The Brexit countdown clock.

[DonPeffers]

Just as a watched kettle never boils (as the saying goes) I thought the introduction of the Sky Brexit countdown clock on 29 Mar 2017 showing 730 days to go was a bad idea and would make the process seem interminable.

 

With the first withdrawal deadline missed on 29 Mar 2019, then a 14 day extension to 12 April which became the 2nd missed deadline, we had a 202 day extension to 31 Oct 2019 withdrawal date which looks increasingly likely to be missed too.  All the while the proposed transition period to 31 Dec 2020 to allow future trade negotiations is getting ever shorter with the passage of time.

 

The No Deal scenario arises when the transition period ends without a trade deal in place unless a further transition with further payments is agreed.

 

Corbyn says he wants 'No Deal off the table' when he must know that means unless the EU grant a beneficial trade deal, the UK could be forever in transition or never leave, meaning Revoke.

 

EU apparently will announce the extension they are prepared to grant (I DO THANK YOU MASTER) next week, possibly on Tues. 29 Oct 2019. 

 

Anyone of a nervous disposition worried about the future must be stressed out by this endless Parliamentary delay, dither and obstruction combined with clearly contradictory statements from our esteemed Parliamentarians.

 

Now is the time to stop MPs salaries and lock them in The Commons with only water for 6 weeks to sort this out. If MPs reckon a Universal Benefit Claimant can go 6 weeks without funds to provide food and shelter then I say let them try it.

 

https://interactive.news.sky.com/2017/brexit-countdown/

 

 

[Lyonspride]

If it doesn't happen by the end of this month, it's not going to happen. Remain will just keep using the EU sympathetic Scottish courts to thwart any attempt at Brexit, and once no deal is off the table, we'll have no bargaining chip with the EU.

[DonPeffers]

I agree with Lyonspride above as it seems nobody wants to take UK out of EU.

 

We've had 3 Tory PMs who said they would do it but have not;  3 missed EU withdrawal deadlines and vast sums spent on useless preparations including daft commemorative 50p coins and much more. Mrs May's 'my deal or no deal'  and 108 times 'we are leaving the EU on 29 March 2019' were so much hot air.

 

Endless withdrawal extensions are just Remain and I expect the Brexit Party during the forthcoming General Election to be bluntly advocating No Deal Leave then negotiate as the only way forward to break the impasse.

 

PM Boris thinks a new Parliament will break the impasse yet Mrs May's unnecessary 2017 Election gamble failed spectacularly and achieved a worse position than before. With 50% of seats never changing hands and the likelihood of a hung Parliament the impasse will remain and then, as in EU tradition, it will be time for a second referendum vote. 

 

Today BBC news https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50219036  (Boris') Brexit deal means ‘£70bn hit to UK by 2029'  Headline.  --- National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has found.  It concluded that GDP would be 3.5% lower in 10 years' time under the deal.

 

Today on BBC reports of the latest NIESR study where Ceefax calls it  'the forecaster's outlook and assessment'  whereas today on televised 1pm BBC News, Economics Editor Faisal Islam used the word 'evidence'.

 

I would say any economic forecast is only a projection and the use of the word evidence is very ill-advised. As Blatman has stated in other posts journalists focus on one side of a story and it would have been better and a more balanced report if BBC had had a forecast of GDP reductions in France and Germany based on the deal being examined and stated that was evidence as well and requested a reaction from Macron and Merkel.

 

How balanced are the Brussels Broadcasting Corporation going to be during the forthcoming General Election and likely 2nd EU Referendum?

 

I have come to the conclusion that the powers that be don't want EU withdrawal and the public are being taken for fools with endless excuses and delays so that ultimately the public cannot say anyone is accountable.

 

One thing the General Election will achieve is less time in Parliament for MPs as it will be prorogued again at business end Tues 05 Nov and likely not sit again until Mon 16 Dec when the swearing in of all the MPs (650) will take place and use up that week; then time for MPs Xmas holidays then return on Mon 06 Jan2020 with only 16 sitting days until new Brexit deadline 31 Jan 2020. Don't worry, we will extend.

 

The clock https://interactive.news.sky.com/2017/brexit-countdown/  is still counting down to 11pm on 31 Oct 2019 deadline which is pointless unless Boris has a surprise No Deal 'we are out' scenario planned.

