Freedom from European human rights rulings: British judges could no longer be 'bound' by ECHR decisions under Government proposals being backed by senior lawyers and Scotland Yard
The European Convention on Human Rights is currently enshrined in British law by the Human Rights Act but has become increasingly unpopular with many Conservatives.
Hmmm. I can understand the foodbank not giving the item out as part of their standard issue for fear of being seen to make a political statement, but to refuse to accept them sends out a bad signal regarding the need for donations.
At our foodbank we have trays in which very short dated or non standard stock are placed and anybody whether foodbank customer or soup kitchen guest can help themselves freely.
Surely this would be a better option in this instance.
Brexit: EU prepares to slash number of British TV programmes and films shown on the continent
After the “sausage war” comes the culture clash – the European Union is preparing to cut the “disproportionate” amount of British film and television shown on the continent after Brexit.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s warning shot for Boris Johnson as he prepares for DUP ‘coronation’
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is set to become the DUP’s next leader, as he warned Boris Johnson on Monday that the "failure" to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol could throw the future of power-sharing into doubt.
In what is expected to be an effective "coronation", Sir Jeffrey, the party’s Westminster leader, has confirmed his second leadership bid and is now poised to replace Edwin Poots, who was forced out last week.
If no rival comes forward before 12pm on Tuesday, he will be confirmed as leader by the weekend. He will be the DUP's second leader since Arlene Foster was forced out at the end of April.
Ousted DUP leader says he nominated a First Minister against party's wishes to fight 'damaging' Brexit protocol
Edwin Poots, the DUP leader ousted after 21 days in the job, has told Sky News he nominated a First Minister against his party's wishes to fight the Brexit Protocol.
Government’s job advert for new Brexit Opportunities Unit spectacularly backfires
A government ad urging people to apply to be the Director of a new Brexit Opportunities Unit has been predictably roasted on social media.
Reacting to the civil service’s latest fun role, people implied that there perhaps are not that many opportunities to be gained from Brexit, and questioned why someone wasn’t investigating Brexit opportunities before and not after we left the EU. We can’t think why:
Parody Boris Johnson @BorisJohnson_MP The team are already hard at work in our new Brexit Opportunities Unit.
Australia to enjoy exports boost six times greater than UK from trade deal, experts say
Australia will enjoy an exports boost six times greater than the UK from the controversial trade deal agreed between the two countries, experts say.
UK sales will grow by just 0.35 per cent from the agreement, the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO) forecasts – compared with a 2.2 per cent jump for Australia’s businesses.
Its analysis also predicts a puny output increase for the UK of 0.07 per cent, less than half the 0.16 per cent stimulus it predicts for Australia.
“These are very small numbers,” said Professor Michael Gasiorek, director of the observatory at the University of Sussex, adding: “We see a bigger positive effect for Australia than for the UK.”
EU sausage laws just tip of the Brexit iceberg in Northern Ireland
European Union sausage laws are just the tip of the iceberg in post-Brexit Northern Ireland, which still follows almost 300 Single Market rules covering everything from sardine marketing to fireworks and bull semen.
Hardline Brexiteers called on the Government to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is packed with rules for cocoa, GMOs, sweetened chestnut purée and products made with cat fur, and if necessary ditch it altogether.
The protocol aligns Northern Ireland with 290 EU regulations, including red tape over organ donation, watercraft, the use of alien species in aquaculture and the trade in seal pelts, to prevent a raft of extra border checks in the Irish Sea.
David Jones, vice-chair of the European Research Group of Tory backbenchers, said: “We feel that this is too dangerous to the integrity of the Union.”
He said the country would not benefit from the post-Brexit bonfire of EU rules planned for the rest of the UK.
The ERG voted in favour of the Protocol but Mr Jones said that was on the basis it would be a temporary solution and be superseded by a UK-EU trade deal.
“We've got part of our country that is being disadvantaged. There is a potentially destabilising impact upon the people of Northern Ireland and the peace process and Belfast agreement,” Mr Jones said.
Nigel Farage, the former leader of the Brexit Party, said the Prime Minister should give the EU a notice period but still tear up the treaty: "This is a mess of Boris' making - many of us warned him."
The protocol prevents a hard border on the island of Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland in the bloc’s customs territory.
It introduces checks on GB goods exported to the country to ensure they meet EU standards in case they cross the invisible border with EU member Ireland.
The Government has already complained that the number of necessary checks are too burdensome for businesses and that rules could prevent British sausages being sold in Northern Ireland from July 1.
To prevent a looming sausage trade war, London sued for a temporary peace last week. The Government wants an extension to a Protocol grace period allowing British bangers to be sold in Northern Ireland, which Brussels is expected to grant.
