INTL BREXIT- October 31, 2019 or.....

[Plain Jane]

https://www.apnews.com/3449e3bb36324fbaae36287c2c3fd3b1

UK planning post-Brexit freight service for vital medicines


LONDON (AP) — The British government wants to create an “express freight service” to ensure essential medicines are still available if the U.K. leaves the European Union without a divorce deal.

The Department of Health said Thursday it is inviting potential providers to submit offers for a contract lasting at least a year. The department hasn’t specified what method of transportation the service would use.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists Brexit will happen Oct. 31 whether or not there is an approved agreement with the EU.

Many economists say no amount of planning can prevent economic damage from a no-deal Brexit, which would bring new customs inspections and tariffs.

Mark Dyan of the Nuffield Trust health charity says the proposed medicines service shows “the scale of disruption the government is preparing for.”

 

[northern watch]

Boris Accuses Remainer MPs of ‘Collaborating’ with EU to Stop Brexit

Victoria Friedman
Breitbart.com / Europe
15 August 2019

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused Remain-backing parliamentarians of “collaborating” with their “European friends” to stop Brexit.

Prime Minister Johnson made the comments during his first “People’s PMQs” on Wednesday, where he used Facebook to talk directly to the country and answered pre-selected questions from members of the public.

“There is a terrible kind of collaboration, as it were, going on between those who think they can block Brexit in Parliament and our European friends,” Mr Johnson said.

“We need our European friends to compromise and the more they think that there’s a chance that Brexit can be blocked in Parliament, the more adamant they are in sticking to their position,” he added.

The comments come after the pro-Remain former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said that he was “very confident” that MPs could stop Prime Minister Johnson taking the United Kingdom out of the EU without a deal, after writing in The Times on Tuesday night that a clean, no-deal exit would somehow be a “betrayal of the 2016 referendum result” and insisting: “It must not happen.”

Hammond told the BBC that “Parliament is clearly opposed to a no-deal exit, and the prime minister must respect that” — however recent polls have revealed that leaving the EU without a deal on October 31st is the preferred option over cancelling or delaying Brexit and Britons back Prime Minister Johnson delivering Brexit “by any means, including suspending Parliament if necessary, to prevent MPs from stopping it”.

Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow vowed yesterday to “fight with every breath” any move to prorogue, mreaning temporarily suspend, the parliamentary session, which Mr Johnson is said to be considering as an option to stop the Remainer-dominated Parliament from stopping Brexit, specifically a clean Brexit, on Halloween.

Prime Minister Johnson has maintained that he wants to renegotiate Theresa May’s exit agreement with the EU to get rid of the controversial Irish backstop, which could lock the United Kingdom in permanent regulatory alignment with the bloc, and has refused to meet with intransigent Brussels bureaucrats and EU leaders until they are willing to consider a new deal.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has stepped up no-deal preparations after forming a Brexit War Cabinet of ministers who back leaving the EU as promised.

Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney told talkRADIO that he was not surprised that the “so-called politically neutral Speaker [John Bercow]” was vowing to fight a clean Brexit, remarking: “What we’re seeing here is in Brexit’s darkest hour… the inner machinations of the governmental machine which is uniting in its sole fury to delay and block Brexit.”

“We have a situation now where people like Hammond and especially people like Bercow do not see themselves as our servants but instead as our masters,” Mr Daubney added.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...es-remainer-mps-collaborating-eu-stop-brexit/

 

[bw]

“If Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be no chance of a U.S.-UK trade agreement passing the Congress,” Pelosi added.

Once Brexit is a done deal, there will be a US/UK trade deal. This is posturing.

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-...tes-for-emergency-uk-government-idUSKCN1V60N2


BREXIT
AUGUST 16, 2019 / 4:26 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Anti-Brexit party reveals candidates for emergency UK government


LONDON (Reuters) - The leader of the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats party said on Friday two senior lawmakers from the ruling party and opposition have indicated willingness to lead an emergency government to prevent a no-deal divorce with the European Union.

Given Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31, with or without a negotiated transition, foes are plotting how to bring him down and stop a no-deal Brexit they say would be disastrous for the economy.

The main opposition party Labour’s leader Jeremy Corbyn wants a no-confidence vote, caretaker government with him as head, then an election, while the Liberal Democrats prefer to find alternative leaders for a unity government.

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson told BBC radio on Friday that former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman and ruling Conservative party veteran Ken Clarke had both told her they would be prepared to assume that role.

They put public duty first and they don’t want to see a no-deal Brexit,” Swinson said.

If the House of Commons asks them to lead an emergency government to get our country out of this Brexit mess and to stop us driving off that cliff to a no deal, then yes they are prepared to do that.”

With Johnson staking his premiership on Brexit, the EU refusing to re-open a previously-negotiated withdrawal deal and a majority of lawmakers opposed to a no-deal divorce, Britain is heading for a parliamentary showdown and constitutional crisis.

Opponents of no deal say it would be a nightmare for what was once one of the West’s most stable democracies. A disorderly divorce, they say, would hurt global growth, send shockwaves through financial markets and weaken London’s claim to be the world’s preeminent financial centre.

Brexit supporters say there may be short-term disruption from a no-deal exit but that the economy will eventually thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed experiment in integration that has led to Europe falling behind China and the United States.

Labour wants a vote of no-confidence in the government shortly after parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 3. Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky News the government would win such a vote.

I don’t see Jeremy Corbyn being able to come together with the numbers, nor do I see any prospect of him leading a so called national unity government,” he said.

“He’s the most unpopular leader of the opposition we’ve ever had and the idea that he’s going to lead a unity government I think is ridiculous,” he said.

Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.express.co.uk/news/poli...n-letter-no-deal-Boris-Johnson-eu-negotiation


Nigel Farage highlights awkward Brexit truth for Remainers and savages 'Corbyn coup'
NIGEL Farage has accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of plotting a "coup" against the British people with his plot to seize power from Boris Johnson in a bid to block a no-deal Brexit.
By CIARAN MCGRATH

However, Mr Corbyn's plea for opposition parties to back his proposals have been welcomed by Tory Remainer rebel Dominic Grieve. Mr Farage tweeted: "Jeremy Corbyn is not attempting a coup against the government, he is attempting a coup against the British people. "I’m tired of hearing we did not vote for a clean break Brexit. 498 MPs voted for that option when they triggered Article 50."

In a letter to the different parties, Mr Corbyn pledged to take Labour into an election, which he claimed would give voters an option to remain in the EU.

However, Mr Corbyn’s commitment was rejected by the other opposition parties with Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson calling it “nonsense”.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said Labour must do more to secure a fresh vote and SNP leader Ian Blackford said Mr Corbyn “needs to get of the fence on Brexit”.

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said: “Jeremy Corbyn is not the person who is going to be able to build an even temporary majority in the House of Commons for this task – I would expect there are people in his own party and indeed the necessary Conservative backbenchers who would be unwilling to support him. It is a nonsense.”

Ms Swinson added: “This letter is just more red lines that are about him and his position and is not a serious attempt to find the right solution and build a consensus to stop a no-deal Brexit.

