…from BBC News…..
Boris Johnson has said the chances of a Brexit deal are “touch and go” – having previously said the odds of a no-deal Brexit were “a million to one”.
In a BBC interview at the G7 summit in France, he said it “all depends on our EU friends and partners”.
When pressed on the chances, he said: “I think it’s going to be touch and go. But the important thing is to get ready to come out without a deal.”
Donald Tusk told the PM the EU is open to alternatives to the backstop.
BBC Europe editor Katya Adler said the European Council president and Mr Johnson held talks on Sunday, which were in a “genuinely positive atmosphere”.
But she said Mr Tusk repeated the EU’s position that any alternatives to the Irish backstop would have to be “realistic” and “immediately operational”.
An EU official added the meeting had “mainly restated known positions” and Brussels had been hoping for “new elements to unblock the situation”.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESThe two men clashed on Saturday over who would be “Mr No Deal” – the person to blame in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Johnson has previously said the UK must leave on 31 October “deal or no deal”, but that the chances of a no-deal Brexit happening are a “million to one”….
Ah DSD?…
I just heard about the Irish customs issue involved with Brexit…
Boris is about the breakup the ‘United ‘ Kingdom , eh?
The Prime Minister has requested, and the Queen (in Scotland) has issued, a prorogation of Parliament until mid-October, or a couple of weeks before the twice-extended Hallowe’en departure of the U.K. from the E.U.
Leaders within H.M Opposition,including both Labour and the Scottish Nationalists, have expressed outrage at what they see as a dictatorial end-run around the established but unwritten constitution.
I’ve so far seen only snippets about this on CBS News and the PBS News Hour. One journalist predicted that Thursday’s headlines and editorials will be quite strident.
(BBC News)
The prime minister’s decision to suspend Parliament has prompted an angry backlash from MPs and campaigners.
Hundreds of people protested in London on Wednesday and a petition against the move gained a million signatures.
Earlier the Queen approved Boris Johnson’s request to suspend Parliament for five weeks in September and October – weeks before the Brexit deadline.
Opponents say it will leave MPs with little time to stop a no-deal Brexit.
But cabinet minister Michael Gove insisted the suspension was “certainly not” a political move to stop MPs blocking a no deal
Instead, he told the BBC there would be “plenty of time” to debate Brexit before the scheduled departure date of 31 October.
On Wednesday, Mr Johnson said a Queen’s Speech would take place after the suspension, on 14 October, to outline his “very exciting agenda”.
He said he did not want to wait until after Brexit “before getting on with our plans to take this country forward”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn described it as “a smash and grab on our democracy” in order to force through a no deal by not leaving enough time to pass laws in Parliament – and pledged to try to stop the suspension.
The prime minister says he wants to leave the EU at the end of October with a deal, but is willing to leave without one rather than miss the deadline.
What has been the reaction from politicians?</b<
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow – who does not traditionally comment on political announcements – described it as a "constitutional outrage".
Former Tory Chancellor Philip Hammond called it "profoundly undemocratic".
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, said it was a "dangerous and unacceptable course of action".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon [Scottish National Party] said MPs must come together to stop the plan next week, or "today will go down in history as a dark one indeed for UK democracy".
thers, though, have defended the plan.
Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was at the meeting with the Queen, said the move was a "completely proper constitutional procedure."
US President Donald Trump tweeted his support for Mr Johnson, saying it “would be very hard” for Mr Corbyn to seek a no-confidence vote against the PM, “especially in light of the fact that Boris is exactly what the UK has been looking for”.
The leader of the DUP [N. Ireland Democratic Unionist Party], Arlene Foster, also welcomed the decision, but said the terms of her party’s confidence and supply agreement with the Conservatives would now be reviewed.
What anger has there been elsewhere?
On Wednesday evening protesters gathered in Westminster chanting “stop the coup” and carrying anti-Brexit placards and EU flags.
The demonstration – organised hours beforehand – started outside Parliament before spreading towards Downing Street.
At the scene, BBC correspondent Richard Galpin described the atmosphere as peaceful and lively.
