Has anyone already referred to this party:

 Former Covid taskforce head 'sorry' for Cabinet office party

The chief executive of Sheffield City Council, Kate Josephs, has admitted she attended a drinks gathering at the Cabinet Office on 17 December 2020 when she was head of the Covid taskforce.

“I am truly sorry that I did this,” she said in a statement.

She said the drinks were held to mark her leaving the civil service, and that she has been cooperating with Sue Gray’s investigation.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/202...

The head of the Covid taskforce?

Does anyone else remember the name Koo Stark (IIRC)? Vaguely, but I don't remember any details. Was she also under age, or was it just Andrew living up to his nickname Randy Andy?

Das wäre natürlich schon ein Schlag für die unabhängige Berichterstattung, allerdings passiert sowas auch, weil jahrzehntelang mit den Gebühren Quizshows und ähnlicher Schwachsinn produziert wird. Die Diskussion gibt's wegen der GEZ ja auch. Und es ist einfach eine Tatsache, dass junge Leute das staatliche Fernsehen weniger und weniger nutzen - aber andererseits durch Netflix & Co daran gewöhnt sind, ein Abo abzuschließen, wenn sie es nutzen wollen. Ich finde es durchaus richtig, das System mal zu überdenken.

Im Independent, nicht als Tory-Fansite bekannt, schreibt z.B. jemand:

The first is that she was throwing a bone to the hard right wing sect that now controls her party and that hates the BBC almost as much as it hates the EU. A cheap bone at that. [...] The second interpretation, and this is the one that should make some of those among Auntie’s suits uncomfortable, is that she might have a point.

The licence fee, which is basically a poll tax, started to look anachronistic as soon as multi-channel pay TV had firmly established itself.

Weiter hier

Das wäre natürlich schon ein Schlag für die unabhängige Berichterstattung, allerdings passiert sowas auch, weil jahrzehntelang mit den Gebühren Quizshows und ähnlicher Schwachsinn produziert wird.

Ich weiß es ja nicht, aber ich glaube mal, dass viele Gebührenzahler die Quizshows etc lieber sehen als die Berichterstattung. :)

Allerdings - weil hier gerade die Ten o'clock News laufen: BBC selbst sieht es wie der Independent. Was immer kommt oder wie sie es machen - wenn sie die jüngeren Generationen nicht interessieren, dann können sie sich nicht rechtfertigen.

Ich vermute, das ist ähnlich wie in Deutschland: Sie können Unterhaltungsformate, Krimis, Spielserien und dergleichen nicht rechtfertigen, weil die ebensogut kommerziell, ohne öffentliches Geld, produziert werden könnten und ihr Publikum fänden -- ob nun in Privatsendern oder in Streaming-Diensten.

Für ihren Journalismus dagegen brauchen sie sich nicht zu rechtfertigen, denn der ist gut, würde kommerziell nicht funktionieren und wird gesellschaftlich gebraucht -- dringend, scheint mir, denn nie waren wir so viel Desinformation, Propaganda und schlichtem Unfug ausgesetzt wie seit der Erfindung der sozialen Medien.

Jeden Tag neue Wundermittel gegen das Coronavirus, von der Bleiche bis zur Pferdewurmkur: Man stelle sich vor, es gäbe kein seriöses Gegengift gegen all diesen toxischen Informationsmüll.

Für ihren Journalismus dagegen brauchen sie sich nicht zu rechtfertigen, denn der ist gut, würde kommerziell nicht funktionieren

Kannst du mir erklären, weshalb das für Radio und Fernsehen gilt, nicht aber für Tageszeitungen?

Brauchen wir vielleicht Staatszeitungen um gut mit Nachrichten versorgt zu werden?

Dominic Cummings stellt sich gegen BoJo:

https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/boris-johnson-...

Zitat:

Cummings warf Johnson nun vor, das Parlament belogen zu haben. Es habe sich tatsächlich um eine Party gehandelt, so Cummings. Er und andere Augenzeugen seien bereit, unter Eid auszusagen, um den Premier zu belasten, so der Ex-Berater weiter.

Bei Cummings war das nicht anders zu erwarten, aber BoJo's Freund Dominic Lawson macht auch sehr konkrete Anschuldigungen hier:

https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/...

No 10 has denied that Boris Johnson told aides objecting to the “bring your own booze” garden party he attended that they were “overreacting” to the staging of the event.

The allegation – put forward by his close friend Dominic Lawson, a newspaper columnist – would contradict the prime minister’s claim that he did not realise the gathering was a party.

[...]

“I spoke to a former Downing Street official who said at least two people had told the PM, after seeing the emailed invitation from his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, that this was “a party” and should be immediately cancelled.

“I was told that Johnson’s dismissive response was to say they were “overreacting” and to praise Reynolds as “my loyal Labrador”.

Loyal Labrador klingt schon witzig

Vor zwei Tagen Operation Big Dog und jetzt Red Meat. Geht es noch alberner?

Jetzt startet Johnson die "Operation rotes Fleisch"

Wie ernst es Boris Johnson ist, lässt sich auch an der Wortwahl des britischen Premierministers erkennen: Der Codename "Operation Red Meat" ("Operation rotes Fleisch") soll laut mehreren Medienberichten aktuell durch die Downing Street Nummer 10 in London geistern. Gemeint ist damit Johnsons großer Plan, politisch wieder in die Offensive zu kommen – und möglicherweise seine Karriere zu retten.

Boris Johnson vor dem Aus? Jetzt startet die "Operation rotes Fleisch" (t-online.de)

Ob das jetzt das Feuern von lieb gewonnenen Vertrauten ist oder so, ist mir noch nicht klar.

dass Blödheit vom Umfang eines Planeten ihn wählbarer macht?

Zwei Dinge sind unendlich. Das Universum und die Dummheit. (Den Rest kennt ihr sicher.)

Woran merkt man, dass Johnson lügt? Er atmet ...

Of course Cummings is an inveterate liar too.

Conservative MP Christian Wakeford has jumped ship to Labour.

Conservative MP and former minister David Davis, quoting Conservative Leo Amery's advice to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in presumably 1940 (?), has a message for Johnson:

"You have sat there too long for all the good you have done. In the name of God, go.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/202...

Yes, Wik, I just noticed that you had amended your statement.

I was quoting from the movie. "Cromwell" 1970 (I think). Oh, the irony! R.H. plays O.C.

You can see the speech scene here:

https://speakola.com/political/oliver-cromwel...

You could probably find the entire movie somewhere online.

On BBC News website today:

Boris Johnson says he has "seen no evidence" of blackmail in his party after claims by one of his own MPs.

William Wragg - who has called on the PM to resign over parties at No 10 - said suspected plotters have been threatened with bad publicity and cuts to constituency funding.

He has advised colleagues who feel threatened to go to the police.

An ex-Tory MP who defected to Labour, Christian Wakeford, also said he was threatened over funding for a school.

Mr Johnson told reporters: "I have seen no evidence [and] heard no evidence."

But asked if he would look into the reports, he replied: "Of course."

Re: BJ's "I have seen no evidence [and] heard no evidence." I am reminded of another famous historical quotation (commonly rendered as "I see no ships") by Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen (see for example: https://jonathangifford.com/april-2nd-1801-i-... )

"But asked if he would look into the reports, he replied: "Of course."" - to see whether they contained any interesting pictures ...

