EU – Page 46 – Slugger O'Toole

What exactly do your confidential briefings tell you about post Brexit border controls Theresa?

Mick Fealty on June 22, 2016, 1:55 pm

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For my part, I don’t believe much of the hype about the effects of the UK pulling out on the EU. That’s not to say that there won’t be any. But my own view is that, as with technology, we overestimate such effects in the short term but underestimate them in the longer run. So I don’t believe in the three-match accumulator leading to the inevitable break-up of the UK being touted by two Irish commentators I hold in the highest …

Paisley: The only solution for those of us who believe in democratic accountability is to Vote Leave

Soapbox on June 22, 2016, 10:00 am

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The European Referendum campaign, on both sides, has focused largely economic issues and immigration. Those are important and valid issues which deserve to be fully debated, but they are not the only factors people should weigh up when deciding how to cast their vote. Even the most ardent Europhiles are usually forced to admit there is a democratic deficit in the European Union. They will usually accept too that public awareness of the European Union institutions is low, but of …

The Irish north and south can teach Brexit supporters that nationalism is not enough

Brian Walker on June 22, 2016, 9:35 am

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Times / YouGov results on the Big Debate: Which side won ? Remain: 34% Leave: 39% Not sure:17% How will you vote? Remain 41% Leave 40% Not sure 8% Never mind the polls. How was it for you on the big stage? Was it about as relevant as the Eurovision Song Contest? More or less fun? Either way, didn’t they all do well! And that was the problem. It was a no score draw, both sides shooting and blocking like …

The left wing case for leaving the EU…

Soapbox on June 21, 2016, 3:35 pm

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On Tuesday the 14th I had the opportunity to speak at a debate on the European referendum in Queen’s Students’ Union, hosted by the Socialist Party. Over 150 people packed the room to hear arguments which were completely different from those reported every day in the mainstream press. The “Brexit” debate has been correctly described by filmmaker Ken Loach as a squabble between between “those who wish to exploit workers.” Our debate was a coming together of those on the left …

Remain in Northern Ireland still looks on top. Will the DUP heave a sigh of relief if it wins?

Brian Walker on June 21, 2016, 12:01 pm

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The arguments continue right down to the wire. The referendum has cut across the unionist/nationalist divide and – (nothing unusual here) – has split unionism. What is rarer is the DUP’s failure to press home their traditional case with the traditional fervour, suggesting they have doubts about it themselves, as Stephen McCaffery argues in The Detail. Sammy Wilson’s pitch for Leave has only one sentence directly about Northern Ireland and steers clear of concerns over a hard border. A leave vote will …

17 reasons to leave the EU

Kilsally on June 21, 2016, 8:24 am

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17 reasons to leave the EU Leaving the European Union would: 1 – Restore UK freedom & sovereignty and disentangle us from `ever closer political union` – politicians have given sovereignty away to undemocratic EU institutions such as the unelected European Commission who are effectively the EU Executive and wield the power. Sovereignty & liberty lies with the people and their ability to elect an alternative government who should have the ability and powers granted to alter the laws of …

And so #LOLCats strike back in the name of, Remain… #CatsAgainstBrexit

Mick Fealty on June 20, 2016, 9:34 pm

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https://twitter.com/RupertMyers/status/744913610573516801 Now he's been helped through the arguments, Slammers today declared himself one of the #CatsAgainstBrexit pic.twitter.com/ZwhMh7uYSD — Rich Nelmes (@nelmes) June 20, 2016 He's done his sums, and leaving just doesn't add up 🐱 #CatsAgainstBrexit pic.twitter.com/POkG7KmZOP — Matt Rogers (@mattsyourlot) June 20, 2016 Chaka is 19 & part Persian. She worries she might be deported if Boris knows where Persia is. #CatsAgainstBrexit pic.twitter.com/L5pagYLQzG — DrSuzanneConboy-Hill (@strayficshion) June 20, 2016 Mine want free movement of European birds. #CatsAgainstBrexit pic.twitter.com/o8YcnNCu3A …

Start your #Brexit playlist with “Should I stay or should I go now?”

Mick Fealty on June 20, 2016, 2:16 pm

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLQJVKP3YlM Please do share your own favourite soundtracks appropriate to the times that are in it… [cutting and pasting the URL will embed the YouTube video] And we will add them all to Slugger’s Brexit Playlist (and here on Spotify) so you can play them anywhere, anytime… 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 …

Ashcroft focusing on the final week reveals nervousness amongst #EUref voters…

Mick Fealty on June 20, 2016, 1:14 pm

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Interesting observations from Lord Ashcroft’s final focus groups: The closeness of the race is “the reason I can’t make my mind up. It’s a lot of responsibility, and I really want to get it right.” Still, most people were determined to do their democratic duty: “It means I’m more likely to try and make a decision. If one side was running away with it, I might let it pass me by;” “I usually think, if you haven’t got an opinion, …

