Trump, desperate for attention, is still hoping to cling to power; he is in total denial that for the most part the news has moved on and he’s now just a sad loser – we all know how much he hates losers… My ex in the States just emailed this gem: “’Votes cannot be cast after the Poles are closed!’ Trump tweeted, before taking another Krakow at the spelling.” I’m ashamed to say that I made the same typo in my last post; I might yet become Presidential material if the Tories don’t exterminate me in their ongoing Covid cull before I reach ‘full maturity’! But, I take comfort in the reports that it seems Dominic Raab stuffed his foot well and truly into his mouth during Sunday morning interviews with both Marr and Ridge. The Canary Article entitled, “Dominic Raab involved in multiple TV car crashes on Sunday; Dominic Raab didn’t exactly have a good morning on Sunday 8 November.” They claim that, “he repeatedly fell apart across both the Andrew Marr Show and Sophy Ridge on Sunday,” which they describe as: “Astonishing”?
The Canary report, “First, the foreign secretary was on Ridge. The host brought the subject of the US election up. The reportedly outgoing president Donald Trump has wildly claimed that there has been “fraud” and ‘corruption’ around mail-in (postal) voting. This has been debunked as essentially nonsense at present. Trump has also called for states to stop counting votes. So, Ridge probed Raab about this. She asked: Do you think that all votes should be counted in a democratic election? The answer would seem fairly obvious to many. Unless, of course, you’re the Tory foreign secretary. Raab swerved the question, saying: Look, I’m not here to get drawn into… what is a different system in the US. But Ridge wouldn’t let it go. She interrupted him, saying: Sorry, the question is do you think all votes should be counted in a democratic election? I find it astonishing there’s not an answer to that. Prepare to be even more astonished then, Ridge, because Raab still tried not to answer: He finally caved in, though. But only by a bit.”
The Canary switched to their observation of the Andrew Marr show saying, “Marr must have been ‘astonished’ too. Because Raab also refused to directly answer his question on the predicted President elect Joe Biden and Brexit.” Regarding the Good Friday Agreement they say, “The BBC host was grilling Raab about the contentious internal market bill. Here, it was specifically in relation to the Good Friday Agreement. The Belfast Telegraph reported that the bill ‘jeopardises’ the Good Friday Agreement. It said: Representatives of civil society groups have said that the actions of the Government are ‘jeopardising’ the Good Friday Agreement and the functioning of the devolved administration at Stormont. The groups… have described the actions of the Government as ‘contravening’ international law and ‘undermining’ the provisions of the Protocol items relating to the non-diminution of rights and equality protections. The point being that Biden has already come out and said he would protect the agreement. Yes or no?”
It would seem that Marr was being really explicit with his questioning, the Canary say, “Marr took Raab to task over this. The host said: [Biden’s] comment about the Good Friday Agreement not being a casualty of Brexit was actually only two months ago, so he is very focused on this.” Marr emphasized that, “the new incoming team have been very, very clear, they want to see changes in the Internal Market Bill.” So Marr had asked Raab, “one more time, to give me a clear answer as to whether the government has heard that message and is prepared to move in any way on the Internal Market Bill. Yes or no?” The Canary report that, “Of course Raab tried to swerve the question: But, of course, there’s good reason for Raab to dodge the questions from Ridge and Marr. Some commentators think that a Biden presidency could be tricky for the Tories over Brexit.”
Referring to Biden’s stance on the Good Friday Agreement the Canary report that, “WalesOnline noted that he: opposed Brexit and, due to his Irish heritage, has expressed concern about its potential impact on Ireland’s economy and Northern Ireland’s security. And he has described Prime Minister Boris Johnson as ‘a physical and emotional clone’ of Trump. So, the challenge for Johnson is that his whole 2019 election was based on a ‘no ifs, no buts’ Brexit and to just ‘get it done’. Now, with it looking like Biden will try and force a compromise, the Tories will be in an uncomfortable position: betray the voters they scooped up with the promise of Brexit no matter what? Or give in to concessions from Biden – and in doing so, demonstrate they haven’t really ‘taken back control’ of anything? Raab’s clusterfucking was a prime example of the panic and potential chaos the Biden presidency may cause. It’s going to be an interesting few months.”
Today the contentious ‘Internal Market Bill’ was again under scrutiny in the Lords, where the PM has not yet managed to usurp absolute control through bullying, intimidation and threats as he has so ably succeeded in doing with Tory MPs in the Commons. A Sky News Article entitled, “Brexit: Government vows to reinstate any UK Internal Market Bill clauses removed by House of Lords” reports on, “A fresh row over the legislation is likely to again be closely watched by US president-elect Joe Biden.” They claim that, “The government will reinstate any parts of its international law-breaking Brexit legislation that are removed by the House of Lords, a cabinet minister has vowed. The UK Internal Market Bill, which has been condemned by critics both in Westminster and abroad, seeks to allow ministers to override the Withdrawal Agreement signed with the EU. But the proposed legislation is set to suffer a heavy defeat in the House of Lords on Monday, when peers consider the most controversial parts of the bill.”
