Brexit Megathread Part 3: COP26 and beyond. The Empire is no more.

[prettybird]

The old thread is nearly full so as COP26 is in my home town, I thought I'd start the next one.

I'm not expecting anything wonderful from COP26. The selfishness that is Brexit will extend to the rich nations - or rather corporations, countries and cronies - not wanting to do anything that might actually cost them money or hurt their profits and having made their money on the back of the resources of the poorer nations (in some cases quite literally ), they'll expect them to pay the price for the riches of the West.

The deliberate mistranslation of France's letter to the EU will distract from real issues - but that's ok for BJ as he can then blame the perfidious French.

Nothing changes.

BBC back to it's supine self today. No pressing the government minister on how the UK failed to get an agreement with the UK

("Well, the Dublin agreement wasn't that good anyway ..." - a paradigm of sour grapes)

Going by the headlines, the worst of this tragedy is that no one appears to want to do anything realistic to stop it. Picking another quarrel with France is more important. But at least it does help to show up the Brexit lies for what they were; for a significant number of Leave voters it was about immigration.

@Peregrina

Going by the headlines, the worst of this tragedy is that no one appears to want to do anything realistic to stop it. Picking another quarrel with France is more important. But at least it does help to show up the Brexit lies for what they were; for a significant number of Leave voters it was about immigration.

The point the BBC totally failed to challenge the minister on was when he stated "You can't force the EU into an agreement they don't want" (I paraphrase).

That should have been immediately poleaxed with

"I thought we held all the cards ?"

.

BBC also doing some very good reporting on the migrant crisis, with Ben Chu persuasively arguing that the numbers of people coming to the UK are actually going down

twitter.com/BenChu_/status/1462921224124833798

[quote GlassOfPort]BBC also doing some very good reporting on the migrant crisis, with Ben Chu persuasively arguing that the numbers of people coming to the UK are actually going down

twitter.com/BenChu_/status/1462921224124833798[/quote]
And Lewis Goodall
twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1463106096336363521?s=21

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59414460

...
But net migration - which does not include asylum claims or refugees - fell by 88% last year after Covid.
...

*That should have been immediately poleaxed with

"I thought we held all the cards ?"*

The trouble is Boris and Frosty haven't realised that they are not playing top trumps.

David Allen Green's blog today about border control
davidallengreen.com/2021/11/by-taking-back-control-of-your-borders-you-can-lose-control-of-your-borders-the-lesson-of-brexit/

This means that if you take back control as an exercise in unilateralism then you may lose control – or influence – over what will be happening to your border from the other side.

@DuncinToffee

David Allen Green's blog today about border control davidallengreen.com/2021/11/by-taking-back-control-of-your-borders-you-can-lose-control-of-your-borders-the-lesson-of-brexit/

This means that if you take back control as an exercise in unilateralism then you may lose control – or influence – over what will be happening to your border from the other side.

Doesn't he realise we are an island so it is really easy to control who comes and goes, whilst running down the funding of the Border Agency.

Adam Bienkov
@AdamBienkov
Laughter breaks out in the House of Commons as Cabinet Office Minister Nigel Adams tells MPs “there is no link between party donations and nominations to sit in the House of Lords."

SNP MP Brendan O’Hara: “I admire the minister’s ability to say that with a straight face."

twitter.com/blunted_james/status/1463819292647034884?s=20

Brigid Laffan @BrigidLaffan

This letter is worth reading-in addition to heavy emphasis on the bilateral-there is-wait for it-reference to multilateral engagement with-wait for it-the EU. Wow-@BorisJohnson recognises that EU matters-did he run this by @DavidGHFrost

twitter.com/BrigidLaffan/status/1463976157599211523?t=-aHRteKL0vrXM5TsVuxDMA&s=19

[quote DuncinToffee]Brigid Laffan @BrigidLaffan

This letter is worth reading-in addition to heavy emphasis on the bilateral-there is-wait for it-reference to multilateral engagement with-wait for it-the EU. Wow-**@BorisJohnson* recognises that EU matters-did he run this by @DavidGHFrost*

twitter.com/BrigidLaffan/status/1463976157599211523?t=-aHRteKL0vrXM5TsVuxDMA&s=19[/quote]
Seems France has told Johnson to "do one" as they say in Liverpool

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59428311

France's interior minister has cancelled talks with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on France to take back migrants who crossed the Channel.