Several protesters he spoke to indicated this was only the beginning of the disruption, with more demonstrations being organised for the weekend.
Meanwhile, an e-petition on the government’s website demanding Parliament not be suspended had reached 970,000 signatures by 22:40 BST.
Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller – who previously won a legal battle against ministers over Article 50 – has also made a judicial review application to the courts about Mr Johnson’s decision.
What happened on Wednesday?
Three Conservative members of the Queen’s Privy Council took the request to suspend Parliament to the monarch’s Scottish residence in Balmoral on Wednesday morning on behalf of the prime minister.
It has now been approved, allowing the government to suspend Parliament no earlier than Monday 9 September and no later than Thursday 12 September, until Monday 14 October.
Mr Johnson wrote to MPs to outline his plan, adding: “There will be a significant Brexit legislative programme to get through but that should be no excuse for a lack of ambition!”
He also called on Parliament to show “unity and resolve” in the run up to the 31 October so the government “stands a chance of securing a new deal” with the EU.
But a senior EU source told the BBC’s Brussels correspondent Adam Fleming the bloc’s position was clear and was not contingent on the machinations of the UK Parliament.
What about the legal challenge?
A number of high profile figures, including former Prime Minister John Major, have threatened to go to the courts to stop it, and a legal challenge led by the SNP’s justice spokeswoman, Joanna Cherry, is already working its way through the Scottish courts.
After the announcement, Sir John said he had “no doubt” Mr Johnson’s motive was to “bypass a sovereign Parliament that opposes his policy on Brexit”, and he would continue to seek legal advice.
It is not possible to mount a legal challenge to the Queen’s exercise of her personal prerogative powers.
But anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller – who previously won a legal battle against ministers over Article 50 – has made a judicial review application to the courts about Mr Johnson’s decision.
She told the BBC’s Clive Coleman: “If the intention of using this prorogation – and the effect – is that it limits Parliament sovereignty, then we believe that’s illegal and unconstitutional.” …
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49504526
Ok in simple terms DSD, if you know?
Will Scotland , Ireland and Northern Ireland drop out of the EU or stay if Boris takes England out on Oct. 31st?
“Boris Johnson’s surprise move to ask the Queen to suspend Parliament for five weeks in the run-up to the Brexit deadline on Oct. 31 is just the opening salvo of a meticulously constructed Downing Street strategy to eat up time and head off attempts by rebel MPs to block a no-deal exit,” BuzzFeed News reports.
“The measures were devised by the prime minister’s senior aides who have spent the summer in their Downing Street bunker war-gaming how to respond to potential parliamentary manoeuvres by MPs determined to block no deal.”
Politicalwire….
Short (and short-term) answer: No.
In the longer run, public opinion in Scotland (all of whose electoral areas voted Remain) may force another referendum on Scottish independence. The last one (like a similar one in Québec a couple of decades ago) was narrowly opposed to independence. But should the Scottish National Party (whose leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is currently Scotland’s First Minister) win another clear victory, or mandate, in another Scottish election, it’s certainly possible that the SNP would call for another referendum. Scottish opinion is so clearly opposed to Brexit (especially a no-deal Brexit) that even the successful leader of the Scottish Conservatives and Unionists, Ruth Davidson, is on the verge of leaving Boris Johnson’s policy behind.
The Principality of Wales voted Leave in 2016, so her fortunes will probably flow with England’s.
Northern Ireland is a far more complicated and fraught issue, which I don’t have the time, patience, expertise or wakefulness to explain in any detail here. Remember that the choice between a United Ireland and a Protestant Ulster has drawn blood for over a century now. But the bloodletting was largely staunched by the Good Friday Agreement, which might be totally disarranged by the reestablishment of a customs border between the U.K. (outside the E.U.) and the Republic of Ireland (inside). Migration might also become an issue if Ireland follows E.U. consensus and the U.K. doesn’t. Almost no one looks forward to the reestablishment of customs and border posts, which would either be at a land border between a Northern Ireland outside the E.U. and the Republic inside it, or else (should Northern Ireland harmonise inside the E.U. with the rest of Ireland rather than with Great Britain outside it) at ports on either side of the Irish Sea and St George’s Channel.