Sky News have reported that, “Labour warned the UK could become an ‘international pariah’ if the bill is passed in full. A fresh parliamentary row over the legislation is likely to again be closely watched in the US, where president-elect Joe Biden has previously warned about Northern Ireland’s Good Friday Agreement becoming a ‘casualty’ of Brexit.” They note, “the Financial Times reported Mr Biden would stress this point during his first call with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the coming days.” Do not forget that the Tories have lied to voters about crash-out Brexit boasting that we can walk away without paying the agreed amount owed. Imagine you take a large group of friends out to dinner in a fancy restaurant and you all thoroughly enjoy the costly meal with lavish quantities of fine wine. But when the bill is presented you object to paying what is due and you just walk out. After openly bragging about the money you just saved, how many other restaurants do you think would welcome your custom?
“Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News the government would stand firmly behind its legislation. Asked whether ministers would immediately reinstate any of the bill’s clauses that might be removed by the House of Lords, Mr Eustice replied: ‘We will. The UK Internal Market Bill is not about undermining the Belfast Agreement, it’s about standing behind it and making sure it works and looking after the interests of Northern Ireland – making sure the peace that has been hard-won there can carry on. ‘The limited number of areas where we took a power, subject to parliament agreeing it, to be able to create legal clarity and legal certainty should there be areas that the Joint Committee process in our negotiations with the EU can’t agree. We’ve got to provide that legal certainty and legal clarity and that’s all the bill does’.” That infamous statement re breaching a signed international treaty in ‘limited and very specific’ ways doesn’t bode well for the prospect of any future trade agreements yet to be negotiated or signed.
Sky News report that, “Lord Falconer, Labour’s shadow attorney general, branded the government’s argument that the bill is needed to protect the Good Friday Agreement as ‘utter and obvious nonsense’. He told Sky News: ‘I would advise the government to stop and think. ‘What on Earth is the point in making the UK an international pariah just at the moment a new US president emerges who is saying ‘not only do I want the British government to comply with the Northern Ireland Protocol, but I want a law-abiding world’? ‘To make ourselves an international outsider, somebody who will come low down the list of people the US will want to do business with is a very big mistake for the UK.’ Lord Falconer said the House of Lords was ‘doing the government a favour by seeking to take out these law-breaking provisions now’. ‘It gets the government off a hook – I would suggest the government stops digging, they’re in a big hole,’ he added.”
Sky News point out that, “Senior Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, a former minister and now chair of the House of Commons’ defence select committee, said that if the UK was ‘genuine about a new chapter of co-operation’ with the US under Mr Biden, then it ‘must ditch’ parts of the UK Internal Market Bill.” This would seem to indicate that not all Tory MP are fully committed to the deliberate reckless damage that Johnson, no doubt on the orders of his puppet master Dominic Cummings, is prepared to do to the UK’s record on foreign diplomacy. Will Tory MPs defy the whip by daring to vote against the bill, knowing the PM could toss them out of his all powerful Conservative Party? With the appalling example set by President Trump, for trampling on the acceptable norms of global order, now about to fade into the realm of disturbing memories, does the UK really want to top the leader board as the world’s most untrustworthy rogue state? Johnson will not be feeling so invincible without Trump in the White House.
In the iNews Article entitled, “Brexit latest: What happens next as Lords prepare to vote on controversial Internal Market Bill” they say, “Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also talk to President-elect Joe Biden on Monday, who has been outspoken against the Government’s Brexit strategy so far.” They say, “Boris Johnson will proceed with his controversial Brexit legislation that threatens to break international law, despite possible friction with new US President-elect Joe Biden. In yet another busy Brexit week, the Lords could be poised to temporarily derail Mr Johnson’s strategy by voting down parts of the Internal Market Bill. Meanwhile, Downing Street will be juggling last-minute talks with the EU’s negotiator whilst waiting for an introductory phone call from the soon-to-be leader of the US – who has made his Brexit thoughts pretty clear. All this as the time is ticking for a deal to be reached before the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year.”
Here’s what’s happening next with the Lords set to rebel. According to iNews, “The Prime Minister confirmed in a pooled clip released over the weekend that he intended to push on with the Internal Market Bill, which override clauses in the Withdrawal Agreement relating to Northern Ireland, despite opposition. But, with peers due to vote on it this week, Mr Johnson is facing a potential defeat. Many in the House of Lords have been outraged by its powers and they now have the chance to express their anger during a vote on Monday afternoon. Peers are due to vote on an amendment calling for the removal of measures that the Government has admitted would give it powers to break international law in a ‘very specific and limited way’. If the amendment is passed it would then go back to the Commons for another vote, at which point the Government could reinstate anything the Lords had removed should they choose to.”
