Tag: immigration

  • I see soi-disant “Liberal Leavers” are going through another bout of pearl-clutching…

    I see soi-disant “Liberal Leavers” are going through another bout of pearl-clutching about how dreadful Brexit is and how we should stay in the EEA. To which I say “are you ashamed of winning a referendum by riding on the back of illiberal xenophobia yet?”

    The dogs in the street knew that free movement would be impossible after a referendum driven by a press and politicians with hard anti-immigration messages. Apparently not “liberal leavers”.

    I guess they hoped that their weird sovereignty obsession would be smuggled through by politicians mugging anti-immigration leave voters. Well, I hate the outcome but at least voters are getting what they wanted.

    It won’t be what voters want when they get it, of course, and that will be when people will start asking hard questions of Leave campaigners who promised them all the benefits and none of the costs.

    I wouldn’t want to be a liberal leaver. Even if they don’t feel burning personal shame at what they’ve done to the country, they are going to have some very unpleasant conversations in their future.

  • UK rendezvous with reality has a clear path: customs union has Parl majority > single…

    UK rendezvous with reality has a clear path: customs union has Parl majority > single market with special treatment on immigration > EU says

    GTFOH on your special treatment > Norway plus has Parl majority > Norway plus vs Remain choice is discussed > (possibly 10 years out) >

    Britain stays in/rejoins EU.

    It’s a narrow road along a crumbling cliff, though, and we appear to be driving a clown car.

  • This probably won’t happen, but even if it did, it would be hard to think of a big…

    This probably won’t happen, but even if it did, it would be hard to think of a big international issue where U.K. wouldn’t have stronger position to act from within EU. twitter.com/danielkorski/s…

    You can imagine some small issues where UK could strike an interesting and different position but again what is the counterfactual? UK has left a big alliance of friendly similar countries. Hard to argue that the country is not diminished.

    It is the equivalent of “trade with China”. Yes, but we already could, and others in the EU already do. Brexit is not a solution to anything other than a moral panic on immigration and the sovereignty fetishism of some MPs. And possibly not even that.

  • Links from the week of 31 July 2017

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • So the big and generous offer (speaking as someone who is directly affected by it) is…

    So the big and generous offer (speaking as someone who is directly affected by it) is incomplete and ungenerous. theguardian.com/politics/2017/…

    Nothing at all here that is better for me than what the EU are suggesting. I’ll take that. Your immigration paranoia isn’t worth my rights.

    This is going to create a lot of pain and uncertainty for Brits abroad. Sadly that will get more attention than same for Poles in UK.

    But hey. Whatever it takes to get people to realise how their choice has real human interest.

  • (1) they wouldn’t be (2) it won’t be

    (1) they wouldn’t be
    (2) it won’t be twitter.com/alaindebotton/…

    The two things the EU side have to get at the end are “being out has to be worse than being in”, and “four freedoms are indivisible”.

    There have an enormous negotiating advantage. Absolutely no need for them to concede on such major points.

    And if they did (which they won’t) would the Tories really accept all the duties of EU membership with no say (plus an immigration brake

    that would probably be virtually unusable, if other EEA models are followed). Seems unlikely to me, even if they were truly desperate.

  • Links from the week of 5 June 2017

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • Links from the week of 8 May 2017

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • Links from the week of 17 April 2017

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.

  • Links from the week of 31 October 2016

    Articles, reports and other links I shared on Twitter this week.