Boris and Brexit

Can Boris Johnson lead the UK with
a clean Brexit deal . He has to
do this vary carefully .

Brexit is going to happen and the rest of Parliament has to fuss up to it . In 2016 the UK people voted 51.9 to 48.1 to leave [see shorturl.at/cktCK ] Opposition lawmakers have so far blocked Prime Minister Boris (1)>>Johnson’s plan for a mid-October election, but the government said on Thursday that it would hold another parliamentary vote on an early election on Monday.That set up a significant clash over when British voters will get to decide who should handle Britain’s departure from the European Union, with (2)>>opposition Labour lawmakers haggling over what stage of the Brexit process gives them the best chance of wrenching control from Mr. Johnson’s enfeebled government.Mr. Johnson sees an election as the only way to create a stable majority for his Conservative Party in Parliament and secure a mandate for pulling (2.1)>>Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31, with or without a deal governing future relations. In a  short statement outside Downing Street on September 2, Johnson threw down the gauntlet: He pledged not to request a Brexit extension from the EU “under any circumstances” and implicitly threatened elections if rebels forced his hand. Parliament responded when it returned from its summer recess on September 3, with a cross-party group of MPs introducing an emergency debate motion—which Speaker John Bercow allowed in an  unprecedented decision—to seize control of the agenda and fast-track a private member’s bill blocking a no-deal Brexit. It passed in a 328-301 vote.In response, Johnson expelled  21 Conservative MPs from the party for defying the government—including eight former ministers and Winston Churchill’s grandson. The rebels were lauded by supporters for placing country before party and personal ambition, with some serving  cabinet ministers reportedly calling for these MPs to be reinstated. The prime minister would like to go to the country on 15 October. But an early election is not in Mr Johnson’s gift. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, it would require the support of two-thirds of all MPs. Britain voted to leave the European Union— an option dubbed "Brexit."  Remember Almost 52 percent of Britons voted in favor of leaving.Although the "leave" campaign often focused on emotional arguments about immigration, there are in fact many reasons those in favor of leaving believed it would benefit the UK. They came from across the political spectrum, and some of the arguments even contradict others. Here are seven of the most significant.  (3)>>Parliament is not representing the people . The real reason why the UK needs out of the EU.Examples like over the past few decades, a series of EU treaties have shifted a growing amount of power from individual member states to the central EU bureaucracy in Brussels. On subjects where the EU has been granted authority — like competition policy, agriculture, and copyright and patent law — EU rules override national laws. Politics is polarised remainer and leaver since leavers refused to accept the 2016 referendum result and refused to implement their manifesto pledges. The UK has so few votes that  can’t block EU laws. We can only rely on having 8 per cent of votes in the Council of Ministers and have less than 10 per cent of the votes in the European Parliament. Politicians have surrendered the UK’s power to veto laws we disagree with , so if the EU decides to introduce a law that will be bad for Britain there is nothing we can do to stop it. By contrast, the nineteen Eurozone countries have an in-built majority in these key bodies. It now doesn’t matter which way the UK votes, the Eurozone countries will decide which laws the UK has to introduce. Studies have shown that since 1993, over half of the new laws introduced in the UK now come from the EU. It seems that the EU may have taken certain rights of the sovereignty of the UK away .  The real issue is why did not England take the lead in the EU as a member state ?   Boris Johnson has to make a "deal" with the EU if the exit has to be made smoothly, some aspects of being a member in the EU sound inviting , some traties have to be rewritten , re negotiated .   The other negotiation will be to secure an agreement on the future UK-EU relationship – the (4)>>“new deal” – or some framework for that relationship. The Government says it intends to pursue a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU. As we have explained, this is likely to take longer than two years, so the new deal on the table in 2019 is likely to be a more skeletal agreement. But the EU officials remain concerned that the UK has so far presented no concrete proposals for replacing the backstop – the insurance policy for avoiding a hard border in Ireland, which Johnson has described as undemocratic. Johnson hopes to strike a deal at a key meeting of the European council on 17 October, and will then give MPs the chance to vote on it the following week, just days before the Halloween Brexit deadline. He insisted they would have “a lot of time” to debate the issues. “We’re coming up to the last period before we leave on 31 October, and in that period, parliament is going to have a lot of time, still – and they’ve spent three years debating Brexit by the way, without actually getting it over the line,” Johnson said.“They’re going to have a lot of time for consideration, and what I want to do now, which I think is what most people in the country want the government to do, is get on and try and get an agreement, but if we can’t get an agreement, get ready to come out anyway.”

