Brexit and not very united kingdom politics II

[EnterpriseSovereign]

From another thread:

Okay, mildly off-topic here but wow does that read differently when you're British...

Especially as the New IRA are suspected of being behind the recent shooting of the off-duty cop John Caldwell (who barely survived) in Northern Ireland.

I swear I don't agree with the ira's terrorism, but your country signed a peace treaty (good friday agreement) with the terrorists and then broke it. It's like suing someone after breaking into their house and their dog bites you in the ass.

Gosh it's almost like the Brexit Bunch didn't stop to think what effect leaving the EU would have on the Good Friday Agreement when they decided to go for it...

The Windsor Framework: Rishi Sunak and EU strike post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol deal.

Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed a deal to change one of Brexit's biggest sticking points: the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The prime minister said the pair had made a “decisive breakthrough” to change the protocol, describing the new treaty as the "Windsor Framework", referencing where it was agreed.

He said it “delivers smooth-flowing trade within the whole of the United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland”.

Ms von der Leyen called the deal “historic” and insisted it would allow the UK and EU to "begin a new chapter" - a phrase which appeared to reference how low relations between the two trading partners had fallen since Brexit.

She said the EU is fully committed to safeguarding the Good Friday Agreement and to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, which is why the DUP's approval is so important.

The Good Friday Agreement, a treaty which agreed peace in Northern Ireland following the Troubles, says there must always be a powersharing government involving a coalition of the biggest republican and unionist parties.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party would support the deal and committed not to “play political games”.

In response to the new protocol, Sir Keir told the Commons: “The protocol will never be perfect – it’s a compromise.

“But I’ve always been clear that if implemented correctly it is an agreement that can work in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.

“And now that it has been agreed we all have an obligation to make it work.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the UK-EU deal provided “workable and durable” solutions to issues raised by the Northern Ireland Protocol. He said he hoped the Windsor Framework would lead to the restoration of the Stormont institutions.

Updating MPs on Monday evening, Mr Sunak outlined details on the so-called Stormont brake, insisting it will ultimately allow the UK government to have a “veto” on new EU goods rules.

The prime minister said he was “sympathetic” to the view that EU laws should have no role in Northern Ireland, adding: “But for as long as the people of Northern Ireland continue to support their businesses having privileged access to the EU market and if we want to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland – as we all do – then there will be some role for EU law.”

Speaking in the Commons, the Prime Minister said if the Northern Ireland Protocol was implemented in full, “we would see supermarket lorries needing hundreds of certificates for every individual item, every single document checked, supermarket staples like sausages banned altogether”.

He went on: “More delays, more cost, less choice. So today’s agreement fixes all this with a new, permanent legally binding approach to food.”

He confirmed the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill would be dropped following the new agreement, explaining that the legal justification for it had lapsed.

Mr Sunak said Parliament will get a vote on the deal "at the appropriate time" and the result will be respected, adding: “I think it’s important we give everyone the time and the space they need to consider the detail of the framework.”

That presents the next big problem for Mr Sunak; whether or not his deal will be approved by MPs - and it is not yet clear whether unionists in Northern Ireland will back it.

If the Democratic Unionist Party rejects the deal it will struggle to pass the Commons without Labour votes, because Eurosceptic Tories part of the European Research Group have said they will side with the DUP.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party would take its time to consider the detail of the deal before deciding whether to support it.

He's previously said he could only back a deal which removes the EU's role in the governing of Northern Irish trade and Mr Sunak's treaty does not.

Under the protocol, the European Court of Justice has the final say on trade disputes involving Northern Ireland and any changes to EU single market trade rules would be applied there - both of which are red lines for the DUP.

But Mr Sunak said his deal introduces a new Stormont brake, allowing the assembly not only to have a say over EU laws but also to block them from applying in Northern Ireland.

“This will establish a clear process for which the democratically elected assembly can pull an emergency brake” on changes which would have a “significant and lasting” effect on everyday life, he said, but added that the UK government will have a veto.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey released a statement welcoming the "significant progress" which had been made but said "there can be no disguising the fact that in some sectors of our economy EU law remains applicable in Northern Ireland".

He added: "The DUP will want to study the detail of what has been published today as well as examining the detail of any and all underpinning legal texts. Where necessary we stand ready to engage with the government in order to seek further clarification, re-working or change as required."

The DUP - Northern Ireland's second biggest - has been refusing to form a powersharing government with majority-holding Sinn Fein in protest against the protocol.

It's caused political deadlock in Northern Ireland, with no legislature able to make decisions on a range of issues including measures which could reduce the cost of living for struggling families.

Sinn Fein supported the Northern Ireland Protocol in its previous form and said it will meet to assess the deal this evening but its leader appeared to nudge the DUP toward accepting it.

Mary Lou McDonald said it was "welcome" that an agreement had been reached, adding: “There is a real urgency to get the Northern Executive up and running.”

“All different parties need to sit down at the executive table taking the decisions which impact on people’s lives, that is where we should be," she said.

“There shouldn’t be delays in that. We have a health service in crisis, public sector workers out on the picket line.

“Where we need to be is making politics work and standing up for the people that we represent collectively and I think that’s where our energies and efforts need to be now.”

Conservative former prime minister Theresa May urged all MPs to back Rishi Sunak’s deal.

Mr Sunak said his new deal will "start making a positive difference to people’s lives in Northern Ireland almost immediately".

But he added: “I also recognise that parties and communities across Northern Ireland will want to take the time to consider the detail of what we’re announcing today. And we should give them the time and the space to do that. And I fully respect that.”

Talks between Mr Sunak and Ms von der Leyen, which lasted just short of an hour and 45 minutes, were held at the Fairmont Hotel in Windsor Park.

The King has welcomed European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Windsor Castle after she agreed a new post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Ms von der Leyen met King Charles in Windsor following the talks, at the invitation of Number 10 - a move Downing Street was forced to defend.

Baroness Arlene Foster, the former DUP leader and first minister of Northern Ireland, said: “I cannot quite believe that No 10 would ask HM the King to become involved in the finalising of a deal as controversial as this one. It’s crass and will go down very badly in NI.”

The prime minister’s spokesman said “it’s not uncommon for His Majesty to accept invitations to meet certain leaders" and it is "fundamentally a matter for the palace".

Asked why the final protocol talks were taking place in Windsor, the spokesman said: “There are a number of occasions when these sorts of talks have been held in significant locations, this is no different.”

Prime Minister Sunak has been criticised for conducting talks without consulting the DUP and Eurosceptics within his own party.

His official spokesman said: “Until we have the talks and we have the final deal, we won’t be sharing that more widely.

“What is true is that we have had multiple political leaders, businesses, parliamentarians, obviously the DUP, we’ve had discussions both to hear from them on their concerns but also to share as much information as possible as these negotiations have continued.”

Conservative Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, member of the influential European Research Group put Mr Sunak on notice of a possible Tory rebellion if the DUP does not support the deal, despite major concessions expected from the EU.

The former Cabinet minister told GB News his group's approval in the Commons would "depend on the DUP".

"If the DUP are against it, I think there will be quite a significant number of Conservatives who are unhappy," he said.

“So, if the DUP doesn’t think that it meets its test, that will be very influential among Conservative MPs,” Mr Rees-Mogg added to ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

“I’m afraid with all the EU deals the devil is in the detail, so when people say ‘we need to see the legal text’, they are not larking about, they really want to see it to understand what the effect is.”

The new Windsor Framework “removes any sense of a border in the Irish Sea”, the PM said.

He set out a wide array of planned changes and reforms, covering trade, VAT regulation and the role of Stormont in EU laws that apply to Northern Ireland.

At the core of the deal is the creation of a new system for the flow of goods.

Anything destined for Northern Ireland will travel there as part of a “green lane”, with significantly fewer checks. Anything that could cross the border and enter the EU’s single market will travel through a separate red lane.

Mr Sunak said that the changes to the protocol will scale back the number of certificates required for traders moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, with customs paperwork removed too for people sending parcels or buying goods online.

He indicated changes to the movement of food too, claiming that anything made to UK rules will now be clear to be “sent to and sold” in NI. That will include sausages, one of the foodstuffs hit by protocol changes and which grabbed the attention of politicians in Belfast and Westminster alike.

“If food is available on supermarket shelves in Great Britain, then it will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland,” Mr Sunak said.

As part of the deal, the legal text of the protocol has also been amended on VAT. Under current arrangements, EU VAT and excise rules for goods generally apply in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak said that would now change, with the legal text of the protocol amended to allow the UK Government to “make critical VAT and excise changes for the whole of the UK”.

Alcohol duty, for instance, was mentioned – with Mr Sunak suggesting that the cost of a pint in the pub could be cut for Northern Irish drinkers.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 91849.html

David Frost begrudgingly backs Sunak’s ‘bitter pill’ Brexit deal, as DUP split over support

Windsor deal ‘worth having, but isn’t taking back control’, says Boris Johnson’s Brexit negotiator

Adam Forrest

Sunak still needs approval from Conservative party members and DUP to set NI Protocol in motion

Senior Tory Brexiteer David Frost has begrudgingly backed Rishi Sunak’s post-Brexit deal with the EU to reform the Northern Ireland Protocol, but said it was a “bitter pill” to swallow.

It comes as splits emerged in the DUP over whether to accept the deal and return to powersharing at Stormont, with unionist hardliner Sammy Wilson criticising key parts of the compromise.

Lord Frost, Boris Johnson’s former Brexit negotiator, said the changes agreed by the PM and EU Commission were “all worth having” – but claimed the government was “overclaiming” the merits of the agreement.

“The deal leaves a slightly amended protocol and EU law in place in Northern Ireland and the EU has agreed to change its own laws so that they bite less tightly,” the Tory peer wrote in The Telegraph.

“That is worth having, but it isn’t taking back control,” he added. “Indeed, it may entrench the protocol superstructure rather than weaken it … [The protocol] is slightly amended but remains in place, and EU law remains supreme in Northern Ireland.”

Lord Frost said his criticism “doesn’t mean the deal shouldn’t go ahead”, but added: “It leaves the government still only partly sovereign over all its territory. Just as in 2019, that is a bitter pill to swallow.”

It comes as Sammy Wilson, a senior DUP MP, said the so-called “Stormont Brake” – part of the deal which gives Northern Ireland the power to reject changes to EU goods rules – “is not really a brake at all”.

Mr Wilson told Times Radio that it was the UK government that had final say over whether Stormont could veto any future law – predicting ministers would be reluctant to do so because of fears of “retaliatory action” from the EU.

“I think it will have to be used on lots of occasions, though I suspect to be fairly ineffective,” Mr Wilson said on the break, before adding: “We will not have a knee jerk reaction to this deal. We have got to give it real consideration.”

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, viewed as a moderate figure, reportedly pointed out disparities between the UK and EU interpretations of the deal as he met Tory MPs in European Research Group (ERG) last night.

The unionist party is said to split between members in the assembly keen to restore power-sharing and the MPs who are more hardline. DUP officials told Politico it could be weeks, or even months, before they reach a verdict on whether to return to Stormont.

“The deal on offer is probably at the upper end of realistic expectations,” a unionist source told The Times. “But there are lots of unrealistic expectations within the party as well.”

Mr Sunak is understood to have told the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers last night that there was a “spectrum of views” within the DUP over whether to support the team – as he again urged that the unionist party is given “time and space”.

Mark Francois, the chairman of the ERG, said it could take as long as a fortnight for the Tory Brexiteer group to carry out its own “legal audit” of the deal.

The prime minister is not prepared to make any changes to his landmark deal as he stares down the DUP and critics and on his own backbenches.

No 10 said that the government believed it had secured “the right deal for all parties”, while Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker warned last night: “This is the deal ... there is not a different deal available”.

Mr Johnson has been urged to “put up or shut up” over the deal, after he was said to be considering joining any revolt of Eurosceptics. But several MPs told The Independent they expected a rebellion to be limited to 20 of the staunchest hardliners “at the most”.

One senior Tory MP told The Independent: “Boris needs to stop playing games and realise this is all over. It’s time to be magnanimous and embrace the fact it’s a really good Brexit deal.”

Allies of Mr Johnson told The Times he would not oppose Mr Sunak’s deal because it would “look silly” rebelling with only 10 to 15 people

.

Bojo is looking very small and irrelevant right now. I can think of few worse torments for him, aside from not being noticed at all.

There is a lot of speculation in the UK media that this marks the end - or the beginning of the end - for Hard Brexit as a movement. There's a lot of sulking coming from Hard Brexiters, but not a lot of serious opposition. That may change once they've actually read the document.

Real resistance, I suspect, will come from the DUP. If what I'm hearing is right, their boycott was only intended as a temporary ploy, but it proved so popular with the rank-and-file that they're stuck with it. On top of that, they'll need to abandon the boycott in order to take advantage of the Stormont Brake; which as we can see, at least one senior DUP official is not impressed by. I have a sneaking feeling that the DUP will refuse to accept this, and continue the boycott.

If this whole thing does somehow work, then this could be Sunak's John Major moment; when he faces down and defeats the crazies. But he still has a failing economy to contend with, and local elections coming up in May. If the hardliners are unhappy, and the local elections go badly for the Tories, they might still challenge him.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

The Local Election results are in.

At the time of posting, the Tories have lost 1061 council seats and control of 48 councils. Labour has gained 536 and 22 respectively, Liberal Democrats 405 and 12, and the Greens 241 and 1. The latter is the Greens taking control of a local council for the first time.

So, clear pasting for the Tories. Also of interest is the layout. Labour and Lib Dems made gains across the country; but Labour gains were primarily in the north-west (Red Wall) while Lib Dems did well in the south and south-west; including strong pro-Brexit counties like Essex. So Labour and Lib Dems are recovering in their heartlands, and the Lib Dems did well in traditional Tory territory.

Some people were prevented from voting over ID issues. If this was Tory voter suppression, it did them little good.

As for Sunak, it's too early to tell. There are rumblings against him within the Tory party, but I don't know if he'll be challenged or not. If the only alternative is Bojo, the MPs will stick with Sunak.

[bobalot]

The Local Election results are in.

At the time of posting, the Tories have lost 1061 council seats and control of 48 councils. Labour has gained 536 and 22 respectively, Liberal Democrats 405 and 12, and the Greens 241 and 1. The latter is the Greens taking control of a local council for the first time.

So, clear pasting for the Tories. Also of interest is the layout. Labour and Lib Dems made gains across the country; but Labour gains were primarily in the north-west (Red Wall) while Lib Dems did well in the south and south-west; including strong pro-Brexit counties like Essex. So Labour and Lib Dems are recovering in their heartlands, and the Lib Dems did well in traditional Tory territory.

Some people were prevented from voting over ID issues. If this was Tory voter suppression, it did them little good.

As for Sunak, it's too early to tell. There are rumblings against him within the Tory party, but I don't know if he'll be challenged or not. If the only alternative is Bojo, the MPs will stick with Sunak.

Sunak is a spineless twat who enabled all the disgusting behaviour of Boris Johnson, but he isn't the root cause of the Conservative's problems.

Replacing him wont change anything.

The Conservatives are fundamentally incompetent at governance, most likely corrupt and their key claims about brexit were all proven to be wrong.

Not sure how you fix that.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

You're right, it won't. And there's no fixing that.

The relevance of all this, for the moment, is that Sunak's fate - and that of this Conservative government - are in the balance. There is at least a chance that he'll be challenged; though this will not succeed while a majority of Tory MPs continue to support him. If he were to be ousted, his most likely replacement would be Boris Johnson; who is not quite the vote winner he once was.

As for the Conservative party, they're trapped in a political, ideological, and psychological cul-de-sac from which they cannot - and possibly don't want to - escape. They want a certain social order, but cannot admit that their economic policies - that enrich and empower them - are undermining and destroying that same order. They wanted Brexit to remake Britain according to a Singaporean fantasy that was never going to work.

But they can't let go. They can't admit that any of it failed; because if any one part of it failed, then everything has failed. It would mean admitting that Thatcher was wrong, that her vision wrecked the country she was trying to save, and that the world they want can never be. To accept all of that is to despair.

[Crazedwraith]

Adding to Sunak's wows, they've had to admit reality that they can't review and toss out all EU law by the end of the year.

Brexit: Ministers to ditch deadline to scrap retained EU laws

The government has ditched its plan for thousands of EU-era laws to expire automatically at the end of the year.

The plan - dubbed a post-Brexit bonfire - would see laws that were copied over to the UK after Brexit vanish, unless specifically kept or replaced.

Critics of the bill had voiced concern that it could lead to important legislation falling away by accident.

But the climbdown is likely to trigger anger from Brexit-backing Conservative MPs and members of the House of Lords.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the cut-off point would be replaced with a list of 600 laws the government wants to replace by the end of the year.

In a statement, she said the change would be made through an amendment when the Retained EU Law Bill returns to Parliament next week.

Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who introduced the bill when he was in government, called the move an "admission of administrative failure".

It showed an "inability of Whitehall to do the necessary work and an incapability of ministers to push this through their own departments," he added.

He said the move to ditch the deadline represented the triumph of "the blob" - a term used by some Tory MPs to describe the Whitehall establishment.

The UK incorporated thousands of EU laws into UK law to minimise disruption to businesses when the UK officially left the EU in 2020 - with an ongoing audit by civil servants having identified 4,800 so far.

Since September 2021, it has been reviewing this body of legislation to identify opportunities to give British firms an edge over European competitors.

The Retained EU Law Bill, which began its journey through Parliament during Liz Truss's premiership, would have introduced a 31 December cut-off date for most of these laws to expire, unless ministers replaced or decided to retain them.

'Humiliating u-turn'
However opposition parties, trade unions and campaign groups cast doubt on whether the deadline was realistic, given the huge workload in reviewing the legislation.

In a statement on Wednesday, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch acknowledged the deadline had created "legal uncertainty" for businesses.

She said the government had already got rid of, changed or replaced around 1,000 EU-era laws - and was still committed to "lightening the regulatory burden on businesses".

But she added that the "growing volume" of EU laws identified during the ongoing audit had started to get in the way of "meaningful reform".

Writing in the Telegraph, she added: "Getting rid of EU law in the UK should be about more than a race to a deadline".

However, Labour called the move a "humiliating u-turn," accusing ministers of trying to "rescue this sinking ship of a bill".

"After wasting months of parliamentary time, the Tories have conceded that this universally unpopular bill will damage the economy," said Jenny Chapman, Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister.

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Fox said the Conservatives had "dug themselves into a hole" with the bill, adding: "While they may have stopped digging, they're still in the hole".

Asked about Ms Badenoch's article, David Penman, chair of the civil servants' union the FDA, said he read it as a criticism of an "artificial deadline" championed by the former business secretary, Mr Rees-Mogg.

"If you set an artificial deadline, what is a government department going to do? It's going to focus on the things that need to be retained in government," Mr Penman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday. He said this would "inevitably" take precedence over focusing on what needs to change.

Government is about "doing things, it's about protecting people, it's about making sure business can work," he added.

The bill was passed by MPs in January, but was expected to run into significant opposition when it faces further scrutiny in the House of Lords.

Peers were meant to start debating the bill last month, but the government was reported to have put it on hold until last week's local elections in England were over.

The government is still expected to face opposition from peers over new powers for ministers to amend or replace EU laws using secondary legislation, a fast-track process that attracts less scrutiny in Parliament.

Opposition MPs, and some Conservatives, say this would rob Parliament of a meaningful say over what is changed.

Around 500 EU laws covering financial services had been exempted from the deadline, as they are due to be repealed by a separate bill making its way through the Commons. The same is expected for EU legislation affecting VAT and customs.

Environmental laws
However, the footprint of EU-era legislation is particularly large when it comes to environmental regulation.

Campaign groups have warned about a loss of rights and legal protections in areas including water quality, air pollution standards and protections for wildlife.

The move to get rid of the deadline may be a pragmatic move, but is likely to disappoint MPs on the right of the Conservative Party and leave Prime Minister Rishi Sunak open to the charge he's not delivering the benefits of Brexit he promised.

Mr Sunak had promised during his unsuccessful leadership campaign last summer to publish a list of which EU laws would be retained or scrapped within 100 days of taking office.

However, he did not keep the pledge after taking office in October after he was chosen to replace Liz Truss as prime minister by Conservative MPs.

Brexiteers like Rees-Mogg are of course throwing a shit fit about it and the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle remonstrated with Kemi Badonoch over leaks that meant they all learnt about in newspapers rather than the house of commons.

A fun time is being had by all.

[Gandalf]

Do Tory MPs keep supporting Sunak because they think he's the right one for the job, or because nobody wants to be in that job while the unwinnable Brexit stuff continues?

[Juubi Karakuchi]

It's hard to say for sure.

For some of them, I think, it was a matter of presentation. Sunak's background is in finance, which means he's used to working in an organised structure according to rules. Compared to Johnson and Truss, he could at least be made to look competent and stable; and it looked for a while like the Tory vote was picking up again. He was their attempt at a Mr Sensible.

The problem was, not everyone wanted a Mr Sensible. Bojo still has a lot of fans among the Tory membership, while Truss was giving the Singapore-on-Thames fantasists what they wanted. And delaying the Brexit Bonfire has pissed both factions off.

If the MPs are still sticking by Sunak, it's probably out of fear of the alternatives.

[Crazedwraith]

So Johnson ally Nadine Dorries resigned today. Johnson's resignation from PM honours list has come out rewarding his cronies (Rees Mogg knighted and Priti Patel made a dame)

Then BoJo himself resigned in a huff over the party gate report throwing shade as Sunak while he did it.

So some lovely lovely bi-elections coming up.

[Crazedwraith]

doube post: bbc live feed in lieu of a permeant article saying that a second Johnson ally, Nigel Adams has resigned. Meaning a third bi-election will be coming.

3 isn't really that many but there's a definitely feeling of chaos bubbling over again in the tory pary.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Boris Johnson: Rishi Sunak is 'talking rubbish' over resignation honours list

Boris Johnson has claimed Rishi Sunak is "talking rubbish" when he says the former prime minister asked him to over-rule the body that vets appointments to the House of Lords.

It comes after Mr Sunak hit back at Mr Johnson at a Q&A session on Monday, in which he said Mr Johnson "asked me to do something I wasn't prepared to do".

In a statement released hours later, Mr Johnson said: "Rishi Sunak is talking rubbish. To honour these peerages it was not necessary to overrule Holac (House of Lords Appointment Commission) - but simply to ask them to renew their vetting, which was a mere formality."

Downing Street has furiously denied the allegation, insisting it is "entirely untrue" that Mr Sunak, or anyone in Number 10, attempted to "remove, change or alter" the resignation honours list of the former prime minister.

Boris Johnson resigns as MP triggering immediate by-election for seat

Senior aides implicated in partygate nominated in Johnson honours list
Speaking to an audience at the start of London Tech Week, Mr Sunak said he was asked "to either overrule the Holac committee or to make promises to people.

"Now, I wasn't prepared to do that. I didn't think it was right and if people don't like that, then tough."

Mr Sunak faced the questions after a weekend of political turmoil for the Conservative Party, following resignations by Nadine Dorries, Boris Johnson himself and Nigel Adams, triggering three by-elections, the dates of which are yet to be announced.

'I was asked to do something I wasn't prepared to do', insists Rishi Sunak

The former culture secretary, Ms Dorries, ex minister, Mr Adams, and Cop26 president Alok Sharma, were all reportedly put forward by Mr Johnson for peerages.

Ms Dorries and Mr Adams resigned as MPs after they failed to appear on the list.

Downing Street took the rare decision on Saturday to declassify Holac chairman Lord Bew's approved names to Mr Sunak, in a bid to prove Mr Johnson's allegations wrong.

The letter, dated 5 February, contained the seven peerages announced on Friday, along with a redacted name of a person who took the "personal decision to withdraw themselves".

Holac confirmed it did not support eight peerage nominees put forward by Mr Johnson.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson quit on Friday over complaints about a Commons partygate inquiry, after he received a letter from the Privileges Committee in the same week as his honours list was published.

In a scathing attack on the Privileges Committee, Mr Johnson likened it to a "kangaroo court" and accused the group of conducting a "witch hunt" to get him out of Parliament.

Senior minister, Penny Mordaunt, appeared to rebuke Mr Johnson's comments, defending the integrity of the committee.

She said: "We have to be really strong about people who are attacking institutions, people who are attacking the House for carrying out its work, people who are attacking the media."

The panel, chaired by Harriet Harman, met on Monday morning to finalise its report, which ITV News understands is due to be published "promptly".

The probe is thought to have ruled that Mr Johnson lied to Parliament when he told MPs Covid rules were followed in Downing Street despite parties, including one which told guests to bring their own booze, taking place while social distancing restrictions were in place.

Reports suggest the panel was set to recommend at least a 10-day suspension, reaching the threshold for a by-election to be potentially triggered in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

Mr Johnson accused the committee of "bias", with them responding that Mr Johnson "impugned the integrity of the House" with his attack.

He left when he was about to have been found to have lied over partygate.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

I confess I was surprised. I thought he would brazen it out and dare the by-election.

My inner boring git reckons he's had enough, and is getting out before his brand gets tarnished and his earning potential is affected. My inner conspiracy theorist reckons he's planning to be somewhere else when the Tories get clobbered, then return as the party's saviour.

[madd0c0t0r2]

Nadine Dorris cancels quitting until she finds out if she gets a peerage or not.

Mores interestingly, another constitutional crisis is creeping inwards. And it's about wine bottles

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2023/ ... -uk-block/

In summary:
0) most of Europe have container deposit - return policy for things. This disincentives littering, incentives trash collection and puts specific recycling costs on the corporation rather than general taxation.

1) the UK has an internal market law to try and keep the devolved countries in line.

2) Scotland moved first and rolled out their scheme well ahead.
3) Westminster's backers didn't want glass included, so it was decided that glass wouldn't be included in the UK wide scheme. Scotland told to conform to the internal market, wangles a 2year exemption as the rest of the UK has zero scheme for that period.
4) Wales announces it will include glass in its scheme. Westminster wags a finger at it. Wales points out that the internal market law prevents one country being different to the rest. All of the devolved nation's want to include glass, so is England stopping them ?

Cue argument by England that deep down, it is bigger and richer and should be able to do what it wants.

[Zaune]

Sometimes I think there's some sort of conspiracy to intentionally provoke the SNP into founding a paramilitary wing in order to justify giving the Army a bigger budget, but then I remember that this would require me to credit the Tories with a level of competence and clarity of purpose that they frankly don't deserve.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

And all the while, support for Scottish Independence hovers at around 48%, about 10% higher than the SNP's actual approval ratings.

[madd0c0t0r2]

Sometimes I think there's some sort of conspiracy to intentionally provoke the SNP into founding a paramilitary wing in order to justify giving the Army a bigger budget, but then I remember that this would require me to credit the Tories with a level of competence and clarity of purpose that they frankly don't deserve.

And all the while, support for Scottish Independence hovers at around 48%, about 10% higher than the SNP's actual approval ratings.

I think that is the conspiracy / plan. Keep the scots angry enough to be threatening to leave, but not actually leaving. That keeps the SNP in power in first pass the post, which keeps labour out, ensuring tory dominance in westminster.
Then, since tories only control westminster, keep tweaking and regressing devolution to bring power back to themselves, and keep the scots angry...

[bobalot]

The SNP was strong also because Labour did not look like it could form government for the last decade.

Now that it can, it's support in Scotland is rising. It looks like it will take back a large number of seats from the SNP even without the SNPs self-immolation.

[Crazedwraith]

Tories are also in hilarious meltdown mode over this free vote on the Boris Johnson report, saying the local parties will punish and deselect people that don't support Johnson

[madd0c0t0r2]

Tories are also in hilarious meltdown mode over this free vote on the Boris Johnson report, saying the local parties will punish and deselect people that don't support Johnson

responsible tory statesmen allow the party to self immolate and rise again rather than take the country further down the shitoligarch route.

[Crazedwraith]

Tories are also in hilarious meltdown mode over this free vote on the Boris Johnson report, saying the local parties will punish and deselect people that don't support Johnson

responsible tory statesmen allow the party to self immolate and rise again rather than take the country further down the shitoligarch route.

... "responsible tory statesmen"? Let me know if you find any. lol.

[Zaune]

In other news, we have a new "umbrella organisation" of fash who are threatening to show up to counter-protest picket lines. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/alek-y ... s-pickets/

And this is their leader:



I've advised my local Labour Party's trade union rep to warn the members to watch out for anyone hanging around near the picket line wearing black football shorts because I've got to hand it to this bloke, that is an amazing Roderick Spode cosplay.

[The_Saint]

I hate to invoke Godwin's law but that fellow is one tweak of a moustache trim away from cosplaying a previous well known fascist leader.

[Gandalf]

I wager that's deliberate. It's a great way to rule up people on either side of the "fascism, yea or nay?" divide.

[Zaune]

https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/ ... 43328?s=46

Due to a technical fault that is impacting a number of police forces, many 999 calls are not connecting.

Until further notice, please call 101 in an emergency.

Please ONLY call in an emergency and please wait until later to make any 101 non-emergency calls.

Good day to indulge in a bit of lawlessness, if you're so inclined.

[madd0c0t0r2]

To literally no-ones suprise, the 'send refugees to Rwanda' policy has been deemed unlawful, as Rwanda isn't able to satisfy the safe third country description.

"The appeal court ruled deficiencies in Rwanda's asylum system meant there were substantial grounds for believing that those sent there would be returned to their home nations where they face "persecution or other inhumane treatment".

It's good news for the Tories. They get to have their record levels of immigration for their business owners, but also get to point at 'the blob' and say 'its their fault!'. They are creating laws that fail, and so get to pretend to be the opposition.