NI Protocol: UK and EU appear to be on brink of new Brexit deal

[Nearly Sane]

I hope so.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64765375

[jeremyp]

I hope so.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64765375

Well, it looks good in principle. It remains to be seen whether green lane goods will find their way across the border anyway.

[Nearly Sane]

Well, it looks good in principle. It remains to be seen whether green lane goods will find their way across the border anyway.

I think there is a certain amount that will be deemed 'acceptable', though that won't be a written down part of the agreement.

[SqueakyVoice]

Well, it looks good in principle. It remains to be seen whether green lane goods will find their way across the border anyway.

The DUP do want a border between NI and RoI (they want to be part of the UK not outside it), so they might vote against this agreement  (still depends on publishing). If that did happen the ERG might vote against it as well, leaving the Labour Party to accept and pass the agreement  through.That's obviously  a lot of speculation.  The only part of non-speculation is that Rush! announced during PMQs that it would be announced  "tomorrow" (i.e. Thursday) but we (and the DUP and the Erg) are still waiting.

[SqueakyVoice]

(There's a picture at the top of this article, but now I'm finding introducing a picture harder than the Brevity protocol)....well, I'm a bit surprised that worked, but I'm getting somewhere.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/26/tory-brexiters-prepared-to-move-on-and-back-rishi-sunaks-northern-ireland-protocol-deal
Good grief. If only it was a Brevity deal, not a brexit deal. Predictive text is about as accurate as astrology.

[Nearly Sane]

So there is a deal, I hope it's accepted, and I hope it works.


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64789639

[SqueakyVoice]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2023/feb/28/rishi-sunak-uk-eu-northern-ireland-deal-brexit-tories-labour-politics-live

reports, sources say he (Boris Johnson) is still considering what to do. But this morning Johnson looks diminished. As Paul Waugh writes in the i, “the real win for Sunak may be that he’s finally weaning his party off its addiction to Boris Johnson”.

The only thing he's  interested  in is himself. If it was upto me, I'd  shove him in a fridge. Permanently.

[Aruntraveller]

Sunak's messaging on this is not short on irony though:

Sunak says being in single market and UK makes Northern Ireland 'world's most exciting economic zone'

[Udayana]

Sunak's messaging on this is not short on irony though:

I think what he means is that they have good access to the single market but still have the freedom to hide millions from the tax man in anonymous offshore accounts.
 

[SqueakyVoice]

I think what he means is that they have good access to the single market

but unfortunately,  England doesn't,  Wales doesn't and Scotland doesn’t. They're all stuck with oven ready turnip deals now (I think that's the irony Art's mentioned).

but still have the freedom to hide millions from the tax man in anonymous offshore accounts.

I'd be interested to read where that's come from? As far as I'm  aware, there are lots of ways of using lots of off shore shares, but Northen Ireland?

[Udayana]

but unfortunately,  England doesn't,  Wales doesn't and Scotland doesn’t. They're all stuck with oven ready turnip deals now (I think that's the irony Art's mentioned). I'd be interested to read where that's come from? As far as I'm  aware, there are lots of ways of using lots of off shore shares, but Northen Ireland?

Not NI by itself but together with the rest of the UK.

My initial interest was taken by:
Brexit: Claims about EU tax rules fact-checked
- this concludes that, by the time we were too leave the EU in 2020 the EU Anti Tax Avoidance directive rules (2016) were part of UK law, so were not a reason for the urgency with which brexiters pushed for brexit in 2016 (this seems logically wrong to me).

So, what if they are part of UK law - are they being actively implemented? I suggest not, and expect each new effort by Rees-Mogg to rid UK law of those adopted whilst in the EU to further water them down.

The only major UK push on anti-corruption measures since 2016 was under Theresa May, this essentially failed with her government, and most remaining UK anti-corruption/tax evasion/avoidance legislation is full of loopholes (not that the EU has made great progress either).

https://www.transparency.org.uk/corruption-and-uk/Dirty%20Money
 

[Stranger]

Sunak's messaging on this is not short on irony though:

John Crace on the subject: Sunak decides the protocol sucks and the single market is great, after all.

[SqueakyVoice]

John Crace on the subject: Sunak decides the protocol sucks and the single market is great, after all.

This guy was telling us how wonderful the EU single market was and how lucky Northern Ireland was to remain part of it. So it couldn’t have been Rishi Sunak. The Sunak we know and don’t really love campaigned vigorously to get the UK out of the EU and the single market. Had been adamant that Brexit wouldn’t be Brexit unless the UK left the single market.

[SqueakyVoice]

Not NI by itself but together with the rest of the UK.
...
My initial interest was taken by:
Brexit: Claims about EU tax rules fact-checked
https://www.transparency.org.uk/corruption-and-uk/Dirty%20Money
 

Thanks Udayana, that makes a lot more sense to me now.

[Aruntraveller]

Found elsewhere:

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
[copied to The Belfast Telegraph]
Rishi Sunak claims that Northern Ireland will have "privileged" access to the UK and EU markets, and that it is now "the world's most exciting economic zone".
I now demand that England, Scotland and Wales enjoy the same privileges in this regard as Northern Ireland.
Anything else is a threat to the unity and integrity of the United Kingdom and the equality that must be maintained between its four nations.
I expect the DUP to support my demand in full.
I also call on the Labour Party to withhold participation at Westminster until this matter is satisfactorily addressed.

[Nearly Sane]

What a wee prick Johnson is!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64823710

[Nearly Sane]

DUP voting against

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65008991

[SqueakyVoice]

https://liveapp.inews.co.uk/2023/03/20/brexit-deal-rishi-sunak-set-to-face-down-dup-over-stormont-boycott-after-party-rejects-windsor-framework/content.html

Rishi Sunak set to face down DUP over Stormont boyott after party rejects revised Brexit deal

[SqueakyVoice]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2023/mar/21/hardline-tory-mps-reject-sunaks-northern-ireland-brexit-plan-video

That's from the ERG mob (pronounced 'Uergh').

Francois strongly indicated the group would recommend voting against the plan in the Commons on Wednesday, but said a final decision would be made at another meeting before the debate.

[Nearly Sane]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11889247/Boris-Johnson-Liz-Truss-Priti-Patel-vow-join-DUP-against-Brexit-deal-today.html


Truss, Patel, and Johnson voting against deal that's considerably better in the terms they spoke about when they voted for their deal.

[Aruntraveller]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11889247/Boris-Johnson-Liz-Truss-Priti-Patel-vow-join-DUP-against-Brexit-deal-today.html


Truss, Patel, and Johnson voting against deal that's considerably better in the terms they spoke about when they voted for their deal.

Did you expect any more of them?

[Nearly Sane]

Did you expect any more of them?

No, but worth highlighting that they remain lying pieces of shite

[Aruntraveller]

No, but worth highlighting that they remain lying pieces of shite

Always at the forefront of my political thinking.

[Nearly Sane]

Interesting attack on Johnson by Steve Baker who has apparently now been thrown out of the ERG Whatsapp Group


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65034260

[Nearly Sane]

.