BREXIT - Is This Really Still Rumbling On? 😴
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Thought the same. One of those announcements that relies on most people not realising that £Xmillion is not a big number in public spending terms.Pross said:
By chance we do a bit of work for a guy with his own haulage company. He's cash rich and recently started just buying up land that come on the market near strategic routes to try to get planning for truck stops. He usually gives us a call (and probably a few other consultants) a call to say he's buying the land unless there's anything we can see that will prevent him getting consent and if not just goes ahead at risk.rick_chasey said:
£50m doesn’t seem that much given how many miles of motorway there areelbowloh said:On another note, the government has decided that yes they are actually responsible for improving facilities and conditions of truck drivers and Grant Shapps has applied for £50million to improve shower/toilet and refreshment facilities at truck stops having seen that our facilities are worse than what is found on the continent.
We then help in get planning consent and he probably has about 60-70% success rate. I suspect each one costs a couple of million by time he's bought the land, paid all his fees, sorted out access and built the thing out but as a haulier he knows there is a huge shortage and as a businessman presumably knows he will make money from them.
The motorway network isn't too badly served, it's the A roads that struggle. I sometimes have long non-motorway drives and finding somewhere to stop for a toilet break is a pain. We used to have laybys with toilets all over the place but they've been closed over the years as they became a maintenance headache for Councils and a magnet for vandalism, drug use and cottaging. Laybys also left drivers at risk of hijacking / theft of loads.
£50 million is going nowhere, the Government would be better coming up with measures to help people like our client locate and develop suitable sites and leave it to the private sector.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Frost seems to be almost boasting that Johnson signed the deal in bad faith.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
"There’s a widespread feeling in the UK that the EU did try to use Northern Ireland to encourage UK political forces to reverse the referendum results or, at least, to keep us closely aligned with the EU.rjsterry said:Frost seems to be almost boasting that Johnson signed the deal in bad faith.
Moreover, that the protocol represents a moment of EU overreach when the UK’s negotiating hand was tied. And, therefore, cannot reasonably last in its current form.
Whether or not you agree with either of those analyses, the facts on the ground are what matter above all."
A Portuguese journalist asked if they had ever intended to abide by it and had they signed it in good faith, to which the answer was that it should be a given that we always enter into agreements in good faith.0 -
Maybe there was a world in which the protocol could have worked, more sensitively implemented. But the world has now moved on and we now face a very serious situation. The protocol is not working. It’s completely lost consent in one community in Northern Ireland, it’s not doing the thing, it was set up to do: protect the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
In fact, doing the opposite. It has to change.
No one here is expert in Northern Ireland and we’re not asking you to be. We’re asking you, the EU, to work with us to help us manage the delicate balance in the Belfast Agreement – and not to disrupt it; to help us reflect the concerns of everyone in Northern Ireland, from all sides of the political spectrum, and to make sure the peace process is not undermined.
The key feature of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is balance between different communities and between their links with the rest of the UK and with the Republic of Ireland. That balance has been shredded by the way this protocol is working.
The fundamental difficulty is that we’re being asked to run a full-scale external boundary of the EU through the centre of our country, to apply EU law without consent in one part of it and to have any disputes arising from these arrangements settled ultimately in the call to one of the parties.
The way this is happening is disrupting ordinary lives, damaging large or small businesses and causing serious turbulence, to the institutions within Northern Ireland.0 -
Also "What most people call 'Hard Brexit', in its original sense of leaving the EU customs union and single market was essential.
"It was the only form of Brexit that allowed us freedom to experiment and freedom to act."
Weird from this guy: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/30/dont-panic-heres-how-brexit-can-make-britain-can-be-a-great-trad/
(2016: "There is a solution. It is to go for Norway status for now, but explicitly as a transitional arrangement. We should say that we intend, after exit, to retain this status for say five years and to use that period to reflect and if necessary negotiate a Free Trade Agreement like Canada’s, if that is what we want to do, or to keep Norway status if we don’t.")0 -
It's almost as if there wasn't warnings that this would be the case but on they ploughed decrying it as Project Fear and then negotiated and signed said deal.TheBigBean said:Maybe there was a world in which the protocol could have worked, more sensitively implemented. But the world has now moved on and we now face a very serious situation. The protocol is not working. It’s completely lost consent in one community in Northern Ireland, it’s not doing the thing, it was set up to do: protect the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
In fact, doing the opposite. It has to change.
