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.

I give you calexit and texit

'Russian trolls' promoted California independence

www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-41853131

More of that wind changing direction?

Jessica Elgot
@jessicaelgot
Now some pressure on Brexit on Labour from left. Key supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, from Momentum and trade unions, say party policy should be free movement.

amp.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/28/free-movement-is-the-only-way-to-guarantee-workers-and-migrants-rights?__twitter_impression=true

Thanks as always Red

Hope you're feeling a bit better

I interrupt these serious conversations to bring an important announcement

@Dobby

I think Channel 4 News will be offering good coverage of the Major speech this evening. If anyone's interested.

Theresa May is clearly an incredibly stupid individual.

John Major by contrast is looking very good. The GFA was his baby. He knows what is at stake.

He's been warning about Brexit for a while. This speech - and the interview on C4 - was incredibly direct. Very much focused on it being an abrogation of the duty of government to permit self-harm 'in the name of the people'. I found that message incredibly strong and a real contrast to the crazy ideology we get from our representatives at the moment.

The centre ground really has been out of sight here in the UK for a long time.

Fantastic speech by John Major today.

Showed how deeply underwhelming the current politicians are.

Did you get the feeling that Major was pretty angry? I always think of him as being quite mildly spoken, he wasn't on the C4 interview.

I’d be pretty pissed off about the sheer incompetence of the current shower. Particularly in relation to Northern Ireland which BJ etc are so blithe about.

Yes. He had a resoluteness that is, i suspect, born of complete, incredulous fury.

I can't imagine he can quite believe the bastards were handed control of the party - and the UK.

DG would be happy to pick another state but in the mid west where we are it maybe has more of a reputation for doing things it's own way so I guess it maybe reminds us of the Brexiteers bunch a bit more. Trying to explain that Scotland isn't part of England takes up a fair bit of time often so I confess I haven't worked that much on the Brexit analogy!

I hope all the C4News watchers spotted the speedy fact-checking at the end of the programme, correcting JRM's assertion that Jeremy Corbyn voted against the GFA.

It struck me that JRM and the other Merry Brexiteers have become utterly, utterly used to lying with impunity.

I wish that the BBC were as careful about checking what comes out of the mouth of Brexiteers - and so clear and unapologetic aabout correcting them.

But - good grief - that it's come to having to have fact-checkers live and on hand.

Repeated sloppiness of language/facts is par for the course at the bbc, which is really upsetting.

Mark
@pettyman82
Replying to @campbellclaret and @BBCNews
Watching 100 Days on @BBCNews last night and the female anchor (forget her name) kept saying “now that the U.K. has left the EU...”. WE HAVEN’T LEFT YET!! We haven’t even made the constitutional decision to leave @A50Challenge

Major was clear, passionate and seemed like he cared about the country. So many Brexiters just don't come across as giving two figs about ordinary people. 'People' don't get a mention apart from as in the 'Will of'. They're only interested in them for their vote (when it gives them what they want).

Jonathan Powell on C4 News was also decisive and outspoken against Rees-Mogg. I thought JRM was faltering a bit. And wasn't given the last word in the interview.

Absolutely agree. Fabulous , passionate interview from Major.
And really well conducted by Snow.
Unlike some I can mention on R 4

DG would be happy to pick another state but in the mid west where we are it maybe has more of a reputation for doing things it's own way so I guess it maybe reminds us of the Brexiteers bunch a bit more. Trying to explain that Scotland isn't part of England takes up a fair bit of time often so I confess I haven't worked that much on the Brexit analogy!

Just I know the most "individual state" is often regarded as Texas ... maybe in the same way Yorkshire regards itself as Gods Own Country ?

Yes I guess when I think of individual states I either think of Texas or California and in terms of Brexit Texas seems to focus on the past and California more on the future. I think the comparison with Yorkshire having lived there for years has merit.

Still just getting sympathy from Europeans.

I can't decide if TM understood what she was agreeing with EU and thinks backtracking is fine or just didn't understand in the first place.

Having lived in Texas, I know just how much explaining has to be done for the average Texan to comprehend life outwith the US. Lots of Texan flag flying and celebrating the Alamo etc - I think Texit has been on the agenda for some for decades.

@Mother

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/28/irish-pm-shows-frustration-with-uk-over-brexit-border-deal

The Irish prime minister has said it is “not OK” for Theresa May to renege on a deal
involving a “backstop” solution to the Irish border question that could mean Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union.
…
Varadkar’s deputy, Simon Coveney on RTÉ’s News at One:

“The problem here is the British government’s stated position [in December], and still now,
is they want to make sure there is no border infrastructure between Northern Ireland and Ireland,
they don’t want trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the UK,

and that the UK is leaving the customs union and the single market

– and those things are simply not compatible.

< in other words, the UK has not changed its "cake & eat it" fantasy from Day 1 🤦🏻‍♀️ >

The emotional landscape of Brexit: In between the hours of anxiety about the hideous catastrophe of it all is interspersed the profound ennui of watching the UK government reveal they are still going round in a circle of Schroedinger's Cake delusion.

"Schroedinger's Cake" is a perfect summary of the UK negotiating position 👏🏼

Who here thinks that Corbyn will come up with the required full alignment on the single market (in addition to the customs union) required to make the NI border work?

I ask because I simply don't know from his speech what he is planning. Some cherry picking on the sm although none of his specified 'exemptions' are a) necessary or b) relate to factors that would affect the border.