Friday, March 29, 2019

BREXIT: The Machine Stops

344 to 286: for the third time, and for many differing reasons, Parliament has rejected the velvet-clad handcuffs of the Prime Minister’s draft Withdrawal Agreement. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/29/mps-reject-theresa-mays-brexit-deal-third-time

‘But Kuno, is it true? Are there still men on the surface of the earth? Is this — this tunnel, this poisoned darkness — really not the end?’
He replied: ‘I have seen them, spoken to them, loved them. They are hiding in the mist and the ferns until our civilization stops. To-day they are the Homeless — to-morrow—’
‘Oh, to-morrow — some fool will start the Machine again, to-morrow.’
‘Never,’ said Kuno, ‘never. Humanity has learnt its lesson.’

-          E. M Forster, ‘The Machine Stops’ (1928) https://www.ele.uri.edu/faculty/vetter/Other-stuff/The-Machine-Stops.pdf

The EU Parliament’s Mr Verhofstadt is willing to show flexibility now - unlike with the Irish Backstop, yet just as the Community did with its supposedly unalterable rule on Italy’s debt-to-GDP ratio at the time of her entry into the EU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JPj4Vjm90)

 ‘The only way to avoid a no deal now is for MPs to finally act next week & define a cross-party way forward. If they do, we are ready to change the Political Declaration.’ https://www.teletrader.com/verhofstadt-cross-party-deal-only-way-to-avoid-no-deal-brexit/news/details/47332332?ts=1553886451707

Mrs May threatens a General Election. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2019/mar/29/brexit-debate-latest-developments-live-news-may-at-risk-of-fresh-defeat-as-mps-debate-withdrawal-agreement-for-third-time-live-news Bring it on, say not just Labour but disaffected Tory members across the country. If she wishes to bring the Party down with her, like blind Samson, so be it. What would be in its manifesto this time?

And what has the modern Conservative Party conserved?

As we began our Common Market membership in January 1973, the then PM Edward Heath told the nation on TV:

‘There are some in this country who fear that in going into Europe we shall in some way sacrifice independence and sovereignty. These fears, I need hardly say, are completely unjustified.’ https://campaignforanindependentbritain.org.uk/britain-europe-bruges-group/

17 years later, he said the opposite on BBC TV’s Question Time: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Heath

Peter Sissons: The single currency, a United States of Europe, was all that in your mind when you took Britain in?
Edward Heath: Of course, yes.

For by then, with Mrs Thatcher about to fall from officehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Conservative_Party_(UK)_leadership_election, Heath must have felt the double satisfaction of seeing ‘that woman’ defeated and his dream of a Britain permanently locked into the EU coming true at last.

He was not to know that Lord Justice Laws would rule, in 2002, that Parliament had retained her sovereignty throughout and in fact did not have the power to give it away (see para 58 here.) https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff76f60d03e7f57eac6d5

How was it possible for Conservative Prime Ministers Macmillan and subsequently Heath, to plan and carry out their Constitutional Gunpowder Plot? For it was clear that they knew exactly what they were about, since the Lord Privy Seal had told them (December 1960): https://campaignforanindependentbritain.org.uk/research-paper-1079-letter-edward-heath-lord-kilmuir-december-1960/

‘It would in theory be possible for Parliament to enact at the outset legislation which would give automatic force of law to any existing or future regulations made by the appropriate organs of the Community. For Parliament to do this would go far beyond the most extensive delegation of powers, even in wartime, that we have experienced and I do not think there is any likelihood of this being acceptable to the House of Commons.’

Yet that is exactly and precisely what happened. And a later Conservative PM, David Cameron, spent millions of public money in a pamphlet, to convince us in 2016 that we should stay in; and even got the leader of a foreign country, President Obama, to fly in and say the same.

All Conservatives!

And today, whatever its motives, Labour has saved us, for now – only 5 voted with the Government.
There is still grinding and crashing going on, but the Machine. Must. Stop.

5 comments:

Jim in San Marcos said...

Hi Sack

I'm in the U.S. and have no idea what this leaving the Bretix under the present circumstances accomplishes or defeats.

Does Great Britain get back its sovereignty or are there other issues?

You have to remember that most of the news organizations over here are trying to impeach Trump with no regard to the distribution of real regular news. We have a complete lacking of world news, I guess the new organizations deem world news as insignificant

Sackerson said...

The draft Withdrawal Agreement contains provisions that prolong the EU's control over our trade and other matters, possibly indefinitely - some call it BRINO (Brexit In Name Only).

Even some of those who dislike Trump reckon that figures in the US news media, FBI, DOJ etc are going to get deserved blowback because of their partisanship and overstepping the bounds. Don't suppose you could write us a fair and balanced yet very simplified account for British readers?

Jim in San Marcos said...

Will Try

The News media and the Democrat party are aligned towards the same purpose get rid of Trump. It is all political and the propaganda is aimed at the voter.

Trump is irritating them by doing just what he promised. Trump has accomplished much, but you wouldn't know it from reading the paper or watching TV.

The joke is told about Trump taking a group of reporters out on a boat and one reporter's hat blows into the water. Trump gets out of the boat walks over picks up the hat and gets back in the boat. The headline the next day "Trump Can't Swim."

I is hard to tell if Trump is the focus of their hatred or the fact that the Democrats lost control of the government and their socialistic programs are being undone.

What Trump has accomplished is a lot more than most politicians can accomplish in several lifetimes. It is sad how little credit he has gotten for what he has done. He is for Make America Great. I'm not sure what the Democrats and the news media have for an agenda.

Sackerson said...

Is it an emotional reaction: that Trump is insufferably vain and sure of himself?

Jim in San Marcos said...

I don't know about "insufferably vain" but he does have an ego and is incredibly successful at what ever he chooses to do. He only ran for one political office in his entire life, and against all odds got elected.

The guy is not a politician, he's a businessman. Most don't take him seriously and that's their first mistake. At the age of 72 he is probably more interested in his historical legacy.

Whether you like him or not, he is a real leader. Winston Churchill comes to mind