Tuesday 8 September 2020

Perfidious Albion, once again reemerges asTories break another treaty

 One of the main reasons the Tories won the 2019 General Election was their claim that they would "  he had "Get Brexit" done and Boris Johnson saying that he had a"Oven Ready Brexit".

It saw not only thousands of former Ukip and Brexit Party  members voting for the Conservative, but  "Remain" supporters who had been worn down by months and months  of the previous government of Theresa May failing to make progress and a feeling that it is time to get it over with.

It may wel lbe that even with the disclosure that Johnson did not realise that "Oven" ready still meant that you had to turn the bloody oven and cook it some who in their hearts still would like to rejoin the EU could still support the decision.


However I wonder  when the true nature the new that the UK Government was set to table new legislation which could override key elements of the Withdrawal Agreement which sealed the UK’s departure from the bloc in January.

Boris Johnson has set a five-week deadline for free trade deal talks to reach an agreement or for both sides to accept no-deal when the current transition period ends at the close of the year.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the Government was proposing “limited clarifications” to the law to ensure ministers can preserve the gains of the Good Friday Agreement in the event of no deal. 

Downing Street has defended plans to give British ministers unilateral powers over Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland, putting them on a collision course with the EU and Irish leaders in a week of crunch negotiations.

A No 10 spokesman said the measures were “limited and reasonable” and insisted the UK would remain compliant with the Northern Ireland protocol – despite anger from Brussels and Dublin at the plans leaked overnight.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, warned Boris Johnson not to break international law and the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, also reiterated that the EU “demand quite simply, and calmly, and until the end, that the political commitments in the text agreed by Johnson be legally translated into this treaty”.

  Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts MP says proposals that the UK Government could use the Internal Market Bill to try and undermine the EU Withdrawal Agreement are “as stupid as it is dangerous”.

The Internal Market Bill is expected to be published later this week and is set to define how post-Brexit trade operates between the UK’s four nations.

Proposals for the legislation had already come in for criticism over concerns that it undermines two decades of devolution to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“Breaking international law is never a good idea, to do it in the middle of a pandemic is as stupid as it is dangerous. At a time when the world needs to work together the UK Government is actively doing the opposite,” Ms Saville Roberts said.

“The Internal Market Bill was already set to undo the work of multiple devolution referendums, but now it looks set to put the UK on the path to becoming a pariah on the world stage.

“This is rogue state behaviour undermining not only EU negotiations but trust in the UK in all future international negotiations.

“Westminster’s shambolic handling of the pandemic has already shown how in Wales we can do better for ourselves. This latest scandal only makes it clearer that Westminster does not, and never will, work for Wales.”

The argument that the UK could become a "Pariah State"  is very real one . Breaking a treaty is a serious matter and  once again the label of perfidious Albion implying that England it is not trustworthy in its dealings with foreigners is looming large .

Yes I used England , because the same issue will apply when Scotland will shortly vote for Independence.

It is clear that the Westminster Government , will not conduct the negotiations in good faith and the Scottish Government will have to be vary careful with who their dealing with.

So will the Irish Government faced with a prospect of an United Ireland and Indeed the Welsh Government in working out a new relationship if it is still tied to the remnants of the UK.

The argument that Scotland should seek to rejoin the European Union  and abandon any hope of any chance of dealing with the pariah state next door will never be stronger.



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