“I am committed to working in a credible way with those in other parties, and none, across Parliament to stop a no-deal Brexit and will set out how that could work in my speech tomorrow.”

The Labour leader’s plans of delaying Brexit further by securing an extension to the Article 50 process were outlined in the letter to Westminster’s opposition leaders and key Tory rebels, including Dominic Grieve and Sir Oliver Letwin.

READ MORE: General election plot by Lib Dems sees them target 70 Tory seats

Scroll down for yesterday's Brexit updates:

 

[northern watch]

Boris Vows to Sign Order Ending Supremacy of EU Law

Victoria Friedman
Breitbart.com / Europe
16 August 2019

Brexiteers have hailed reports that Boris Johnson’s government is to end the supremacy of EU law in the United Kingdom by repealing the European Communities Act 1972 after October 31st, the prime minister’s pledged “do or die” exit date.

Sources have told The Times that Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Stephen Barclay, is to sign the “commencement order” that would repeal the act after the deadline within days, to signal the prime minister’s commitment to leaving on time.

While the House of Commons voted to repeal the act when it passed the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 in September, for the law to come into effect, Cabinet ministers must sign the “commencement order” — a move which former Prime Minister Theresa May refused to make as she continued to delay Brexit from March 29th to June 30th to Halloween.

Veteran Eurosceptic and Leave campaigner Sir Bill Cash told the newspaper the commencement order was “well overdue”, saying: “It provides for the full repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 on exit day; it is the law of the land. It is the ultimate completion of the withdrawal from the European Union in statute. It’s not symbolic, it is definitive in law.”

Deputy Chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) Steve Baker called the move “totemic”, saying: “It shows a transformation in the approach, that Boris Johnson is willing to leave on a fixed date with no question of extension. It’s the do-or-die pledge in black and white.

“It’s not merely symbolic. Once it’s signed that’s it, the UK is leaving. Theresa May did not bring the repeal of the European Communities Act on a fixed date because she was always willing to extend.”

Prime Minister Johnson has pledged to take the United Kingdom out of the EU on October 31st with or without a deal, and having flushed out the die-hard Remainers in government, established a Brexit War Cabinet.

Last week, the prime minister told the Civil Service to make leaving the EU in a clean break by the deadline “top priority”.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/08/16/johnson-vows-end-supremacy-eu-law-uk/

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...acron-merkel-next-week-guardian-idUSKCN1V61RI

WORLD NEWS

AUGUST 16, 2019 / 2:15 PM / UPDATED 17 HOURS AGO
UK's Johnson to meet Macron, Merkel next week: Guardian


LONDON (Reuters) - British leader Boris Johnson will travel to meet his French and German counterparts on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, in his first foreign engagements since becoming prime minister last month, a Guardian reporter said on Friday.

Johnson is seeking to persuade European Union leaders to reopen Brexit talks or face the prospect of its second-largest member leaving abruptly on Oct. 31 with no deal in place on their future relations, a move businesses expect would cause major disruption.

Germany’s government said earlier on Friday that Chancellor Angela Merkel would meet Johnson soon but did not give a date.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office had no immediate comment, and a spokeswoman for Johnson’s office had no update on his travel plans.

Boris Johnson’s busy week to include Macron in Paris on Tues, Merkel in Berlin on Wed and calls with (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar and (EU Council leader) Donald Tusk,” the Guardian’s Brussels bureau chief said on Twitter.

News organization Buzzfeed had reported shortly before that Johnson would meet Macron and Merkel next week, without giving exact dates.

Johnson is already expected to attend a G7 meeting of European and world leaders in Biarritz, southwest France, next weekend.

Reporting by David Milliken; additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in PARIS and Joseph Nasr in BERLIN; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...ers-depose-boris-johnson-stop-no-deal-brexit/


Another Remainer Offers to Depose Boris Johnson to Stop No-Deal Brexit

VICTORIA FRIEDMAN17 Aug 20196
2:42
Tory grandee and arch-Remainer Ken Clarke has said that he would challenge Boris Johnson’s leadership to stop a clean, no-deal Brexit on October 31st.
The declaration came in response to Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stating that Clarke and deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman are ready to lead a caretaker government to “sort Brexit out”.



“I have been in touch with them because obviously you don’t just mention people’s names without checking that they’re OK with that,” Ms Swinson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday, stating that neither “want to see a no-deal Brexit”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to take the UK out of the EU by October 31st, with or without a deal, and has ramped up preparations for a clean exit, but is facing challenges from the Remainer-dominated parliament which refuses to deliver on the will of the people who voted to leave the EU in June 2016.

In response, Mr Clarke said in comments reported by The Telegraph late on Friday: “If they ask me to lead, yes I would lead it.”

“If it was the only way in which the plain majority in the House of Commons that is opposed to a no-deal exit could find a way forward, I wouldn’t object to it,” he added.



Ken Clarke is a fervid Europhile who back European federalisation, famously saying in 1996: “I look forward to the day when the Westminster Parliament is just a Council Chamber in Europe.”


Breitbart London
@BreitbartLondon
Far-Left Corbyn Calls on MPs to Install Him as Temporary PM to Stop No-Deal Brexit https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...install-him-temporary-pm-stop-no-deal-brexit/ …


Corbyn Calls on MPs to Install Him as Temporary PM to Stop Brexit
Jeremy Corbyn last night urged Remain-supporting MPs to help him topple Johnson and install him as a caretaker PM to stop a no-deal Brexit.

breitbart.com
17
9:39 AM - Aug 15, 2019


The offer came after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made a similar proposal — one that fell flat with fellow Remainers in other parties, including the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Ms Swinson said of the proposal that Mr Corbyn “is not the person who is going to be able to build an even temporary majority in the House of Commons for this task”.

In turn, in reaction to the Lib Dem leader picking Clarke and Harman, Mr Corbyn said it was “not up to Jo Swinson to decide who the next prime minister is going to be”, saying: “Under normal constitutional processes in Britain, when a government collapses, the leader of the opposition is called on to form a government.”



There was also opposition within the Liberal Democrat party to their leader’s backing of the Conservative Ken Clarke, with sources telling The Telegraph that the Tory grandee’s support for a renegotiated, soft-Brexit deal over a second referendum to stop Brexit altogether goes against their core policy of remaining in the EU.

Me Clarke said that he believed a renegotiated deal would carry the majority in the House of Commons, saying: “There are remainers, including myself, prepared to compromise, who would go for a soft Brexit staying in the single market and customs union and there are hardline remainers who won’t have anything but a people’s vote which they are sure is going to reverse their decision and keep us in the European Union.”



Aside from the open infighting within the Europhile camp, a poll publishing Saturday revealed that Britons would prefer having a no-deal Brexit than a Prime Minister Corbyn and a second referendum.


Breitbart London
@BreitbartLondon
Boris Accuses Remainer MPs of ‘Collaborating’ with EU to Stop Brexit https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...es-remainer-mps-collaborating-eu-stop-brexit/ …


Johnson Accuses Remainer MPs of ‘Collaborating’ with EU to Stop Brexit
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused Remain-backing parliamentarians of "collaborating" with their "European friends" to stop Brexit.




