UK Politics Thread part II

[Jimbuna]

R I P Betty

First woman Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd dies

The first female Speaker of the House of Commons Betty Boothroyd has died aged 93.

She served as Speaker from 1992 to 2000, before going on to become a baroness in the House of Lords from 2001.

The current Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle described her as "an inspirational woman" who was known for her "no-nonsense style".

She was the Labour MP for West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000.

"To be the first woman Speaker was truly groundbreaking and Betty certainly broke that glass ceiling with panache," Sir Lindsay said.

"Betty was one of a kind. A sharp, witty and formidable woman - and I will miss her."

The flags in Parliament are being flown at half mast and the House of Commons held a one minute silence before business began on Monday.

MPs will get the chance to pay formal tributes on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Baroness Boothroyd was a "remarkable woman" praising her "passion, wit and sense of fairness".

Former prime ministers have also been paying tribute.

Sir Tony Blair said she was "big-hearted and kind" and Sir John Major described her as "easy to like and easier still to admire".

Theresa May said she had earned "the respect and admiration" of all MPs during her time as Speaker.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described her as a "dedicated and devoted public servant who will be dearly missed".

Betty Boothroyd was born on 8 October 1929 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, the only daughter of mill workers.

Growing up in a political environment - her father was a trade unionist - she described herself as coming "out of the womb into the Labour movement".

However, she didn't immediately go into politics, becoming a dancer with the Tiller Girl troupe.

She then took a number of office jobs before getting involved in politics, working for the Labour MP Barbara Castle and on the campaign to elect John F. Kennedy as US President.

In May 1973, after several attempts, she entered Parliament, securing the seat of West Bromwich, later renamed West Bromwich West.

After nearly two decades in Parliament she was elected by her fellow MPs to the position of Speaker of the House of Commons - a job which involves presiding over proceedings in the chamber.

She stepped down from the position in 2000, but continued to be active in politics - calling for a statue in central London to commemorate the part women played in World War Two.

She was also passionately involved in the campaign to keep the UK in the EU.

Alastair Campbell, who was also involved in the campaign, said she was a "total one off".

"One of the kindest, wisest, most loving and loveable women you could ever wish to know."

Clare Short - a Labour minister from 1997 to 2003 - told BBC 5 Live that Baroness Boothroyd "suited being Speaker perfectly, her personality shone through, she had a natural authority.

"She was the one who dropped the wig [traditionally worn by Commons Speakers] because she had her own lovely thick grey curling hair."

Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson simply tweeted: "Betty Boothroyd was magnificent."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64786680

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Much will depend on what the DUP make of the deal.

They have been offered more political influence, and i doubt this is a good thing for anyone.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Catfish

They have been offered more political influence, and i doubt this is a good thing for anyone.

Agreed

[Gorpet]

Well it would seem, that the first, English to make it back from Ukraine are wanting to sell their stories.Are they really lovers of Democracy or Just the lucky.? Hell no American Soldier believes in Anything .I want my free **** i was told i would get it. And when the first mortar shell hits and some sargents boobs get blown out and the rainbows will start running around looking for her missing parts..We must play over the loudspeakers The Valkyries

[Gorpet]

Who ,Loves ya.Transparency.It's Currently not for ?

[Jimbuna]

Rishi Sunak is in Belfast to secure support for his deal with the EU over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

The prime minister told the BBC this morning his deal was a “huge step forward” for the people of NI

He said: "This is not necessarily about me or one political party... it's about what's best for people and communities"

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is the largest unionist party in NI and its support will be key to restoring power-sharing there.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson tells the BBC the proposals go "some way" to addressing concerns that caused its boycott, but issues remain.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin, the largest party in the NI Assembly, has welcomed the deal and is calling for the DUP to return to devolved government.

[Catfish]

They are just showing a report and analysis about "Cambridge Analytica" and who was and is involved, and how they really worked as a private company, from Israel.
Paid disinformation as a weapon against democracy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/se...info-black-ops

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ions-tal-hanan

Old news, how Cambridge analytica meddled with US elections. But people forget quickly.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...-trump-diagram

[Jimbuna]

Pressure builds on DUP over new deal

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been urged by other Stormont parties to get back in government following the announcement of the Windsor Framework.

The party is boycotting devolved government until concerns about post-Brexit trading arrangements are fixed.

A new EU-UK agreement was announced on Monday, which PM Rishi Sunak said would make Northern Ireland "the world's most exciting economic zone".

The DUP said it would take time to come to a "collective decision".

On Tuesday, its party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson added: "I see opportunity of course, in terms of growing the Northern Ireland economy but is this the right framework in which to do it?"

