1. Really? You get to decide what time period qualified as an allowable benefit? You do know that you have created thousands of posts bout the evils of Brexit in that timeframe, don't you?
I do. That was the old, discontinued, not updated thread. This is the new post Brexit thread. Surely a Brexit benefit can only be something that has improved after we have left, rather than something that occurred while we were still members.
3. On threads created by you, you believe that anything any politician says, or anything that anyone who disagrees with you are fair game, but anything you say is off limits. Really? It got demoted to page 8 because you scared everyone else off. My best friend was an avid Remainer, and will always be anti-Boris. As he said to me last week:- "The bit that really p1sses me off, is that the whole vaccine saga shows that we were lied to just as much by Remainers as Leavers."
Again untrue. In fact I rarely believe UK politicians. It got demoted to page 8 because I stopped posting on it. We had left the EU, and I thought it time for a new thread. Posting an article does not somehow certify the veracity of it, it merely creates an opportunity to debate the contents. I dont follow your friends argument.
4. This is the difference between theory and practice in the real world. In theory, we could have. But that conveniently ignores these facts:- (1) But for Brexit, we would still be in the EU
Obviously.
(2) We would just have had a referendum confirming our commitment to the EU
?
(3) In a club of 28 Members, no-one agreed to go it alone except for the 1 that was leaving the club
True.
(4) The EMA would still have been based in the UK-how easy would it be to say that we don't want to trust a UK-based agency? (5) The MHRA would in many respects still have been under the EMA-how easy would it have been to plan a solo mission? Particularly, a quicker 1 than the UK-based EU one? (6) The EU was already tired of us only following the EU when it suited us-just how much reputational damage would we have suffered, immediately after a referendum saying we should remain tied to Europe?
You see, these are facts. Providing context as to why your fact is true, but not realistic.
These are not facts, it seems you are trying to rewrite history.
In 2021, you are considerably less likely to die of Covid in the UK, as opposed to the EU. So (for example) Angela Merkel has not yet been allowed to have a vaccine. Most of Europe is entering a 3rd lockdown. We have a Regulator that understands that "an abundance of caution" costs lives. And a country that has acted decisively on vaccines. While the EU did not.
We used to have the highest death rate in Europe, although I havent checked it for a bit.
But you hide from this. I'm sure you genuinely believe that these are not good results from Brexit. Just like I am sure that you are in an ever-dwindling minority. Just like you hide from answering questions. Because you don't like the answers.
I am happy to answer questions that are pertinent. Just not keen on pointless quizes.' I am not hiding from anything.
Which is a shame. Because I genuinely like you. And I'm always interested in what you have to say. Even when I profoundly disagree with you.
Well it looks like that is likely to continue.
"I am happy to answer questions that are pertinent. Just not keen on pointless quizes.' I am not hiding from anything."
Bluff. Raise.
Even Boris would be ashamed of that whopper
"We used to have the highest death rate in Europe, although I haven't checked it since I knew fine well that that is no longer true..
Fixed your post.
I should have said we still have one of the highest death rates in Europe, well ahead of France, and Germany, and I find you comment about Boris and whoppers a bit harsh.
Covid map: Coronavirus cases, deaths, vaccinations by country By The Visual and Data Journalism Team BBC News
You are shameless at only using facts that suit you. You claim you are looking at now, not the past. Let us look at the rate NOW.
"SHOT AHEAD UK’s Covid infection rate plunges lower than 25 of 27 EU nations as cases fall 28% in a week after vaccine rollout
Joe Duggan
1 Apr 2021, 7:19Updated: 1 Apr 2021, 10:04
THE UK'S Covid infection rate is lower than 25 of 27 EU countries after the success of Britain's vaccine rollout.
The daily case numbers in the UK have slumped by 28 per cent in a week, official figures show.
Only Denmark and Portugal have lower infection rates among EU nations that the UK, the seven-day average of cases per million people shows The success of the UK's vaccine rollout has seen deaths and infections slump 5 The success of the UK's vaccine rollout has seen deaths and infections slumpCredit: AFP
The UK is now the best-placed major European nation as a third-wave wreaks havoc on the continent.
France has seen cases triple since early February to nearly 60,000 cases a day, with doctors in overwhelmed hospitals forced to choose which Covid patients get a ventilator.
