Brexit – Page 42 – Slugger O'Toole

Martina Anderson joins the European Parliament’s #Brexit monitoring team…

Mick Fealty on December 1, 2016, 10:02 am

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Along with a Catalan separatist MEP, according to the Glasgow Herald… Mr Terricabras – who represents the SNP’s main Catalan allies Republicana Esquerra in the parliament – made clear his support for a deal with Scotland. He said: “To me it seems extraordinarily important for Catalans to see the possibilities that there are for an agreement with Scotland, for Scotland to have a new relationship with Europe.” Never waste a crisis. Except, the French, have confirmed there are no negotiations with …

EU Special Status, and ignoring the Northern Ireland Assembly…

Pete Baker on November 28, 2016, 5:13 pm

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As Mick noted this morning, Micheal Martin has joined the list of party leaders calling on the Irish and British Governments to negotiate for EU special status for Northern Ireland post-Brexit. At the recent All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit, there was the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said in his speech that the Government needed to uphold the wishes of the Northern Ireland people and secure a special status for the region. “The overriding and principle …

“UK policy is towards a more unilateral approach which carries with it many dangers…”

Mick Fealty on November 28, 2016, 7:41 am

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Interesting speech by Micheal Martin at Queens at the end of last week. Certainly an attempt at providing a grounded analysis, by a senior Irish political leader speaking in a U.K. University which even in the best case scenario is unlikely to do well out of any putative Brexit deal. First, a well aimed dig at ‘Perfidious Albion’ for breaking with the EU: It is simply impossible to look at the referendum debate and the arguments used to promote Leave …

“Negotiating Brexit is not like selling a second hand car with a dodgy secret under its bonnet…”

Mick Fealty on November 17, 2016, 12:04 pm

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Most comments on Brexit (and Trump for that matter) are beside the point until Mrs May gets to the end of her internal negotiations with her party and President Trump takes up the reigns of power. What surrogates (new US media word for shills) for him say or not is as yet beside the point. First, this from Flip Chart Rick… …the time to put up a fight on the terms of Brexit is now. If MPs want to shape …

There is no threat to the Union. Irish bickering north and south over the reality of Brexit has to be replaced with practical cooperation, fast.

Brian Walker on November 17, 2016, 11:30 am

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Newton’s latest observations on the “curmudgeonly” Arlene can be counterpointed with an incredibly wise article in the Indo by Brendan Keenan, Belfast born and bred but long anchored in Dublin and with a strong sense of reality for the interests of both. Arlene’s dour comments can be contrasted unfavourably with the regal visionary style of Nicola Sturgeon. But Arlene doesn’t have the field of government to herself. In practice they are both pragmatic and when it suits them, even cooperative …

After Brexit and Trump, it is vital that the centre holds in France and across the world.

Neale Richmond on November 14, 2016, 5:22 pm

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Like many sane thinking political followers, I awoke on Wednesday saddened at the news that an odious individual who traded on a campaign of fear had been elected President of the United States. Many commentators have rightly chastised Trump for his verbose demeanour and truly dreadful attitude to women, minorities as well as to those with disabilities. Added to that, Trump’s policies, what few he has actually discussed, could directly impact upon the world and indeed Ireland more specifically. By …

“It was crazy to allege that the Irish government isn’t working for the interests of [northern] businesses.”

Mick Fealty on November 14, 2016, 5:03 pm

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This is worth noting. It relates to Arlene’s accusation aimed at the Republic accusing them of poaching FDI opportunities away from NI. In reply to a written question from Cavan Monaghan TD Brendan Smyth, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor noted (scroll down to Question 506) this last week: Both agencies under the aegis of my Department, Enterprise Ireland (EI) and IDA Ireland, engage with relevant bodies in Northern Ireland to pursue areas of mutual advantage. Developing all-island initiatives …

Gordon Brown’s plan for a constitutional convention is likely to be stillborn, but his ideas for closing the yawning UK wealth gap deserve attention

Brian Walker on November 10, 2016, 10:26 am

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A more federal UK is needed to create a more economically equal state and buttress the Union’s survival, says the former prime minister Gordon Brown. New research starkly exposes the wealth gap between London and the regions more clearly than ever. The Northern Powerhouse plan for the north of England only scratches the surface and Brexit adds to the strains of Union cohesion. This is the gap that goes long way to a long way to explain the Brexit demand …

Echoes of Brexit in the US presidential campaign give no cause for comfort

Brian Walker on November 8, 2016, 11:58 am

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I doubt if I’m alone in feeling as dissatisfied with the coverage of the US election as I am on tenterhooks about the outcome. One problem has been the requirement of the media I respect to preserve some sense of balance amid the horrors the campaign. It is not true that each candidate is as bad as the other, whatever is going on in American society. Whoever wins the presidency, the political fulcrum has shifted further to the right and …

Nationalists and unionists need to discard their illusions about Brexit. The gap is dangerously wide.