London / EuropePoliticsBoris JohnsonBrexitjeremy corbynJo Swinsonken

 

[goosebeans]

Didn't see this posted so thought I'd put it here. I haven't finished watching it yet. Looks like old Boris is taking a leaf out of Trump's book and going directly to the people.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson Delivers The First Ever Peoples PMQs


Run time: 11:20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HQPnVuvTX8

 

[northern watch]

Ex-Brexit Secretary David Davis: Hammond’s Treasury ‘Actively Prevented Preparation’ for Brexit

Jack Montgomery
Breitbart.com / Europe
18 August 2019

Philip Hammond, the Remain voter who ran Britain’s finance ministry throughout Theresa May’s premiership, “actively prevented preparation” for a No Deal Brexit, according to the country’s first Brexit Secretary.

According to David Davis, the inaugural Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union who walked away from his department over Mrs May’s Chequers strategy for a negotiated settlement with the EU, allegedly pieced together behind his back, ‘Remainer Phil’ tried to use his former position as Chancellor of the Exchequer to make No Deal unviable, by sabotaging efforts to prepare for it.

“[N]o-one else in government has done more to undermine that decision by the people [to leave the European Union] than the ex-Chancellor,” Davis wrote in an article for The Sun.

Davis highlighted how, for example, Hammond had blocked attempts to provide small businesses with information on how to adapt to new customs arrangements if Britain left the EU customs regime as long ago as March 2018 — “So it is a bit rich for the former Chancellor to complain that the United Kingdom is not ready for No Deal when his own department actively prevented preparation” — but added that, “Of course, this was not the only way in which the Treasury — and the Bank of England — acted to undermine our negotiating position.”

Since resigning from the government immediately before Theresa May’s resignation — to deny her successor Boris Johnson the satisfaction of firing him, by most accounts — Hammond has made it clear that he will be supporting the ongoing efforts of EU loyalists in the House of Commons to block Brexit from the backbenches, possibly by trying to oust Johnson as Prime Minister.

Davis warned, in particular, against any temptation Tory Remainers may feel to take hard-left Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn up on his offer to block Brexit if they back a takeover by him as a “caretaker” prime minister.

“Most likely is a blizzard of the sort of socialist nonsense that has done so much to damage our economy in the past… lots of measures whose benefits come today, but whose prices are paid tomorrow,” he predicted.

Davis believes that the short-term benefits of government giveaways would be used by a “temporary” Corbyn administration to win a Labour majority in an early general election, with the negatives of the bubble bursting coming too late to stop him entrenching himself in Downing Street.

“So I say to my Remainer Tory colleagues including Philip, Ken Clarke, Dominic Grieve, Oliver Letwin, and Guto Bebb: Be careful what you wish for,” Davis warned.

“And if you deliver a Corbyn government, do not expect to be a Tory MP after the next election.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...ry-actively-prevented-preparation-for-brexit/

 

[northern watch]

Leave.EU
þVerified account @LeaveEUOfficial
12h12 hours ago

Brits invented the steam engine, the jet engine, the light bulb, calculus & the world wide web. We discovered gravity, antibiotics & the structure of DNA; and gave the world common law & the theory of evolution.

Yet Remainers think we aren’t fit to govern our own country…

 

[northern watch]

Leave.EU
‏Verified account @LeaveEUOfficial
Aug 16

Boris has instructed his Brexit secretary to sign an order that repeals the European Communities Act 1972 after October 31. This is a serious statement of intent, which Theresa the Appeaser never authorised before March 29.

Even as Remoaners plot, a WTO Brexit is within reach!

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...rs-targeted-in-border-explosion-idUSKCN1V9110

WORLD NEWS
AUGUST 19, 2019 / 7:35 AM / UPDATED 13 MINUTES AGO
Northern Ireland police say officers targeted in border explosion


BELFAST (Reuters) - Police in Northern Ireland said a device that exploded near the border with Ireland on Monday was designed to lure in and kill officers examining a nearby hoax who were lucky to escape with their lives.

Police received a report that a suspect device had been left in an area of County Fermanagh just a few kilometers from the border late on Saturday. Officers still at the scene on Monday reported an explosion nearby. There were no reports of any injuries, police said.

“While this investigation is at a very early stage, I am of the firm belief this was a deliberate attempt to lure police and ATO (army bomb disposal unit) colleagues into the area to murder them,” Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin said in a statement.

Reporting by Ian Graham; Writing by Padraic Halpin; Editing by
Alison Williams

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[WalknTrot]

Didn't see this posted so thought I'd put it here. I haven't finished watching it yet. Looks like old Boris is taking a leaf out of Trump's book and going directly to the people.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson Delivers The First Ever Peoples PMQs

Hahaha! I've not seen Mr. Johnson speak before. He is a natural, like Trump. Straightforward, no BS type. But also seems a great cheerleader. Very interesting. Thanks for posting this.

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...any-and-france-do-a-brexit-deal-idUSKCN1V90J8


AUGUST 19, 2019 / 3:34 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
UK's Johnson tells Germany and France: do a Brexit deal
Peter Nicholls, William James


TRURO, England/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on France and Germany on Monday to change their position on Brexit and negotiate a new exit deal for Britain, reiterating his stance that he is ready to leave the European Union without a deal if they do not.

With Britain is set to leave the bloc on Oct. 31, it has less than 74 days to resolve a three-year crisis that is pitting the country against the EU, and parliament against the executive.

“We will be ready to come out on Oct. 31 - deal or no deal,” Johnson told reporters in Truro, southwest England.

“Our friends and partners on the other side of the Channel are showing a little bit of reluctance to change their position - that’s fine - I am confident that they will,” he said.

Asked specifically about meetings scheduled this week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, he said: “I hope they will see fit to compromise.”

Johnson took office last month after his predecessor, Theresa May, failed three times to get parliament to approve the withdrawal deal she had negotiated with the EU.

He is insisting Britain will leave with or without a transition deal on Oct. 31 although a majority in parliament have previously tried to prevent a so-called no-deal Brexit. Johnson’s calls for the EU to renegotiate the deal have so far been rejected by the bloc’s negotiators.

That puts Britain on course for an unmanaged exit, which an official assessment published by the Sunday Times said would jam ports, increase the risk of public protests and severely disrupt the world’s fifth-largest economy.

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In his first foreign trip as prime minister, Johnson will meet Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday and Macron in Paris on Thursday.

The European Commission, which is leading negotiations on behalf of France, Germany and other EU members, said it was ready for a no-deal Brexit and that Britain would suffer most under such a scenario. On Sunday Merkel said Germany would be prepared whatever the outcome.

Ministers in Johnson’s Conservative government have played down the leaked no-deal assessment on Sunday, saying the document was old and did not reflect increased funding and planning undertaken by the prime minister since he took office.

