world. Take its latest pronouncements on refusing to allow exports of vaccine from EU countries.
This is not the EU's call to make. Astrazeneca or Pfizer make the stuff, and it is for them to decide where it goes.
Not some unelected tinpot dictator.
It is bad enough when our elected leaders do stuff that benefits them. But worse when some unelected leader of a largely imaginary superstate starts playing nationalistic politics. While going against their own independent medical advice (the EMA).
You are always quick to report on any perceived problems caused by Brexit.
Like pretty much everything in this world, there are upsides as well as downsides to change.
The EU has a tendency to act like it runs the world. Take its latest pronouncements on refusing to allow exports of vaccine from EU countries.
This is not the EU's call to make. Astrazeneca or Pfizer make the stuff, and it is for them to decide where it goes.
Not some unelected tinpot dictator.
It is bad enough when our elected leaders do stuff that benefits them. But worse when some unelected leader of a largely imaginary superstate starts playing nationalistic politics. While going against their own independent medical advice (the EMA).
Ha Ha, you cant possibly think that Brexit affecting Cheltenham horse racing results was a serious comment.
Nice to see that the bottom half of the internet contains clueless Remoaners, as well as Brexiteers.
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU; 2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
Do you think that Brexit is to blame for the Cheltenham results?
No. But at least it spared us from having to obey Ursula von der Leyen. The only person who makes Boris look like a measured statesman.
Comments
More replies (6)
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Comment posted by Strawcat, at 15:02 11 MarStrawcat
15:02 11 Mar
Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.
Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well.
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Reply posted by World Leading Shambles, at 15:13 11 MarWorld Leading Shambles
15:13 11 Mar
to Strawcat
"
Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well.
"
World Leading Shambles replied:
Tories aren't working (apart from for their donors, mates and landlords of Hancock's local).......
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Comment posted by r1404, at 15:14 11 Marr1404
15:14 11 Mar
So EU imports are given a free pass into GB whilst our exporters are hamstrung by Spaffers "great deal"
Sometimes I think that our Govt does not have a clue what it is doing
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Reply posted by Andy P, at 15:20 11 MarAndy P
15:20 11 Mar
to r1404
"
So EU imports are given a free pass into GB whilst our exporters are hamstrung by Spaffers "great deal"Sometimes I think that our Govt does not have a clue what it is doing
"
Andy P replied:
It never did, Test and Trace!!??
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Comment posted by That_Ian, at 15:03 11 MarThat_Ian
15:03 11 Mar
"The UK has insisted the move is lawful and justified"
Yeah, of course it is. Ehem.
Party of the Rich blatant disregard for international rules is making a pariah out of the UK. Soon we will be begging anyone to do business, any business, with us.
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Comment posted by Skinnydog0_0, at 15:08 11 MarSkinnydog0_0
15:08 11 Mar
Hahahahaha- taking back control of our borders- hahahaha
Yes just wave it all through!
This Brexit is just a total sham.
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Reply posted by daniel webb, at 15:12 11 Mardaniel webb
15:12 11 Mar
to Skinnydog0_0
"
Hahahahaha- taking back control of our borders- hahahahaYes just wave it all through!This Brexit is just a total sham.
"
daniel webb replied:
Less trade barriers including checks during a pandemic / emergency is entirely consistent with taking back control of our borders. Because it is a decision made by the UK government we voted for.
Which anyway, you know borders meant freedom of movement ending.
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Comment posted by Popeye, at 15:05 11 MarPopeye
15:05 11 Mar
Why did boris sign the trade deal if he never intended to honour it?
Another ERG ruse to get their no-deal?
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Reply posted by RuralJohn, at 15:11 11 MarRuralJohn
15:11 11 Mar
to Popeye
"
Why did boris sign the trade deal if he never intended to honour it? Another ERG ruse to get their no-deal?
"
RuralJohn replied:
you have to remember that there is a whole shed load of wealthy individuals who have made an bsolute mint out of Brexit
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Comment posted by World Leading Shambles, at 15:04 11 MarWorld Leading Shambles
15:04 11 Mar
Ding.....
That's the sound of the oven ready deal being put in the chiller, clueless incompetence once again
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Reply posted by WHERE IS MY APOLOGY, at 15:09 11 MarWHERE IS MY APOLOGY
15:09 11 Mar
to World Leading Shambles
"
Ding.....That's the sound of the oven ready deal being put in the chiller, clueless incompetence once again
"
WHERE IS MY APOLOGY replied:
Ding......
