Brexit – Page 38 – Slugger O'Toole

So it turns out the UK’s economic record was pretty average even before Brexit…

Brian O'Neill on April 9, 2017, 12:21 pm

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Interesting report by the Centre for European Reform, BREXIT BRITAIN: THE POOR MAN OF WESTERN EUROPE? Contrary to what many would have you believe the UK economy is not exactly the dynamic powerhouse they make it out to be. Some details from the report: The UK has economic strengths, such as a flexible labour market, which ensures that unemployment is low even in many of its economically struggling regions. But contrary to much of the received wisdom, Britain has not been one …

Left to themselves, the parties won’t agree. The time has come for the governments to bring forward solutions which involve the people directly

Brian Walker on April 9, 2017, 11:11 am

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Observed from London, the political atmosphere at home is surreal. The volume of comment on the talks is in inverse proportion to hard information. Expectations of agreement by Good Friday are so low that the local media can barely be roused from torpor. Emergency action for feeding the Stormont cats occupied more space in the Belfast Telegraph the other day. Further emergency action to fund the regional government must be taken within a week followed by the crunch decision to …

“Ireland has already won more power than any Gibraltar veto, it just needs to decide what to do with it… “

Mick Fealty on April 7, 2017, 4:27 pm

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Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Bertie Ahern the voice of sanity on a border poll and Brexit

Brian Walker on April 6, 2017, 11:21 pm

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It’s the prerogative of elder statesman to tell it as it is without looking over their shoulder at the opposition inside and outside their own party. Bertie Ahern gave a reminder of just how good he could be. He spoke the language of stability in the fevered atmosphere of Leinster House. Micheal Martin please note. Speaking in the Seanad: The last thing I want out of Brexit, the last thing, the very last thing, is anyone on about border polls. …

If no one wants a hard border, who on earth is going to give us one?

Mick Fealty on April 6, 2017, 5:58 pm

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Hard to know which of Newton Emerson’s Thursday columns to blog each week, but I think the one in the Irish News carries a couple of important points that some have been (deliberately?) blinding themselves to. First, he points out that there is no party integral to these talks who wants a hard border of the sort being hyped at the moment: At the end of last week, the prospect of a hard border in Ireland suddenly receded, with the European Parliament and Council …

What Reward for Gibraltar’s “Loyalty”?

Nat O'Connor on April 6, 2017, 5:48 pm

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On page 8 of the EU’s draft negotiating guidelines, Gibraltar is mentioned as follows: ‘After the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom.’ A spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street said today ‘The PM made clear that, on the subject of Gibraltar, the UK’s position had not changed: the UK would seek the best possible deal …

Will unionists ever imagine a more generous vision than Orange culture to match Sinn Fein’s on unity?

Brian Walker on April 5, 2017, 9:37 pm

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Showing good timing and a big bunch of confidence, a warm house for Unionists in a united Ireland within the EU has been imagined once again by Matt Carthy of Sinn Fein. Political positioning, based solely on opposition to Irish unity, is unsustainable. Although he can hardly expect an immediate favourable response, his pitch is directed towards the other participants in the interparty talks. People in Belfast, Derry or Fermanagh need answers to everyday social and economic problems. As the …

Gerry Adams dons the mantle of McGuinness and holds out his hand to unionists

Brian Walker on April 3, 2017, 12:58 am

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In an interview with Sky News on the eve of the resumed interparty talks, Gerry Adams addresses familiar charges levelled against him by more than unionists. In a move clearly designed to win greater trust, the Sinn Fein president is at pains to deny that he is raising the bar so high as to guarantee that the talks will fail, with the ulterior motive of abandoning the Assembly and exploiting Brexit to pursue a strategy of Irish unity based …

At last! The British and Irish governments have produced an agreed plan to put to the Assembly parties from Monday 3 April

Brian Walker on April 2, 2017, 2:47 pm

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Not before time, a detailed talks plan agreed between the two governments has been presented to the Assembly parties and will form the basis of talks over a 10 day period beginning tomorrow. Brian Rowan, former security correspondent and Assembly candidate, has got sight of it and has summarised it in EamonnMallie.com As I’ve been arguing for weeks this is the essential move if the talks are to stand any chance of success. At worst it shifts part of any …

The political parties should not deceive themselves that the lessons from demographic change are simple and obvious

Brian Walker on April 1, 2017, 11:26 am

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“ The morning after the Brexit vote, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party said that “the constitutional question has been reopened, and we now have people who were content in Northern Ireland thinking again about a united Ireland” Has this development become the new driver of politics or is it still in the background? At this moment the answer cannot be known. Yet it has set the climate for the interparty talks which resume on Monday. The words come from …

New powers for Stormont? That’ll get’em going!

Brian Walker on March 31, 2017, 3:52 pm

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James Brokenshire has solemnly warned that if Stormont is to receive new powers as result of Brexit, power sharing must be restored. This blatantly original statement puts him in line for a Nobel Peace Prize or a slot on Pointless. It’s just the sort of threat that will have them rushing to the conference table next Monday. It puts a small cart before a big horse that is out there somewhere roaming the range. Who cares about powers when what …

Will Spain demand Gibraltar back as part of a Brexit deal?

