Westminstenders: Break Up or Make Up?

[RedToothBrush]

The next week or so appears to be yet another crunch point (not that any of these crunch points have actually resolved anything so far).

The EU is set to outline the plan for Ireland. Which everyone thought had already been outlined and agreed already. And it had been admitted was legally binding.

Except apparently we don't want to do that, and we are now crying about how the EU want to break up Britain (nothing to do with England wanting to leave the EU and Scotland and NI wanting to stay in it of course).

Jeremy Corbyn has now apparently decided that the customs union is a good idea. David Davis and Liam Fox have responded by saying that this would stop us making our own trade deals. Yes this has obviously stopped Turkey, and why aren't we doing as much trade with China etc as Germany anyway? A vote in the HoC looms before Easter. Will Tory rebels support.

Will Jeremy Corbyn bow to pressure over the single market too? The customs union alone does not stop the border issue in Ireland. Nor does it stop ridiculous queues at Dover. I'm not sure Corbyn is one for listening though. He's got a whiff of power and democracy and reality is just a hindrance to utopia.

As for the Great Repeal Bill. Word has it, its not going too clever in the HoL. The conservatives had something of a show of strength with an unusual number turning up for the debate. But few on the backbenches were willing to speak in favour of...

It all feels like we are making no progress at all. We are still bleating on about cherry picked deals as if this is a negotiation. Its not.

"it would be unrealistic for us to implement new EU legislation automatically and in its entirety"

I believe David Allen Green talked about this months ago, and said the idea is ridiculous.

You know how it sometimes seems that Boris is trying to get himself sacked? Do you think TM is trying to trigger a no - confidence vote in herself?

The only situation in which I might be persuaded that May is worthy of any sympathy is if the moment the referendum result was announced, she realised immediately the impossibility of what was being asked, and is actually deployed a carefully crafted "Brexit exit" plan that was carefully considered in the event of such a moronic vote.

But I would only buy that if it came with a bridge.

I've missed the thread where Brexiteers are crowing about the US 25% tariff on steel being excellent news for an independent UK steel industry. Could anyone post a link ?

Robert Peston - Take back cotrol but you're choosing not to excercise the option to diverge. What's the point?

TM - parliament will be sovereign. We've taken back control of money, border and something else that I can't remember. There will need to be binding commitment as there are in any trade agreement esp. competition and state aid but we will be taking control of borders - no FOM, and money - no EU payment and laws - parliament will be sovereign.

@IanDunt
"I am in no doubt that whatever agreement we reach with the EU our future is bright." Fucking sterile bollocks now being emitted with real gusto.

"It;s only by working together that we can find solutions that work for all our peoples... We will not be buffeted by demands to threaten a walk out." She said it with a straight face.

Speech now pissing itself away in a corner

Excellent summary (of unicorn cake speech) on this thread, thanks everyone

Faisal Islam - will be stay in Customs Union. You say people betray the vote when they discuss staying in CU - how does that help with unity?

TM - customs arrangement will enable us to develop our own independent trade policy and frictionless trade as possible and no hard border. Will work out how to do that (is essentially what she's saying). I think that's what the majority of people want us to achieve [how! on what basis??]

No full autonomy of our laws is what you are suggesting. Your colleagues regard this as a bottom line. Is it your bottom line or will this be more hard facts in the future to swallow?

TM - Parliament will be determining our laws. ECJ will continue to have responsibility and remit with EU but won't have jurisdiction in the UK.

Blahblahblah

Technology will resolve everything. Everyone knows there's no better procurer of appropriate technological solutions than governments.

pretty this is infuriating to listen to. How are we still peddling this shite at this point of the process? And there doesn't seem to be much pushing back on her non-answers.

Is Brexit worth it - from first non-UK journalist.

[gets lots of laughs]

TM - we won't think again on Brexit. It is incumbent on politicians to deliver on that. Blahblahblah cherries and cakes and unicorns and waffles.

NI - no CU, no SM.

Isn't it time you tell the truth to the British an the Europeans that there will be a border - light or high tech but there will be a border?

TM - We won't be returning to hard border or borders of the past. I have set out in my speech how that will be achieved. We will be working with the Taoisach to see how to make that happen.

Well, that's another a straight lie: she just said that Parliament voted overwhelmingly for this to be a decision for the British people. They didn't. They voted for it to be an advisory referendum. They didn't vote for it to be a statutory referendum.

The SNP tried to include a clause making it statutory and requiring majorities in each of the constituent nations of the UK but were shouted down as being unnecessary

I'd love to see Varadkar's face just now.

And there doesn't seem to be much pushing back on her non-answers. Painintheear

That is never possible in these formats (same problem as with PMQs) in that the questioner never gets an opportunity to say, "But you never answered my question" or "Your answer is just unicorn shit/cake philosophy"

Thank god, it's over.

BBC saying it is a practical, pragmatic speech saying to the EU don't cut of your nose to spite your face.

PainInTheEar

The way my screen is laid out, your post showed in the list as

BBC saying it is a practical

and I couldn't help but find myself thinking "joke" ?

I know, it's fantasy, but it would be great if they all worked together and each journalist kept on one question to show what bullshit her answer is.

The non-UK journalists questions seemed to be more direct

George Eaton @ georgeeaton
The nightmare scenario for Theresa May: Brexit stance now too soft for Tory Brexiteers but too hard for the EU and parliament.

Iain Martin @ iainmartin1
Terrific speech from May. Will infuriate the hardest moonbat Brexiteers and the most extreme ultra-remain loonies.

Its the position May should have taken in July 2016. In March 2018, I just roll my eyes and say we are still so far from the detail and entrenched in vision, that the content of the speech is somewhat missing the point.

The point is the deadline, the legislation being rushed and the fouls ups thats going to make coupled with a position thats still not in line with legal realities regarding NI, constraints the EU has and the limit to which it can shift its position and the reality of WTO status.

Not to mention the practical point of business preparing for all this in 12 months when we still dont even really know if we are in or out of the CU and single market.

Thats got nothing to do with being pro remain or pro leave.

Sky commentator just saying that she had put much more detail into this speech - but then pointing out that her detailed cake proposals are all propositions that the EU has already said on many occasions are not feasible.

If only, DGR!

Its not a practical speech! Its still holding out on ideology and nonsense even now!

Its a move in the right direction, but good grief, people dont get the scale of the problem.

They've moved onto another commentator (Damien Grammaticus) who is much more realistic and pointing out she hasn't come up with solutions and there is still much left unanswered.

Also its not what you say, its what you do.

The computer system being put in for customs can not cope with the load it would take up if we were outside the customs union.

We have not started to hire the thousands of extra customs staff we would need. (Even the dutch are ahead of us on this).

We have no contingency for border queues which Turkey, which is inside the CU, has, nor for the issues that Norway faces.

And then theres NI.

Jesus wept.

Fine we are leaving. Fine, thats whats people want. Not got a problem with the principle.

I have got a massive problem for the reality deniers who seem to everywhere.

Faisal Islam asked a question about how it would take at least 5 years to be Customs Unions ready in terms of arrangements we would have to make and how was she going to address this but she just ignored that bit of the question