That’s the sound of more Remoaning soundbites from a typical Remoaner who can’t get over the fact that we’ve left the corrupt EU and it’s failed project!
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Comment posted by bpmkent, at 15:08 11 Marbpmkent
15:08 11 Mar
Johnson & co must be so glad for covid - they can blame all their failings around Brexit on covd & take no personal responsibility.
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Reply posted by r1404, at 15:17 11 Marr1404
15:17 11 Mar
to bpmkent
"
Johnson & co must be so glad for covid - they can blame all their failings around Brexit on covd & take no personal responsibility.
"
r1404 replied:
Spaffer would not accept reposibility Covid or not
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Comment posted by Koopa Troopa, at 15:05 11 MarKoopa Troopa
15:05 11 Mar
He could easily have signed an extension but the evil empire of the ERG would never have accepted that and would have made his life a misery had he tried. So, as well as export issues, we don’t have the resources to examine incoming goods. Take back control they said 🤣
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Reply posted by sw, at 17:26 11 Marsw
17:26 11 Mar
to Koopa Troopa
"
He could easily have signed an extension but the evil empire of the ERG would never have accepted that and would have made his life a misery had he tried. So, as well as export issues, we don’t have the resources to examine incoming goods. Take back control they said 🤣
"
sw replied:
Drugrunners charter.
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Comment posted by Strawcat, at 15:02 11 MarStrawcat
15:02 11 Mar
Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.
Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well.
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Reply posted by World Leading Shambles, at 15:13 11 MarWorld Leading Shambles
15:13 11 Mar
to Strawcat
"
Brexit isn't working. The borders are not secure.Blaming the delay on Covid is disingenuous because the government are always claiming that their vaccination programme is going so well.
"
World Leading Shambles replied:
Tories aren't working (apart from for their donors, mates and landlords of Hancock's local).......
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Comment posted by r1404, at 15:14 11 Marr1404
15:14 11 Mar
So EU imports are given a free pass into GB whilst our exporters are hamstrung by Spaffers "great deal"
Sometimes I think that our Govt does not have a clue what it is doing
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Comment posted by Border Terrier, at 15:28 11 MarBorder Terrier
15:28 11 Mar
Not so long ago we had frictionless trade operating across borders within the EU.
It was the envy of the world. Up there with freedom of movement and the ability to work, live and study anywhere in the EU.
With frictionless tariff and red tape free trading.
Did I mention that Brexiteers.
and you voted to leave and abandon these great privileges.
and for what Brexiteers.
Global humiliation.
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Reply posted by threeflies, at 15:31 11 Marthreeflies
15:31 11 Mar
to Border Terrier
"
Not so long ago we had frictionless trade operating across borders within the EU. It was the envy of the world. Up there with freedom of movement and the ability to work, live and study anywhere in the EU. With frictionless tariff and red tape free trading. Did I mention that Brexiteers. and you voted to leave and abandon these great privileges.and for what Brexiteers.Global humiliation.
"
threeflies replied:
Self respect, something you lack.
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Comment posted by Strawcat, at 15:07 11 MarStrawcat
15:07 11 Mar
That oven ready deal is already way past it's sell-by date. Time to put it in the bin.
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Reply posted by Lizard, at 16:12 11 MarLizard
16:12 11 Mar
to Strawcat
"
That oven ready deal is already way past it's sell-by date. Time to put it in the bin.
"
Lizard replied:
The simple -minded can't accept we've left.
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Comment posted by JustMyView, at 15:06 11 MarJustMyView
15:06 11 Mar
Doesn’t this just mean it’s easier for the EU to export to the U.K. whilst the U.K. exporting to the EU remains difficult? I will expect the EU to be up in arms ...not.
The EU must have a level playing field tilted in their favour.
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Reply posted by Gabriel_The_Frog, at 15:08 11 MarGabriel_The_Frog
15:08 11 Mar
to JustMyView
"
Doesn’t this just mean it’s easier for the EU to export to the U.K. whilst the U.K. exporting to the EU remains difficult? I will expect the EU to be up in arms ...not.The EU must have a level playing field tilted in their favour.
