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Robert Saunders @redhistorian
, 9 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
*Clears throat* Perhaps I can help? [THREAD] 1/9
Despite all the bloviating in the tabloids, what Parliament is debating today is not *whether* we leave the EU. It’s *how* - and who decides our future relationship with Europe. 2/9
The referendum instructed Parliament to leave the EU. But it said nothing – literally *nothing* – about how we work and trade with our neighbours in future. And Leavers – quite legitimately – canvassed lots of different options during the campaign. 3/9
Daniel Hannan, the brains behind the Leave operation, assured voters that “absolutely nobody is talking about threatening our place in the single market”. Owen Paterson, of badger fame, claimed that “only a madman would actually leave the market”. 4/9
Arron Banks, the man who bankrolled Leave.EU, took time out from the Russian Embassy to tweet that “the Norway option looks the best for the UK”. Matthew Elliott, who ran Vote Leave, suggested the EEA might be attractive to business, at least in the short term. 5/9
After the referendum, Theresa May called in her Lancaster House Speech for a “Deep & Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement” with the EU, “covering more sectors & co-operating more fully than any Free Trade Agreement anywhere in the world”. Was that a betrayal of the Leave vote? 6/9
She's also suggested that we keep the European Arrest Warrant, and negotiate associate membership with EURATOM, EU research programmes and the bodies regulating aviation, chemicals and medicine. Is she overturning the will of the people? 7/9
Like it or not, we have to build new trading, security & political relationships with the EU. So who decides what this should look like? We can leave it to the Cabinet, whose members are waging open war on one another. Or we can debate it openly & responsibly in Parliament. 8/9
If Leavers wanted a mandate for a particular *form* of Brexit, they should have put it on the ballot paper. They didn’t: so let's drop the fantasy that only they can articulate "the will of the people". To coin a phrase, it’s time for MPs to “take back control”. 9/9
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More from @redhistorian see all

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The conviction that what the world really needs from Britain is "leadership" - indulged by a govt that can barely tie its own shoelaces - is a fallacy with deep historical roots. It has bedevilled British foreign policy since 1945 - & its relations with the EU above all. [THREAD]
2. After the Second World War, Britain's power in the world was severely weakened, but its commitment to global leadership remained undimmed. So govts turned to the Commonwealth as an organisation that "has only to develop its resources to match the power of the United States".
3. Yet hopes that the Commonwealth would provide a new platform for British power were swiftly disappointed, as it became less white, less "British" & less amenable to UK leadership. The result, on the British Right, was a backlash that anticipated later criticism of the EU.
Read 12 tweets
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Rule 1: a total ban on honours for serving Members of Parliament. The only honour to which an MP should aspire is being elected to Parliament by their constituents - and there should be no currency by which the front-benches can purchase their loyalty.
Rule 2: a statutory and muscular "conflict of interest" test. No honours for big party donors, people who have conducted inquiries into the parties bestowing them, or figures in quasi-judicial roles. Like Caesar's wife, honours given on our behalf must be beyond suspicion.
Rule 3: service to a political party, however admirable, is not the same as service to the country. If parties wish to honour chairmen, activists or donors, they should do so in their own way, from their own resources. (We might call this "Cameron's Law").
Read 8 tweets
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Of all the many delusions that have gripped British politics, this is perhaps the most destructive. It's what I call "The Tinkerbell Theory of History" - and it's carrying us down the road to ruin. [THREAD] 1/13
In the Boys' Book of History to which Raab and his ilk subscribe, Britain's glorious past can be traced to a single source. Not geography. Not empire. Not its natural resources or the immigration that birthed the industrial revolution. Just this: sheer pluck & determination. 2/13
Far from being nostalgic for empire, the dominant folk memory of British history is of "plucky little Britain", standing with its backs to the wall in the face of overpowering odds. It's the story of the underdog, hopelessly outnumbered but somehow finding a way through. 3/13
Read 13 tweets

Related threads

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#THREAD

Yesterday's indictment is a major signal that we're nearing the end of the #TrumpRussia prologue.

