For months now people have been telling me that Labour is confused about Brexit. The argument goes something like this…
Labour wants to negotiate a new Brexit deal with the EU and then vote against it. They can’t make up their minds what they want.
This argument is often persuasive but it’s also just plain wrong.
I really should have known better. I’ve seen threats of violence from right wing keyboard warriors come and go before. They rarely amount to anything much more threatening than a raised eyebrow and a bit more fash cash invested in mutual consolation down the boozer. So when far right numpties started threatening riots and civil war I shouldn’t have been concerned. I’ve been here before.
But I’ve also been around flash rioting before – and it wasn’t pretty. That was back in the Thatcher era. I was living in a homeless hostel in Lincoln when everything went tits up all around the city centre. It just seemed to happen, suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere. I remember the riots of 2010 in London and Manchester, the lives lost and the damage done. I know what can happen when a tory government pisses people off too much.
So I woke up yesterday with some trepidation. But I needn’t have worried. It’s all good.
The trouble with stereotypes is that they’re far too easy!
Yesterday morning a London-based reporter popped up on my local politics Facebook page. I’m a Workington man, born and bred and although I’ve lived and worked in various parts of UK I’m home now and very definitely still a Workington man. So I was a bit surprised to read what he had to say.
This young bloke who presumably hasn’t ever set foot in West Cumbria was looking for a dinosaur from the 1970s, a stereotypical middle aged, white, beer-drinking, rugby league supporting, slightly dim-witted and extremely uninformed, male voter to tell him why he hated Jeremy Corbyn. And, of course – if you look hard enough you find what you’re looking for.
And where might you find such a relic, a blast from the disreputable past? Look no further than Wetherspoons where one Mr. Pennington, retired manager of Workington Job Centre and alleged former labour voter (if you can believe that) holds his court.
So… as one Workington man to another, here’s my response to the good Mr. Pennington. I hope he’s listening.
Oh dear Bill. Boris would see the economy crashed just to appease his backers who are actually gambling on UK’s economy failing. That’s why they and Boris want us out at any price to the people.
This tory stereotype really does appear to be what they think of people in the North. They see us as uneducated, outdated, sexist bigots (there’s no Workington woman caricature, after all).
Personally I think the Workington man stereotype sums up the tory attitude to we Northerners very well. Not only do they think we’re stupid but their economic decisions over the last 9 years have shown that they think us undeserving too.
Let’s boot the patronising bastards out of power and enjoy a proper, traditional, Northern Christmas with a labour government at the helm to bring a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.
As Boris’ awful withdrawal bill, with all its opportunities for exploitation progresses through the house, I think this short poem is as relevant as it was when I wrote it back in 2018.
Boris’ letter to parliament doesn’t include every possibility. We could simply withdraw article 50. But what would his vulture, currency-speculating backers make of that. If he doesn’t sink the UK economy he and his mates won’t increase their piles.
Yeah, well. They’re stinking rich already. Let them be satisfied with what they’ve got! I say withdraw and save the country. That’s my way to ‘get Brexit done’.
Over and done – consigned to the dustbin of mistakes we almost made.
As demanded by the Benn act, Boris Johnson last night sent an unsigned letter to the EU following his latest defeat in the Commons. It’s brief, to the point, terse and bordering upon churlish, especially since it doesn’t bear a signature. Here is what he wrote…
Dear Mr President,
The UK Parliament has passed the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019. Its provisions now require Her Majesty’s Government to seek an extension of the period provided under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, including as applied by Article 106a of the Euratom Treaty, currently due to expire at 11 p.m. GMT on 31 October 2019, until 11 p.m. GMT on 31 January 2020.
I am writing therefore to inform the European Council that the United Kingdom is seeking a further extension to the period provided under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, including as applied by Article 106a of the Euratom Treaty. The United Kingdom proposes that this period should end at 11 p.m. GMT on 31 January 2020. If the parties are able to ratify before this date, the Government proposes that the period should be terminated early.
Yours sincerely,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
He then sent another, signed letter, warmer in tone undermining the first…
Dear Donald,
It was good to see you again at the European Council this week where we agreed the historic new deal to permit the orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on October 31.
I am deeply grateful to you, President Juncker and to all my fellow European leaders for the statesmanship and statecraft which enabled us to achieve this historic milestone. I should also register my appreciation for Michel Barnier and his team for their imagination and diplomacy as we concluded the negotiations.
When I spoke in Parliament this morning, I noted the corrosive impact of the long delay in delivering the mandate of the British people from the 2016 referendum. I made clear that, while I believe passionately that both the UK and the EU will benefit from our decision to withdraw and develop a new relationship, that relationship will be founded on our deep respect and affection for our shared culture, civilisation, values and interests.
We will remain the EU’s closest partner and friend. The deal we approved at last week’s European Council is a good deal for the whole of the UK and the whole of the EU.
Regrettably, Parliament missed the opportunity to inject momentum into the ratification process for the new Withdrawal Agreement. The UK Parliament Representative will therefore submit the request mandated by the EU (Withdrawal) (No.2) Act 2019 later today.
It is, of course, for the European Council to decide when to consider the request and whether to grant it. In view of the unique circumstances, while I regret causing my fellow leaders to devote more of their time and energy to a question I had hoped we had resolved last week, I recognise that you may need to convene a European Council.
If it would be helpful to you, I would of course be happy to attend the start of any A50 Council so that I could answer properly any question on the position of HM Government and progress in the ratification process at that time.
Meanwhile, although I would have preferred a different result today, the Government will press ahead with ratification and introduce the necessary legislation early next week. I remain confident that we will complete that process by 31 October.
Indeed, many of those who voted against the Government today have indicated their support for the new deal and for ratifying it without delay. I know that I can count on your support and that of our fellow leaders to move the deal forward, and I very much hope therefore that on the EU side also, the process can be completed to allow the agreement to enter into force, as the European Council Conclusions mandated.
While it is open to the European Council to accede to the request mandated by Parliament or to offer an alternative extension period, I have made clear since becoming Prime Minister, and made clear to Parliament again today, my view, and the Government’s position, that a further extension would damage the interests of the UK and our EU partners, and the relationship between us.
We must bring this process to a conclusion so that we can move to the next phase and build our new relationship on the foundations of our long history as neighbours and friends in this continent our peoples share. I am passionately committed to that endeavour.
I am copying this letter to Presidents Juncker and Sassoli, and to members of the European Council.
Yours sincerely,
Boris Johnson
It’s a childish trick and it fools nobody. Boris is behaving like a little boy who, having been caught with his hands in the cookie jar is now relying on a technicality (nobody said he couldn’t) to change the obvious reality of the Benn act.
Our PM makes pious pronouncements about parliamentary sovereignty on one hand and then ignores the spirit of parliament to undermine it on the other. He is duplicitous, dangerous and cynical, just like his plans for Brexit
The sooner this pack of wolves is relegated to the opposition benches the better. Until then nobody’s ‘sweetie jar’ is safe from Johnson’s grubby little mitts!
Please ask those Brexiteers currently baying for UK to finally break all ties to the European courts of Justice and of human rights…
Which of these would you like to lose?
Which would you like to see denied to others?
Are you aware that it’s all or nothing – if they lose their rights, you do too?
Can you really trust the likes of Boris and Rees-Mogg to treat you fairly once they don’t need to?
Left eye view 