UK General Discussion:The Rt. Hon Alex Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Populist Hero

[CumbrianLefty]

Looks like its going to be no deal, then.

In any remotely just world Johnson would be strung up (metaphorically if not literally) for this, but of course our overwhelmingly supportive media will continue to support him.

Seems like literally nothing in this country will change until they do.

[Former President tack50]

Why can't Boris Johnson seek out an extension from the EU, just like Theresa May (or hell, even Johnson himself a year ago) used to do?

Similarly with the comparison to Theresa May; why isn't Boris Johnson facing a backbench uprising? Have all the soft-Brexiteers been purged from the Conservatives and been replace with people better described as "UKIP but in blue"?

[Silent Hunter]

Why can't Boris Johnson seek out an extension from the EU, just like Theresa May (or hell, even Johnson himself a year ago) used to do?

Similarly with the comparison to Theresa May; why isn't Boris Johnson facing a backbench uprising? Have all the soft-Brexiteers been purged from the Conservatives and been replace with people better described as "UKIP but in blue"?

We've left the EU so Article 50 no longer applies. We could theoretically strike a short-term equivalent trade deal, but it would require the EU27 to agree to that and I am not sure how much good will there is in the room for a short-term can kick.

The backbenchers want Johnson to go harder if anything.

[Angel of Death]

https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1337438815036841985

[Silent Hunter]

There's a thinking among some that Johnson is trying Nixon and Trump's "madman strategy".

[brucejoel99]

There's a thinking among some that Johnson is trying Nixon and Trump's "madman strategy".

What's the incentive for the EU to give in, though? He's not in any sort of advantageous position of strength like Nixon/Trump in their pursuit of such a strategy.

[Silent Hunter]

Because a No Deal isn't exactly great for the EU either... but they don't seem to be biting yet.

[brucejoel99]

Because a No Deal isn't exactly great for the EU either... but they don't seem to be biting yet.

Yeah but still, it's not like No-Deal hurts the EU more than it hurts the UK. This is akin to BoJo pointing a water pistol at the EU & a bazooka at the UK.

[Silent Hunter]

But the offal from the bazooka would still land on the EU.

There will be a deal at some point, the ultimate question is when and how much damage is done in the meantime.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The critical thing is that this is not the end of the matter, no matter.

[CumbrianLefty]

Another thing is that earlier in the week, fishing at least appeared on the way to being resolved. The cynical might imagine its an easier thing to get people riled up about than the "level playing field".

[Alcibiades]

Another thing is that earlier in the week, fishing at least appeared on the way to being resolved. The cynical might imagine its an easier thing to get people riled up about than the "level playing field".

I find it bizarre how outsized of a role fishing has played in the Brexit debate, when the sector accounts for 0.12% of national GDP and there are 12,000 fishermen in the UK.

I guess, as you said, it’s a topic about which patriotic feelings can be roused.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The fishing issue is a load of absolute cobblers - a complete red herring, in fact. Herring being one of the issues: the British fleet lands a lot of the stuff, but hardly anyone eats it now,* thus it is exported to continental countries. The other issue is shellfish. Again, an awful lot landed here, but the domestic market is tiny and thus it is exported, especially to France.

_{*Despite it being a perfectly pleasant fish, historically much-consumed here. Developed an association with poverty in the 1930s making  it unfashionable postwar. Stocks then mysteriously collapsed in the 1970s and by the time they had (equally mysteriously) recovered the people who ate it had mostly died off.}

[CumbrianLefty]

The critical thing is that this is not the end of the matter, no matter.

Which is why one plausible scenario is that after a no deal Johnson, declaring "mission accomplished", calls it a day in the next few months - leaving his successor to clear up the mess.

(of which there is likely to be plenty)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The critical thing is that this is not the end of the matter, no matter.

Which is why one plausible scenario is that after a no deal Johnson, declaring "mission accomplished", calls it a day in the next few months - leaving his successor to clear up the mess.

(of which there is likely to be plenty)

There is a sense to which he does seem rather to combine the worst features of Brian Mulroney and David Lange, certainly...

[Silent Hunter]

I'm seeing the projections for all this could be unemployment reaching close to 3 million. Considering we had that in the 1980s and the Tories still won two landslides...

[CumbrianLefty]

Deal (possibly) back on.

[Blair]

Yeah; I had been more confident of one, then after the Wednesday call it I thought it might fall through but yeah it appears very likely now.

[CumbrianLefty]

If so, we might say that Johnson blinked first?

[NewYorkExpress]

UK taxpayers will no longer be funding overseas fossil fuel exploration.

The UK taxpayer is to stop funding fossil fuel projects overseas as part of the government’s push for international action on the climate ahead of a key summit on Saturday.


Taxpayers helped to support more than £21bn of fossil fuel development overseas in the last four years, despite calls from green campaigners to halt the finance.

Boris Johnson said: “Climate change is one of the great global challenges of our age, and it is already costing lives and livelihoods the world over. Our actions as leaders must not be driven by timidity or caution but by ambition on a truly grand scale.”

The halt to funding for fossil fuels has been mooted since early this year, when the prime minister was stung by accusations of hypocrisy because the UK continued to fund such developments despite preparing to host the next round of vital UN climate talks, Cop26, in Glasgow.

[brucejoel99]

Deal (possibly) back on.

Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting installment of Brexit Ball Z!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I've reached the stage where I don't even feel like saying anything, you know? Just...

[Angel of Death]

I'm going to state the certainly not original thought, but which nevertheless bears repeating over and over again, that Boris is now a sponge for everything concerning Brexit, allowing the Conservatives, after they replace him with Sunak or whomever, to once again probably successfully gaslight the electorate into thinking they're not responsible for the previous government.

How will an almost openly hostile Britain (read: England) behave towards the European Union? I guess we're going to find out the coming years.

[CumbrianLefty]

Thank you for that cheery and optimistic take on things

[NewYorkExpress]

Thanks to the U.K"s COVID response, support for Scottish Independence is growing.

At the Scottish National Party's recent annual conference, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister, said she had "never been so certain" that Scotland would become an independent nation.

"Who do we want to be in the driving seat of shaping Scotland's future?" she asked. "The Scottish government has not got everything right, far from it. But I doubt there are many people in Scotland who would have wanted Westminster to be more in charge of our pandemic response."

Sturgeon was referring to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's approach to the coronavirus, which has included a botched testing plan and repeated policy U-turns. With more than 63,000 deaths, the U.K. has the highest toll in Europe.

Johnson's performance is one reason why the last 15 polls show that — for the first time — most Scots consistently support leaving the United Kingdom. A poll in October found 58% of likely voters backed an independent Scotland. That is a big shift from 2014 when voters easily defeated a referendum on independence by 55% to 45%.

Here's a link to the most recent poll on Scottish Independence.

https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/record-public-support-scottish-independence