"
Gabriel_The_Frog replied:
Quite...EU must be laughing their heads off at this...easy for them to export to us, hard for us to export to them !! Balance of trade will be worse than ever.....
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Comment posted by Bob McBobin, at 15:13 11 MarBob McBobin
15:13 11 Mar
To be fair, we were all comfortable with EU standards and products pre January, so to have no checks on goods coming in sounds sensible. If longer term our regulations change then we can impose such checks, but in the meantime let’s not waste time and money checking goods for no reason.
If the EU wants to impose checks on our goods, well that is their choice/right.
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Reply posted by RM, at 15:46 11 MarRM
15:46 11 Mar
to Bob McBobin
"
To be fair, we were all comfortable with EU standards and products pre January, so to have no checks on goods coming in sounds sensible. If longer term our regulations change then we can impose such checks, but in the meantime let’s not waste time and money checking goods for no reason.If the EU wants to impose checks on our goods, well that is their choice/right.
"
RM replied:
UK stops being an independent country if the UK relies on someone else the EU to check UK's borders.
Also, that means good bye to new trade deals, eg US/UK & others.
Who wants to have a trade deal with the UK if the UK does not control its borders?
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Comment posted by U Turn government, at 15:06 11 MarU Turn government
15:06 11 Mar
Boris telling lies to th EU again
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Reply posted by MrBlueSky, at 15:13 11 MarMrBlueSky
15:13 11 Mar
to U Turn government
"
Boris telling lies to th EU again
"
MrBlueSky replied:
Telling lies on what?
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Comment posted by Chris109, at 15:37 11 MarChris109
15:37 11 Mar
As a small business owner who exports to the EU I can vouch for the fact that exporting our products has turned in to an utter nightmare. We are now quoted 12 days to ship to EU countries when it was 2 days.
Even when you complete the paperwork correctly there is no guarantee shipments will be delivered, they end up stuck waiting for customs clearance for no apparent reason.
Stupid Brexit!
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Reply posted by That_Ian, at 15:39 11 MarThat_Ian
15:39 11 Mar
to Chris109
"
As a small business owner who exports to the EU I can vouch for the fact that exporting our products has turned in to an utter nightmare. We are now quoted 12 days to ship to EU countries when it was 2 days.Even when you complete the paperwork correctly there is no guarantee shipments will be delivered, they end up stuck waiting for customs clearance for no apparent reason.Stupid Brexit!
"
That_Ian replied:
I just hope you didn't vote Leave in 2016....?
What Covid has done is made it impossible to sort out what is due to Brexit, and what is not. That Observer article is just as biased, and lacking in real evidence, as the Government's position that everything is perfect.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has had some of the impact on exports/imports, but not the whole amount. In the short-medium term Covid is more important than being in or out of the EU.
Leaving a large trade bloc is bound to reduce imports/exports to at least some extent. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Consuming more of what we produce is not of itself bad.
And probably better for the planet. Much like not moaning about not being able to ship shellfish abroad for slaughter.
No doubt we will soon move on to British car assembly. While conveniently ignoring 2 important facts:-
1. UK car manufacture (as opposed to assembly) died a death while we were in the EU;
2. The decision to be the only country in the world to ban traditional cars by 2030 will have a bigger impact on car assembly here than Brexit
I think that Boris has acted stupidly on a number of issues, and lied about others.
Continually breaking international law is unlikely to inspire confidence with any trading partner.
He has unilaterally extended grace periods, in order to limit damage to the economy.
Yet when the EU offered to extend the transition period, his response was that he would rather die in a ditch than accept any extension.
Both of these measures would have solved the same problem.
There is something wrong with a man that would prefer to break an agreement, than reach a friendly negotiated agreement.
Why would anyone with any sense do this?
Who knows when the grace periods will end, but when they do conditions are likely to get worse rather than better.
The NI difficulties are down to the agreement that he negotiated, but he is prepared to blame anyone except himself.
As we were taking back control of our borders.
You wouldnt have to be a genius to think that the first step to accomplishing this might be to create some infrastructure.
Yet here we are almost 5 years on from the referendum, and our border posts are just holes in the ground.
You can make excuses, but I dont think think that there was ever a point in negotiations where we were staying in the customs union.
So we knew 5 years ago that border posts would be required.
Despite the billions spent on preparations, no border posts.
Whatever you think of shellfish exports.