Emmanuel Macron last night declared a four-week national lockdown and warned France is likely to "lose control" amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
The French President has blamed the UK Kent variant for the explosion in cases, with the weekly infection rate around eight times higher than in the UK. FRANCE LOCKDOWN
In a televised nationwide address , President Macron said the "epidemic is accelerating" and warned France is likely to "lose control" as infections spiral.
Germany's infection rate is nearly three times higher than the UK's, with 23,681 cases recorded on March 30.
The UK has seen an average of 73 daily cases per million people over the past week.
Only two EU countries - Denmark and Portugal - have lower case rates. French president Emmanuel Macron warned in a televised address his country is likely to "lose control" amid soaring Covid rates 5 French president Emmanuel Macron warned in a televised address his country is likely to "lose control" amid soaring Covid ratesCredit: AFP Total deaths in France have soared to almost 100,000 5 Total deaths in France have soared to almost 100,000
Hungary is the worst hit EU nation, with the daily rate soaring to 882 cases per one million people.
France's seven-day average is 571, with Netherlands 449 and Italy's 334.
As the pandemic sends Europe into meltdown, UK cases, deaths and hospitalisations have dropped to a six-month low.
Yesterday, there were 43 deaths - a 56 per cent week-on-week drop on last Wednesday's deaths -. and 4,052 cases.
UK deaths are now averaging averaging 50 a day, down from the peak of 1,284 deaths on January 19.
Almost six in ten adults in the UK have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with the EU figure only around 11 per cent.
Europe's chaotic vaccine rollout has seen Germany this week ban the AstraZeneca jab for under-55s over blood clot fears.
The shock decision comes days after France, Italy and Germany resumed their rollout out of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the EU finally declared it safe.
The trio's humiliating U-turn had come after all three countries led the way in suspending use of the jab amid an unfounded safety scare about the link with blood-clots.
And today the European Medical Agency again ruled the AZ jab safe despite Germany slapping a ban on using it on under 55s. Angela Merkel banning the Oxford vaccine and flirting with Putin over the Sputnik jab has been blamed on 'hatred for Brexit Britain' 5 Angela Merkel banning the Oxford vaccine and flirting with Putin over the Sputnik jab has been blamed on 'hatred for Brexit Britain'Credit: EPA"
That was in lots of National newspapers yesterday. Did you not see it?
Viral video of Boris Johnson ‘lying to parliament’ approaches 10 million views
I can't quite see what point you are trying to make.
You quote the article I quoted. With lots of important facts within it.
You then appear to want to answer this with "Look, Boris tells lies". As though that has any relevance whatsoever to the points in the article.
Sacked Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer says Parliament is a 'cesspit' full of liars and Government is 'most distrustful, awful environment' he has ever worked in
A former minister who was sacked after a row over the treatment of soldiers in Northern Ireland has said the Government is the 'most distrustful, awful environment' he has ever worked in. Johnny Mercer left the Government yesterday after expressing frustration at a lack of progress over legislation to protect British veterans who served during the Troubles. A furious Mr Mercer today gave Whitehall both barrels as he claimed 'almost nobody tells the truth' and UK politics is like a 'cesspit'. Mr Mercer said he exited the Government because he felt like he was the 'last man in the room who's willing to fulfil our manifesto commitments' as he also accused ministers of a 'gross betrayal of people who signed up to serve in the military'.
EU sues AstraZeneca over its 'complete failure' to meet delivery deadlines - and says it will not take up option to buy 100 million more of their vaccines
The Commission has now decided to take legal action against AstraZeneca for its 'compete failure' to deliver doses of its vaccine.
Liz Truss has caused an international incident this week with leaked reports that she was planning in insulting the Australian government by sitting their trade minister in an uncomfortable chair until he agreed to our post-brexit trade demands. This has not gone down at all well, and is symptomatic of Boris Johnson's refusal to face up to reality on the world stage.
Let's forget the 2nd. It is a month out of date. It involved lots of countries pausing, and quickly restarting use of AZ. No current relevance.
So-the Danish 1. The basis upon which they have decided to stop is clear. 1 Danish person has died, and another injured, by what may be partly or wholly due to the AZ vaccine.
