Corbynistas continue to gnash their teeth about the local election results, alternatively blaming Blairite sabotage, the MSM, and the Tories piloting voter ID (which probably affected 0.0000000001% of the electorate, but never mind). What they may wish to consider is how bad the party’s position is on Brexit. While the fudge may have been seen […]
If I was Theresa May, this is what I would say to the Brexit subcommittee today
Today represents another hurdle in May’s battle for/against/whatever she’s now doing with Brexit, involving a meeting of the Brexit subcommittee. What makes it all the more daunting is that the prime minister has lost an ally in Amber Rudd on the subcommittee. She is also near the point where continuing to fudge everything is becoming […]
The Brexiteer threats to the House of Lords are nothing but an elaborate bluff
At an Open Europe event this week, Jacob Rees-Mogg, now the great white hopes of the Conservative right, said a lot about the House of Lords. Here’s a snippet: “When it challenges the democratic will, as it is doing now, then we get fed up with it and think it has very little legitimacy and […]
Where is the government on the Customs Union issue? The fun continues
As I have predicted for a long time, signs are definitely there that HM government understands the only way to avoid a hard border in Ireland is at the very, very least to remain in what will effectively be the Customs Union post-Brexit, semantics aside. I say the very least as that may not be […]
The next phase of Brexit dawns: Leavers are preparing the ground for the UK having to remain in a customs union post-Brexit
Asa Bennett had an article put up on the Telegraph website yesterday afternoon entitled “Could Theresa May get away with a customs union climbdown?”For close watchers of all things Brexit, it is the first in what I imagine will be a long series of articles by Leave supporting pundits preparing the ground for Britain remaining […]
Here’s one small ray of sunshine for Remainers
I have said again and again that Brexit is very, very, very likely to happen next year. Also, that far from the hard Brexit scenarios imagined by most, I think the UK government will fold on almost everything (as they have done up until now) and come to a deal that is essentially continued membership […]
Why the Cambridge Analytica story leaves me uneasy, aka what’s wrong with the “web of douchebags” theory
The Guardian story around the supposed “dark arts” performed by the company Cambridge Analytica is still going strong. It has apparently caused a massive dip in Facebook’s share price amongst other things. I’ve reflected a lot on the story and read every article I can find about it, both in Britain and in the American […]
Here’s another problem a second referendum on EU membership might present
While most of the political world is engaged in the culture war around Brexit, I like to have fun thinking of all the possible constitutional and other assorted crises it might throw up. I thought of one last night that has to do with a possible second referendum scenario. Whatever anyone tells you, Theresa May […]
A review of the Brexity fish-centric protest on the Thames this morning
This morning, a fishing boat called Holladays sailed down the Thames loaded with right-wing MPs, Nigel Farage, and a bunch of journos. It was a protest at the fact that the transition deal May has negotiated will keep Britain in the Common Fishing Policy throughout, i.e. until December 2020. Farage as mentioned, was on the […]
Transitional period agreed between the EU and the UK – here’s what that really means
Today, Barnier and Davis held a joint press conference announcing that a transitional period, to last from the end of March 2019 until December 31, 2020, had been agreed by the two parties. However, as ever with these negotiations, it’s worth looking into the detail. There are days when that whole “Theresa May is a […]