Official tonight 'Brexit is NOT done'

The ERG are the “men in grey suits” that dogged John Major, right wing, mostly secure seats, massive influence. At the next election if the Tories win it’s likely to be a much reduced majority, whoever becomes leader will be at their beck and call.

Does anyone here believe that as tax payers and funders, the British public does not deserve to have a full list of ERG members- knowing the very strong influence they have on British politics, and how many high ranking Tories are in the group. ?

For the ERG to have real power, the right wing have to stay in control of the government though, which seems increasingly unlikely - the cabinet members have made too many visible mistaken judgements. Jacob Rees Mogg has been making a bigger pillock of himself in the last couple of weeks (and that would be difficult). Low hanging plums, or snap election anyone?

From City AM. Conflict of Interests.

?

Experts have pointed out that Jacob Rees-Mogg holds a substantial stake in a multi-billion investment fund specialised in emerging markets, while at the same time he is now tasked with finding ‘Brexit opportunities’ in those same countries.
Rees-Mogg is a major shareholder in Somerset Capital, an investment firm he co-founded and focuses on investment projects across emerging markets and major economies.

Interview here with Suella Braverman, totally refusing to give list of ERG members

www.indy100.com/news/suella-braverman-channel-4-interview-attorney-general-boris-johnson-brexit-9335316

We know who a few members are, like Jacob Rees-Mogg- but they absolutely and totally refuse to give a list of which MPs and Ministers are members. They get a lot of funding, and so the public should know who they are- and Constituents have the right to know if their MP is part of the group.

Most people are totally unaware of the Power of the secret society that is the ERG- who refuse to be named, and have a very hard line, right wing agenda.

the contenders to replace him don’t come close,

They all lie through their teeth and stick to it, though, don't they? Do we really expect them to turn round and say that they made a terrible mistake?

For the ERG tail that's wagging the government dog at the moment Brexit, and the severing of any convergence with the EU, is vital to their plans to slash state spending, privatise the NHS and completely remove environmental, consumer and worker regulations and protections.

I'm not sure that this fact is really sinking in at all with the general public. Or even with some prominent EUphiles.

Cost of lorry of fresh fruit from Spain to Bristol

£2,200 before brexit

£3,600 after brexit

From an importer on tv yesterday.

UK exports to EU countries shrunk by a record £20bn in just 20 months, according to new figures.
Sales to the EU dropped more significantly in 2021 than exports to any other country in the world, the ONS data shows, as UK to EU exports nosedived 12 per cent between January and December of last year, compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, non-EU exports were down by 6 per cent.

I don’t agree with you on that MaizieD, I think it will come down like a pack of cards. The British public is not as gullible as the government thinks they are, particularly now they are being hit in the pocket.

MaizieD

I think that Hestletine's article is just the usual over optimism of a rational thinker who just cannot understand how people can cling to the lies they were told.

I don't see that Johnson going would make any difference at all. He's not dictating policy, the ERG is. I can't see that changing.

Nobody lies as plausibly as BJ, he’s good at it, he believes them, the contenders to replace him don’t come close, so the Tory party has a problem.

I think that Hestletine's article is just the usual over optimism of a rational thinker who just cannot understand how people can cling to the lies they were told.

I don't see that Johnson going would make any difference at all. He's not dictating policy, the ERG is. I can't see that changing.

Interesting article by Michael Heseltine in the Guardian yesterday. The Brexit lie could soon be revealed.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/16/panic-boris-johnson-allies-brexit-unravelling-michael-heseltine?fbclid=IwAR2Sl1T23_VHQFKLDCMFn-7j6FJsCZu_t6B6IX_XhA9nOsM1ZjVWKLWafy0

“So what did the "Deal" agree?”

The deal says that everything that enters the EU has to comply with THEIR standards. Because there is an open border in Ireland smuggling of products that don’t comply is highly likely.

The tragedy is that currently goods from the UK are produced to EU standards BUT we are outside the EU regulatory system so everything has to be checked - it was our choice.

Never mind the benefits of Brexit will make it all worthwhile

"An analysis by the University of Sussex Trade Policy Observatory found that the UK's Brexit losses were 178 times bigger than any gains from new agreements, with all deals combined worth less than 50p per person a year"

Trade between NI and Ireland has absolutely rocketed this year. They will not be happy if the DUP insist on barriers.

Many NI businesses are booming from being in the single market, whilst exports from mainland U.K. are slumping. Seems like the Brexit believers can’t bear that fact and want everyone to suffer.

Kali2

That there would be a border between UK and EU- and that as it could not be between NI and Ireland, it would have to be between mainland UK and NI. No?

Correct.

I remember thinking at the time of it being revealed that this would never sit well with the DUP.

GrannyRose15

Petera

So what word would you have used? If I am showing my political preferences by using English correctly, I obviously need lessons in obfuscation.

In fact I would just have said "Northern Ireland".

But I'm still interested in whether or not you think England is a country.

That there would be a border between UK and EU- and that as it could not be between NI and Ireland, it would have to be between mainland UK and NI. No?

Kali2

''If the EU is so worried about their citizens, for example eating meat that is not up to their safety standards, then they can prosecute the importers. No need for the paperwork for goods if NI is their final destination.''

but this is NOT what the Deal agreed, not the Deal that was negotited and signed- that is the point.

So what did the "Deal" agree?

Incidentally, different regulatory systems both sides of the border would encourage smuggling, the profits from which would undoubtedly end up in the hands of para-military groups.

GrannyRose15

vegansrock

grannyrose15 by your logic drug smuggling, people trafficking etc is ok because “it takes two to tango”

You have completely misunderstood my argument. I am not saying smuggling is OK. What I am saying is that in order for the UK to export goods to the Republic of Ireland someone in the Republic has to receive them. They have to check that all the correct paperwork has been done. If it hasn't then surely it is illegal under their own laws to accept the goods.

If the EU is so worried about their citizens, for example eating meat that is not up to their safety standards, then they can prosecute the importers. No need for the paperwork for goods if NI is their final destination.

It's not just about meat. It's about the border itself. It would undermine the GFA to have a hard border between the Republic and NI, which could kickstart the Troubles. So, logically, there needs to be a barrier of some sort between the UK and the Republic - where could it go?

PS. There are nearly 300 border crossings between the Republic and NI, which is more than the whole of the EU with third countries. Any attempt to close any of those crossings would be asking for trouble.

''If the EU is so worried about their citizens, for example eating meat that is not up to their safety standards, then they can prosecute the importers. No need for the paperwork for goods if NI is their final destination.''

but this is NOT what the Deal agreed, not the Deal that was negotited and signed- that is the point.