Is it not possible to have a coalition where some of the members of said coalition are not Ministers? Genuine question.
Just thinking about the campaign makes my heart sink. Don’t get your hopes up mate. My understanding is a coalition is when two or more parties come together to form a government, and negotiate a shared policy agenda - what Merkel is trying to do in Germany now, and what Cameron and Clegg did. The cabinet and ministerial posts are then dished out according to the size of the parties and special interests. What we have now is more like the Lib Lab pact in the seventies, where one party promises to vote for a minority government in exchange for a few favours, especially in no confidence and budget votes - ‘confidence and supply’. The support can be withdrawn at any moment, and the party doing the supporting has no accountability for what the government delivers. I’m calming down a bit now because I don’t think they (the DUP) will be allowed to get away with it. I’m sure they will lever something else out of May in the next couple of days though.
Satire, but with a scary ring of truth to it....... Shortly after 4pm, Jean-Claude Juncker and Theresa May appeared for a hastily convened press conference in Brussels. The president of the EU commission went first and was at pains to be complimentary to the British prime minister. Theresa was a tough negotiator, he said. It wouldn’t harm to flatter her a bit. And besides, anyone was tough compared with David Davis. At least she understood what was at stake. But there was still no agreement that could progress the talks as there were two or three issues that had still to be resolved. Though nothing that couldn’t be sorted by the end of the week. The British had already caved in to almost everything else the EU had demanded and he was fairly sure she would roll over on Ireland. It was just a matter of her finding the right form of words to convince the DUP and the hardline Brexiteers that she hadn’t capitulated when she had really. The prime minister remembered things slightly differently. Juncker had been exaggerating when he had said there were still two or three issues to resolve. There were just two. Ireland and one other one, which she couldn’t quite remember. Though she too was quietly confident she would give in later in the week. She tried out a nervous smile that she hoped suggested more steel than desperation. It didn’t. That was all that either Juncker or May had time for. Theresa had a pressing engagement with Donald Tusk so wouldn’t be able to take any questions. Soz. Just as well, really as she sure as hell wouldn’t have had any answers. It would take her a while to work out just what had happened. The prime minister’s confusion had started early in the day when Davis had told reporters he felt sure a deal could be done today. As the Brexit secretary is almost always wrong about everything – he had even imagined the impact assessments existed in excruciating detail when they hadn’t actually been written – Theresa had been alerted to the fact that things weren’t going to be easy. But even she hadn’t banked on it being this hard. “Are you sure we can’t fudge the Northern Ireland border issue just a little bit?” she had asked Juncker on arrival in Brussels. Juncker had sniggered. Absolutely not. What bit of “regulatory alignment” did she not get? Theresa had another go. How about we say that pigs, cheese and a few cows are allowed to wander across the border without a passport? So you’re basically giving in and accepting that Northern Ireland must stay inside the single market and the customs union, Juncker had observed. Mmm, yes and no, Theresa whispered, checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. It was like this. Regulatory divergence and regulatory alignment could almost mean exactly the same thing. It just depended which side you were looking at it from. The secret was to persuade the divergers that you weren’t aligning and the aligners you weren’t diverging by drafting something that was equally open to misinterpretation by both. “Whatever,” Juncker had yawned. Having persuaded herself she had got a deal she could sell – to herself if no one else – Theresa set about drafting an agreement with the Irish government. As the news seeped out that an agreement had been reached, all hell broke loose. If the Northern Irish could have a special nod and a wink for pigs, the Scots must have the same exemptions for scotch. And heather. Then London started making demands. Just because it could. It had never fancied leaving the EU anyway. By the time Cornwall had got in on the act by insisting its dogs be allowed to surf wherever they wanted, it dawned on the prime minister that maybe she ought to run the agreement past the DUP. Arlene Foster’s response had been unequivocal. Theresa could keep her £1bn. Any deal that didn’t make Northern Ireland exactly the same as the rest of the UK was unacceptable. No special status, no nothing. And if push came to shove, she’d bring down the UK government. Theresa giggled nervously. Perhaps it hadn’t been such a good idea to get into bed with the DUP after all. Still, too late now. That deal she’d said she had agreed to just a few minutes ago? It now turned out she couldn’t agree to it after all. Not yet at any rate. Just give her a few days to see if there was any way of pulling the wool over the eyes of the DUP and twisting the arms of the handful of hardliners in her own party who couldn’t bear the idea of anything that smacked of remaining in the single market. All for none and none for all. Juncker sighed. He needed a drink badly. Another one. It was a three-bottle day. Every time he thought the UK couldn’t get any more incompetent, it somehow managed to surprise him. please log in to view this image http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/theresa-may%e2%80%99s-efforts-in-brexit-talks-a-shambles-commons-told/ar-BBGdcuK?li=AA59G2&ocid=ientp
David Davis has been Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union since July 2016. Seems he got round to thinking about the Irish border in the pub about lunchtime last Friday, gave May the formula and forgot to tell her he hadn’t told anyone else about it.
