Brexit discussion thread XIV (Please read OP before posting)

eire4

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Thanks to the recent trade deal the BBC is able to ask the big questions.

Will UK bands start touring in Liechtenstein?

What is the status of UK citizens passing through Switzerland because guess who doesn't have an airport.

Not a biggie as they are signed up to the TIR convention.

Credit is due to Dowden there for actually being able to keep a straight face when describing this "ambitious" deal with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein that allows UK musicians open access to playing in those countries. Unreal but so many of us have said that so many times about the brexiteers lack of touch with reality here on planet earth.

Enzokk

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

But hold on, Dublin and Brussels are shouting best of both worlds.

OK. Why not for us? Why only the 6 counties? If it's the best of both and all...

It's almost like Gove, a liar, was telling a lie to get the deal through? Everyone knows there is no best of both worlds for Brexit UK. What NI got was access to the market that is easier to trade with and worth more than what the UK will get. There will be friction somewhere and Johnson has decided they want that friction between them and the SM. For NI that friction is between it and the mainland. Yes they will need to change their mindset on trade and see the opportunities that is in the SM instead of the mainland for that to mean they got the best deal out of Brexit.

I see best of both worlds in Gove speak meaning NI still has access to the single market and have the added benefit of restricted movement in the EU. They get market access with all the negatives of Brexit when it comes to travel. How is that not the best of both worlds? People in England just have the restricted travel stuff.

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

If Britain was behaving this way with an interest of Germany's and ignoring an agreement like they are with Ireland there would be tariffs and sanctions already in place by the EU.

The EU has yet to take any credible action.

Legal measures mean nothing to the Tories.

Where are the tariffs?

That's the only way to make them comply.

You were the one telling us that acting unilaterally was a mistake, now you want the EU to do exactly that. It is almost as if your problem is with certain countries in the EU and will suit your argument around that. Nice to see the mask slip.

LaChatteGitane

Strazdas wrote: »

Fascinating story in The Times that the US lodged a formal protest with the UK over NI a week ago and that Frost was given a severe dressing down by US officials :

https://twitter.com/patrickkmaguire/status/1402739632647901187

But then The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/10/northern-ireland-biden-brexit-talks-warning-tensions?utm_term=6279982f16755e4813fe35afc1622a2c&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email


They say this : "A senior US administration official said of the issue that “engagement wasn’t heightened or directed” by Biden. “As with any ally we have frank diplomatic conversations. Jake Sullivan spoke to these issues in his BBC interview, which addressed same themes we have been messaging privately.” "

and this : "However, US officials questioned whether a formal demarche had been issued by the US to the UK, a rare reprimand between two such close allies. The US has said its role was to urge compromise from all sides."

Anyhow, I do hope thsi sh*t show will be sorted out. For the 'subjects' or 'citizens' involved.

Kermit.de.frog

Enzokk wrote: »

It's almost like Gove, a liar, was telling a lie to get the deal through? Everyone knows there is no best of both worlds for Brexit UK. What NI got was access to the market that is easier to trade with and worth more than what the UK will get. There will be friction somewhere and Johnson has decided they want that friction between them and the SM. For NI that friction is between it and the mainland. Yes they will need to change their mindset on trade and see the opportunities that is in the SM instead of the mainland for that to mean they got the best deal out of Brexit.

I see best of both worlds in Gove speak meaning NI still has access to the single market and have the added benefit of restricted movement in the EU. They get market access with all the negatives of Brexit when it comes to travel. How is that not the best of both worlds? People in England just have the restricted travel stuff.




You were the one telling us that acting unilaterally was a mistake, now you want the EU to do exactly that. It is almost as if your problem is with certain countries in the EU and will suit your argument around that. Nice to see the mask slip.

I'm just wondering when the waffle is going to stop and the counter measures begin.

It's a perfectly reasonable question.

The British government is in default of the withdrawal agreement it has signed.

We have the pro EU people talking up the bloc but the bloc has done nothing to ensure compliance and that's why Johnson does what he likes.

And the British are going to do what they like again before the end of the month and the grace period on chilled meats entering NI.

This ends one of two ways. Either the EU forces compliance or Ireland is pushed out of the single market.

Take your pick.

Gerry T

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

I'm just wondering when the waffle is going to stop and the counter measures begin.

It's a perfectly reasonable question.

The British government is in default of the withdrawal agreement it has signed.

We have the pro EU people talking up the bloc but the bloc has done nothing to ensure compliance and that's why Johnson does what he likes.

And the British are going to do what they like again before the end of the month and the grace period on chilled meats entering NI.

This ends one of two ways. Either the EU forces compliance or Ireland is pushed out of the single market.

Take your pick.

Your offering binary choices, there are others, such as the EU follows the measures allowed for within the agreements, such as sanctions, tariffs etc...

It would be like me saying the govt will either put the country in full lockdown or remove all restrictions, but we both know these are not the only options available, and these two polar options are the most unlikely to happen in the short term.

Peregrinus

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

I'm just wondering when the waffle is going to stop and the counter measures begin.

It's a perfectly reasonable question.

The British government is in default of the withdrawal agreement it has signed.

We have the pro EU people talking up the bloc but the bloc has done nothing to ensure compliance and that's why Johnson does what he likes.

And the British are going to do what they like again before the end of the month and the grace period on chilled meats entering NI.

This ends one of two ways. Either the EU forces compliance or Ireland is pushed out of the single market.

Take your pick.

There is a third way, which is a hard border in Ireland. And in fact that's more likely than Ireland being pushed out of the single market; much as the UK might like to force that, and much as certain Brexiters might think that it can, the history of the past hundred years pretty much underlines that it can't. But it can force a hard border in Ireland.

As to when the EU forces compliance with the Protocol, this isn't a simple binary. There are a variety of steps the EU can take; some have already been taken - e.g. the EU has instituted court proceedings against the UK. On the whole, the EU wants to take the steps that will be most effective to force compliance, rather than the steps which will be quickest or most dramatic. The EU is considerably more patient than the UK.

The EU won't default to immediate sanctions against the UK. There's a dispute resolution process to which both countries have signed up; the EU will invoke it. One of the EU's strategic advantages here is that, unlike the UK, it doesn't piss all over the agreements it has entered into and the commitments it has made. This is not an advantage which it has any reason to sacrifice. So it will invoke and pursue the dispute resolution process. Sanctions come at the end of that, if the UK hasn't in the meantime come into line (which would be the EU's hope in following the process).

Quin_Dub

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

I'm just wondering when the waffle is going to stop and the counter measures begin.

It's a perfectly reasonable question.

The British government is in default of the withdrawal agreement it has signed.

We have the pro EU people talking up the bloc but the bloc has done nothing to ensure compliance and that's why Johnson does what he likes.

And the British are going to do what they like again before the end of the month and the grace period on chilled meats entering NI.

This ends one of two ways. Either the EU forces compliance or Ireland is pushed out of the single market.

Take your pick.

It really doesn't though..

It ends one way and one way only , with the EU forcing compliance and the UK capitulating.

A combination of the various extensions and a general focus on the Pandemic has allowed the UK to get away with all of their messing up to this point.

They are rapidly running out of road however - Both externally with the EU and internally with the UK population.

Externally, the EU with the tacit support of the US and other major global players will shortly begin to ratchet up the pressure and the application of tariffs and restrictions on the UK forcing them to accept the reality of the situation they have brought on themselves.

Internally , the Governments ability to hide the worst of the Brexit Impacts behind either the various exemptions and extension that they have been operating under or by blaming current impacts on the Pandemic are now rapidly beginning fade away.

Over the course of the next few months , the "average person in the streets" will begin to directly see and feel the impacts of Brexit and Johnson et al know it. They also know that they have no way to prevent it.

There is no outcome where Ireland is "forced out of the SM" or the UK gets what it wants with impunity , there just isn't.

They are hoping to lay the blame at the feet of the EU just as every UK government has done with most things for the last 40+ years and their complicit media partners are building that story for them , but the impacts will not change.


The only pathway out is the one that anyone with a modicum of reality based intelligence has long since accepted and that is for the UK to apply the NI Protocol and all of the other parts of the agreement that they signed up to.

Kermit.de.frog

Peregrinus wrote: »

There is a third way, which is a hard border in Ireland. And in fact that's more likely than Ireland being pushed out of the single market; much as the UK might like to force that, and much as certain Brexiters might think that it can, the history of the past hundred years pretty much underlines that it can't. But it can force a hard border in Ireland.

As to when the EU forces compliance with the Protocol, this isn't a simple binary. There are a variety of steps the EU can take; some have already been taken - e.g. the EU has instituted court proceedings against the UK. On the whole, the EU wants to take the steps that will be most effective to force compliance, rather than the steps which will be quickest or most dramatic. The EU is considerably more patient than the UK.

The EU won't default to immediate sanctions against the UK. There's a dispute resolution process to which both countries have signed up; the EU will invoke it. One of the EU's strategic advantages here is that, unlike the UK, it doesn't piss all over the agreements it has entered into and the commitments it has made. This is not an advantage which it has any reason to sacrifice. So it will invoke and pursue the dispute resolution process. Sanctions come at the end of that, if the UK hasn't in the meantime come into line (which would be the EU's hope in following the process).

If a border goes up on this island we are heading back to civil war in the north. Not only that but you are opening up a whole new fault line in politics here by effectively saying that those who are pro EU would enhance partition of this country in order to be governed by Brussels.

Things could get nasty here.

There are only realistic options to avoid conflict. Either the EU makes the UK live up to the agreement it has signed or Ireland leaves the SM.

No Irish govt will be choosing a border.

What I would suggest is shifting your focus to Brussels and ask why meaningful action has yet to be taken.

And just for any avoidance of doubt I want a more distant relationship with the EU as long as the EU continues eroding sovereignty but I certainly don't want such decisions forced on Irish people at the behest of the British either.

I'd much prefer the EU took the resolute action it keeps paying lip service to.

If this was Germany or France or some other mid sized country in the core of the continent we would not be having this discussions. Measures would already be in place.

dogbert27

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

If a border goes up on this island we are heading back to civil war in the north. Not only that but you are opening up a whole new fault line in politics here by effectively saying that those who are pro EU would enhance partition of this country in order to be governed by Brussels.

Things could get nasty here.

There are only realistic options to avoid conflict. Either the EU makes the UK live up to the agreement it has signed or Ireland leaves the SM.

No Irish govt will be choosing a border.

What I would suggest is shifting your focus to Brussels and ask why meaningful action has yet to be taken.

And just for any avoidance of doubt I want a more distant relationship with the EU as long as the EU continues eroding sovereignty but I certainly don't want such decisions forced on Irish people at the behest of the British either.

I'd much prefer the EU took the resolute action it keeps paying lip service to.

If this was Germany or France or some other mid sized country in the core of the continent we would not be having this discussions. Measures would already be in place.

It's impressive how many times you can repeat the same point in various posts while completely ignoring all answers given to you.

It will not be a choice for the Irish government to make in putting a hard border on the island.
It will not be an EU choice either.

It will be a UK government choice. And if they are thinking of making that choice the US government are also telling them now that they should already reconsider before life gets even harder for their Brexit.

You are sounding like a shrill Brexiteer now coming out with erosion of sovereignty from Brussels.

When does it actually register with you that Ireland and the EU are one and the same in this.

Kermit.de.frog

dogbert27 wrote: »

You are sounding like a shrill Brexiteer now coming out with erosion of sovereignty from Brussels.

It's a statement of fact. Our sovereignty is being progressively taken away.

To say otherwise is outright denial of what has been obvious for 30 years.

That's neither here nor there.

BTW Boris is telling all of you how he sees this resolved.

"Free trade north south, east west".

He is actually saying it out loud in plain sight because there is only one way that happens for the tories and that is a border between Ireland and the continent.

Sam Russell

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

It's a statement of fact. Our sovereignty is being progressively taken away.

To say otherwise is outright denial of what has been obvious for 30 years.

That's neither here nor there.

BTW Boris is telling all of you how he sees this resolved.

"Free trade north south, east west".

He is actually saying it out loud in plain sight because there is only one way that happens for the tories and that is a border between Ireland and the continent.

There is another way - cancel Brexit. Obviously more likely than us agreeing to a border between us and the single market.

Leroy42

1st off, Johnson says lots of things. He said there would be no need for any declarations for goods between GB and NI.

So one shouldn't pay too much heed to what Johnson says. Its his actions that tell the real story.

Johnson could have put up a border anytime since he became PM, yet each time he didn't. He signed the WA and NIP to avoid it. He knows, the UK knows, the dmage it would do to them if they force a hard border on the island. Any violence that happens will be layed firmly at the door of Brexit. Of course Brexiteers will attempt to shif the blame to Brussles, but everyone will see that the change that led to violence was Brexit.

Ireland recognises that the UK is not the power it once was. Our future cannot be tied solely to one nation. And Brexit is the perfect example of why that would be a terrible idea. Even parts of their own union don't want Brexit, yet the English majority are goint to push on regardless. As the UK are finding out, howver difficult it is to get your vice heard within the group, it is even harder when you leave. So Ireland would effectivley be entering into a union with the UK.

How does that help ou sovereignty?

Seth Brundle

Apparently an article by Allister Heath in today's Telegraph is setting the scene that the EU literally bullied the UK into signing the agreement.
It really is pathetic at this stage but I take it for granted that this hoodwinking of the British public will continue as it has for the last number of years.
The article is behind a paywall but the images from the tweet are below.

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1402894867504799745

schmoo2k

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

It's a statement of fact. Our sovereignty is being progressively taken away.

To say otherwise is outright denial of what has been obvious for 30 years.

That's neither here nor there.

BTW Boris is telling all of you how he sees this resolved.

"Free trade north south, east west".

He is actually saying it out loud in plain sight because there is only one way that happens for the tories and that is a border between Ireland and the continent.

Can you list which sovereign rights have been removed in the last 30 years?

pixelburp

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Apparently an article by Allister Heath in today's Telegraph is setting the scene that the EU literally bullied the UK into signing the agreement.
It really is pathetic at this stage but I take it for granted that this hoodwinking of the British public will continue as it has for the last number of years.
The article is behind a paywall but the images from the tweet are below.

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1402894867504799745

Again reiterating this frustrating contradiction that Brexit is both this glorious declaration of empowered sovereignty for Albion Reborn, yet also beholden and weak to bully-boy EU that was (supposedly) always going to fold at any minute anyway. Rationality cannot possibly win against what almost reads like three layers of cognitive dissonance.

liamog

schmoo2k wrote: »

Can you list which sovereign rights have been removed in the last 30 years?

The 1977 European Law that forced us to stop discriminating on the grounds of sex and marital status?

moon2

BTW Boris is telling all of you how he sees this resolved.

"Free trade north south, east west".

He is actually saying it out loud in plain sight

You do realize that "free trade north, south, east and west" is one of the big things the UK did *not* want, which is why they left the single market?

Can you provide support for when/where Boris said he wanted free trade in all directions and how he intends to enact that? It's the first I've heard of it! Will there be a new EU-like body with pooled sovereignty, or will nations simply relinquish their independence and become a minor principality of the UK subject to direct rule from Westminster?

fash

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

No Irish govt will be choosing a border.

If the 2 options left on the table were "permanently leave the single market, become the UK's vassal, accept their food standards and throw our agricultural sector and reputation under a bus OR put in place a hard border which will last as long as the UK can withstand international sanctions" - I seriously doubt anyone in Ireland would pick option A

ancapailldorcha

fash wrote: »

If the 2 options left on the table were "permanently leave the single market, become the UK's vassal, accept their food standards and throw our agricultural sector and reputation under a bus OR put in place a hard border which will last as long as the UK can withstand international sanctions" - I seriously doubt anyone in Ireland would pick option A

This is a colossal "if". So far, the EU has backed Ireland to the hilt. I think the dichotomy you describe is quite unlikely, especially now that we see some pressure coming from the US.

fly_agaric

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

And just for any avoidance of doubt I want a more distant relationship with the EU as long as the EU continues eroding sovereignty but I certainly don't want such decisions forced on Irish people at the behest of the British either.

You say that but afraid I still doubt it.

Have a feeling you'd be quite happy with the outcome going on your opinion of the EU and your feelings about Ireland getting deeper in as it has grown and developed over the years.
Is that why you seem to hope for this nightmare scenario? (UK refuses to implement NI Protocol no matter what actions the EU takes against them to force compliance).

If Customs checks go in between Ireland and rest of EU we'd be distanced pretty much permanently. If your scenario happens we'll never be part of any further integration or new EU developments over coming years.
Direction of travel will be set to further away. Maybe we'll exit the Euro later if some stress build up in economy due to still being in that while trade with rest of EU gets harder and harder.

If government here followed path of least resistance (which they tend to do) and wasn't very careful how they manage things, Ireland would be headed back fully into UK orbit eventually, probably as a source a cheap labour and food for England. Back to the Future -yay!
I think if very worst comes to the worst IMO, Ireland's national interest would be much better served by EU Customs posts going up.
Let NI look to itself and tend their own garden. There's supposedly a way out of Johnson's "Global Britain" there for the taking (if UK govt. doesn't wipe their bottom with that agreement too)

Quin_Dub

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

This is a colossal "if". So far, the EU has backed Ireland to the hilt. I think the dichotomy you describe is quite unlikely, especially now that we see some pressure coming from the US.

Exactly - The last 6 months or so have been an unnatural scenario between the various extensions and exemptions to the Brexit changes along with the Global Pandemic.

Those "external influences" are all coming to an end over the next couple of months. The reality of how weak and god-awful a position the UK has put themselves in is going to hit Johnson and his government like a tonne of bricks before the summer is out. And more importantly, the British Public are going to get hit with that same reality as well.

fash

liamog wrote: »

The 1977 European Law that forced us to stop discriminating on the grounds of sex and marital status?

Ah but that was 44 years ago - not 30.

CelticRambler

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Apparently an article by Allister Heath in today's Telegraph is setting the scene that the EU literally bullied the UK into signing the agreement.
It really is pathetic at this stage but I take it for granted that this hoodwinking of the British public will continue as it has for the last number of years.
The article is behind a paywall but the images from the tweet are below.

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1402894867504799745

Awwww. Poor Britain. All that effort to #TakeBackControl, only to find itself backed into a corner and forced to sign treaties under duress. "The UK had no real choice ..." Such a shame they couldn't figure out how to make all that reclaimed sovereignty work. :rolleyes:

It's really quite funny, though, to read the phrase "status-obsessed imperialistic bullies" when we have monthly utterances from Johnson lauding Britain's world-class achievements (usually before they've been achieved) and Frost and others proclaiming that Britain's trading partners are just going to have to put up with what England wants, whether that be non-compliant exports or uncomfortable chairs. :pac:

Seth Brundle

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Those "external influences" are all coming to an end over the next couple of months. The reality of how weak and god-awful a position the UK has put themselves in is going to hit Johnson and his government like a tonne of bricks before the summer is out. And more importantly, the British Public are going to get hit with that same reality as well.

But that will be sold as the EU punishing the UK. Will it change the approach used by the UK?

Quin_Dub

Seth Brundle wrote: »

But that will be sold as the EU punishing the UK. Will it change the approach used by the UK?

Oh it definitely will , but pain is pain and the pressure to "solve" it will ramp up massively.

The only viable solution will be for the UK to actually work within the rules that they have signed up to.

How they choose to spin it with the average UK Voter is entirely up to them , but the external realities won't change. The UK will not have any external allies pressuring the EU to give the UK what they want , the opposite will apply if anything.

fash

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

This is a colossal "if". So far, the EU has backed Ireland to the hilt. I think the dichotomy you describe is quite unlikely, especially now that we see some pressure coming from the US.

Yes of course it is a big "if" - i.e. a very lengthy mountain with step off points along the way - but ultimately if it came down to it, why would Ireland choose to permanently surrender to UK vassalage rather than simply wait Johnson (under enormous international pressure) out? It is to show that Kermit's suggestion can never be correct.

Strazdas

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Apparently an article by Allister Heath in today's Telegraph is setting the scene that the EU literally bullied the UK into signing the agreement.
It really is pathetic at this stage but I take it for granted that this hoodwinking of the British public will continue as it has for the last number of years.
The article is behind a paywall but the images from the tweet are below.

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1402894867504799745

This article tells me that the hard Brexiteers know that they haven't a leg to stand on over the Protocol. Having to literally rewrite history at short notice - pumping out barefaced lies and propaganda that must be making even a few right wingers in Britain wince.

Muahahaha

Id say the joint press conference between Biden and Johnson later should be interesting. Though its a pity on his way to the UK that Biden didnt direct Air Force 1 to do a stop off in Shannon or Dublin for a quick photo op

Professor Moriarty

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Apparently an article by Allister Heath in today's Telegraph is setting the scene that the EU literally bullied the UK into signing the agreement.
It really is pathetic at this stage but I take it for granted that this hoodwinking of the British public will continue as it has for the last number of years.
The article is behind a paywall but the images from the tweet are below.

https://twitter.com/pmdfoster/status/1402894867504799745

Hold my coat...

This is also from today's Telegraph. It's an opinion piece written by Nile Gardiner, Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom - part of the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

To put it very mildly, Mr Gardiner seems quite unimpressed by President Biden. Interestingly, it turns out that Biden is an Irish Nationalist and an IRA supporter.


Headline:
Joe Biden should keep his sneering anti-British, anti-Brexit views to himself

Article:
The revelation that the Biden administration issued a “demarche” or diplomatic dressing down to the British government last week over its handling of the Northern Ireland border should cause outrage in Britain. This is the kind of treatment that is normally dished out to enemies of the United States, such as Russia, and hardly ever issued against a close ally.
As both The Telegraph and The Times have reported, Biden’s most senior diplomat in London delivered a firm rebuke on June 3 on behalf of the president to Brexit minister Lord Frost declaring that Britain’s stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol was jeopardising the future of the Northern Ireland peace process. To make matters even worse, Yael Lempert, Washington’s chargé d'affaires in London, issued a thinly veiled warning, linking the prospect of a US/UK free trade deal with White House demands for the UK to follow the European Union’s directives on agricultural standards.

In many respects, this is Joe Biden's "back of the queue" moment. Barack Obama's now infamous anti-Brexit intervention didn't go down well back in 2016, and threats like this will always backfire with the British people, who don't appreciate being lectured to by US presidents, not least one who displays his anti-British sentiments on his sleeve.

Unlike Obama, however, who was encouraged to intervene ahead of the Brexit referendum by then Prime Minister David Cameron, Biden didn’t act at the prodding of Downing Street. Biden’s Northern Ireland warning was a political cruise missile strike aimed directly at Boris Johnson and his Conservative government, with the intention of forcing a change in British policy. As a staunch Irish nationalist, Biden has frequently been critical of Great Britain over Northern Ireland, and now that he is president sees an opportunity to take it to task.

There is no love lost between Biden’s team, many of whom served in the Obama administration, and Boris Johnson. Some of Biden’s extremely sensitive aides are still unhappy with the former Mayor of London for his sharp criticism of Barack Obama over the removal of the Winston Churchill bust from the Oval Office back in 2009. They also intensely dislike Brexit and Johnson’s formerly close partnership with the Trump presidency. In addition, they have been angered by the strong stance of the British government in the culture wars, with its firm rejection of the kind of “woke” liberal agenda that is now central to the thinking of the Biden operation. Indeed, on many issues, the US and British governments are worlds apart, and Johnson has been forced to work with the most Left-wing US presidency in American history.

The arrogance of the Biden administration ahead of the G7 meeting in Cornwall has been nothing short of breathtaking. This is no way to treat America's closest friend and ally. The British people didn't vote for Joe Biden and the Democrats. They voted for Brexit and Boris Johnson's Conservatives. They voted to leave the EU and take back control of Britain's destiny. They don't need to be lectured by a US president who as a senator adopted a sympathetic stance towards the Irish Republican Army, and opposed the extradition of Irish terror suspects to face trial in the United Kingdom.

Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, was outspoken in his criticism of then prime minister Theresa May for what he saw as her weak handling of the Brexit negotiations. But he never made threats against Britain and always championed a free trade deal with the United Kingdom. Trump respected the democratic will of the British people to leave the European Union, and his instincts were profoundly pro-British and extremely supportive of the Special Relationship. Trump loathed the EU, and believed that the British people would be far better off completely freed of the shackles of the European Union.

Biden takes a very different approach to Trump when it comes to Europe and Brexit. He is a Eurofederalist at heart, who as vice president under Obama remarked in a speech before the European Parliament in 2010 that Brussels had a legitimate claim to be the “capital of the free world”. Biden has paid lip service in the past to the importance of the partnership with Britain, but he views the transatlantic alliance largely through the lens of the US/EU relationship, attaching great value to the Paris-Berlin-Brussels axis that has ruled continental Europe for the last few decades.

There should be a furious response in London to the Biden administration’s demands of the British government. President Biden needs to mind his own business. It is not his place to lecture the British Prime Minister and British officials about Northern Ireland and Brexit. Joe Biden should keep his sneering anti-British and anti-Brexit views to himself. At the G7 this week, Boris Johnson must stand up to Biden, and remind him that he, and not the US president, represents the democratic will of the British people.

Strazdas

Professor Moriarty wrote: »

Hold my coat...

This is also from today's Telegraph. It's an opinion piece written by Nile Gardiner, Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom - part of the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

To put it very mildly, Mr Gardiner seems quite unimpressed by President Biden. Interestingly, it turns out that Biden is an Irish Nationalist and an IRA supporter.


Headline:
Joe Biden should keep his sneering anti-British, anti-Brexit views to himself

For a so called director or policy maker, this guy doesn't seem very calm or measured. Sounds like it was written by a Daily Express reader or a member of UKIP.