UK Politics Thread part II

[Jimbuna]

Blackford and Raab on Scottish independence referendum bid

Deputy PM Dominic Raab said it was "not the right time for another referendum" with the challenges faced by "one United Kingdom".

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the UK government did not "have the right to block Scottish democracy" after Nicola Sturgeon announced plans for a second referendum to take place in October 2023.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-61980425

[Aktungbby]

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...01&postcount=1 Congrats Jimbuna: on the rapidity, succinctness and seamlessness with which U have executed Neal's request! U have obviously learned from the best! As for Brit politics: the nation is in peril:

[MGR1]

Moonlight's last post in the old thread:

"No one said that you could bring some sanity and sound reasoning into this thread MGR1, I'm just exercising my right as a thick Brit to "extract the urine" out of that other thick Brit you've got up in Scotland.

Sadly there's no humour in Scottish politics. The ribald, satirical traditions of the English press vis-a-vis politics never developed up here, even after 300 years of political union. I get the impression that the Scottish papers are somewhat equivocal in their scrutiny of the SNP's domestic record just in case independence does come about. In short, they're covering their backsides.

Mike.

[mapuc]

A question from an outsider

Can Scotland hold this requested referendum even without British acknowledge ?

Meaning Sturgis say I don't care What Boris & Co says in London we have this referendum anyway

Markus

[Jimbuna]

^ That will be answered soon by the UK Supreme Court.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

^ That will be answered soon by the UK Supreme Court.

Now this was an interesting answer.

As mentioned many month before- I have the feeling that Scotland have high hopes on EU.

Markus

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by mapuc

A question from an outsider

Can Scotland hold this requested referendum even without British acknowledge ?

Meaning Sturgis say I don't care What Boris & Co says in London we have this referendum anyway

Markus

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

^ That will be answered soon by the UK Supreme Court.

'tiz a sure bet; The President of the Court, the Lord Reed of Allermuir PC FRSE, educated at University of Edinburgh Balliol College, will not be sitting on the Stone of Scone fer this one...

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...01&postcount=1 Congrats Jimbuna: on the rapidity, succinctness and seamlessness with which U have executed Neal's request! U have obviously learned from the best! As for Brit politics: the nation is in peril:

Of course....self taught

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...01&postcount=1 Congrats Jimbuna: on the rapidity, succinctness and seamlessness with which U have executed Neal's request! U have obviously learned from the best! As for Brit politics: the nation is in peril:

Sometimes it's the other way around, I learned from him!

[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