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.

Sorry, am I being thick. Is it Brexit in name only, or is it a coup?

It's a coup.

If it ends up being BINO which is the pinnacle we can hope for it's a failed coup. Then there would be subsequent attempts.

The solution is the coup leaders need to split off, and divide the Tories in two.They need to form two separate parties.

Then we need p.r. So this can never happen again.

British Moslems are filling the humanity gaps that the indigenous are unable to. That includes the Church of England, which is not opening its doors en masse to save the homeless in these temperatures.

So we can't be part of EASA or EMA because they don't allow associate status, and personally, I can't see any reason why the other 27 should change their rules to suit us. I did see Stephen Kinnock's list, which wasn't exhaustive, but presumable there are a significant number of agencies which are the same.
So what will happen when we really get down to the details?

What is the opinion of the Brexit wreckers - Farage, Johnson etc.? They seem to have been a bit quiet.

woman all the CofE and other churches around here are opening their doors and providing shelter, food etc to help people in need in this weather.

You can be an associate member of EASA - but the UK loses all its clout.

Really good to see some accurate positive news about religious communities helping the homeless.

As an aside there's an interesting Panorama we watched on Catch up this week based in Bradford ( white fright). It's isn't directly connected to the Referendum -but does give an insight into divisions within the nation. Those divisions have in turn had a bearing on the subject in hand.

Worth a watch...

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09pz718

Seen elsewhere ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra#Economy

Andorra is not a member of the European Union, but enjoys a special relationship with it, such as being treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs) and as a non-EU member for agricultural products. Andorra lacked a currency of its own and used both the French franc and the Spanish peseta in banking transactions until 31 December 1999, when both currencies were replaced by the EU's single currency, the euro. Coins and notes of both the franc and the peseta remained legal tender in Andorra until 31 December 2002. Andorra negotiated to issue its own euro coins, beginning in 2014.

Andorra has traditionally had one of the world's lowest unemployment rates. In 2009 it stood at 2.9%.[115]

Peregrina, It was just the EMA I was referring to as a single market body. It only deals with EEA and EU members authorisation. Members of the SM. I would be very surprised if this would change.

I think the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is single market only too.

I dragged the kitchen sink of EASA in 'cos anything to do with the EU seems to be kryptonite to the brexiteers saying the SM and CU were part of referendum vote. But cherry picking when it suits seems to render EASA kryptonite not against the will of the people.

Mother I hope you're right.

Great post lonelyplanetmum

Coup is just seizure of control of media, executive and army.

The power rests with the executive and they can use any eejit like May or mogg as front of house.

They maintain the power, hidden, and tax free.

It's a very Maidenhead coup. J Patrick wrote a funny piece about it being Hyacinth Bucket regime. But rule of law and legislature are still defenceless, like any old school coup.

And me too mother I really really really hope you are right.

EASA member countries seems to be EU, EEA and/or EFTA countries. i.e. EU plus Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

They allow observers to the management board. These seem to be pre accession countries.

There also seems to be bilateral agreements, Technical cooperation and memoranda of understanding with a variety of other countries around the world.

So EASA seems to be more doable. In what time frame or negotiating phase, I don't know. Uk won't have any voting rights on membership board after March 2019.

A fog feeling is understandable.

At least this oft repeated line has now gone:
'we aren't going to say anything in case it jeopardises our non existent negotiating position '

I just noticed something:

1. On the one hand we got the we- are -taking -back -control -of money line, trotted out AGAIN. This really riles me as we only ever relinquished 'control' over 1% of GDP and that was then jointly allocated anyway.

BUT

1. May shifted to an open offer to pay for access to chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aviation agencies.

Offers to pay can be extended to other spheres and are a slight sign of BINO tendencies. Whilst most of the rhetoric was coup ish some of the substance wasn't.

I guess actions speak louder than words, so the willingness to pay up s a good sign?

The non-EU European countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, are identified as “EASA associated countries.” EASA, as in the case with EU Member States, is the single approval authority for design related activity within the associated countries. Responsibility for production related activity still rests with the individual national aviation authority. While not an EU member, the associated countries retain their sovereignty to conclude international agreements/bilateral agreements with third countries. However, they may not conclude agreements which would contradict the interests of EASA. Since these countries are not in the EU, they are not eligible for the full range of EASA membership entitlements.

www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/international/easa/media/EASA_FAQ.pdf

I hope this is not another thing coming.......pension withheld by the gov.
Letter posted by someone who got away.

UK won't be in EEA or EFTA, apparently. So struggle to see in what manner they could be an EASA associated country like Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein or Switzerland. Neither will they be pre accession for observer status.

So could it depend on the bilateral agreement/technical cooperation or memorandum of understanding route? Like US, Canada, Angola Brazil etc.

Unless EU willing to create whole new cherry pie status.

I chose to tramp 3 miles through the snow in search of coffee beans, over watching the PM simper through more banalities. But I've read her speech now and this is all very depressing. I understand your frustration and anger, crone

More on pension changes. I suspect this pre-dates Brexit, tbh. The changes effective from March 2017, so likely to have been in planning quite a while earlier?

www.ft.com/content/276e26e4-0594-11e7-aa5b-6bb07f5c8e12

Sorry, Cailleach - my fingers were translating you without engaging my tired brain I think.

woman I've been reading warnings about this for a few years
It seems standard procedure that the UK taxes transfer of pension funds to other countries, including Germany
unless
these are to QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme) abroad

However, it applies to British nationals too, who move abroad and wish to transfer UK private pension funds to their new country of residence

This doesn't affect me < phew > because I transferred to German schemes in 1993.
I will just receive the full state pension from the UK, plus various German pensions ( worth much more)

I realised that the pound had been falling vs the then DMark & other major currencies since WW1 and particularly since about 1960 , with no empire to prop things up
and that structural problems in the UK economy meant this devaluation was likely to continue

Of course Brexiter politicians & probably most Leavers are furious at the RoI:

They expected to bully a much weaker country, as England has done to Ireland for many centuries
but instead the RoI is part of the EU, which is much more powerful than the UK

So England cannot just casually shove Ireland against the wall - not if the UK govt desperately needs a good trade deal with the EU

An infuriating reminder of the limits to British power
The delusional bubble of Empire 2.0 is really pricked if even little Ireland can stand up successfully to the UK

May's Plan B is to keep asking for Plan A
… then going back and asking for Plan A again …

Unfortunately, Plan A would require the EU to shoot itself in the foot, but only the UK is stupid enough to shoot itself

"We are not looking for passporting because we understand this is intrinsic to the single market of which we would no longer be a member"

She is presumably expecting donations from hedge-funders and vulture capitalists to replace many current Tory business donors

Never mind that the City pays about 12% of UK tax income and is responsible for about 12% of UK exports …
OK, much of that will remain, being either non-EU business or specialist expertise not easily replaced
However, some will be lost, so the govt will have to cut and / or borrow … while also giving more tax cuts to business & the wealthy so they don't move abroad