Concrete Achievements

Tag: uk politics

  • This is a very good and fair-minded explainer on the Irish border from @pmdfoster but I’d…

    This is a very good and fair-minded explainer on the Irish border from @pmdfoster telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/bre… but I’d quibble with one point.

    This paragraph is not quite right. Rules are not handed to Dublin (or London) by the EU. The Irish and UK governments and the MEPs their voters elect are the ones who pass the rules. The problem with Northern Ireland is the UK is giving up its say.

    That means that voters in Northern Ireland will have no say in the rules governing them, unlike voters in the rest of Ireland. Realistically, the UK will probably have to stay close to EU rules if it wants a decent trade deal of any sort, but at least in return for giving up its

    voice in Europe, the Westminster parliament will have sovereignty to the very limited extent of choosing to be a US rule taker or an EU rule taker. Brexit means – against its democratic will – Northern Ireland doesn’t even get the comfort blanket of fake sovereignty.

  • Reading Rupa Huq (in today’s Observer) saying “there’s no appetite for a second…

    Reading Rupa Huq (in today’s Observer) saying “there’s no appetite for a second referendum, we just have to make a good fist of Brexit” reminds me of the history of 1914 where war had to start because the troops were already mobilised.

    There’s a possibility that with a deal like the PM’s, Brexit will only be a slow suffocation of Britain’s economic and social potential over maybe twenty years until the UK gets comes down from its nationalism high. However if no deal happens, or if a deal happens and

    the social and political consequences crystallise quickly (lots of labour shortages and investment redirection, the settled status scheme cocking up), then public opinion will snap away from apathy very quickly.

    And when that happens “I don’t agree but we should get on with it anyway” will be absolutely the worst opinion to have held.

  • This is less interesting than I’d expected from the hype.

    This is less interesting than I’d expected from the hype. In particular the key issue – freedom of movement – is brushed away in a paragraph with “hmm, tricky”. The UK’s entire pitch is “all the trade and none of the immigrants”. twitter.com/cer_grant/stat…

    I don’t think the EU could move on that without inflaming countries whose migrants would become second class citizens, but even if it could, it shouldn’t – morally or strategically.

    Everything else – courts, money, etc – the U.K. has signalled it is going to be flexible on, because what it wants, what Cameron wanted and what it has always wanted is all the EU minus immigrants.

    If, as polls suggest, immigration attitudes are starting to turn positive in the U.K., why put the whole EU in hock to a fading xenophobic constituency.

  • EU generally has highest regulatory standards, so global companies align with those.

    EU generally has highest regulatory standards, so global companies align with those. Are UK diverged reg standards going to be even higher? twitter.com/tnewtondunn/st…

    No, of course they aren’t. So look forward to a UK with lower internal standards (labour, environment, etc) and companies who still have

    to align with EU standards for everything that they want to trade (so still rule taking). Plus EU trade deal will be less favourable.

    (Before Andrew Neil gets on my case, EU regs being global standard setters isn’t just pro-EU guff. It’s a Thing.) scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewconten…

  • Links from the week of 21 August 2017

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

  • Good on Corbynism and internationalism.

    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.

  • (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.

  • Just one poll, but it’s hard to see Brexit getting more popular …

    Just one poll, but it’s hard to see Brexit getting more popular … or politicians being brave enough to turn away. twitter.com/simon_nixon/st…

    There’s a lot of fantasy about how we can “go back and get concessions greater than Cameron” and then stay in. We can’t. We can withdraw A50

    but we need agreement and would probably have to give up things not get more concessions. EU won’t let – shouldn’t let – Britain’s emotional

    spasm bring (what UK press wd call) benefits. Would weaken EU and give boost to populist cause just when it is being shown up as empty.

  • PM calls election to win massive support for hard brexit (leaving EU customs union)

    PM calls election to win massive support for hard brexit (leaving EU customs union)

    -> DUP runs on manifesto saying no hard border (so no hard Brexit) ->

    -> PM gets shellacked and loses majority, mood among Tories gets antsy about hard Brexit plans ->

    -> DUP enters talks to support minority government. DUP agrees to support leaving customs union (and hence hard border in NI). *Why?*

  • Links from the week of 15 May 2017

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