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Michael Dougan

1 Nov, 7 tweets, 2 min read

Greetings from Belfast. Where I've just been reading David Frost's latest attempts to embitter community relations in NI, and destabilise the GFA, in cynical pursuit of Johnson Regime's broader English nationalist vendetta against the EU. Short thread with some comments:

1) Frost continues to rewrite history with grotesque abandon. Having claimed for months poor HMG was bullied into Protocol by evil EU, aided by treacherous MPs & their "Surrender Act", now blame clock has gone back further: it was all May's fault for signing Dec 2017 Joint Report

2) Frost blames Joint Report for putting NI border in category of "withdrawal problems" (to be solved now) not "future relations issues" (to be discussed later). That choice was in fact made far earlier. More importantly: it was clearly correct - at time & proven so in hindsight.

3) Frost also blames Joint Report for commiting UK to avoid hard border through EU regulatory alignment. But forgets to mention: that was only 3rd of 3 routes set out in Joint Report. Primary focus was on UK proposing credible alternatives, which needn't involve such alignment.

4) Fact is: UK Governments (May then Johnson) had years to propose credible alternatives. And failed miserably: silly ideas about magical technology, Stalinist plans for dual customs regimes etc. Regulatory alignment = last resort, reflecting abject failure of Brexitist fantasies

5) also convenient of Frost to forget: even faced with own abject failure, May still put NI before Hard Brexit + also insisted any Protocol plan should be temporary. Whereas Johnson ruthlessly dumped NI so he could get his Hard Brexit + let Protocol become potentially permanent

6) but Jackanory Frost is just trying to distract from fact: Johnson Regime is deliberately sabotaging solution it proposed & signed, with no credible alternative on table, beyond tedious Brexitist warscreech "we want to have our cake & eat it... and we want you to give it to us"

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More from @mdouganlpool

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

14 Oct

It's frustrating, that so much analysis flying around of Commission proposals on NI Protocol is dented by selective memory and / or damaging pretence of false balance (for fear of usual Brexitist attacks on "biased experts"). I suffer from neither. So let's be crystal clear:

Start from the premiss that there is no backstory here, that all claims are equal and everything is possible: yeah, maybe the Commission offer doesn't sound so generous. Why didn't they offer all this years ago? Why don't they go a bit further to meet UK demands?

But since entire mess was caused by HMG's Hard Brexit + callous disregard for NI's wellbeing, that EU & UK already reached agreement, in which EU made major concessions compared to normal system for 3rd countries, while UK has consistently breached own duties = different picture.

Read 4 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

13 Oct

While we wait to see the EU's proposals for reforming the detailed operation of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland (then find out the reaction of the Johnson Regime), here is a quick reminder of what the basic position of each party currently is:

1) EU says: we spent years hammering out a workable framework to the terrible mess your Brexit created for IRL and NI. No-one claims it is perfect; it is built on compromises by all sides. Now - let's find workable solutions to real life problems having an adverse impact on NI.

2) UK says: we want our Hard Brexit with only a distant relationship to EU, and while we don't want a border across the island of Ireland, nor will we accept checks across the Irish Sea - but we don't have any credible plan to deliver all 3 of those mutually incompatible goals.

Read 5 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

5 Oct

Wondering why Johnson Regime is so determined to insult & antagonise EU, disrupt UK relations with Member States? Swopping partnership & cooperation of EU membership for other extreme, of petty belligerence, wasn't inherent in UK withdrawal. It's a deliberate policy choice. Why?

Now clear to all, save the most swivel-eyed Leave fanatics, that Brexit - particularly in the extreme incarnation pushed by Johnson & Co - has no particular upsides and a great many very considerable downsides. So if Brexit is to be fabricated into a "success", it can only be...

... by doing everything in Tories' power to drive deepest possible wedge between "us" & "them": whipping up nationalist resentment in UK, acting so obnoxiously that EU is glad to see back of them. Brexit can be warped into a "success", for minds poisoned by anger & bitterness...

Read 5 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

3 Oct

As usual, when Johnson speaks, he lies... but also manages, despite his carefully managed stage persona, to reveal some hidden truths. A good, and very telling, example from today's prime ministerial musings:

One hand: Johnson claims current problems are part of "necessary" post-Brexit transition. Rubbish. Johnson's Leave cabal chose & designed this Hard Brexit & its inevitable problems. It could've been very different if they had made less extreme choices. None of it was "necessary".

By the way: Truss claims it's not Gov's job to sort these things out; we're not "command & control" economy. Utter drivel. Tories' Hard Brexit was ultimate act of "command & control": Gov actively imposing vast changes upon economy & society in pursuit of ideological (own)goals.

Read 7 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

27 Jul

Back to work = time to scrutinise the UK’s proposals (published 21 July 2021) for rewriting the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. Here is a short(ish) thread with some thoughts:

1) Let’s start with the UK’s diagnosis of the problems created by the Protocol. According to HMG, this terrible deal was inflicted upon poor Prime Minister Johnson as he valiantly battled on all fronts against domestic traitors and foreign adversaries.

2) What a disgraceful denial of responsibility: it was the Johnson Government that proposed a trade border down the Irish Sea, not as some temporary backstop but as a permanent regime, in order to pursue the Hard Right dream of a Hard Brexit for the rest of the UK.

Read 17 tweets

Michael Dougan

@mdouganlpool

9 Jul

Almost time to batten down the hatches for the weekend. No better company than Netherlands Bach Society: glorious talent; extraordinary generosity. Here, a few recommendations from their recent cantata releases: