Bob Whysman- Registered: 23 Aug 2013
- Posts: 1,918
This location could rival Beachy Head Howard...............will there be a safety net?
Do nothing and nothing happens.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Courtesy of the Telegraph.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator, is more optimistic about the chances of a successful UK-EU deal than ever before but warned against hardliners on both sides forcing a bare bones agreement. With just under a year until the 29 March 2019 Brexit deadline, he warned it was vital that the British government came forward with “serious proposals” to prevent a hard border in Ireland or risk the negotiations failing.
Mr Verhofstadt exclusively told The Telegraph that the Salisbury nerve agent attack proved that Britain and the EU needed to move quickly to forge close security and defence links after Brexit. “Much time has been wasted over the last year, but I am more hopeful than I have ever been that there will be a deal. Of course, we cannot afford to be complacent. It will be a rush against the clock,” the influential MEP, who has welcomed recent British efforts over citizens rights after Brexit, said. “There is a risk that hardliners on either side of the channel drive us to a bare bones deal, but ideology mustn't get in our way,” Mr Verhofstadt said. He said: “Events in Salisbury show there is a need for us to stand shoulder to shoulder against common threats to our values. Despite Jean Claude Juncker's letter of congratulations to Russian President Putin, EU countries have shown absolute solidarity with the UK.”
“Putin is testing the West and if we fail to stand up to him, he will be emboldened,” he added, “We must be prepared to work quickly after the European Parliament elections in 2019 to develop a close post-Brexit security and defence partnership.” The European Commission, which is leading negotiations on behalf of the EU, has said the Withdrawal Agreement must be finalised by October so there is time for governments and the European Parliament to ratify the agreement before Brexit Day. “The most pressing issue is to secure an agreement on a backstop solution to prevent any hardening of the Irish border before the summer,” said Mr Verhofstadt, who leads the liberal ALDE group in the European Parliament. This week in Brussels, British and EU negotiators were joined by Irish officials for the first time in a bid to hammer out a compromise over the “backstop clause” to prevent the return of customs checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Mrs May has ruled out the European Commission’s call to keep Northern Ireland in the single market and customs union if the UK’s preferred options of a free trade agreement or innovative technical solutions fail. Sources told The Telegraph last week that Britain has “a matter of weeks” to secure the Irish deal, so it can be approved at a June European Council meeting of EU leaders.
Mr Verhofstadt, an ardent Federalist who owns a Union Jack fridge, said: “There are many circles that still need to be squared. We look forward to more serious proposals from the UK Government on how to implement the commitments they have already made.”
The former prime minister of Belgium spearheaded a European Parliament resolution calling for the future relationship to be based on an association agreement, which is an EU treaty with non-EU countries. This established model could allow Britain to have an effectively bespoke relationship with the EU while quelling European fears over British “cherry-picking” but Mrs May would have to compromise on some Brexit red lines. “The European Parliament has shown it is willing to be flexible and come up with credible proposals,” Mr Verthofstadt, who recently pitched the idea to Mrs May, said. “I am hopeful the UK Government will seriously consider the European Parliament's proposal for a broad association agreement, which would allow us to stay close on a number of areas of cooperation, from research to defence,” he said.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Interesting read but misses out on the fact that the areas that voted most strongly to leave received much more EU funding than places that voted to remain.
https://news.sky.com/story/sky-views-what-i-learned-about-brexit-outside-london-11310496Guest 2546- Registered: 31 Mar 2018
- Posts: 1
i was also interested to arrive to uk to work few months ago, but after brexit situation is worse than before in my opinion
Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,469
howard mcsweeney1 wrote:Interesting read but misses out on the fact that the areas that voted most strongly to leave received much more EU funding than places that voted to remain.