Allmählich wird es mehr als nur unanständig ...

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/marcus-rashford-fr...

"Tory 'blackmail': Oppose free school meals or deprived pupils lose funds, MPs told

Members of the government threatened to withhold funding for schools in deprived constituencies unless Tory MPs voted against extending free school meals.

Senior government figures warned Conservative MPs at the height of a row between ministers and Marcus Rashford that the funding was at risk if they went ahead and voted for a Labour plan to extend the meal vouchers.

The warning came in the days leading up to a crunch vote in October 2020 on a motion put forward by Sir Keir Starmer's party that called for free school meals to be provided to children from disadvantaged backgrounds over the Christmas holiday.

A number of Tory MPs were considering voting for the Labour motion and against the government, which at the time was opposing the extension of free school meals – leading to an aggressive whipping operation from ministers and government whips."

Das "a" in "Tories" steht für "Anständigkeit".

Back to Brexit:

https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/...

"Trucks are stuck in port for days due to UK’s new Brexit red tape

Some lorries bringing goods from the EU to the UK have been stuck at border ports for up to four days as British logistics bosses blamed disruption on “terrible” new Brexit red tape.

Truck drivers have reported queues of up to eight hours trying to get through the UK customs controls in the French port of Calais, causing delays in deliveries as firms struggle with new rules that came into force at the start of the month.

Jon Swallow, who runs logistics company Jordan Freight, said he has had two trucks that came from the EU with car parts stuck at customs controls at Felixstowe for the past four days.

“We just don’t know what the problem is,” Mr Swallow said. “We’ve been told by customs that they are just too busy to deal with it.”

Customs experts said problems were partly down to the new British IT system, which means all EU exports into the UK must be processed using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) managed by the revenue and customs service (HMRC). Many drivers have been unable to get their reference codes accepted."

Was las ich letztens: We are now stuck in the longest "I f***ing told you so"-phase of all times".

Sorry, this is not specifically Brexit, but where the Johnson government is concerned one grotesqueness seems to bleed into another.

Treasury minister announces shock resignation in Lords in protest at government handling of fraudulent Covid business payments

Lord Agnew of Oulton has resigned his post as a minister based jointly in the Treasury and in the Cabinet Office in a surprise statement from the dispatch box in the House or (sic) Lords. He said he was quitting because of his disapproval of the government’s response to the problem of fraudulent Covid business payments. He told peers:

"Given that I am the minister for counter fraud, it would be somewhat dishonest to stay on in that role if I am incapable of doing it properly.

It is for this reason that I have sadly decided to tender my resignation as a minister across the Treasury and Cabinet Office with immediate affect."

Last week the government admitted that it expected to write off more than £4bn in Covid payments that were claimed fraudulently.

Agnew received a rare round of applause in the Lords after he ended his statement.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/202...

More than GBP 4 billion of taxpayers' money!

 Aiwanger bestellte tonnenweise Reinigungszeug für teuer Geld, das dann zu nichts gebraucht wurde

Hätte er es nicht getan und hinterher hätten wir die Wischmops gebraucht wäre der Aufschrei genauso groß gewesen. Hinterher ist leicht lästern.

Re $53: It's a pity that Boris Johnson has to leave because of beer and cake, but not because of the poor implementation of the Brexit promise.

Die steigende Bedürftigkeit der Bevölkerung spielt gar keine Rolle? Wundert mich dann doch etwas.

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/nach-d...

24.01.2022

Nach dem Brexit

Inflation löst Ansturm auf britische Tafeln aus

In Großbritannien sinken die Reallöhne, während die Lebensmittel- und Energiekosten steigen. Die Einkommen vieler Briten reichen nicht mehr aus, um die Lebenshaltungskosten zu decken.

Ist es der Bevölkerung egal, ist meine Frage. Ich kenne es eigentlich so, dass eine sich verschlechternde wirtschaftliche Situation der jeweiligen Regierung angelastet wird, egal ob die etwas damit zu tun hat oder nicht. Noch keine torches and pitchforks in diesem Fall?

Now he will be remembered as booze-busted Boris and not how brilliant Boris bungled Brexit.

Das dürfte die viel größere Strafe oder Schmach sein. Wegen handwerklicher Fehler, widriger Umstände, böswilliger Gegner zu scheitern, hat zwar keine Auszeichnung verdient, der ganzen Gesellschaft auferlegte Regeln selber jedoch kaltschnäuzig zu ignorieren zeigt nur die charakterliche Insuffizienz und moralische Fragwürdigkeit dieses Individuums auf - wenn es das ist, was haften und von ihm im Gedächtnis der Nation übrigbleibt, sollte es mich freuen.

Ein schöner Artikel im Independent zu "party gate":

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/carrie-j...

"How she has moved the action up through the gears. There were no parties. I didn’t know about the parties. I wasn’t at the parties. I was at the parties but I didn’t know they were parties.

And now, wallop! It’s not merely that the most recent party was his own birthday party. Not merely that even he can’t claim he didn’t know it was a party when people were singing him “Happy Birthday” and he was blowing out candles on a cake.

It’s the wheeling into the cabinet room of the “wallpaper consultant” to present said cake, thus both rendering it impossible to be described as a work event (Lulu Lytle is not, as yet, in the cabinet), and also, just for the art of it, weaving together her two big scandals into one perfect, cake-based vignette.

An actual birthday party, against all the rules, in the very room where the rules were actually made. The sheer class of it, the jaw-dropping style.

Now we know it was always Carrie pulling the strings, it seems so obvious. The hundred-and ten-grand flat refurb she knew he would never pay for himself was a work of actual genius. What’s not clear yet is whether she and Dominic Cummings are actually working together, but for a woman of her suddenly obvious talents, the more plausible explanation is the more impressive. That she really did get him thrown out, creating the mortal enemy she needed."

Und dann auch noch Fabric*nt" - den Kerl müsste man erfinden, wenn's ihn nicht schon gäbe ... Und Dorries, die anscheinend wirklich so unfassbar dämlich ist, wie sie immer tut.

Well, this is just great: Car production in the UK slumped last year to its lowest level for 65 years

British car output fell by 41 percent last month to its lowest October level since 1956 

https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/uk-car...

https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/boris-johnson-...

Scotland Yard hat darum gebeten, dass weite Teile des Berichts über die Lockdown-Partys von Großbritanniens Premier Johnson nur mit geschwärzten Passagen veröffentlicht werden. Rechtsexperten kritisieren den Schritt scharf.

Interessant... oder eher WTF??? (man verzeihe meine Ausdrucksweise)

Und Brexitrelevant:

https://www.independent.ie/business/brexit/po...

A DUP Stormont minister will act unilaterally to halt Brexit checks at Northern Ireland ports, Stormont’s First Minister has said.

"Wenn der Schwanz mit dem Hund zu wedeln versucht", oder "Wahlkampf in Nordirland"...

#66 Ich kann ja verstehen, dass die Met nicht unbedingt ermitteln will: großer Aufwand, man tritt wichtigen und bekannten Leuten auf die Zehen, und was wäre das Ergebnis, wenn es zu Verurteilungen käme? Geldstrafe wahrscheinlich, und eine Gefahr für die Allgemeinheit besteht auch nicht mehr.

