He’s a proper Brian Blessed stand-in.
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We had a meeting with him about a proposed local housing development. It happened in the normal sized living room of a friend. He talks at the same volume regardless of location. You’re pretty much pinned to the rear wall.
Despite his confidence & assertive nature he can be put on the back foot if your argument is sound. But no-one really managed to shake him in the HoC today.
I was just surprised by his portrayal of the backstop. It almost sounded as if the EU had mistakenly allowed us an option to be getting more cake than expected and with no unilateral, legal exit route for them.
This guy?
the very same
Well I think old Geoffrey should have been wheeled out a bit sooner. Some interesting detail indeed.
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Wasn’t May muddling up the ECHR and ECJ originally & thinking they were both cut from the same cloth?
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Another Tory (dep att gen I think) was ploughing that same furrow on Ch4 news, but added the EU don’t like it either. He forgot to add that if we are using the backstops we haven’t negotiated a trade deal with the EU either. hey ho.
Rubber nozzles and back stops are the future.
Lol, our finest actor since Olivier
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This wasn’t quite the message on that bus.
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I liked the Gov lawyers’ angle:
The UK government’s lawyers argued that the case is purely hypothetical as “the UK does not intend to revoke its notification”, and ECJ judges should therefore refuse to rule on it.
This might make sense, but a really important aspect of Parliament is that it cannot bind itself - it can always change its mind. There’s a big difference between “the UK” and “this government” which those lawyers seem to have completely missed.
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The government can no longer threaten Remain leaning Tory rebels with the horror of No Deal now.
EDIT: However, ERG members might be threatened with the prospect of No Brexit.
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No need for alarm. It’s going to be like the USSR was with the added bonus that Chris Grayling will be handling logistics.
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Um. Access to the single market without four freedoms, yes, but does have a price tag, there are (as yet unspecified) contributions as part of the WA.
I thought fishing wasn’t part of the WA?
As for CU, we’d be in yet outside the EU trade policy, so the only Liam Foxy goods deals we could do would be bolt-on’s to any new FTA’s for goods into which the EU enters.
However, expect Liam Fox (or his assistant / hotel-room-sharing bumchum) to be swotting up on Services, IP, Public Procurement etc, cos that’s what our new trade policy will be all about. Which, seeing as we’re a services economy is perhaps no bad thing but it’ll be bonkers hard not least because item #1 on the demand sheet from our partner will be … wait for it Maybot …visas / freedom of movement for citizens of + students.
Is this for real ?
A colleague and I once bumped into Ian Paisley in a lift at the EP.
I was fucking terrified, but my colleague just said casually “good morning Dr Paisley.” He replied “good morning to you too” in his thunderous voice, and within the confines of an elevator it was quite a thing
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These seemed to be the circumstances (as I understood it) once we left ‘Transition’ with no deal yet finalised and went into the Backstop. No FoM either, Theresa’s dream outcome.
Yup, but there would be an budgetary contribution
Agaghahaaa. BBC have binned the debate.