‘Its Text And Content Has Not Changed’

at

This afternoon.

Earlier…

This afternoon.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney took Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil ahead of British Prime Minister Theresa May taking her Brexit withdrawal deal back to parliament, almost two months after it suffered the largest ever House of Commons defeat…

Meanwhile…

In the last 30 minutes…

The DUP has released a statement, saying:

“The Prime Minister set out a clear objective for legally binding change which would command a majority in the House of Commmons in line with the Brady amendment.

“We recognise that the Prime Minister has made limited progress in her discussions with the European Union. However, in our view, sufficient progress has not been achieved at this time.

“Having carefully considered the published material as well as measuring what has been achieved against our own fundamentalists, namely the impact of the backstop on the constitutional and economic integrity of the Union of the United Kingdom, it is clear that the risks remain that the UK would be unable to lawfully exit the backstop were it to be activated.

“The Attorney General’s legal advice is clear in his last paragraph: ‘The legal risk remains unchanged that if through no such demonstrable failure of either part, but simply because of intractable differences, that situation does arise, the United Kingdom would have, at least while the fundamental circumstances remained the same, no international lawful means of exiting the protocol’s arrangements, save by arrangement’.

“We want to see a deal with works for every part of the United Kingdom. We will support the right deal with respects the referendum result and Northern Ireland’s place as an integral part of the United Kingdom.

“The European Union has been intransigent. It is possible to reach a sensible deal which worlds for the United Kingdom and the European Union but it will require all sides to be reasonable and in deal-making mode.”

Documents don’t change Withdrawal Agreement (RTE)

Watch Dáil proceedings live here

UPDATE:

UPDATE:

Brexit: Something has changed but is it enough? (BBC)

Brexit: Blow to Theresa May’s deal as British AG Cox says legal risk remains (The Irish Times)

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Related posts:

“The Problem Lies In Westminster” Backstop To The Future Now Would Be A Good Time To Panic You’re Probably All Wondering Why I’ve Gathered You Here Today

44 thoughts on “‘Its Text And Content Has Not Changed’”

  1. ReproBertie

    Deal will fail, vote to reject leaving under No Deal will pass, extension requested, election to follow.

    Cue lots of head shaking and eye rolling around the EU27 as the Sasamach omnishambles rolls on.

      1. ReproBertie

        The EU27 won’t be open to renegotiations so they’ll be hoping an election results in a government either happy to take the deal or happy to call the whole thing off.

        SDLP should be looking to make gains. An IT opinion poll showed the SF voters wanted SF to take seats for Sasamach so, given they won’t, the SDLP should be presenting themselves as an alternative voice for Northern Ireland in the HoC.

        1. Pat

          The SDLP are nice people but no longer relevant as a party.
          Sassamach will end with a second referendum. Now here’s Theresa with the latest sports…

    2. eoin

      If I were the Spanish govt right now, watching the Brexit chaos in the UK and having already safeguarded the income I get from British expats living in Spain, I’d be tempted to tell the Brits to fupp off when they come looking for an extension. My partners in the EU might get upset with me, but I can correctly say the Brits have had 33 months to agree a deal, what will change in another four or 24 months? And without a deal, Gibraltar would be screwed because it couldn’t sell gambling, insurance and financial services into the EU, and they’d come running back to mother Spain.

      1. ReproBertie

        “what will change in another four or 24 months?”
        The British government. They might even get one that’s not reliant on the DUP and can cast Northern Ireland adrift.

        1. eoin

          (1) The vote this evening will be lost by 150+, the 10 DUP votes are immaterial (2) If there was an election tomorrow, it’s unlikely the make-up of the House of Commons would be different, Labour’s in turmoil, opinion polls say a majority still want to leave the EU and (3) while a no-deal Brexit is damaging for the EU generally, within each country there will be winners and losers and there are also a handful of countries which will have more winners than losers, Spain is probably one.

          That said, you’re probably right, there will be a request for an extension which will be granted, but we’re in uncharted territory here and I think the % chances of a no-deal Brexit are in the low double digits.

          1. ReproBertie

            “opinion polls say a majority still want to leave the EU ”
            No they don’t, quite the opposite in fact. An election where people stand on a platform of abandoning Sasamach or accepting the deal would certainly be interesting.

          2. eoin

            If you look at the opinion polls, they show a mixed picture, certainly don’t show any sign of there being a much-changed parliament of there is a general election, especially considering issues besides Brexit will be a factor for voters.

            https://whatukthinks.org/eu/opinion-polls/uk-poll-results/

            Theresa May has just lost 391-242, a margin of 149, the 10 DUP votes will have been irrelevant to that outcome.

        2. Martco

          thats an interesting idea @Repro..imagine that, cast adrift…what do you reckon would happen next if the English quit norniron?

          Independence?

