Zelo Street! Barnier Spells It Out - WE’RE SCREWED

The deadline for the UK to request an extension to the Brexit transition period comes at the end of this month; should no request be made, and if no trade agreement is in place with the EU, then the UK will leave at the end of December 2020 with No Deal. It is, as Cloughie might have put it, as simple as that, young man.

Read the full analysis of how dogmatic morons are deliberately sabotaging the UK's economy and international reputation here

EU Law Analysis: How do you solve a problem like Suella? The legal aspects of breach and termination of the withdrawal agreement

Today’s papers bring another story that the UK might be planning to breach the Brexit withdrawal agreement – including the report that the new Attorney-General Suella Braverman is poised to attempt to justify this legally. So what happens if the UK (or the EU) breaches the withdrawal agreement is not a hypothetical issue. I’ve previously discussed the dispute settlement rules in the agreement, as well as the Withdrawal Agreement Act giving effect to the treaty in the UK, but it’s useful to bring the key issues together, and also to look at the issues from the point of view of international law.  This blog post summarises in turn the dispute settlement provisions of the withdrawal agreement and the rules on termination etc of treaties in international law, discussing the interaction between them... 

EU Law Analysis: How do you solve a problem like Suella? The legal aspects of breach and termination of the withdrawal agreement - Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex

Open letter to the EU: please sign

Claims No 10 'sitting on' Russian interference report - BBC News

There is disquiet in Parliament that a sensitive report on Russian covert actions against the UK, including allegations of electoral interference, is being sat on by No 10.

The report includes evidence from UK intelligence services concerning Russian attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 EU referendum and 2017 general election.

Read full article: Claims No 10 'sitting on' Russian interference report - BBC News

Remainers: join the 6 million !

Petition now closed, with a record-breaking 6,103,058 signatures.
It made international news headlines.

The Brexit Blog: Interpreting the UK European Election results

The Brexit Blog: Interpreting the UK European Election results: At one level, the explanation of the UK’s European election results * is entirely simple. If you are in favour of Brexit, you see the Tories...

The Brexit Blog: Parliamentary chaos holds up a mirror to the nation

Important read for anyone trying to make sense of this gawdolmighty clusterfuckalooza that's cringeworthily known as "Brexit".

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Parliamentary chaos holds up a mirror to the nation

The growing confusion surrounding Brexit is partly because of the pace and scale of events. Things which would normally be big stories, dominating the news for days, are forgotten within hours as some new development occurs. But beyond that pace and scale, the confusion arises because Brexit has ceased to be a single political process and now has multiple interconnected strands, some parliamentary and some governmental, some of which are quite unusual in their form.

Moreover, there are now multiple open factional splits amongst MPs and, of course, the wider public. All of this serves to make events both fluid and shapeless. Making any sense at all of them requires unravelling the separate strands, although the constant developments mean that some of what is written here may be out of date within a few days if not hours.

Indicative Votes...

Read the full post: The Brexit Blog: Parliamentary chaos holds up a mirror to the nation

That Irish backstop...

Seb Dance, MEP (Labour), sums up the situation nicely:

Removing the backstop means the EU27 will reject it.

• May can get an agreement with the EU27 that won’t pass HoC.

• May might be able to squeeze an agreement with HoC that won’t pass EU27.

Obviously May needs both to approve. She can’t get both. https://t.co/RSBl8r70AR

— Seb Dance MEP (@SebDance) 26 January 2019

Basically, May is trying to sell a lie to MPs. She knows, because the EU27 have told her - and indeed everyone - often enough that it's non-negotiable.

They, at least, draw their red lines at hurting people and (re)starting wars.

No backstop = breaching Good Friday Agreement = hard border = physically dividing communities and families = a return to the Troubles, which is what the GFA put an end to.

We must not forget that the March 29 deadline is now barely 2 months away. Those who talk of extending it in order to re-negotiate are dishonest, as it is impossible unless May's viciously and self-destructively xenophobic 'red lines' are removed. Those who want to extend it to hold a referendum on "May's deal, no deal, or no Brexit" have a better chance, but they're kidding themselves if they think they'll be allowed a stay past 30th June, when the new European Parliament will sit for the first time.

Moreover, the suspiciously-funded No-deal Leave lobby started ramping up its Facebook and Twitter campaigns some time ago and the far-right UK tabloids continue to spread xenophobic lies unchecked, while denouncing anyone who disagrees with their perverted views as 'traitors' (I believe there's a word for that kind of attitude. Someone came up with it about 100 years ago).

