The Brexit Thread

[ad hoc]

Thanks Etienne. Not quite sure why that link didn't work.

[Tubby Isaacs]

You have a touching faith in the Tory commitment to Scotland. As they become more and more a blood and soil English Nationalist party they will be more likely to treat the Scotch as the Czechs treated the Slovak ‘grievances’ before the split. A substantial part of their core vote in Scotland are the sort of folks that want Holyrood abolished or at least constrained, that rejoice in evidence of Scottish uselessness or fecklessness, that would probably welcome cuts in the block grant to parity with English regions of comparable size, even if it hurt them personally. Couthie Ruthie’s interests are irrelevant compared to What England (SE and racist middle class gammons GB wide) Thinks.

I wasn't saying they'd honour the Indyref commitment to Barnett or anything. I was saying that you could in abstract make a case for a new (maybe more Wales friendly?) formula, but the Indyref promises make that politically impossible. I don't know if Labour might at some point think "Fuck it, we're going nowhere here" and change the formula, but they shouldn't.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Andrea Jenkyns MP #StandUp4Brexit
Verified account
@andreajenkyns
Follow Follow @andreajenkyns
The liberal elite will never understand why so many people voted for #Brexit. For too long people have been sneered at for loving our country & believing that we can prosper beyond the EU borders. I love our Country, our Queen, our people & truly believe in Global Britain.

When it's pointed out that she's a Tory MP, married to another Tory MP, she invents a baffling distinction between this sort of the elite and the "liberal elite".

[Janik]

You have a touching faith in the Tory commitment to Scotland. As they become more and more a blood and soil English Nationalist party they will be more likely to treat the Scotch as the Czechs treated the Slovak ‘grievances’ before the split.

OK, run me through this, if you wouldn't be so kind? The Czech/Slovak bit, obviously. I'm not really seeing Sturgeon as a borderline fascist autocrat looking to carve out a country all of her own to exploit like a Medici prince, but you know, I'm open to convincing.

[Lang Spoon]

Sorry Janik, I was paraphrasing and probably misremembering some thing from Tony Judt. Who really hated Václav Klaus it seems.

[Lang Spoon]

I know f all about post communist Central Europe

[ursus arctos]

If only everyone involved with this issue was as honest

[Janik]

Tony Judt... who really hated Václav Klaus it seems.

Fair.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Rees Mogg and co are producing a hard Brexit blueprint. I'm quite encouraged by the fact they feel they have to do it, at last.

Seasoned observers predict the plan will include a Paul Ryan style magic asterisk.

[Moonlight Shadow]

It's going to be a masterpiece of magical realism with Minfford numerological flights of fancy heavily featured. I suspect it is strictly to bolster morale amongst brexit ultras, they will welcome it as gospel, it won't stand scruitiny for 5 minutes...

[Tubby Isaacs]

Plus legal arguments that nobody else takes seriously, from the people who used to say the European Communities Act was illegal.

As I say, it's quite good they feel they have to do this. Though I expect they'll stall for time with announcements about announcements.

[Snake Plissken]

https://twitter.com/JamesERothwell/status/1029797909146087430

The thread

I understand that senior members of Britain's road haulage industry came out of a recent meeting with Grayling where they were astonished by his lack of grasp of the key detail on Brexit

One of them, Kevin Hopper, who runs a major firm up in Yorkshire, said that he tried to explain to Grayling that if there is no Brexit deal then UK haulage drivers won't be able to drive in EU as their papers will be invalid

Grayling, he says, "looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language."

Kevin, who has 40 years industry experience, then showed to Grayling a copy of the EU's notice to stakeholders from the Commission's website, which confirms exactly that: no deal, no recognition of UK drivers. This document: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites...-transport.pdf …

Kevin says Grayling appeared to have never heard of this document but he insisted that "everything would be fine"

Kevin: "But what if there ISN'T a deal? Can you tell me, minister, what plans are there to remedy this situation?" Grayling: "Well, could you suggest anything?"

Kevin: I can't believe this
Grayling: What do you expect from me?
Kevin: I expect clarity
Grayling: What do you mean?
Kevin: I mean I want clarity
Grayling: I can't give you that

This was infuriating for Kevin and colleagues because they have **already** been forced to turn down contracts with EU countries as they don't know if they will be able to do those jobs.

The Department for Transport, however, says it is confident that there will be a deal with the EU but that everything will be fine if there is no deal. And that there will be plenty of permits in deal scenario.

Illustrates just how frustrated and angry businesses are with UK handling of these talks, The government appears to be sleepwalking towards no deal while claiming it's fine and dandy because there will be deal. There is a serious disconnect between what it says and what it does

Tl;dr: put Kevin in charge/ends

[San Bernardhinault]

In fairness, fuck lorry drivers and road haulage in general.

The story is illustrative of what a fuck up the whole thing is, but it's hard to feel sorry for them.

I may even have more sympathy for British agribusiness farmers getting fucked by their Tory friends than I have for Truck companies getting fucked by their Tory friends.

[Ginger Yellow]

Is there anyone who does think the no deal planning is fine and dandy?

[ursus arctos]

Other than Rees-Mogg and Co.?

[Patrick Thistle]

There is part of me that thinks it may result in some kind of violent uprising against the rich. Unlikely, I know.

[Eggchaser]

When everything does fall down, it's going to be the fault of the intransigent EU technocrats, traitors, Remoaners and the left wing media.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Yep and the random foreigner caught in the street....

[Logan Mountstuart]

In fairness, fuck lorry drivers and road haulage in general.

Ahem.

[Logan Mountstuart]

Without Eastern European drivers, the British transport industry would be even more up the creek than it is now.

[beak]

earworm

[Satchmo Distel]

On the road, you must be brave and fearless
On the road, you can listen to the wireless

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is there anyone who does think the no deal planning is fine and dandy?

Austin Mitchell (who is a "proper character" seems happy enough.

Austin Mitchell
@AVMitchell2010
The single market isn’t a free trade area. It’s a protectionist club paid for by members’ contributions (UK’s £11 billion and rising) rather than internal tariffs. Come out and UK gains revenue from its own tariffs and can overleap their’s by devaluation

[Ginger Yellow]

That doesn't speak to the planning at all. Obviously plenty of people think no deal is fine and dandy. I'm less convinced they think the planning for such an eventuality is. Indeed, many of them have criticised the government for not doing more to make it a credible threat.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I don't think cretins like Austin Mitchell engage their brains (or whatever is in AM's skull) enough to consider the need for planning.