I think I read that they lose around 75% of their value when not sold live.
So delays dont really work.
Companies losing money, and those losing their jobs will probably not agree with your views.
I wonder how many in the fishing industry are sick as parrots that they voted for Brexit.
I am not sure how things will pan out when it comes to cars in the longer term.
How many manufacturers will relocate to Europe?
What about the Japanese now that they have an EU deal?
Having a glut of any product usually means a fall in prices.
Good for consumers, not for producers.
I really think that Boris is an embarrassment.
He is more of an Arthur Daley than a Prime Minister.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/brexiteers-are-betrayed-england-s-fishing-quota-owned-by-eu-factory-ships-mike-hookem/ar-BB1eD5mP?ocid=msedgntp
Brexit LIVE: Fury as loophole ties UK citizens to EU scheme - 'Sneaky move by Ireland'
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/brexit-live-fury-as-loophole-ties-uk-citizens-to-eu-scheme-sneaky-move-by-ireland/ar-BB1eD7vK?ocid=msedgntp
'We'll take UK to court!' EU ambassador claims bloc had 'no alternative' to legal action
…Joao Vale de Almeida told the BBC's Today Programme that the UK Government is in breach of the Northern Ireland protocols. The European Union ambassador added that Britain has also broken the good faith obligation with the trading bloc.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/we-ll-take-uk-to-court-eu-ambassador-claims-bloc-had-no-alternative-to-legal-action/ar-BB1eDms2?ocid=msedgntp
Michael Gove’s promise of a ‘green Brexit’ has been broken say environmental groups
Michael Gove’s promise to deliver a “green Brexit” has been savaged by environmental groups, who warn that vital protections are being watered down.
Safeguards for chemicals, nature, air quality and waste are all weaker since the UK left the EU, they say – despite the pledge that stronger rules would be “a special prize” from leaving the EU.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/michael-gove-s-promise-of-a-green-brexit-has-been-broken-say-environmental-groups/ar-BB1eDouP?ocid=msedgntp
I don't like the Brexit deal we actually have. But there is no other deal that a Conservative Government could have done. Other Parties, yes. But not a Conservative one.
The public voted for Brexit. The public voted consistently for a Conservative Government. The public has got the Government that it voted for, and the type of Brexit that the majority endorsed (knowingly or otherwise). Particularly the fishermen and farmers wanted.
I, like you, are uncomfortable with it. But there is no realistic alternative.
Fortunately, it looks like the economic damage will be less than many feared. But there will still be damage. Probably to more significant industries than shellfish fishermen.
They have fully implemented the rules on their side, and we have had to have grace periods.
When the grace periods end exporters will surely face more problems.
I also think that Polly Toynbee makes a lot of sense in the second Guardian article.
I still cant understand how the Tory party moved from "anyone but Boris", to electing him as their leader.
I just hope he gets his comeuppance sooner rather than later.
Theresa May surely had a better deal.
Pity she didnt have their current majority.
Looking back, I think there was a window where if Keir Starmer was the Labour leader the opposition parties could have ousted Theresa Mays government and we might have had a different outcome.
That ship has sailed.
I am not sure what the long term solution might be, and they surely cant carry on as they are.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been accused of throwing human rights campaigners in repressive states “to the wolves” after he said the UK will seek trade deals with countries which do not meet international standards on the issue.
In a leaked video call with staff in the Foreign Office (FCDO), Mr Raab said that Britain would miss out on trade with future “growth markets” if it insisted on dealing only with countries which meet the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Amnesty International said his comments would “send a chill down the spine of embattled human rights activists right across the globe”.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/dominic-raab-tells-uk-officials-to-trade-with-countries-which-fail-to-meet-human-rights-standards-in-leaked-video/ar-BB1eEr1n?ocid=msedgntp
Ireland Brexit FURY: Taoiseach erupts at UK over 'EU bashing' as tensions boil over
The European Commission has now formally launched legal action against the UK over an alleged breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Irish Prime Minister Mr Martin had warned Britain's decision to extend post-Brexit grace periods "exacerbates uncertainty and instability". On Monday, he also said: "Unilateral action to disapply or not to implement aspects of the protocol does nothing but corrode trust."
But now Mr Martin, a firm opponent of Brexit, has launched another furious attack against the UK, accusing the nation of "EU bashing" which he claimed historically, "has been a feature of United Kingdom domestic politics".
