What are the possible outcomes (from an NI perspective)?
1. The Tories agree a deal with the EU which the DUP don’t accept
2. Donaldson does a massive U-turn which results in the DUP splitting
3. The new protocol is ‘acceptable’ to the DUP, but short-sells the majority in NI which causes new issues
4.The new protocol is ‘acceptable’ to the DUP and everyone lives happily ever after
Only the first two options are realistic.
I posted earlier another article with the president of the NFU explaining why the relaxation of food standards could impact safety, and I suggest this is a major reason why Sunak will be unable to appease Donaldson and his sectarian colleagues
[deleted]
Of course he is. Not because these people care about sovereignty or unionism or whatever, but because that is what they do. That is how they do politics. They attack and denounce things to get media attention and political power. No position would ever satisfy them because they will simply take an ever more extreme one in order to continue their little game. It’s not as if they could get anywhere near where they are now with their socioeconomic policies. They’re happy to fight like cats in a bag for the media spotlight and political influence while the UK burns, because they are entirely cynical, self serving and immoral. They will do this if only because it worked last time and they’re out of ideas.
It therefore doesn’t matter in the slightest what these “rebels” say. The only thing that matters is whether they are capable of bringing down the UK government or threaten it into folding. If so, the UK will simply move into another period of political instability with more sanctions from the EU going ahead.
If not, the present standoff will continue. In that case, the best case scenario is merely that the current governments holds off the radicals for now, clings to power until they absolutely have to hold an election (delaying one as long as they can is the one thing both factions agree on) and then ramps up the anti-EU, anti-immigration, …, rhetoric again in a (likely futile) attempt to win it.
Nobody really believes that what the UK signs up to in this treaty will actually be upheld by this government or that this will stabilize UK – EU relations. Even if the current UK government acts in good faith (and that’s a big if), it is still weak, unpopular and divided. It doesn’t really matter in the end whether it will be unwilling or simply incapable of upholding its obligations. There is zero reason to trust it either way. The only value an agreement with these people has is that it binds a hypothetical future non-Conservative government that actually cares about the reputation of the country it governs. In short, they trust that the UK electorate will, at long last, annihilate them at the polls and replace them with people you can work with.
Boris will be back soon, they will target trans people at the next election instead of things to make people’s lives better … The moron public will vote them in … Everything will get worse. And then the public will complain and say “this country has gone downhill”…. Acting as if 12 years of their chosen party has nothing to do with it
4 comments
What are the possible outcomes (from an NI perspective)?
1. The Tories agree a deal with the EU which the DUP don’t accept
2. Donaldson does a massive U-turn which results in the DUP splitting
3. The new protocol is ‘acceptable’ to the DUP, but short-sells the majority in NI which causes new issues
4.The new protocol is ‘acceptable’ to the DUP and everyone lives happily ever after
Only the first two options are realistic.
I posted earlier another article with the president of the NFU explaining why the relaxation of food standards could impact safety, and I suggest this is a major reason why Sunak will be unable to appease Donaldson and his sectarian colleagues
[deleted]
Of course he is. Not because these people care about sovereignty or unionism or whatever, but because that is what they do. That is how they do politics. They attack and denounce things to get media attention and political power. No position would ever satisfy them because they will simply take an ever more extreme one in order to continue their little game. It’s not as if they could get anywhere near where they are now with their socioeconomic policies. They’re happy to fight like cats in a bag for the media spotlight and political influence while the UK burns, because they are entirely cynical, self serving and immoral. They will do this if only because it worked last time and they’re out of ideas.
It therefore doesn’t matter in the slightest what these “rebels” say. The only thing that matters is whether they are capable of bringing down the UK government or threaten it into folding. If so, the UK will simply move into another period of political instability with more sanctions from the EU going ahead.
If not, the present standoff will continue. In that case, the best case scenario is merely that the current governments holds off the radicals for now, clings to power until they absolutely have to hold an election (delaying one as long as they can is the one thing both factions agree on) and then ramps up the anti-EU, anti-immigration, …, rhetoric again in a (likely futile) attempt to win it.
Nobody really believes that what the UK signs up to in this treaty will actually be upheld by this government or that this will stabilize UK – EU relations. Even if the current UK government acts in good faith (and that’s a big if), it is still weak, unpopular and divided. It doesn’t really matter in the end whether it will be unwilling or simply incapable of upholding its obligations. There is zero reason to trust it either way. The only value an agreement with these people has is that it binds a hypothetical future non-Conservative government that actually cares about the reputation of the country it governs. In short, they trust that the UK electorate will, at long last, annihilate them at the polls and replace them with people you can work with.
Boris will be back soon, they will target trans people at the next election instead of things to make people’s lives better … The moron public will vote them in … Everything will get worse. And then the public will complain and say “this country has gone downhill”…. Acting as if 12 years of their chosen party has nothing to do with it