He explained the DUP would take legal advice and "want to be sure that what is on the table does what it says and that it is good for Northern Ireland".

The prime minister was in Northern Ireland on Tuesday to promote the new deal - the so-called Windsor Framework - which will reduce checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill said she spoke to Mr Sunak and told him to keep up the momentum.

"People are now clearly focused on getting an executive up and running and want all parties around the table working together to deliver for workers, families and local businesses," she said.

Her party leader, Mary Lou McDonald, added there was "no justification for the DUP to continue this reckless and damaging boycott of democracy".

Speaking after a meeting with Mr Sunak, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said it was "disingenuous" for any political party to suggest it would take weeks or months to respond to the Windsor Framework.

"We need to hear from business, we need to know if it works for them. People need to show the courage of their convictions, look at the deal, come up with your analysis and make your pitch."

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said the deal should have been signed four years ago if, she described, the UK had a "serious" prime minister at the time.

"I think this is a good deal for Northern Ireland, whether it is a good deal for the DUP or not is for them to decide but I can say with certainty and confidence is there not is going to get a better one," Mrs Long continued.

Jim Allister, leader of Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) said the agreement "does not live up to the overselling spin which accompanied it".

"As for it being enough to cause unionists to give up its Stormont leverage and settle for this deal, which comes with the added packaging of a Sinn Fein First Minister, then, no thanks," he said.

The DUP and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leaders are currently in London and did not meet with Mr Sunak.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood previously urged Stormont parties to view the deal in good faith with a common determination to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly.

When asked if there was a split in his party, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson replied "not at all".

This comes after Ian Paisley, a more hard line DUP figure said he did not think the plan went far enough and DUP colleague Sammy Wilson insisted that no EU law should apply in Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey has been speaking in much more nuanced terms on Tuesday, saying only EU law which allowed businesses to trade in the EU single market should apply.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-64794091

[Jimbuna]

Boris breaks silence on Brexit and questions Sunak deal - but concedes PM has ‘momentum’

Boris Johnson has criticised Rishi Sunak’s post-Brexit deal with the EU to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol row – claiming it doesn’t “take back control” from Brussels.

The former PM said it would be “very difficult” to vote for the agreement struck by Mr Sunak, urging the PM to consider using his bill to unilterally override the protocol if it “doesn’t work”.

Mr Johnson told the Global Soft Power Summit in London: “When I looked at the deal we have, I have mixed feelings. I’m conscious of where the momentum is.”

But he added: “I will find it very difficult to vote for something like this myself because I believe we should have done something different no matter how much plaster came off the ceiling in Brussels.”

The former Tory leader said “we’ve got to hope that it works”. Mr Johnson said he understood why people want to “move on” from Brexit rows and accept the deal. “I get that.”

But, referrring to the Northern Ireland Protocol bill – ditched by Mr Sunak – Mr Johnson added: “If it doesn’t work, I hope we have the guts to deploy that bill again.”

He added that he wanted to be “clear about what is really going on here”.

“This is not about the UK taking back control and although there are easements this is really a version of the solution that was being offered last year to Liz Truss when she was foreign secretary,” he said.

“This is the EU graciously unbending to allow us to do what we want to do in our own country, not by our laws, but by theirs.”

Showing he has no intention of letting up on the issue, he added: “I will continue to campaign for what I think of as Brexit … because this is nothing if it is not a Brexit government, and Brexit is nothing if we in this country don’t do things differently.”

Mr Johnson also suggested he hoped the DUP would return to Stormont, despite their own concerns about the Windsor Framework struck by Mr Sunak and EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Referring to DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, he said: “I can hope he can find a way of reconciling himself and his part of getting back to power-sharing.”

He conceded he made mistakes in signing his Northern Ireland Protocol that caused the DUP to walk out of powersharing because of trade barriers in the Irish Sea.

“I thought those checks would not be onerous since there isn’t that much stuff that falls into that category; most of the goods stay in Northern Ireland,” he said.

Muttering, the former prime minister added: “It’s all my fault, I fully accept responsibility.”

Mr Johnson had been urged to “put up or shut up” over the deal, after he was said to be considering joining any revolt of Eurosceptics.

Several MPs told The Independent they expected any rebellion against the deal in the Commons to be limited to 20 of the staunchest hardliners “at the most”.

Mark Francois, the chairman of the European Research Group (ERG), said it could take as long as a fortnight for the Tory Brexiteer group to carry out its own “legal audit” of the deal.

Mr Sunak wants to give the DUP and the Tory Eurosceptics “space and time” to consider the deal before holding a vote in the Commons.