The Taoiseach added he hoped that would ease following Brexit but that the indications are, to some extent, that it's still "alive and well".
Ireland's Prime Minister fumed: "Historically, EU bashing has been a feature of United Kingdom domestic politics.
"I was hoping post-Brexit that that might ease somewhat. The signs are it's still to a certain extent, alive and well.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/ireland-brexit-fury-taoiseach-erupts-at-uk-over-eu-bashing-as-tensions-boil-over/ar-BB1eEBjP?ocid=msedgntp
For better or worse, Brexit has happened and without the upheaval of a total “no deal” outcome. Some of the leading characters in the drama have moved on. Nigel Farage is launching a war against “wokeness” and is hunting for Red Guards as part of his campaign against Chinese infiltration. The Conservative Remainers who stood and fought were wiped out politically, as were all defectors from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. Some of us retired to do other things.
What survives of the Brexit debate is a wearily predictable: “we told you so”. Remainers rightly point to all the additional red tape from border checks and the rules of origin problems creating tariffs within supply chains. The collapse – by 40 per cent – in exports to the EU may well have been amplified by Covid checks. But it also represents a long-term decline in our trade with our biggest trade partner with entirely predictable, and predicted, economic costs. We did tell them so.
But Leavers are entirely fair to point to the shambolic EU vaccination programme and the petulant European response to the fact that, for once, Britain did something well, helped by a nimble national medicines regulator. It would have been technically and legally possible for us to run our own vaccine programme as an EU member state, but the likelihood is we would have been persuaded to participate in what has been a slower and less effective regime.
But instead of refighting history, the focus should be, from all of us, on how to make the best of a new reality. There is much to do. Key elements in the EU relationship haven’t been concluded yet, including critical rules of engagement for financial services. The promised new trade agreements with the likes of the US have yet to emerge. And the promised opportunities from new post-Brexit “freedoms” have yet to be revealed.
One person who needs to snap out of old ways of thinking is the government’s chief Brexit negotiator, Lord Frost. I remember him as one of my middle-level officials in the Department of Business. He has since become a politician and made it to the Cabinet without ever troubling the electorate.
For reasons which remain obscure, he has landed a really big job: to rebuild good relationships with decision makers in Europe in order to ensure that Britain obtains the best possible terms in respect of the many technical issues which will keep surfacing in the trade relationship.
He has since given an excellent impersonation of a bull in a china shop. He is tearing up a carefully constructed set of arrangements on the Northern Ireland protocol, negotiated by a serious politician: Michael Gove.
His first resort in negotiation seems to be to break international law whose observance is – or was – the bedrock of Britain’s reputation abroad. Among those he has wrong-footed is the foreign secretary, whose attempts to lecture the Chinese on not breaking international law are being made to look ridiculous and hypocritical.
Another minister still locked into a pre-Brexit mode of thinking is the trade minister, Liz Truss, who is seemingly engaged in a “race” with the EU to sign a trade deal with the US. Such things may excite the Brexit faithful but suggest a remarkable degree of wishful thinking about the priorities of the Biden administration. And nothing is more likely to guarantee a bad deal than to announce in advance that you are desperate to get one quickly. The Brexiteers themselves repeatedly deployed this argument for countenancing the disaster of “no deal” with the EU, but have forgotten it in relation to the US, even though we actually do hold plenty of cards in that negotiation.
I haven’t shifted at all from my view that Brexit was a historic mistake and will prove costly in the long term. But we cannot live in the past. That battle was lost and will not be re-joined for quite some time. We should now be looking at every possible way to turn this dubious new world to our advantage.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-brexit-battle-was-lost-we-must-accept-that-and-change-our-way-of-thinking/ar-BB1eEkRT?ocid=msedgntp
The anger from Unionists comes as checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Britain are not just frustrating businesses and consumers but threaten the Union with the UK. Speaking to Channel 4 news, Jim Allister MLA, who leads Traditional Unionist Voice, a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland said: "Either we kill the protocol or it kills the union."
He said how his party and the Democratic Unionist Party had become united on "the same plan and page of saving the union" following a U-turn by the DUP on their position on the protocol.
The DUP U-turned in their support for the Northern Ireland protocol after supporting Brexit.
