Westminsterenders: The Ersatz ImitationThread

[OlennasWimple]

I am no RedToothBrush, so I'm not going to try to emulate her exception OP style.

Here, though, in the interests of carrying on our conversations about WTF is going on with Brexit and the weird political world we find ourselves in right now, is a sort of continuation thread

(Hurry back Red, we need you!)

Signed and shared, thanks

I must admit when I saw the Mail headline, I did wonder if they'd been hacked.

It's interesting to speculate what Brexiters caught up in the delays will think when they realise it's probably a mild taste of what can be expected post-Brexit ?

Just had a little wobble in my tummy as I realise I have never left/returned to the UK when it wasn't in the EU/EEC. Still post Brexit I can chose my passport for re-entry ...

(I wonder if one of the regs that gets slipped into the immigration bill will be a requirement that UK citizens enter on their UK passport, as I believe the US do ...)

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/02/philip-hammond-flies-storm-falkland-islands-arrives-argentina/
Philip Hammond flies into storm over Falkland Islands as he arrives in Argentina

Pass the popcorn folks...

< waves to woman > Missed ya

One of the (umpteen) worries about Brexit is that the UK entry into WTO could be held up by countries with an axe to grind - Argentina being the most obvious, but not the only one.

The UK - if Fox's dept have worked out its proposals for WTO schedules and quotas in time - has to have them approved by all the WTO members.

Until this approval, the UK can't even trade on WTO terms

The UK held up membership of the last 40 or so countries to join, including China, by demanding clarification on detail and generally being an awkward cuss.

This might be returned with interest.

Just had a little wobble in my tummy as I realise I have never left/returned to the UK when it wasn't in the EU/EEC.

Gosh, yes, just realised I first went abroad (excluding ROI - in CTA) in 1973. I wonder if joining was a factor in my parents' decision?

Wie geht's BigChoc

Last time I went to Germany I noticed some fingerprint scanners at passport control. Wonder if they'll start using those on U.K. Citizens?

I have been in 4 different airports in the last 8 days. 3 inside the Schengen area and 1 in the UK. The only one with endless queues was actually Newcastle. They evidently did not prepare for 4-5 large holiday flights landing at the same time as the usual business flights.

I flew to the UK (Stansted) on a Monday evening in mid July, arrived just after midnight to find that there was an overflow queue outside the passport control area, and only about 2 out of every 3 e-gates were working. Flew back into Toulouse on a Friday morning, no queue at all.

That said, it's clear that some airports have been understaffed for the new checks. I suspect there is a brexit message here, since the majority of affected passengers are British.

fingerprint scanners

Some EU states take fingerprints with a passport application, for eg in France when you apply for a passport (via your local town hall), they take your prints using an electronic fingerprint reader.

Apologies. Wrong thread but the Brexit point referred to the White House press briefing arguing the American people wanted lower immigration and tighter rules to safeguard jobs, wages and get people off welfare.

I think all Schengen passports for people over the age of 12 contain your fingerprint and biometric photo (ie ohoto of your facial bone structure).

Can't wait for Comey's book.

"Uk: A staggering 70 per cent of respondents said they were for the free movement of EU citizens who can live, work, study and do business anywhere in the EU"

Um, do the Uk public realise that this is FOM ?
They support it 70% vs 21 %
Possibly they think FOM allows in non-EU immigrants ?

The UK part of the survey has done by Kantar TNS (a recognised independent polling org) since 2004

However, that 70% is still about the lowest in the EU - the Baltic states support FOM 94 % vs 3%

What we can conclude: FOM is an amazingly popular policy throughout the EU.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-free-movement-support-brexit-british-people-leave-european-union-survey-a7872816.html

Schengen control for EU passport holders is only where you travelled from.
I haven't had any more checks on my UK passport than a German has on theirs at Frankfurt airport; if it is scanned at all, then it is the same queue and same scanner for all of us coming from the same flights.

My latest flight was end March though - I'll see what happens later this year.

Thank you for sharing the petition BlueEyeShadow, I have signed it too.

The London Assembly Labour Group is also seeking views about Brexit, through this survey

www.surveygizmo.eu/s3/90041208/Brexit

It only takes five minutes to fill and may be another means to make our voices heard

William Hague:

“clear potential for Brexit to become the occasion of the greatest economic, diplomatic and constitutional muddle in the modern history of the UK,with unknowable consequences for the country, the government and the Brexitt^ project itself”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/01/william-hague-backs-transitional-avoid-brexit-muddle-eea

Wrt the 'low key' UK approach to patriotism - check out Northern Ireland's Loyalist strongholds, Eleventh Night, the Twelfth of July, the Orange Order, the Apprentice Boys, the murals, the endless flags...

Maybe Theresa has more in common with Arlene Foster than anyone has hitherto suspected?

(Here is a bit of light relief featuring video of Arlene and some DUP supporters originally bopping to chants of 'Arlene's On Fire' but with the Wolfe Tones' 1972 hit 'Come Out Ye Black and Tans' overdubbed.)

I bring (further) good news from Vernon Bogdanor

A second referendum is getting more likely every day

With a deadlocked parliament, the possibility of an unfavourable deal and both parties so deeply divided on Europe, it may start to appear that the only way out of the impasse is a second referendum in which the government’s deal is put it to the people for legitimation.

Actually, I'm not sure that a second referendum would be the ideal way of resolving it, certainly not if it were to be run in the same slapdash way as the last one.

Indeed. Would the Referendum question be? Would it be on the terms of the deal? Or A50 should be revoked?

Either way, the answer would be ambiguous as people could vote "against" for different reasons.

....in the same way that not all people voting for Labour were in favour of Brexit whatever the Brexiteers might say

amp.ft.com/content/f3ef754e-7775-11e7-90c0-90a9d1bc9691
‘Trench warfare’ set to disrupt autumn parliament
Failure of Tory-Labour ‘pairing’ deal puts MPs under pressure to attend every vote

It probably would not effect big votes anyway as MPs expected for key votes but it puts the Tories under more pressure.

Minister with need to go abroad particularly. Or Scottish or NI MPs...

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-news-european-medicines-agency-move-london-eu-cost-bill-520-million-nhs-europe-a7873226.html?amp
Brexit: UK faces £520m bill for moving the European Medicines Agency from London to the EU

‘We could end up having to pay large amounts of money to lose highly skilled jobs and research capacity from the UK. It really is that crazy’

The agency failed to negotiate a “break clause”, which means EU taxpayers are locked into a rent contract for its offices until June 30, 2039.

Making Britain pay up should be part of “the negotiations on the withdrawal agreement”, which will restart at the end of the month, the EU has said.

Long report by Irish parliament on impact of Brexit on Ireland/NI and issues arising from that. I think this must be the source of the border in the Irish sea as opposed to on the island. As from 1939 to 1952.

The British media seem to be unable to say the three issues all together. You hear Citizens rights and exit bill a lot.

It is a good, long read.

data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/32/joint_committee_on_the_implementation_of_the_good_friday_agreement/reports/2017/2017-08-02_brexit-and-the-future-of-ireland-uniting-ireland-and-its-people-in-peace-and-prosperity_en.pdf