But the ceasefire over chilled meat preparations does not mean the European Commission is willing to renegotiate the Protocol.
A spokesman said it was the solution found by both the EU and UK to protect the Good Friday Agreement, the all-island economy and the Single Market.
“A limited set of EU rules continue to apply in Northern Ireland. The EU and the UK agreed together to this solution,” he said.
Neale Richmond, the Dublin Rathdown TD and Fine Gael’s European Affairs spokesman, said: “The extent of these checks is decided by the very hard Brexit pursued by this British Government.
“In order to avoid checks across the border in Ireland, a 300-mile frontier with over 200 crossings, the solution agreed by this British Government with the EU was for some checks at the four ports of entry into Northern Ireland.”
Alignment with EU rules means that Northern Ireland can export to the Single Market. Business leaders and politicians on both sides believe this could make the country a target for foreign investment by companies looking to serve both the EU and UK market.
UK government figures have shown that Northern Irish exports have jumped by 61pc since the Protocol was implemented at the start of the year and by 111pc since 2018.
Irish exports to Northern Ireland were also up by 40pc compared to 2018.
Stephen Kelly, chief executive of the ManufacturingNI trade association, said foreign businesses were actively looking at Northern Ireland thanks to its dual status.
“Right now, GB producers are having to meet two sets of rules, standards and expensive conformity assessments, and in some cases are contemplating either stopping selling to the EU altogether or establishing two separate production lines," he said.
“But the benefit of the Protocol is that, unlike elsewhere in the UK, we only need to adhere to one set of rules as our goods freely circulate to the EU and have unfettered access into Britain.”
David Henig, UK director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, added: “Every developed country including the UK has huge numbers of regulations. Few countries would want to commit to a treaty to part of their country following so many regulations made by someone else.
“To do so without any serious debate in Parliament was a big mistake with consequences which we're only now learning.”
1. Why does the EU have to make things so difficult for the British Isles (for want of a better term) in relation to Northern Ireland? When we were in the EU, there were no similar restrictions imposed to the parts of the British Isles that were not in the EU, such as The Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Similarly, the Canary Islands seem to have all sorts of exemptions, allowing them to be in or out of the EU whenever it suits. It's almost as though the EU is being sulky and vindictive.
2. The various bits about petrol prices in this thread. There are only 3 significant oil exporters/producers in the Continent of Europe. Russia, Norway, and the UK. None of which are in the EU. Being in or out of the EU is irrelevant to pricing. The simple reasons why petrol is expensive in this country are because of the taxes we impose and the pandemic.
On the second point, @TheEdge949 was claiming that cheaper petrol was a Brexit benefit. Yet according to the RAC that is not the case, and as you quite rightly say, it is irrelevant anyway.
On the first point people in this country never seem to tire of blaming the EU for anything that is bad or goes wrong.
The NI problems are created by Brexit, rather than the protocol. Although the protocol is an agreement that we signed only a matter of months ago. Yet here you are criticising the EU for insisting that we implement the rules that have been agreed. Boris wants the penny and the bun. We had a very clear choice of close alignment, or new rules. We chose the new rules, but now we dont like them. The EU have offered to eliminate 80% of the border checks if we were prepared to align more closely. We didnt want that, and we dont like the rules that we have agreed to either.
It is unfortunate that we have a PM that lives in cloud cuckoo land.
Boris invented the NI protocol when he binned the backstop. We havent even implemented all the rules yet, as we are still in the grace period. The number of problems are likely to increase as we diverge from EU rules, and the grace periods end.
Boris billed the situation in NI as the best of both worlds.
We created a customs border in the Irish Sea. A customs border is usually somewhere where checks are carried out. In fact what would be the point of having a customs border if no checks were carried out.
We seem to be trivialising the debate by saying it is about sausages, when really it isnt.
How can you just blame one side, when there was an agreement? All the EU seem to want is for us to implement the rules that we have agreed to.
It is not as simple as you would wish.
I agree that Boris knew fine well that his "solution" for Northern Ireland was little different from May's deal. Better polished, better packaged to fool from afar, but still a ****.
Thing is-what option did he have? The UK population voted to leave, and then voted Boris in big time to affirm rejection of the Customs Union. Politically, given the options open to him, he had no realistic alternative.
Whereas the EU had far more options. They could have shown the flexibility shown to the Canary Islands, to Liechtenstein, to Scandinavia, to Monaco. They could have come up with a solution that helped Ireland and Northern Ireland. One that suited its Members. Instead of what they did choose-the option that suited the institution of the EU.
The Irish Sea border was created by BOTH the EU and the UK. And demonstrates why, politically, I trust the EU exactly as much as this Government.
