New EU Treaty - a good deal or not?

If this agreement brings a united Ireland closer then that will be the only benefit Britain leaving the European Union delivers to anyone.

Britain should not have held on to a presence in Ireland when it became an independent state. Now would be an excellent time to right that wrong.

I agree with your timescale / providing brexit doesn’t unbalance the peace.

A United Ireland is not going to happen anytime soon, politically it’s just not worth the disruption it would cause, free movement will gradually reduce the divisions in the North to a point where they don’t matter. For everyday proposes Ulster will become another province and influence from UK will diminish over the years, because that’s what the majority of the population will vote for.
Time scale 50 Yrs

In a way it doesn’t matter whether they do or don’t - it’s the risk Brexit poses to the fragile peace that infuriates me. The country certainly isn’t ready for a peaceful reunification yet. Brexit unbalances it because EU membership was what allowed it to work.

Economically, there would be little benefit to the ROI to unite with NI, they would have to take over all the welfare benefits, health care, education etc etc for the population. It is therefore an ideological desire to treat anyone on the island as Irish.

And a minority that holds too much power and power that is growing. It is frightening.

Pantglas2

Surely this is a natural ending? Forever, they were one island until the unnatural schism split them apart. I’m pleased if they’re happy with it.

You have never been to Northern Ireland if you think it will be that simple. The peace is fragile & if you think only nationalists are terrorists then when a united Ireland looks likely you’ll see that is not at all the case.

The lack of care given to Northern Ireland in this whole process infuriates me. The GFA was a huge achievement & has changed Northern Ireland so much for the better - all put at risk by a bunch of right wingers in Westminster.

Surely this is a natural ending? Forever, they were one island until the unnatural schism split them apart. I’m pleased if they’re happy with it.

I've also noticed an increasing amount of PR, advertising Eire as an English-speaking gateway to Europe and promotion of the Irish economy as dynamic and forward-thinking.

Urmstongran

A sweetener from Dublin eh?
Wonder what’s in it for them (she muses ...)

Does it matter what's in it for them?

The outcome is likely to be a united island of Ireland. One of the ferry companies has already rescheduled routes to bypass the UK and go directly to France.

I wish I had a claim to an Irish passport.

Yes I agree.

Nezumi65

vegansrock

So NI will be funded by Dublin to remain in EHIC and Erasmus - seems the U.K. government is doing with Brexit what the IRA failed to achieve.

Lots about the impact on Northern Ireland pushes it closer to Eire. I’m surprised more hasn’t been said about it on the news etc.

Because it doesn’t suit the media, it has been feared from 2016 that the Tories will do for the United Kingdom.

They’ve almost succeeded.

Brexit pushes NI & Eire closer together in all sorts of new ways - and that’s as a result of our govts negotiating, not Eire. I suspect that Eire will benefit as Scotland loses out They’ve put a border between GB & NI - so of course they will be pushed together.

Dublin has always treated people born on the island of Ireland as Irish. Thank goodness - that’s why my kids and grandchildren qualify for an Irish passport.

A sweetener from Dublin eh?
Wonder what’s in it for them (she muses ...)

vegansrock

So NI will be funded by Dublin to remain in EHIC and Erasmus - seems the U.K. government is doing with Brexit what the IRA failed to achieve.

Lots about the impact on Northern Ireland pushes it closer to Eire. I’m surprised more hasn’t been said about it on the news etc.

So NI will be funded by Dublin to remain in EHIC and Erasmus - seems the U.K. government is doing with Brexit what the IRA failed to achieve.

Ireland is going to fund Erasmus for itself young people I believe.

Yes that’s ones reasons why it’s not as good as Erasmus - people see benefit in people coming here. They also contribute to the economy (figures easily found via google) if we are going to judge the value of everything in terms of money.

I think he’ll be criticised whatever he does Mazie. I know he is (sensibly) trying to get the Tories to own it. Personally I would like to see him abstain, but in terms of the core passing it makes no difference.

Re: Erasmus

Boris said it has been a difficult decision to pull out but that it was just too expensive to the UK to continue as more EU students than British benefitted by it.

Apparently Rishi Sunak confirmed funding for an alternative to Erasmus+ (Turing) in the one-year spending review in November. Under the British student-mobility programme, the U.K. government would fund British students to go abroad but would not be expected to support EU students taking up courses in British universities.

What Labour do is largely irrelevant. I don’t know why KS is whipping support for it but it doesn’t make any difference whether de does or doesn’t

It does for the future. It's a bad deal (and Labour knows it is) , but if Labour support it it will be thrown in their face any time they criticise any adverse consequences.

Look what happened to Starmer when he initially said he supported govt. action on covid. Any criticism he makes now of govt. covid strategy brings accusations of failing to support. It goes down well with the hard of thinking..

MayBee70

Is anyone else puzzled by the fact that the country has, supposedly, regained itself sovereignty but is being ruled by a party within a party within a party: the creepily names Star Chamber? And everyone seems quite ok about it.

Absolutely! But been true for a few years now.

I think Star Chamber is a very apt name tbh. It was around during Elizabeth 1 period and beyond and was known for its abuse of power and oppression that resulted from the abuse.

And for what it’s worth I think it is no accident that they chose that name.

Is anyone else puzzled by the fact that the country has, supposedly, regained itself sovereignty but is being ruled by a party within a party within a party: the creepily names Star Chamber? And everyone seems quite ok about it.

Just to say it is not just the left wing of the Labour party that is advising Keir Starmer not to support the Government. It is also some of Keir Starmer's supporters, such as Ben Bradshaw. It is not a left or right issue.

What Labour do is largely irrelevant. I don’t know why KS is whipping support for it but it doesn’t make any difference whether de does or doesn’t

Norn Parties - of both sides of the political divide- voting against is more interesting. I thought the DUP would but didn’t know which way the SDLP would go. Wonder what the Sinners think - it looks to me to be something that will push towards reunification - definitely brings norn closer to Dublin & everything I have heard so far will ensure the young in Northern Ireland see the benefits of Eu membership.

The ERG have approved the deal I see. What’s important for us all right now however, is to know how the deal affects us so could I recommend looking at an article on Martin Lewis’s money saving expert.com titled “22 Brexit Need-to- Knows” which has just pinged in to my in box and which will be updated as they plough through the paperwork. No political axes to grind just straightforward facts. Whether you like them or not is a different matter.