No one here is expert in Northern Ireland and we’re not asking you to be. We’re asking you, the EU, to work with us to help us manage the delicate balance in the Belfast Agreement – and not to disrupt it; to help us reflect the concerns of everyone in Northern Ireland, from all sides of the political spectrum, and to make sure the peace process is not undermined.
The key feature of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is balance between different communities and between their links with the rest of the UK and with the Republic of Ireland. That balance has been shredded by the way this protocol is working.
The fundamental difficulty is that we’re being asked to run a full-scale external boundary of the EU through the centre of our country, to apply EU law without consent in one part of it and to have any disputes arising from these arrangements settled ultimately in the call to one of the parties.
The way this is happening is disrupting ordinary lives, damaging large or small businesses and causing serious turbulence, to the institutions within Northern Ireland.0 -
They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
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Starting to think Keir Starmer might be a front for a group of performance artists a la Alison Pearson...
Everything about this is awful. Car crash, "more to your left", you have just failed etc etc. 😵🤪🥴We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
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You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
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By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
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mate.TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
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TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
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In what sense?TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
If we'd gone for David Frost's 2016 preferred Norway option, would Northern Ireland be this much of an issue?0
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TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
I'm more of the opinion that NI is merely a pawn in the game Frost is playing. It'll be discarded once it's served its wrecking purpose.
What persuades you that someone who signs an international treaty 'in good faith' then almost straight away wants to ditch it has any honourable intentions? Can you explain what precisely the EU has reneged on from their part of the Agreement that gives Frost the excuse he's using?0 -
I mean he's trying to sound like he cares, but seriously?TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
"I signed this nonsense because it was expedient but I'm not intending to abide with it. And you say I'm not a trustworthy partner? You're the ones who can't be trusted for making me do it."0
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On a lighter note I see the Mail is running a story on top dishes to freeze now to avoid supply chain disappointment at Christmas. 🤣1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
I'm not being entirely serious.tailwindhome said:
In what sense?TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
That said, keeping unionists happy in this situation doesn't necessarily come at a cost to any other community, and does improve the chances of peace. For example, while you all ridicule my honesty box system, there is no reason it should annoy any community more than the other.0 -
Or even the backstop!kingstongraham said:If we'd gone for David Frost's 2016 preferred Norway option, would Northern Ireland be this much of an issue?
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Problem is, nor is FrostTheBigBean said:
I'm not being entirely serious.tailwindhome said:
In what sense?TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Sort of like when the EU asked 2,500 pages of questions on financial equivalence, and still couldn't decide whether an identical regulatory system was more equivalent than China's even when it could be terminated with 30 days notice? Yes, he's probably playing the game.tailwindhome said:
Problem is, nor is FrostTheBigBean said:
I'm not being entirely serious.tailwindhome said:
In what sense?TheBigBean said:
Lord Frost. He's fighting for you.tailwindhome said:
By who?TheBigBean said:
You don't feel represented?tailwindhome said:
The Conservative and Unionist PartyTheBigBean said:
Who is they in this context?tailwindhome said:They're so horny for a No Deal Brexit it hurts
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TheBigBean said:
Yes, he's probably playing the game.
TheBigBean said:You're not a believer that the UK is trying to keep the peace in NI?
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
I think he is merely pointing out the hypocrisy of the EU. Maybe even having a dig at those that think the EU is any more honourable or straight forward than the UK.tailwindhome said:TheBigBean said:Yes, he's probably playing the game.
TheBigBean said:You're not a believer that the UK is trying to keep the peace in NI?
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They are not contradictory statements - not least because one is a question. Ultimately, you play a game to win something. The question remains what is the UK trying to win? It could be peace, it could be improved polling or it could be something else - I think it is an interesting question. I don't think the UK is aiming for a no deal Brexit as a win.tailwindhome said:TheBigBean said:Yes, he's probably playing the game.
TheBigBean said:You're not a believer that the UK is trying to keep the peace in NI?
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The UK is better placed than the EU to realise that the good Friday agreement is essentially a truce. It allows the people of Northern Ireland to choose one or both Irish and UK nationalities and the benefits they may bring. It allows the head bangers to think they have won and giving those in charge positions of political respectability for the benefit. The Irish think they can have a unified Ireland in the long term through making Brexit a pain in the arse. I personally think the EU will make enough missteps and the unionists are mental enough for that not to happen. Personally I think that the UK government and English populations are pretty ambivalent to whether NI stays or not.0