They accuse the opposition Labour Party and others who are opposed to a no-deal Brexit of undermining negotiations with the EU, saying European leaders will wait to see if parliament can block such an outcome before deciding whether to renegotiate the deal.

PARLIAMENT RECALL?
While Johnson looked ahead to a week of foreign engagements, which includes a G7 meeting in France attended by U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday and Sunday, he faced increasing pressure at home to recall parliament from its summer break to urgently debate the Brexit crisis.

Lawmakers are already fretting that they do not have enough time to stop a no-deal Brexit, and they have yet to agree on a unified approach, which badly damages their chances of success.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joined calls for parliament to be recalled, saying during a speech in Corby, central England that “We will do everything to stop a no-deal Brexit”.

He said Johnson must not be allowed to use parliamentary procedure to block discussion of the country’s future, referring to concerns that Johnson could suspend the legislature until after Oct. 31 or delay a national election even if his government fell before that date.

“We do support the recall of parliament in order to prevent the prime minister having some kind of manoeuvre to take us out on the 31st of October without any further discussion in parliament,” Corbyn said.

His comments added weight to a demand made on Sunday, signed by more than 100 lawmakers, for a parliamentary recall to discuss what they called a “national emergency”.

Parliament is currently not due to sit until Sept. 3, when it will reconvene for a short session before breaking up again to allow for annual party conferences.

A government source said Michael Gove, the minister in charge of co-ordinating no deal preparations, would give a statement to parliament as soon as it returns, updating them on the latest progress. He would commit to give regular updates, the source said.

Labour wants to bring down Johnson’s government and form its own emergency coalition under Corbyn’s leadership to delay Brexit. Other opponents of a no-deal Brexit have balked at supporting a plan that would put Corbyn in charge.
Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones and Frances Kerry

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[bw]

With Britain is set to leave the bloc on Oct. 31, it has less than 74 days to resolve a three-year crisis that is pitting the country against the EU, and parliament against the executive.

IMO no solution was worked out because the remainers always thought they'd be able to block Brexit.

 

[WalknTrot]

All I can say is that as a somewhat uninvolved party sitting here watching from the U.S., it's a great study in the current state of politics, and human nature. Can't wait to see how the Frenchies and Germans react to Johnson, and how the G-7 thing goes.

You go Brits! (Literally). You'll be FINE. Shake off the dust of globalism and tackle your own internal problems that have been simmering for decades.

 

[Melodi]

All I can say is that as a somewhat uninvolved party sitting here watching from the U.S., it's a great study in the current state of politics, and human nature. Can't wait to see how the Frenchies and Germans react to Johnson, and how the G-7 thing goes.

You go Brits! (Literally). You'll be FINE. Shake off the dust of globalism and tackle your own internal problems that have been simmering for decades.

What you actually need to watch is what happens in Northern Ireland....

 

[northern watch]

UK plans to end EU freedom of movement immediately in no-deal Brexit

August 19, 2019 / 12:44 PM / Updated 35 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it would end European Union freedom of movement rules immediately after it leaves the bloc on October 31 but Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country would not be hostile to immigration.

Under Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, the government had said only that if Britain left the EU without a transition deal it would aim to end free movement “as soon as possible”.

Johnson, who took office last month, has promised to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on October. 31.

“Freedom of movement as it currently stands will end on 31 October when the UK leaves the EU, and after Brexit the government will introduce a new, fairer immigration system that prioritises skills and what people can contribute to the UK, rather than where they come from,” a spokesman for Britain’s interior ministry, the Home Office, said in a statement.

Johnson’s spokeswoman said further details on the changes to freedom of movement were being worked on and would be set out shortly but would include tougher criminality checks.

“What we are going to do is leave the EU and that means that legally all those powers revert to the UK...That does not mean that we are going to stop anybody coming into this country, it doesn’t mean that we are going to become remotely hostile to immigration or to immigrants,” Johnson told BBC Radio Cornwall.

“What it does mean is that immigration into the UK will be democratically controlled and we will be producing an Australian-style points-based system to do it.”

The Home Office said there would be no change to planned rules for EU citizens and their families already living in Britain by the end of October, who would still have until at least the end of December 2020 to apply to Britain’s EU Settlement Scheme.

No one eligible for settled status would be barred from re-entering Britain when free movement ends, the Home Office said.

Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Mark Heinrich

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-b...t-immediately-in-no-deal-brexit-idUKKCN1V91IN

 

[WalknTrot]

What you actually need to watch is what happens in Northern Ireland....

That's what I largely meant about tackling their own internal problems that have been left simmering for decades.

 

[northern watch]

Leaked 'no-deal' Brexit report warns of civil unrest and food supply disruptions

By guy davies ABC News
LONDON — August 19, 2019, 9:44 AM ET

The U.K. government has looked to play down concerns about leaked documents that outlined preparations for Brexit, which included warnings about fuel, food and medicine shortages, as well as severe travel disruption and civil unrest if Britain leaves the European Union (EU) without a deal.
The report, entitled "Operation Yellowhammer" and made by the Cabinet Office, was leaked to the Sunday Times, with the October 31 deadline for leaving the EU just over 10 weeks away.

The "Base Scenario" for a "no-deal" Brexit, which is the minimum expectation according to the report, suggests that "public and business readiness for no-deal will remain at a low level," as outlined in the Sunday Times.

Among the key takeaways from the report are that disruption to traffic across the English Channel will cause "significant" traffic queues in Kent, the county that borders with the channel, with large goods vehicles facing delays of up to two and a half days to cross the border. This could have the added effect of "disrupt[ing] fuel supply in London."

Certain types of fresh food supply will also decrease, which adds to the "risk that panic buying will disrupt food supplies," according to the report. Meanwhile, expected "protests and counter protests" in the U.K. would use up police resources and result in "a rise in public disorder and community tensions," the report adds.

And the impact of a "no-deal" Brexit on Northern Ireland, which was integral to the failure of the deal former Prime Minister Theresa May negotiated with EU leaders, could result in "disruption to key sectors and job losses are likely to result in protests and direct action with road blockades," according to the report.

The U.K. is set to leave the EU on October 31, but the country's political future has never looked more uncertain. If lawmakers are unable to agree on a deal with their European counterparts about various rights and trade plans, the result with be a "no-deal" Brexit, which would expose the U.K. to significant trade tariffs overnight. Supporters of this outcome say it represents a clean break from the EU, which respects the result of the referendum of 2016, while critics say it will be hugely damaging to the economy.

British media reported Monday that government sources are blaming the document leak on a former government minister intent on frustrating new Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s meetings with senior European politicians this week.

A spokesperson from Number 10 Downing Street told ABC News the Yellowhammer report was "out of date" and the government were making all necessary preparations to leave the EU, with or without a deal, on October 31. "[We are] better prepared now than we've ever been, but there is still more to be done," the spokesperson added.

Several government figures were quick to downplay the fears sparked by the Sunday Times’ reporting. The Cabinet Office pointed to a tweet by leading government lawmaker Michael Gove when contacted by ABC News, which implied that the report was out of date.