Forget your stereotype of a Brexit voter, trapped in some dismal post-industrial town. Geographically, the Brexit vote was widespread. Nine out of 12 UK regions voted to leave, including the most populous and prosperous — the south-east. Overall
408 constituencies voted Leave against 242 which voted Remain (55 of which were in Scotland). The reason the result is not seen as decisive is largely because those places most in favour of Remain (Scotland, central and west London, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, the mind of A.C. Grayling) all possess a sense of their own importance out of all proportion to their size. Scotland actually has a smaller population than Yorkshire.
If anyone should be investigating election fakery, it’s Theresa May. Had 533 people voted differently across nine constituencies, she’d have a full majority. This media frenzy isn’t about CANOE — it’s about confirmation bias: post-selecting facts to suit pre-existing prejudice.
Never forget that intellectuals and educated people are far more prone to feats of self-delusion than ordinary people. Amexiteer Benjamin Franklin spotted this when he wrote: ‘So convenient a thing to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.’
Rory Sutherland in Speccie'If no one went no faster than what I do there'd be a sight less trouble in this world'
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
A well thought out piece in the FT that Remain voters might like to take on board as there simply won't be another Referendum. The writer is astute enough to know that the Irish land border will be the biggest stumbling block to the finalisation of agreed terms.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/finance/the-time-for-revoking-brexit-has-passed/ar-AAvkzSs?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntphoward mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Protests all around the country today over the fishing part of the transition deal but I seriously doubt it will have any effect. My feeling is that the agreement will be permanent in exchange for a more lucrative deal on financial services.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
I can't see how this will work in practice as the terms negotiated will be complicated with people liking some parts and not others so a simple yes/no vote doesn't apply. Should there be a majority rejecting the terms it would mean negotiations would have to start all over again and I can't see the EU playing along with it.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-second-referendum-theresa-may-final-deal-eu-autumn-negotiations-a8294986.htmlray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
What was it that Robbie Burns said about giving us the grace to see ourselves as others see us? This from Canadian national TV. And this is one of the anglosphere countries whose trade will make up for the inevitable Brexit damage...
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,469
Oh dear. The cat's out of the bag. Barry Gardiner (who is on BBC QT this week) admits - and I couldn't have put it better myself - that Labour policy on Brexit is 'bollocks'.
https://order-order.com/2018/04/10/gardiner-labours-brexit-policy-bollocks/
(Thank goodness BBC QT is after the watershed?)
'If no one went no faster than what I do there'd be a sight less trouble in this world'
Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,469
'If no one went no faster than what I do there'd be a sight less trouble in this world'
Guest 1881- Registered: 16 Oct 2016
- Posts: 1,071
In 2016–17 there were an average of 7,670 full-time Border Force officers, a reduction from the 8,332 officers employed in 2014–15. The reduction in officers has meant members of staff being diverted regularly from customs operations to the priority service of immigration control.
In the 2017 civil service staff survey Border Force scored second lowest of all parts of government for acceptable workload and just three out of ten officials described it as a “great place to work”.Mike Jones described “constantly [getting] messages from people saying morale is at an absolute all-time low [ … ] They’ve never seen it so bad.”In his 2017 inspection of Gatwick airport the Independent Chief Inspector reported that operations appeared to be under considerable strain overall with some groups of staff feeling undervalued.He found Border Force to be overly reliant on mobile and seasonal staff who have limited training. He told us the same was true at Stansted airport and elsewhere.
The ICIBI’s inspection of east coast sea ports revealed that “coverage of smaller, normally unmanned, east coast ports and landing places was poor, with almost half of them not having had a visit from a Border Force officer for more than a year.” In response to our report on customs operations, the Home Office stated that “workflow is actively monitored to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand at the border.” The evidence we have received would suggest that this is not the case, and Home Office policy is not to release data on staff presence at key ports of entry.
We are increasingly alarmed about the impact that inadequate resources are having on the capacity for Border Force to operate effectively. This is a system which has not functioned properly for a number of years, in large part due to insufficient staffing. The consequences of a lack of resources have implications for the smooth operation of the border, the morale and wellbeing of staff, and the quality of frontline immigration services.