Equally suspiciously, Theresa May has admitted to knowing the 2016 referendum was corrupt, while insisting on continuing with her destructive course, encouraging xenophobia and an ever-deepening split in the country. She has also blocked police investigations into known criminal activity that affected the result of the 2016 referendum. Why? Is she afraid one of the trails the police might undercover would lead to her?

Theresa May, and a number of her cronies, shouldn't be leading the country. They should almost certainly be 'helping the police with their inquiries', as the euphemism goes. Time for Toadface Farage is already running out: the FBI are after him.There is something deeply shaming about a foreign country being more willing to track down and punish criminals destroying your democracy and your country than you are.

So, there is currently no guarantee that the result of another referendum would be any less tainted with corruption.

There is only one option left, and it's the only option that can save the UK. It will annoy a small, but admittedly vocal and violent far-right thugs. It will upset the corrupt rich, who will lose money over it, as they've been betting on the £ continuing to plummet so they can asset-strip the country. It will really piss off Putin, who wants a weakened Europe for his own expansionist wet dreams. Fuck them all, and fuck them mightily.

It will require all Governments to stop using the EU as a useful scapegoat for their own misdeeds.

It will require actually educating the British (well, the English mostly, as other countries in the Union already have it) as to what Parliament does, what the EU does, what an MP does, what local authorities do, and so on. It's called civic education, and it should be obligatory everywhere.

It will require a vote of Parliament. It's feasible. The hard bit is of course getting certain MPs to understand that their job is to put their country before everything else.

Parliament must withdraw Article 50 and commit (because it's the only way to regain even a fraction of the trust lost over Brexit) to closer ties with the EU. 

Anything else is just dicking around and trying everybody's patience.

'We are being abandoned': Britons in EU on the Brexit deal vote | Politics | The Guardian

Their problems, fears and concerns run the gamut, from the practical to the emotional and the existential to the deeply personal.

In advance of the Commons vote on Tuesday, some of the estimated 1.3 million British citizens living elsewhere in the EU worry they will lose their livelihoods because they will no longer be able to work across more than one country, or their professional qualifications may no longer be recognised... 'We are being abandoned': Britons in EU on the Brexit deal vote | Politics | The Guardian

Brexit bankroller Arron Banks, Cambridge Analytica and Steve Bannon – explosive emails reveal fresh links | openDemocracy

Brexit donor asked controversial Trump-linked data firm to 'come up with strategy' for fundraising in the US – and gave them access to personal information about British voters, according to new leaked emails >>> Brexit bankroller Arron Banks, Cambridge Analytica and Steve Bannon – explosive emails reveal fresh links | openDemocracy

mainly macro: Brexit. Of course everyone hates a compromise, but like much else its the best option, isn't it?

This is the argument put forward by May and her supporters, but rather more significantly it is also the case argued by Martin Sandbu here and other very rational and realistic people. When you have two sides implacably opposed, compromise is often the way forward. No one likes the compromise, but that is the nature of compromises. In a mature democracy where we don’t want to be at our throats all the time, compromise is inevitable...mainly macro: Brexit. Of course everyone hates a compromise, but like much else its the best option, isn't it?

Scotland in Europe Update 27th July 2018 - Alyn Smith

So this has been the week of ‘no deal’. The head of Amazon warned it could cause civic unrest. (thetimes.co.uk/...); the NHS would need to stockpile drugs (bbc.co.uk/...) and the Brexit Secretary himself Dominic Raab has promised to make sure we don’t starve (twitter.com/...)... Scotland in Europe Update 27th July 2018 - Alyn Smith

This petition could help UK nationals retain EU citizenship after Brexit | Euronews

The European Commission has allowed a group to launch a petition calling for permanent EU citizenship after Brexit.

The proposed petition on “Permanent European Union Citizenship” is to be registered on July 23 as a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), the Commission announced.

“The main objective of the proposed initiative is to guarantee that European citizenship and its associated rights cannot be lost once they have been attained,” the Commission said in a press release... >>This petition could help UK nationals retain EU citizenship after Brexit | Euronews

May & Corbyn vote together for a hard Brexit | LibDems

Yes, an unashamed puff for the LibDems. I wish I could say "Vote Labour to avoid the megaclusterfucknado of Brexit", but there's no hope of that from them.

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Labour MEPs are, fortunately, much more independent and genuinely working to help people.

