Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.
NIMBYism Extreme: The Mudchute ASDA Preservation Society citymetric.com/fabric/nimbys-…
Tue 8 Aug 2017 · on Twitter
On a happier note, cricket in Luxembourg: wort.lu/en/sport/crick…
Tue 8 Aug 2017 · on Twitter
There is no reform of free movement involved in the EEA. The UK cannot show harm from FM, it cannot invoke temporary restrictions. twitter.com/SKinnock/statu…
Sick of UK pols STILL going on about “reform” (meaning, “Do what UK demands”). That’s over. Options are accept free movement or hard Brexit.
If UK thinks massive economic harm is OK if they can get rid of some Poles, fine, their call. “Reform free movement” == “cake and eat it”.
It’s not an option, it’s even less an option than before, and politicians who invoke it are painting themselves and UK further into a corner
Originally posted as a thread of 4 tweets on Twitter on 8 August 2017. View the original thread.
Good thread on Corbynism and internationalism. Corbyn embodies for me the economic conservativism of the hard left. Nothing should change. twitter.com/JeremyCliffe/s…
Unless it goes back to an idealised golden age of trade union power. It’s a sort of economic aspic – miles away from the automated leisure-
rich visions of some of his supporters. On this and on Brexit they assume he agrees, but he doesn’t. He proudly does not evolve views.
Originally posted as a thread of 3 tweets on Twitter on 2 August 2017. View the original thread.
Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.
Headline says “security” queues, text says “immigration” – makes a difference for intra-Schengen flights @guardian buff.ly/2wgMH2K
Tue 1 Aug 2017 · on Twitter
I have sympathy for the civil servants. As Juncker said, “Brexit cannot be a success” and it’s hard to choose what sort of failure you want. twitter.com/Usherwood/stat…
Brexit has been badly run politically, but when you’ve promised cake and eat it and have to negotiate from a starting point of less cake…
In twenty years this will be a case study of political systems failure, and I’d put money on the UK being in the EU and the Euro.
Originally posted as a thread of 3 tweets on Twitter on 1 August 2017. View the original thread.
Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.
Labour statements on Brexit should really be accompanied by frenetic piano music, Keystone Kops style uk.businessinsider.com/jeremy-corbyn-…
Tue 25 Jul 2017 · on Twitter
City of Brussels launching competition for “uniform iconic fritkot (frites stall) design for the city” rtl.be/info/regions/b… What a town!
Tue 25 Jul 2017 · on Twitter
EU official on chicken/trade: “It has been surprising to see how poor the understanding has been in the UK debate” gu.com/p/6qt36/stw
You, an EU official: I am surprised how poor UK debate has been
Me, someone who remembers the #EURef campaign: <heavy sigh of despair>
Tue 25 Jul 2017 · on Twitter
Today in ‘lunches you would love to be part of’: Isabelle Huppert at L’Arpège ft.com/content/73cc51…
Sat 29 Jul 2017 · on Twitter
Chlorine-washed chicken (which UK might take under a post-Brexit trade deal with the US) is not about chlorinated chicken. It’s about power.
At the moment, you don’t eat chlorine-washed chicken, because the UK as part of the EU has said that it doesn’t want to allow it to be sold.
I don’t know whether the UK was outvoted on chlorine-washed chicken but I bet it wasn’t because it hardly ever is. In fact, it usually plays
a big part in negotiations (well, until last year). Now, or soon, we are FREE! We can eat chlorine-washed chicken or not, hurrah!
Except – what if we don’t? What if the UK public don’t like the idea? What if they are happy with the status quo? Well, you could try
telling the Government, but they are busy making a trade deal with the US as fast as they can, and if the US says they want us to have
chlorine-washed chicken in return for some other perk, that will be traded away by the government you may or may not have voted for.
That’s what “taking back control” means. It means that the government can negotiate things on your behalf with distant trade bureaucracies.
Which is exactly what it used to do, except now we have to hire the negotiators ourselves and our hand is much weaker because our market is
much smaller. But we’ll be a bit more agile, because we don’t have to deal with countries that (a) really don’t want chlorinated chicken and
(b) are not screamingly desperate for a trade deal. So if in a couple of years your CTM and pilau rice tastes a bit municipal swimming pool
you will know that its the taste of freedom.
Originally posted as a thread of 12 tweets on Twitter on 24 July 2017. View the original thread.
Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.
Brits bristle at accusations of slapdash Brexit politico.eu/article/britis… < either putting a very brave face on it or crazily optimistic
Thu 20 Jul 2017 · on Twitter
“Treachery” – and yet it feels like we have a long way down still to go. twitter.com/bbchelenalee/s…
The treason and betrayal narrative is starting before substantive negotiations have started. Given our hand, they will go badly. Then what?
It would be nice to believe, as UK Remainers do, that economic slump and political chaos will lead to repentance. At least as likely it
will lead to entrenchment in a Britain vs evil Europeans narrative – which will be assiduously pushed no matter what.
Originally posted as a thread of 4 tweets on Twitter on 16 July 2017. View the original thread.
Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.
Not this again. There’s no “flexibility” that Leavers would buy that EU side would offer. bbc.com/news/uk-politi…
Or should offer, for that matter. Giving up a core principle to appease a country that’s already walking out would be very bad strategy.
Sat 15 Jul 2017 · on Twitter
I’m not generally enjoying Europe being so central to UK politics, but there are lovely moments bbc.com/news/entertain…
Sat 15 Jul 2017 · on Twitter