May - Brexit Negotiation Statement

[Lou2U]

I don’t know how many on CAF are keeping up with Brexit news.

PM Brexit negotiations statement: 21 September 2018

Prime Minister Theresa May gives an update on the Brexit negotiations.

www.gov.uk

A few hours ago, May made a speech about her position on Brexit in response to the EU criticising her plan. This should not have been news to her, considering the EU have told her that the Chequers deal is a no-go ever since she made it in July.

However Mrs May is now attempting to pin all blame for this on the EU, which is a massively cowardly move. For her to act otherwise is disingenuous in the extreme.

While both sides want a deal, we have to face up to the fact that - despite the progress we have made - there are two big issues where we remain a long way apart. The first is our economic relationship after we have left. Here, the EU is still only offering us two options.

Yesterday Donald Tusk said our proposals would undermine the single market. He didn’t explain how in any detail or make any counter-proposal.

Mrs May has known that Chequers was not going to be the end game since July. She has done nothing about this. Now I believe we are speeding towards a no-deal which will be catastrophic for the UK. As a country we are in no way prepared for this. Most likely there will be food, medicine and power shortages. Britain will not be able to fly across EU skies because the qualifications of pilots will not be recognised and ships will not be able to sail for the same reason. People from the UK living in the EU will not be able to access their money from British banks if they have a Visa or Mastercard card. Businesses relying on Just In Time manufacturing are unprepared for the checks and waits a no-deal Brexit will create. Already other businesses are moving out of the UK. Checks will cause a massive tailback that this country does not have a solution for. Above all, a no-deal Brexit will automatically create a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which is a situation all are trying to avoid.

 

[niceatheist]

Perhaps UK voters should have thought a bit more carefully before actively rejecting Britain’s largest trading partner. Surely they must have known the likes of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Nigel Farage were shameless liars, they don’t even bother concealing it. Perhaps British voters need the harshest kind of lesson, and a few years of economic catastrophe will teach them that people like Johnson would literally burn down Number 10 just to rule over the ruins.

 

[Ardent_Fire]

Ugh.

I’m American living in the UK. My husband is an EU citizen. Needless to say this has not been great for us. I’m getting UK citizenship just to ensure that we won’t lose our rights to work and stay. Verbal promises from May don’t mean anything.

I tried to talk my husband into moving away years ago. Right now I wish he would have listened. He didn’t want to “start over again” – but if things get bad we may have to do that anyway.

It’s been a knot of anxiety that has been sitting in the pit of my stomach for 2 years now.

 

[Lou2U]

Perhaps UK voters should have thought a bit more carefully before actively rejecting Britain’s largest trading partner.

Exactly. The Leave Campaign was run on lies, something which has been proven in court - but for some reason, according to May, we need to respect the results of a referendum.

Surely they must have known the likes of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Nigel Farage were shameless liars, they don’t even bother concealing it.

And the fact they all ran away from responsibility as soon as it was over just goes to show, doesn’t it. Johnson hides his power-hungry ambition behind a sheen of buffoonery. Watch for him over the next few weeks, he’s manoeuvering himself back into a position of power.

It’s just laughable. Rees-Mogg, another Brexiteer in the ilk of Johnson has a company which is advising its clients to get their money out of the UK.

Perhaps British voters need the harshest kind of lesson

Sadly I fear you may be right. It’s not something I want as British citizen but everyone in a position of power is convinced it’ll all come out in the wash. That just isn’t true and it’s that wilful ignorance which will seriously impede us.

 

[Lou2U]

I’m so sorry @Ardent_Fire. I feel the same - my country is wilfully chucking itself off a cliff and no-one seems to be doing anything to stop it.

It’s just horrific. My future is not better outside of the EU. I’m ashamed at how we are conducting ourselves.

 

[tomarin]

Why isn’t anyone suggesting the Norway option?

 

[Lou2U]

Why isn’t anyone suggesting the Norway option?

It has been. May won’t accept it as it means we would remain in the single market.

It is the least damaging form of Brexit.

The only thing May wants is Chequers. Chequers and nothing else.

 

[Lou2U]

Some more cheery news for us all.

http://www.comresglobal.com/polls/eef-manufacturing-sector-brexit-survey/

• One in six (16%) manufacturing business decision makers in the UK say that business would become untenable for them if the UK reverted to WTO tariffs, increased border checks on people and increased border checks on goods
• Half (55%) say that business would become more difficult for them in the situation above
• With 6 months to go until Britain leaves the EU, four in five (83%) say that they are currently not prepared for a no-deal Brexit. Two in five (43%) say they are not prepared and will not be preparing

(bolding mine)

 

[Lou2U]

Johnson hides his power-hungry ambition behind a sheen of buffoonery. Watch for him over the next few weeks, he’s manoeuvering himself back into a position of power.

And right on cue, here he is:

Boris Johnson: Chuck Chequers for Super Canada Brexit plan

Boris Johnson urges the government to negotiate a Canada-style free deal to "fulfil the instruction of the people".

news.sky.com

This link (Sky News) has a good explanation of what his plan means.

Edit - Johnson not ruling out a leadership bid. Again, unsurprising.

Brexit: Boris Johnson refuses to rule out Theresa May challenge

But the ex-foreign secretary tells the BBC his focus is on averting economic "disaster" after Brexit.

www.bbc.co.uk

Conservative Party Conference begins in two days. The European Research Group (led by Rees Mogg) aren’t backing down with their opposition of Chequers. They would prefer a no-deal crash out. May is also in trouble as approximately 40 other MPs are pushing for a softer Brexit than the one Mrs May is prepared to give.

She’s stuck beween a rock and a hard place entirely of her making.

The Conservative Party Conference begins on the 30th. It’s not going to be a fun one for May.

 

[Lou2U]

I’ve also been reading through the House of Commons Briefing Paper on Brexit Unknowns - link is http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8408/CPB-8408.pdf. It has been written from the assumption that there will be a trade deal.

What strikes me about it is how Chequers is still being viewed as a viable place for the UK government to start negotiations from. It is not, and has not been ever since it was created in July.

The summary of the document (pages 5 to 8) show just how little the government still knows with 6 months to go.

Edited - adding a quote from the document:

Some of the ‘unknowns’ flagged up in our first Brexit Unknowns briefing paper in November 2016 have now been somewhat or largely clarified, while others are still unknown or largely unknown, or have given rise to further ‘sub-unknowns’. There are now also more ‘known unknowns’ and there are likely to be many other ‘unknown unknowns’.