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

[Wayne]

What this doesn’t change though is the fact that we have to reach an agreement before 31st December and have it voted through by parliament (no pressure) - and Boris public comments have still not altered even with the extension, namely that we are likely to end this negotiation without a deal.

Brexit trade talks: UK and EU to 'go the extra mile' in effort to agree deal

The UK and EU have agreed to carry on post-Brexit trade talks after a call between leaders earlier on Sunday.

In a joint statement, Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was "responsible at this point to go the extra mile".

The pair discussed "major unresolved topics" during their call.

The two sides had said Sunday was the deadline for a decision on whether to continue with talks, with the UK set leave EU rules at the end of the month.

But they agreed to tell negotiators to carry on talks in Brussels "to see whether an agreement can even at this late stage be reached".

They did not set say how long these talks would continue, but the ultimate deadline is 31 December, and time must be allowed for the UK and European Parliament to vote on any deal that emerges.

Mrs von der Leyen said Sunday's call with Mr Johnson had been "constructive and useful".

But Mr Johnson repeated his warning from earlier in the week that a no deal scenario was "most likely".

The UK and EU have been carrying out negotiations for a post-Brexit trade deal since March and are attempting to secure one before the so-called transition period end on 31 December - when the two sides would move to trading on World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Without a trade deal, tariffs - charges on goods being bought and sold between the two sides - could be introduced and, in turn, prices on certain products may go up.

There are two key sticking points preventing an agreement - competition rules and fishing rights - and negotiators will now continue to sort these issues out.

Speaking from the Commission in Brussels, Mrs von der Leyen read out a joint statement, saying: "Despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over, we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile."

Mr Johnson later said "where there is life, there is hope", and that the UK "certainly won't be walking away from the talks.

But he added: "I've got to repeat the most likely thing now is of course that we have to get ready for WTO terms.

"As far as I can see, there are some serious and very difficult issues that currently separate the UK from EU and the best thing to do now for everybody… [is to] get ready to trade on WTO terms."

Labour called on the government "deliver on the promise" of securing a deal to "allow us to move on as a country".

[Artoo]

I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up agreeing a ‘bad’ deal at the last minute (bad for Brexiteers) and Boris tells Parliament it’s this or nothing, with no time to actually read the deal properly, re-negotiate it or stage a coup like they did with May. Of course it has to also pass the European Parliament too and if Brexit has taught me anything, expect the unexpected.

[jio]

I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up agreeing a ‘bad’ deal at the last minute (bad for Brexiteers) and Boris tells Parliament it’s this or nothing, with no time to actually read the deal properly, re-negotiate it or stage a coup like they did with May. Of course it has to also pass the European Parliament too and if Brexit has taught me anything, expect the unexpected.

I am beginning to believe that the UK will remain in this state for ever

[Artoo]

I am beginning to believe that the UK will remain in this state for ever

We have already left.

[jio]

We have already left.

You have left the house but you are still on the porch...

[KEY9481]

What a shit show.

[DnBLover]

You have left the house but you are still on the porch...

I think they haven't even left the entrance hall.

[Wayne]

Brexit trade talks: Process 'still has legs', UK source says

Negotiators from the UK and EU are to begin a new push to reach agreement on post-Brexit trade after both sides agreed "to go the extra mile".

A UK source said the "process still has some legs" but Boris Johnson has warned a no-deal is the "most likely" outcome.

A deadline to finish talks had been set for Sunday, but the prime minister and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed to an extension.

The pair discussed "major unresolved topics" during a "constructive" call.

They agreed to tell negotiators to carry on talks in Brussels "to see whether an agreement can even at this late stage be reached".

They did not say how long these latest talks would continue, but the ultimate deadline is 31 December, and time must be allowed for the UK and European Parliaments to vote on any deal that emerges before then.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, will brief ambassadors of the 27 member states in Brussels later.

The major stumbling blocks in negotiations have been over fishing rights, a level playing field for businesses to operate and on how any agreement should be policed.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said he was told that the more detailed the talks, the more problems - beyond fishing and competition rules - are beginning to emerge.

The UK and EU have been carrying out negotiations for a post-Brexit trade deal since March and are attempting to secure one before the so-called transition period ends on 31 December - when the two sides would move to trading on World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Without a trade deal, tariffs - charges on goods being bought and sold between the two sides - could be introduced and, in turn, prices on certain products may go up.

Reading out a joint statement on Sunday, Mrs von der Leyen said: "Despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over, we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile."

Mr Johnson later said "where there is life, there is hope", and that the UK "certainly won't be walking away from the talks".

But he added: "I've got to repeat the most likely thing now is of course that we have to get ready for WTO terms.

"As far as I can see, there are some serious and very difficult issues that currently separate the UK from EU and the best thing to do now for everybody… [is to] get ready to trade on WTO terms."

Labour's Rachel Reeves welcomed the continuation of the talks and said the worst outcome would be to "crash out with no deal whatsoever on 1 January".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55298464

Yawn, watch him clinch a shit deal and then come back and tell the British people how against the odds, he has won them a deal...

[Artoo]

Which is exactly what I think will happen. Hopefully Parliament will still shoot down a bad deal and as much as Boris has a majority, I’m not convinced party loyalty extends to Brexit - as we’ve seen over the last few years.

[Thriller]

How anybody thought this was ever going to be easy is beyond me, it’s in absolutely nobody’s interest to give the UK an attractive deal is it?