 

Nearly forgot but Radio 4 at 6.30pm  31 Oct has a 30 minute comedy 'Little Brexit' from the Little Britain comedy presenters and I hope they have some good laughs for us----we need it.

[Exitus]

17 hours ago, DonPeffers said:

I have come to the conclusion that the powers that be don't want EU withdrawal and the public are being taken for fools with endless excuses and delays so that ultimately the public cannot say anyone is accountable.

 

Or it could be that the people involved in the process have realised that achieving any sort of successful brexit is not only almost impossibly difficult, but also massively damaging to the UK?

 

Personally I think it's stunning that despite decades of complaining about the EU, it is quite clear that none of the prominent brexiteers had the slightest idea what to do if they actually won. They've now spent years arguing what brexit actually means, damaging their own negotiations, misinterpreting just about everything, and then resigning left right and centre when they didn't get their way (or realised that what they had promised just wasn't possible).

 

We finished off with Boris Johnson stating that his deal was exactly what people had voted for, followed immediately by Nigel Farage stating that Johnson's deal was just another form of remain. I then heard a radio caller complaining that Farage was just another remainer. No wonder everything has gone the way it has when there is no agreement on what brexit even is. Staggering.

 

Bring on the election. At least then each MP will have a clear mandate to argue for or against brexit, and act and vote accordingly.

[Exitus]

Interestingly, I've also read a lot recently, in the left-wing media and online, about the BBC being pro-leave biased. 

 

It seems at the moment like both sides think that the BBC is biased against them. I'd take that as an indication that it's tracking down the middle fairly well. 

[DonPeffers]

17 hours ago, Exitus said:

Interestingly, I've also read a lot recently, in the left-wing media and online, about the BBC being pro-leave biased. 

 

It seems at the moment like both sides think that the BBC is biased against them. I'd take that as an indication that it's tracking down the middle fairly well. 

 

17 hours ago, Exitus said:

 

Or it could be that the people involved in the process have realised that achieving any sort of successful brexit is not only almost impossibly difficult, but also massively damaging to the UK?

 

 No wonder everything has gone the way it has when there is no agreement on what brexit even is. 

 

Bring on the election. At least then each MP will have a clear mandate to argue for or against brexit, and act and vote accordingly.

 

Regarding BBC did you read post  Poor planning or Editorial decision--BBC news today

September 6 in Stuff & Nonsense?

 

The main problem with the EU referendum was that it wasn't legally binding as would be the case with any subsequent referendum. Any economic damage has to be weighed against the damage to democracy and trust in politics.

 

Everyone can agree that Brexit is a portmanteau word combining  Britain  and  Exit.  The exit option was stated on the ballot paper as Leave and was selected by 17,410,742 voters making a majority of 1,269,501 votes. That should mean UK leaves EU and the future politics is negotiated. A transition deal to smooth trade is acceptable to most.

 

The 12 Dec 2019 General Election will return various MPs but, as in the current Parliament, will they adhere to the Party Manifesto they stood on or what they promised their constituents? Will they even stay in the same Party or, as seen recently, drift off to other Parties with very different manifestoes but NOT stand for re-election by their constituents? Many current MPs in Leave voting constituencies have demanded a second referendum, going against the mandate they stood on. Will new MPs act differently?.  Time will tell.

[Lyonspride]

22 hours ago, Exitus said:

Interestingly, I've also read a lot recently, in the left-wing media and online, about the BBC being pro-leave biased. 

 

It seems at the moment like both sides think that the BBC is biased against them. I'd take that as an indication that it's tracking down the middle fairly well. 

The BBC is biased, but not in party politics.

The right thinks the BBC is very left wing, the left thinks the BBC isn't left wing enough. The far left think anyone right of centre left, are far right. The far right think anyone left of centre right, are far left.
Then to confuse things, we have religious extremists who are far right, but supported by the far left..... It's bonkers.
 

[Alan France]

I’ve worked for a boss who was more right wing than Attila the Hun.

 

True left wingers are the ones who only stop when they run out of others peoples money.

[Alan France]

As reported on Sky News.

 

Appearing on LBC radio (from the USA) with host Nigel Farage ... the US President also heaped praise on Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a fantastic guy. Trump also claimed the Labour leader would be soo bad for the UK.

 

As I’ve owned a Camaro and a Corvette I think I now classify as a “redneck”