Of course it is the EUs fault.
Brexit: Can the UK and the EU reach a deal on Northern Ireland?
What's the main problem? The present system cannot cope with the number of checks required on goods entering Northern Irish ports from GB.
The UK government has unilaterally extended a series of grace periods.
But even so, the authorities in Northern Ireland are struggling to deal with demand.
Northern Ireland's chief vet Robert Huey said in April his team was conducting more checks on products of animal origin moving across the Irish Sea than France was at all its ports.
It was also conducting 325 documentary checks every day, he said, while Rotterdam, one of the busiest ports in the world, had only 125.
This is partly because containers arriving in Rotterdam are often full of one commodity, whereas each supermarket lorry crossing from GB to Northern Ireland contains multiple loads, all of which might need to be checked.
Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) told the BBC a weekly average of 2460 documentary checks, 2200 identity checks and 170 physical checks were being carried out in the six week period from 21 April to 6 June.
If all the current grace periods expired, Mr Huey has said his team would need to conduct nearly as many checks on food as were being conducted in the whole of the EU. And he has only 12 vets.
1. Why does the EU have to make things so difficult for the British Isles (for want of a better term) in relation to Northern Ireland? When we were in the EU, there were no similar restrictions imposed to the parts of the British Isles that were not in the EU, such as The Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Similarly, the Canary Islands seem to have all sorts of exemptions, allowing them to be in or out of the EU whenever it suits. It's almost as though the EU is being sulky and vindictive.
2. The various bits about petrol prices in this thread. There are only 3 significant oil exporters/producers in the Continent of Europe. Russia, Norway, and the UK. None of which are in the EU. Being in or out of the EU is irrelevant to pricing. The simple reasons why petrol is expensive in this country are because of the taxes we impose and the pandemic.
The EUs fault?
British exports of EU goods to Northern Ireland incurring Brexit tariffs
Manufacturers and retailers warned EU goods sent to Northern Ireland from Britain were liable for tariffs even though they were made to Brussels’ rules and regulations.
A government reimbursement scheme on tariffs for goods sold in Northern Ireland is not yet up and running, which risks causing additional cash flow problems for businesses.
Ireland has 2 vitally important (and biggest) markets for exports and imports. They are the USA and the UK. The EU's mantra on European "Union" seeks to prevent Ireland trading with it's biggest partners.
You may think Kate Hoey is mad, but I believe it is not in Ireland's best economic interests to be in a trading bloc that seeks to penalise Ireland's biggest customers. The deal as it stands is just as bad for Ireland as it is the UK.
The UK is eager to have/continue the special trading relationship that it has had with Ireland since before the EEC (never mind the EU) was formed. In particular, the North West of Ireland and the West of Northern Ireland are much more dependant on one another than on London, Belfast or Dublin.
If there has to be trading posts set up, that will be at the EU's insistence, and (presumably) at Ireland's cost. Because it is not our Single Market. Compare and contrast this with the dispensations given to the Canaries, French dependencies, even the UK bases on Cyprus.
When we were in the EU, and the Channel Islands, Isle of Man etc were not, the EU did not adopt the same position as in Northern Ireland now.
Ireland has 2 vitally important (and biggest) markets for exports and imports. They are the USA and the UK. The EU's mantra on European "Union" seeks to prevent Ireland trading with it's biggest partners.
You may think Kate Hoey is mad, but I believe it is not in Ireland's best economic interests to be in a trading bloc that seeks to penalise Ireland's biggest customers. The deal as it stands is just as bad for Ireland as it is the UK.
The UK is eager to have/continue the special trading relationship that it has had with Ireland since before the EEC (never mind the EU) was formed. In particular, the North West of Ireland and the West of Northern Ireland are much more dependant on one another than on London, Belfast or Dublin.
If there has to be trading posts set up, that will be at the EU's insistence, and (presumably) at Ireland's cost. Because it is not our Single Market. Compare and contrast this with the dispensations given to the Canaries, French dependencies, even the UK bases on Cyprus.
When we were in the EU, and the Channel Islands, Isle of Man etc were not, the EU did not adopt the same position as in Northern Ireland now.
The best people to decide whats best for Ireland, are the Irish Electorate.
I find it difficult to follow your reasoning.
Once we left the EU, there had to be a customs border, the border had to go in the Irish Sea.
There were no other realistic options.
Once we became a third country the number of border checks were bound to increase.
Nobody moaned about the small number of border checks between UK/NI that took place while we were still members.
The number of checks that would be required would be directly related to our post Brexit alignment with the EU.
I recall Michelle Barnier making it very clear in the Boris negotiations, when he said that it would be possible to maintain frictionless trade, and that the amount of friction would depend on the closeness of our ongoing relationship.
