No exit from Brexit
So that’s appalling.
Brexit: MPs overwhelmingly back Article 50 bill
Well shame on those MPs.
MPs have voted by a majority of 384 to allow Prime Minister Theresa May to get Brexit negotiations under way.
They backed the government’s European Union Bill, supported by the Labour leadership, by 498 votes to 114.
But the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats opposed the bill, while 47 Labour MPs and Tory ex-chancellor Ken Clarke rebelled.
Two nationalist parties opposed the hyper-nationalist Brexit – ain’t life strange. But then they’re minority-nation nationalist, so it’s not so strange after all. Ironic though? Yes I think we get to call it ironic.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had imposed a three-line whip – the strongest sanction at his disposal – on his MPs to back the bill.
Shadow cabinet members Rachael Maskell and Dawn Butler quit the party’s front bench shortly before the vote, in order to defy his orders.
UK friends of mine are in despair.
I guess the UK is also eager to get back to the 1950s… Who are they planning on trading with now?
I’m guessing former colonies. Sure, we’ll trade with them, but not if that messes with EU trade, which it might.
Rob,
Don’t know about NZ, but Australia-UK trade is negligible. There are some loony conservatives in th UK that really seem to think that the Commonwealth is out there somewhere waiting for Mother to come back, even after dumping all their former colonies. The message I got from conversations with British immigrants in the 70s was that (1) they had vastly inflated ideas of Britain’s resources and (2) they thought that the UK would eventually dominate the EU. Unfortunately it’s the Germans. That might be a partial explanation for Brexit.
I’m still not convinced that Britain will ever leave the EU, some compromise will be made.
RJW, Rob
UK-based, remain-supporting lurker de-cloaking…
I think you’re both basically right in what you say: it’s thoroughly alarming. What makes it worse is that the loonies have the whip-hand right now and don’t seem to be interested in basic discussion or compromise. Plus they’re being egged on by the hard-right press.
I’m also pretty certain that both May and Corbyn voted leave. May has simply demonstrated to Boris Johnson how to become party leader (shame she’s not competent at anything else), and Corbyn is a moral coward, intent on making Labour a further left party, incapable of forming an opposition, let alone a government.
I’d like to believe that Leave won’t happen, but even if that does work out, scary amounts of economic chaos are on the way, and who will get the blame for that?
Also – Ophelia: thank you for this blog and your writing, especially at times like this; it’s a light in the gathering gloom.
RJW, the U.K. is still our 5th largest trading partner as far as I can tell, although how much of that ultimately passes through to EU countries I’m not sure. In terms of direct trade combined Germany, Netherlands and France about equal the UK. As a trading nation we are always seeking increased opportunity for sales. The EU has huge potential.
As an aside, Australia still tops the list, just ahead of China, at about 4x the trade with the UK, with the US sitting about half way between the them and the UK and Japan just a bit more than the UK.
NZ will happily trade with the UK, but not on the old terms from the ’70s. Sadly, I do think the UK will leave. As a result, if the EU survives it will bbe decades, if ever, before they join again. The rise of nationalism depresses me. I’m not a trade globalist as such, but I am an internationalist. I believe strongly in mutual support, coordination, trade and controlled immigration. This retreat into silos will never badly and make the world a sadder less vibrant place in the meantime.
@BKiSA: everyone! Doncha know all the countries in the world are queuing up to do wonderful trade deals with us once we’ve shed the dead weight of those European losers who are only holding us back with their market of 500 million people and 50% of our exports. We don’t need them, with their environmental standards and respect for human rights. We’re open for business. Just don’t expect us to welcome any of your actual people here in return for the great privilege of being allowed to trade with us. We don’t need you, anyway: our new bezzie mate Donnie is going to do a great trade deal with us, the best deal, it’ll be great. Us and him, well make the rest of the world sick with jealousy about how were going to be the best gang and if you want to join in, you’ll have to do what we tell you and never, ever tell on us to our mums, cross your heart and hope to die…
I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not. I think the use of a whip by the parties was unconscionable but I suspect even if MPs were left to vote with their conscience most would not go against their constituency outcome. And they would argue that they shouldn’t, given they are elected to represent their constituents’ interests. And they’d almost certainly lose their seat at the next election, of course…
It’s sheer utter idiocy. We’re lemmings, joyfully chucking ourselves off that cliff*.
(*yes, I know this doesn’t actually happen. Work with me…)
Well, America! Which is why our Prime Minister is now Trump’s best friend and is ignoring a petition against Trump’s upcoming state visit which reached its target of 100k signatures in next to no time.
Fucking sick of this.
Maybe we’re going to have a return to the great WW2 alliance. Photo ops of Trump and Putin with May primly squeezed between their manly thighs…er
Advice to the rest of the world. Deal with the menace now before its too late. Extreme prejudice may be required.
I think I’ve got TDS with added B.
Going to watch the dead zone. I like happy endings.
That anti-T-visit petition* is currently at 1.8 million signatures and is still climbing, despite the fact that the announcement has been made that it will be discussed in Parliament on the 20th of February.
An open letter to T from the rest of world** is at almost 5 million signatures.
*https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928
** https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/trump_muslim_ban_fb_pa/
I’m sure most of those signed illegally.
Well, the white paper’s out and it is, as expected, a work of sheer fantasy. Some of it is positively Trumpian in its childishness. Apparently, although Parliament has always remained sovereign (thus admitting yet another lie of the Leave campaign), apparently it hasn’t always “felt like it”. So that’s great, then. We’ll leave the EU so that some people can feel a bit better about their misunderstanding of the dynamics of EU membership.
Fuxake.
Rob,
Agreed. Australia and NZ have no choice other than international trade. I forgot to add that many of those British immigrants also thought that Australia would follow Argentina into the Third World without UK trading links. If only I could talk to them now.
Adam,
I’d put money on Britain staying, although it probably would need a decade to know for sure and who knows what will happen in the interim. Parliament could change its vote at any time and the so-called ‘referendum’ wasn’t legally binding. Economic reality will eventually prevail over post-imperial fantasies.