Westministenders: Happy Xmas (War is Over) - if only

[RedToothBrush]

When is lying not lying. When you can get enough of your mates to agree it is not lying.

And so we have David Davis, who has made two statements to parliament which deliberately contradict each other and must constitute some sort of lie to parliament at some point however you cut it.

Will the Speaker risk the wrath of his party to uphold democratic values? We watch carefully.

Davis also reveals and exposes May too though. May one way or another is complicit in Davis’s lie, either through not doing her job in reading the reports or by protecting Davis when she knew the reports did not exist. This is gross misconduct in her inability to ensure her staff do their bloody jobs. All so she can keep her own job.

This is where whistleblowers in other institutions pop up.

It has also become apparent that May has not had THE conversation with the Cabinet over what shape Brexit should take. After 18months.
Why not? Is she incapable of consensus building or is she just incompetent?

And then we have the DUP seemingly not being properly being involved in the wording of the all important document.

Vote Leave’s Oliver Norgrove is perfectly right in saying that Hard Brexit is all but dead. Don’t let that make you feel happier. Hard Brexiteers know that there only option now, is No Deal and that’s what they will try and pursue.

There is no deal until everything is settled. Right now, nothing is settled, not even what the UK want out of Brexit, never mind the EU position.

May might well have blown the only opportunity for a deal too, because of her failure over NI and the DUP. Where does she go from here? The idea that she will stand up to anyone, is ludicrous given her track record.

We might all wish we could John Lennon's song was apt when it comes to this Christmas and Brexit, it seems the war for our future post Brexit, it seems it is only just starting.

I’m still that all the discussions about NI have been with the DUP and only the DUP.
Clear majority of people have voted to stay in the EU in NI. And the DUP represents only half of the population.
How is any agreement reached with just the DUP be working fo the whole of NI?

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/unionism-never-meant-single-approach-across-uk-1.3319060

A hard border wouldn’t be accepted by Ireland (and NI - the DUP has made clear they don’t want a hard border either)

So much play with smoke and screens atm.

I think we have sufficient progress.

Good news!
Let’s see now if the European cOuncil is agreeing with that!

TM we will guarantee no hard border

TM on the telly , can't bear to watch the woman , what is she saying ?

Got to be a massive fudge. You cannot have no SM and CU and no hard border.

Jon Stone
Jon Stone
@joncstone
This is the solution to the Northern Ireland border problem in the joint technical note… it’s basically a post-it note saying ‘fix later’

Paul’s Shouts 🥂
@MrRae1000
Replying to @jonworth
Para 49 and 50 are where the devil is.

You can diverge and keep an open border if, and only if, your technology is up and working.

And that means no FTAs that allow divergence:

It’s a fudge.

It was a lot of hot air and rhetoric, as you'd expect but essentially:

• we are paying up, the deal is fair
• EU citizens with have enshrined rights in UK law (Junker said back by ECJ)
• They guarantee no hard border in NI

The idea is we now negotiate our bespoke deal.

Key line WRT to NI is attached. Suggests that should we not make a bespoke deal we'll be taking an off the shelf model.

Laura Kuenssberg
@bbclaurak
here's the more NI specific line - 'the UK will maintain full alignment with those rules of the Internal Market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all island economy and the protection of the 1998 Agreement.'

Anna Soubry MP
@Anna_Soubry
Reading on it looks like an agreement to agree based on broad principles of “full alignment” across UK as DD said in Commons on Tuesday

We UK citizens in EU also get existing rights guaranteed. Will be interested to know if I still have freedom of movement.

Hells bells. Is that the sound of a can being kicked down the road yet again?

I suppose better than the sound of a multi car pile up on the road.

@davidallengreen
Smacks of another Brexit short-term fix which will cause larger problems later.
But well done to the UK for getting a way forward - a delay to March would have been almost catastrophic with A50 clock ticking.
I would have had no pleasure doing a "Well" if there had been a delay till March on "sufficient progress".
^Like that point when a team is effectively relegated, and earnest fans start going on about staying up being "mathematically possible".
In theory there could have been an exit agreement before Brexit day if there was delay till March on "sufficient progress" - but in reality far less chance.^
Just like if your team can win every remaining match five-nil, others lose five-nil, and you stay up on goal difference.

The prime minister said that the agreement would guarantee the rights of three million EU citizens in the UK “enshrined in UK law and enforced by British courts”
That isn’t so great though.
One of the issue is that U.K. law can be changed down the line. Same with the involvement of British Courts.
Justvthatbint going to preserve the medium or lng term rights of eu citizens.
Meanwhile, I understood that the eu said that British citizens will be able to travel and settle in the EU wo any constrains....

Meanwhile, I understood that the eu said that British citizens will be able to travel and settle in the EU wo any constrains..
Where did you see that ? HermioneIsMe?

I read that as a case of ‘we’ll sort out the tricky bits later’ and staying in the CU and SM still quite possible.

Sorry, longtime lurker. In the BBC, it says May says no SM/CU. So does that mean an agreement could be made that's identical to CU/SM but not those words to appease the kippers?

Only on the other side of the channel Motheroffourdragons. 😀
It will make a difference to the cross-border workers though, I know the pressure groups have been lobbying for that.