The now-enacted will of (some of) the people

[bickster]

32 minutes ago, Genie said:

There was an interesting piece on one of the news shows over the weekend about what the US election meant to the UK. You guys may know all this already but I found it quite interesting.

They said that Trump dislikes the EU and likes Boris, he is willing to do a trade deal with the UK (on his terms) as a means to disrupt the block.

They said Biden is a fan of the EU, thinks Brexit was a huge mistake and a no-deal Brexit will be a catastrophe. He does not like Boris Johnson and sees him as another Donald Trump. He is unlikely to want to do a trade deal with the UK so that it doesn’t incentivise to decision the UK has made.

Pretty much any trade deal regardless of who wins the presidency will require the Republicans to hold all three branches of Govt

The chances of that happening are remote to say the least

The more branches of Govt the Dems hold, the lower the chance of any deal

The Irish Lobby will not allow the Dems to agree a deal when the GFA has been broken or put in danger

[HanoiVillan]

I think the key thing is that no Democrat president is going to sign a trade deal that legitimises breaking the Good Friday Agreement. Or it would be a massive surprise, anyway.

[bickster]

8 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

I think the key thing is that no Democrat president is going to sign a trade deal that legitimises breaking the Good Friday Agreement. Or it would be a massive surprise, anyway.

But isn't it also true that if either the House or the Senate are controlled by the Dems they can also block any deal that way too?

[HanoiVillan]

1 minute ago, bickster said:

But isn't it also true that if either the House or the Senate are controlled by the Dems they can also block any deal that way too?

It's the House (unusually) that gets the final say on trade deals, yes. And I think Pelosi is of the same mindset not to sign anything that breaks the GFA.

[bickster]

6 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

And I think Pelosi is of the same mindset not to sign anything that breaks the GFA.

Definitely, she's stated that on a number of occasions.

[HanoiVillan]

3 minutes ago, bickster said:

Definitely, she's stated that on a number of occasions.

Indeed - and I doubt any successor would change from that (at least in the short-medium term). Getting the Good Friday Agreement signed was a big diplomatic win for a Democrat administration, and there is no benefit in risking throwing away House seats with large Irish-American populations just to validate a British political project that they thought was a bad idea at the time.

[ml1dch]

Oh of course, that's still a thing isn't it?

 

 

[StefanAVFC]

Not sure if it's been posted

 

[Stevo985]

17 minutes ago, StefanAVFC said:

Not sure if it's been posted

 

I remain totally ashamed that I used to read that pile of garbage every day. My dad bought the Express every single day and I didn't know any better.

It's a pile of garbage

[Wainy316]

3 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

I remain totally ashamed that I used to read that pile of garbage every day. My dad bought the Express every single day and I didn't know any better.

It's a pile of garbage

My dad used to bring home The Sun I'd read that every day.  Shaped my views when I was young too.

At least it had bewbs and Striker though, the Express has nothing but hate.

[Seat68]

2 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

I remain totally ashamed that I used to read that pile of garbage every day. My dad bought the Express every single day and I didn't know any better.

It's a pile of garbage

Their weather and health reporting are eerily accurate.  Not to mention their unbiased reporting on Lady Di. Their commitment to multiculturalism is second to none. As a report of modern times they are unrivalled. 

[bickster]

 

16 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

Their weather and health reporting are eerily accurate.  Not to mention their unbiased reporting on Lady Di. Their commitment to multiculturalism is second to none. As a report of modern times they are unrivalled. 

I've lost count of how many times cancer has been cured

[Seat68]

Just now, bickster said:

 

I've lost count of how many times cancer has been cured

Fish causes cancer, beer causes cancer, toblerone causes cancer, traffic cones cause cancer, hale and pace cause cancer, black babies cause cancer. 

[bickster]

4 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

Fish causes cancer, beer causes cancer, toblerone causes cancer, traffic cones cause cancer, hale and pace cause cancer, black babies cause cancer. 

Last one is a given

[Enda]

The US envoy to Northern Ireland let it slip that the EU has not yet made public its cards in the event of no deal. The example he gave was, if the UK unceremoniously leave and force a border in Ireland, the EU could refuse to cooperate with the UK aviation authority.

[LondonLax]

9 hours ago, Enda said:

The US envoy to Northern Ireland let it slip that the EU has not yet made public its cards in the event of no deal. The example he gave was, if the UK unceremoniously leave and force a border in Ireland, the EU could refuse to cooperate with the UK aviation authority.

There are definitely levers the EU could pull to make the U.K. very uncomfortable if this gets ugly. 

[bickster]

Just now, LondonLax said:

There are definitely levers the EU could pull to make the U.K. very uncomfortable if this gets ugly. 

I don't think they'll need to pull any levers as such, just leaving will bugger us up anyway

[LondonLax]

Just now, bickster said:

I don't think they'll need to pull any levers as such, just leaving will bugger us up anyway

I am thinking more if the U.K. goes rogue (i.e. No deal and no checks between Britain and NI).

That would put the EU in an awkward position as they would need to break the Good Friday Agreement if they were to defend their single market along the Irish border. 

If it did come to that I think the EU would not put up the border but instead put maximum pressure on the U.K. (extreme things like not allowing U.K. flights over EU airspace etc) whilst pursuing the U.K. through international courts to have the border erected in the Irish Sea, as previously agreed.   

[bickster]

1 minute ago, LondonLax said:

I am thinking more if the U.K. goes rogue (i.e. No deal and no checks between Britain and NI).

That would put the EU in an awkward position as they would need to break the Good Friday Agreement if they were to defend their single market along the Irish border. 

If it did come to that I think the EU would not put up the border but instead put maximum pressure on the U.K. (extreme things like not allowing U.K. flights over EU airspace etc) whilst pursuing the U.K. through international courts to have the border erected in the Irish Sea, as previously agreed.   

Yes, I agree. I was just trying to distinguish betweeen spiteful acts, which I don't think they'll need to do and neccessary acts which they will because of something the UK has done.

[snowychap]

EU citizens unlawfully resident in the UK to stay that way during “grace period”

Quote

The UK government has long taken the position that EU citizen students and self-sufficient people who do not have Comprehensive Sickness Insurance are living in the UK unlawfully. The Home Office has now confirmed that people in this position will remain unlawfully resident in the post-Brexit “grace period” unless they successfully apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The department has told the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) that it has no plans to pull EU nationals out of possible illegality, despite passing regulations that could easily be tweaked to do the job.

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The Home Office, like God, helps those who help themselves. As the letter points out, people unlawfully resident can remedy that situation fairly easily by applying to the EU Settlement Scheme. For that purposes of that scheme, Treaty rights and Comprehensive Sickness Insurance and all the rest of it are irrelevant; living in the UK is the main criterion. A successful Settlement Scheme application makes unlawful residence go away, in other words (although it will remain a problem for a naturalisation application for up to ten years).

The department has also advised employers and landlords that they should continue to hire and house EU citizens who can show a passport or ID card, without making further enquiries as to their legal status, until 30 June 2020. That should limit the odds of any Windrush-like experiences for EU citizens in this position — although that relies on government advice being properly communicated, and complied with. And after 30 June, for those who miss the application deadline, all bets are off.