If Ireland is deemed to be a 'tax haven' because it choose to have a competitive corporation tax rate then it might as well leave now to solve the border issue. It needs close cooperation with the UK, the largest trading partner.
What has been refreshing is most, if not all the Tory Party and large parts of the Labour Party all agree with the stance taken by the DUP. The dodgy version peddled by the Irish was never going to be acceptable. The negotiations were always going to be difficult with the poor attitude of the EU, more concerned with keeping the superstate project on track. Rees Mogg is gaining popularity if May decides to leave (by mutual consent!). The country needs a Brexiteer as leader to reflect the decision of the British people.
I don't actually care if the current government falls at this point or in the next couple of months, it has shown how wretched it has been. The disgrace of misleading the Commons where you and I place our sovereignty is beyond belief. Not sure where you get the statement that large parts of the Labour party support the DUP from. This was the party that voted against the Good Friday agreement. Rees-Mugg is only popular with the right wing Tories, and even my Tory friends say they would switch parties if he ever came to power.
I wouldn't worry about your Tory friends, they always seem to out of step with the rest of the party. I cannot see another election happening although there must be a good chance of a change of PM. Last night the Labour spokesperson on Brexit clearly spelt out the LP policy was for NI not to have a different arrangement to the rest of the UK. Rees Mogg actually came first in a recent poll apart from 'none of the above' !!!!
The Labour party and most of the Tories agree that there should not be a different arrangement for NI and the rest of the UK. I have no idea what you think, but I would agree. The result is that there has to be no border for people or goods. So I ask you where would you place the border?
Peter Bone spelt it out well today, the EU needs to agree to a free trade agreement so the arrangements can largely stay as they are.
Peter Bone the MP who told the government that they were behaving in an unacceptable manner. Still we will let that go by. I can agree that a free trade agreement so that things stay as they are is the right way forward. This means that there will not be borders set up between Ireland and the UK, but also no borders between the UK and the rest of the EU. Without that Ireland becomes a separate case, something that the DUP are against.
No, there can still be an official border but crossing will be frictionless. This is why the trade discussions should have been continuing at the same time as other matters. The EU are just using the Irish problem as a bargaining pawn.
So you are quite happy for people and goods to travel between the south of Ireland and Wales without any checks? No checks required for people or goods travelling from France into the south of Ireland and then onto England? That is what we have at present. That is frictionless.
The basic issue is the UK must be clearly seen to pay a heavy price for daring to leave the budding superstate. All of the problems could easily be solved with goodwill on both sides, but that requires two willing partners.
What utter bilge. You can't leave the club and yet retain all of the benefits of membership - without either paying the annual fee or abiding by the rules of the club. This was spelt out in words of one syllable before the referendum and yet it's now somehow the vindictive EU bullying poor old Blighty. What a load of disingenuous ****e
The UK is only looking for a free trade deal similar to those the EU have with other nations. It is the EU that desperately needs to add further complications to frighten off other potential member countries from daring to disobey the eurocrats. The rush towards the German dominated superstate will ensure the UK is the first of many that will leave.
When you get down to reading the text you find that the Irish border problem has not been resolved at all, it has been kicked into the long grass for the time being. It will have to be sorted at some point otherwise as written Northern Ireland and the UK will remain in the customs union and single market. This seems to be the case anyway for a period while the future relationship is discussed, possibly about two years after 2019, but then quite likely to continue for more years while a trade deal is sorted. The DUP are not happy, but appear to have caved in for the present, but at least they know that all of the people living there will continue to hold EU citizenship as well as UK.
Name a European country that has a free trade deal with the EU but doesn't pay for the privilege or adheres to the 4 pillars? In your own time
The transition deal means nothing happens until 2021 at the earliest and there's nothing to stop the transition period being extended further, which would then mean the next election would be fought over the issue of Brexit. Farage has already worked this out, and is spewing. May has basically launched Brexit into the long grass.
You have acknowledged that the EU. has free trade deals with other countries - those will be lost to Britain upon leaving the EU. The UK. already has access to more markets as an EU. member than it could get alone, and under much more favourable conditions. The EU. gives UK businesses preferential access to over 50 countries outside of the EU. Alone, the EU - South Korea deal boosted UK. trade with South Korea by 57%. If the EU. completes all deals currently under negotiation 88% of the UK's trade would be covered by them. Your idea that Britain, free of the EU. would be able to expand it's trade to the rest of the World is wide of the mark - in fact Britain would have to play 'catch up' to compensate for all the free trade deals which would no longer apply.
Why does it have to be a European country? We will be a sovereign nation looking for a mutually beneficial trade deal. No more no less.
It would be easy to replicate the trade deals the EU have with other nations on the same terms which can then be improved over time to suit both parties.