Die politische Komponente ist da schon brisanter. Wenn der PM wissentlich vor dem HoC, oder auch "nur" gegenüber der Öffentlichkeit mehrfach gelogen hätte, um einen Bruch der von ihm selbst beschlossenen Regeln zu verschleiern. Meiner Meinung nach wäre BoJo als PM nicht mehr vertretbar, aber natürlich ist das eine Entscheidung des HoC bzw der Wählerschaft bei der nächsten Wahl.

Zum NI-Protokoll:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish...

Aus einem Bericht der EU bezüglich der Kontrollen in der irischen See:

The report is highly critical of the implementation of these checks, noting: “The system is not fit for purpose, does not comply with EU rules and cannot provide sufficient assurances that only compliant animals and goods are permitted to enter the EU SPS [sanitary and phytosanitary] area through the designated border control posts in Northern Ireland.”

Staffing was cited as a major issue, with EU officials bemoaning an insufficient number of “suitably qualified staff so that official controls and other official activities can be performed efficiently and effectively”. [...]

Undertakings given in the United Kingdom’s unilateral declarations have also not been delivered,” the report concludes.“The system in place for controlling the entry of animals and goods into the EU SPS area via Northern Ireland border control posts does not, and cannot in the current circumstances, function effectively.”

Also erfüllt das UK seine vertraglich festgelegten Pflichten nicht. Wenn das so weitergeht wird sich die EU gezwungen sehen müssen, Sanktionen zu ergreifen. Natürlich hofft man momentan noch auf die Nachverhandlungen, aber wenn es da in absehbarer Sicht nicht weitergeht, kann das noch höchstinteressant werden.

that only compliant animals and goods are permitted to enter the EU

So no bad-tempered bulls trying to skewer you? ;-))

Und bei der Bevölkerung verfestigt sich die Einstellung "warum soll ich mich an Regeln halten, wenn die's nicht tun?"

"One rule for us, no rules for them" funktioniert auf Dauer nicht.

Vollkommen richtig. Ich sage ja auch nicht, dass die Met sich nicht damit befassen soll, sondern, dass ich verstehe kann, warum sich die Polizei erstmal nicht darum gerissen hat, die Sache zu untersuchen. Ich kann aber schwer nachvollziehen, wie genau die polizeiliche UNtersuchung durch die Veröffentlichung der "zivilen" Untersuchung beeinflusst werden sollte.

Der bei weitem wichtigere Anteil ist der politische, und genau da wäre es besonders wichtig, den Gray-Report möglichst vorgestern, vollständig und ungeschwärzt lesen zu können. Wenn BoJo eine Geldstrafe für den Bruch der Covid-Regeln zahlen müsste, interessiert das vielleicht die Klatschpresse; wenn es zu einem Misstrauensvotum gegen ihn im HoC käme, wäre das sehr viel folgenreicher.

You can read Ms. Gray's "report" titled

INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED GATHERINGS ON

GOVERNMENT PREMISES DURING COVID

RESTRICTIONS – UPDATE

here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/gove...

Note the designation UPDATE.

Ms. Gray does not consider this to be the final report. That will have to wait until the police have finished their investigations.

Nun ja, aber die Regel gibt's nun mal:

Parliaments and legislative bodies around the world impose certain rules and standards during debates. Tradition has evolved that there are words or phrases that are deemed inappropriate for use in the legislature whilst it is in session. In a Westminster system, this is called unparliamentary language and there are similar rules in other kinds of legislative systems. This includes, but is not limited to, the suggestion of dishonesty or the use of profanity. Most unacceptable is any insinuation that another member is dishonourable. So, for example, in the British House of Commons any direct reference to a member as lying is unacceptable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unparliamentary...

Man kann darüber streiten, ob das eine kluge Regel ist (ich bin hin- und hergerissen - ein sich gegenseitig mit Beleidigungen überschüttendes und als Nazis oder Kinderschänder bezeichnendes Unterhaus fände ich nicht unbedingt besser), aber ich sehe nicht, was der Speaker anderes hätte tun können.

#46 GBP 4 billion written off for fraudulent claims.

And a little bit more on material for the NHS:

https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/medizin/c...

18.05 Uhr: Die britische Regierung hat offensichtlich mehrere Milliarden Pfund für zu teure oder unnötige Corona-Schutzausrüstung gezahlt. Das Gesundheitsministerium habe insgesamt 8,7 Milliarden Pfund – mehr als zehn Milliarden Euro – abgeschrieben, meldete die Nachrichtenagentur PA am Dienstag unter Berufung auf Abrechnungen. So seien 673 Millionen Pfund für »völlig unbrauchbare« Ausrüstung gezahlt worden sowie 750 Millionen Pfund für Artikel, die nicht vor ihrem Verfallsdatum verwendet wurden.

Fast 2,6 Milliarden Pfund wurden demnach für Gegenstände ausgegeben, »die nicht für die Verwendung im (Gesundheitsdienst) NHS geeignet sind«. Das Ministerium hoffe aber darauf, diese Artikel noch verkaufen oder spenden zu können. Schließlich sei der Wert der Restbestände um 4,7 Milliarden Pfund eingebrochen. Grund seien die seit Pandemie-Beginn stark gefallenen Preise für Schutzausrüstung.

Some losses certainly are to be expected due to the urgency back in 2020 when everybody was scrambling for supplies. But the scale is quite impressive.

Und was hat Johnson auf die Vorwürfe von Keir Starmer als Antwort gewusst? Dass Starmer sich geweigert habe, wegen der Verbrechen von Jimmy Savile zu ermitteln.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb...

Es ist einfach nur widerlich, was dieser Typ so von sich gibt. Wieso kann der sich das eigentlich alles erlauben?

Bilden Sie einen sinnvollen Satz, in dem die Worte "Schiff, Ratten, sinkend, verlassen" vorkommen.

https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2022-02/b...

""Partygate":

Vier hochrangige Mitarbeiter von Boris Johnson treten zurück

Der britische Premier steht wegen der "Partygate"-Affäre zunehmend unter Druck. Jetzt haben vier enge Berater binnen weniger Stunden gekündigt."

#91 Das war schon mehr oder weniger angekündigt, siehe meine #65. Die Reaktionen aus der Republik sind ziemlich deutlich:https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politic...

He [Simon Coveney] said: “If a political decision is taken by a minister in Northern Ireland to stop all checks in ports on goods coming across the Irish Sea, coming into Northern Ireland, that is effectively a breach of international law.

Zusätzlich ist gestern der First Minister (DUP) zurückgetreten, und damit hat NI keine Regierung mehr.

Mr Givan's resignation, which comes into effect at midnight, will automatically remove Sinn Féin deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill from her job because, under Stormont's powersharing rules, one cannot hold office without the other.

Other Stormont ministers can remain in post but the Executive can no longer meet and is unable to take significant policy decisions.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politic...

Ganz großes Kino...

Zeit für einen eigenen Irland/Nordirland Faden im Quasselzimmer?

Darf ich für ein wenig Auflockerung sorgen? My apologies für evtl. Redundanz:

Fight For Your Right (To Party) - Boris Johnson x Beastie Boys

Ich auch!

*Edit* Update zu Bubbs Nr. 92; Rücktritt von Johnson-Mitarbeitern -- jetzt sind es fünf: https://inews.co.uk/news/downing-street-resig...

Der Irlandfaden is hier zu finden: related discussion: Was so in Irland passiert...

https://www.rte.ie/news/uk/2022/0205/1278030-...

Boris Johnson tells truth to best of his knowledge….

Dann sollte er mal schwer daran arbeiten sein “Knowledge” zu erweitern.

#90 https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/keir-starmer-p...

Diese [ZENSIERT] haben doch echt einen an der Klatsche. Und immer noch keine Reaktion von Boris?

Die Kontrollen in der Irischen See finden übrigens auf richterliche Anordnung weiter statt, bis zwei Klagen dagegen verhandelt sind.

Nein, bei ihm selbst sehe ich da Hopfen und Malz verloren.

Ich kann aber immer noch nicht begreifen, dass anscheinend weite Teile der Torries immer noch zu glauben scheinen, dass es mit ihm besser geht als ohne ihn. Aber wahrscheinlich wurden die Integeren und Intelligenten in der Partei über die letzten Jahre alle aufs Abstellgleis oder der Partei verwiesen.

Edit: es scheint doch noch ein paar anständige Torries zu geben: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/tori...

Kurzgefaßte Sprüche jeder Art weiß ich zu ehren, besonders wenn sie mich anregen, das Entgegengesetzte zu überschauen und in Übereinstimmung zu bringen.

It is horrifying though. Johnson “allies” were reported two days ago as having voiced the notion that things are going to be all right because “grownups” are now in charge of the new No. 10 team: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb... . The very use of such language shows how far from the truth the idea is. For anyone who missed the clip of Rees-Mogg responding to an Opposition question in the Commons a week or two before Christmas last year, it neatly sums up the depth of the man’s contempt for adult standards of discussion: https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/watch-... [scroll to a third of the page down]. The emotional illiteracy of Johnson and his cabinet, fueling the kind of dysfunctionalities we’ve been being made to witness for months and months, and especially intensely in the last couple of weeks, is—simply—staggering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqt0GU-ES88

Man muss gut hinhören.

"Premierminister Boris Johnson hatte infolge des Brexits mehr Handelschancen versprochen. Doch ein Bericht des Parlaments fällt ernüchternd aus: Der EU-Austritt habe zu mehr Belastungen geführt."

https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/br...

Wer hätte das gedacht...

Da wäre doch schonmal was Positives: https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/econom...

London darf weiterhin Euro Clearing machen, bis Mitte 2025:

The London Stock Exchange's LCH unit in London clears 90% of euro interest rate derivatives, a contract widely used by companies in the EU to insure themselves against unexpected moves in borrowing costs.

Mairead McGuinness, financial services chief at the executive European Commission, said she will also propose measures to reduce "our excessive dependence" on major clearers based outside the bloc and to improve the attractiveness of EU-based clearers while enhancing their supervision.

The EU was forced to extend clearing permission for LCH and two other clearers in London, ICE and LME Clear, after failing to persuade banks and their customers to shift the activity from London to Deutsche Boerse's Eurex in Frankfurt.

Ganz klar der Verdienst von JRM ;)

Weil Dame Cressida Dick im Zusammenhang mit Partygate und den Ermittlungen der Met erwähnt wurde:

Die wurde jetzt auch zurückgetreten, nicht von BoJo, sondern einem seiner politischen Gegner: https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0210/1279099-met... Ein Schelm, wer Böses dabei denkt, oder so ähnlich

That's a £230.000 p.a. job!

And more news from the banana monarchy, with the Minister for Brexit Opportunities (that his salary has doubled, now that’s what I call a Brexit opportunity!) "imploring" Sun readers to let him know “the [EU] regulations [they] want abolished.” It beggars belief.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17603553/sun-re...

Aus dem Sun-Aufruf von JRM (danke, Bion):

Thanks to Brexit, that has all changed. Sun readers can hold their MPs accountable, as the buck truly stops with them.

Hear, hear....

#132 Entschuldige, so wie ich meine #131 geschrieben habe ist das natürlich falsch und ziemlicher Blödsinn. Und du hast vollumfänglich recht. Asche auf mein Haupt!

Was ich sagen wollte, dass viele "Regulations im weiteren Sinn (also in erster Linie directives)", nicht EU Regulations im spezifischen Sinn, in nationales Recht umgesetzt wurden.

Wenn es um EU Regulations im eigentichen Sinn geht, stimme ich deiner #128 zu.

Ich denke, dass JRM da auch eher die "Regulations im weiteren Sinne" meint, aber da kann ich mich täuschen.

#133 Nach allem, was ich über JRM gelesen habe, würde ich ihn auch als Befürworter von Deregulierung einschätzen. Ob das für den kleinen Selbständigen im UK gut wäre, wage ich zu bezweifeln, aber das mag im Einzelfall deutlich unterschiedlich sein.

Ich würde aber (gewagt, gewagt) hoffen, dass in Bereichen wie pharmazeutische Produkte oder Lebensmmittel im Allgemeinen auch vom UK after Brexit ein gewisser Standard eingehalten werden wird. Da mögen sich die Regeln im Detail von denen der EU unterscheiden, aber ganz unreguliert kann ich mir das nicht vorstellen. Vieles was da als "EU red tape" bezeichnet wird, ist eher nationales Recht (was natürlich auch von der EU stark beeinflußt wurde).

Man erinnere sich an BoJos Erfahrungen mit einem Kipper: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul...

Nicht direkt Brexit, aber zumindest UK:

Oi, Lavrov, it's our job to make ludicrous Liz look foolish, not yours

Über den Besuch der brit. Außenministerin bei Lawrow.

Zudem ein 'rant' von A. L. Kennedy in der SZ vom Freitag über das Personal, das möglicherweise BJ beerben wird - von der viktorianischen Stabheuschrecke über die Innenministerin bis hin zum Finanzminister. Gute Lektüre.

Stinging analysis of Johnson’s, but also the US’s, Ukraine politics in today’s Guardian / Observer:

… ... Johnson’s made-in-Brexitland foreign policy: hug America, screw Europe. It’s a distasteful appeal to a shared though vanishing Anglo-Saxon heritage. It’s cynical, self-harming, dishonest, divisive and, most dangerous of all, it’s a gift to Putin. It’s not Macron who threatens western unity. It’s Big Dog.

...

To sum up. Pariah Putin, an international hooligan, triggered the Ukraine crisis and is now exploiting it. Macron, representing France and the EU, is trying hard to resolve it. And ill-judged, hardline and hostile American and British attitudes may yet cause him to fail.

Is this because Washington and London know what’s best for Europe? No. It’s because the US, projecting its national interests through Nato, and the feckless, lying windbag in Downing Street, cannot bear the thought of an empowered, strategically autonomous Europe successfully managing its own security.

This is England. This is Brexit. This is dismal.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/202...

Im BR kam gestern ein einstündiges Radiofeature zu den konkreten Auswirkungen des Brexit. Darin Logistiker, ein Chemieunternehmen, Musiker, Schausteller etc. Ich fand's recht interessant:

Brexit tut weh - Bilanz einer Trennung

Der Brexit sollte Großbritannien Aufschwung bringen. Das hat Boris Johnson, der exzentrische Premier seinen Landsleuten versprochen. Für die Wirtschaft bringt er aber vor allem Probleme, gerade wenn es um den Handel mit Deutschland und der EU geht.

https://www.br.de/mediathek/podcast/radiofeat...

Rees-Mogg backs post-Brexit push for UK to adopt other countries’ regulations

The ideologically-motivated, populist, divisive thrust of his Sun article 8 days ago was clear. Now, apparently, “Jacob Rees-Mogg has thrown his weight behind calls for the UK to unilaterally adopt other countries’ product regulations post-Brexit to avoid creating new red tape for international trade. … The Institute of Economic Affairs has said the UK should unilaterally keep the EU’s CE standards … and that this policy ‘should be adopted for all international trade where the rules of the exporting country meet the UK’s standards’.”

https://www.cityam.com/rees-mogg-backs-post-b...

The same site two or three days ago, in language as flatulent as that used by many of the Brexit politicians around at the moment, was touting the idea that Post-Brexit Britain gives us the burning platform we need to reach the UK’s economic potential. It provides the freedom to make our own big bets, lead the world on modern and empowering regulation …

https://www.cityam.com/dear-jacob-rees-mogg-i...

I don't have the expertise to know if contradictions are involved or not, and, if they are, to what extent. As with so much of the trade and administrative detail connected with Brexit one rapidly gets into extremely complex areas. But Rees-Mogg's bigotry, pettiness, not to say small-mindedness, and lack of principle are hard to overlook.

Another of the Brexiter’s hobbyhorses alongside blue passports, sovereignty, freedom, empowerment—imperial as against metric measures: https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/imperial-idi... As this article points out: “It took the New York Times to point out that ‘Britain introduced metric itself with no directive from the EU.’ The collective memory of Brexiteers, however, is that Brussels forced metrification on an unwilling British public.” Like the personal memories of their politicians the collective memory of Brexiters isn’t a reliable organ, but what the heck, truth’s all relative anyway.

Brexit: What have we learned so far?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g75OIszvopk

50-minute talk plus questions given by Anand Menon, director of UK in a Changing Europe, on Feb. 3, 2022. Worth watching-listening to.

Eminently clear on the main issues: inevitable ongoing difficulties, the constitutional issues (NI and the devolved nations), trade, non-tariff barriers, the economic effects so far, the projected effects, the economic situation of leave and remain voters.

Eminently rational though he is, Menon’s own prejudices go unquestioned. He speaks of the EU regulations etc. having worked their way into every nook and cranny of national life—as they were meant to do, as national governments had a hand in deciding. At one point he muses rationally enough on freedom of movement being (gist, not verbatim:) “weird when you think about it.” Unforgivably, in his penultimate section on what the UK has learnt about itself ("Who are we?"), he says nothing about the UK’s geopolitical aspirations and behavior, nor the deep-seated and, in my view, irresponsibly anachronistic hostility of Brexiters to the EU given the EU's, for want of a better word, "peace project" dimension.

I actually think that borders are weird when you think about it, but that's a different discussion.

https://www.politico.eu/article/canada-probes... 

Anscheinend will Kanada erreichen, dass das UK den Importbann von “Hormon-Beef” aufhebt, ansonsten wird es wohl nichts mit einer angestrebten Aufnahme ins CPTPP. Mal sehen, was aus dem Versprechen wird, dass das UK seine Standards nicht senken wird. Aber klar, versprechen kann sich jeder mal.

Und Bion, Danke für die interessanten Links! Gerne mehr davon.

Well, it's just swings and roundabouts:

All-Ireland trade booming in post-Brexit economy

Britain's loss has been Northern Ireland's gain when it comes to post-Brexit trade with the Republic of Ireland.

https://www.politico.eu/article/ireland-trade...

#147

Right. Menon addresses this in his talk (#144) at 22:50–23:05: "You’re finding a massive increase in north-south trade at the expense of east-west trade. And it’s not rocket science, is it? If you make east-west trade more difficult and you keep north-south trade the same, what’s going to happen? You don’t have to be a trained economist to figure out that you’re going to get some trade diversion."

A further request for guidance from the recently announced MfBO: https://radstock.nub.news/n/the-radstock39s-m...

It’s interesting to look at the language as well as the mindless repetition of the bogeyman “EU.” Johnson’s (language), in the opening quote—anyone with more, say, emotional nous than the MfBO would know not to draw attention to it—shows the quality of the wool they’re trying, often enough succeeding, to pull over people’s eyes. A smoke screen?

A completely different kettle of fish from Michael Heseltine, Tory grandee of a different caliber, and man with a functioning memory; there’s nothing particularly new in his opinion piece, but I find the clarity and directness of his paragraph 6 ff. informatively refreshing; alluding to the MfBO's newspaper appeals Heseltine (and who could?) has no illusions: "One of the first tests officials apply to new ministers is to ask if they know what they want and to assess whether they have the ability to communicate that to them. I am afraid that Rees-Mogg has not passed this test."— https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/202...

Boris Johnson says a photo of him, his wife and 17 staff members in the Downing Street garden with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard shows "people at work". (BBC 20.12.2021)

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-59722081

"Men at work" (The Times 13.1.2022)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/...

Indeed:

Jacob Rees-Mogg says little evidence Brexit hit trade

Asked by the BBC about falls in trade during a visit to the port of Felixstowe, Mr Rees-Mogg said Covid had caused "the most enormous disruptions to supply chains".

"We've had containers simply being stuck the wrong place, being stuck in Chinese ports, being stuck in the port of Los Angeles," he added.

"This has been a global trade issue - and we do have to recover from the problems of Covid".

Asked whether Brexit had reduced UK trade, he replied: "I think Brexit has been extremely beneficial for the country.

"I think the evidence that Brexit has caused trade drops is few and far between."

Reality Check

The way the UK trades with the EU changed on 1 January 2021, at a time when trade was also being affected by the pandemic, making it hard to distinguish the impact of each of them.Fortunately, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which comes up with economic forecasts for the government, has tried to separate the two.

It said at the time of the Budget in October that both imports and exports with the EU had been hit by Brexit and that both were on track to end up 15% lower as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

But the OBR said it was too early to know for sure because, for example, some of the barriers to trade agreed with the EU had not yet come into force.

It pointed to research from the Centre for European Reform, which concluded that in October 2021 the UK's trade in goods with the EU had been 15.7%, or £12.6bn lower, than it would have been without Brexit.

The gap had been between 11% and 16% each month of 2021.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-60407234

Staggering, pathological.

Thank you, Bion. I agree with "that it gets away from expressive-dismissive language that seems to me to primarily serve to get feelings off one’s chest, but offers no way forward" and would also appreciate a more neutral discourse, even if some of the newspaper pieces are funny. But calling him 'pathological', for me, diminishes their responsibility because it has an element of 'they can't help it, it's not their fault'. But I think I understand what you mean now. The point is not in how far they can influence their behaviour, the point is only that it's dangerous and people like that should not be in a position of power. Is that about right?

RHT01, thank you too - there's something missing in your post but I take it that Johnson really is considered pathological.

But calling him 'pathological', for me, diminishes their responsibility because it has an element of 'they can't help it, it's not their fault'. 