This is the conundrum that the so-called Irish Backstop in the deal that Theresa May made with the E.U. ; the Irish Backstop was one of the key elements that doomed May’s deal to fail three times in the House of Commons. Don’t ask me exactly what the Irish Backstop is, how it works, or whether it forces the U.K. to follow E.U. rules and tariffs indefinitely.
All of the significant Northern Ireland parties campaigned for Remain in 2016, with the singular (and to me incomprehensible) exception of the Democratic Unionist Party, whose 10 MP’s gave the Tories a working plurality at Westminster and whose leader, Arlene Foster, again supported Boris Johnson this week. Northern Ireland, together with Scotland and Greater London, was one of the three areas that voted for Remain rather than Leave. Wales plus the rest of England (although far from every city in England & Wales) voted to to Leave.
Pretty complicated I see….
Thanks DSD….
Seems like the Brit’s have their own mimi Trump….
(BBC)
Outrage over the government’s decision to suspend Parliament is “phoney”, Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.
He also denied it was part of a bid to “railroad” through a no-deal Brexit.
But government whip Lord Young has resigned in protest, arguing the move risks “undermining the fundamental role of Parliament”.
And a Scottish court hearing is under way which could block the suspension of Parliament.
The prime minister’s decision sparked criticism from those who argue Boris Johnson is trying to prevent MPs from blocking a no-deal Brexit.
The government said the five-week suspension in September and October will still allow time to debate Brexit.
Commons leader Mr Rees-Mogg said the outrage was “phoney”, and that the move was “constitutional and proper”.
“The candyfloss of outrage we’ve had over the last 24 hours, which I think is almost entirely confected, is from people who never wanted to leave the European Union,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
What might happen next?
Speaking on Radio 4’s World At One, the former Justice Secretary David Gauke has said it looks like next week is “the only opportunity” for MPs to ensure “it has a say” before the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
And shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said he believes that Parliament will be able to find a way to stop a no-deal Brexit but that nobody should “underestimate” how difficult it would be.
Despite having little time, MPs still have options for trying to block a no-deal Brexit.
They could try to take control of the parliamentary timetable in order to pass legislation which would force the PM to request an extension to the Brexit deadline.
Another option would be to remove the current government through a vote of no confidence.
Have there been resignations?
Conservative peer Lord Young of Cookham resigned from his role as government whip in the House of Lords in protest at the suspension, known as prorogation.
In his resignation letter, he said the timing and length of the suspension “risks undermining the fundamental role of Parliament at a critical time in our history”.
Meanwhile, Ruth Davidson has also confirmed she is quitting as leader of the Scottish Conservatives, citing personal and political reasons for stepping down.
Ms Davidson – who backed Remain in the 2016 EU referendum – added she had never sought to hide the “conflict” she felt over Brexit, and urged Mr Johnson to get a Brexit deal.
Others, though, have defended the plan.
Former Cabinet Office minster Damian Green tweeted that there was time to ratify a deal with the EU before 31 October, saying: “This is all normal Parliamentary democracy, which shows that the talk of coups and dictatorship is massively overblown.”
The leader of the DUP [Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland with 10 Westminster MP’s], Arlene Foster, also welcomed the decision, but said the terms of her party’s agreement with the Conservatives would now be reviewed.
What reaction has there been elsewhere?
On Wednesday evening, protesters gathered in Westminster chanting “stop the coup”, carrying anti-Brexit placards and EU flags.
Meanwhile, an e-petition on the government’s website demanding Parliament not be suspended reached more than a million signatures in less than a day.
A snap YouGov poll conducted on Wednesday suggests 47% of British adults thought the decision was unacceptable, with 27% saying it was acceptable and 27% unsure.
But it suggested the suspension was supported by 51% of people who voted Leave, with 52% of Conservative voters also approving of the move….
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49512762
Hey DSD?
Boris is have some issues with his party people bailing out of Parliament….