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Sydney Nash Profile picture
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8 Sep, 5 tweets, 1 min read
One could stay up all night reading the Withdrawal Agreement and still find no reference to a free trade agreement or UK sovereignty, but why quibble over small details hey?

#Brexit
I'll tell you where references to a Free Trade Agreement and UK sovereignty can be found though, the Political Declaration, but that's not legally binding though, is it?
Still, it just isn't cricket not to grant what is in the Political Declaration though. Legally binding or not, the EU agreed to it and it should abide by it, right?
Quite right! Although I guess that works both ways. What else is in this Political Declaration?

Well, I'll tell you - a commitment to level playing field provision, a commitment to a robust & comprehensive framework for state aid, a commitment to reaching an agreement on fish...
No, no, no! We can't be having that.

Well, I'm told that you can't cherry pick, so there you go.

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More from @NashSGC

Sydney Nash Profile picture
8 Jul
Excellent thread from @pmdfoster. We’re definitely heading for a constitutional crisis. For me the roots don’t lie in #Brexit, but this is brutally exposing just how badly the devolution settlement has been managed politically and administratively.
At the heart of the tension between govt. & the devolved admins is a failure by Westminster & Whitehall to recognize that devolution doesn’t just mean giving power to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, it also means sharing power in London.
I suspect Labour didn’t think twice about this in ’98, believing that they wld be in power in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff (if not Belfast) for yrs to come. Managing the devolution settlement was to them an internal party issue.
Read 13 tweets
Sydney Nash Profile picture
16 Apr
Some thoughts on #Brexit & an extension to the transition period.

(Note - This is not an argument against extending, I think an extension is essential, but an explanation as to why I think as an extension does not, at least today, look likely. Tomorrow is another day)
There is a growing belief that an extension to the #Brexit transition is almost inevitable. I wld like to believe that that is the case, but think we are still a long way from an extension being requested, let alone agreed.
Some note that within govt. (& #EU), #Covid19 response trumps everything, with personnel being moved and all other priority work paused. Yes, civil servants in UK are being repurposed to work on #Covid19, but not those negotiating with the #EU.
Read 16 tweets
Sydney Nash Profile picture
11 Oct 19
Fascinating statement by the DUP. Holding fire, emphasising the importance of consent, but showing flexibility on “Northern Ireland specific solutions”, while reminding everyone that their votes matter (a lot). #Brexit
Seems govt has some wriggle room if it can get a consent mechanism agreed that is acceptable to unionists and republicans and find a way to keep NI in the UK’s customs territory, while also making it part of the EU’s. #Brexit
This is where a version of the Facilitated Customs Arrangement comes in, which, as some recall, was dismissed by the EU as an idea when the UK floated it at Chequers, and seriously challenged by business regarding deliverability. #Brexit
Read 4 tweets
Sydney Nash Profile picture
7 Oct 19
This leaked briefing from government is extraordinary, not because it is littered with threats directed at countries that are still our neighbours, allies & closest trading partners, but because of how desperate it sounds. #Brexit
I disagree with @Peston that this will have serious diplomatic repercussions. Sadly, the EU have become used to this type of behaviour from the UK government. #Brexit
From the not so subtle threat to remove security cooperation that was in Theresa May’s Art 50 letter, to the ridiculous Soviet Union comments made by Jeremy Hunt at the ‘18 conference, the EU has seen it all. I suspect this brief might elicit little more than a shrug. #Brexit
Read 10 tweets
Sydney Nash Profile picture
4 Oct 19
This is a core part of the Brexiteer playbook - portray #Ireland as the problem & encourage other Member States to force them to move. The problem for them is that this isn’t how the #EU works. #Brexit
Any belief that this will work is based on three false assumptions:

1. That there is an appetite amongst big Member States to bully a smaller Member to cast aside its red lines to help an exiting member get out of a domestic political bind.

#Brexit
2. That large Member State’s red lines (read Germany) are not the same as, or at least compatible with, Ireland’s.

3. That the EU will panic if no-deal looks like a genuine possibility.

I’ve seen no evidence to suggest that any other these assumptions are correct. #Brexit
Read 9 tweets
Sydney Nash Profile picture
4 Oct 19
This is a core part of the Brexiteer negotiating play book - portray Ireland as the problem & encourage other Member States to force them to move. #Brexit
Any belief that this will work is based on three false assumptions:

1. That there is an appetite amongst big Member States to bully a small Member State to cast aside its red lines to help an exiting Member State get out of a domestic political bind

#Brexit
2. That large Member State’s red lines are not the same as or at least compatible with, Ireland’s.

3. That the EU will panic if no-deal looked like a genuine possibility.

I’ve seen no evidence to suggest that any other these assumptions are correct. #Brexit
Read 8 tweets

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