UK - Politika i društvo

Creepy Uncle wrote:Matori lisac William Hague kaze da su opsti izbori sve verovatniji.

Quincy Endicott wrote:Oni su jedini na koje pritisci ne deluju. Mislim da je ERG spreman na sve, pa cak i na pad torijevske vlade.

Jeremy Corbyn has walked out of an early evening meeting of party leaders with Theresa May after he realised that the prime minister had invited the Independent Group spokesman, Chuka Umunna.

The Labour leader had been due to meet May to discuss the Brexit crisis alongside the SNP’s Ian Blackford, the Lib Dems’ Vince Cable, and the parliamentary leaders of Plaid Cymru and the Greens.

But those present said he quit the meeting once he realised that former Labour MP Umunna, who is not a party leader but the spokesman for the newly formed group of MPs made up of Tory and Labour defectors, had also been invited.

A Labour spokesperson said afterwards: “It was not the meeting that had been agreed … the terms were broken” and that the party was talking to No 10 about holding a face-to-face meeting that Corbyn had earlier proposed at prime minister’s questions.

Umunna, however, claimed it was “extraordinary behaviour” and added: “I don’t think this is what people expect from a leader of the opposition at a time of crisis when the people that elect us to come together and see if there is a way forward.”

On Wednesday, as Mrs May announced she would ask the EU to push the UK’s departure date to June 30, French officials were quick to take a hard line.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, foreign minister, told members of the French National Assembly that France would oppose a Brexit delay without a credible plan from the UK. Mr Le Drian said France would be open to a “technical” extension of a few weeks to allow British institutions to finalise formal ratification of the UK-EU withdrawal agreement. But without a vote in the House of Commons to approve the deal, “the central scenario is a no-deal exit — we are ready for it”, the foreign minister said.

Along with the Netherlands, Germany and the UK itself, France stands to suffer the most economic damage because of its close links to Britain.

But there are three main reasons for the tough French approach, according to senior French government officials and political analysts.

First, Brexit is monopolising the European agenda at the expense of other important issues, including climate policy and the need to strengthen Europe’s defences against rising Chinese and US industrial power. Second, the cantankerous Brexit debate threatens to undermine European unity and give succour to rightwing nationalists in eastern Europe, Italy and even France itself (where a small minority favours “Frexit” — a French departure from the EU). Last, the numerous controversies over Brexit could spill over into domestic French politics, particularly the campaign for the European elections in May. An extension that would require Britain to take part in the EU elections — which are due to start on May 23 — would be a “red line”, said a person familiar with Mr Macron’s EU strategy.

In the EU vote, Mr Macron wants to present his La République en Marche party as fighting for liberalism and European integration against the nationalist, illiberal far-right, represented in France by Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.“All through the Brexit process they [the French] have been the hardest of the hard, and on this issue of the extension they are playing the hardest to get,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. “They have got harder on this in the last few weeks because of fears about the European election, and the idea that the Brexit business will pollute the domestic campaign.” Mr Grant said Mr Macron had articulated a vision for the future of Europe, and a long extension would allow the British to remain at the EU table with the chance to interfere in policymaking. “He’s particularly concerned that his vision will be messed up by the British ‘bovver boys’”.

A petition calling on Theresa May to cancel Brexit by revoking Article 50 has attracted more than half a million signatures.

Parliament's petitions website crashed on Thursday morning because of the high volume of traffic.

Gargantua wrote:FT

On Wednesday, as Mrs May announced she would ask the EU to push the UK’s departure date to June 30, French officials were quick to take a hard line.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, foreign minister, told members of the French National Assembly that France would oppose a Brexit delay without a credible plan from the UK. Mr Le Drian said France would be open to a “technical” extension of a few weeks to allow British institutions to finalise formal ratification of the UK-EU withdrawal agreement. But without a vote in the House of Commons to approve the deal, “the central scenario is a no-deal exit — we are ready for it”, the foreign minister said.

Along with the Netherlands, Germany and the UK itself, France stands to suffer the most economic damage because of its close links to Britain.

But there are three main reasons for the tough French approach, according to senior French government officials and political analysts.