iNews report that, “Mr Johnson, asked on Sunday whether he was determined to pass the bill in the face of Mr Biden’s criticisms, said: ‘Yes, as I told Ursula (von der Leyen, European Commission president) the parliamentary timetable goes ahead. “The whole point of that bill, and indeed the Finance Bill, is to protect and uphold the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland. And again, that’s one of the things that we’re united on with our friends in the White House’.” This level of deceitful double-talk fudge, conveniently spun by the PM to the UK public via his compliant right-wing Media, might have met with the full approval of the non-detail oriented former President Donald Trump, but it will not breeze by Biden to get even remotely close to a resounding defeat in US Congress. iNews confirmed that, “Environment Secretary George Eustice said the Government would reinstate controversial clauses that enable ministers to break international laws if Lords try to strip them out.”
Boris Johnson’s relationship with the new Democratic President, Joe Biden, will get off to a rocky start if he does not ditch the Internal Markets Bill. Biden has already signalled his contempt for Johnson as a Trump clone, although I’m sure he will try to be polite, but firm when he finally discusses matters over the phone. iNews say that, “The ongoing row over the Government’s controversial Northern Ireland proposal, which has been bubbling on for months, now has an added complication in the form of President-elect Biden. Mr Biden, who has Irish heritage, has made it clear that he does not support the Government’s current proposals. He warned back in September that the Good Friday Agreement cannot be “a casualty of Brexit” and said a UK-US trade deal would be dependent on the peace terms being upheld. Mr Biden also said that a trade deal with the US is ‘contingent’ on the prevention of a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland.” The PM is in a very weak negotiating position.
iNews report that, “Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has jumped on the opportunity to use this to force the Government’s hand and has called on Downing Street to scrap the Brexit bill if it wants to build an alliance with the Biden administration. ‘We will soon have a president in the Oval Office who has been a passionate advocate for the preservation of the Good Friday Agreement,’ Sir Keir wrote in an article for The Guardian. ‘He, like governments across the world, will take a dim view if our Prime Minister ploughs ahead with proposals to undermine that agreement. If the Government is serious about a reset in its relationship with the United States, then it should take an early first step and drop these proposals’.” iNews note that, “Mr Johnson and Mr Biden are due to have a phone call on Monday – at the same time as the Lords debate on the issue – when the President-elect may choose to lay down the conditions of a future trade deal between the US and UK.”
iNews report on the continuing Brexit talks saying, “Meanwhile, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has arrived in London for a new round of talks with his UK counterpart Lord Frost this week. The EU’s chief negotiator said there were three ‘keys to unlock a deal’ with the UK that would satisfy the EU member states. He said the first was ‘respect of EU autonomy and UK sovereignty’, with ‘effective governance and enforcement mechanisms between international partners’. The second was ‘robust guarantees’ of free and fair trade and competition based on ‘shared high standards, evolving coherently over time’. The third element was ‘stable and reciprocal access to markets and fishing opportunities in the interest of both parties’. Mr Johnson is faced with the task of juggling his tense negotiations with the EU, where both sides are playing hardball and refusing to budge, and not alienating himself from the future President of the US during his first week.” The PM still doesn’t get that it is their club and the EU 27 get to make the rules!
iNews claim that, “Number 10 does have way out, however. It could avoid a clash with the White House by agreeing a deal with the EU and therefore leaving the Internal Markets Bill, which would then be redundant. But, for months, the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement on certain issues such as fisheries and state aid. Mr Eustice has, however, indicated a possible compromise on fisheries, which has been a major point of contention delaying progress on a deal. ‘On fisheries, we’ve always been open to doing a sensible approach looking particularly at agreements that might span a couple, three years for instance,’ he told Sky News. ‘We’re going to be sensible in how we approach this but making sure that we have control of our own waters again and controlled access to our waters has always been a red line for us in these negotiations.’ But the time for negotiations is fast running out.” I don’t think they realize the Tories are committed to crash-out Brexit’ the ‘negotiations’ are just a time wasting sham!
iNews report that, “A deal would need to be agreed in the next week or so in order for it to be ratified in time for the end of the transition period on 31 December,” as if the hard core Brexiteers have any intention of concluding a deal. They say, “It has felt like almost every month contains a ‘crunch week for Brexit talks.’ but this one definitely is.” The chaos of crash-out is a vital, necessary and integral component to solidifying the Tory Dictatorship; it cannot be compromised by a ‘deal’ with the EU, no matter how great the hardship is for ordinary citizens of the UK. The ‘Holocaust in Care’ is proof that the Tories no longer need their reliable older voters, but they do not need ‘Red Wall’ voters who never ‘lent’ their votes in the first place: Dictatorships don’t need voters to remain in place for decades. If we fail to act now to challenge and fully Investigate the Covert 2019 Rugged Election in a couple of months it will be too late to save our democracy. We must oust the Tory Trojan horse Keir Starmer and Get The Tories Out ASAP! DO NOT MOVE ON!