Yes but if no one lives there and there are no jobs it doesn't matter how much they are. Stop comparing some outpost in France to the UK. Do they still take 50% tax in France?
No more referendums. We had the vote, so move on. If people don't like it Move to Romania or should it be 'Romoainer' ?
It could also be done by voting twice ie. the first one with all 4 options, and then the second between the 2 which scored the highest in the first round. With one addition, namely compulsory voting. This is too important an issue to be decided by 'who turns up on the day'. They have compulsory voting in Belgium and Luxembourg - you are required to register at the polling booth on voting day (most people, once there, go on to vote).
Sounds to me as if the Irish issue isn't far from resolution. The DUP were on board before May went to Brussels but got cold feet when they heard some rumours about wording. Hopefully, May can give reassurances and go back to Brussels later this week. There's still the issue of ECJ jurisdiction over EU citizens in the UK to resolve, but things begin to sound hopeful. The EU need that £40 billion.
What was he doing for the last 16 months? Because he seems to have made no contribution at all because all he seems to have ever said is "Please can we talk about a trade deal now. Please. Please, I'm begging you.".
Well that's an interesting spin. Please tell Ellers that because he like most on here believe that the UK has capitulated on the size of the bill.
In other news Google, or Facebook, or someone is to employ 10,000 extra people to seek out ‘violent and extreme’ material on their platform. What a horrible job. “Did you have a good day at work darling?” “Not really. Quite violent and extreme. Like always”.
It's true that all the movement has been on the UK side. Nevertheless, when we're spending net £8-10 billiion pa on the EU, we can bite the bullet on the $40bn so long as it's linked to a favourable trade deal. Now that money is on the table, the EU are keen to get the arrangement nailed down (even if conditional) because they have to know they can fill that hole in their budget
Which begs the question what on Earth have they been doing as well. Looks like poor communication all round here, and another humiliation for May as she is forced to disagree with her own proposal. Christ almighty I may slit my wrists.
You haven't noticed the disquiet in the background...If Ireland get a special deal ...Scotland, Wales, London.....(and perhaps my little spot in rural Bucks ) want a special deal too. This is not going to end well
We should all know that both that little Scottish woman and that little fw2t that runs London will always try and derail things at all costs.
You see, that is the premise of your issue Col - you appear a genuinely trusting man who thinks that persons in important positions are fit for the job - they are so often not. Bored you all before with it but the crux is the quality of people running this thing from the UK side. Stated before that before you go into any negotiation you've aligned your own internal position first, in fairness the clusterfuck that Pigfucker left makes it debatable whether even the most skilled could have pulled it off. Who would have thought to get a grip around the DUP when they were being bought off? Who could have thought that the Irish question would be a major element to this? Who would have thought it a good idea to be aligned PRIOR to going in to high level, high profile "final negotiations". Your "**** em all" rhetoric is OK if you genuinely believe that there is a collective of even average politicians around to stop a massive spiral for the UK. I'm afraid that the reverse of what has been happening for years is well on the cards for the UK. For many years, the finance scumbags assembled in London have been allowed to attack decent countries' monetary mechanisms. There is an appetite to take these out - that appetite, which was also the appetite of many who wanted to leave is getting stronger in Europe. Most major organisations in Europe have factored in their potential losses from "losing trade with the UK" already, most UK organisations can't even begin to understand what's coming to them. FYI - This year alone I have renegotiated terms with 5 decent sized UK companies, they're out on a limb having to concede points they would never have done previously. I'm genuinely sorry as the UK is currently a laughing stock - something not deserved by its fantastic people. As for coalitions without ministers - Yes it happens, unusual but yes. However there is one thing that coalitions and shady deals should have in common - the deal is made beforehand, the elements are negotiated beforehand, or you could just simply trust that parties like the DUP, National Front, UKIP or whatever right wingers you want to introduce would play nice!!!
That is not right. Only yesterday an analyst on TV said the opposite saying that many companies in the EU are gutted we are leaving and it also puts them in an awkward position. I think you are putting too much ill-informed faith in the EU Danish. Tbh I think it will hurt all parties if a decent deal does not get done. We are still a big trading country compared to the majority of EU countries and to dismiss us is wide of the mark. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/britain-europe-cost/ https://www.out-law.com/en/articles...to-ensure-frictionless-eu-trade-after-brexit/
