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Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

30 Sep

As UKIM Bill makes its way to Lords, what could be done to improve it, so far as devolution is concerned?

Even accepting it’s probably going to pass, there is still considerable room for improvement. So: what changes might at least help lessen problems?

A few brief thoughts:

1) replace current proposals based on directly enforceable legal rights, with system of pre-legislative dialogue between UK authorities, ie to identify & discuss / address potential trade barriers. So: notify relevant proposals then find (preferably consensus) political solution

2) mutual recognition / non-discrimination are important principles & should provide reference point for that pre-legislative discussion – but only a reference point. They are not overriding objectives and they are should not be treated as (near) absolutes (as current Bill does)

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Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

17 Sep

How to convey the recklessness of Johnson's tactics in relation to Northern Ireland?

Here are a few memories of my childhood growing up in working class West Belfast in the late 70s and 80s:

- us lying scared at the bottom of our parents' wardrobe, where they'd put us, covered in a few quilts, listening, terrified, to the rioting and gunshots right outside on our wee street

- walking home from the playground with my two younger sisters, being trailed with a rifle by a soldier standing behind a wall, hoping that he's pointing that gun at me and not one of them

Read 6 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

16 Sep

Those asking for more specific materials to help prove Tory lies about EU's supposedly new / extremist / absurd interpretation of Irish border Protocol...

Here is a series of short excerpts from my peer reviewed CMLRev analysis (written Nov 2019-Feb 2020, published June 2020):

1) excerpt pointing out how Johnson's lies about "no border in Irish sea" clash with clear reality of Johnson positively agreeing to extensive checks on movement of goods from GB to NI:

2) excerpt noting clear impact of checks on goods moving from GB to NI as agreed by Johnson; as well as need for checks on goods moving from NI to GB also agreed by Johnson; and explicitly anticipating problems this would inevitably cause for "UK Internal Market"

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Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

15 Sep

I’ve been asked for another step-by-step explanation of what’s just happened in Westminster.

So voila: an update on Johnson’s plans to destabilise Ireland and isolate the UK…

1) As we know, Parliament is now considering whether to empower Johnson to override, directly & deliberately, two clear and precise legal obligations under the very Withdrawal Agreement he signed with the EU: controls on goods from NI to GB; and state aid rules in relation to NI

2) & as we know, those breaches of international law risk range of very serious consequences. Not least for NI: state aid regime is necessary to prevent unfair dumping of UK goods into EU and is therefore an integral part of avoiding a “hard border” across the island of Ireland

Read 16 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

13 Sep

Johnson’s UK Internal Market Bill is crucial not just because of proposals to break international law on Irish border. Also for its impact on devolution & governance of entire UK.

So: another step-by-step guide to key issues arising from Johnson's plans.

Voila:

1) Regulation of internal UK trade wasn’t much of a problem until Brexit. When UK joined EU, there was no devolution. When devolution happened, EU rules helped structure operation of UK market. Only a few issues ever bubbled up as points of tension, eg university tuition fees

2) But Brexit now makes it important to decide how regulatory differences across UK will impact on trade in goods and services. If Scotland has different rules on X or Y or Z, how far should those different rules prevent English goods / services being sold / provided in Scotland?

Read 14 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

13 Sep

Lots of requests for a step-by-step explanation of Johnson's plans to breach Protocol on Irish border.

No problem. And by the end, you'll understand why this man is totally unfit to hold public office.

Voila:

1) For Ireland (north and south) May's red lines / decision to leave Customs Union & Single Market transformed Brexit from "problem" into "crisis": customs & regulatory checks on goods have to take place somewhere; if across Ireland = serious economic, social & political impacts

2) When May came to realise this, she sought to minimise damage of own policy by proposing temporary solution (the infamous "backstop"): whole UK would remain in effective customs union with EU; but some regulatory checks would happen on movement of goods between GB and NI

Read 16 tweets

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