A dire assessment by Ian Blackford, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons, on the British parliament’s demand that Prime Minister Theresa May must renegotiate the draft Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union, including dropping the peace-saving Backstop Protocol:
“We were told the backstop was there to protect the peace process but tonight the Conservative Party has effectively ripped apart the Good Friday Agreement.
This House should be ashamed of itself.”
Even The Mirror, a British tabloid newspaper not exactly famed for its political acumen, has been forced to note that:
Theresa May’s willingness to jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement to save her Brexit skin is the reckless irresponsibility of a dangerous Prime Minister.
What a U-turn when the proposed deal with the EU she insisted for months was the only show in town is now up for renegotiation.
The rest of Europe displays no appetite to reopen discussions on the Northern Ireland backstop to avoid a hard border.
Especially when that might drive a coach and horses through the treaty signed 21 years ago to end Troubles that killed 3,600 people.
But Brussels has said there will be no renegotiating, right? So…the treaty stays intact?
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It has been said that PM May is now off to Brussels to be told to eff off, in 27 diferent languages.
When you listen to the ERG (Jacob Rees Mogg etal), the dumping of the Good Friday Agreement is exactly what they want. The hard brexit group have numbers around 50 to 60, I don’t understand why this lot and the DUP are allowed to exert so much influence. Certainly the main player’s interests, in this sorry fiasco do not extend beyond themselves or to any country.
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NI was always a can of worms for Westminster, adding Brexit to the GFA simply serves it up in a poison chalice. ‘Twould be funny if it wasn’t all so serious.
Yesterday the HoC agreed to rule out leaving with no deal, but then refused the only exit deal on offer from the EU. Logically that leaves revoking Art. 50 and remaining in the EU as the only option?
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the DUP/orange order and the ERG may well dominate in westminster.
It is inconceivable they can hold Ireland and the other EU member states to ransom in such a fashion
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Isn’t it telling that it takes an SNP MP to point out the obvious at Westminster.
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Ok. The first Bomb has gone off, in Derry. Things are on a knife edge. A friend recently returned from Crossmaglen, said: “The whole ton is silently watching and waiting”. The same might apply right along the border. it is now on the very edge of a chasm. There are many things that can be said about the Democratic and monster raving lunatic party, but one thing above all. They will bear the responsibility, and the moral guilt, of any war that restarts as a result of their totally selfish tactics and mentality, and their absolute hatred of Irish democracy, which has led to the collapse of the assembly and brought the island of Ireland once again to the brink of a war. Non-Republicans did this. The nationalists tried their best. The scots supported the Irish concerns, politically, at Westminister. But the whole collapsing mess is clearly due to the pivotal voting and utter stupidity of the DUP> When and if blood is really shed, it will not be Nationalists to blame.
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This has been the story in this part of Ireland for a very long time. The Dup have a lot to answer for, past and present. No doubt they will squirm their way out of it as usual. They are basically a bunch of bigots. But unfortunately there are enough bigots in the six counties to see that they remain in power. Nothing has changed nor won’t so long as these knuckle draggers are allowed to exist as they do. Shame Fein seem intent on appeasing them at every opportunity. Grow a set. Maybe the new leadership will have more balls than the old crew. Hears hopeing.
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The DUP are in control, or think they are in control because they have the Westminster government on a string.
For them a hard border would be no bad thing reinforcing their word view of a Protestant state for a Protestant people. Fortress Londonderry holding out against the insurrectionist Fenian scum is their core ideology, and many in the Tory party agree.
Well they’ve collapsed the Assembly and now they tear up the GFA. For them the war never ended, the IRA gave up its weapons but the British government never did.
But the landscape has changed. People like the open border, free movement, free trade and all the good that goes with that. The DUP and their Britnat soul mates want to drag Ireland away from that.
Ian Blackford is quite correct when he cries out shame on the perfidious aggressive policies of the British state. And yes they are doing the same in Scotland trying to reverse the Scottish Parliament.
In Scotland the SNP are the Government in Hollyrood, and in Westminster they have 35 out of 59 ( or 60% ) of the seats. And in the Brexit referendum Scotland voted 62% to remain in the UK,
With cries yesterday from the Tory benches for SNP leader Iain Blackford to ” f#ck off ” and with SNP proposals being rejected and disregarded time after time after time, how much longer can this go on
A united Ireland and independent Scotland within the EU makes so much sense.
Let us sieze the opportunity.
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The DUP’s control won’t last very long. Their cupboard loyalty doesn’t go down well in England.
The GFA was ratified by plebiscite in two of the territories involved, but not in Great Britain. Politicians and the public in Britain probably don’t regard it as anything more than another treaty that can be abrogated. The attitude in England seems to be that leaving the EU is more important than keeping NI in the EU, so it’s likely that NI will be cut adrift regardless of anyone else’s opinion or wishes.
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last sentence should read:
he attitude in England seems to be that leaving the EU is more important than keeping NI in the UK, so it’s likely that NI will be cut adrift regardless of anyone else’s opinion or wishes.
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Predicable.
But stranger is that leading sections of the British Labour Party seem happy to place the only worth-while part of the Withdrawal Agreement, namely the backstop, in question.
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I think the DUP have been fundamental, if Brexit gets delivered, it will be because of the DUP.
Aaron Banks speaking at a DUP dinner
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And if Brexit doesn’t deliver the glorious future promised, people will remember that Brexit got delivered because of the DUP. at a price of over a billion quid.
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If Brexit doesn’t deliver a glorious future it’s almost certain that it will be because if the dirty foreigners residing in the motherland.
The poor and the immigrant will feel the white man’s stick. Guaranteed Wee Jim. Scapegoats always required.
And yes, over recent days it has been announced that the government are gaming for the introduction of martial law
There may be trouble ahead. That’s for sure. This is only going to end one way and it’s shite, at least in England . Hopefully the rest of us will be off.
Filled your immigrant form in yet Wee Jim?
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