Boris wanted to diverge without friction.
Having his cake, and eating it was not on offer.
The friction is causing hold ups, yet this could be avoided with a stroke of a pen, by signing a veterinary agreement.
This would reduce the number of checks required by 80%.
This could even be done on a temporary basis.
Boris has chosen instead to unilaterally extend grace periods to minimise the problems.
Some of the delays are being caused by a lack of staff.
Therefore out fault.
There is no doubt in my mind that Boris has caused this mess.
I think that the border checks have created a wider problem.
At least some of the protests in NI appear to be about the imposition of a border between UK/NI, rather than border checks.
I dont think the protests have anything to do with sausages.
I dont think that Boris will able to decrease tensions in NI, even if he were able to reduce checks.
Although the border checks will just exacerbate the situation.
If my memory serves, when Boris ripped up Theresa Mays backstop, he came up with the protocol as an alternative.
There was no Irish Sea border in the backstop.
As far as the Unionists are concerned, it would appear that the border that separates them from the rest of the UK is the problem, nothing to do with EU rules.
Whatever happens to the protocol, the border will remain.
As I have said before the real problem is Brexit.
I am not sure that minute islands anywhere are at all relevant.
On the fifth anniversary of Britain's vote to leave the EU, the Express splashes with Boris Johnson's comments on how Brexit is going. "We have already reclaimed our money, laws, borders and waters," says the PM - and the changes will unleash the "true potential" of the UK.
The Daily Express marks the fifth anniversary of the Brexit referendum with an upbeat message from Boris Johnson.
He says the UK now has the freedom to unleash its "true potential" to unite and "level up".
The PM says that since leaving the EU, the UK is already signing global trade deals, which he claims will help "shape a better future".
Ireland has 2 vitally important (and biggest) markets for exports and imports. They are the USA and the UK. The EU's mantra on European "Union" seeks to prevent Ireland trading with it's biggest partners.
You may think Kate Hoey is mad, but I believe it is not in Ireland's best economic interests to be in a trading bloc that seeks to penalise Ireland's biggest customers. The deal as it stands is just as bad for Ireland as it is the UK.
The UK is eager to have/continue the special trading relationship that it has had with Ireland since before the EEC (never mind the EU) was formed. In particular, the North West of Ireland and the West of Northern Ireland are much more dependant on one another than on London, Belfast or Dublin.
If there has to be trading posts set up, that will be at the EU's insistence, and (presumably) at Ireland's cost. Because it is not our Single Market. Compare and contrast this with the dispensations given to the Canaries, French dependencies, even the UK bases on Cyprus.
When we were in the EU, and the Channel Islands, Isle of Man etc were not, the EU did not adopt the same position as in Northern Ireland now.
The best people to decide whats best for Ireland, are the Irish Electorate.
I find it difficult to follow your reasoning.
Once we left the EU, there had to be a customs border, the border had to go in the Irish Sea.
There were no other realistic options.
Once we became a third country the number of border checks were bound to increase.
Nobody moaned about the small number of border checks between UK/NI that took place while we were still members.
The number of checks that would be required would be directly related to our post Brexit alignment with the EU.
I recall Michelle Barnier making it very clear in the Boris negotiations, when he said that it would be possible to maintain frictionless trade, and that the amount of friction would depend on the closeness of our ongoing relationship.
Boris wanted to diverge without friction.
Having his cake, and eating it was not on offer.
The friction is causing hold ups, yet this could be avoided with a stroke of a pen, by signing a veterinary agreement.
This would reduce the number of checks required by 80%.
This could even be done on a temporary basis.
Boris has chosen instead to unilaterally extend grace periods to minimise the problems.
Some of the delays are being caused by a lack of staff.
Therefore out fault.
There is no doubt in my mind that Boris has caused this mess.
I think that the border checks have created a wider problem.
At least some of the protests in NI appear to be about the imposition of a border between UK/NI, rather than border checks.
I dont think the protests have anything to do with sausages.
I dont think that Boris will able to decrease tensions in NI, even if he were able to reduce checks.
Although the border checks will just exacerbate the situation.
If my memory serves, when Boris ripped up Theresa Mays backstop, he came up with the protocol as an alternative.
There was no Irish Sea border in the backstop.
As far as the Unionists are concerned, it would appear that the border that separates them from the rest of the UK is the problem, nothing to do with EU rules.
Whatever happens to the protocol, the border will remain.
As I have said before the real problem is Brexit.
I am not sure that minute islands anywhere are at all relevant.
I just watched last nights NewsNight.
Sammy Wilson appeared.
