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Showing posts with the label good friday agreement

A Return to Brexiety. Sausages, Security, NI.

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  Regular readers will be aware that I voted to Remain in the EU in the referendum, I was gob- smacked when the result was announced, and the Leave voters won. There are lots of posts here from 2016-2019 charting my reasons for a soft Brexit or better still, the withdrawal of the Withdrawal Agreement altogether.  I decided to publish these posts as I wanted to leave a record for my grandkids, so far one born, another still 'cooking.' I thought it was important that they can read about this time of momentous change in the UK's political history. I stopped writing the posts during the negotiations although I continued with writing every day 'Below the Line ' at The Times and The Sunday Times on the subject. So why start again? Well, obviously the world is enduring the pandemic, life has been put on hold and nothing much Brexit wise was happening due to the transition period. However, the transition period ended on 31st December 2020 and the new rules were to take effe...

Brexit Briefing: Unwise Decisions.

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In his 'quiet' voice Sir John Major tells a chilling message, one which we ignore at our peril. We tend to think of 'terrorists' these days as being the Islamic Extremists. History is young however. For the uninformed I suggest Googling The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings which occurred on 20 July 1982. Dead bodies and dead horses lay motionless in the golden streets of London. The blood was on the hands of the IRA. No-one thought there would be an end to the violence or the disruption or the terror and inconvenience of that period. Yet, following years and years of bitterness, hurt and contempt we now have an albeit fragile peace process.  In some sectors The Good Friday Agreement is being hailed as a talisman for a peace process to be discussed with IS. Yet this fragile peace is in jeopardy as our megalomaniac PM, the one with NO majority in the House is prepared to put peace into pieces in order to ensure an exit from th...