1 million Danes have received their first jabs. 4.8 million (including children) have not. Of that 1 million, just over 150,000 have received the AZ vaccine. They have 2.4 million doses of AZ unused. I do not understand why nearly 95% of available vaccine has not been used.
Denmark claims the delay caused by not using AZ will be about 28 days-other sources say it will be longer, but let's run with that 28 days.
Current daily new Covid sufferers in Denmark? 657. Daily deaths? 2. Assuming things remain the same for the next 28 days, and you ignore knock-on effects of R etc, that means:-
Additional Covid sufferers in 28 day period:-over 15,000. Deaths 56.
Causation:-delay while Denmark wonders whether acting with an abundance of caution may save 1 or even 3 lives. While 56 die as they sit on their hands.
I Was Wrong About Brexit! Why I Am Now A Brexiteer!
Alex D 3 weeks ago Extra courier charge for coat: £82 Schengen visa fee: 80€ Loss of business due to Brexit: £150,000 Watching a Brexiteer get deported from Spain: Priceless
Seekingthemiddle Way 3 weeks ago Reminds me of the story of the English couple struggling to make themselves understood by a receptionist in a hotel in Malaga. "Do you know," they said, "We've been coming to this hotel for 20 years and they still can't speak English".
nrgspike 3 weeks ago As much as the irony makes me smile, it does sadly mean our collective IQ is going to drop even further when they're all back.
Gandalf the White 3 weeks ago Over the last 15 years I've come across a minority of Brits in France, usually men of a certain age that complain that they left Britain because of the immigration. They would say this without any irony and be completely oblivious to the fact, that they are immigrants to France. I don't get involved in the so called expat community, but the converstaion usually starts with "how long have you been here...blah blah blah", that gives them the cue to start spaffing off about why they came to France!
PanzerKami 3 weeks ago Oh, man. If this is not a brexit bonus, I've never seen one. I haven't laughed this hard since the British fishermen discovered that they had voted away their own customers. 😅😂🤣
Max Similion 3 weeks ago The thing about the self entitled is their total lack of self awareness. There must be a strong link to these attributes and pig ignorant stupidity.
Stephen Gale 2 weeks ago “ I’m not being told what to do or think cos I’m British “ ..That’s why The Sun etc sells millions of copies telling folks what to think & do every fu cking day 😂😇🏴❤️
gerald monger 3 weeks ago A certain person that I know who for his sake will remain nameless told me once that he and his family voted for Brexit because after his last holiday in Spain he would never go back. The reason, he didn't like the food " it was all Spanish" and even worse in the hotel where he stayed you couldn't get Wheetabix. Oh Well.
The 17:44 guy was vile. Exactly the sort of person who is stopping this country moving on. Ah, all Brexiteers are stupid and arrogant-says the man who refuses to believe a democratic vote.
Blame the winning side for telling lies. Don't blame the losing side for not caring enough to state their case.
The 17:44 guy was vile. Exactly the sort of person who is stopping this country moving on. Ah, all Brexiteers are stupid and arrogant-says the man who refuses to believe a democratic vote.
Blame the winning side for telling lies. Don't blame the losing side for not caring enough to state their case.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warns the UK the Brexit trade deal has 'real teeth' and Brussels 'will not hesitate' to punish Britain if Boris Johnson breaks its terms amid rumbling row over Northern Ireland Protocol
Ursula von der Leyen today warned Boris Johnson the European Union 'will not hesitate' to take action against the UK if it breaches the terms of the Brexit trade deal. The President of the European Commission said the Trade and Cooperation Agreement has 'real teeth' and 'unilateral remedial measures' will be deployed 'where necessary'. She stressed that she and the commission 'do not want to have to use these tools' as MEPs prepared to finally vote for the trade agreement which was struck by the two sides in December. Her warning shot came amid a rumbling row between the UK and the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol which was agreed as part of the original Brexit divorce deal.
Arlene Foster fighting for political survival after claims of DUP revolt
Arlene Foster appeared to be fighting for her survival as Northern Ireland’s First Minister on Tuesday night amid claims that dozens of DUP politicians had signed a letter of no confidence in her.
The letter has not yet been made public but is said to contain the signatures of at least 21 Stormont Assembly members and four MPs, and comes 24 hours after 18 constituency associations submitted letters of concerns.