I interviewed @Mimirocah1 about the story which she said indicates that "prosecutors are putting the pieces together."

I agree.

Here's my $0.02.

washingtonpress.com/2019/01/08/a-m…
Why is Natalia Veselnitskaya's link to the Kremlin so important?

1 - SDNY provides Mueller with apolitical evidence sent from the target that predates all investigations.
2 - Proves Don Jr. met a Kremlin Agent
3 - Burns the Russian prosecution against @Billbrowder

2/
Natalia Veselnitskaya had been working on the Prevezon case for years, but in 2014 she involved herself drafting of the official response to the DoJ's invocation of a treaty for legal assistance.

She sent the evidence that she worked with the Kremlin to SDNY prosecutors.

3/
Read 15 tweets
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1/ Today @LondonFirst launched our #GlobalBritain report. Because it is a long report and I don’t expect you all to read it, below as a (longish) thread the main points and recommendations
londonfirst.co.uk/news-publicati…
2/ With the UK due to leave the EU on 29 March 2019, there are many political and economic consequences that will require changes to policy: our approach to immigration is one of the most fundamental.
3/ Despite the uncertainty surrounding our departure, the Govt has made its intention to end Freedom of Movement for all citizens clear.
Whatever the politics, employers are pragmatic and recognise both the public’s & gov't's concerns about open borders
Read 26 tweets
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Thread re Prime Minister on #BBCtoday @BBCr4today re #EU just now: she got her catchphrase in early and followed the classic media training advice 'repeat, repeat, repeat'. 3 years ago it was 'Long-term economic plan', now it is 'when we leave the EU free movement will end'
or 'when we leave the EU we will take back control of our money, our laws and our borders'. All of which is based on fallacy - claim of net out-flow of money has been demonstrated clearly many times, we elect our MEPs and the MPs who debate the EU regs and we have border controls
Astonishingly disdainful way she thinks of UK workers - they will be trained for the low skilled jobs currently done by people from EU27 countries, but we will still allow people in if they will have salary of £50k. She had no plan for immediate recruitment e.g. for care homes
Read 25 tweets
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Juncker delivered his last #SOTEU2018 speech. Here are my major takeaways in a tweet #thread @CER_EU
1. As media had previously reported #Juncker decided not to focus on what his Commission achieved but on what still needs to be done to convince European citizens to say 'Yes' to the EU when they go to the polls next year.
2. I agree that it is not a good moment for pats on the back and I agree with #Juncker that member-states have in many respects held the Commission up from delivering on Commission's promises.
Read 13 tweets
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001/ [article content in this tweet series 001-180 reproduced with permission from Martin Howe QC of Lawyers for Britain @lawyers4britain]
#quote "Leaving the EU on WTO terms: pulling down the barriers to world trade
Introduction: why prices will FALL after Brexit, not rise" /002
002/ #quote "Over the past couple of weeks, the media have been full of lurid scare stories about what will happen if the UK leaves the EU on WTO terms, because negotiations with the EU do not result in a withdrawal agreement." /003
#tariffs #NoDeal #Brexit #WTO #ProjectFear #shortages #food #medicines
003/ #quote "One of the most ridiculous and UNJUSTIFIED of these absurd scare stories is that it will lead to higher prices, and even shortages, of foods and medicines." /004
Read 180 tweets
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This is gonna be long, but I think it's worth it. A well-regarded twitter poster, let’s call him Giorgio, has recently publish a thread stating among other things as follows. “The pathways to stopping or delaying Brexit are blocked.
But once the mandate is discharged, the pathways to UK rejoining, or being in a close association agreement with EU, within the single market and customs union, will be open, with no obstacles.”
This approach annoys me for two reasons, one because Giorgio seems to be attempting to cajole Remainers to put all activity on hold until we actually leave the #EU.
Read 17 tweets

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