What Help Will A General Election Be?

[ToraToraTora]

In all this brexit shambles I regularly hear a call for a general election Surely that would simply un focus us from the immediate task. Brexit/remain is a cross party issue so surely a GE would simply obfuscate further. Dump the PM by all means and introduce a brexiteer to tell the EU how we are leaving but stop all this GE cobras.

[jim360]

That's the most pathetic argument you've come out with yet.

This is a door between two houses. Both sides care about what happens to that door.

[ToraToraTora]

"The UK and Republic of Ireland have enjoyed an open border since the two were created" - so before the EU then? so you want us to solve a "problem" that we have never considered a problem, for a third party to our own detriment? Right oh! I know you love the EU jim but really mate you cannot be serious.

[jim360]

I don't "love" the EU, I just think our future would have been far better served by staying a member. Events in the last two years seem rather to justify that belief.

But there is no third party here: the RoI is not a separate country that no-one cares about, and your rather dismissive attitude to it is sad to see.

The simple fact is that leaving the EU requires introducing a hard border on the island of Ireland, *or* the UK staying in a Customs Union, *or* some as yet impractical solution involving technology that either doesn't exist or isn't ready yet. But it's a problem of our own making -- or, more accurately, of yours, since of the two of us I'm not the one who voted to create this mess.

[Jackdaw33]

I wonder just how much Jim360 is paid from the EU slush fund to spout his load of utter tripe.

[jim360]

Exactly nothing whatsoever.

There's nothing I've spouted that's tripe; as evidence I point to literally everything that everybody involved has said about the Irish border, from die-hard leavers the DUP to Remainers across the world.

[jim360]

Also, it's a good sign that you have nothing useful to offer when you try to question the motives of somebody's argument. I worry for the future of my country, just as you do; nobody pays me to do that, and they'll never need to either.

[ToraToraTora]

jim: "But there is no third party here: the RoI is not a separate country that no-one cares about, and your rather dismissive attitude to it is sad to see. " - I care about ROI, I have family there, that is why I respect their choice about the current border arrangements. The EU has weaponised a non issue, and we have fallen for it. The ROI are choosing to be governed by the EU and perhaps later they may, together, arrive at a solution they are both happy with. I don't see why we have to do that for them to the detriment of NI and the UK generally.

[jim360]

I've done my best to persuade you that it's an issue, but it's clear there's nothing further I can say to persuade you otherwise.

But mainly I just wanted to say that I hope you can excuse some of the fiery language in my posts. It saddens me to see where we've got to, and I hope you see that it's passion and anger at the situation coming through, rather than anything personal.

Except JD's last post, of course, which is beneath contempt.

[ToraToraTora]

duly excused jim, I know it's an emotive subject. I take on board your points even if I disagree with some of them.

[New Judge]

Just as a (relevant) aside. I think around 2% (it may be 2.5% it may be 1.5%) of goods arriving into the UK from outside the EU (and by extension, arriving into the EU) are physically checked on arrival. The EU is (presumably) perfectly content with this. However, the piffling amount (relatively speaking) of goods crossing from the UK into Ireland gives them such cause for concern following our departure. Why is this?

The answer is that the issue has been weaponised by the EU and used as a method to compel us to remain in the customs union. Our useless negotiators have swallowed their strategy instead of asking the questions that I have asked. There is no way, under any circumstances, that anybody is going to impose border controls on goods or people in Ireland and the EU should simply have been made aware of that (by both the UK and Ireland) from the outset.

[Spicerack]

//Jeremy Corbyn 9/2
Boris Johnson 6/1
Sajid Javid
Dominic Raab 6/1
David Davis 6/1
Michael Gove 8/1
Jacob Rees-Mogg 12/1
Jeremy Hunt 12/1

So, interestingly, they see a General election as being more likely than a change of Tory leadership.//

Doesn't work like that, NJ.