It comes amid mounting frustration within the party over the leadership’s handling of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the post-Brexit trading arrangements which have caused significant disruption for traders moving goods across the Irish Sea.
Despite Mrs Foster being a vocal opponent of the protocol and demanding it be scrapped, some in the party believe she failed to take a hard enough stance over what they believe to be a “betrayal” by Boris Johnson.
Letter would be 'hard to survive' If the scale of the rebellion is accurate, as reported by the Belfast News Letter, it would constitute more than two thirds of the party’s representatives in Belfast and half of its members in Westminster.
While the letter had not been formally submitted on Tuesday, a number of DUP sources told The Telegraph they believed it would be hard for Mrs Foster to survive if the number of signatories was correct.
On Tuesday evening it was reported that the letter stated that the signatories no longer had confidence in "Mrs Foster or the leadership", which has been interpreted as an attempt to also remove Lord Dodds as the party's deputy.
It was suggested that under the party rulebook, Mrs Foster could be removed within days because the DUP leader must be re-elected annually before 30 April each year.
While this is normally seen as a rubber stamping exercise, the scale of the rebellion suggests that it could be used as an opportunity to oust her unless she steps down or agrees to a challenge.
The primary source of concern is her handling of the Brexit process. The DUP is facing anger from the wider loyalist and unionist community for the introduction of an Irish Sea border.
Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the party's influence at Westminster – particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives – to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK.
NI Protocol is 'brutal deviation from Good Friday Agreement'
The NI Protocol involves a "pretty brutal" deviation from the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, one of Ireland's former Brexit negotiators has said.
Rory Montgomery was referring to the way in which the NI Assembly can consent to the protocol continuing.
The consent vote will be held on the basis of a simple majority.
Controversial issues in NI normally require dual majorities from nationalist and unionists.
The Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal signed in 1998 that helped end decades of violence in Northern Ireland, contained special voting mechanisms to ensure equal representation for both unionist and nationalist communities.
All unionists parties oppose the protocol, but they are currently a minority in the NI Assembly.
Northern Ireland: Did anyone warn about Brexit border checks?
The protocol, part of the December 2019 deal that took the UK out of the EU, keeps Northern Ireland following many of the rules of the EU single market. That fact is what creates the checks on goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland, and other border bureaucracy, which many loyalists bitterly oppose. But what was said about Northern Ireland in the run-up to the 2016 EU referendum, and how many of these issues were predicted at the time?
Sinn Fein did use the slogan "Brexit means borders", and on a visit to Northern Ireland in June 2016, the then Chancellor George Osborne said there would have to be a hardening of the border, if the UK was outside the EU.
It raised the prospect of checks and even checkpoints returning to the border with the Republic, which the Northern Ireland peace process had removed.
"For all the talk of 'taking back control' of borders," says Prof Katy Hayward of Queen's University, Belfast, "the overwhelming sentiment across the spectrum in Northern Ireland during the 2016 referendum was that there should not be any change to its borders."
What about a border in the Irish Sea? Everyone assumed the only border up for discussion was the land border with the Republic. There was virtually no mention of what has emerged instead - border checks and bureaucracy between Great Britain and Northern Ireland - the so-called Irish Sea border.
The prospect of this happening was briefly discussed during a visit to Londonderry on 9 June by two former prime ministers - Sir John Major and Tony Blair. Both were strong supporters of Remain.
Mr Blair argued a vote to leave would mean the only alternative to controls on the land border "would have to be checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, which would be plainly unacceptable as well".
Sir John warned it would be "an historic mistake" to do anything that risked destabilising the Good Friday Agreement, which brought the troubles in Northern Ireland to an end.
In response, the Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster spoke of "deeply offensive" scare stories from the Remain campaign, and the then Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers, also a prominent leave supporter, said any suggestion that Brexit could have a negative impact on the peace process was "deeply irresponsible".
At the time, it was not clear what form of Brexit might emerge after a leave vote. Many people on both sides thought the UK could choose to remain in the EU single market (like Norway) while leaving the EU's political structures.
But the government pursued a different path. And with Britain outside the single market and the customs union, some border bureaucracy had to be introduced between GB and NI instead.
Referendum claims
The Leave campaign said customs wouldn't be a problem, because "the EU already allows its members customs-free access to non-EU countries." That is only true for countries that are in the EU customs union. For Britain, it is incorrect.