The rising frustration comes as the DUP has begun to lose support following the Northern Ireland border row in which some voters have begun to switch their allegiance to the centrist non-sectarian Alliance Party.
The Alliance Party says no to the protocol and no to an Irish sea border.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/kill-protocol-or-kill-union-boris-under-pressure-to-break-brexit-deal-to-save-uk/ar-BB1eDnkh?ocid=msedgntp
For consumers, it's one of the body blows of Brexit. Since Britain left the EU, tens of thousands of shoppers have been hit by a raft of unexpected extra charges when buying goods from websites based in Europe.
In some cases, there have been demands of nearly a half as much again on top of the asking price before couriers would hand over the goods.
Not only are these being imposed when consumers were promised a tariff-free future - but many of the shoppers had no idea that the websites were based overseas, and were never warned at the check-out that they would have to pay more.
To make matters worse, the retailers often don't understand what charges they should apply under the new post-Brexit rules — some are rigorous in demanding the extra costs, while others don't bother and still more are charging far more than they should, often unwittingly.
So what exactly is behind these additional bills? Here, we explain the complicated mix of VAT, customs and delivery charges, which has left shoppers baffled, angry and often without their shopping...
THE VAT BOMBSHELL
Some of the extra charges come in the form of a VAT bill, to be paid on delivery of the goods.
Before we left the EU, a British internet shopper buying, say, a shirt from Spain, would be quoted a price that included 20 per cent VAT and the retailer would pass on that VAT to the Spanish treasury.
Likewise, Spaniards buying British goods on the internet would be charged VAT by the retailer who passed it on to HMRC.
Now we have left the EU, UK shoppers are expected to pay the VAT themselves on many goods from EU websites - and retailers should not be including VAT in the price on the site for those goods.
'The sales are now treated as exports,' says Michelle Dale, a VAT specialist at the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.
'They incur no taxes in Spain. But when they arrive in the UK there will be 'import VAT' to pay to HMRC.'
But it is more complicated than that. For products from the EU worth less than £135, the EU retailer should be levying the VAT from the customer and passing it on to the HMRC, which means there should be no extra charge on delivery.
For goods worth £135 or above, the VAT should be paid in Britain by the customer on delivery.
However, while larger firms have registered with HMRC and will collect the VAT on behalf of the British customer, many smaller companies haven't done the paperwork, or think it is too much hassle to register with HMRC.
It means it's a lottery as to whether you are charged VAT by couriers and on what value products. Often, customers are being charged twice — both at the point of sale and on delivery.
Penelope Pullan, 53, an author from Loughborough, lost 3 st during lockdown and decided to buy new clothes.
She ordered a cashmere cardigan and some tops from Scotch & Soda, which she thought was a British company, but it is based in Amsterdam. The bill came to £265.41 including 'free delivery' and VAT. She was later told by UPS that 'charges on delivery are due' for VAT and duty of £105.41.
Penelope (left) was shocked that the driver asked her to pay the fees if she wanted the parcel or it would be returned.
The clothes were sent back to Scotch & Soda and she has been refunded. She says: 'I couldn't take the risk. It was an utter mess.'
CLOBBERED BY CUSTOMS DUTY
That arbitrary figure of £135 is also the value at which customs duty becomes liable post-Brexit and it will have to be paid on delivery as well as any VAT.
The duty level depends on what the item is, but it ranges from about 2 per cent up to 25 per cent of the value of the product, with most fashion items incurring about 10 per cent to 12 per cent.
This duty has to be paid by the UK shopper, not the EU shop. Delays are also leading to cancellations.
Anthony Bale, 46, an academic from South London, bought some sportswear online for £116 on January 6 from Spanish brand Joma.
Using the 'track my order' function, however, Anthony could see that his parcel was still sitting at Madrid airport until February 5.
Anthony then got an update to say the parcel had been sent back to Joma.
A further week later, the sportswear company emailed him with an explanation: 'We have to cancel your order, as we are having logistical issue and delayed in custom [sic] as a result of Brexit.' Anthony was later refunded by the company.
HIT BY HANDLING CHARGES
How does the UK shopper physically pay all this extra VAT or duty? 'It is up to the carrier, such as DPD or UPS to pay the import charges and collect them from the shopper before delivering the goods, but they will also levy a handling charge for doing this,' says Dale.