He tweeted, "We don’t normally comment on leaks - but a few facts - Yellowhammer is a worst case scenario - v significant steps have been taken in the last 3 weeks to accelerate Brexit planning."

Johnson has repeatedly made it clear that the U.K. will leave the EU, with or without a deal, on the October 31 deadline. Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, is set to call a "no confidence motion" in Parliament, in a bid to collapse the government and trigger a general election.

The prospect of a "no-deal" has also received mixed messages from the United States. On his recent trip to the U.K., National Security Adviser John Bolton said that the United States was willing to negotiate a trade deal "in pieces" in order to speed up a post-Brexit trade agreement.

However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that if Brexit undermines peace in Northern Ireland, "there will be no chance of a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement passing the Congress."

Preparations for a "no-deal" Brexit have increased over the past 12 months. Last December, ABC News reported that troops were on standby to deal with possible civil unrest, and that five leading business groups issued a joint statement that said "businesses have been watching in horror" at the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...5053694&cid=clicksource_76_null_headlines_hed

 

[Plain Jane]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/british-crops-being-rushed-market-101112261.html

British Crops Are Being Rushed to Market Before Brexit Deadline
Megan Durisin and Olivia Konotey-Ahulu
Megan Durisin and Olivia Konotey-Ahulu
BloombergAugust 20, 2019, 6:11 AM EDT

British Crops Are Being Rushed to Market Before Brexit Deadline
(Bloomberg) -- British farmers are rushing to sell their big harvests of wheat and barley before October to avoid the potential market chaos of a no-deal Brexit.

The U.K. may reap the most feed barley in four years, and wheat prospects are also improving, according to the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board. Coupled with the risk that sales to the European Union may plummet if the U.K. departs without a deal, that’s spurring a surge in early-season grain sales.

About 63,000 tons of barley were sold from farmers for spot delivery in the week ended Aug. 8, AHDB data show. That’s the largest in records to 2000, and feed wheat sales reached a three-year high.

We’re seeing a lot of spot demand coming in,” said Edd Britton, a trader at Bartholomews Agri Foods Ltd. in Chichester. “Our malting barley program is way ahead of where it usually is.”

The U.K. is one of the EU’s bigger barley growers and often exports about 15% of its harvest, mostly to brewers or pig farmers within the bloc. Early wheat and barley yields are both holding above average, AHDB data show.

That swelling supply may face hefty EU import tariffs if an agreement isn’t struck before Britain’s departure, with some grain potentially facing taxes above 90 euros ($99.86) a ton. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the U.K. will be ready to leave on October 31 with or without a deal.

The market is in “a bit of a race against time,” and deals aren’t being done past October, said Jonathan Arnold, trade director at grain merchant Robin Appel Ltd. in Southampton.

The U.K. may look further afield, such as North Africa, to offload its surplus. That’s happened before after large harvests, though the markets are more commonly supplied by French and Black Sea grain. The weak pound has made British supply more competitive and prices may fall further after Brexit, according to AHDB analyst James Webster.

Tom Bradshaw, a farmer in Essex, said this year’s spring barley crop ranks among the best he’s collected. Still, there’s uncertainty about quality in parts of the U.K. as rains soak some fields just ahead of harvest. That would normally encourage him to store grain in hopes of higher prices, but he’s not willing to take the chance this year.

We’ve decided to sell our surplus, so it will all be gone before the end of October,” Bradshaw said. “A no-deal certainly isn’t the right decision for agriculture. I just cannot understand the logic of taking us to the cliff and off the edge.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Megan Durisin in London at mdurisin1@bloomberg.net;Olivia Konotey-Ahulu in London at okonoteyahul@bloomberg.net

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.scotsman.com/news/polit...s-plan-huge-march-through-edinburgh-1-4987339

Scottish independence: Supporters plan huge march through Edinburgh

CHRIS MCCALL
Email
Published: 10:41
Updated: 10:59
Tuesday 20 August 2019

Thousands of pro-independence supporters are expected to march through Edinburgh in October after council bosses agreed a route with event organisers.

Marchers will gather in Holyrood Park before proceeding through the Old Town to reach the Meadows, where speeches and live entertainment will take place.

It's the latest mass rally organised by All Under One Banner (AUOB), a voluntary group committed to staging pro-independence marches, and follows a similar event held in the Capital last year.

The 2019 march will take place on Saturday, October 5, with organisers appealing for volunteer stewards to help ensure the smooth running of the event.

Although not officially endorsed by the SNP, senior Nationalists have taken part in several AUOB marches in the past.

READ MORE: Thousands join pro-independence march in Aberdeen

AUOB faced criticism earlier this year when organisers refused to bring forward the start time of a march in Glasgow despite a formal request from the city council following advice from the emergency services.

The internal row that followed led to one of AUOB's best known members, Many Singh, being dismissed from his position as director of operations.

The group is now hoping its Edinburgh march can avoid similar controversy. Following discussions with the City Council, it was decided to hold the rally at the Meadows, rather than Holyrood Park, which is classed as common good land under control of the local authority.

The Meadows has been the site of numerous political rallies over the centuries, including the 2005 Make Poverty History march which saw more than 200,000 campaigners descend on the Capital.

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.independent.ie/business...hatll-happen-in-nodeal-scenario-38418807.html


Government told to come clean on what'll happen in no-deal scenario

Hugh O'Connell

Government is under growing pressure to outline exactly what will happen on the Border in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

As leaked UK government documents warn about the inevitability of a hard Border, the Irish Government continues to insist that it is working with the European Commission to avoid checks at the Border with Northern Ireland.

But Fianna Fáil Brexit spokeswoman Lisa Chambers said the Government had failed to provide any details on plans to carry out checks away from the Border if the UK leaves without a deal on October 31.

"We have had no further detail on this proposal, we don't know how it will operate and importantly we don't know if the Government has run this past the EU Commission and whether it will meet the requirements of protecting the single market," Ms Chambers said.

Plans to conduct checks away from the Border were mooted by Tánaiste Simon Coveney at the beginning of July. He said work had been ongoing with the European Commission on measures to protect the integrity of the EU single market and the peace process. There have been no further details provided by the Government since then.

Ms Chambers said this information is needed with just over 10 weeks to go until the UK is set to leave the EU and the increasing prospect that this will happen without a withdrawal deal and two-year transition period.

"Either they have no idea what's going to happen or they do know a bit more than what has been said publicly. The only answer we get is 'difficult decisions will have to be made'," she said.

The British government now expects a hard Border in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to leaked contingency plan, codenamed Operation Yellowhammer, which emerged on Sunday.

The leaked papers warn that initial plans to deal with a hard Brexit on the Border will be unsustainable and the UK government is now operating on the basis that a hard Border will return.

Road blockades, disruption to key sectors, job losses, smuggling and the potential for electricity shortages in the North are all highlighted in the leaked papers. Shortages of food, medicine and fuel are also predicted for the UK.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said the Government needed to accelerate no-deal planning and provide more information to the Irish businesses. "Central to these preparations and missing to date has been the level of material support available for Ireland from the EU," he said.

Health Minister Simon Harris said that Ireland continues to prepare for all possible Brexit scenarios.