Arlene Foster has been thrown to the wolves by Johnson’s Brexit games
Yet shed few tears for Foster. It is Brexit that has put the DUP on the rack. And it is Brexit that she and her party got horribly wrong from the start. Pure UK sovereignty was always going to be incompatible with the Northern Ireland peace process, into which power-sharing was hardwired. The DUP should therefore have thought the issue through and opposed Brexit, as a majority of Northern Ireland voters unsurprisingly did in 2016. When the UK nevertheless voted for it, the DUP should have backed Theresa May’s clunky but, in this context, principled Northern Ireland backstop.
Instead, the DUP foolishly threw in its lot with Boris Johnson and the European Research Group. Three years ago, Johnson went to the DUP conference and promised “no British government could or should” sign up to a border in the Irish Sea, a pledge he repeated when he became prime minister in 2019. The following year, Johnson signed up to precisely that, making idiots of the DUP.
Johnson has no interest in Northern Ireland. A colleague from his Daily Telegraph days recently recalled him announcing he was writing a piece about Northern Ireland. “Remind me,” he asked, “which ones are the orange johnnies?” Foster is neither the first nor the last person to make the error of believing Johnson’s lies. But she is learning her lesson now. She is also being made the scapegoat for wider DUP and unionist failings that will continue to confront her successor.
Comments
You quote the article I quoted. With lots of important facts within it.
You then appear to want to answer this with "Look, Boris tells lies". As though that has any relevance whatsoever to the points in the article.
Sacked Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer says Parliament is a 'cesspit' full of liars and Government is 'most distrustful, awful environment' he has ever worked in
A former minister who was sacked after a row over the treatment of soldiers in Northern Ireland has said the Government is the 'most distrustful, awful environment' he has ever worked in. Johnny Mercer left the Government yesterday after expressing frustration at a lack of progress over legislation to protect British veterans who served during the Troubles. A furious Mr Mercer today gave Whitehall both barrels as he claimed 'almost nobody tells the truth' and UK politics is like a 'cesspit'. Mr Mercer said he exited the Government because he felt like he was the 'last man in the room who's willing to fulfil our manifesto commitments' as he also accused ministers of a 'gross betrayal of people who signed up to serve in the military'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9496415/Ex-minister-Johnny-Mercer-blasts-distrustful-Government.html
The Commission has now decided to take legal action against AstraZeneca for its 'compete failure' to deliver doses of its vaccine.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9499689/EU-prepares-SUE-AstraZeneca-vaccine-delivery-shortfalls.html
Liz Truss has caused an international incident this week with leaked reports that she was planning in insulting the Australian government by sitting their trade minister in an uncomfortable chair until he agreed to our post-brexit trade demands. This has not gone down at all well, and is symptomatic of Boris Johnson's refusal to face up to reality on the world stage.
Alex D
3 weeks ago
Extra courier charge for coat: £82
Schengen visa fee: 80€
Loss of business due to Brexit: £150,000
Watching a Brexiteer get deported from Spain: Priceless
Seekingthemiddle Way
3 weeks ago
Reminds me of the story of the English couple struggling to make themselves understood by a receptionist in a hotel in Malaga. "Do you know," they said, "We've been coming to this hotel for 20 years and they still can't speak English".
nrgspike
3 weeks ago
As much as the irony makes me smile, it does sadly mean our collective IQ is going to drop even further when they're all back.
Gandalf the White
3 weeks ago
Over the last 15 years I've come across a minority of Brits in France, usually men of a certain age that complain that they left Britain because of the immigration. They would say this without any irony and be completely oblivious to the fact, that they are immigrants to France. I don't get involved in the so called expat community, but the converstaion usually starts with "how long have you been here...blah blah blah", that gives them the cue to start spaffing off about why they came to France!
PanzerKami
3 weeks ago
Oh, man. If this is not a brexit bonus, I've never seen one. I haven't laughed this hard since the British fishermen discovered that they had voted away their own customers. 😅😂🤣
Max Similion
3 weeks ago
The thing about the self entitled is their total lack of self awareness. There must be a strong link to these attributes and pig ignorant stupidity.