          1. ReproBertie

            When I said cast adrift I meant that the customs border in the Irish Sea would have happened ages ago were it not for May’s need for the DUP support. Remove the DUP’s hold on the balance of power and things would be very different.

            With a foot in the UK and a foot in the EU, NI could have had the best of both worlds but the DUP can’t see beyond their own petty hatred.

          2. ReproBertie

            The British Taoiseach has told the HoC today that opinion polls show support for a United Ireland is higher in the event of a no deal Sasamach. That should be food for thought for the DUP but that would require thought which is a stretch too far.

          3. Martco

            I just wonder sometimes what they gain by having norniron in the domion atall fundamentally these days (as opposed to the halcyon days of linen & shipbuilding maybe) I can’t think of anything strategically or otherwise.

            is it not literally a -£10 Billion per annum millstone around their necks?

            I can’t imagine your average punter in Essex giving a tit whether its part of the empire or not

            (I’m not advocating a united Ireland…which is why your adrift hit the spot for me)

            ?

          4. ReproBertie

            Ollie Cromwell used to claim that, despite the parliament insisting this was not the case, the average Brit would be happy to see the back of it. Given the average Brit thinks we’re still part of the UK, when they think of us at all, I’d be surprised if they had any opinion on the matter to be honest. There’s always going to be knuckle draggers singing “No Surrender” at football matches and before the Sasamach vote I’d have thought they were the minority but I’m not so sure anymore.

          5. Martco

            ha! tis actually something I can see happening:

            norniron finally cast adrift by the English (like they’ve already done with most of their other further flung empire plant & pillage projects of the past)

            an independent standalone country & next door neighbour who get subsequently admitted into the EU with a bonus ball to get them up & running

            DUP lads can fupp off to middle England or stay to build their new country, whatever

            Republicans can travel south or stay to build their new country, whatever

            everybody be happy :)

    3. Giggidygoo

      Surely you’re not saying that the proposed withdrawal agreement (deal) isn’t an agreement, or the proposed backstop isn’t a backstop?
      My oh my

    3. Sham Bob

      Backstop could’ve ended up as a more respectable term for a butt plug in another universe.

  5. Nigel

    What a devastating political move it was when May called that General Election that left her completely beholden to the DUP. She’s really getting her money’s worth.

  6. Martco

    fupping forgot to switch back on the popup blocker earlier today, curiosity got the better of me….

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sovereign-Individual-Survive-Collapse-Welfare/dp/0684810077

    (might give a small clue about what lies behind that tophat lizard, note the author..the playbook perhaps?)

    I imagine that household was fun upbringing, one thing’s for sure however he’s making barrow loads of cash out of all this & he’s getting away with it too

    but is that what’s afoot here in the end of the day, pure financial scammery? should we all be placing bets?

  7. Martco

    fupping forgot to switch back on the popup blocker earlier today, curiosity got the better of me….

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sovereign-Individual-Survive-Collapse-Welfare/dp/0684810077

    (might give a small clue about what lies behind that tophat lizard, note the author…the playbook perhaps?)

    I imagine that household was fun upbringing, one thing’s for sure however Mogg is making barrow loads of cash out of all this & he’s getting away with it too

    Is that what’s afoot in all of this at the end of the day, basic financial scammery?

    1. Giggidygoo

      The Irish answer is for ministers to bail out for St. Patrick’s Day. The boy Leo is departing to humour Trump.
      Like his last visit, he will bring up the undocumented Irish. Mmmmm… Kenny brought that up on his last St. Patrick’s Day visit, and the one before that. Sure aren’t they great.?

  9. Dr.Fart MD

    the fact the DUP are a player in all this is completely insane. They’re a bonkers, joke party.

  11. Lost Guitar

    Sigma LM 00 guitar lost on Synge Street Dublin 8 on Friday March 1st. In black case. Any information please reply to post. Thanks

  13. Formerly known as @ireland.com

    A general election isn’t the answer. A second referendum is the answer. The questions should be “Do you want to totally stuff the country up?” or “Do you want stay in the EU?”

  14. Joe

    The DUP really want to ruin Northern Ireland for a silly idea that they need to be treated the same as mainland UK for their “Identity”. Will they ever wake up and listen to what the people want. Sinn Fein are idiots for not taking seats in Westminster l, sitting back doing nothing all for daft old-fashioned ideals of a bygone era.

    1. Cú Chulainn

      The DUP would rather cut off their own hand rather than let the other side win. Anyone would think they were from Ulster.

    2. Sham Bob

      Abandoning the silly idea would require them breaking a long-standing electoral pledge – I don’t know how seriously their voters take it, but it’d be similar to Pat Rabitte’s ‘Isn’t that what you do during an election’ comment, except it would be in reference to one of their core principles.

      They’d be abandoning it just because a rare opportunity had arisen to hold the balance of power in the UK – the only reason to do that would be to get a referendum on independence, and as we’ve seen from Brexit and Indyref, promises from a UK government aren’t up to much.

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