Sabotaging Brexit?
Theresa May’s Brexit deal was voted down decisively, and there is speculation that the plan all along has been to have another referendum and make sure Brexit loses this time. The “elites” vs. the people?:
“The EU should prepare for the worst,” declared the German weekly Der Spiegel, “One should have no illusions: a segment of British lawmakers are fundamentalists, who are pursuing the Brexit almost with religious fervor.” The magazine complained that “the majority of the MPs, who are actually Brexit-skeptics, cannot come together without splitting their own parties and risking the anger of the voters incited by the [pro-]Brexit press.”
“Perhaps, Britain must undergo the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit in order to come to its senses,” Der Spiegel concluded…
Given Brussels’ track record, one can not rule [out] an intrigue to keep Britian in the EU at this stage. According to the former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, the British government is setting the stage for a second referendum. “I think and I fear we are headed on a path towards delays and probably a second vote,” he told Sky News. “I fear we will get an extension of Article 50 and what you will hear is voices in Westminster pushing for a second referendum.”
Stay tuned.
May has survived a no confidence vote today (just barely; the margin was 19 votes out of over 600). She is now saying that Brexit will occur whether a deal is reached or not:
…[A] no-deal Brexit will not be taken off the table, despite Corbyn’s insistence it was a prerequisite for talks, he added.
The spokesman said: “The prime minister has been very clear that the British public voted to leave the European Union.
“We want to leave with a deal but she is determined to deliver on the verdict of the British public and that is to leave the EU on 29 March this year.”
A Number 10 source told the Press Association: “What we are talking about tonight is party leader-level talks between the prime minister and her opposite numbers in other parties, should they wish to accept that.”
Although the subject matter is different, in one way this seems to resemble our own budget standoff. Both sides have an enormous amount at stake and are digging in.
For May, it’s not clear that she is committed to Brexit, as Farage discusses. But her political life probably depends on her at the very least appearing to be committed to it.
I don’t know nearly enough about May to know which it is. But I don’t see either side caving any time soon. The Brexit opposition apparently feels that if a referendum were held today, Brexit would lose, and they are determined to get to that point.
The Brexit opposition apparently feels that if a referendum were held today, Brexit would lose, and they are determined to get to that point. –Neo
If ANOTHER referendum…. yes, exactly. Like Democrats here, the British status-quo’ers apparently consider elections meaningful only when their side wins.
That would be one of the greatest provocations of this revolutionary period, IMO. A re-vote renders all future elections meaningless, in principle — and in practice, if they are close. Cross that river once, there is no coming back.
Then democracy is only a façade. Many think that’s the case now, of course. I answered one of those fundraising “surveys” just the other day and Steve Scalise asked me what I considered this nation’s single biggest problem. Surprised myself a little when I answered election integrity.
But that is what all of this is about, really.
May needs to resign. Only a no-deal Brexit preserves British sovereignty. Anything else yokes the British to the EU indefinitely. The UK needs a pro-Brexit PM to make the transition without giving away the farm to the Continent.
Then cut off the unrestricted inflow of immigration.
It’s a two-step restoration of the nation.
Just leave. What are Macron and the hag-Chancellor going to do, impose sanctions?
Send the Euro police?
This is their version of the RINOs. RINO extermination is a painful process as they have lied their way into positions of power and prestige that they do not deserve.
Daniel Hannan is a member of the European Parliament representing South East England since 1999. He is a thorn under its saddle. He wrote a marvelous work, “Inventing Freedom: How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World.” I cannot recommend it highly enough. One hopes, nay, prays, that the common English people can stand up at this perilous time and reclaim their sovereignty.
From the featured Amazon review:
“By the tenth century, England was a nation-state whose people were already starting to define themselves with reference to inherited common-law rights. The story of liberty is the story of how that model triumphed. How it was enshrined in a series of landmark victories—the Magna Carta, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the U.S. Constitution—and how it came to defeat every international rival.
“Today we see those ideas abandoned and scorned in the places where they once went unchallenged. Inventing Freedom is a chronicle of the success of Anglosphere exceptionalism. And it is offered at a time that may turn out to be the end of the age of political freedom.”
I care not at all for May’s political future. No one should care. What is important is doing the right thing.
The notion of a 2nd referendum is loathesome. That is done in places like Holland, until enough of the populace surrenders and the re-re-referendum passes by a thin margin.
I saw the same thing in my recent local by-election, which was for a run-off for a state office. But lo! on the ballot were four significant local matters. Very low turnout because the GOP candidate was sure to win handily, but the local libs turned out in sufficient force to pass permanent tax-and-spend measures that were quite unjustified, had not seen the light of day for public deliberation.