Stephen Gale
2 weeks ago
“ I’m not being told what to do or think cos I’m British “ ..That’s why The Sun etc sells millions of copies telling folks what to think & do every fu cking day 😂😇🏴❤️
gerald monger
3 weeks ago
A certain person that I know who for his sake will remain nameless told me once that he and his family voted for Brexit because after his last holiday in Spain he would never go back. The reason, he didn't like the food " it was all Spanish" and even worse in the hotel where he stayed you couldn't get Wheetabix. Oh Well.
The 17:44 guy was vile. Exactly the sort of person who is stopping this country moving on. Ah, all Brexiteers are stupid and arrogant-says the man who refuses to believe a democratic vote.
Blame the winning side for telling lies. Don't blame the losing side for not caring enough to state their case.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/dominic-cummings-attack-on-brexiteers-as-westminster-row-exploded-thick-as-mince/ar-BB1g64Mf?ocid=msedgntp
https://video.dailymail.co.uk/preview/mol/2021/04/27/141284409999801297/308x174_MP4_141284409999801297.mp4
Ursula von der Leyen today warned Boris Johnson the European Union 'will not hesitate' to take action against the UK if it breaches the terms of the Brexit trade deal. The President of the European Commission said the Trade and Cooperation Agreement has 'real teeth' and 'unilateral remedial measures' will be deployed 'where necessary'. She stressed that she and the commission 'do not want to have to use these tools' as MEPs prepared to finally vote for the trade agreement which was struck by the two sides in December. Her warning shot came amid a rumbling row between the UK and the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol which was agreed as part of the original Brexit divorce deal.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9515947/Ursula-von-der-Leyen-warns-UK-Brexit-trade-deal-real-teeth.html
Arlene Foster appeared to be fighting for her survival as Northern Ireland’s First Minister on Tuesday night amid claims that dozens of DUP politicians had signed a letter of no confidence in her.
The letter has not yet been made public but is said to contain the signatures of at least 21 Stormont Assembly members and four MPs, and comes 24 hours after 18 constituency associations submitted letters of concerns.
It comes amid mounting frustration within the party over the leadership’s handling of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the post-Brexit trading arrangements which have caused significant disruption for traders moving goods across the Irish Sea.
Despite Mrs Foster being a vocal opponent of the protocol and demanding it be scrapped, some in the party believe she failed to take a hard enough stance over what they believe to be a “betrayal” by Boris Johnson.
Letter would be 'hard to survive'
If the scale of the rebellion is accurate, as reported by the Belfast News Letter, it would constitute more than two thirds of the party’s representatives in Belfast and half of its members in Westminster.
While the letter had not been formally submitted on Tuesday, a number of DUP sources told The Telegraph they believed it would be hard for Mrs Foster to survive if the number of signatories was correct.
On Tuesday evening it was reported that the letter stated that the signatories no longer had confidence in "Mrs Foster or the leadership", which has been interpreted as an attempt to also remove Lord Dodds as the party's deputy.
It was suggested that under the party rulebook, Mrs Foster could be removed within days because the DUP leader must be re-elected annually before 30 April each year.
While this is normally seen as a rubber stamping exercise, the scale of the rebellion suggests that it could be used as an opportunity to oust her unless she steps down or agrees to a challenge.
The primary source of concern is her handling of the Brexit process. The DUP is facing anger from the wider loyalist and unionist community for the introduction of an Irish Sea border.
Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the party's influence at Westminster – particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives – to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/northern ireland/arlene-foster-fighting-for-political-survival-after-claims-of-dup-revolt/ar-BB1g7hLy?ocid=msedgntp
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-56910045
The NI Protocol involves a "pretty brutal" deviation from the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, one of Ireland's former Brexit negotiators has said.
Rory Montgomery was referring to the way in which the NI Assembly can consent to the protocol continuing.
The consent vote will be held on the basis of a simple majority.
Controversial issues in NI normally require dual majorities from nationalist and unionists.
The Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal signed in 1998 that helped end decades of violence in Northern Ireland, contained special voting mechanisms to ensure equal representation for both unionist and nationalist communities.
All unionists parties oppose the protocol, but they are currently a minority in the NI Assembly.
Assembly elections are due to be held in 2022, with the first consent vote due in 2024.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-56885273
The protocol, part of the December 2019 deal that took the UK out of the EU, keeps Northern Ireland following many of the rules of the EU single market. That fact is what creates the checks on goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland, and other border bureaucracy, which many loyalists bitterly oppose.
