U.K. Politics: Boris Johnson referred to police (AGAIN) over potential Covid rule breaches

[Artoo]

Brexit is such an unnecessary mess and waste of time, it’s stopping the government from doing anything

Dealing with the most important issue on the table is good though. Governments usually ignore whatever it is

[aRat]

Brexit to a T

[Rihab]

A delay is looking more and more likely imo.

[Thriller]

Re: UK Politics: Theresa May wins confidence vote (200-117)

I completely agree, the time and money spent on it is scandalous. Meanwhile local government faces unprecedented cuts, couple this with an ageing population and it puts adult social care in the most precarious position ever. Not to mention the mess of many children’s services across the country... and things are only going to get worse.

[Artoo]

Brexit is such an unnecessary mess and waste of time, it’s stopping the government from doing anything

Dealing with the most important issue on the table is good though. Governments usually ignore whatever it is

What about the NHS? Or the fact that poverty and homeslessness are rising? Or what 10 years or cuts has done to local councils and communities? They seem more pressing to me

Brexit is a worthless headache, so much effort for the hope that we might end up better off in the long run

I never said other issues weren’t important, just that Brexit was the most important thing on the table at the moment

The PM just released a 10 year NHS plan so let’s not pretend the NHS is being ignored and the Chancellor previously announced an increased budget for it.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to stop moaning about Brexit, accept it and focus on moving forward for once?

[Rihab]

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to stop moaning about Brexit, accept it and focus on moving forward for once?

Isn't that what the past 2 and a half years have been about? Accepting the result of the referendum and coming up with a plan to deliver on it? That plan is set to fail next Tuesday, so it only makes sense that people would want to have a say again. You can't expect everyone to sit still and just accept that they must drive off a cliff on March 29. There's still more than enough time to change course.

[Wayne]

Re: UK Politics: Theresa May wins confidence vote (200-117)

I like our Commons Speaker more and more each week.

[Kpop]

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to stop moaning about Brexit, accept it and focus on moving forward for once?

Isn't that what the past 2 and a half years have been about? Accepting the result of the referendum and coming up with a plan to deliver on it? That plan is set to fail next Tuesday, so it only makes sense that people would want to have a say again. You can't expect everyone to sit still and just accept that they must drive off a cliff on March 29. There's still more than enough time to change course.

Well said Rihab

[heppolo]

[tweet:30b02037]https://twitter.com/davidschneider/status/1083278037846818816[/tweet:30b02037]

If it is true, UK's going to have a Minister for hunger, a Minister for suicide prevention and a Minister for homelessness.

[Artoo]

Re: UK Politics: Theresa May wins confidence vote (200-117)

Well... here we go. Hold onto your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride

[Rihab]

Do you guys expect her to resign after she loses the vote? Do you expect her to delay Brexit and call new elections? Carry on, try to renegotiate the deal and then have parliament vote again closer to the deadline? Or go through with the no-deal option?

[Artoo]

Do you guys expect her to resign after she loses the vote? Do you expect her to delay Brexit and call new elections? Carry on, try to renegotiate the deal and then have parliament vote again closer to the deadline? Or go through with the no-deal option?

If it were me I’d instantly call a general election for April, which dissolves parliament menaing there’s no MPs until after Brexit

I am expecting Labour to lodge a vote of no confidence in the government today. The fact he hasn’t already though suggests they’re struggling to find the numbers to create their own.... but I don’t think Corbyn wants to deal with Brexit at all.

[Wayne]

Dreading it.

[Preyoncé]

Do you guys expect her to resign after she loses the vote? Do you expect her to delay Brexit and call new elections? Carry on, try to renegotiate the deal and then have parliament vote again closer to the deadline? Or go through with the no-deal option?

If it were me I’d instantly call a general election for April, which dissolves parliament menaing there’s no MPs until after Brexit

I am expecting Labour to lodge a vote of no confidence in the government today. The fact he hasn’t already though suggests they’re struggling to find the numbers to create their own.... but I don’t think Corbyn wants to deal with Brexit at all.

Smart idea
I don’t think she should resign. With Brexit approaching, that’s already enough instability.

[heppolo]

Re: UK Politics: key Brexit vote tonight (15/01/2019)

Imagine if Theresa calls the GE and...wins it.

[aRat]

Re: UK Politics: key Brexit vote tonight (15/01/2019)

So did that lil cute island sink yet?

[Cactuar]

So did that lil cute island sink yet?

I'm curious too as an inhabitant of an ex-colony.

According to The Telegraph, here's the latest update:

- Cabinet row over Brexit Plan B and bid to block no-deal
- Michael Gove warns MPs 'winter is coming' if deal defeated
- Hilary Benn withdraws 'reject no-deal' amendment
- Theresa May facing increased likelihood of crushing defeat
- Arlene Foster: PM didn't even try to remove backstop from deal
- Votes start from 7pm with main vote expected at 8.15pm

[MusicRecords]

So did that lil cute island sink yet?

[stevyy]

Re: UK Politics: key Brexit vote tonight (15/01/2019)

This is so interesting. I hope May doesn't push back the date of exit to re-negotiate sth. No Deal it should be and out with them.

[Wayne]

Brexit: Your simple guide to the UK leaving the EU

Feeling a little lost on Brexit? Never really got your head around it in the first place? Don't know what this Tuesday's vote is all about? Let us walk you through it.

What is Brexit?

Brexit is short for "British exit" - and is the word people use to talk about the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU (European Union).

What is the EU?