Yesterday I met Michel Barnier to discuss the rights of citizens. People cannot live their lives not knowing what their freedoms will be. The Leave campaign promised they wouldn't be affected - let's make sure that promise is delivered. pic.twitter.com/lDkOqxicqy

— Seb Dance MEP (@SebDance) 22 November 2017

Zelo Street: Voter Consultancy Ltd - The Reality

After several Tory MPs signalled their opposition to some of the Government’s Brexit proposals, and the clumsy intervention by the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph naming them all on its front page, we now have a much more sinister targeting of those MPs which verges on harassment. This latest intervention has come from a company called Voter Consultancy Ltd via paid-for Facebook advertising... Zelo Street: Voter Consultancy Ltd - The Reality

Best for Britain: Russian Roulette

We are calling on Dominic Grieve, chair of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, to hold an immediate inquiry into reports of Russian attacks on British democracy.

Don't let Russia play roulette with our democracy. Add your name: Russian Roulette

Campaign for an Exit to Brexit

With every passing day the risk of a “no deal” Brexit looms larger and larger. A no deal that would see us not just out of the single market but facing tariffs on our trade, rising prices, collapsing businesses and unemployment queues growing. And this Conservative Brexit Government doesn’t even seem to care. The Brexit extremists in the cabinet are even talking it up as a good thing. It makes one thing clearer than ever – you, the people, should have the final say on leaving the EU. Will you add your name and join our campaign for an Exit to Brexit? Add my name With the polls suggesting that more and more people regret Brexit and everyone is disappointed in the Government’s handling of Brexit, these next few months could be crucial. And it’s looking increasingly likely that the best chance of keeping Britain in the single market is to stop this Conservative Brexit Government just forcing through any Brexit they negotiate. So please, it only takes a few seconds, but please join our campaign for an Exit from Brexit today: Yes, I'm in! Thank you, Tom Tom Brake is Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Exiting the European Union and International Trade. MP for Carshalton and Wallington

UK Government response: “Put the final Brexit deal to a referendum with revoking Article 50 as an option.”.

From the Dept. of "Did we really expect anything else from these arrogant, destructive fuckwits?"

The UK Govt. was petitioned to: “Put the final Brexit deal to a referendum with revoking Article 50 as an option.”.

Government responded:

On 23 June 2016 the British people voted to leave the European Union. The UK Government is clear that it is now its duty to implement the will of the people and so there will be no second referendum.

On 23 June 2016 the British people voted to leave the European Union. The referendum was the largest democratic mandate in UK political history. In the 2017 General Election more than 85% of people voted for parties committed to respecting that result.

There must be no attempts to remain inside the European Union, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door, and no second referendum. The country voted to leave the European Union, and it is the duty of the Government to make sure we do just that. Rather than second guess that decision, the challenge now is to make a success of it - not just for those who voted leave but for every citizen of the United Kingdom, bringing together everyone in a balanced approach that respects the decision to leave the political structure of the EU but builds a strong relationship between the UK and the EU as neighbours, allies and partners.

Since the referendum, the whole of Government has undertaken a huge work programme to make sure that we begin negotiations from a position of strength. This has included analysis of over 50 sectors of the economy. Ministers have also travelled up and down the country to listen to the hopes and concerns of businesses, civil society and the general public.

Parliament passed an Act with a clear majority giving the Prime Minister the power to trigger Article 50, which she did on 29 March in a letter to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.

In her speech in Florence on Friday 22 September, the Prime Minister set out a creative and pragmatic approach to securing a new, deep and special partnership with the European Union. The speech set the tone for the fourth and fifth rounds of negotiation talks on Monday 25 September and Tuesday 10 October . The talks were robust, constructive and have given us a lot to be positive about.

The people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe. We want a deep and special partnership with the EU. We aim to get the right deal abroad and the right deal for people here at home. We will deliver a country that is stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking than ever before.

As a matter of firm policy, our notification will not be withdrawn for the simple reason that the majority of the British people voted to leave. We are determined to see that instruction through and now look forward to forging a new relationship with the European Union.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Click this link to view the response online.

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This was a petition started immediately after the referendum and is now closed.

There is another petition with essentially the same objective that remains open (and got the same response). You can sign it here. It will be debated in Parliament and every little vote  in favour will help.

The Brexit Blog: By accident or design, a 'no deal' Brexit is getting closer

Theresa May’s commons statement on Brexit progress was a strange, confused and confusing mixture indicative of the strange, confused and confusing situation we are now in. On the one hand it showed some glimmers of realism about how in any ‘transition period’ ECJ jurisdiction would continue... The Brexit Blog: By accident or design, a 'no deal' Brexit is getting closer

FT: IMF cuts UK growth forecast and warns Brexit is starting to bite

The International Monetary Fund singled Britain out as a “notable exception” to an improving global economic outlook on Tuesday, as it confirmed a cut to its long-term forecast for UK growth and said negative effects of Brexit were beginning to show... IMF cuts UK growth forecast and warns Brexit is starting to bite