But what was said about Northern Ireland in the run-up to the 2016 EU referendum, and how many of these issues were predicted at the time?
Sinn Fein did use the slogan "Brexit means borders", and on a visit to Northern Ireland in June 2016, the then Chancellor George Osborne said there would have to be a hardening of the border, if the UK was outside the EU.
It raised the prospect of checks and even checkpoints returning to the border with the Republic, which the Northern Ireland peace process had removed.
"For all the talk of 'taking back control' of borders," says Prof Katy Hayward of Queen's University, Belfast, "the overwhelming sentiment across the spectrum in Northern Ireland during the 2016 referendum was that there should not be any change to its borders."
What about a border in the Irish Sea?
Everyone assumed the only border up for discussion was the land border with the Republic. There was virtually no mention of what has emerged instead - border checks and bureaucracy between Great Britain and Northern Ireland - the so-called Irish Sea border.
The prospect of this happening was briefly discussed during a visit to Londonderry on 9 June by two former prime ministers - Sir John Major and Tony Blair. Both were strong supporters of Remain.
Mr Blair argued a vote to leave would mean the only alternative to controls on the land border "would have to be checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, which would be plainly unacceptable as well".
Sir John warned it would be "an historic mistake" to do anything that risked destabilising the Good Friday Agreement, which brought the troubles in Northern Ireland to an end.
In response, the Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster spoke of "deeply offensive" scare stories from the Remain campaign, and the then Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers, also a prominent leave supporter, said any suggestion that Brexit could have a negative impact on the peace process was "deeply irresponsible".
At the time, it was not clear what form of Brexit might emerge after a leave vote. Many people on both sides thought the UK could choose to remain in the EU single market (like Norway) while leaving the EU's political structures.
But the government pursued a different path. And with Britain outside the single market and the customs union, some border bureaucracy had to be introduced between GB and NI instead.
Referendum claims
The Leave campaign said customs wouldn't be a problem, because "the EU already allows its members customs-free access to non-EU countries." That is only true for countries that are in the EU customs union. For Britain, it is incorrect.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/56763859
The European Parliament has ratified the post-Brexit EU-UK trade deal - a key move to ensure that tariff-and quota-free trade continues.
The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) has been operating provisionally since January. MEPs voted in favour by 660 votes to 5, while 32 abstained.
The UK's chief negotiator, Lord Frost, said the vote "brings certainty and allows us to focus on the future".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke of a "final step in a long journey".
The trade deal provided "stability to our new relationship with the EU as vital trading partners, close allies and sovereign equals", he said.
The result, announced on Wednesday after a vote late on Tuesday, was also welcomed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56899831
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/nestlé-to-cut-almost-600-jobs-as-it-closes-uk-factory-and-moves-some-production-to-europe/ar-BB1g98S5?ocid=msedgntp
Yet shed few tears for Foster. It is Brexit that has put the DUP on the rack. And it is Brexit that she and her party got horribly wrong from the start. Pure UK sovereignty was always going to be incompatible with the Northern Ireland peace process, into which power-sharing was hardwired. The DUP should therefore have thought the issue through and opposed Brexit, as a majority of Northern Ireland voters unsurprisingly did in 2016. When the UK nevertheless voted for it, the DUP should have backed Theresa May’s clunky but, in this context, principled Northern Ireland backstop.
Instead, the DUP foolishly threw in its lot with Boris Johnson and the European Research Group. Three years ago, Johnson went to the DUP conference and promised “no British government could or should” sign up to a border in the Irish Sea, a pledge he repeated when he became prime minister in 2019. The following year, Johnson signed up to precisely that, making idiots of the DUP.
Johnson has no interest in Northern Ireland. A colleague from his Daily Telegraph days recently recalled him announcing he was writing a piece about Northern Ireland. “Remind me,” he asked, “which ones are the orange johnnies?” Foster is neither the first nor the last person to make the error of believing Johnson’s lies. But she is learning her lesson now. She is also being made the scapegoat for wider DUP and unionist failings that will continue to confront her successor.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/arlene-foster-has-been-thrown-to-the-wolves-by-johnson-s-brexit-games/ar-BB1g9qpO?ocid=msedgntp