An outsider's view of British politics

Interesting that you should post a speech by the leader of Vlaams Belang, the far right Flemish Eurosceptic party, who makes Farage look like a Europhile social democrat.

He cant be that bad, he is addressing Junker from within the Flemish Parliament building.

I honestly think that few of the EU member states would be prepared to countenance a Federal Europe. Juncker may have a dream but he has to take them all with him to achieve it and I don't think he could do it.

Some short videos fro m our partner countries

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/49n2gBGlgPdfnYcxBjDcM9G/brexit-the-view-from-europe

According to polling data from YouGov, 75% of 18- to 24-year-olds voted to remain in the European Union. On Friday, the UK voted to leave, with 52% of the overall vote.

How does it feel to be one of that 75%?

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/24/meet-the-75-young-people-who-voted-to-remain-in-eu

Out of interest.

Is it the hatred/dislike of the DUP that some object to or is it the ' principal' behind the practice of ' Confidence and Supply' that posters object to?

If it is not the hatred/dislike of the DUP then how will those who keep expressing their view it is some sort of taudry affair feel if Labour won the next General Election but with no overall majority so Labour required to use the ' Confidence and Supply' of another party, possibly the SNP?

Surely if it is the ' principal' some object to then Labour would be eligible for criticism also. Or is it dependent on partisan politics and a view can alter to suit?

Some prefer Proportional Representation but does the thought of Coalition Government really suit? Proportional Representation would have possibly seen a sizeable UKIP representation or the like, would that really suit?

The 'first losers are the British people,' French president Emmanuel Macron said, speaking before Tuesday night's Brexit deal defeat. He went on to cast doubt over any chances the European Union would renegotiate Britain's exit deal: 'We already went as far as we could.' Speaking in Normandy not long before Britain's parliament voted 432-202 against the proposed divorce deal, the French leader said the British people had been manipulated into voting for something that didn't actually exist. He wished the country's representatives 'good luck' in figuring out a way to leave the EU on 29 March without a clear plan

www.theguardian.com/global/video/2019/jan/17/emmanuel-macrons-summation-of-brexit-the-british-people-were-sold-a-lie-video

Out of the chaos of the Brexit debate in British Parliament has emerged a new international star - the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Berkow.

www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/this-man-keeps-parliament-in-order-amidst-brexit-chaos-1428009027881

I cannot see any current British politician who now has any credibility to take on the task of negotiating us through the chaos!

Anne Applebaum, of the Washington Post writes-

Brexit has been a catastrophic political failure. This messy, unpopular deal, the most unpopular government policy that anybody can remember, was produced by a political class that turned out to be ignorant — about Europe, Europeans, trade arrangements, institutions — and arrogant, disdaining knowledge and expertise. It was the work of leaders who favoured identity politics over economics, who preferred an undefined notion of “sovereignty” to the real institutions that gave Britain influence and power, who believed in fantasies and scorned reality.

People in EU and EEA countries, like the Queen, often ask why the different parties in the UK can't work together, and find common ground and be more pragmatic.

It is easier to be pragmatic if you are not directly affected in so many ways. If you have just lost your job because your employer has relocated abroad, it is perhaps more difficult to be calm and positive about the benefits.

But this is also an illustration of the British two party system- where the First Past the Post system of election creates 'strong' governement in most instances- and where a very large proportion of the population is just ignored and feels totally unrepresented, like me. And also lead to very destructive see-saw politics.

This is really exarcebated at the moment, as the Labour Party is not opposing effectively the Conservatives, with Corbyn sitting forever on the fence and now insisting that he could renegotiate a new Deal, cake and eat it with unicorns- all the rights but none of the responsibilities ... or help May do that.

The 48%, which are now demographically quite a bit more, and quite a bit more again as so many have changed their mind - find themselves without any political party that supports their view - in a vacuum. The Lib Dems and the Greens (Caroline Lucas being their only MP due to FPP system)- are the only ones in opposition, with the SNP in Scotland- but the political system does not give them an effective voice. British Politics does NOT lead to cooperation or cross party collaboration and solution finding- at all. The specifities of the British Political system are difficult to grasp from the outside, as it is so different, with NO proportional representation at all.

How an the EU negotiate when we still don't know what we want. Not even one Party - with both main parties totally divided still? Impossible, as he says quite clearly:

www.facebook.com/GuyVerhofstadt/videos/386412598827338/