Brexit.

[Sheera Khan]

The unicameral approach works only with a relative distribution of power and generally more thoughtful and reasonable MPs though. Several pieces of Tory bills were rejected or heavily ammended by the upper house and with good reasons. While I agree it's an undemocratic institution I don't see it as pure evil.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The unicameral approach works only with a relative distribution of power and generally more thoughtful and reasonable MPs though. Several pieces of Tory bills were rejected or heavily ammended by the upper house and with good reasons. While I agree it's an undemocratic institution I don't see it as pure evil.

Certainly we need a second chamber to revise and amend the detail of bills, often saving the House of Commons from itself by fixing poorly-drafted legislation, and I worry about the implications of no longer being able to draw on the pool of talent provided by former ministers and senior parliamentarians who have left the Commons.

There's a helpful explainer to Labour's proposals, of which reform of the House of Lords is only one aspect, here

Labour’s constitutional proposals | Institute for Government

What the Brown Commission recommendations for constitutional reform say and what they mean.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

The report itself spends a great deal of time discussing its proposal to give the new second chamber power actually to reject certain types of legislation ("Constitutional statutes") and how those would be defined and identified, but is a lot less clear about what should happen to the lords' existing powers to delay legislation that was not in the governing party's election manifesto and under what circumstances the revised powers, however defined, should be exercised.

https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Commission-on-the-UKs-Future.pdf

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Nigel Farage returning to frontline politics and going “all in” at the next general election would cause the Tory vote in red wall seats to collapse, MPs fear.
Reform, which grew out of the Brexit Party and Ukip, plans to stand candidates in every seat outside Northern Ireland, and is focusing its efforts on the north and Midlands.
Some 17 per cent of voters who backed the Conservatives at the 2019 general election plan to vote for Reform next time, according to YouGov.

The party has approached senior Tories, including former cabinet ministers, for discussions about joining them.

The MP said: “If Farage goes all in, anything can happen, because the only person like him is Boris: he can move numbers, he can move polls, he can move people, especially in this demographic. But if he’s just carrying on turning his attention a bit, it won’t matter; he’d have to be fully into it, with a plan, it’s got to be the Nigel Farage party, otherwise we’ll be fine.”

Farage has refused to rule out standing for parliament and told The Times he was “actively involved” with raising money and finding candidates. “Life is much more fun doing what I’m doing now,” he said. “But you never know, I’m not ruling it out completely.” He added there were “always discussions” about defections from the Tories.

Tories fear Nigel Farage and Reform UK could deliver a red wall rout …

archived 12 Dec 2022 16:19:35 UTC

archive.today

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

‘We’re only seeing the negative’: UK farmers on Brexit and losing the common agricultural policy

In the third of our series looking at the impact of the Brexit trade deal, the Guardian talks to farmers about the difficulties they face

www.theguardian.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Lords will delay Rishi Sunak’s bonfire of EU laws

Rishi Sunak will be forced by the House of Lords to abandon plans for a bonfire of European Union laws by the end of the year, The Times has been told.The gover

www.thetimes.co.uk

Evernote link

In other news, night follows day and something that has gone up comes down again.

This was always, to my mind, going to be the inevitable outcome -- the measure was introduced, I'm sure, so that the Government could be seen to be "getting Brexit done" and then complain that Brexit would be a success if only the remainer elite in the Lords and elsewhere didn't keep on frustrating their best efforts to deliver the unicorns as promised.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Evernote link

Pleasing though it is to see the Telegraph acknowledging that it's all been a bit of a catastrophe, I'm afraid I don't see the UK rejoining in the immediate future, since I don't think the EU will want us back until they're satisfied we're a sober and reliable partner again who can be trusted to honour our commitments and obligations, and until they're also satisfied that there's genuine bipartisan support for rejoining, since I don't think they'll want to risk spending a lot of time and effort on our re-admittance if they think there's a serious risk we'll start trying to leave as soon as the Tories return to power.

However, I think it's not impossible that, after what promises to be a devastating defeat in the next election, the Tories will split, since they're now a very unstable coalition of conflicting and increasingly incompatible right-wing and centre-right factions, and the more moderate, pro-EU, Conservatives whom Boris Johnson threw out of the party are currently politically homeless.

 

[detrius]

Pleasing though it is to see the Telegraph acknowledging that it's all been a bit of a catastrophe, I'm afraid I don't see the UK rejoining in the immediate future, since I don't think the EU will want us back until they're satisfied we're a sober and reliable partner again who can be trusted to honour our commitments and obligations, and until they're also satisfied that there's genuine bipartisan support for rejoining, since I don't think they'll want to risk spending a lot of time and effort on our re-admittance if they think there's a serious risk we'll start trying to leave as soon as the Tories return to power.

I'm also pretty sure veto powers Ireland and Spain will want to have a chat about Irish reunification and Gibraltar before they'll consider admitting the UK as a junior partner into the EU.

Oh, and tax havens like the Channel Islands will be a no-no.

And if you wait long enough, then maybe the Republic of Scotland will have a word to say as well.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I'm also pretty sure veto powers Ireland and Spain will want to have a chat about Irish reunification and Gibraltar before they'll consider admitting the UK as a junior partner into the EU.

Oh, and tax havens like the Channel Islands will be a no-no.

And if you wait long enough, then maybe the Republic of Scotland will have a word to say as well.

The Good Friday Agreement, of which the UK and the RoI are both signatories, stipulates that the future of Northern Ireland must be decided by referendums on both sides of the Irish border. That's not contentious between the UK and the Republic, both of whom agree that the future of NI is up to the people who live there -- the UK want to be rid the place as soon as possible so the DUP and their supporters become someone else's problem, but no one is suggesting forcing them to join the Republic before they're ready (which will happen sooner or later, but it has to happen in its own time or there will be a bloodbath).

As to Scotland, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I can't see any clear path to Scottish independence, particularly if Labour win by a landslide, but I didn't think Brexit would happen, either.

Irish reunification | Institute for Government

What is a border poll? What would happen if Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland voted in favour of reunification?

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

 

[Veritable Quandry]

Really the UK returning would be a positive for Ireland. It allowed both sides freedom of movement and put a common legal framework across the border.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

However, I think it's not impossible that, after what promises to be a devastating defeat in the next election, the Tories will split, since they're now a very unstable coalition of conflicting and increasingly incompatible right-wing and centre-right factions, and the more moderate, pro-EU, Conservatives whom Boris Johnson threw out of the party are currently politically homeless.

You are forgetting the big elephant in the room, which is that Nigel Farage might return for that election with "Reform UK" and rob 9-10% of the Tories' votes. If Farage returns and has this impact, this will make return to the EU definitely harder to do.

Senior Tories risk losing seats if Nigel Farage returns to politics, experts say

Reform UK resurgence and a Labour swing could threaten Iain Duncan Smith, Dominic Raab and Theresa Villiers

www.theguardian.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

You are forgetting the big elephant in the room, which is that Nigel Farage might return for that election with "Reform UK" and rob 9-10% of the Tories' votes. If Farage returns and has this impact, this will make return to the EU definitely harder to do.

Senior Tories risk losing seats if Nigel Farage returns to politics, experts say

Reform UK resurgence and a Labour swing could threaten Iain Duncan Smith, Dominic Raab and Theresa Villiers

www.theguardian.com

Would it? It wouldn't change the fact that the pro-Brexit constituency is rapidly diminishing, partly because people are finding the reality isn't anything like was promised and partly because the "Leave" vote skewed heavily to the over 65s, a constituency that is, over time, dying off and being replaced by new voters who are heavily pro-Rejoin. And there's no indication that people who voted Remain in 2016 are becoming pro-Leave as they get older.

The UK isn't going to try to rejoin the EU in the immediate future, and won't, I think, until the move has widespread support between the two major political parties.

That doesn't seem likely at the moment, but I think things may look very different in 10 years' time, when fighting with Reform UK for the votes of a greatly diminished pro-Leave rump may not seem a particularly attractive strategy to whatever remains of the Conservative Party. Though we have no way of knowing what the UK, the EU or the world will look like by then, of course, and there may well be a very different set of considerations in play.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Would it? It wouldn't change the fact that the pro-Brexit constituency is rapidly diminishing, partly because people are finding the reality isn't anything like was promised and partly because the "Leave" vote skewed heavily to the over 65s, a constituency that is, over time, dying off and being replaced by new voters who are heavily pro-Rejoin. And there's no indication that people who voted Remain in 2016 are becoming pro-Leave as they get older.

Well... let's just consider for one moment that Farage really returns with Reform UK in the next GE, and they take over a nice amount of seats the Tories had before. What will do that then with the Tories left in HoC?

Would it

a) have no impact on their strategy/stuff they do speak out loudly about the bad sides of Brexit or
b) would these Tories MPs consider it as warning of the voters to lean not too much towards the EU again?

Personally I really think b) would become reality. It would be a blow against Tories which might warm up more towards the EU again, so overall Tories more lining up behind pro Brexit lines again.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[Free]

Are seatbelts imported?