All of this is taken verbatim from the
Parliament Business, Home Office delivery of Brexit: immigration which is available in the link below. I might add that the extra 1000 staff promised does not take into account current vacancies or the expected leavers (retirements, changing career etc.) It is being dressed up as a solution to the projected issue of customs checks.
Source:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmhaff/421/42105.htmhoward mcsweeney1 likes this
Just because you don't take an interest in politics doesn't mean that politics won't take an interest in you. PERICLES.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Pro-Remain groups are launching a £1million campaign to stop Brexit this weekend, The Telegraph can reveal. The campaign will call on Parliament to give the public a vote on the terms of the final deal, with the chance to stay in the EU if they vote against it. MPs from all three major political parties, including Anna Soubry, a Tory, and Chuka Umunna, from Labour, will join forces with anti-Brexit campaigners to demand the chance to remain - branded The People's Vote. Richard Reed, a businessman and the vice-president of the National Union of Students, is also expected to speak at a rally in central London to launch the campaign on Sunday.
The Telegraph understands £1million has been raised by nine pro-Remain groups to fund the campaign, which already has a logo and poster. It comes as pro-Remain MPs and peers prepare to force the Prime Minister to reconsider the UK's Brexit position through a series of votes in the House of Lords after the Easter recess next week. Theresa May could face a number of heavy defeats as the Lords prepare to back amendments including one that could keep the UK in the customs union, making it impossible to conduct trade deals around the world.
Sir Bill Cash, chairman of the influential European Scrutiny Committee, told The Telegraph: "They are completely defying the British people who made a decision which was given to them by parliament itself. The latest polling says 65 per cent of the British people do not want a second referendum; they are living in a parallel universe." The People's Vote campaign is being led by Open Britain, the group backed by Peter Mandelson, the Labour grandee. Tony Blair and Nick Clegg have also worked closely with the group. Others include European Movement, which is chaired by Stephen Dorrell, the former Conservative Cabinet minister, and counts Ken Clarke and Lord Heseltine as key figures behind the scenes. It was revealed earlier that six of the major pro-Remain groups had moved into Millbank Tower to better coordinate their efforts to block Brexit. The Telegraph can reveal that the groups have been holding regular meetings to plan the bid for a second vote.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,469
In which our European Partners realise that the introduction of tariff barriers would be in nobodies interest........................
'If no one went no faster than what I do there'd be a sight less trouble in this world'
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 2,900
Nope, sorry, don't understand that one - Rotterdam is on the EU's external border vis-a-vis Asia etc and will continue to be. It WILL be a complete pain if the UK doesn't join the Common Transit Convention, but the effects would be felt at the Channel ports, not the Euroports.
ray hutstone likes this
(Not my real name.)
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
Button - you are the one who understands the problem. The Cap'n and his merry friends have not come to terms with the concept of a tariff firewall.
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 2,900
Well, I'm biased. The direct local concern is not any tariff barriers on what is currently intra-EU trade (though I hope sense will prevail and there won't be any to put another damper on volumes), but rather how non-tariff barriers and the inevitable UK and EU customs hoops for goods to jump through are going to work - even assuming D-day is 1.1.2021. And part of that 'how' equates to 'who', because 'they' sure as heck don't exist in anything like the right numbers now.
I'm fed up to the back teeth of one side banging-on about customs unions as if one would make any difference, and t'other side yelling "project fear" the moment any practical, operational issues are raised.
(Not my real name.)
Guest 1881- Registered: 16 Oct 2016
- Posts: 1,071
Didn't the world collapse on 01.01.2000 because of the catastrophic Y2K computer glitch? The dark ages we are in now will no doubt be doubly dark agey come Brexit deadline +1.
Just because you don't take an interest in politics doesn't mean that politics won't take an interest in you. PERICLES.