The fact that a Remain supporter was picked to replace David Cameron, who was also a Remain supporter, was the only clue you ever really needed to know that Parliament and the ruling class was never going to take the Brexit verdict lying down. I predicted 2 1/2 years ago that the UK would never be allowed to leave the EU by its own politicians machinations. Ask yourself a simple question- if you were a PM who never wanted an actual Brexit be approved by Parliament, and needed to create the chaos and anxiety required to finesse the calling for a 2nd referendum, what would have done that May did not do?
The other clues are already coming into focus- the EU has already softened the hard deadline of March 29th by offering that a delay is perfectly OK, and will explicitly state that Britain can unilaterally withdraw the Article 50 notice anytime before the exit is reached.
Here is how I see the next 2 months playing out- May will hold firm to the pledge of no 2nd referendum until about the first or second week of February, the EU will make explicit that Article 50 can be revoked by the UK at any time, and when the latter happens, the Remain faction in Parliament will then press for a 2nd referendum. I am guessing that at least 70% of Parliament want to stay in the EU, but the Tories can’t be seen calling for a 2nd vote because it is their voters that provided most of the Brexit vote the first time. I suspect you will see the same sort of thing you saw a couple of weeks ago- a bill is offered and by some accident, it gets a vote in Parliament despite the Tory leadership’s “orders to not allow it to the floor”, and it is passed with a minimal support from the safest Tories in the Remain faction. The exit is then delayed until the referendum is held. The Remain faction will win the 2nd vote by any means necessary, including outright fraud.
They would have cheated the first time except they had Hillaryesque levels of confidence in the outcome.
the ruling class was never going to take the Brexit verdict lying down
Remember their donors are similar to the donors of the GOPe. The London economy is all financial, like New York City. They know nothing about manufacturing or “making things,” as I like to call it. Google and Facebook are the US equivalents.
It has often been said that even the handling of money can be profitable. Even the politics of money can create millionaires out of middle class legislators.
The globalists will do whatever it takes to advance their agenda. Steal elections or abrogate election results, as we have seen before, to produce results. Unfortunately, for the elitists, the peasants are waking up (opposite of’woke’) and there is the smell of rebellion in the air; here, the EU, and Latin American. Interesting times.
Here, the 2nd Amendment must go, or our domestic enemies can not succeed. Expect the dem majority House to attack our right to possess arms to put the pedal to the metal to pass new restrictions. Futile currently, but the globalist donors will donate for the effort. And that is what is important.
We’ll see.
The peasants must vote until they agree with their betters!!!111!!!
Kai Akker on January 16, 2019 at 4:27 pm at 4:27 pm said:
The Brexit opposition apparently feels that if a referendum were held today, Brexit would lose, and they are determined to get to that point. –Neo
If ANOTHER referendum…. yes, exactly. Like Democrats here, the British status-quo’ers apparently consider elections meaningful only when their side wins.
That would be one of the greatest provocations of this revolutionary period, IMO. A re-vote renders all future elections meaningless, in principle — and in practice, if they are close. Cross that river once, there is no coming back.
Then democracy is only a façade. Many think that’s the case now, of course. I answered one of those fundraising “surveys” just the other day and Steve Scalise asked me what I considered this nation’s single biggest problem. Surprised myself a little when I answered election integrity.
But that is what all of this is about, really.
* * *
I feel much the same way about the incessant recalls of politicians, even if the result follows the policies I favor.
We had a local school board brouhaha a couple of years ago; a conservative slate won handily. Then the Unions sent people and money, instigated a mid-election-cycle recall, outspent the incumbents literally 10 to 1, and got their tax-and-spend board cronies re-installed.
*Spit*
Recall, like impeachment, should be limited to manifestly unethical conduct, not just implementing policies the losers don’t like.
And don’t forget that a fair number of EU members are in the union because their leaders wouldn’t take NO for an answer the first couple of times the people voted.
Yancey Ward on January 16, 2019 at 7:09 pm at 7:09 pm said:
They would have cheated the first time except they had Hillaryesque levels of confidence in the outcome.
* * *
Indeed.
No leftist government will ever make THAT mistake again.
Of course, if they are actually on target to win and still game the ballots, the blatant over-kill may give them away.
Not that they would care, having won, and conservatives never challenge elections, thus far.
That may need to change also, but then we would be well on our way to a hot war, because the left will not brook open opposition.
Yancey – this commenter (and others) at LI agrees with you.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/01/eu-tells-theresa-may-to-cancel-brexit/#comment-914664
Socratease | January 16, 2019 at 9:12 pm
The Left always wants repeated votes until they win, then declare any further votes are prohibited.