That letter is worth reading, as are the supporting comments. Most people have recognised the cynicism in Johnson's offer. Now he needs French co-operation, so he's dialling down the rhetoric, and trying to get a back door Dublin agreement. But before we wanted nothing to do with France/EU.

No mention of how 'We in Britain will open up legal routes of entry'.
Also what a waste of time to send Priti Patel to negotiate anything.

Seems France has told Johnson to "do one" as they say in Liverpool

Cue some crocodile tears from Johnson and Patel "we wanted to do something but the French wouldn't co-operate." So some more French bashing from the tabloids.

In reality - this shows that one of the big Brexit bonuses of "Controlling our borders" is something we are failing at, and it will cost us votes.

Clumsy mistake or deliberate, cynical ploy?

Arrogance?

Sophie Pedder, Paris Bureau Chief, the Economist

If you tried to write a letter designed to irritate France, this would be it
1 self-congratulate and take moral high ground
2 make letter public, to enhance 1
3 tell France and EU to do more to patrol a border that the UK left EU in order to regain control over

Breathtaking

Grant Shapps was given an easy ride on Today. However it was interesting that NR noted his "calm pragmatic" manner in contrast to Patels hysterical headline grabbing

"Maybe your cabinet colleague could follow your lead ?" asks Robinson.

It's all very Trumpesque, govern by twitter.

Buckland on QT last night was defending Johnson by claiming he is an excellent campaigner.

John Lichfield, a British journalist based in France has a really good overview of the France / UK history on this topic

unherd.com/2021/11/the-calais-crisis-cant-be-solved/

Whatever happens, there is one certainty: the present situation — Britain relying on France while insulting the French — is untenable.

Macron on Boris Johnson's tweeted letter to France:

"I am surprised by the methods when they are not serious. We do not communicate by tweets."

@Peregrina

Seems France has told Johnson to "do one" as they say in Liverpool

Cue some crocodile tears from Johnson and Patel "we wanted to do something but the French wouldn't co-operate." So some more French bashing from the tabloids.

In reality - this shows that one of the big Brexit bonuses of "Controlling our borders" is something we are failing at, and it will cost us votes.

Controlling borders was a Brexit slogan that had nothing to do with reality. Unfortunately too many people bought the slogan with the Brexit result we know already.

Controlling illegal immigration as a third country to the EU is definitely not a slogan - it takes years, resources, compromises and continuous good will to develop the policies necessary to control illegals.

Spain is one of the main routes to illegal mafias to the EU through Ceuta and Melilla and despite Morocco having huge concessions and national security alliance with Spain and the EU, every time Morocco gets piss off (last time because Spain allowed the leader of the Polisario (West Sahara) get medical treatment against Covid in Spain, we got over 6,000 illegals crossing per day. And lets not mention the Canaries where the Spanish Navy is patrolling the international line with Morrocan waters and boats are sent back and accepted by Morocco on the spot.

As I said, it takes years to develop this kind of relationship. Blaming the French time and again while doing nothing to seriously establish with them a protocol to control illegals is nothing but another slogan for the UK voters.

@DuncinToffee

It's all very Trumpesque, govern by twitter.

Buckland on QT last night was defending Johnson by claiming he is an excellent campaigner.

Is he currently running a campaign to be the world's worst leader?

More on the GB - NI bridge

Adam Bienkov @AdamBienkov
Boris Johnson's feasibility study into his own plan to build a crossing between Great Britain and Northern Ireland finds it would cost up to £335bn and be "impossible to justify."

Boris Johnson's spokesman refuses to say how much the prime minister's feasibility study into his abandoned plan to build a £335 billion bridge to Northern Ireland cost.