Brian O'Neill on March 31, 2017, 3:35 pm

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As I understand it all 27 EU member countries have to agree to any trade deal with the UK. As you can imagine many see this as an opportunity to screw a deal out of the UK. One long-running dispute is Spain wanting their territory of Gibraltar back. The Guardian reports: The EU has put the future of Gibraltar at stake in the coming Brexit negotiations, effectively backing Spain in its centuries-old dispute with the UK over the British overseas territory. After lobbying …

Special Status for the ROI in the EU?

Nat O'Connor on March 31, 2017, 11:09 am

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In my post on whether Northern Ireland could stay in or have “special status” in the EU, I concluded that at the very least Northern Ireland does already have special status because everyone has the option of taking up an EU (Irish) passport. I’m now considering whether Brexit may also result in EU “special status” for the Republic. To be clear, this is a think-piece, not a proposal. I’m ruling out the Republic of Ireland actually leaving the EU, as its economy is …

Brexit has predictably dire effects for Northern Ireland

Soapbox on March 31, 2017, 10:29 am

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Forget Theresa May’s boilerplate encomium in the Commons the other day about never being ‘neutral’ about the Union. (Hardly as emphatic as Margaret Thatcher’s claim Northern Ireland was ‘as British as Finchley’). The Prime Minister is leading you up the garden path. She surely knows by now that Brexit has big implications – dire and far-reaching ones – for Northern Ireland. Here’s eight of them: A funding black hole. All in, Northern Ireland draws down about €600m euro of funding …

Do tell please DUP. What’s this about a “Culture Act”?

Brian Walker on March 30, 2017, 2:32 pm

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It would be good to hear more from the DUP about the “Culture Act” Gerry Adams told the Dail yesterday was “meaningless” He’s not necessarily the best conduit for the proposal. May we decide for ourselves please DUP? . Most of his speech was an uncanny repetition of Michelle O’Neill’s latest. From Dail Eireann debates Regrettably, the DUP’s approach throughout the talks was to engage in a minimalist way on all of these key issues. There was no substantive progress on …

Theresa May’s warm words for Ireland do little to calm Irish fears about the implications of Brexit

Brian Walker on March 30, 2017, 8:49 am

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A special version for Ireland of Theresa May’s letter to the EU president triggering Art 50 has appeared above her name in the Irish Times. It extends the same tone of friendly conciliation to Ireland as to the whole of the EU. We are leaving the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe – and we want to remain committed partners and allies of Ireland and all our friends across the continent. The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have …

RTE Prime Time: UK’s invocation of Article 50 puts Ireland in a double bind…

Mick Fealty on March 29, 2017, 5:41 pm

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Last night Prime Time on RTE ran this little piece on Brexit and what it might mean for Ireland (ie, the Republic). The found two former Irish diplomats to take opposing views of how it should be played. But in truth Ireland is in a tough place, either way. If the British cannot control the outcomes, it’s even more difficult for the Irish government who although they will be inputting into the EU are only one out of 27. They …

Theresa May misconstrues the Union as an English commonwealth. Instead, the best hope for “these islands” is to weather the storms of Brexit together

Brian Walker on March 28, 2017, 9:44 am

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Theresa May’s tour of the devolved territories ( I wish we had a better collective noun) turned out to be a jaw- droppingly empty gesture, quite apart from the inevitable omission of Belfast. Her semi-clandestine meeting with Nicola Sturgeon in a Glasgow hotel yesterday was a stiff little ritual to confirm that Article 50 was being triggered today on behalf of the whole UK, Scotland naturally included. There was no pretence at accommodating the SNP. Indeed there may even be …

Gerry Adams invokes the fresh memory of Martin McGuinness and issues an ultimatum on the talks

Brian Walker on March 23, 2017, 1:04 am

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“Sinn Fein opposed to any extension of Stormont talks ahead of Monday’s deadline – ‘We will bury our friend tomorrow and move directly from his graveside to do our utmost to get Assembly restored’ Speaking in Newry on the eve of Martin McGuinness’s funeral, the Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has been talking the talk of ultimatums. Lest anyone thinks Sinn Fein has been distracted this week, he disabuses them of the idea that the immediate period of mourning for …

“I’m a patient man” said Martin McGuinness in a last interview as he defended his strategy of ” making the institutions work”. But Unionists have Rubicons to cross too

Brian Walker on March 22, 2017, 12:05 pm

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So what’s the legacy? His contribution to underlying peace not war was essential, certainly. In the welter of well- rehearsed comment yesterday we can be thankful that there was no suggestion of regression, rather the opposite from the likes of Gerry Kelly. But in politics? To adapt Ian Paisley jnr’s tribute “It’s not how you start your life that’s important, it’s how you finish.” While this is arguable – surely the whole life matters? – Martin McGuinness’s life finished with …