A year it is then …
If the red lines are moved they’d negotiate but not if she leaves her approach as is.
Did anyone else catch the Nick Boles interview on Politics Live. Fascinating and a possible way out of this mess. A very erudite speaker.
It’s the last segment of the programme and worth watching on iPlayer.
Just watched it. He puts his case across very well and doesn’t allow the cunt that is Neil to bully him, but I’m not sure his plan would get much support from the ERG nutjobs.
just finished watching that, despite Niel’s best efforts trip him up he spoke very well with concise replies.
I think everyone can see that there’s no universal panacea. It’s about compromises at this stage and that looks like a viable option to me.
Next EU Parliament elections 23rd May.
Can’t see them giving longer than that. The roundabout goes on, whether we’re on or off.
Or neither up, nor down.
Oh, I agree. There isn’t even a fantasy deal that could garner universal support. It just depends on how much compromise each player is willing to make.
That’s why I think May’s talks are a thinly disguised attempt to get the ERG and DUP onside, after which, if successful, she can just fuck the rest of them off.
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Just watched it. It’s a plan. But
- We’d stay in the single market so we have to continue allowing freedom of movement
- We’d stay in the CU so we can’t cut our own trade deals (although maybe one day a solution to the Irish border would be found and then we could leave the CU if we wanted, and in the meantime maybe we could have negotiated an FTA so our car industry etc wouldn’t go down the pan)
- We’d be subject to the rulings of a court, one of whose principles is to align itself with the ECJ
- We’d have to carry on paying in - he reckoned perhaps half what we’re paying now
- We’d have to join EFTA which might meet some resistance from the current members, but maybe that could be overcome
He quoted Stephen Kinnock who said “It’s moving house but not leaving the neighbourhood”.
I’d vote for it (then again, I’d still vote to remain). But how many of the Leavers would ? And how much trouble would the Leavers who don’t like it go on to kick up ? And do we care ?
EDIT: Here is why the FT thought it would be iffy 6 weeks ago. Of course that was then and this is now.
EDIT II: Boles’ plan doesn’t ‘block No Deal’, by the way, any more than Theresa May’s deal did. It could fail like May’s did, or it could also not be agreed by the EU. Then we’d be facing No Deal again just as we’re facing it now.
VB
Given the parliamentary arithmetic even with the ERG and DUP on side she will still need every other Tory MP, or a decent portion of Labour MP’s, to vote for any deal and that seems very unlikely.
I think her (and the Tories) best option is to work out a half acceptable deal and then outflank Labour by saying she will put it to a peoples vote, before Labour make that their official policy.
Here’s some polling which says Boles’ plan might fly. Tory party members really don’t like it. People who voted Leave don’t like it either but not so strongly. I note the very last line of the piece though, where the pollsters comment that they didn’t remind the survey participants that this means keeping full freedom of movement. They feel that if they had it might have put a lot more people off.
VB
It’s a full on feud now
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If Bercow believes that to be true he could do the government a lot of damage. Bloody stupid time to threaten him given what we think we know about his personality.
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Yes. Revenge is a dish much better served cold.
VB
OTOH it may be a cunning plan. How could he possibly be seen to be even slightly partisan against the government with this in the open?
Yet he’s the first speaker to be elected for three terms since WW2 (twice unopposed.)
If only those poor MPs could vote on who should stand up for them.
It’s straight from the trump playbook - go for the man, sod the ball.
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So not just the Corblimey refusing to come to the table…
But Blackford has already been there. One of the first to accept the offer.
I believe Ian Blackford, SNP leader in the HoC, met with TM last night and this tweet is Sturgeon’s response to that meeting.
I stand corrected.