#EURef and seeing sense on the matter of national sovereignty…

Mick Fealty on June 20, 2016, 11:03 am

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A Chartered Accountant by professional qualification, Robert Jenkins has over 30 years’ EU-related business experience. He has also been active in Conservative politics, and is the author of Tony Benn, A Political Biography. The UK’s EU Referendum is fundamentally about national sovereignty, but there is little understanding about the EU and how it affects this. This contribution provides a fresh understanding of these issues. This is a short summary of my more detailed report Sense About Sovereignty (PDF). The UK’s conferral …

EU Referendum and the count process

David McCann on June 19, 2016, 5:14 pm

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We are now just a few days away from polling day and I thought it would be useful to put up some information about the count process in Northern Ireland for the EU referendum. Unlike other referenda that have been held in the past, Northern Ireland will count through the night and in 8 different centres across the province. You can see the estimated declaration times for the rest of the UK here, but I have compiled the Northern Ireland …

I’m anti-Brexit but I’m more frightened of living in a country that uses referendums

Paul Evans on June 19, 2016, 9:00 am

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If I were offered a promise that Referendums would be banned in every European state in return for Brexit, it’s a deal I would accept in a heartbeat.

#EURef in grave danger of setting down its own “poisonous foundations”?

Mick Fealty on June 19, 2016, 7:58 am

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I’m struck by this optimistic note from Ruth Dudley Edwards… Narrow-minded nationalism is being left behind. We have slowly evolved “a more civilised discourse” and we are much better people for it. She argues that Ireland has become a much more civilised place because it has committed itself (if not always in the slow, patient Scandinavian style) to conversation more than confrontation. The contrast with Britain just now could hardly be more stark. Of course, Britain is, as Ruth points …

EU Referendum: “At the start of the campaign I was relaxed over a Brexit vote.”

Pete Baker on June 16, 2016, 9:48 pm

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Interesting piece in the Guardian from Simon Jenkins who, by his own admission, has “long been a Eurosceptic”. Although, as he also points out, “that is not the same as being a leaver.” For a start he is equally critical of the ‘Leave’ and the ‘Remain’ campaigns – an assessment I broadly agree with. Here’s what he has to say on the ‘Remain’ campaign When marching to the remain drum, I have been shocked at the mendacity of “project fear”. …

We can already see a post-Brexit economy emerging. It’s grim.

Gerry Lynch on June 14, 2016, 9:30 pm

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Here’s a confusing financial press headline from today: German 10-year sovereign bond yields turn negative for first time. What does that mean in plain English: it means traders are so worried about what the UK economy would look like post-Brexit, they’re pulling their money out of the UK, and actually paying the German government to let them lend it money. Read that sentence again to realise how deep the fear is. You’ve heard the scaremongering. This is what the reality …

#Euro2016 sees tensions between Irish supporters at their most relaxed for decades

Mick Fealty on June 14, 2016, 4:39 pm

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Now, not everyone will agree with this piece from Brendan Ciarán Browne of TCD, but I suspect it has some resonance given the events of recent days (and not just official inputs). But whatever the media perceptions, the data is once again, ahead of the game: …in 2014, it was found that 63% of those surveyed believed that sport has the potential to break down traditional inter-community barriers. And in 2015, a major study of sport and social exclusion in Northern Ireland found …

“Eurozone as it currently stands is not immutable, or inevitably dying…”

Mick Fealty on June 14, 2016, 2:45 pm

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If anyone is still listening to experts for remain, here’s one worth paying attention to before the drop… It’s Simon Wren-Lewis responding to the brilliantly written and honest outline by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard I covered in yesterday’s Report of why he’s for leaving: The fact that democracy was overridden in Greece so cruelly was not the result of actions of unelected bureaucrats, but of elected finance ministers from the other union countries. One reason these finance ministers refused to write off any debt was …

Remain must look to more trusted and well-regarded figures to get #EURef over the line

Derek Mooney on June 14, 2016, 12:39 pm

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Shortly before polling day in last year’s Marriage Equality referendum one of the Irish national daily newspapers ran an opinion piece by a marketing/messaging expert evaluating the Yes and No campaigns to that point. Though he had several criticisms of those of us on Yes side and even suggested that the Yes campaign was putting the outcome in unnecessary doubt, the subtext to his article seemed to be: this would have been a whole lot better if he had been …

Peer to peer tribute to Darren Rodgers from Republic fans…

Mick Fealty on June 13, 2016, 10:50 pm

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I’m guessing that life as a fan in France just now carries with a heightened sense of what’s happening elsewhere in the country. But this afternoon in Paris there was a short burst of sympathy between Irish fans for the tragic death of Darren Rodgers. It was a tribute that did not go unnoticed at home in Belfast… Huge respect to the R.O.I. fans @FanzoneTitanic applauding in tribute to NI fan Darren Rodgers! pic.twitter.com/P8aAHVvZUJ — Fanzone Belfast (@FanzoneTitanic) June 13, …

Human rights laws are precious tools for older and disabled people and their carers

Soapbox on June 12, 2016, 8:30 am

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This week was Carers’ Week and a good opportunity to highlight how the Human Rights Act is helping disabled people and older people receive the care they need.