Showing posts with label Theresa May. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theresa May. Show all posts

Saturday, 26 January 2019

That Irish backstop...

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


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.


Wednesday, 11 October 2017

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

Tuesday, 25 July 2017

Brexit: Statement by Guy Verhofstadt and the EP Brexit Steering Group | News | European Parliament

EU Press release

The Brexit Steering group met Michel Barnier, EU negotiator for Brexit on Tuesday 25 July and issued this common statement after the 2nd round of negotiations between the EU and the UK.

“Last week was the first real round of Brexit negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. It was an opportunity for the two parties to review the main issues and map out where further explanations are necessary,” said the Members of the EP Brexit Steering group.

“However, if we want negotiations to succeed within the limited time we have, progress on more detailed content will have to be made sooner rather than later. We can only start talking about a new EU-UK relationship if sufficient progress has been achieved in the three main withdrawal areas: citizens’ rights, the financial settlement and the border issue on the island of Ireland.”

“The European Parliament cannot be clear enough that sufficient progress means progress across the board, and not just in one or two areas. The European Parliament will formally and in due time indicate when the point of ‘sufficient progress’ has been reached”

“To be precise, the European Parliament will remain vigilant regarding citizens’ rights and will continue to push for full rights for EU citizens in the UK as well as UK citizens in the EU. It is a core mission of the European project to protect, not to diminish, the fundamental rights of all citizens."

“The European Parliament specifically seeks to fully safeguard the rights concerning family reunion, comprehensive healthcare, voting rights in local elections, the transferability of (social) rights, and the rules governing permanent residence (including the right to leave the UK without losing this status). Simultaneously, we seek to avoid an administrative burden for citizens and want proposals which are intrusive to people’s privacy off the table, e.g. proposed systematic criminal checks.”

“Last but not least, the European Parliament wants the Withdrawal Agreement to be directly enforceable and to include a mechanism in which the European Court of Justice can play its full role.”
You can read the original Press Release here: Brexit: Statement by Guy Verhofstadt and the EP Brexit Steering Group | News | European Parliament

Analysis

Reading between the lines, it's very clear that the UK delegation is doing bugger-all and acting in what their EU counterparts consider to be arrogant bad faith. The members of the Brexit Steering Group may rest assured that they are not the only ones getting this impression.

Meanwhile, the futures of at least 70 million people - UK residents and UK citizens elsewhere in the EU - are hanging directly in the balance. Not just because of residence rights and all the red tape eliminated by virtue of being part of the EU. Nor just because the UK is expected to pay for accrued liabilities, such as pension rights for EU27 citizens who have worked in or for the UK. There is serious concern about the risk of violence breaking out again in Northern Ireland. What happens to Gibraltar? While both UK and Spain are in the EU, there is a truce over sovereignty there as well.

The list is almost endless. It will be impossible to get through in 1 year and 8 months, which is all that remains before the Article 50 notification period ends. An extension to that period is only possible if  all EU27 countries agree to it. Sending arrogant, incompetent, unprepared morons, to not so much negotiate as go out of their way to antagonise their opposite numbers, is exactly how not to demonstrate the good faith necessary to convince other countries to give that desperately needed breathing space and the equally desperately needed "transition period" of 5 years to get the Brexit-caused red tape sorted out without destroying too many lives.

Further reading:

Friday, 21 July 2017

Theresa May's Annual RevEUw - Richard Corbett

After one calamitous year, one snap general election and a one billion pound windfall for Northern Ireland in order that the DUP would prop up her minority government, the only certainty that the first anniversary of Theresa May‘s premiership has given us is not that Brexit might be a disaster but that it will be...

Read on: Theresa May's Annual RevEUw - Richard Corbett

Sunday, 2 July 2017

May's Brexit plan will hit rights of Britons abroad, campaigners tell EU | Politics | The Guardian

Theresa May’s proposal to protect the rights of EU citizens after Brexit is so poor, it will badly damage the rights of Britons living in Europe, campaign groups have told the European commission.

In an official response to the EU Brexit negotiating team, British in Europe and the3million have said that if May’s proposal is adopted it would represent a “severe reduction of the current rights” enjoyed by Britons in Europe.

Last week they expressed fears that Britons would be the “sacrificial lambs” in the Conservatives’ mission to reduce immigration...

Full article here: May's Brexit plan will hit rights of Britons abroad, campaigners tell EU | Politics | The Guardian

Websites of:



Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Nick Clegg on Theresa May and Human Rights

Following on Theresa May repeated threat to repeal human rights legislation using the pretext of fighting terrorism, an email signed Nick Clegg (former LibDem leader) just arrived.
Theresa May has vowed to tear up the Human Rights Laws. That's scrapping your rights, my rights, our rights.

That's what this divisive Tory Party would do if they win another five years of power with no proper opposition.

I have sat around the cabinet table with Theresa May and other Tories and I can tell you from personal experience that they are capable of doing it without blinking[1].

We must stop them. Not only for our sake, but for the sake of future generations. Currently, too many of our marginal Tory-facing seats are on a knife-edge, and we can only win with your help. Will you help me win?

We are the only ones who can take seats off Tories and stop this group of internet-banning, Human Rights-bashing, Brexit headbangers from vandalising our communities across our beloved country.

To stop them, we need to win seats and to do that, we need more money to target swing voters in our marginal Tory-facing seats.
Of course, it's not always the LibDems who are best-placed to oust a Tory throughout the country, so consult the Tactical voting guide to see how best to vote out the Conservative in your constituency.

Support your favourite party, even if it's not the one you're voting for, with a small donation. Party funding is skewed in favour of the Conservatives at the best of times, but this difference is exacerbated during a General election. Get an eyeful of this:



That's for the 3rd week of the campaign. If you think that's a little one-sided, then you can chip in (even a small amount helps) to one of the other parties' fighting fund:
I haven't included any Scottish, Irish or Welsh parties, because they seem to be doing fine and it's the English constituencies that vote overwhelmingly for the Right.

If anyone starts scaremongering with cries of "coalition of chaos", laugh at them. If they claim we need a "strong and stable" government, remind them that's what dictatorships paint themselves as.

And if they try to sow doubt with words like "hung Parliament" then tell them that yes, we do need a Parliament with the balls to stand up to stupidity and bluster, with MPs who'll vote for what they believe to be right for their constituents and the country, not what some offshored business magnate wants.

Vote for your NHS, for your pension (it takes a lifetime to earn one), for your future.

[1] They blink?

Friday, 21 April 2017

Why Theresa May should scare you | Never Cruel Nor Cowardly

Looked at objectively, Theresa May is very clearly a political leader who, given free rein, would be a dictator.

Her history as Home Secretary is one of increasingly authoritarian rhetoric and policy, summarised by the “Go Home” vans.

Since becoming PM, govt proposed lists of foreign workers, forcing out foreign doctors, removing troops from international human rights law...

Read on: Why Theresa May should scare you | Never Cruel Nor Cowardly