Perhaps he "saw" the US as the new English Empire ?
Perhaps he "saw" the US as the new English Empire ?
innonimatu
the resident Cassandra
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2006
- Messages
- 15,068
Can't be, the americans failed to steal the jewed of the empire! It's independent.
While everyone's distracted by the Tory partying:
‘We won't diverge for the sake it it’ the PM says. Isn't that precisely what brexit is all about?
Brexit has been ‘big success’ says government – despite 60% of exporters struggling with red tape
Top business body calls for ‘urgent action’ to ease trading barriers
Boris Johnson’s government has claimed that Brexit has already proved a “big success” despite a new survey showing most British exports are struggling with red tape.
Top business body calls for ‘urgent action’ to ease trading barriers
Boris Johnson’s government has claimed that Brexit has already proved a “big success” despite a new survey showing most British exports are struggling with red tape.
Spoiler :
‘We won't diverge for the sake it it’ the PM says. Isn't that precisely what brexit is all about?
If exporting and importing companies have up-to-date ERP & software systems in place, a lot of red tape is handled in-system and between systems of customer-supplier & authorities without additional transactional hassle needing time and human effort.
If however that administration and communication needs all the time paper & pencil or fingers, eyes and keyboards.... getting data in and out systems...
No issue if you sell submarines, RR turbines, bulk chemicals, etc, etc but definitely a relative big cost for many ordinary products and smaller companies.
Getting your digitalisation up-to-date is a critical success factor
Companies lagging will feed the headlines with complaints and when they do not adapt feed their competitors with their market share.
Northern Ireland minister accused of breaching international law after he orders halt to agri-food checks at ports by midnight
Northern Ireland's agriculture minister has issued an order to halt all post-Brexit checks on food and farming products coming from the rest of the UK from midnight.
The agri-food checks at Northern Ireland's ports are required under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is designed to avoid the introduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Edwin Poots, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said he will seek an agreement from the power-sharing government on a way forward in the near future.
He said he made the decision based on legal advice but Sinn Fein, the party the DUP shares power with, said it was unlawful and "a stunt".
The Irish government said halting checks would effectively be a breach of international law.
It is unclear whether the senior civil servant in Mr Poots' department, Anthony Harbinson, will comply with the order and it may only become clear once the first ferries arrive at ports on Thursday morning.
The unilateral decision by a DUP minister to halt Brexit checks at Northern Ireland ports raises more questions than answers.
Will civil servants comply with the order or, having sought their own legal advice, ignore it?
If they comply and end the checks, how will the EU protect the integrity of its Single Market?
Could the Irish government come under pressure to establish a land border, the very thing the Protocol was designed to avoid?
If they ignore the agriculture minister's ruling, will the DUP resign Paul Givan as Northern Ireland's first minister?
It is worth remembering that Northern Ireland is just three months away from an Assembly election.
Every day without breakthrough in the EU/UK negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol puts further pressure on Stormont.
This has always been more about politics than trade and we could be witnessing the beginning of the end of this devolved government.
Westminster said it will not intervene with the order to halt checks, saying it was a "matter for the Northern Ireland Executive".
The agri-food checks at Northern Ireland's ports are required under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is designed to avoid the introduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Edwin Poots, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said he will seek an agreement from the power-sharing government on a way forward in the near future.
He said he made the decision based on legal advice but Sinn Fein, the party the DUP shares power with, said it was unlawful and "a stunt".
The Irish government said halting checks would effectively be a breach of international law.
It is unclear whether the senior civil servant in Mr Poots' department, Anthony Harbinson, will comply with the order and it may only become clear once the first ferries arrive at ports on Thursday morning.
The unilateral decision by a DUP minister to halt Brexit checks at Northern Ireland ports raises more questions than answers.
Will civil servants comply with the order or, having sought their own legal advice, ignore it?
If they comply and end the checks, how will the EU protect the integrity of its Single Market?
Could the Irish government come under pressure to establish a land border, the very thing the Protocol was designed to avoid?
If they ignore the agriculture minister's ruling, will the DUP resign Paul Givan as Northern Ireland's first minister?
It is worth remembering that Northern Ireland is just three months away from an Assembly election.
Every day without breakthrough in the EU/UK negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol puts further pressure on Stormont.
This has always been more about politics than trade and we could be witnessing the beginning of the end of this devolved government.
Westminster said it will not intervene with the order to halt checks, saying it was a "matter for the Northern Ireland Executive".
I think it's even narrower than that.
Poots is stuck for a seat in the May elections as Donaldson intends to stand in his current constituency alongside another sitting DUP MLA, current First Minister Paul Givan. (multi seat constituencies it currently has two DUP and definitely won't return three in May)
So Poots put his name down in a different constituency but wasn't selected.
I'd call it a hail mary pass to keep himself relevant to the base but I don't think Mr Poots would recite that prayer.
Poots is stuck for a seat in the May elections as Donaldson intends to stand in his current constituency alongside another sitting DUP MLA, current First Minister Paul Givan. (multi seat constituencies it currently has two DUP and definitely won't return three in May)
So Poots put his name down in a different constituency but wasn't selected.
I'd call it a hail mary pass to keep himself relevant to the base but I don't think Mr Poots would recite that prayer.
I thought I'd revive this thread with updated news about the Brexit divorce settlement. Whether you believe the OBR's 2020 figure of £32.9 bn or the Treasury's 2021 estimate of £37.3 bn, the Treasury quietly slipped out an updated estimate yesterday of £42.5 bn, of which we've paid £5.8 bn as of last year. As pointed out by someone on Twitter, it's less Project Fear and more Project Here.
The damage is staggering. How anyone supporting Brexit hasn't been hung at this point is bonkers.
Zardnaar
Deity
It's what people wanted. UKs a democracy they voted for this. Pro Brexit camp lied theirvass off.
Hopefully people will learn from listening to hucksters. They probably won't let's face it.
Unfortunately its far more comforting to believe in a fantasy than it is to believe in reality. Ironic really that they then call the ones who point out the problems snow flakes. When they are disbelieving of reality. I was never a huge fan of the EU. But it was obvious that the vote leave team were selling a lie.
Zardnaar
Deity
Not it's not, lol.
To be clear: people voted on a non-binding referendum to leave the EU. Nobody voted that they'd be okay with damages, or costs, or whatever. That wasn't what was voted on. Even the people that were arguably okay with us leaving the Union can't be assumed to be okay with how things turned out. Some of them still are, for sure. But others are not.
Zardnaar
Deity
They still voted for it though.
In hindsight (well it's predictable let's face it) I think you would get a different result.
It's a result some people didn't like.
Personally for decisions of that magnitude I think you need something like 66%+ for or against.
Governments of the day lurching around aren't a great idea.
They voted to leave, sure. I'm just saying in context of the massive amount of money it's costed, that nobody voted for that.
Maybe more people should've been aware of it (and people certainly shouldn't be denying it now), but I'm just pointing out the vote itself wasn't for "costing us millions and millions of pounds".
The EU are launching further infringement procedures:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4663
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4663
Zardnaar
Deity
People don't vote intellectually. You'll never see a neo lib party state that "vote for us to make ourselves and dodgy mates richer, you plebs can eat cake".
But thats basically whats gonna happen.
Well, in 2015, David Cameron literally promised to reduce some aspect of social security (I can't remember what, exactly) if he was elected with a majority, and yet he still got in. It must have been the lure of his monstrously stupid Brexit referendum that caused people to vote to be stabbed in the front instead.