But if it is true, what then? 

Maybe it really is his nature and he can't help it. 

One can read the transcript of the 1990 Guppy-Johnson phone-call here: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul... (Click on the “Timeline – Transcript” button two-thirds down.)

The 2013 interview with Eddie Mair that enlightened me to Johnson’s, I say it guardedly, evilly evasive nature: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21926377 (Not the first video but the second, halfway down the page.)

#166

That’s my (rather quixotic) hope: that if we can open our eyes more to these pathologies as they present themselves in public, then we can more easily resist or avoid voting such people into positions of responsibility, where they are more or less guaranteed to do harm.

The fundamental flaw of Levelling Up—Regional inequality is a symptom – not a cause – of our deep-seated national economic malaise.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/02/10/the-...

“Leveling up” has become a catchword of post-Brexit Tory politics. Without once using the word Brexit, the article argues, soberly and cogently to my lay mind, that the policies advocated in the government white paper published in the first week of February are doomed to fail since, ultimately, it confuses cause and effect. The article concludes damningly: “As it stands, the Levelling Up White Paper amounts to a lot of not very much. It sums up the emptiness of this government’s objectives once it had withdrawn from the European Union. For all its sloganising, this government still has no idea what it stands for.”

The UK’s drive to sign trade deals with individual US states (articles in ascending order of Brexit-allegiance):

Government forced to seek state-by-state US trade ties after Biden rejects post-Brexit deal

 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politic...

UK looks to ink post-Brexit trade deals with individual US states https://www.cityam.com/uk-looking-to-ink-post...

Brexit Britain on path to forge multiple trade deals with US states in huge boost for economy https://www.gbnews.uk/news/brexit-britain-on-... 

Nathalie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, also has difficulties distinguishing cause and effect:

Disbelief after minister claims traffic jams in Dover are because of EU https://www.indy100.com/politics/brexit-natal...

Dover MP celebrates post-Brexit red tape for creating lots of new jobs

 https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/do...

To be consistent she might try asking the EU for more red tape.

Pig industry in crisis as animals culled due to Brexit backlog—pig farmers are in a “desperate” position – with culls of thousands of healthy animals and producers quitting the industry, they warned as a summit was held on the crisis.

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/19934515.p...

—and two readers' unsympathetic reactions:

John Davis 2 hrs ago

It is well known that a majority of farmers voted to leave the EU, as did Wales. So stop complaining, this is what you voted for. Your vote cost other people their working, study and travel rights and their retirement plans. You were warned, but every warning was called Project Fear. So much easier to throw around a sneering slogan wasn't it. Now you can see why you should have heeded the warnings. You wanted it, you voted for it, you got it. Now pay for it, as too many of you have forced others to do.

Pam Thompson 1 hr ago

Since most farmers voted to leave the EU *despite* being warned that this sort of thing would happen, I wonder why they are now whining that they got what they voted for? I won't have a moment's concern at any brexit voting farmer going bust. Indeed, I aim to help this along by buying EU produce wherever I have a choice. You lot negatively affected *my* life by ensuring we left, so I'll reciprocate. You won. Deal with it!

Here’s a further article about the issue of EU regulations (## 126 ff.), their status since the UK left the EU, the government’s potentially damaging aim to withdraw changes from the reach of primary legislation (which in effect amounts to withdrawing them from open scrutiny)—I don’t think there’s anything new about such aims, but the article names the issues with exemplary clarity: Government intends changing status of EU retained law

https://www.taylorwessing.com/en/insights-and...

y.w. ;-)

A further article on the subject triple-linked at #170 (trade deals with individual! US states): How Tory attempts to strike a trade deal with the US are taking a farcical turn : https://leftfootforward.org/2022/02/how-tory-... : ... A senior US union official with expertise on US trade policy told me [Tony Burke, author]: “It’s very unlikely that this approach can produce anything at all substantive, given the US Constitutional limits on states’ powers to regulate trade.”

I've just watched (part of) a youtube video of Johnson's speech in Munich, and I feel as if I'm in a parallel universe: all the comments hail him as the saviour of the free world. Did they get paid? Are they delusional? What's going on?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxAHLRtwXLY

------

Wik, I remember reading that one of the most-googled terms the morning after Brexit was 'EU subsidies'. I think the farmers and fisherpeople (:-) simply believed all the lies about the EU being bad for them and strangling their potential. I think the Brexit referendum was probably a vote of the most uninformed citizens ever in the history of referendums (which is full of the ignorant* deciding something important).

*I don' t mean 'stupid'. I just mean that lots of people go with their gut feeling without putting a lot of effort into finding out a lot of facts.

People, possibly, who’ve had little continuous contact with Johnson’s behavior esp. in the UK since Brexit, might, on the strength of that one MSC appearance, be taken in by his moral posturing? One comment (“Patricia Cole”) is pure sendup: “Best speech ever Boris. Go and see Putin immediately! and say 'Vladimir look me in the eye and tell me what this is really all about.' Take Berlusconi with you.” That’s Johnson, like the Italian: no moral substance; here he's playacting what he believes a “real" politician might say.

here he's playacting what he believes a “real" politician might say.

Well put.

‘Rule of Origin’ Brexit rule starts to bite: UK customs duties jump 64 per cent in a year to record £4.5bn … Post-Brexit ‘Rules of Origin’ requirements mean anything sold in the UK by EU businesses must wholly or largely originate in the EU to be exempt from customs duties when it enters the UK. … From January 1st, the Government introduced a requirement that importers must show a declaration about the origin of the goods at the point of entry. If a business cannot prove the origin, they may be liable to pay the full rate of customs duty and could face penalties. … https://www.cityam.com/rule-of-origin-brexit-...

Footnote to the non-eventuating UK-US trade deal, from Nancy Pelosi visiting HoC Speaker Lindsay Hoyle: Nancy Pelosi issues warning over Boris Johnson's hopes for a US trade dealhttps://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nancy-...

I don’t wish to stir up personal animosities with this Guardian article dated May 13, 2016, i.e., pre-EU referendum, but more to admire one observer-commentator (Garry Kasparov) for foreseeing possible interconnections and repercussions early in the day:

Why Brexit would be the perfect gift for Vladimir Putin

An EU without Britain is exactly what the Russian president wants: a weakened institution with less power to confront his assaults on Europe’s borders … Politics often makes for strange bedfellows. Far-right parties in the UK and across Europe push for anything that will weaken the European Union – a goal shared by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. This week, their fellow Brexiteer Boris Johnson went as far as to repeat the Kremlin line that Europe is partly to blame for Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. …

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/201...

The Government has commissioned a study into the "economic benefits" of reintroducing imperial units of measurement after Brexit.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/study-imperial-mea...

I wish Harri Beau was around (where is he?, I hope he’s all right)—he would have an ironic take on that one, I feel sure.

40% fall in EU students coming to UK since Brexit

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/...

(paywall)

As far as I recall this drop was referred to (and lamented) in the Anand Menon talk that I linked a while ago.

If this has already been discussed here, I apologize for bringing it up again.

From today's Guardian:

The European court of justice has been advised that British nationals living on the continent do not keep the advantages of EU citizenship now the UK has left the bloc, in a blow to campaigners fighting to keep more of their rights after Brexit.

