Saturday 24 February 2018

BEVO: Brexit for English Voters Only.

After David Cameron's  English votes for English Laws (EVEL) we now seem to be getting  Brexit for English Voters Only(BEVO) as Mrs May holds a Cabinet meeting in Chequers to thrash out Brexit details of what she hopes to be taking to her ext round of Brexit talks with European leaders.

Though there seems to be some absent figures around the Table.

!tonight 


The Brexit sub-committee gathered  at Chequers with the government under pressure to spell out in detail what it wants to secure from Brexit talks.

The UK has said it wants a “deep and special” partnership with the EU but I doubt that this has any more meaning that claims that they have respect for Wales or Scotland in their precious Union.


 
Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland Secretary, was invited to the meeting and was pictured sitting beside Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.but Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns and  his Scottish counterpart David Mundell, seem to be absent.


 There has always been the question ,

Does the Secretary for Wales represent Wales  in the UK government or the UK government in Wales.

It now seems neither is true.

Tommy Sheppard, the SNP’s spokesman on Scotland at Westminster, suggested the Northern Ireland Secretary got an invite because the DUP were propping up May’s Government. Arlene Foster’s party agreed to support the minority Conservative Government in return for £1 billion extra funds for Northern Ireland. 

Sheppard said:
 “Given the implications of Brexit on devolution it shows a casual disregard of the nations of the UK for the Brexit cabinet to be assembled without any Scottish voice.
“To suggest Northern Ireland should get a representation on the Brexit war cabinet and Scotland doesn’t is adding insult to injury – and comes on top, of course, of the £1bn DUP bung.”
Perhaps MUNGUIN'S NEW REPUBLIC suggests  Alun Cairns and David Mundell, had other duties like making the Tea.

Also absent  was Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson who made a big thing ofMs Davidson attending   a number of meeting of top cabinet ministers.


But she seems to have been confined to Holyrood and photo opportunities of her defusing mines Afghanistan or staring in a Great British Bake Off special.


Of course no one in the hierarchy  cares what Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies thinks.

But it is clear that the "English " cabinet have no respect for any concerns from the Welsh or Scottish representatives even though I doubt that either Cairns or Mundell have been brave enough to express any.

No comments: