Westministenders: This is not the Brexit we voted for

[ListeningQuietly]

UK Shellfish industry destroyed because our inshore waters are not clean enough
Welsh Ports on their knees because the Land Bridge has found another route
Horticulture seed producers lost all of their mainland EU customers

Antique dealers lost access to their suppliers
Small businesses being told (by UK Govt) to relocate to the EU to avoid red tape
Brits in the EU discovering that stopping Free Movement applies to them too
Northern Ireland in Unionist flames because there is a border between them and Great Britain, but not the Republic
And the UK has still not taken control of its borders

Brexit is shaping up as predicted, but none of those who voted for it seem to have what they wanted

Sandman
No email for me either.

I am a year older today so will head out to work and will read
Chris Grey
chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/
later

and for all on FB I utterly recommend
www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/302818701213369
as she puts the US into context really really well

This opening extract from the Chris Grey blogspot is especially for Clavinova, who swore that the EU had invoked the A16 protocol, or as good as.

We’re probably long past the closing date for nominations for the prize for most absurd and mendacious comment about Brexit, including the category reserved for those made by Boris Johnson. If not, a strong new entry would be his comment this week that he will get rid of the “ludicrous” checks on the Irish Sea border, and yet again threatening to invoke Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) as he has been doing since at least 13 January (less than two weeks after it came into operation, and before, be it noted, the EU’s quickly abandoned plan to do so over vaccine shipments).

Ludicrous is a useful word here, since this is the border Johnson said he would never agree to, then agreed to, then said he hadn’t agreed to – all within the space of a few months. But beneath the latest bullish assertion is the rather different proposition that the issue is one of different “interpretations” of the NIP, and the need to “sandpaper” the border arrangements. This implies that, at least for now, the wilder demands from some Brexiters and unionists to ditch the NIP altogether are not going to be met.

One would never have thought from reading this that mendacious Boris Johnson had actually signed the protocol himself less than six months ago. One could understand if it had been signed by a predecessor - then he might have something to gripe about.

Yes never understood the UKs issues with the NIP, its part of a deal he won an election on, negotiated himself and signed off to great fanfare...

Yet now its the deal from hell, that his evil twin agreed too.......

No email for me either.

I did get one and it refers to posts plural but only one deleted.

Bizarrely my (one quoted line one written by me line) post : Wed 21-Apr-21 12:16:12 deleted because my line was "inflammatory and just not in the spirit of the site"...

...but Clavinov's post of Wed 21-Apr-21 12:36:44 which quotes my post in full is still there (presumably not being inflammatory and fully in the spirit of the site)...

I'm done trying to fathom who gets to say what around here without risking the wrath of the elders.

@QueenOfThorns

I got deleted the other day, and I’m still a bit perplexed about it. I was suggesting that C&P doesn’t find sources reliable if they’re known to support Labour. (At least, that’s what I was trying to say, I’ve been worrying ever since that I accidentally said something terribly offensive instead)

Which kind of shows how getting posts deleted has a chilling effect on debate. There's every chance you will be more circumspect in what you say on here in future.

Obviously that's a good thing if your posts were actually agressive/ threatening/ bullying/ racist/... But not a good thing if it squashes reasonable posters who are simply saying things others don't like.

It would be more helpful if they could tell us which sentence(s) caused the deletion, rather than 'not in the spirit'.

Fact is, MNHQ are busy. There must be 1000s of reports especially from the you-know-whos monitoring some of the boards. When they get a professional offence-taker of the True BeLeaving Pious Fraud type, flinging baseless accusations around like a diarrhetic chimp, it's probably easier for them to just take it at face value and delete.

Not strictly Brexit related, this is an interesting article about how the UK's foreign aid cuts could be seen to affect our soft power internationally:

www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/apr/23/uk-aid-cut-seen-as-unforced-error-in-year-of-british-leadership

It's awful to think about the human costs of these cuts. The situation in Yemen particularly was dire already.

Situation in Yemen made so much worse already by the UKs support of the Saudi Regime, including happily selling them weapons to use in Yemen......

Aid is in some ways a form of colonialism. If you cut your colonialist interests you cut your international clout. I’d have thought that an old imperialist like BJ would have figured that out.

I can confirm that the deletions were not prompted by me.