His main concerns were the border that separates NI from the rest of the UK, and that NI have to follow EU Laws, unlike the rest of the UK. He didnt even mention the checks. The DUP want the protocol binned, and Sinn Fein are adamant that it remains in place.
Dale Farm have just done a big deal with Arla in Denmark, Sinn Fein maintain that this wouldnt have been possible without the protocol, and the DUP say it was down to the Brexit free trade agreement.
It would seem that if the EU gives way on many of the border checks, and waves the white flag in the sausage war, it will make no difference to the DUP position.
EU Laws, and the imposition of any border, seem to be the important issues, that both sides in NI look unlikely ever to agree to.
Ireland has 2 vitally important (and biggest) markets for exports and imports. They are the USA and the UK. The EU's mantra on European "Union" seeks to prevent Ireland trading with it's biggest partners.
You may think Kate Hoey is mad, but I believe it is not in Ireland's best economic interests to be in a trading bloc that seeks to penalise Ireland's biggest customers. The deal as it stands is just as bad for Ireland as it is the UK.
The UK is eager to have/continue the special trading relationship that it has had with Ireland since before the EEC (never mind the EU) was formed. In particular, the North West of Ireland and the West of Northern Ireland are much more dependant on one another than on London, Belfast or Dublin.
If there has to be trading posts set up, that will be at the EU's insistence, and (presumably) at Ireland's cost. Because it is not our Single Market. Compare and contrast this with the dispensations given to the Canaries, French dependencies, even the UK bases on Cyprus.
When we were in the EU, and the Channel Islands, Isle of Man etc were not, the EU did not adopt the same position as in Northern Ireland now.
The best people to decide whats best for Ireland, are the Irish Electorate.
I find it difficult to follow your reasoning.
Once we left the EU, there had to be a customs border, the border had to go in the Irish Sea.
There were no other realistic options.
Once we became a third country the number of border checks were bound to increase.
Nobody moaned about the small number of border checks between UK/NI that took place while we were still members.
The number of checks that would be required would be directly related to our post Brexit alignment with the EU.
I recall Michelle Barnier making it very clear in the Boris negotiations, when he said that it would be possible to maintain frictionless trade, and that the amount of friction would depend on the closeness of our ongoing relationship.
Boris wanted to diverge without friction.
Having his cake, and eating it was not on offer.
The friction is causing hold ups, yet this could be avoided with a stroke of a pen, by signing a veterinary agreement.
This would reduce the number of checks required by 80%.
This could even be done on a temporary basis.
Boris has chosen instead to unilaterally extend grace periods to minimise the problems.
Some of the delays are being caused by a lack of staff.
Therefore out fault.
There is no doubt in my mind that Boris has caused this mess.
I think that the border checks have created a wider problem.
At least some of the protests in NI appear to be about the imposition of a border between UK/NI, rather than border checks.
I dont think the protests have anything to do with sausages.
I dont think that Boris will able to decrease tensions in NI, even if he were able to reduce checks.
Although the border checks will just exacerbate the situation.
If my memory serves, when Boris ripped up Theresa Mays backstop, he came up with the protocol as an alternative.
There was no Irish Sea border in the backstop.
As far as the Unionists are concerned, it would appear that the border that separates them from the rest of the UK is the problem, nothing to do with EU rules.
Whatever happens to the protocol, the border will remain.
As I have said before the real problem is Brexit.
I am not sure that minute islands anywhere are at all relevant.
I appreciate that you find it difficult to follow my reasoning. The reason is quite simple. Try removing the enormous set of blinkers you have on, which keep making you adopt the frankly ridiculous position that absolutely everything about the EU is wonderful, and everything about Brexit is terrible. That is as unsustainable as saying there are no problems at all.
You start by saying
"The best people to decide whats best for Ireland, are the Irish Electorate."
Yet you have no problem whatsoever ignoring the UK electorate in relation to what is best for the UK. It is trite to try and blame Brexit just on the Conservatives. It happened like this:-
1. In 2014 an essentially single-issue Party, UKIP won the UK European elections 2. The Conservative Party, worried that they were about to be overtaken on the Rabid Right, promised a free vote on the EU 3. The UK electorate voted to Leave 4. In subsequent elections, the Tories promised a Hard Brexit, and got a massive Majority. You know, from the UK electorate
I don't like that any more than you do. But Democracy doesn't involve everyone agreeing with me.
Ireland's economy is being massively changed by Brexit. The Irish people deserve a free vote as to whether economically (and only economically) they would be better off being part of the British Isles. As opposed to being part of a European "Union" that wants to prevent them trading with their neighbour.
There has been a deal agreed between the UK and the EU about the island of Ireland. It is a bad deal. 2 parties agreed to it. And 2 parties, not 1, are at fault for that.