Brian Walker on November 6, 2016, 5:02 pm

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We begin with two different views of the impact of Brexit in Northern Ireland; from first, the historian and Irish Times columnist Diarmaid Ferriter, contrasted later with DUP MP Nigel Dodds. In 1998, at the time of the endorsement of the Belfast Agreement, Fintan O’Toole observed that “Northern Ireland is now a place that is arguably unique – a place that nobody claims and nobody owns, a place that is free to become whatever its people can agree that they …

A wrong turn in Constitutional Law…

Mick Fealty on November 6, 2016, 2:12 pm

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On Friday, I called the High Court Ruling a constitutional nicety. Could be I was wrong about that. Carl Gardner is about as sober a legal commentator as it gets on the London beat. And he has serious concerns about the future implications of this ruling: Hmmm… 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, …

Belfast International Airport MD: “Am absolutely spitting useless faceless EU bureaucrats…”

Pete Baker on November 4, 2016, 3:20 pm

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As ever, the significant part of the story behind United Airlines’ decision to end the Belfast-New York route – despite an “irregular” three year NI Executive £9 million rescue deal – lies, not in the headline, but in the details. The first point to make, given the positioning of some parties on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, is that the airline’s decision comes after the European Commission blocked the rescue package under state aid rules. AS the BBC report …

Referring Brexit to Parliament is a quaint constitutional nicety, not a (fecking) crisis…

Mick Fealty on November 4, 2016, 2:40 pm

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Well, it looks like a sizeable chunk of England (well, the political chatterati bit) has, as we like to say in Belfast, went nuts. It’s a shame Brian’s sage advice was not heeded by the editors of the Mail and, my own old manor, the Daily Telegraph. So here’s hree brief thoughts. Firstly, on the 50%+1 rule the Remain side lost. Nothing that happens in Parliament can ‘fix’ the result in favour of the 48%. Secondly, having been so soundly beaten in …

After a quiet day in Dublin, drama in the English High Court. But don’t get too excited…

Brian Walker on November 3, 2016, 11:33 am

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It would be as well not to get over excited about this morning’s rejection in the English High Court of the UK government’s case that it can trigger Article 50 without the consent of Parliament. The show isn’t over yet; the denouement was always likely to be played out at the top. The government will appeal to the Supreme Court which is also expected to deal with the equivalent Northern Ireland appeal at the same time, after the Belfast High Court …

High court says parliament must vote on triggering article 50

Brian O'Neill on November 3, 2016, 10:20 am

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The High Court has put a spanner in the Brexit works by saying MP’s need to vote on triggering article 50. You can view more on this developing story here… A report by the BBC in June showed that the majority of MP’s support remain. Does this mean the end of Brexit? Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in …

Why bridge building (not merger) is exactly the right strategy for the new Opposition…

Mick Fealty on November 2, 2016, 6:16 pm

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One of the problems with trying to set up cross-community political agreements (you know, just to get some stuff done) is that everyone is quick to point out what you haven’t done, and how it will never work. Owen Polley is a veteran of the attempt to merge the UUP and the Conservative party under David Cameron and Reg Empey will remember the wave of negativity unleashed on the Tory leader of the opposition for daring to believe anyone in NI would …

Micheál Martin throws a few questions at the all island dialogue on #Brexit to consider…

Mick Fealty on November 2, 2016, 11:37 am

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The Royal Hospital in Kilmainham was the venue for a series of Reconciliation Networking Forums which take place annually [amended from my mistake earlier]. The venue is now being pressed back into the purposes of north-south engagement. Unlike those previous events, this all island civic forum on Brexit (Live Feed available here) has been much more overtly political, making almost inevitable there would be no formal representation from any unionist party. It began this morning with a series of pitches from each of the political leaders and …

The complexities of Brexit could overwhelm the British political system. For all Ireland, a bigger role needed for the GFA structures

Brian Walker on November 2, 2016, 11:02 am

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.As the “all island ” civic forum meets in Dublin bereft of unionists, a high powered think tank The UK in a changing Europe warns: “Brexit has the potential to test the UK’s constitutional settlement, legal framework, political process and bureaucratic capacities to their limits – and possibly beyond.. And they suggest the repatriation of decision-making in key policy areas including agriculture, the environment and higher education to Britain from Brussels could affect the balance of power between Westminster and the …

Was the ‘pressure’ on Mark Carney Brexit cabin fever, or just the media eating itself?

Mick Fealty on October 31, 2016, 12:06 pm

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Really not sure what was driving the stupid speculation over the future of Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England, but as the Economist says… …this political pressure on an independent central bank governor is a great mistake. On the day after the referendum vote, the prime minister resigned and Brexit campaign leaders were nowhere to be seen; it was Mark Carney who stepped forward to calm the markets. He was the only grown-up in the room. Now …

Arlene defends Brexit, trusts Theresa and appears to see no need for solidarity with the Republic.

Brian Walker on October 28, 2016, 8:51 pm

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First Minister Arlene Foster has burst into print in the Guardian to explain how Leave is compatible with Northern Ireland’s interests. If nothing else, it marks her out as the first person of any prominence to do so. If Martin McGuinness and Colum Eastwood are alarmist, she is almost complacent and takes a lot for granted. Yet read carefully she is still asking for special treatment for Northern Ireland and assumes she’ll get it. Her message is “stick with Theresa …