The EU is a political and economic union of 28 countries which trade with each other and allow citizens to move easily between the countries to live and work (click here if you want to see the full list).

The UK joined the EU, then known as the EEC (European Economic Community), in 1973.

Why is the UK leaving?

A public vote - called a referendum - was held on Thursday 23 June 2016 when voters were asked just one question - whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union.

The Leave side won by nearly 52% to 48% - 17.4m votes to 16.1m - but the exit didn't happen straight away. It's due to take place on 29 March 2019.

What has happened so far?

The 2016 vote was just the start. Since then, negotiations have been taking place between the UK and the other EU countries.

The discussions have been mainly over the "divorce" deal, which sets out exactly how the UK leaves - not what will happen afterwards.

This deal is known as the withdrawal agreement.

What has been agreed?

The withdrawal agreement covers some of these key points:

How much money the UK will have to pay the EU in order to break the partnership - that's about £39bn
What will happen to UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU, and equally, what will happen to EU citizens living in the UK
How to avoid the return of a physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland when it becomes the frontier between the UK and the EU

A length of time, called the transition period, has been agreed to allow the UK and EU to make a trade deal and to give businesses the time to adjust.

That means that if the withdrawal agreement gets the green light, there will be no huge changes between 29 March 2019 and 31 December 2020.

Another, much shorter, document has also been drawn up that gives an overview of what the UK and EU's future relationship will be in the longer term.

This is the political declaration. However, neither side has to stick exactly to what it says - it is a set of ambitions for the future talks.

What happens next?

Now that leaders of the other 27 EU countries have signed off the withdrawal agreement and political declaration, UK Prime Minister Theresa May needs to persuade MPs in her own Parliament to back it.

A vote on the deal is taking place on Tuesday 15 January.

Will the deal get through the UK Parliament?

Well, at the moment it looks like it won't.

Many of the prime minister's own Conservative MPs, as well as the opposition parties, have said they can't back the withdrawal agreement.

The vote on it was meant to take place on 11 December, but Mrs May postponed it, admitting the deal didn't have enough support to pass.

The prime minister said she would try and ask the EU for changes before bringing the deal back to Parliament.

However, the delay sparked more criticism, and Mrs May faced a vote by Conservative MPs over whether she should continue to lead her party. She won by 200 votes to 117.

What do critics of the deal say?

There are a broad range of complaints, many of which claim the deal fails to give back to the UK control of its own affairs from the EU.

One of the biggest sticking points has been over what happens at the Irish border.

Both the EU and UK want to avoid the return of guard posts and checks (here's why), so something called the backstop - a sort of safety net - was included in the deal.

However, that would mean that Northern Ireland - but not the rest of the UK - would still follow some EU rules on things such as food products.

The backstop is meant to be a last resort and the prime minister insists that if all goes as planned it will never be used.

But it has annoyed some MPs, who are angry that the UK would not be able to end it without the EU's permission and so EU rules could remain in place for good.

What happens if Parliament rejects the deal?

It's not very clear.

The default position would be for the UK to leave the EU without a deal, but the government will have up to three days to come up with alternative options to put to MPs.

Possibilities (explained here in more detail) include the prime minister being allowed to have a second go at getting her deal accepted by Parliament.

So will the UK definitely leave on 29 March 2019?

It is written into law that the UK will be leaving on that date at 11pm UK time.

But if there is no deal, or Parliament rejects the deal, it is impossible to say with any certainty what will happen next.

The deadline of 29 March could be extended - and the European Court of Justice has said the UK could even cancel Brexit altogether without the agreement of other nations.

What happens if the UK leaves without a deal?

"No deal" means the UK would have failed to agree a withdrawal agreement.

That would mean there would be no transition period after 29 March 2019, and EU laws would stop applying to the UK immediately (more on that here).

The government has started planning for this potential situation.

It has published a series of guides - which cover everything from pet passports to the impact on electricity supplies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46318565

Theresa May has delivered her closing speech - there were four proposed amendments (1 from the SNP, 1 from Labour and 2 from Conservative MPs). Just one of the amendments will be voted on:

Conservative MP John Baron has moved his amendment (amendment f) which gives the UK the right to terminate the Northern Ireland backstop without the agreement of the EU.

MPs will vote on whether to amend May's Brexit plan with that amendment, before voting for the plan overall.

[stevyy]

I don't want to sound that harsh. I am really disappointed in the British politicians bc for almost 2 years they haven't done much to better the lives of the British GP. They only fought over Brexit. It is time to go back to work...

[Artoo]

It’s a big day today. I hope we get to end this. Brexit mess ASAP.

[Artoo]

I don't want to sound that harsh. I am really disappointed in the British politicians bc for almost 2 years they haven't done much to better the lives of the British GP. They only fought over Brexit. It is time to go back to work...

No, what you mean is that the media hasn’t reported on anything else. The county is still being run

[Wayne]

I don't think I've ever been more frustrated with British politics than I am now.

We have a weak Prime Minister (albeit one who's been tasked with delivering the most consequential political decision in modern British history), we have a terribly weak opposition leader in Corbyn, we have a diminished SNP leader, we have an opportunistic DUP leader (who doesn't really hold any power anyway because of the disunity in the Conservative party).

If only we had our greatest ever leader Maggie to steer us through...I had so much hope for May at the start, but I've been increasingly frustrated with her since she called the GE in 2017.

[Wayne]

Re: UK Politics: key Brexit vote tonight (15/01/2019)

Vote on Baron's amendment:

I's to the right: 24
No's to the left: 600

I think the no's have it.