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.

frumpety - the rules are different in NI and I think that was part of the advantage of donating to Leave through the DUP. This from the Electoral Commission:

There are currently different rules on the reporting of donations and loans to parties in Northern Ireland. They must report donations and loans to us in the same way as parties in Great Britain. However, we are currently barred from publishing this information.

The Government has laid draft legislation which provides for more transparency on party funding in Northern Ireland. Once passed, this legislation will allow us to publish more information about the donations and loans that parties in Northern Ireland report to us.

I wonder when we can expect to see those rules on greater transparency implemented .

I heard similar on skynews an hour ago but there has been nothing further about that.

I don’t know if this is peddling misinformation as I don’t know about the veracity of this so please take with a pinch of salt

In reference to this:

www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/from-russia-with-blood-14-suspected-hits-on-british-soil?utm_term=.qnEryJaOq#.drxPG73Y5

Miles King
@MilesKing10
Replying to @BenPBradshaw, @CllrAdamBoyden, and 3 others
Given UKIP/Russian connections, it's interesting that head of Counter-Terror at the Met when several of those 14 assassinations took place was Richard Walton. Walton is a key player in Veterans for Britain.

www.opendemocracy.net/uk/brexitinc/adam-ramsay/who-are-veterans-for-britain

Brexit: bypassing the UK

Leave veteran RNorth today:
http://eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=86792

Massive increase in RoI ports & ferry services between RoI & mainland EU, to replace current goods & passenger transport via UK routes
also building up RoI motorway infrastructure

Private, RoI govt and EU funding

"This 234m giant, with the capacity of 8,000 lane metres (equivalent to nearly 500 articulated trucks),
had originally been intended to serve the UK-Belgian route
but has now been pressed into service on the Dublin-Zeebrugge route,
by-passing the UK route to the continent via Holyhead."

Also refs
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/cork-to-limerick-motorway-and-dublin-airport-included-in-115bn-national-development-plan-826540.html

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/business/call-for-massive-investment-in-ringaskiddy-port-827944.html

imo, The EU won't want to extend A50,
because they are determined not to have the complication of British MEPs in the 2019 EU elections;
they especially want rid of Farage and UKIP and hence cut down the far-right grouping in the EP

They would be happy with the transition we are most likely to see:

• Uk - E27 trade & financial services continuing as now
• BUT the UK has to ask all the countries with whom the EU has FTAs & trade arrangements to let these continue for the UK (about 900 legal arrangements of various sorts) - the Uk has still not got its act together to do this.
• No MEPs for UK
• Still paying into the current EU budget. If transition is extended, then payments will be on that new schedule
• Uk bound by EU laws and ECJ as now, including E27 & UK expats rights

The EU don't want the UK to continue in perpetual A50, being a permanent pain.
A transition after Brexit, even if extended, will be comfortable for the EU and much less so for the UK

I have vaguely got the impression that we are already breaching the GFA, even by considering various sorts of borders. If so, is there any international court which another party can take the UK to? I was thinking the obvious 'other party' being the Irish Government. Or is it just that it's all talk at the moment, so there is no action possible.

Evening Standard: Video of Tusk statement

Brexit latest: EU rules out bespoke UK trade deal and says NO to full access to markets for the City

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/eu-rules-out-bespoke-trade-deal-for-uk-a3783841.html

"The European Union warned Britain to expect the “negative economic consequences” of Brexit today as it rejected Theresa May’s call for a bespoke trade deal"

Britain First leaders Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen jailed for hate crimes
sparking courtroom tirade from supporters

www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/britain-first-leader-paul-golding-and-deputy-leader-jayda-fransen-jailed-for-religiouslyaggravated-a3784341.html

Anyone catch Panorama tonight? Subject was immigration. Cringe worthy viewing.

Must watch Panorama.

On a different note, this whole quagmire makes me paranoid. Today's You Gov questions were all about how much and by what methods you take money abroad.

Is this a sign the government are contemplating curbs to slow the flow of money going abroad. Like the controls Beijing has imposed?

Next thing we know banks will be required to report ATM withdrawals and bank card spending overseas above a certain level.

I have some friends who are the savviest people I know and they've already moved money abroad.

We used to be limited in the amount of money we took abroad, of course. I suppose that is what Leavers want. Imagine holidays with landladies in Blackpool or Skegness, (so bracing), no fancy foreign food, and so on.

Guido is reporting that ukip need £100,000 by the end of the month or they go bust.

There used an advert for Intercity or British Rail in the 70s with voxpops on a train saying why it was so good. One woman did say, proudly, "No foreign food!"

You know how post-referendum if anyone said anything at all critical about Brexit or the UK, they were "strongly advised" to move abroad. Is there in fact anywhere where you can move abroad now, without the likelihood of being booted out in a year or two or three?
Very frustrating to read that post by someone bitterly complaining that getting EU passports for their whole family is costing them £500. What the rest of us would give for the opportunity to spend £500 on that....

Peregrina never assume what leavers want, it can lead to people thinking you've insulted them.

Yes I'm pissed off it's costing me £500
I don't want to leave the EU
I voted remain
I am having my EU passport taken from me without my consent
Why should I be happy about any of this shitshow????

...and I'm glad you've got £500 to spare
I haven't

I think the point was mrsreynolds that not everyone has £500 to spend let alone on passports. Perhaps peregrina can recommend a B&B in skegness then you won't have to spend £500.

To those of us who are stuck in this situation with no possibility of a way out for us or our children as things in this country get worse and worse, we age and likely develop serious health conditions and are stuck with a broken NHS, probably no state pension provision, limited human rights, etc etc etc, you are in an extremely fortunate position. Complaining about it on this board (rather than to your family etc) is not overly sensitive. I know that others have been nice about it, so perhaps it's just me.

Well having reread Clarissa Larissa's post I may be wrong
No, I'll stick to my guns.

How much money do you think that Brexit is going to cost each of our families? It hugely affects my job and is causing big financial problems to my family already.