DHL, for instance, charges 2.5 per cent of the liable VAT and duty with a minimum fee of £11, while Royal Mail charges £8.
Lisa Walpole wanted to buy something for herself for her 40th birthday in lockdown on January 15.
‘I thought I’d treat myself and my twin brother, Andrew, to a jumpsuit. I’d bought one before, from OnePiece. And I thought it’d be really fun: a red, velour jumpsuit,’ she laughs.
The Norwegian company (now based in Amsterdam) claim to be responsible for the onesie boom a decade ago.
Lisa put in the order after New Year totalling £236, but later received an email from UPS demanding customs charges of £121. The mum-of-three, who is a trainee therapy counsellor, couldn’t get through to OnePiece.
But when UPS delivered the parcel to her home in Norfolk, no one asked her to pay. ‘The normal delivery driver was off. There was a replacement one and he didn’t ask for any money.’
But, a few days later, Lisa’s usual delivery driver rang the bell. ‘He said, “I am really sorry but I need to ask you to pay this money”.’
Lisa paid the bill by credit card. When she got through to OnePiece, she was promised a refund. ‘OnePiece did the right thing — eventually. It has now sorted out its website.’
PENALISED ON PRESENTS
To make matters worse, goods sent from abroad incur VAT if they are valued above £39.
Again, the recipient has to pay it, not the sender. If they are above £135 in value, they will also incur a customs duty of 2.5 per cent of the goods value.
WHAT ABOUT AMAZON OR EBAY?
Amazon, eBay, Etsy and other online marketplaces are now liable for paying VAT and duty on shoppers' behalf under new laws that came into force coincidentally at the end of the transition period on January 1.
So shoppers buying on these platforms should not be hit by unexpected charges — extra costs should be taken at the point of purchase.
But customers are still reporting problems.
Simon Grice, 60, a car mechanic from Sheffield, bought a 1970s Sicura watch from a Spanish watch dealer on eBay in early January. It cost £177, plus £15 postage and packaging.
But a week after paying via PayPal, he got an email from shipping firm UPS demanding a further £48 in import duties and VAT for the item to be released from Spanish customs.
Simon paid the fees, but the watch took another couple of weeks to arrive.
'From what I understood, Brexit was going to involve frictionless trade and I'd get any item within a week,' says Simon.
'I might get a small import charge, but I certainly didn't expect it to take four weeks and cost nearly £50 extra. I won't be shopping from Europe again.'
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/deliveries-with-a-nasty-bill-from-europe-more-and-more-shoppers-are-being-hit-by-hidden-import-fees-even-if-they-think-they-re-buying-british/ar-BB1eEQ8R?ocid=msedgntp
Speaking to France24 on Tuesday, Sylvie Bermann, who was France's ambassador to the UK until 2017 and authored the book "Goodbye Britannia", launched a blistering attack on Boris Johnson. In her book, she claimed the Prime Minister had been using misinformation as an "instrument of power" since before the Brexit referendum. Ms Bermann continued in her attack labelling Mr Johnson as someone who was "not supposed to be a Brexiteer".
The former diplomat added: "He was not supposed to be a Brexiteer.
"Of course we know what he wrote when he was in Brussels as the correspondent of the Telegraph what was called the Euro myth.
"It was an invention, of course, it showed that the EU was absurd and so on."
Ms Bermann branded the Prime Minister as an "unrepentant liar" in the interview along with a string of attacks on his character.
The former French diplomat also suggested that Mr Johnson "lies as an instrument of power" and suggested: "I think he wanted to be PM, that was his aim."
She added: "So when you have such a politician (as Johnson) of course it legitimises what was before the position of Farage."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/france-s-former-ambassador-in-blistering-attack-on-boris-lies-as-instrument-of-power/ar-BB1eFLGY?ocid=msedgntp
Like pretty much everything in this world, there are upsides as well as downsides to change.
The EU has a tendency to act like it runs the world. Take its latest pronouncements on refusing to allow exports of vaccine from EU countries.
This is not the EU's call to make. Astrazeneca or Pfizer make the stuff, and it is for them to decide where it goes.
Not some unelected tinpot dictator.
It is bad enough when our elected leaders do stuff that benefits them. But worse when some unelected leader of a largely imaginary superstate starts playing nationalistic politics. While going against their own independent medical advice (the EMA).