Forum Topic

brexit delay after 31st oct

Apparently Boris will ask for extension if no agreement reached

Barbara Shillabeer ● 2595d20 Comments

Well he doesn’t have a choice, it’s the law.By the way, have you noticed how nearly all the media have reverted to the “deal or no deal” binary choice facing the country. In fact the most popular choice is to remain, as mentioned by the Irish PM  to howls of rage from the Daily Mail et al. It’s about time the honest media, including the BBC and Channel 4,  stopped trotting out the “deal or no deal’ misinformation,Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 2595d

We all have to heed with the Law - its what the Brexit vote was all about and the lying blond-top is no exception

Clifford Cowell ● 2595d

Perhaps Johnson is hoping the EU will tell him to F-off, politely of course...

Michael Ixer ● 2595d

Id that the same as hoping for a veto?😇

Sue Hammond ● 2595d

Boris is getting a lot of criticism over this extension letter but he really  cannot do anything else. If he refuses he will be accused of putting himself above the law again. I suspect there's going to be a cunning stunt ...😉

Sue Hammond ● 2595d

WE all like a cunning stunt and I wish him luck.  This fiasco has been going on for long enough, to the detriment of running the country properly.  Bloody DUP and their Irish problems... give Ireland back to the Irish and if the Unionists don't like it, they can go back to the Northern English countries from whence they came!

Bunny Payne ● 2594d

I would advise caution expressing that view in Belfast!  They say (in Dublin at least, where I will be on Wednesday) that Johnson is doing more for Irish unity than anyone. But while there may be pro-unified Ireland sentiment there it tails off when they look at the costs of UK subsidies to keep NI on the road. There is a clear pro EU majority in NI and even the DUP realised what a disaster a no deal exit will be for them and the rest of Ireland. It was on Farming Today very early this morning. Those Unionists in the north will not go quietly by the way, so the real security concerns come from the extremists among them as well as IRA fundamentalists who will use any form of Irish border (known there as the British border in Ireland) to foment trouble. And incidentally most of the Unionists were originally Presbyterian Scots transplanted from the borders and the west coast. Scotland doesn’t want them back either. Every British politician should be given a primer on Irish history when they enter parliament. Ignorance of things Irish over here is truly astounding.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2594d

The President of the Supreme Court makes a joking reference to Johnson's silly, demeaning comment on Cameron that he was a girly swot, and the snowflakes in the government are reaching for the smelling salts:"On Friday night, one cabinet minister told the Daily Telegraph: 'For someone at such a sensitive time who has played a prominent part to be so blatantly involved in stirring up views either way is probably poor judgment. 'In any normal time for a Supreme Court justice to be encouraging girls to be swotty in education would be a good thing. But given that it could be seen as an attack on the Prime Minister, having made a judgment against him so recently, would be ill-advised.' "What wimps: they are happy enough for Johnson to make far worse remarks (his "humbug" comment, for example) but this mild comment is just too much them. Pathetic!

Richard Carter ● 2594d

She's not a politician. She may not have been completely aware that after her verdict the attack teams would be out with their systems primed for the slightest imaginable claimable "offence".

David Ainsworth ● 2594d

"And incidentally most of the Unionists were originally Presbyterian Scots transplanted from the borders and the west coast. Scotland doesn’t want them back either. Every British politician should be given a primer on Irish history when they enter parliament. Ignorance of things Irish over here is truly astounding."A very interesting group of people (in the USA also). They are a reminder there are several important strands of history in these islands, and we focus on some, not others.--------------------------------"More than one-third of all U.S. Presidents had substantial ancestral origins in the northern province of Ireland (Ulster)." (Wikipedia)

David Ainsworth ● 2594d

Yes the Irish vote in the US is still very influential. Just turn up in New York or Chicago on St Patrick’s Day to see that. If we force through a Brexit which causes harm to Ireland then we may find resistance to a trade deal in Congress. Here’s Bonny Greer on Question Time for an American view: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/bonnie-greer-ireland-brexit-plan-border-johnson-good-friday-agreement-a9144131.htmlAnd it seemed so simple three years ago.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2594d

Its not just the ignorance of Irish history and, indeed, Ireland: it's the contempt amongst so many in parliament  who should know better. One example: the (unnamed) Tory MP who said that "it's time the Irish knew their place." With attitudes like that its hardly surprising Irish issues are neglected (to put it politely) .

Richard Carter ● 2593d

David, a book written back in 2007 describes what became of those Ulster Scots Irish who emigrated to the US. It’s called “Deer hunting with Jesus” by Joe Bageant and describes the lives and views of what today we would call Trump’s Base.  By turns depressing and terrifying but in terms of understanding class issues in the US highly illuminating.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2593d

That Tory MP (and others) needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Ireland today is a self confident internationalist country with powerful friends in Washington and Brussels. Rather unlike us, currently, with the possible and very unreliable exception of Trump.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2593d

It would seem unwise of Johnson and others to rely on Trump's support at present; Trump has other distractions at the moment. The impeachment process, irrespective of whether it's successful or not, will kick trade deals down the road and then there's the US elections in 2020 ...

Michael Ixer ● 2593d

The Irish lobby has long been strong in the US. I remember clearly the St Patrick's Day parades when I lived in New York and how people would ask for money on street corners specifically to fund the IRA.I recall no Irish history being  taught when i was at school despite how closely linked England and Ireland were, so perhaps it is unsurprising that many Little Englanders have  little or no sympathy for Irish people whether south or north of the border.

Lucille Grant ● 2593d

And there's also Priti Patel's appalling and tin-eared comment that we should threaten Ireland with food shortages if they didn't come to heel over Brexit. That was presumably an ignorant rather than a malign comment, though one can't be sure.

Richard Carter ● 2593d

Thanks for the book suggestion. I have added it to my Amazon Wish List. (Mind you I wish that I could add a longer life to my Amazon list - "Alexa, Procure me eternity in an infinite library").

David Ainsworth ● 2593d

One has to give Ms Patel the benefit of the doubt that it was stupidity and ignorance, although saying that about any nation could be considered malign; would it be ok to starve the French or Germans into submission over a chaotic Brexit mess created by the British government? Particularly when all they trying to do is maintain the integrity of one of the most important agreements of recent times? One has to give Mrs May credit for trying to make sure the GFA wasn't breached if nothing else. It's interesting how something like the Irish famine is ingrained in the Irish culture. It even got mentioned in one of the talks at a BAA meeting I attended in Armagh this September. It was in the description of the background of Agnes Mary Clerke, one of the founder members of the BAA at the beginning of 20th century. She came from a well off Cork family who assisted those in poiverty during the famine; she became a science writer and her family moved first to Dublin then to London which is when she became involved in forming the British Astronomical Association (the Royal Astronomy Society didn't admit women at the time and it's fees were too high for most people). Interestingly,  her family's London was a few doors away from where my 1970s flat share was in Redcliuffe Square! The Irish famine also came up during lunch conversation during my trip: don't underestimate how important resolving the Irish border issue incompatibility with Brexit is and how it could derail Brexit: no deal won't resolve that and could destroy the GFA. 

Michael Ixer ● 2593d

And worth comparing the population history of Ireland, Scotland and England since 1800:-https://twitter.com/danobrien20/status/710836435448930304

David Ainsworth ● 2593d