The real joke here is that the media political class pretend that they are really upset about Cummings breaking lockdown rules whereas the reality is that they despise his politics, foresight and drive. They know he will do a good job with Brexit, he will not extend the transition period.

The good news is that this saga is exposing the media for what it is...

Nissan sticking with the UK rather than the EU.

The EU's attempt to string out negotiations will fail!

"It is understood that a letter from the UK chief negotiator David Frost to Mr Barnier, sent on May 21, in which Mr Frost said he was “perplexed” by the EU’s refusal to offer Britain the sort of deal it had offered other countries, sounded the alarm bell for some EU members and made them realise just how risky it could be for the EU to continue marking time."

The EU has been waiting for over two years for the incompetent English government to get their act together and explain what the fuck they wanted. There was an agreement that got voted down several times. Then the UK backpedaled on earlier commitments. If anybody is making sure deadlines are missed you don't need to look beyond the pond.

But seriously, nobody in the European member states gives a shit about the UK anymore. Either a deal happens within the framework of the earlier commitments or it doesn't. Nobody in the EU seriously thinks a no deal Brexit will be the fault of Barnier or his team.

It's nice to see though that the Conservative media is already insulating the Conservative party from criticism and fools lap it up like kittens drink milk. Good riddance.

I'm with you on this...the best way forward is to accept "no deal", deals will emerge over time, we'll just have to accept some economic fall-out which will be dwarfed by the economic fall-out from the virus in any case. In other words, a Brexit deal no longer matters.

My only difference with you is that I think the EU have been played very well by the UK government, that ultimately the UK government sees no deal as far superior to some half-baked deal that ties us to EU rules.I also think that the EU is on the path to its own implosion...but time will tell.

dwarfed — Chester

By all estimates it's about 3 times as large as the consequences of no deal for the UK. I wouldn't call that dwarfed by any measure.

My only difference with you is that I think the EU have been played very well by the UK government — Chester

The choice of words alone demonstrate you have little to no experience in negotiations. If you want a long term relationship, regardless of what it's going to look like, "playing" the other party is not going to help your own cause. Zero sum games are inane and a lost opportunity every time it's pursued.

People in the UK are generally sick of economic estimates related to a no deal Brexit, it is pretty obvious that pro-EUers will give as negative an estimate of costs as possible. Most Brits are now willing to see, we are willing to accept no deal even if there are short term costs.

I have a very low opinion of the EU and when you see that they will only give us a reasonable trade deal if we concede sovereignty to them, you should be able to see why. No other country in the world expects us to surrender any level of sovereignty in order to have a trade deal. Fuck the EU, it is clearly anti-democratic.

Benkei is right. It was embarrassing to watch the Tory party pulling their own hair out and scrapping like cats in a sack over what they want out of Brexit, what sort of Brexit they want, or how to get out of the hole they had dug for themselves. At every turn in their indecision they lost more and more negotiating cards until they are now in the position of having to beg for some scraps to cobble together some kind of deal.

Because as I said before, no other country will accommodate the UK until they have sorted out their relationship with the EU first. At every stage the UK will have to go back to Barnier on their knees.

What an unholy mess.

Oh, it's all Banier's fault, or it's those lefties over there.

The problem with the Conservative party is that at the time when May was PM the Westminster party (MP's) did not reflect the membership (that's why the Brexit party bloomed). Most Tory MP's wanted to remain bound to the EU...that's all changed now. I firmly believe that we will leave the transition situation and become a sovereign country again at the end of the year.

The UK hadn't lost its sovereignty.

Now on 6th of June 2020, we have a speech by Michel Barnier, in which he points out in detail how the British negotiators are pulling back from the commitments in the withdrawal agreement past last December. That the withdrawal agreement and the commitments agreed and signed up to by both sides in its formulation, will form the basis of the EU negotiating position.

So as predicted the talks are going nowhere, the British side is conducting a sham of a negotiation, so as to blame the other side when no agreement is reached and we are heading for a no trade deal Brexit.

This morning Nissan said that if there is no deal, then its manufacturing presence in the UK would become unsustainable. This issue is widely regarded as the canary in the coal mine, whereby if Nissan pulls the plug, the whole thing will go up in smoke.

Somehow I can't see the government surviving to 31st December, or if by some miracle they do, they will sink shortly afterwards.

with Chester gone you have no one to argue with now :sad:

Somehow I can't see the government surviving to 31st December, or if by some miracle they do, they will sink shortly afterwards. — Punshhh

If Boris learned one thing from the Brexit negotiations last year it's that running the clock down focuses minds on both sides - and I suspect, his in particular. Expect much more activity as the October deadline for a framework deal approaches and Covid-19 pressures ease, but brinkmanship will be the main tactic again..

I've had a change of heart after reading this on Quora;

Is Brexit going to make the UK more powerful?

So in that spirit, I will answer, yes of course it will. Guaranteed. We will have all the easiest deals in history and a landmass full of Big Red Buses proclaiming how the original Big Red Bus was not only telling the truth, but was exactly perfect in it’s predictions, remarkably accurate. In fact, accurate to the penny.

After the German car makers have done a surprise above and beyond delivery of an EU deal that’s even sweeter than what was promised by Vote Leave, there will be nothing stopping the UK as those fantastically favourable international trade deals roll in for our liberated nation. Each nation around the world will be desperately trying to out-bid the other nations in their attempts to be the most favoured trading nation for the UK. It will be open competition of giveaway deals that are eyewateringly profitable to the UK.

This will power a renewed era of British expansionalism that will see the UK sweep the globe as a benevolent, highly respected super power. The respect for the UK’s social savvy will only be matched by the admiration that the world has for how cohesive and united our society is but towering above this will be the respect, globally for how completely uncorrupt we are, with nothing but fair play and not the faintest hint of collusion in tax avoidance, money laundering, dark money and criminal money anywhere near any British jurisdiction or dependency.

It’s only onwards and upwards from here. Rule Brittania!

Chester where are you?

Gavin Williamson* can't resign, or be sacked, however bad the mess gets, because if he does, the spell is broken. Going right back to the lie on the side of the bus and the breaking point poster.
The Rubicon was crossed at Barnard Castle, there is no way back now, no resignations, no apologies, no accountability, no sign of the Prime Minister. They can only accelerate, the closer to the cliff edge we get, the faster we must go.


*Gavin Williamson is the education secretary in the UK, presiding over the A level grade debacle. One of the Yes men in Johnson's populist government.

By Brandon Lewis's own admission the govt is about to row back on the NI aspect the Brexit withdrawal treaty, in contravention of international law. As this will mean a total ruination of the UK's trust as a negotiator with the EU (and anyone else) we must assume the trade deal is dead; we'll leave without one and Boris will blame the EU. Quite how he justifies what being seen to be untrustworthy will imply for any future agreement his govt enters into remains to be seen. Maybe his populist instincts tell him his 'base' - (yes it's the Trump term for ignorant reactionary voters, looking more and more valid in the UK too..) couldn't care about such niceties as our national reputation as long as they get to keep the nasty foreigners out of our fishing grounds..

Pacta sunt servanda.

Well, if we're talking bonds, reneging on promises happens quite often with sovereigns. Takes about 3 to 5 years to win the trust of the capital markets back but that's often driven by the opportunity of profit. Institutional memories last longer and political gears move slower. If the UK follows through with this, it will sour EU and UK relations for at least a decade. Costs to be borne by taxpayers as usual.

So, China can do what it likes with HK then and the Brits can't use the international law objection any more. Bad move.

Nobody gives a fuck about HK any way. It's barely in the news. I've stopped buying Chinese stuff or products with Chinese sourced parts. Difficult, time consuming and expensive.

If Boris learned one thing — Tim3003

It would be a great novelty.

Apart from the economic meltdown, the loss of trust, status and integrity, the end of the United Kingdom is assured; I think even most of the Unionists will see that a united Ireland in the EU is preferable to an isolated UK in chaos and the inevitable hard border and associated civil unrest. And Scotland will follow, with Wales wishing it had suggested a United Republic of Fuck the English.

I think even most of the Unionists will see that a united Ireland in the EU is preferable to an isolated UK in chaos — unenlightened

It seems not. I heard a DUP MP interviewed last night and his view was effectively that anything that strengthens the links between NI and the UK is a good thing. Whether the Unionists can keep hold of power is another thing altogether though..

What strikes me is the total lack of fuss with which the govt made this announcement. I remember too that a year ago Boris kept insisting the EU departure treaty he'd negotiated did not necessarily mean greater customs checks and paperwork between NI and the UK, when everyone else could see it did. So I think this new bill was envisaged even back then, and Boris never meant to stick to what he'd just signed..

We are still awaiting the EU response to the bill. It should be fun!

It seems not. I heard a DUP MP interviewed last night and his view was effectively that anything that strengthens the links between NI and the UK is a good thing. — Tim3003

Yes, that would be a a real problem for the secret agenda to rid ourselves of that pesky province. But we have ways of getting the IRA to persuade the Unionists. Have a vote for hard border and troubles, or unification of the Island of Ireland with EU guarantees, and see who gets elected...

Brexit: ‘Absolutely no chance’ of US-UK trade deal passing Congress if Boris Johnson damages Good Friday Agreement, Pelosi warns

Sounds like more Boris bluff and bluster. Does he really want to make the UK a pariah state just when he needs the world to trust it on crucial international trade deals?

I don't think Boris knows what he's doing.

Very possible. I blame Cummings anyway. This is almost certainly his idea.

I blame Cummings anyway. This is almost certainly his idea. — Baden

Ah, you mean the Prime Minister.

Woah, the GBP is currently being massacred against the Euro/USD on expectations Britain will go rogue. I just lost about 50 euro on the paltry amount I have in a British bank account. Thanks, PM Cummings, you prick.

Ah, maybe that's it. It's all a scam for them and their rich friends. Sell, force the market down, buy, U-turn.

Have some anti-brexit propaganda, chaps.

https://twitter.com/Femi_Sorry/status/1302864160372527104