I appreciate that you don't agree with that. You keep banging on about the faults of one side. While totally ignoring the other. It's like being in the playground "He started it, Miss!"
Guess which 2 nations had little or no say in it. Northern Ireland. And Ireland.
PS-love these irrelevant "minute" islands outside or inside the EU when it suits. Like the Canaries-that have a population way higher than Northern Ireland. Or that tiny little Greenland. Or French Guiana-that are free to import US processed meat
Comments
The European Convention on Human Rights is currently enshrined in British law by the Human Rights Act but has become increasingly unpopular with many Conservatives.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9704809/British-judges-no-longer-bound-ECHR-decisions.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/ridiculous-food-bank-rejects-brexit-biscuits-for-being-too-political/ar-AALdCXN?ocid=msedgntp
At our foodbank we have trays in which very short dated or non standard stock are placed and anybody whether foodbank customer or soup kitchen guest can help themselves freely.
Surely this would be a better option in this instance.
After the “sausage war” comes the culture clash – the European Union is preparing to cut the “disproportionate” amount of British film and television shown on the continent after Brexit.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/brexit-eu-prepares-to-slash-number-of-british-tv-programmes-and-films-shown-on-the-continent/ar-AALhemb?ocid=msedgntp
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is set to become the DUP’s next leader, as he warned Boris Johnson on Monday that the "failure" to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol could throw the future of power-sharing into doubt.
In what is expected to be an effective "coronation", Sir Jeffrey, the party’s Westminster leader, has confirmed his second leadership bid and is now poised to replace Edwin Poots, who was forced out last week.
If no rival comes forward before 12pm on Tuesday, he will be confirmed as leader by the weekend. He will be the DUP's second leader since Arlene Foster was forced out at the end of April.
https://www.skypoker.com/secure/poker/sky_lobby/community/forums#/discussion/180905/effects-of-brexit
Edwin Poots, the DUP leader ousted after 21 days in the job, has told Sky News he nominated a First Minister against his party's wishes to fight the Brexit Protocol.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/ousted-dup-leader-says-he-nominated-a-first-minister-against-party-s-wishes-to-fight-damaging-brexit-protocol/ar-AALhm42?ocid=msedgntp
A government ad urging people to apply to be the Director of a new Brexit Opportunities Unit has been predictably roasted on social media.
Reacting to the civil service’s latest fun role, people implied that there perhaps are not that many opportunities to be gained from Brexit, and questioned why someone wasn’t investigating Brexit opportunities before and not after we left the EU. We can’t think why:
Parody Boris Johnson
@BorisJohnson_MP
The team are already hard at work in our new Brexit Opportunities Unit.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/government-s-job-advert-for-new-brexit-opportunities-unit-spectacularly-backfires/ar-AALgyH0?ocid=msedgntp
Australia will enjoy an exports boost six times greater than the UK from the controversial trade deal agreed between the two countries, experts say.
UK sales will grow by just 0.35 per cent from the agreement, the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO) forecasts – compared with a 2.2 per cent jump for Australia’s businesses.
Its analysis also predicts a puny output increase for the UK of 0.07 per cent, less than half the 0.16 per cent stimulus it predicts for Australia.
“These are very small numbers,” said Professor Michael Gasiorek, director of the observatory at the University of Sussex, adding: “We see a bigger positive effect for Australia than for the UK.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/australia-to-enjoy-exports-boost-six-times-greater-than-uk-from-trade-deal-experts-say/ar-AALh4UC?ocid=msedgntp
European Union sausage laws are just the tip of the iceberg in post-Brexit Northern Ireland, which still follows almost 300 Single Market rules covering everything from sardine marketing to fireworks and bull semen.
Hardline Brexiteers called on the Government to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is packed with rules for cocoa, GMOs, sweetened chestnut purée and products made with cat fur, and if necessary ditch it altogether.
The protocol aligns Northern Ireland with 290 EU regulations, including red tape over organ donation, watercraft, the use of alien species in aquaculture and the trade in seal pelts, to prevent a raft of extra border checks in the Irish Sea.
David Jones, vice-chair of the European Research Group of Tory backbenchers, said: “We feel that this is too dangerous to the integrity of the Union.”
He said the country would not benefit from the post-Brexit bonfire of EU rules planned for the rest of the UK.
The ERG voted in favour of the Protocol but Mr Jones said that was on the basis it would be a temporary solution and be superseded by a UK-EU trade deal.
“We've got part of our country that is being disadvantaged. There is a potentially destabilising impact upon the people of Northern Ireland and the peace process and Belfast agreement,” Mr Jones said.
Nigel Farage, the former leader of the Brexit Party, said the Prime Minister should give the EU a notice period but still tear up the treaty: "This is a mess of Boris' making - many of us warned him."
The protocol prevents a hard border on the island of Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland in the bloc’s customs territory.
It introduces checks on GB goods exported to the country to ensure they meet EU standards in case they cross the invisible border with EU member Ireland.
The Government has already complained that the number of necessary checks are too burdensome for businesses and that rules could prevent British sausages being sold in Northern Ireland from July 1.
To prevent a looming sausage trade war, London sued for a temporary peace last week. The Government wants an extension to a Protocol grace period allowing British bangers to be sold in Northern Ireland, which Brussels is expected to grant.
But the ceasefire over chilled meat preparations does not mean the European Commission is willing to renegotiate the Protocol.
A spokesman said it was the solution found by both the EU and UK to protect the Good Friday Agreement, the all-island economy and the Single Market.
“A limited set of EU rules continue to apply in Northern Ireland. The EU and the UK agreed together to this solution,” he said.
Neale Richmond, the Dublin Rathdown TD and Fine Gael’s European Affairs spokesman, said: “The extent of these checks is decided by the very hard Brexit pursued by this British Government.
“In order to avoid checks across the border in Ireland, a 300-mile frontier with over 200 crossings, the solution agreed by this British Government with the EU was for some checks at the four ports of entry into Northern Ireland.”
Alignment with EU rules means that Northern Ireland can export to the Single Market. Business leaders and politicians on both sides believe this could make the country a target for foreign investment by companies looking to serve both the EU and UK market.
UK government figures have shown that Northern Irish exports have jumped by 61pc since the Protocol was implemented at the start of the year and by 111pc since 2018.
Irish exports to Northern Ireland were also up by 40pc compared to 2018.
Stephen Kelly, chief executive of the ManufacturingNI trade association, said foreign businesses were actively looking at Northern Ireland thanks to its dual status.
“Right now, GB producers are having to meet two sets of rules, standards and expensive conformity assessments, and in some cases are contemplating either stopping selling to the EU altogether or establishing two separate production lines," he said.
“But the benefit of the Protocol is that, unlike elsewhere in the UK, we only need to adhere to one set of rules as our goods freely circulate to the EU and have unfettered access into Britain.”
David Henig, UK director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, added: “Every developed country including the UK has huge numbers of regulations. Few countries would want to commit to a treaty to part of their country following so many regulations made by someone else.
“To do so without any serious debate in Parliament was a big mistake with consequences which we're only now learning.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/eu-sausage-laws-just-tip-of-the-brexit-iceberg-in-northern-ireland/ar-AALhkYK?ocid=msedgntp
Brexit: Can the UK and the EU reach a deal on Northern Ireland?
What's the main problem?
The present system cannot cope with the number of checks required on goods entering Northern Irish ports from GB.
The UK government has unilaterally extended a series of grace periods.
But even so, the authorities in Northern Ireland are struggling to deal with demand.
Northern Ireland's chief vet Robert Huey said in April his team was conducting more checks on products of animal origin moving across the Irish Sea than France was at all its ports.
It was also conducting 325 documentary checks every day, he said, while Rotterdam, one of the busiest ports in the world, had only 125.
This is partly because containers arriving in Rotterdam are often full of one commodity, whereas each supermarket lorry crossing from GB to Northern Ireland contains multiple loads, all of which might need to be checked.
Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) told the BBC a weekly average of 2460 documentary checks, 2200 identity checks and 170 physical checks were being carried out in the six week period from 21 April to 6 June.
If all the current grace periods expired, Mr Huey has said his team would need to conduct nearly as many checks on food as were being conducted in the whole of the EU. And he has only 12 vets.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/57475591
British exports of EU goods to Northern Ireland incurring Brexit tariffs
Manufacturers and retailers warned EU goods sent to Northern Ireland from Britain were liable for tariffs even though they were made to Brussels’ rules and regulations.
A government reimbursement scheme on tariffs for goods sold in Northern Ireland is not yet up and running, which risks causing additional cash flow problems for businesses.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/british-exports-of-eu-goods-to-northern-ireland-incurring-brexit-tariffs/ar-AALjBHo?ocid=msedgntp
You may think Kate Hoey is mad, but I believe it is not in Ireland's best economic interests to be in a trading bloc that seeks to penalise Ireland's biggest customers. The deal as it stands is just as bad for Ireland as it is the UK.
The UK is eager to have/continue the special trading relationship that it has had with Ireland since before the EEC (never mind the EU) was formed. In particular, the North West of Ireland and the West of Northern Ireland are much more dependant on one another than on London, Belfast or Dublin.