Anthony Collins, an Irish advocate general at the court, said in an opinion published on Thursday that British nationals “who enjoyed the benefits of union citizenship do not retain those advantages following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU”.

The Luxembourg-based court is expected to issue a formal ruling on the case in June, which was brought on behalf of a retired civil servant, Alice Bouilliez, who has lived in south-west France for 37 years. It usually follows its advocates’ advice.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb...

Wasn't it one of the three promises made to British citizens living in the remaining 27 EU countries that their EU status would not change after BREXIT? (One of the others was the additional 350 GBP per week for the NHS. I don't remember the third.)

Although it stands to reason that a country that leaves the EU should forfeit its EU rights and benefits, making those UK citizens who lived and worked pre-BREXIT referendum in the EU, and still do today, pay for the sins of the UK government seems excessive.

weil die Europäer verständlicherweise ähnliche Rechte für ihre seit langem im UK lebenden Bürger erwarten würde.

Indeed. All individual citizens should retain their rights. A right is a right, not a privilege.

One could also say EU citizens could have applied for citizenship of the country in which they reside. In theory - sure. In practice - not so much, and for a variety of reasons. (See, for example, the case of the former civil servant reported on later in the article.)

Ich finde das sehr schwierig. Ex-Mr-Gibson hat schon seit 2017 die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft und ist also 'sicher', aber ich habe andere britische Freunde, die sie aus verschiedenen Gründen nicht annehmen können (z.B. hat einer sehr lange in einem anderen europäischen Land gearbeitet, vor Brexit, und ist so zwar seit über 20 Jahren EU-Bürger, aber erst seit wenigen Jahren in Deutschland - nicht lange genug, die Staatsbürgerschaft zu beantragen.) Ich wünsche meinen Freunden natürlich nur die beste Möglichkeit, hier zu leben und zu arbeiten, kann aber auf abstrakter Ebene nachvollziehen, dass die EU auch manchmal auf stur stellt nach allem, was die britische Regierung ihr zumutet.

Fair fände ich, wenn geänderte Regeln nur für Leute gelten, die jetzt das UK verlassen (oder zumindest nach 2016 verlassen haben), aber nicht für die, die sich unter ganz anderen Voraussetzungen hier ein Leben eingerichtet haben, teils seit Jahrzehnten (und die zum Großteil eben auch nicht die Möglichkeit hatten, beim Referendum abzustimmen, obwohl absolut alle, die ich persönlich kenne, für 'remain' waren).

One issue the Guardian article brings up is voting rights. A UK citizen who has lived in France for 37 years, I seem to recall, who will (may) no longer be able to vote (presumably in local elections). This, by way of comparison, from “gov.uk” on the post-Brexit situation for EU citizens in the UK:

Now that the UK has left the EU, some EU Member States have not retained voting rights for our UK citizens living abroad. Therefore, we are seeking to make agreements with each EU Member States [sic] that will enable UK nationals living in those countries to vote in their local elections, in return for local voting rights for citizens of these countries living in the UK.

Individual EU Member States set their own rules for local voting rights, and so it is reasonable that we do likewise. Some EU Member States allow non-EU third country nationals to vote and stand (subject to minimum residency requirements) and others do not. Those who do not include France, Germany, and Austria.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lo...

I agree that rights as such are often not fixed but negotiable. Because I’ve lived outside the UK for over 15 years continuously, for example, my voting rights have lapsed entirely, even though I'm still a British citizen. Some rights are alienable, others are inalienable (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are supposed to be so).

#187 Das weisst auf zwei Punkte hin:

1. die EU war so erfolgreich dabei Bürokratie innerhalb des Blocks zu vermeiden, dass die Mehrheit einfach keine Vorstellung hat, wieviel Aufwand internationaler Handel sein kann
2. selbst in uralten Demokratien werden Parlamentarier gewählt, die absolut keine Ahnung von den Sachen haben, über die sie abstimmen sollen.

Ich habe so meine Zweifel, ob der “gemeine” (im Sinne von “gewöhnliche”, das ist explizit so gemeint) Bundestagsabgeordnete das besser machen würde…

Chris Grey's most recent blog contribution (March 4) tackles issues dear to my heart and articulates many of the points that come to mind when reading of the UK government's reactions to the war in the Ukraine, to the issues of sanctions and refugees, not least the interconnections between Brexit, the weakening of the EU, the Brexit supporters' gift to the Russian tyrant already alluded to in a couple of the posts above.

Ukraine and Brexit: reminders, lessons and hopes

https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2022...

Reflections on Brexit and the Ukraine from the midground: Brexit didn’t just cost us money: it deprived us of solidarity in a crisis  Brexit was always going to be a geopolitical and economic disaster – a once-proud nation cutting off its nose to spite its face. The daily tragedy of Putin’s laying waste of Ukraine has highlighted the shortsightedness of Johnson’s geopolitical misjudgment in leaving the European Union. As that great one-nation Tory Remainer Michael Heseltine says: “Our continent faces a threat as severe as anything since the end of the cold war. I am ashamed that the country that in my lifetime saved European democracy has now absented itself, and that others must now determine Europe’s response.” … https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar...

I hope I’ll be forgiven for linking a video clip of Putin back in the day of May’s cackhanded leadership, dug up recently and posted on Twitter. If one needed convincing about the anyway more or less self-obvious, here he is ranting about getting Brexit pushed through: https://twitter.com/i/status/1500388340906008576

This article tackles the topic in more detail with some good analysis (including on what the Remainers did wrong): Brexit was a Victory for British Putinism—Why were those who Got It Right Vilified? … It seemed to me that over-emphasising the way the vote was ‘stolen’ reinforced a denial of the Remain side’s responsibility for what happened. I can now see that one of the reasons for the latter was a joint permissiveness of, and collaboration with, Putinist opposition to regulation and shared sovereignty – by both the Remain as well as the Leave side. Remain was led, remember, by David Cameron and Peter Mandelson. … https://bylinetimes.com/2022/03/07/brexit-was...

The UK’s attitude to Ukrainian refugees (“security risk”) is a direct result of the atrociously narrowminded, I think one can say inhuman, Brexit mentality of the home secretary and prime minister. Shame on them. Ukraine-Russia war: UK's insistence that refugees must get a visa is inhumane and immoral – Scotsman comment https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columni...

#193 Die Gespräche gehen weiter (ich hatte glaube ich vor einer Woche einen Artikel im Irlandfaden verlinkt), aber viel Fortschritt ist da nicht zu sehen. Da die Aufmerksamkeit gerade im Osten ist, und die Nordiren mit den anstehenden Wahlen zu tun haben, erwarte ich bis frühestens Mai auch nichts.

Edit: hier der damals verlinkte Artikel, scheint aber jetzt hinter einer Bezahlschranke zu sitzen. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/...

Two worthwhile articles around Ukraine, Russia and Brexit.

Op-ed from Paul Mason in The New Statesman: The Ukraine war has invalidated Brexit—We can’t do sanctions, defence or energy without Europe https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/03/...

How Levelling Up, Brexit & the Ukraine War Are Intertwined https://bylinetimes.com/2022/03/10/levelling-...

Brexit and Putin’s hideous, despicable war again … The passage below makes painful reading to me as a British citizen. I count five items that are either grossly misleading or willfully-woefully misled, not least the outrageous final sentence quoted given the UK's unforgivable footdragging and chicanery over refugees (The Telegraph used to be a reasonably down-to-earth paper, I seem to recall):

The Telegraph has hit out at “bitter” and “deluded” Remainers for refusing to accept that Britain has led the way in standing up to Russia. Associate editor Camilla Tominey said the Ukraine crisis has “humiliated the EU” as Britain, freed from the shackles of the European bloc, leads the way in pushing forward plans to ban access to the Swift banking system as well “sanctioning more Russian assets that the US and EU combined”. She said: “The truth is the EU has been at best an irrelevance during this catastrophe. It has been excruciatingly slow to react (in part, because so many of its members are compromised by their links to Moscow). “So, no, this crisis hasn’t shown how great the EU is, as some deluded Remainers have alleged. On the contrary, it has shown the extraordinary power and value of nation states, like Britain, like Poland and like Ukraine.”

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/telegr...

It’s minor alongside the hell of war. But misinformation creates and propagates its own hell and nourishes other hells. A news organ of The Telegraph’s tradition and standing is a considerable, to use a buzz word, influencer. I haven’t been able to read Tominey’s article in full, it’s behind a paywall, and what I have read seems, admittedly, not so much misinformation as rant—ideal for those who get by without any need for information at all. Maybe she was reacting and overreacting to Macron’s attack on Johnson? I can’t say.

https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/ukraine-krieg-...

Ich habe jetzt keine Quellen gesucht, aber Mr Johnson steht wohl wegen naher Kontakte zu einem Russisch-stämmigen Milliardär in der Kritik. Kann ich so nicht unbedingt nachvollziehen, da der Herr auch britischer Staatsbürger ist, aber vielleicht fehlt mir da der Hintergrund.

Am Ende des Artikels dann, dass bisher 3000 Visa für Flüchtlinge aus der Ukraine ausgestellt wurden, und dass wohl Zehntausende aufgenommen werden könnten.

Irgendwie beeindruckt mich das nicht, Irland stellt sich auf bis zu 80.000 Flüchtlinge ein, aber eine Obergrenze wurde hier nicht gesetzt.

Brexit: Northern Ireland Protocol is lawful, court rules - BBC News

"The Northern Ireland Protocol is lawful, the Court of Appeal in Belfast has ruled.

A group of unionist politicians had challenged the protocol in judicial review proceedings, claiming it was unlawful because it conflicted with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the Acts of Union.

But the court rejected their challenge on all grounds on Monday."

Vielleicht platzen die Unionisten ja jetzt gemeinschaftlich ...

#211 Vielleicht platzen die Unionisten ja jetzt gemeinschaftlich ...

So optimistisch bin ich nicht, das zeigt aber schön, dass die Unionisten (vor allem die DUP) sich als viel wichtiger und staatstragender einschätzen, als sie sind.

Ich habe deinen Beitrag im Irlandfaden verlinkt...

Post-Brexit unity in Europe is essential – and war in Ukraine proves this.

The UK government finds itself in the frustrating position of wanting to lead the charge, but remains stuck in an ideological groove that harms its influence.

https://www.independent.co.uk/independentprem...

I’ve occasionally kept an eye out for interesting Leave-supporting articles or articles by Leave-supporting authors to post here—if for no other reason than to counter the criticism that the Brexit thread is only for the converted, etc. Unfortunately I’ve found little from the Leave side that offers any kind of serious argumentation. This piece is no exception. It only caught my eye because it attacks Paul Mason and his article linked above (#195).

Its author writes: ‘The Ukraine war has invalidated Brexit’, crows BBC hack turned pseudo-radical Paul Mason in the New Statesman. Rather than blaming Putin for the suffering of the Ukrainians, or analysing post-Cold War international relations, Mason claims it is ‘the xenophobes, Little Englanders and Putin stooges who inflicted this predicament on us’.

“crows,” “hack,” “pseudo-radical” …?—No comment.

“Rather than blaming Putin, etc.” + “Mason claims it is, etc.”—This verges on the libelous.

“Rather than … analyzing post-Cold War international relations, etc.”—While Mason doesn’t go into international relations in depth, he does touch on them in his paragraphs 4, 5 and 7, and interestingly, I find.

I don’t seriously recommend anyone’s reading the article unless, like me, you have an occasional interest in thinking about the dishonesty that rants can often serve to propagate, but here it is:

https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/03/14/no-t...

Not wholly Brexit-unrelated, touching on issues that often come up here, Lebedev included, a further New Statesman article: Have Johnson and Trump been Putin’s great facilitators?

https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/03/...

(OT Johnson's current popularity among Ukrainians seems to rest on the rather narrow perspective of the UK's having instantly supplied Ukrainian forces with anti-tank weaponry: I loathe Boris Johnson—but Ukrainians love him https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/03/... )

Angeblich (!) soll der Brexit den Arbeitnehmer-Schutz erheblich unterminiert haben

Where in the Sky News article did you read that?

The Guardian article states that EU legislation is still in force here. The Spectator article gives the outrageous event a contentiously pro-Leave spin: “The P&O redundancies might strike some as a new low in the treatment of workers by callous employers. But really it is just a flashback to a Britain that existed between the early 2000s and Britain’s departure from the bloc two years ago.” (It seems to me the author might have added that had the pro-Brexit government been genuinely interested in improving the lot of British workers they would already have done something to make this kind of behavior impossible.)

Are the P&O Ferries mass sackings a result of Brexit?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar...

What the P&O debacle really tells us about Brexit

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/what-the-...

Criticism has been widespread and (with the exception of Sunak) unsparing. One more of the straws hopefully that go toward breaking the camel's back:

Fury at Boris Johnson's 'Basil Fawlty' ramblings comparing Ukraine's struggle to Brexit

Former European Council president Donald Tusk said: “I can still remember the enthusiasm of Putin and Trump after the referendum. … Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/fury-b...

'A National Embarrassment': Boris Johnson Condemned For Comparing Ukraine War To Brexit Vote

Lord Barwell - who is also a former Tory MP and was Theresa May’s chief of staff when she tried to get her EU withdrawal agreement through parliament - said: “Apart from the bit where voting in a free and fair referendum isn’t in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion + the awkward fact the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU, this comparison is bang on.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/boris-...

Fury as Boris Johnson compares Ukraine war to Brexit: PM faces angry backlash from EU and senior Tories for likening vote to struggle of Ukrainians battling Putin's invaders in conference speech

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1063...

Fury greets Boris Johnson’s claim Ukraine fight is like Brexit

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/mar...

Squirming Rishi Sunak reluctantly slaps down Boris Johnson for comparing Ukraine to Brexit

In a toe-curling interview with Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the Tory Chancellor said the two things 'clearly are not directly analogous' while also trying to defend his boss the Prime Minister

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/squirm...

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/re...

"Revulsion as PM ‘desperate’ to visit Kyiv to ‘experience what is happening’

"Yeah that’s what the people of Ukraine really want to see; a PM so desperate to score points in the UK he’ll stumble into a war zone", one person said.

Boris Johnson is “desperate” to visit Ukraine – because he wants to “experience what is happening there”, a minister has said.