* * *
Leftist definition of democracy: one man, one vote, one time.
Or as another ideological leader- not leftist, but just as tyrannical — put it: democracy is a train you ride until you reach your destination, and then you get off.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/01/eu-tells-theresa-may-to-cancel-brexit/#comment-914563
Olinser | January 16, 2019 at 3:32 pm
People have been warning about this for YEARS.
Politicians from all parties in the UK didn’t actually expect it to pass. They just did it as a PR stunt to shut up the Brexiters because they believed their own bullshit and biased polls.
Just like Trump, they were WOEFULLY unprepared when Brexit passed.
From the very start their goal has been to try and artificially force enough pain so that they could throw up their hands and demand another vote ‘now that people understand how difficult it would be’.
This was their goal from the very start.
“Perhaps, Britain must undergo the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit”
WTO, like most other nations.
And I speak for most Anericans, we would LOVE to include you in our new trade org with Mexico and Canada.
I’m astonished at the arrogant ignorance of EU leadership. They are amateur tyrants.
May’s deal, and a crash-out Brexit, illuminate a very telling LACK of quid-pro-quo. May’s deal said that the Brits would pay Billions to Brussels, would allow their fisheries to be looted, would conform their products to faceless Brussels bureaucrat’s standards, and take a knee to EU courts…..for what, precisely?
In order to regularize a crash-out Brexit, there’d have to be a rapid succession of “little deals” — What’s it worth to protect “cheddar”? What are fishing rights in British territorial waters worth? Will the EU allow the sale of “EU ale” alongside “British ale” when the standards are different?
The sum of such “little deals” is likely to be quite a bit different from the May proposal. I’d suspect that it’d be different by a ratio of roughly 432:202. May’s fault was to suppose that she must clutch tightly when every indication showed a deal could be fairly made for each particular on a more fair basis.
“For May, it’s not clear that she is committed to Brexit…”
What’s wrong with “It’s not clear that May is committed to Brexit…”?
This all reminds me of my one visit to Parliament and the House of Commons. It was 1977 and before the IRA bombing that closed Parliament to visitors. We got into an enormous line on Saturday morning. As we stood there, a man came along and told us to go to the front of the line. We did so and he went off again. We finally figured out that he was collecting all the tourists that he heard speaking English. Finally, he told us all that he was a tour guide and we would be the first to enter when the doors opened at 9. He was a retired policemen and had been stationed at Parliament during the War, His tour was terrific and he pointed out all sorts of subtle things in the building.
At one point he showed us where he and Winston had stood the morning after Parliament was bombed in the Blitz. He also commented that he did not conduct Germans on tours. He said that they had finally got here but he was not going to help them.
The last referendum took 22 weeks. There are 10 weeks before we legally leave and 17 before the scheduled EU parliament elections, by which time the EU has insisted (entirely reasonably for once) that the matter be settled. And those proposing a second referendum are still arguing what the question should be. There ain’t time. And given the depth of feeling on the leave side, and that project fear has been discredited I wouldn’t bet on a remain win.
Since in the absence of Parliamentary and EU agreement to some particular deal we are legally bound to leave on March 29 I expect that to happen as I can see no deal available that can win approval both in the HoC and the EU.
Although David Cameron was never in favor of a Brexit, he ‘casually’ allowed for what was at best a not-so-low probability of a very severe outcome (from his & his political allies supposed position.
Why, really, did he do that? Yes, there are written explanations … which imo if you buy it you will be charmed by the lovely Mojave acreage I have for sale, or perhaps by stock I hold in a certain famous Bridge. In common parlance, it was simply crazy … as presented.
My suspicion is that PM May & Co are engaged in same sorts of Byzantine (large-scale, geo) politics. They say they’re globalists, but they are not acting in globalism’s big-picture interests. Au contraire.
Indeed, the EU project itself has always seemed sub-believable. The Soviet Union collapsed, and Europe proposes to create one of their own. “Closer and closer union, like the U.S.A”? Wrong acronym.
If they had a long time in which to slowly boil the frog … but the USSR clamped down on national identities for 70 years, and the day after it closed shop, all those nations came roaring back.
And Europe watched this object-lesson play-out live, even as they – supposedly – planned to stomp out even-stronger national cultures, in a fraction of the time.
In fact, I don’t own any Mojave Desert or Bridge Stock, because you have to be a nitwit to buy the EU’s explanation of what they’re doing, and to what end. And the whole Brexit dance-of-veils is part & parcel of it.