"My department is extensively working on the issue of medicine supplies. We are not asking people to stockpile."

He said on average, even without Brexit, there are supplies of medicines in this State that will last for about 10 to 12 weeks.

Independent Alliance Minister of State John Halligan said it was not in the UK's interests that there be a hard Border.

"I believe that essentially the British people, elements within the British government and the British establishment know that.

"I think the coming weeks will be important for Ireland and Britain."

Irish Independent

 

[Plain Jane]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...p-out-the-irish-border-backstop-idUSKCN1VA0O7

AUGUST 20, 2019 / 4:21 AM / A MINUTE AGO
Britain's Johnson opening Brexit bid: rip out the Irish border backstop
Kylie MacLellan, Guy Faulconbridge

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has fired the opening salvo in his bid to renegotiate Britain’s divorce from the European Union, demanding that an insurance policy for the Irish border be removed from the Brexit deal and replaced with a pledge.

After more than three years of Brexit crisis, the United Kingdom is heading towards a showdown with the EU as Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 without a deal unless it agrees to renegotiate the divorce terms.

The bloc and its leaders have repeatedly refused to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement, which includes a protocol on the Irish border “backstop” that then-prime minister Theresa May agreed in November.

In his opening bid to the EU ahead of meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week, Johnson wrote a four-page letter to European Council President Donald Tusk setting out his demands.

I propose that the backstop should be replaced with a commitment to put in place (alternative) arrangements as far as possible before the end of the transition period, as part of the future relationship,” Johnson wrote. “Time is very short.”

A diplomat from one EU country told Reuters that Johnson’s letter was “pure PR” and not meant to spur constructive talks but rather set the stage for a “blame game” with the EU. An Irish source said Johnson had provided no detail on alternative proposals.


In a call with Johnson, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar reiterated the EU’s position that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened.

The riddle of what to do about Ireland’s 500-km (300-mile) land border with the British province of Northern Ireland remains has repeatedly imperiled Brexit talks.

The EU wants to ensure that its only land border with the United Kingdom after Brexit does not become a back door for goods to enter the EU’s single market - which guarantees free movement of goods, capital, services and labor.

But Ireland says checks could undermine the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which brought peace after more than 3,600 died in a three-decade conflict between unionists who wanted Northern Ireland to remain British and Irish nationalists who want Northern Ireland to join a united Ireland ruled from Dublin.

And the United Kingdom does not want there to be any border - effective or virtual - between Britain and Northern Ireland. Johnson’s government is propped up by Northern Irish unionists.

BREXIT SHOWDOWN?
The backstop was a compromise aimed at squaring the circle: it would keep the United Kingdom in a customs union with the EU until a better solution was found, and keep Northern Ireland aligned to the rules of the EU’s single market.

Johnson wrote that the backstop was anti-democratic and threatened the United Kingdom’s sovereignty as the application of single-market rules in Northern Ireland could divide Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

“It presents the whole of the UK with the choice of remaining in a customs union and aligned with those rules, or of seeing Northern Ireland gradually detached from the UK economy across a very broad range of areas,” Johnson said. “Both of those outcomes are unacceptable to the British government.”

He also argued that the backstop risked weakening the delicate balance between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland.

He said the best solution was a pledge to put in place arrangements as far as possible before the end of the transition period, and that this could be agreed as part of a deal on Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

Dublin does not accept the assertion that the backstop is a threat to peace, an Irish government source said, adding that, while the letter refers to alternative arrangements, it gives no detail of what these might be.

Under the current text of the Withdrawal Agreement, the backstop would be invoked at the end of the transition period in 2020, creating a single EU-UK customs territory, including “level playing field” rules ensuring fair competition in areas such as environment, state aid and labor standards.

ADVERTISEMENT

The clause is designed as a default mechanism to remain in place “unless and until” it is superseded by alternative arrangements that ensure the same outcome.

Brexiteers fear that this would keep Britain dependent on rules set from Brussels over which they would have no say, and hinder their efforts to strike trade deals with third countries - one of the key benefits they see from leaving the EU in the first place. Some pro-Brexit politicians have said it would make Britain a “vassal state”.




Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Michel Rose in Paris; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kevin Liffey

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Publius]

I'm seeing british people posting they are not happy with their government, behind closed doors they are haggling out deals for themselves.
The Deal was vote to exit the European Union (EU) and nothing else and they want it now as they voted for.

 

[Melodi]

That's what I largely meant about tackling their own internal problems that have been left simmering for decades.

Uh try 500 years and if there is a hard border back on this island a new military occupation is likely and I doubt British tax payers will want to pay for it.

A United Ireland is the most likely eventuality but there could be a real mess until a final outcome is achieved or perhaps another long term civil war in the north

 

[northern watch]

UK, EU harden their positions on Brexit as G7 approaches

By Raf Casert and Danica Kirka, Associated Press
BRUSSELS — August 20, 2019, 8:50 AM ET

The European Union and Britain on Tuesday were hurtling toward a costly and damaging no-deal split in little over two months after kicking off a high-wire week of diplomacy by entrenching themselves deeper in irreconcilable positions.

The EU took only half a day to rebuff a four-page proposal by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to break a deadlock over ensuring a transparent border between the EU's Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland, saying one key part was "incorrect," and another "misleading."

In the diplomatic note from the EU Commission and Council to the EU 27 nations and obtained by the Associated Press, the member states were strongly urged not to give in to Johnson's demand that the legal withdrawal agreement negotiated with his predecessor Theresa May be changed at this late stage.

Johnson demanded late Monday that the EU re-open Brexit negotiations, scrapping "anti-democratic" provisions for the Irish border that he said would threaten the peace process in Northern Ireland. European Council chief Donald Tusk responded quickly and vigorously, defending the so-called backstop — an insurance policy of sorts meant to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

"Those against the backstop and not proposing realistic alternatives in fact support reestablishing a border," Tusk tweeted Tuesday. "Even if they do not admit it."

The backstop would keep Britain closely aligned with the European customs union if the two sides can't agree on other ways to prevent the reintroduction of border checks on people and goods moving between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The EU's diplomatic note said it needed to counter Johnson's assertions in Monday's proposal, insisting "it is incorrect to state that the people of Northern Ireland have no influence over the legislation that would apply to them."

Similarly, it said that "the letter's suggestion that two separate legal, political, economic, and monetary jurisdictions already exist on the island and can be managed with an open border is misleading."

Such words left a huge rift between the sides, as Johnson was preparing to visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday. It should culminate in more talks at a summit of G-7 leaders this weekend in Biarritz, France.

Johnson has vowed to leave the EU "come what may" on October 31, with or without a deal aimed at softening the transition.

But he is facing rising criticism of his Brexit strategy at home. A leaked report showed that the British government is preparing for widespread shortages of food, fuel and medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

"Now, of course, our friends and partners on the other side of the Channel are showing a little bit of reluctance at the moment to change their position," Johnson told Sky News on Monday. "That's fine - I'm confident that they will — but in the meantime we have to get ready for a no-deal outcome."