The leave voters will rue the day they backed this when the consequences play out, not least on their bank balances.

[Artoo]

How anybody thought this was ever going to be easy is beyond me, it’s in absolutely nobody’s interest to give the UK an attractive deal is it?

The leave voters will rue the day they backed this when the consequences play out, not least on their bank balances.

No, but as a country we have things they want too - primarily our fish.

[Thriller]

When 80% of our food is imported, we need more than fish!

[Artoo]

When 80% of our food is imported, we need more than fish!

We are fools for ever letting it get so bad.

I’m a big supporter of British farming and always try to buy fresh British produce (and from a farmers market if I can get to one). The way the supermarkets have ruined British farming by undercutting them at every possible turn is criminal.

When it is cheaper to buy food in from abroad (even from the EU) something has gone seriously wrong and I’d love to see Britain wake up to that and start questioning supermarket profit margins... because the savings made importing weren’t always passed onto the consumer.

I know we are too populated to be completely self sufficient, but we could try to ramp it up a lot more - when did you last hear of anyone wanting to be a farmer? It’s a dying industry yet we need it more than ever.

I’ve gone off on a tangent but it annoys me. It was years ago now, but I remember standing in a supermarket and reading labels for chicken breasts - it was cheaper to buy chicken imported from Thailand than it was to buy the ones reared in the UK. It made no sense and I decided there and then I was not going to eat meat that was better travelled than me.

I’m not perfect and not everything can be grown here - but I try, which is the main thing. I also fully accept not everyone can afford to ignore the cheaper imported products too, which is obviously a concern for a no deal Brexit. But what a mess we keep creating for ourselves.

[heppolo]

Unicef to feed hungry children in the UK for the first time in 70-year history

[heppolo]

When 80% of our food is imported, we need more than fish!

Fish was alright back in Marillion heyday

[Wayne]

Talks to continue later...

UK and EU negotiators will continue their talks later on a post-Brexit trade deal - but both sides are warning that major obstacles remain.

Boris Johnson spoke to EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday.

The prime minister said discussions are in a "serious situation" and a no deal scenario was "very likely" unless the EU position changed "substantially".

Mrs von der Leyen said bridging "big differences", particularly on fishing rights, would be "very challenging".

However, she also welcomed "substantial progress on many issues".

The UK has been in a transition period since leaving the EU on 31 January, where it has been following the bloc's trading rules.

That arrangement will end on 31 December and Mr Johnson acknowledged that "time was short".

And the UK's chief negotiator, Lord Frost, tweeted: "The situation in our talks with the EU is very serious tonight. Progress seems blocked and time is running out."
'Simply not reasonable'


The talks taking place in Brussels between Lord Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier are aimed at breaking the deadlock on key issues that remain unresolved.

These include fishing, state subsidies, the level playing field - common rules and standards that prevent companies from gaining an unfair competitive advantage - and the legal enforcement of any deal.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said the UK does not like a suggestion from the EU that support that comes from Brussels, rather than a member state, should be exempt from any limits on state aid.

In a statement issued after the phone call, Downing Street reported the prime minister said "we were making every effort to accommodate reasonable EU requests on the level playing field, but even though the gap had narrowed some fundamental areas remained difficult".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55358963

For any UK employees out there, you'll be delighted to know that a Conservative MP has already sponsored a private members bill to roll back the Working Time Regulations - the Regulations that provide for holiday, mandatory rest breaks, rest breaks between shifts, rules around nightworking and more...the UK are able to officially legislate on matters like this after December 31st 2021, who knows what we'll end up with if they are successful in rolling back legislation like the Working Time Regulations...

[heppolo]

Talks to continue later...
For any UK employees out there, you'll be delighted to know that a Conservative MP has already sponsored a private members bill to roll back the Working Time Regulations - the Regulations that provide for holiday, mandatory rest breaks, rest breaks between shifts, rules around nightworking and more...the UK are able to officially legislate on matters like this after December 31st 2021, who knows what we'll end up with if they are successful in rolling back legislation like the Working Time Regulations...

That's unfiltered libertarianism

[Wayne]

Brexit: No trade deal unless 'substantial shift' from EU, UK says

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55381322

We always knew that the E.U. had red lines it wouldn’t move on for anything - I can’t help but think that even with unrelenting good will, we aren’t going to get a deal that the government are comfortable with at this late stage.

[jio]

I don't think anyone was expecting fishing rights in UK waters to be one of those red lines. Let's see if the EU will show the same resolve now that Turkey is asking for money to ethnically cleanse north Syria...., sorry to resettle refugees in north Syria

[Wayne]

BBC reporting tonight on the evening news that a deal is imminent, and could be finalised as early as tonight.

[KEY9481]

THEY HAVE A DEAL. OMG. Finally.

Scotland wants independence now to come back to the EU.

[Wayne]

Crikey, I need to read the details of it but phew.

With all that said, I am heartbroken that we are basically now done with the EU.

[KEY9481]

[heppolo]

tbh, if I had to choose out of those three (Dave, Boris and Theresa), I'd probably pick Theresa.

[jio]

Crikey, I need to read the details of it but phew.

With all that said, I am heartbroken that we are basically now done with the EU.

It's a bit weird to think that many countries would have never joined the EU if the UK was not a member. Definitely us (Cyprus) but I can imagine that the same is true for Malta, Ireland and possibly Denmark too.