“Take back control”. What an intoxicating proposal.
theguardian.com/politics/2023/…
It touches a deep desire, fuels an ambition, that grows into a demand, that becomes a rallying cry so powerful that it prompts a revolution.
Sep 16, 2022 • 21 tweets • 7 min read
I’ve been struck by the strength of response by some U.K. commentators to some recent articles, particularly those in the @nytimes, and especially those commenting on the British empire.
@nytimes The expression of reasonable and well informed opinion has led some to brand the New York Times anti-British. This would appear to be an overreaction to say the least.
Sep 15, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Good thread on what to expect with regards to NI under Truss.
I suspect we are going to have more of the same, but perhaps with slightly (slightly) less propensity to actively seek headlines about the EU than was the case under Johnson (a habit he couldn’t/never wanted to kick).
No change in the fundamental positions of either the U.K. or the EU.
The continuation of grace periods, with the EU, for all intents and purposes turning a blind eye...
Sep 15, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Seems to me this was almost inevitable under a Conservative govt. post Brexit, driven either by econ. constraints & pressure to find more ways to be competitive after market access was reduced, or a desire to prove the Brexit concept, or both.
ft.com/content/e5dac8…
That said, I struggle to see how removing the cap will increase growth, or address the real deficits in our econ. Perhaps I'm missing something.
It appears as though hard Brexiters are on maneuvers again, encouraging the government to make preparations to scrap the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
ft.com/content/58a94b…
Hard Brexiters view the Protocol as evidence that Brexit is still not done, since it embeds in law the continuing application of EU regulations to part of the United Kingdom.
Apr 20, 2022 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
When Ress-Mogg says he doesn't care what the EU does, he is saying that he does not care about the impact that it has on 1000s of businesses in the UK.
When he says he doesn't care, he is saying he doesn't care about the 100s of 1000s of Britons employed by those businesses & whose day to day continues to be impacted by decisions made in Brussels.
Apr 9, 2022 • 17 tweets • 2 min read
Here we go again. Govt. is flirting with Art. 16. Hard Brexiters are applying the pressure. "Go dance with it", they whisper, "damn the consequences".
They hope triggering will lead to the end of the Protocol. Unionists want the same. They think scraping the Protocol will stitch back together an otherwise fraying Union...
Feb 23, 2022 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
This headline does not do justice to what was a very considered and measured intervention by Kenya's ambassador to the UN.
What we are experiencing on the Protocol at the moment is essentially a game of chicken. At least, that’s the game this UK government is playing.
Brexiters continue to believe that “alternative arrangements” exist that could eliminate the necessity for a border on the island of Ireland and of a border "in the Irish Sea”.
Nov 4, 2021 • 9 tweets • 1 min read
For this Brexit government, consumed by its Brexit revolution, Brexit is always the preferred answer, unless, of course, the question is...
…why is the fragile peace in Northern Ireland under threat?
Oct 11, 2021 • 13 tweets • 2 min read
As the UK continues to stumble along the pothole filled road called Brexit, here’s a little speculation regarding the next few stops on the journey.
The most immediate ones are already well known. The EU are going to make some proposals related to the Protocol on Wednesday, and before they even do, the govt. will announce that what the EU has offered isn’t good enough.
Oct 11, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Mark Harper on @BBCWestminHour yesterday made the often repeated, but entirely false, claim that UK business had five years to prepare for the current circumstances (referring to labour shortages). This statement went unchallenged.
In reality, the terms that completely redefined how UK business wld have to operate were only shared with business in Dec 2020. Those terms applied from 1st January 2021.
Far from having five years to prepare, businesses had a couple of weeks.
Oct 1, 2021 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Useful thread on the UK threats to trigger Art. 16. I agree with much if it, esp re govt. views about legality, & the impact of the US on govt. thinking. I'm less convinced that govt's primary concern is the threat to the Union though.
While this is stated as a concern, I think there have been plenty of indications that what matters most to Brexiters (& I believe this a driver behind much of govt's approach to NI & the Protocol) is not the integrity of the Union, but delivering a complete/absolute Brexit.
Oct 1, 2021 • 31 tweets • 4 min read
In this article, Duncan-Smith states “the Union has never been in greater jeopardy”. If one ignores the previous occasion when the Union actually broke apart, it is hard to argue with this statement. The question to ask though, is why is the Union in such jeopardy, and why now?
It is clear to even a casual observer that the UK is a house divided. Perhaps it always has been. But Brexit has exposed and deepened divisions that threaten to tear the country apart.
Sep 29, 2021 • 14 tweets • 2 min read
Govt Ministers keep telling us that the HGV driver shortage is not unique to the UK. This is true. Yet other countries are not experiencing disruption to delivery & shortages of fuel at petrol stations. So Minsters shld ask themselves...
Why is the UK unable to deal with this challenge? Why is the UK less resilient than its neighbours?
Jul 23, 2021 • 36 tweets • 5 min read
The publication of the government’s command paper, “Northern Ireland Protocol: The way forward”, confirms, if we are to believe what it says, that this government’s approach to Northern Ireland is defined by negligence.
It is extraordinary, that this government continues to claim that it did not understand what the impact of the Protocol would be. It did. Perhaps it did not care, but it certainly understood, not least because it co-authored the Protocol.
Jul 21, 2021 • 17 tweets • 3 min read
I'm yet to read all of today's command paper on the Protocol, but this still seems to be relevant and I thought I would re-share.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2021/03…
It remains the case that the new UK/EU relationship will be forged within the crucible of Northern Ireland. Frost admitted as such in his intervention today in the Lords.
Jul 7, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
By rushing into Brexit, triggering Art. 50 before it had a plan, & agreeing a trade deal before understanding how it wld deal with its consequences, govt. has created a situation where it will be constantly reacting to each new challenge that leaving the EU throws up.
Govt’s. inability to think strategically, plan more than one step ahead, &, critically, to listen to the warnings from those who have to deal with the practical implications of Brexit on a daily basis, mean it will continually be on the back foot, leaving the UK on the back foot.
Jun 23, 2021 • 20 tweets • 3 min read
It has become commonplace for senior members of the DUP to state that the Protocol changes the constitutional position of NI within the United Kingdom. This is not true.
The Protocol is unequivocal with regards to NI’s position within the United Kingdom. The preamble affirms that “the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement…shld be protected in all its parts”...
Jun 23, 2021 • 16 tweets • 2 min read
It is five years since the referendum and the United Kingdom is a house divided.
Perhaps it always has been. But Brexit has exposed and deepened divisions that threaten to tear the country apart.
When Scotland voted against independence in 2014, it voted for Scotland to remain in a UK that was in the EU. Since 2019, support for independence has gradually grown, driven by remainers who opposed independence in 2014, but would vote for it if they were asked again today.