If there has to be trading posts set up, that will be at the EU's insistence, and (presumably) at Ireland's cost. Because it is not our Single Market. Compare and contrast this with the dispensations given to the Canaries, French dependencies, even the UK bases on Cyprus.
When we were in the EU, and the Channel Islands, Isle of Man etc were not, the EU did not adopt the same position as in Northern Ireland now.
I find it difficult to follow your reasoning.
Once we left the EU, there had to be a customs border, the border had to go in the Irish Sea.
There were no other realistic options.
Once we became a third country the number of border checks were bound to increase.
Nobody moaned about the small number of border checks between UK/NI that took place while we were still members.
The number of checks that would be required would be directly related to our post Brexit alignment with the EU.
I recall Michelle Barnier making it very clear in the Boris negotiations, when he said that it would be possible to maintain frictionless trade, and that the amount of friction would depend on the closeness of our ongoing relationship.
Boris wanted to diverge without friction.
Having his cake, and eating it was not on offer.
The friction is causing hold ups, yet this could be avoided with a stroke of a pen, by signing a veterinary agreement.
This would reduce the number of checks required by 80%.
This could even be done on a temporary basis.
Boris has chosen instead to unilaterally extend grace periods to minimise the problems.
Some of the delays are being caused by a lack of staff.
Therefore out fault.
There is no doubt in my mind that Boris has caused this mess.
I think that the border checks have created a wider problem.
At least some of the protests in NI appear to be about the imposition of a border between UK/NI, rather than border checks.
I dont think the protests have anything to do with sausages.
I dont think that Boris will able to decrease tensions in NI, even if he were able to reduce checks.
Although the border checks will just exacerbate the situation.
If my memory serves, when Boris ripped up Theresa Mays backstop, he came up with the protocol as an alternative.
There was no Irish Sea border in the backstop.
As far as the Unionists are concerned, it would appear that the border that separates them from the rest of the UK is the problem, nothing to do with EU rules.
Whatever happens to the protocol, the border will remain.
As I have said before the real problem is Brexit.
I am not sure that minute islands anywhere are at all relevant.
On the fifth anniversary of Britain's vote to leave the EU, the Express splashes with Boris Johnson's comments on how Brexit is going. "We have already reclaimed our money, laws, borders and waters," says the PM - and the changes will unleash the "true potential" of the UK.
The Daily Express marks the fifth anniversary of the Brexit referendum with an upbeat message from Boris Johnson.
He says the UK now has the freedom to unleash its "true potential" to unite and "level up".
The PM says that since leaving the EU, the UK is already signing global trade deals, which he claims will help "shape a better future".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-57575836
Sammy Wilson appeared.
His main concerns were the border that separates NI from the rest of the UK, and that NI have to follow EU Laws, unlike the rest of the UK.
He didnt even mention the checks.
The DUP want the protocol binned, and Sinn Fein are adamant that it remains in place.
Dale Farm have just done a big deal with Arla in Denmark, Sinn Fein maintain that this wouldnt have been possible without the protocol, and the DUP say it was down to the Brexit free trade agreement.
It would seem that if the EU gives way on many of the border checks, and waves the white flag in the sausage war, it will make no difference to the DUP position.
EU Laws, and the imposition of any border, seem to be the important issues, that both sides in NI look unlikely ever to agree to.
You start by saying
"The best people to decide whats best for Ireland, are the Irish Electorate."
Yet you have no problem whatsoever ignoring the UK electorate in relation to what is best for the UK. It is trite to try and blame Brexit just on the Conservatives. It happened like this:-
1. In 2014 an essentially single-issue Party, UKIP won the UK European elections
2. The Conservative Party, worried that they were about to be overtaken on the Rabid Right, promised a free vote on the EU
3. The UK electorate voted to Leave
4. In subsequent elections, the Tories promised a Hard Brexit, and got a massive Majority. You know, from the UK electorate
I don't like that any more than you do. But Democracy doesn't involve everyone agreeing with me.
Ireland's economy is being massively changed by Brexit. The Irish people deserve a free vote as to whether economically (and only economically) they would be better off being part of the British Isles. As opposed to being part of a European "Union" that wants to prevent them trading with their neighbour.
There has been a deal agreed between the UK and the EU about the island of Ireland. It is a bad deal. 2 parties agreed to it. And 2 parties, not 1, are at fault for that.
I appreciate that you don't agree with that. You keep banging on about the faults of one side. While totally ignoring the other. It's like being in the playground "He started it, Miss!"
Guess which 2 nations had little or no say in it. Northern Ireland. And Ireland.
PS-love these irrelevant "minute" islands outside or inside the EU when it suits. Like the Canaries-that have a population way higher than Northern Ireland. Or that tiny little Greenland. Or French Guiana-that are free to import US processed meat