QueenOfThorns - I don't recall your deleted post.
TatianaBis - I didn't read your post - I was away from MN (and out of the house) from lunchtime until about 8pm last night.

prettybird - (certainly more constructive than his or her contributions) his or her posts
Quite difficult for you to keep up the his or her pretence in view of yesterday's discussions without looking a little childish in my opinion.

mathanxiety
The third estate is a vital part of democratic society.

Your post would make more sense if you referred to the "fourth estate" - i.e. the press/news media.

Peregrina
No time to debate with you today, but have you seen this?

22 April -
Brexit: ponies held for month in Belfast port freed after court ruling.

Judge urges Brussels to review rule on quarantining animals and ‘to allow scope for application of common sense.’ ...

Handing down his decision after an appeal by Massey to get access to the ponies, the judge George Conner concluded there was “no virtue in sending the animals back to Scotland or any other place on the mainland just to teach someone a lesson in form-filling”.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/apr/22/brexit-ponies-held-for-month-in-belfast-port-freed-after-court-ruling

Why is it down to the EU ?

Lovely tulips. What's Kelvin MacKenzie doing on here? Or is that his very good friend Rebecca Wade? Back to the depths with you.

I recall having a post deleted some time ago. It came with a short lecture from MNHQ reprimanding me for my passive aggressive tone.

I have tried unsuccessfully, three times now, to upload a pretty photo of my wisteria in exchange for prettybird's beautiful tulips. Giving up now.

I have nothing of use to add to this somewhat bemusing thread, really, and even my attempts at uplifting floral imagery have been thwarted.

I am not sure why I am being asked to comment on the status of ponies in Belfast,not being an expert on equine matters, but would ask if this situation has ever previously arisen?

As far as I can see it would not have done. If Johnson and Frost had been prepared to negotiate in good faith and in a timely manner then perhaps, as the Chris Grey blog spot points out, these sorts of details could have been thrashed out earlier.

But no, it seems to be another wah, wah, wah, can't they see we are speshul, why should the rules apply to us? (Because you chose to leave the EU, or more specifically because Boris Johnson wasn't prepared to go along with May's backstop arrangements which might have avoided some of this.)

Just read the Guardian article about the ponies and if I'm reading it right the ponies were refused permission to enter NI by Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Rural Affairs.

Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Rural Affairs, there were serious omissions about the ponies’ place of origin, required for welfare and tracing purposes.

A UK government organisation. This is an internal UK matter. The department's strict interpretation and adherence to the letter of the rules is what's caused the problem. Not the rules themselves. Nothing to do with any EU 'interference'.

What, as jaasjas1973 has already asked, has the EU got to do with this?

UK Aid cuts: "Something very precious is being smashed to pieces.”

Doesn't that just sum up Boris Johnson's approach.
Rory Stewart also nails it - it plays well with the Tory right.

@AuldAlliance

I have tried unsuccessfully, three times now, to upload a pretty photo of my wisteria in exchange for prettybird's beautiful tulips. Giving up now.

I have nothing of use to add to this somewhat bemusing thread, really, and even my attempts at uplifting floral imagery have been thwarted.

That's a shame I love wisteria I'm trying to persuade dh that I've found a suitable spot to put one in but which require him putting in some wooden spars for it to go across

OK, one more try.
Wisteria is gorgeous, smells lovely and is very bee-friendly. But a lot of sweeping up of dead petals is required...

It came with a short lecture from MNHQ reprimanding me for my passive aggressive tone.

Gosh, I never knew that was a MN offence - I’m amazed that I haven’t been nuked from orbit.

Fabulous!

My dad's mature wisteria isn't even sprouting yet (we were over at his place yesterday) Our gardens are waaaaay behind where they normally are at this time of year.

I was pretty surprised, elements Had to look twice to see whether I'd received a detention and note home to my parents. Lovely wisteria AuldAlliance. Feel envious. Tried to send last years peonies - not ponies - but tech. Bah.

What, as jasjas1973 has already asked, has the EU got to do with this?

Just popping in.
This? Although I can only access the first sentence;

20 October, 2020
The European Union is prepared to drop its request to maintain an office in Belfast to oversee trade relations in return for installing 15 customs and veterinary staff at the north's ports...

www.irishnews.com/paywall/tsb/irishnews/irishnews/irishnewsnews/northernirelandnews/2020/10/20/news/eu-seeking-its-own-customs-officials-in-ni-ports-to-oversee-protocol-2103662/content.html

ListeningQuietly - Happy Birthday by the way - you were too subtle for this lot.