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Thread: Let's talk a little bit about British attitudes to Ireland in light of some recent remarks by British pundits and how it relates to the UK's misreading of WA negotiations.
extra.ie/2019/07/13/new… 1/
extra.ie/2019/07/13/new… 1/
The above comments by @alanmendoza of the Henry Jackson Society are illuminating for number of reasons, but in particular they are representative of a particular strain of thought often verbalised within the UK - namely that Ireland SHOULD not matter. 2/
The word "should" is important here. With the WA negotiations complete, it should be obvious that quite clearly, Ireland matters.
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northe… 3/
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northe… 3/
But Brexiteers like Alan seem to believe that this is some sort of unnatural situation. Underlying his comments seems a belief, that the UK should be able to "literally" bribe or threaten Ireland. Ireland is believed to be an eccentric member of the UK's sphere of influence. 4/
But let's not focus on Alan. Instead, let's focus on the representative of the UK on the political world stage for a moment via @tconnellyRTE 5/ 
May's attitude, a typical Tory attitude, is bizarre from a distance. Why would the EU treat a non-member as more important than a member? During UK membership, the EU did not treat the UK the way it expected the EU to treat Ireland when dealing with, say, the US. 6/
But in the Tory mindset, Ireland is a UK dependency. They grossly overestimate the amount of Irish trade that goes to the UK. See:
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Alternatively, these same #alternativefacts have also been spouted by John Humphrys of the BBC.
dw.com/en/fact-check-… 8/
dw.com/en/fact-check-… 8/
The truth is that the UK has been declining in importance for Irish trade for decades:
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Depending on the year and the methodology used it comes out as either 2nd (to the US) or 3rd (to Belgium).
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But the mistakes of people like @IainDale and Humphrys are considerably less embarrassing than those made by the likes of @GerardBattenMEP
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In case you're wondering, @GerardBattenMEP was only out by 5,580 for lorries. Approximately, 12,900 heavy goods vehicles and light vans each day. Guinness' parent company estimates that only 35 of these relate to any beer.
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thejournal.ie/factcheck-lorr…
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thejournal.ie/factcheck-lorr…
Batten, Dale, Humphrys and May's assumptions about the volume and importance of Irish trade with Britain are all rather inaccurate but they all have one thing in common. They play to outdated stereotypes that overestimate the importance of the UK relevant to Ireland. 13/
So where do these stereotypes come from? Well, let's look at the historical context:
punch.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/… 14/
punch.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/… 14/
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Most British stereotypes about the Irish are relatively benign, but they tend to emphasise our dependence on British oversight (see Punch cartoons), our lack of intelligence (pretty much any of the above) while frequently touching on alcoholism. 18/
In the Tory mindset, little ever changes. Ireland needs British guidance and our own politicians are leading us astray. The French and Germans only ever help Ireland to irritate the British.
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Thus, this attitude was common in the recent past but even after the divorce bill was settled, they continued to claim that the backstop represented some version of the French and Germans using Ireland to punish Britain:
In the collective Tory mind, the UK should be able to do what it wants when it comes to small nations. Ireland SHOULD not count. The GFA is only with Ireland (and the various varieties of "Irish" people). If they can't Brexit the way they want then:
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JRM can talk about having checks - like there were in the Troubles as though that's not big deal. 20/
theguardian.com/politics/2018/…
theguardian.com/politics/2018/…
Policy Exchange can produce that talk about an increase in violence as an inevitable but necessary evil
policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/upl… 21/
policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/upl… 21/
Ireland used to be part of the UK. We share a considerable amount of history. They should know us.
But the Brexiters think of Ireland as being something that needs to change to accommodate their vision. We should conform to their stereotypes.
ft.com/content/de2c0e…
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But the Brexiters think of Ireland as being something that needs to change to accommodate their vision. We should conform to their stereotypes.
ft.com/content/de2c0e…
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To complain about this kind of thinking or even to state the most likely outcomes of current British thinking is to engage in something anti-British:
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At the core of Brexit is a belief in British Exceptionalism. The UK's only peer is the US. Its rivals are those pesky Europeans and its former colonies remain dependent on the UK. Rather than adjust to reality and update their stereotypes, they insist that reality change
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Thing is, reality is a stubborn old so n' so. It always wins in the end.
But if the UK is so far from understanding the reality of its relationship with its closest neighbor, how long will it take to understand its relationships and status within the wider world?
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But if the UK is so far from understanding the reality of its relationship with its closest neighbor, how long will it take to understand its relationships and status within the wider world?
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Post Thread - I'm inviting any examples of bizarre Brexit related proposals or comments regarding Ireland. #tansplaining #britsplaining
Feel free to add your own
First up, @mrjamesob versus some guy who wanted to microchip the Irish:
lbc.co.uk/radio/presente…
Feel free to add your own
First up, @mrjamesob versus some guy who wanted to microchip the Irish:
lbc.co.uk/radio/presente…
Who could forget the irony-detection-deficient lady who seemed to be under the impression that the "southern Irish" lost something or other:
dailyedge.ie/channel-4-nort…
dailyedge.ie/channel-4-nort…
@ABridgen for his deep knowledge of the CTA and the right of every Englishman to an Irish passport because . . .
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
Karen Bradley - apparently the best qualified person in the Conservatives to be SoS for NI - and who didn't know what a nationalist or unionist was:
theguardian.com/politics/2018/…
theguardian.com/politics/2018/…
Charles Moore for his suggestion that Ireland join Sterling:
Labour's @KateHoeyMP for her suggestion that, well, to be honest it's hard to figure out what the heck she was on about:
This guy with a bunch of letters on front of his name who thinks the Troubles had nothing to do with the border:
Honorary Farage mention:
