kuro68k wrote: » The British government is going to take it right to the cliff edge and hope that someone else compromises. Of course they have their excuses already lined up if no-one does, only real question is who they will blame.
lawred2 wrote: » Liam Halligan it was... I'll have to dig out some of his other work
amacca wrote: » O'Toole fairly stomached him with the if technology can solve the border issues then why should the backstop be such a problem at all tack
tuxy wrote: » While claiming they are being bullied
swampgas wrote: » Rather grim analysis from Ian Dunt. TM may have found a way to avoid any vote by parliament on the deal, or may be able to delay it so long that no deal is inevitable. Scary stuff.http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2018/12/10/another-day-of-shame-may-delays-brexit-vote-as-no-deal-suici
prawnsambo wrote: » Yeah, you could do that. Only have to convince 27 countries that you pissed off a few years back, that you'd be good partners.
serfboard wrote: » Aaaaand we're back to the old "They need us more than we need them", last seen circa 2016.
Kermit.de.frog wrote: » John Major talks a lot of sense these dayshttps://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1072213268792557568
Wheres Me Jumper? wrote: » i've always respected and admired Major. a decent fair-minded pragmatist imo.
dr.fuzzenstein wrote: » Unappreciated in his time. I remember his Spitting Image doll was entirely grey.
hill16bhoy wrote: » I wouldn't support holding a border poll in the first place unless opinion polls consistently showed 55% or more in favour of it, because the consequences of a 51-49 unification vote would likely be appalling and lead to a return to bloodshed. Peace is much more important to me than a united Ireland. However a successful unification vote of 55% or more would likely be much easier to implement than Brexit. A united Ireland is a more workable outcome on a legal level. It's not difficult to understand. The process of countries unifying (and splitting up) has already happened successfully in modern Europe. Brexit has proved to be an unworkable project. Leavers can't agree on what they want because they voted for an abstract fantasy in a referendum which was all about abstract fantasy. One version of Brexit has effectively been delivered and rejected. There are only two other versions of it that are feasibly available - Norway, which looks likely to be a no go, and no deal, which is a catastrophe which nobody voted for. An abstract fantasy is not a basis for going forward. The situation has now changed to one where a second referendum with defined, properly explained choices is by far the most sensible and logical proposition.
Douglas Thoughtless Headache wrote: » Would the EU (perhaps swelling to 33 members, not 27 by then) take them? Who knows for sure, but it would be unkind to refuse access, stemming from a democratic majority vote of their people, delivered to their leaders.
Being a potential net contributor, joint-second to Germany and about equal to France in economic status, hard to see why they would be refused. Yes it will cost them, and they will have to pay an agreeable fee for market access.
MarkHenderson wrote: » Nonsense. The people have already voted and we must push ahead with Brexit. May should be slung out and replaced with someone competent.
Johnny Dogs wrote: » It looks like time has stood still for him though, he looks exactly the same as he did in the 90s :eek:
Peregrinus wrote: » May hasn't exactly helped - she has made a lot of unforced errors, most notably with the "red lines" - but somehow I don't think the fundamental problem is her lack of competence. Countries which have negotiated this more successfully than the UK have done so by attaching weight to, seeking to address the concerns of, and working to get buy-in from, the dissenting minority. This, though, is fairly foreign to the "winner-takes-all' culture that is embedded in British politics.
prawnsambo wrote: » Not one of the so-called ERG has come up with a viable plan for brexit. You'd think after years of 'researching' Europe, they could have come up with something. But no, they juwst ran away when the opportunity was given them. A bunch of empty barrels who hadn't the first clue of (a) what they wanted and (b) how to go about getting it.
tuxy wrote: » What kind of brexit did they vote for?
Headshot wrote: » It really annoys me that BBC have a debate which involves an ex UKIP representative and they bringing up the WTO and there's no expert on the other side putting them in their place on how the WTO really works
MarkHenderson wrote: » hill16bhoy wrote: » I wouldn't support holding a border poll in the first place unless opinion polls consistently showed 55% or more in favour of it, because the consequences of a 51-49 unification vote would likely be appalling and lead to a return to bloodshed. Peace is much more important to me than a united Ireland. However a successful unification vote of 55% or more would likely be much easier to implement than Brexit. A united Ireland is a more workable outcome on a legal level. It's not difficult to understand. The process of countries unifying (and splitting up) has already happened successfully in modern Europe. Brexit has proved to be an unworkable project. Leavers can't agree on what they want because they voted for an abstract fantasy in a referendum which was all about abstract fantasy. One version of Brexit has effectively been delivered and rejected. There are only two other versions of it that are feasibly available - Norway, which looks likely to be a no go, and no deal, which is a catastrophe which nobody voted for. An abstract fantasy is not a basis for going forward. The situation has now changed to one where a second referendum with defined, properly explained choices is by far the most sensible and logical proposition. Nonsense. The people have already voted and we must push ahead with Brexit. May should be slung out and replaced with someone competent.