But a vote could be delayed until after Jeremy Hunt’s Budget on March 15, according to The Times.

Lord Frost, Mr Johnson’s former Brexit negotiator, said the protocol changes agreed by the PM and EU Commission were “all worth having” – but claimed the government was “overclaiming” the merits of the deal.

Lord Frost said his criticism “doesn’t mean the deal shouldn’t go ahead”, but added: “It leaves the government still only partly sovereign over all its territory. Just as in 2019, that is a bitter pill to swallow.”

The prime minister is not prepared to make any changes to his landmark deal as he stares down the DUP and critics and on his own backbenches.

No 10 said that the government believed it had secured “the right deal for all parties”, while Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker has warned: “This is the deal ... there is not a different deal available”.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/natio...1a450db9&ei=12

[Skybird]

It is fundamentally absurd that a court appointed, financed and legislatively influenced by one of the parties to a treaty should have jurisdiction over a treaty between those two parties, since it is defined from the outset as being within a partisan, conditional conflict of interest. Neither a British nor an EU court should be allowed to have jurisdiction over the treaty and its subject matter in the event of a dispute. It can actually only be an uninvolved third party court.


Tricky.

[Jimbuna]

I fundamentally agree but it doesn't look like this is how it will pan out.

[Jimbuna]

Boris Johnson says he will find it ‘very difficult’ to vote for Northern Ireland deal

Boris Johnson has said he will find it “very difficult” to vote for Rishi Sunak’s revised deal for post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland, arguing that the plan ties the UK to EU regulations that will crush efforts to innovate and diverge.

In his first public comments since the Windsor framework was unveiled on Monday, the former prime minister did not explicitly say he would oppose it, and said he hoped the changes would work but that he had serious reservations about the impact.

Making a speech at a commercial summit in London, Johnson also accepted blame for the fact his original plan for Northern Ireland border arrangements did not, as he had promised, avoid checks in the Irish Sea – although he ultimately blamed the EU for this.

He also called on Sunak to not drop a bill, currently going through parliament, would allow the UK to unilaterally change elements of the protocol, arguing this was the best way to win concessions from the EU.

On the Windsor plan, Johnson said: “I’m going to find it very difficult to vote for something like this myself, because I believed that we should have done something different, no matter how much plaster came off the ceiling in Brussels.

“I hope that it will work. And I also hope that if it doesn’t work, we will have the guts to deploy that bill again. Because I’ve no doubt at all, that that was what brought the EU to negotiate seriously.

“In the meantime I will continue to campaign for what I thought of and what I think of as Brexit and the logic of Brexit because this is nothing if it is not a Brexit government. And Brexit is nothing if we in this country don’t do things differently. We need to take advantage of it, and we need to be seen to take advantage.”

The core of Johnson’s speech and subsequent Q&A session was the argument that Brexit was pointless without significant divergence from Brussels orthodoxy, saying the EU feared the UK “actually taking advantage of Brexit freedoms so as to be more competitive”.

It was this fear, Johnson argued, that made the EU interpret his own Northern Ireland plan rigidly, “as a way of keeping us more or less where they wanted”.

“This is all my fault. I accept full responsibility,” he continued. “Beneath the paint and plasters, there was the cold steel reality of EU control. The commission was in charge, not the UK. And contrary to my hopes, they did not apply it sensibly.”

Arguing against Sunak’s revision of the plan, which retains elements of EU legal oversight for goods entering Northern Ireland and bound for the Republic of Ireland, and thus the single market, Johnson said he had always argued “there was no point in being a vassal state, there was no point in being a rule-taker”.

“We must be clear about what is really going on here. This is not about the UK taking back control,” he said. “This is the EU, graciously unbending to allow us to do what we want in our own country, not by our laws, but by theirs.

“In that sense, this deal helps to accomplish the key objective I spoke of, in that it acts as a drag anchor on divergence. And there’s no point in Brexit unless you do things differently.”

While arguing there was no point in the UK “just emulating the high tax, high spend, low-growth European model”, Johnson said he accepted the argument may have moved on from his objectives.

“People wanted to change in their lives. They wanted to see things done differently,” he said. “I’ve got to put my hands up for this as much as anybody. We haven’t done enough yet to convince them that it can deliver the change they want to see.”

Johnson said he wished that as prime minister he had slashed corporation tax to “outbid the Irish”, adding: “What I wish we had done is put a big ‘Invest here’ sign over Britain as soon as we were out of Covid.”