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, vowed Monday to do "everything necessary" to prevent the U.K. from leaving the EU without a deal. That includes calling a no-confidence vote in Johnson's government and, if it succeeds, fighting the ensuing general election with a pledge to hold a second public vote on Brexit.

"If MPs are serious about stopping a no-deal crash out, then they will vote down this reckless government," Corbyn said. "And it falls to the leader of the opposition to make sure no-deal does not happen and the people decide their own future."

Johnson and Corbyn are fighting for support in an increasingly fractious country where Brexit cuts across traditional party lines.

After a 2016 referendum in which the public voted to leave the EU, May spent more than two years negotiating a Brexit divorce agreement with the bloc. It was repeatedly rejected by Parliament, primarily because of concerns about the Irish border.

———

Kirka reported from London

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...5070219?cid=clicksource_76_null_headlines_hed

 

[northern watch]

EU rebuffs Johnson's opening Brexit bid

Guy Faulconbridge, Gabriela Baczynska
August 20, 2019 / 4:13 AM / Updated 7 minutes ago

LONDON / BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s demand that the European Union reopen the Brexit divorce deal was rebuffed on Tuesday by the bloc, which said Britain had failed to propose any realistic alternative to an agreed insurance policy for the Irish border.

After more than three years of Brexit crisis, the United Kingdom is heading towards a showdown with the EU as Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc on October 31 without a deal unless it agrees to renegotiate the divorce terms.

The bloc has repeatedly refused to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement, which includes a protocol on the Irish border “backstop” that then-prime minister Theresa May agreed in November.

In his opening bid to the EU ahead of meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Johnson wrote a four-page letter to European Council President Donald Tusk.

“I propose that the backstop should be replaced with a commitment to put in place (alternative) arrangements as far as possible before the end of the transition period, as part of the future relationship,” Johnson wrote. “Time is very short.”

Tusk said Johnson had proposed no realistic alternatives, and the European Commission took a similar line, though the EU’s most powerful leaders - Merkel and Macron - had yet to comment.

“Those against the backstop and not proposing realistic alternatives in fact support re-establishing a border. Even if they do not admit it,” Tusk tweeted.

A note seen by Reuters setting out the agreed joint position of the 27 EU states staying on after Brexit said the EU regretted Johnson’s bid to scrap a “necessary, legally operative solution” in favour of a “commitment to try to find a solution”..

Britain’s pound, sensitive to the prospects of a no-deal departure, promptly fell to near three-year lows against the euro and the dollar. [GBP/]

European diplomats expect little progress on Brexit until the British domestic landscape becomes clearer when parliament returns on September 3 - after which the opposition Labour Party has vowed to try to collapse Johnson’s government.

With British politics in such turmoil, it is still unclear how, when or indeed if the United Kingdom will leave the EU. Many expect an election within months.

With such uncertainty, some suspect perfidy in London.

A diplomat from one EU country told Reuters that Johnson’s letter was “pure PR” and not meant to spur constructive talks but rather set the stage for a “blame game” with the EU.

BREXIT BRINKMANSHIP

The riddle of what to do about Ireland’s 500-km (300-mile) land border with the British province of Northern Ireland remains has repeatedly imperilled Brexit talks.

The EU wants to ensure that its only land border with the United Kingdom after Brexit does not become a back door for goods to enter the EU’s single market - which guarantees free movement of goods, capital, services and labour.

But Ireland says checks could undermine the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which brought peace after more than 3,600 died in a three-decade conflict between unionists who wanted Northern Ireland to remain British and Irish nationalists who want Northern Ireland to join a united Ireland ruled from Dublin.

The United Kingdom does not want there to be any border - effective or virtual - between Britain and Northern Ireland. Johnson’s government is propped up by Northern Irish unionists.

The backstop was aimed at squaring the circle: it would keep the United Kingdom in a customs union with the EU until a better solution was found, and keep Northern Ireland aligned to the rules of the EU’s single market.

Johnson wrote that the backstop was anti-democratic and threatened the United Kingdom’s sovereignty as the application of single-market rules in Northern Ireland could divide Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

He also said it risked weakening the delicate balance between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland.

Dublin does not accept that the backstop is a threat to peace, an Irish government source said. In a call with Johnson, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar reiterated the EU’s position that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened.

Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan in London, Padraic Halpin in Dublin, John Chalmers in Brussels, Michel Rose in Paris; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kevin Liffey

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/eu-rebuffs-johnsons-opening-brexit-bid-idUKKCN1VA0NS

 

[northern watch]

Map of Northern Ireland

 

[Plain Jane]

Uh try 500 years and if there is a hard border back on this island a new military occupation is likely and I doubt British tax payers will want to pay for it.

A United Ireland is the most likely eventuality but there could be a real mess until a final outcome is achieved or perhaps another long term civil war in the north

It broke my heart when I posted the story above about the bomb trap that had been set for police in Northern Ireland. But I agree, the two will unite . Somehow. And they will make some surprising compromises.

 

[intothatgoodnight]

https://www.independent.ie/business...hatll-happen-in-nodeal-scenario-38418807.html

Government Told To Come Clean On What'll Happen In No-Deal Scenario

Hugh O'Connell

Government is under growing pressure to outline exactly what will happen on the Border in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

"Either they have no idea what's going to happen or they do know a bit more than what has been said publicly. The only answer we get is 'difficult decisions will have to be made'," she said.

To be considered - the EU folks have some sort of "do-or-die" tactic - a last minute "event" that will sideline the October separation date - and won't reveal such to the public - an event that gives Boris Johnson, et al, plausible cover if the date is "missed" - simply too much EU money/economics put into jeopardy by allowing a full and unfettered Brexit separation.

This is "war," from the EU/European Central Bank perspective, and they may try to respond as such - "dirty deeds, done dirt cheap."

As usual, FOLLOW the money . . .


intothegoodnight

 

[WalknTrot]

Uh try 500 years and if there is a hard border back on this island a new military occupation is likely and I doubt British tax payers will want to pay for it.

A United Ireland is the most likely eventuality but there could be a real mess until a final outcome is achieved or perhaps another long term civil war in the north

Simmering for decades as in - not open warfare. Will be interesting once the lid gets pulled back, to see if there has been ANY shift at all in cultural hatred over the past generation or two.

I guess a lot of my interest comes from the fact that I partially spring from some of those accursed Ulster Scots. Lucky for me, they didn't find the situation at ALL advantageous in Ireland, lit out from there 400 years ago and settled in America.

 

[intothatgoodnight]

Uh try 500 years and if there is a hard border back on this island a new military occupation is likely and I doubt British tax payers will want to pay for it.

A United Ireland is the most likely eventuality but there could be a real mess until a final outcome is achieved or perhaps another long term civil war in the north

Melodi, others - what is the strategic reason for centuries-long occupation of Northern Ireland, considering that it has been economically/politically costly for the British government to maintain this status - how do they benefit?


intothegoodnight

 

[intothatgoodnight]

Recent historical note - recall that Soros drained the Bank of England of a couple billion dollars, back in 1991 or so - much to their surprise - how much economic influence/skin in the game does Soros have regarding this whole anti-Brexit effort?


intothegoodnight

 

[WalknTrot]

To be considered - the EU folks have some sort of "do-or-die" tactic - a last minute "event" that will sideline the October separation date - and won't reveal such to the public - an event that gives Boris Johnson, et al, plausible cover if the date is "missed" - simply too much EU money/economics put into jeopardy by allowing a full and unfettered Brexit separation.

This is "war," from the EU/European Central Bank perspective, and they may try to respond as such - "dirty deeds, done dirt cheap."

As usual, FOLLOW the money . . .


intothegoodnight

Yeaaaaaahhhh...I don't think he will allow a "miss" on the date. It's been put off too many times. I totally rule out the EU giving an inch on anything. As far as Parliament, or anybody stopping him or it?

Tick tock...

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Let them sweat.

I would not be surprised if the EU comes begging to Prime Minister Boris Johnson once they finally figure out he is ready willing and able to do a hard Brexit. Hopefully by then the UK will have tentative trade deals in place with the US and other non-EU countries.

As to Ireland? It took three votes before TPB got the outcome they wanted in Ireland. If the UK recovers quickly I suspect Ireland will want to join the party.

Without the UK's financial and military support I wonder how long the EU can last? it may be interesting to watch the technocrats scramble once one of their minions does the math.

One wild card will be the "refugees". I suspect they will resist getting "encouraged" to return home.

 

[Melodi]

Let them sweat.

I would not be surprised if the EU comes begging to Prime Minister Boris Johnson once they finally figure out he is ready willing and able to do a hard Brexit. Hopefully by then the UK will have tentative trade deals in place with the US and other non-EU countries.

As to Ireland? It took three votes before TPB got the outcome they wanted. If the UK recovers quickly I suspect Ireland will want to join the party.

Without the UK's financial and military support I wonder how long the EU can last? it may be interesting to watch the technocrats scramble once one of their minions does the math.

One wild card will be the "refugees". I suspect they will resist getting "encouraged" to return home.

The likely hood of the Republic of Ireland wanting to join "England's Party" is between slim and none; with exceptions for individuals, for the most part, England is viewed as a slime-ball, treacherous and bullying "Empire" that have tried to conquer and dominate Ireland since the time of King John Lackland around 1185 or so.

I once ask an Irish Housemate from a very old Anglo-Norman family (his ancestors came over from England about 1185 and then "went Native") what it was about Northern Ireland and he explained that "Ulster" was considered the best part of Ireland by the English has a lot of natural resources, good agriculture, and most importantly harbors.

It is also the "gateway" to Scotland and the rest of the UK, in fact, the early "Scots" were an Irish tribe that invaded during the "Dark" Ages.

So after Cromwell "pacified" Ireland (aka hung the harpers and burnt their harps under the feet among other "nice" little touches) when he divided the country for his generals to "rule" in the 16th century it was decided the way to "pacify" Ulster was to bring over as many of the Scots as could be convinced to move to Ulster (not always willingly) and set up a "new" and in the eyes of the Brits "better" peasant and artisan population.

In addition, since most of the newcomers were Protestant (as was England by this point or at least Anglican) laws were passed in London that gave Protestants (by default almost all Ulster-Scots) special privileges like the right to own lands, businesses, engage in trade, etc that were either greatly diminished or downright prohibited to the native population of the area.

This was intentional to create a barrier to social and economic advancement to anyone who would not "convert" to become either Church of Ireland (Anglican) or Scot's Presbyterian (for the most part) but even when people did there was still a lot of stigma for a few generations of "coming from Popish" ancestors.

Ok, that's enough but you get the idea, fast forward to the 1970s when the system had morphed to Protestants having good NHS Hospitals and Catholics having a very inferior one (at least according to locals from both backgrounds and what they have told me). Gradually neighborhoods and entire villages were splintered off by sectarian lines and when the bombs and guns came in, so did barbed wire, walls and nearly totally shut in neighborhoods (I saw them).

There were just a "few decades of unrest" there were three decades of pretty much open civil war.

London had to intervene with a full-scale military occupation and crackdown that was so severe that the Republic felt forced to draw up plans to "invade" the North to try and save "their" citizens (until the Good Friday Agreement The Republic claimed all of Ireland now there would have to be a vote first) even though they knew Britain would totally win such a war.

Thankfully while things came to the brink, they never actually came to a hot war between the UK and the Irish Republic, but the Unionists vs. the Republicans were already in a hot war, it was just dampened by military occupations, checkpoints, jailing a whole lot of people, tanks a heck of a lot of money for siege towers (I saw them) patrolled 24/7 with soldiers carrying some really impressive guns and regular "inspections" of apartments etc.

I had a friend who sadly passed away a few years ago, she was a Brit that married a Northern Irish Catholic and LIVED in such a project and the stories she told would make your hair stand on end, many times it was her British accent and papers that would get the cops to go away, they didn't want THAT to get in the newspaper that an English women had been harmed!

Anyway, to sum up - today's Ulster-Scots are not "evil" (I know that was a joke) and they have been in Northern Ireland about as long or longer than most Europeans have been in the United States so obviously they have just as much right to live on the Island as anyone else.

The problem is that hot-heads on "both sides" are going to use a "hard" border to start the killing again (they already have started trying) and with some people not being able to leave their homes because their house is on one side of the border and their driveway on the other (that's reality I didn't make that up) along with churches cut off from their churchyards and families needed to "cross" the border 5 times in a morning just taking kids to school and getting to work, I have my extreme doubts that this is going to be any kind of a peaceful or normal transition.

I could be wrong and I want to be, but everything I am seeing from here does not predict a good or easy outcome at least not in the short term.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

The problem is that hot-heads on "both sides" are going to use a "hard" border to start the killing again (they already have started trying) and with some people not being able to leave their homes because their house is on one side of the border and their driveway on the other (that's reality I didn't make that up) along with churches cut off from their churchyards and families needed to "cross" the border 5 times in a morning just taking kids to school and getting to work, I have my extreme doubts that this is going to be any kind of a peaceful or normal transition.

I could be wrong and I want to be, but everything I am seeing from here does not predict a good or easy outcome at least not in the short term.

Melodi I agree on all counts. First time an Amish called me an "English" I wondered if the Scottish ancestors were spinning in their graves.

I was referring to economic ramifications. If the UK has any brains (and it looks like they may) they hard Brexit, lower sales taxes to the point black markets form in EU countries with the demand for cheaper UK goods and imports. I said lower sales taxes not abolish them. They make up the difference and hopefully then some in volume. The UK becomes what is viewed as a safe harbor for foreign (EU) investment capitol outside the control and haircuts of the EU, at that point IMHO the EU will disintegrate.

We'll see what happens.

 

[Plain Jane]

My fear is about the hotheads as well. Prime Minister Varadkar has pooh poohed the idea of discussing union, I suspect because he's trying to figure out the whole border thing. Any more potential violence situations may push it to the front burner.