The UK and EU have, broadly speaking, agreed terms the transitional agreement until the time the UK applies for readmission to the EU leaves the EU.
I am struggling to see how the government is going to sell this deal to Brexit voters. Effectively those who say we have moved from being a decision maker to a decision taker look to be right. We are unambiguously worse off as a result.
And it has again been conceded that Northern Ireland may have to join the Republic in a single administrative region within the EU customs union and single market, effectively drawing a border in the Irish Sea. I cannot see how this does anything but suggest that no other solution will ever be found on this issue.
So, what this deal does is simply kick a can down the road whilst all the hard decisions that have to be faced are avoided by a government that has no clue how to deliver on the promise it has made to Brexit.
I can't see 60 Tory MPs buying that.
Nor can I see the DUP doing so: they must be able to read the massive writing on the wall.
And that leaves just one real unanswered question, which is how long is it before this fiasco is drawn to a close and either Article 50 notice is withdrawn, or a whole new negotiation or a Norwegian basis is begun, or even an application for readmission is made because right now what is very clear is that Hard Brexit is considered to be well beyond any reasonable possibility of delivery.
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No worries. Our illustrious Brexit team have been taking serious strategic advice from Tommy Cooper – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Dw12lnIOc 😉
Here’s a fact check for you: the government have announced that agricultural subsidies will be cut, and also that they will ultimately be replaced with a support system of payments that deliver explicit environmental benefits. In addition the brexit impact assessments do not claim that we will be worse off than now. All free trading futures make us better off, some more so than others, and by not being EU members we will forego some gains in national income in future years compared to being full EU members. This has been challenged of course, but it applies to the future, not the present.
Hence your present tense claim that “We are unambiguously worse off as a result” is proven to be ambiguous and as such is false.
With respect, you have made a series of unproven claims
That is not a contribution to debate
Brexit
“UK drops bid for instant return of fisheries control — sources”
Scottish fishermen will be delighted to see Michael Gove’s intervention is paying dividends. What could possibly go wrong with Michael on their side ?
I bet they’re so relieved they have such powerful influence in Westminster having returned 13 Tories to protect their interests and give Theresa May her majority.
You can fool some people over and over again. And they used to say fish was brain food.
Well they don’t have a “majority”. They need the DUP for that. This is of course one reason why some of these Tory MP’s are so upset. An expanded Tory presence is hard to sustain in Scotland and that is in the best of times.
Ruth’s Davidson’s mob have moved one step closer to being one-term wonders. Oh dear, what a pity.
According to Newsnight May sent a letter to Barnier this evening saying she will stand by the December agreement…in full.
Which if everything fails on the border question we revert to regulatory alignment for Northern Ireland. Which can only be for the whole of the UK
This of course won’t need to happen because May does have a dream of a deal so good that, it won’t be necessary. Delusional as ever.
Meanwhile Rees-Morgue is starting to squeal for nanny, because they’re going to steal his fishes.
Why can’t we have grown up politicians?
Probably because we don’t have a grown-up electorate. Socrates was known for saying an educated electorate was essential for democracy to work. Look at what we have now.
Who said:
We get the politicians we deserve ?
I’m sure somebody did. I don’t remember being this bad, but I guess I must have been.
Andy, in democracy, the popular get elected, not the able. It’s like electing Robbie Williams over Beethoven or Mahler or Brahms or Chopin to be in charge of all music on the sole basis Robbie’s sold more albums lately. Assuming he has, of course. Being popular is not at all the best criterion for establishing fitness for authority. Democracy is dumb, dumb, dumb.
Bill,
You are quite right I suppose, to say:, “… in democracy, the popular get elected, not the able……”
“Being popular is not at all the best criterion for establishing fitness for authority. …”
Er ….well yes, but that’s because we have a warped set of criteria for popularity. Ed Balls was very popular on Strictly Come Dancing. But he didn’t win because eventually he was disqualified by his obvious lack of ability in that particular field of endeavour. Despite obviously enjoying the experience.
Ditto his political ambitions ? I find that a more difficult judgement call, but his electorate dumped him anyway. Maybe he’d have performed differently with someone other than Gordon Brown to dance with. We’ll never know.
It all begs the question of why we are such poor judges of the intentions and performance of politicians, both individually and collectively.
‘Individually and collectively’ I realise applies to both us and them.
A fact-free “fact check”.
Whoops. wrong spot.
That was for Kenneth.
Sorry for what is a trivial clarification, but to answer Andy’s question, in the song “A Month of Sundays” on Don Henley’s second solo album “Building the Perfect Beast” are the lines –
My grandson, he comes home from college
He says “we get the government we deserve.”
Not quite exact, but it came to mind as soon as I read what Andy had to say.
And getting back to the point, the government’s “policy” [I’m not sure it deserves to be described as such other than sarcastically] on Brexit is so ridden with contradictions, it seems that they don’t just want to have their cake and eat it, they want to lick the mixing bowl as well. What was that expression about not being able to fool all of the people all of the time?
I overheard the deal being boomed by COMbbc but the details were a litany of capitulations. The government is in the same boat as Syriza.