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Robert Busch Profile picture
Robert Busch
@robert_busch65
Molecular Immunologist at Univ. of Roehampton. Amateur choral singer. London-dwelling German dismayed by Brexit #FBPE and by climate change inaction. Agnostic.
Jan 7 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
FPTP and the reluctance of the largest E&W opposition party to embrace Europhilia (never mind the Cons) have rendered UK Europhile voters politically homeless. Lib Dems are coy and favour SM. Only Greens are openly Europhile.

My Europhile conclusion: so be it. 🧵 UK Europhiles should argue pro-EU positions. The UK would benefit economically, culturally and politically from EU accession via A49. The UK is not remotely ready for that: LP's stance highlights the lack of settled political will, itself one of the accession requirements.
Mar 12, 2023 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
@crimlawuk's clear comments on the illegality of the soi-disant, ambiguously but not wrongly named "Illegal Migration Bill" prompts musings on where this may go next.

I am not legally learned, but I have read the Bill and have questions beyond the rhetoric used in its defence. If I understand it, the Bill renders inadmissible any claims to asylum, humanitarian or modern slavery protection by those arriving other than by (basically nonexisting & not planned-for) safe, legal routes. They also lose any future claims to legal entry, residence, citizenship.
Mar 10, 2023 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Vorderman spot on in her righteous anger at PPE grifting, the decadence of parties at the centre of power during lockdown, the underlying corruption of political elites, and the need for vigilance against authoritarians. I agree with only some of her criticisms of lockdown itself, which unfortunately became unavoidable once community spread of SARS-CoV2 had exceeded the available test & trace capacity. Without it, healthcare would have been overwhelmed and deaths would have skyrocketed.
Apr 19, 2022 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
An interesting Brexiter argument that takes some unpacking.

I am old enough to remember the journey that got us here.

Thread Migration stats and rule changes:
gov.uk/government/sta…
Sep 14, 2021 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Lord Adonis will know full well that, however desirable many may find it, the clock cannot be turned back. To pretend otherwise, and I say this with massive FBPE love, is Remoanerism. It is also British exceptionalism, and it is not a pro-EU stance. Don't @ me: blame Brexiters. This is easy to see from an EU perspective.

The UK is nowhere near ready for EU accession. Legally, it has chosen to become a Third Country with the most distant possible EU relationship short of WTO MFN status, leaving the EU via A50 Lisbon Treaty.
Jun 23, 2021 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
5 years ago I was deeply worried that such an obvious propaganda confection as a blank-cheque Brexit might win, on empty, self-contradictory promises, in a referendum against continued EU membership, an oft-misrepresented, hugely beneficial arrangement for the UK. 5 years on, and 6 months into Real Existing Brexit, the promises of the 16EUref Leave campaigns are distant memory. Sunny uplands? Taking back control for Parliament? Money for the NHS? Freer trade? A boost to fisheries? Exact same rights for us EU immigrants? Cue hollow laughs.
Dec 21, 2019 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Some thoughts on this. Thread. In all likelihood, a v hard, damaging Brexit is now politically unstoppable. It may yet be No Deal by 1 Feb 20, if the EP is not satisfied that the UK WAB meets the letter & spirit of the WA text. Or on 1 Jan 21 if no trade agreement is reached by then.
Dec 29, 2018 • 23 tweets • 5 min read
Important distinctions in recent discussions about immigration and its regulation by the UK. Thread. 1. Refugees. Driven from homes by persecution and war. All Western nations offer right to asylum to them, following horrors of WW2 and Holocaust. 😇 UK policy involves tight review, with rules set nationally. Calais Jungle & now small no. of arrivals show borders are controlled.
Dec 27, 2018 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1. Having to apply to HO to be allowed to retain residence/work rights is not the preservation of full rights that most Brexiters promised.

2. Other EU countries with a universal local authority registration system manage to verify FoM eligibility without discrimination. 3. The process for applying requires access to special tech, permit use of personal data by private entities, and awards ILR with online-only verification - at best not secure, nor fit for diverse users.
4. Successful applicants are forever at mercy of changes to 2ry legislation.
Dec 25, 2018 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
In her 18 Xmas speech, HM QE2 avoided Brexit entirely (she did mention Commonwealth), in the "BBC balance" interpretation of Royal obligation to be politically neutral. We can speculate on meaning and intent. But it got me thinking about requirements for reconciliation. Thread. Leavers would need due consideration and political action on the discontents that drove their vote. E.g. redistribution, investment in communities whose public services have been eroded. Creating + opportunities: vocational training, education. Community-building and integration.