The PM met every single EU demand! Dreadful deal!

Well, Theresa May is probably glad of almost any support she can get for her much maligned Brexit deal. But the endorsement of global bad guy Vladimir Putin was perhaps not what she was hoping for.

The Russian president faced the world's media today for his annual end of year press conference, a staple of the Christmas calendar famed for how long Putin will hold forth on all sorts of subjects.

Asked about Brexit it's hardly surprising that the man charged with trampling on international rules ignored the convention that leaders don't comment on other countries' internal politics. He said he understood Theresa May's position before asking a series of rhetorical question about the nature of democracy. Which some might think a bit rich from the man routinely accused of closing down opposition in a variety of brutal ways and rigging elections. "Was it not a referendum," he said. "Someone disliked the result so repeat it over and over? Is this democracy? What then would be the point of the referendum in the first place?"

www.totalpolitics.com/articles/diary/global-bad-guy-vladimir-putin-rows-behind-pms-brexit-plan

Is this the same Nigel Farage whose kids will have German passports? That should tell you something about his real opinion.

Also that we should never be required to join the euro and that we would not be expected to be involved in 'ever closer union'

From Cameron's report to parliament on his negotiations.

The fourth area in which we wanted to make significant changes was to protect our country from further European political integration and to increase powers for our national Parliament. Ever since we joined, Europe has been on the path to something called ever closer union. It means a political union. We have never liked it; we have never wanted it. Now Britain will be permanently and legally excluded from it. The text says that the treaties will be changed to make it clear that

“the Treaty references to ever closer union do not apply to the United Kingdom.”

So as a result of this negotiation, Britain can never be part of a European superstate.

hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-02-22/debates/16022210000001/EuropeanCouncil

One of the points which Cameron came back from the EU with before the referendum was that the U.K. would not be asked to help bail out any country with the Euro! Another was that U.K. would not need to join any Euro Army - not that there are any plans for one yet - the other Prime Ministers have told Macron that is not on the cards.
He did in fact get the majority of what he asked for.

Elegran Well said.

Mrs May has obviously not played poker! Her negotiating stance was to lock us into a leave date right near the beginning of the process - now she is reaping that reward - silly lady!

Day6
On the subject of drunker Juncker: he really knows how to upset people.
He's given the nod to France to overspend on their budget to appease the rioters but told Italy they must keep within their budget
'If' we did stay in the eu we would at sometime be forced to take the euro. The above could happen to us.

OK, the EU has its faults but surely it is better than going it alone? We are one little country, not an empire now.

That seems very defeatist.

We haven't been 'an empire' for ages. That argument doesn't hold water.

Why should we pay billions to the EU to be a part of THAT empire - one wanting to become the POLITICAL federal states of Europe?

The economies of MANY EU member states are in dire straits. Guess whose billions will be bailing out the failing euro and those little countries who take but don't give?

Yup.

What businessman would enter into a deal where his hands are tied by the bosses of the organisation, but he still has to pay a gigantic membership fee?

I am fed up with those who see the UK of only being capable and worthy as long as Juncker put us in handcuffs.

We need to leave now. Yesterday Juncker said there will be no re-negotiation, no room for amendments or UK concessions regarding Ireland/the backstop..

Doesn't that ring huge warning bells?

Wish I could turn my radio off and switch the whole idea off too. Can't, I'm a news junkie!

Spot on Nonnie, I cannot understand why people do not realise this either!

Good post Nonnie.

I voted remain, but I think this is a terrible deal. The Government is in such a mess that I can't see a way forward. There should have been cross party representation rather than this Eton mess. I doubt that MPs will have the bottle to let the country crash out to a no deal, but time will tell.

I saw a video of JC on Sky News and he is still maintaining that he could renegotiate the deal. What is it about these party leaders that they either don't listen or simply ignore facts?

Why do so few seem to not understand that a big organisation has much stronger buying power than a small one? What makes them think the corner shop will be able to negotiate a better deal than a big supermarket chain?

OK, the EU has its faults but surely it is better than going it alone? We are one little country, not an empire now.

I think that TM's first and biggest mistake was to treat the narrow majority of the badly-run referendum as an overwhelming one. She has hidden behind 'the British people voted to leave' all along, using it to counter every hint of criticism. And she didn't adjust her position when the manipulation of the leave campaign was revealed, and she has not adjusted it in the light of well informed financial predictions, commissioned by her government.

If she had said from the beginning that the majority was so tiny that compromises would have to be made and the result didn't justify a hard brexit matters might be much easier now.

The silence on the other side of the channel is deafening.

No its not. I have been following news sources from WITHIN other EU countries, have you?

Thanks for the good post Elegran.
Britain stopped ruling the waves along time ago.

Foreign Labour.
Read the latest figures EU migrants are down, migrants from the rest of the world are up despite the government policy kkto reduce migration.

Some are unskilled but an increasing number are skilled the health and care industries would close without them so would the hospitality industry. If you are a manager of a factory you dont phone the labour exchange to find new workers, you call the agency who have plenty of foreigners who will turn up on time and do the work.

Why we cannot train UK people to do the work is a mystery to me, migrants travel thousands of miles to do the work that british won't cross the road for.

The EU made it clear a year ago that the UK would not be allowed to have any competitive advantage in trade deal and they have not moved one inch from that position.

They are in the driving seat always will be, any "deal" is now being demonized in the media and it will be very hard to get a majority for anything. TM will I'm sure survive until the new year then she will go but that changes nothing.

Maybe remain is still possible but nobody is promoting that so it looks like "no deal". Any one who thinks that will be easy is deluded, we may well get more favorable deals with some other countries. You can guarantee that will be balanced out by worse deals with the EU, they are not going to allow the UK to import more cheaply, then send goods into EU markets at an advantage.
That is what trade deals are all about, protecting your home industries, protecting employment, and maintaining taxation income.

The lawyers win in a divorce. In his case the Smuggs and the Johnsons will profit.

Of course a No Deal wont be better. And of course the PMs proposal isn’t good. And, no, Labour couldn’t do any better.
Of course it is a total disaster ....... we should have left well alone. People’s vote ..... on something hardly anybody really understood. It is a bitter divorce and there are no winners in divorce.

MaizieD
oh, FGS! Before the EU we imported cheap labour from the empire and the Commonwealth. And treated them appallingly. What’s the difference?

The workers who came to work in the U.K. from the Empire and Commonwealth were invited here to perform specific work the numbers were controlled to meet an actual need and all were employed on the same terms and conditions as their U.K. colleagues. Some may have been subject to racism within their communities but not all. If you consider they were treated appallingly then you should apply the same reasoning to the indigenous workforce.

It is only when free movement started that cheap EU labour started to be used.

Oh, FGS! Before the EU we imported cheap labour from the Empire and the Commonwealth. And treated them appallingly. What's the difference?

I was speaking to a French neighbour and she was telling me that in many elections in France as well as other countries were against a candidate rather than for one She said she voted for Macron as she would not vote for Le Pen.
I do think you get doctored news in U.K. there is a good bit of fake news about France doing the rounds and I dares other countries.

Fair enough. Be proud to be English. England is part of the UK just like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Putting my head above the barricade here - Scots are proud as are the Irish, Northern Irish and Welsh, so what is so wrong with being proud of being English?