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

(1)>>Johnson’s plan for a mid-October election.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson went nuclear with the great Brexit debate, announcing Wednesday he will suspend Parliament for more than a month from Sept. 10 until Oct. 14. The stated purpose of shutting down the legislature—a process formally known as proroguing—is to deliver a so-called Queen’s Speech, which is essentially the outlining of the government’s legislative agenda. The real purpose of the shutdown, of course, to anyone who’s being honest with themselves, is to disrupt parliamentary opposition to the country’s “no-deal” departure from the European Union that’s currently set to take place on Oct. 31. (2)>>opposition Labour lawmakers haggling over what stage of the Brexit process. Although the Labour party would obviously be the largest party in that government, Corbyn would not be suitable for the position of interim PM as he is seen as to divisive.To make this acceptable to the rank and file of the Labour party a fixed date for new elections would have to be agreed before then. In addition, senior ministerial roles would have to be allocated to Labour MP's.Jeremy Corbyn could be appointed Deputy PM.The UK could then request for a Brexit delay of at least 3 months after the date of the new elections so that a new government would then have sufficient time to negotiate a sensible deal with the EU (hopefully involving remaining in the Single Market).After the debacle inflicted by Johnson/Cummings duo hopefully common sense will start to prevail in the Conservative Party.The hard Brexiteers will not disappear in the Conservative Party but their wings will be clipped.  (2.1)>>Britain out of the European Union by Oct. 31. The EU is beset with problems. From systemic issues with the Euro, to the migrant crisis, and rising Euroscepticism, the supranational project is at breaking point.Whilst Eurocrats try to force Europe’s nations into a ‘Federal Superstate’, 90% of future global growth is set to take place in the rest of the world. Leaving the EU will allow us to take advantage of these opportunitiesThe EU’s Common External Tariff keeps prices on food, clothing and footwear artificially high. This affects the poorest in our society. Removing these tariffs will allow us to pursue more just and fair economic policy.    (3)>>Parliament is not representing the people .   They can see what is going on. Sooner or later, probably sooner, there will have to be a general election. The Conservatives have, in effect, deselected 21 of their MPs, including several former ministers, for voting with Labour to prevent Brexit. Although that purge has horrified commentators, most of whom are in awe of the Europhile grandees, it is a necessary prelude to an election campaign that will turn on Brexit. The Tories could hardly fight an election promising to leave the EU while several of their candidates refused to accept that policy. Though the pundits are fainting like affronted matrons, voters appreciate Johnson’s strength of purpose. (4)>>“new deal”. There are three ways to avoid this happening on 31 October: MPs could pass a deal, postpone the date of exit, or cancel Brexit altogether.But unless a new plan is agreed, Mr Johnson does not need to do anything for a no-deal Brexit to happen.This is because the UK's departure on 31 October is already written into law. He could just run the clock down.However, it's not as simple as that.Most MPs in the UK Parliament are against leaving without a deal. And they could try to stop it from happening.The terms of the UK’s exit have riven British politics, with elected officials there unable to come to a consensus on how to make an orderly transition. The EU recently extended the Brexit deadline to Oct. 31.  Johnson, who helped launch the “Brexit” movement, previously said the chances of the UK leaving the EU without a deal were “a million to one.”