Asked about a potential return to frontline politics, Johnson was typically opaque, saying only he had several books to complete: “I got a big budget of words I have to write, andI’m churning it out.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...4bf35a12&ei=12

[Skybird]

Argentine cancles the Foradori-Duncan-Pact after new gas and oil was found in the vicinity of the Falkand Islands.

https://www.brusselstimes.com/388221...lands-malvinas

Really...? Again...?

My standpoint on this remains the same like last time it was discussed. The people on the island said with overwhelming majority whom they want to stay with. And after almost 200 years of British sovereignty that is the by far most important argument for me that counts. Argentinia has no claim there.

History Timeline:
1592 first sighting by english seafahrers.
1690 first landing by an Engishg party.
1764 and 1766 foundign of two settlements, a French (Port Louis) and a British (Port Egmont)
1766 the Fench settlement was handed over by the French to the Spanish.
1774 the British gave up their settlement.
1811 Spain ended the support of their former French settlement, claimed only formal sovereignty over its half of the islands
Since then there is dispute over the Island, first between Britain and Spain, later between Britain and Argentine.
Not before 1820 Argentine claimed sovereignty over the island.
1833 the British founded a fleet base to underline their own claim for the islands.


The population of today predominantly stems from the British colonists that went to the Falklands in the 1830s.


A referendum from 2013 had 99.8% of the island population voting for staying with the UK. And this is what decides this issue for me. Only 3 people voted against the British.

The British have a garrison of around 1350 soldiers, mostly infantry, radiomen, and dock workers, says Wikipedia Deutschland. Plus alwas 1-2 surface warships, probably a submarine, and 4-6 Eurofighters.

The admiral commanding the Bitish fleet in the war from 1982 later said that nowadays the British would most likely be unable to retake the islands again if the Argentinians would again conquer them. My conclusion: the only military option thus can be not to lose them again in the first. Solid air defences, good radar and a constant submarine presence are the cards to play, I suppose!?

[Jimbuna]

^ Agreed but in all honesty I don't believe Argentina have the military capability today.

[Jimbuna]

Boris asks crowd if 'Brexit was a good idea' - almost no one raises their hand

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was left looking even more baffled than usual when asked a crowd whether they thought Brexit was a good idea.

Mr Johnson was speaking at a conference in London and asked for a show of hands as to whether they thought leaving the European Union had worked out – and almost no-one raised their hand.

As the conference host asked the crowd to raise their hands if they thought Brexit was a good idea, Mr Johnson said: ‘I got the feeling that might be the case as we went along, but I’m undaunted.’

He tried to move quickly on, and said: ‘The problem at the moment, it’s about what we’re not getting right now.

‘I’ve said this before, it’s a Brexit government or it’s nothing.

‘We got a massive mandate to change, people wanted change in their lives, people wanted to see things done differently, and I’ve got to put my hands up for this as much as anybody, we haven’t done enough yet to convince them.

‘That it can deliver the changes they do want to see, I think they are particularly dismayed about the small boats crossing the channel and they also don’t feel the economic change.

‘We’ve got to break out of the model that we’re in.’

He also raised concerns about Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland and said he will find it ‘very difficult’ to vote for it.

He said: ‘I’m going to find it very difficult to vote for something like this myself, because I believed we should’ve done something very different. No matter how much plaster came off the ceiling in Brussels.

‘I hope that it will work and I also hope that if it doesn’t work we will have the guts to employ that (Northern Ireland Protocol) Bill again, because I have no doubt at all that that is what brought the EU to negotiate seriously.’

Jet-setter Johnson has been travelling around the world for lucrative speaking gigs in recent weeks, and raised his head for the first time today.

In recent weeks the UK has been hit by a number of fruit and vegetable shortages, with some supermarkets limiting the amount customers can buy.

These shortages have been blamed on Brexit by some political commentators, with others saying it is due to bad weather in the areas where crops are grown.

When Boris took over Tory party leadership in 2019 he was the force behind a no-deal Brexit.

He insisted that the UK would leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.

Just five months after becoming leader Johnson won an 80-seat majority in the general election, giving him the backing to push through Brexit legislation.

And in January 2020, the Brexit deal became law after approval by U.K. Parliament, with the European Parliament approving the deal six days later.

Last week Johnson was accused of trying to ‘wreck’ the deal, as he warned dropping the Protocol Bill he masterminded – letting the UK scrap parts of the Brexit treaty – will be ‘a great mistake’.

Lord Mandelson, a former Labour Northern Ireland secretary, said: ‘He wants, and his supporters want, to undermine the PM.’

Labour’s Lord Hain, who also held the job, said Mr Johnson was ‘mischief-making’.

But cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt insisted: ‘Boris is being Boris, but I wouldn’t say it’s a completely unhelpful intervention.’
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...c03dd844&ei=20