First, Brexit is monopolising the European agenda at the expense of other important issues, including climate policy and the need to strengthen Europe’s defences against rising Chinese and US industrial power. Second, the cantankerous Brexit debate threatens to undermine European unity and give succour to rightwing nationalists in eastern Europe, Italy and even France itself (where a small minority favours “Frexit” — a French departure from the EU). Last, the numerous controversies over Brexit could spill over into domestic French politics, particularly the campaign for the European elections in May. An extension that would require Britain to take part in the EU elections — which are due to start on May 23 — would be a “red line”, said a person familiar with Mr Macron’s EU strategy.

In the EU vote, Mr Macron wants to present his La République en Marche party as fighting for liberalism and European integration against the nationalist, illiberal far-right, represented in France by Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.“All through the Brexit process they [the French] have been the hardest of the hard, and on this issue of the extension they are playing the hardest to get,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. “They have got harder on this in the last few weeks because of fears about the European election, and the idea that the Brexit business will pollute the domestic campaign.” Mr Grant said Mr Macron had articulated a vision for the future of Europe, and a long extension would allow the British to remain at the EU table with the chance to interfere in policymaking. “He’s particularly concerned that his vision will be messed up by the British ‘bovver boys’”.

Article 50 Could Be Revoked If MPs Reject May's Deal, Jeremy Hunt Warns. 

How angry are people?

This angry, in one quote https://t.co/gN6PKAv0iM





Times

Theresa May‘s statement about a delay to Brexit went down so badly that BBC News was unable to find anyone who supported it.

The channel’s Outside Source programme - which assembles reaction to the headlines from social media and other sources - was forced to show only negative Twitter comments about the prime minister’s Downing Street speech on Wednesday night.

“I’ve got colleagues down here in the newsroom, we’re trying to bring up tweets from a range of different people – no one is being positive about it,” said presenter Ros Atkins as he discussed reaction to Ms May’s statement.

The programme showed tweets from Brexit-supporting broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer, who claimed the prime minister was “not on my side”, as well as SNP MP Alan Brown, who said Ms May’s “lack of self awareness and culpability is astounding”.

Twelve minutes later, scrolling through further negative tweets, Mr Atkins added: “We’re looking for people enthused by it – believe me we’re looking – we’re just not finding it.”

"None of you is a traitor... the sole duty of every member of Parliament is to do what he or she thinks is right"

Commons Speaker John Bercow defends Parliament, after MP accuses Theresa May of "pitching MPs against the public" over #Brexithttps://t.co/1siloYzy2k pic.twitter.com/PhFkQYkANT

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 21, 2019

KinderLad wrote:Ja mislim da je ta faza femkasta faza oko Delayeva prevaziđena, sad se čeka da neko uđe sa kuburom u skupštinu ili da Čarls okupi kraljevske marince  u Nortambriji i krene ka Londonu da uguši pobunu u subotu.

Macron says UK will be heading towards no-deal Brexit if MPs vote down the deal next week

Macron is now taking questions in English. (His earlier responses were in French.)
He says if there is going to be a yes vote in parliament, the EU can agree an extension.
But a no vote “will guide everybody to a no deal”, he says.

NB Macron not ruling out a long extension:

"There must be a deep political change for there to be anything else other than a technical extension."

— James Rothwell (@JamesERothwell) 21. март 2019.

A third vote is not entirely out of the question, however. The Commons itself, rather than Bercow, is the ultimate arbiter of its own rules. Ministers had already said over the weekend that they would not hold a third vote until such time they could win it. By that logic, they could also secure parliament’s consent for an attempt to disapply any ruling by Bercow against a third vote. 
Barring that, however, the government has limited recourse in the face of a parliament resolutely opposed to its will. One option could be to replace it with another by means of a general election. Another alternative floated by ministers in the wake of this afternoon’s statement has been the prorogation of parliament, which would see the government end the current session in a bid to circumvent Bercow’s bar on the government presenting the same proposition more than once within it. 
Such a move would risk politicising the Queen, who – acting on the advice of both the Speaker and prime minister – would have the ultimate say on whether the government was acting in good faith by seeking a prorogation. That it is being forced to consider such a drastic course of action speaks to the underlying problem that Bercow has been able to exploit: its lack of a reliable majority in the Commons. If it had one, then the Speaker's pronouncements could simply be voted away.

UK PM May presented her views to EU27 leaders at #EUCO. I am told she was “evasive” and “tightlipped”. The prime minister was repeatedly asked by several leaders what she would do if MPs vote the deal down. May didn’t answer the question.

— Alberto Nardelli (@AlbertoNardelli) March 21, 2019