[Britse politiek] #123: Freedom at last

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Nurse who cared for Boris Johnson resigns over ‘lack of respect’ for NHS workers

A nurse who cared for Boris Johnson when he was gravely ill with Covid-19 says she has handed in her resignation, such is her disillusionment with the “lack of respect” shown by the government for the NHS and healthcare workers.

Jenny McGee, who kept vigil by the prime minister’s bedside for two days when he was in intensive care, also revealed that his staff had later attempted to co-opt her into a “clap for the NHS” photo opportunity with him during what she thought would be a discreet thank you visit to Downing Street.

“We’re not getting the respect and now pay that we deserve. I’m just sick of it. So I’ve handed in my resignation,” said McGee, referring to the government’s proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff, which unions have described as a “kick in the teeth”.

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Op dinsdag 18 mei 2021 09:09 schreef Jaeger85 het volgende:
Frost leeft in een droomwereld als hij denkt dat de EU toestaat dat de integriteit van de interne markt in het geding komt. De EU had nooit met dit compromis akkoord moeten gaan en vast moeten houden aan de backstop.

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No 10 plays down reports of cabinet rift over post-Brexit Australia trade deal

Downing Street has played down reports of a cabinet rift over the UK’s future trading relationship with Australia, as trade secretary Liz Truss pushes to secure a deal before the G7 summit next month.

Truss is keen to throw open the UK market to Australian farmers, by slashing import tariffs on goods such as beef, lamb and sugar; while some of her cabinet colleagues, including Michael Gove, are anxious about the potential impact on British farmers.

Boris Johnson had been expected to arbitrate between the two sides at a cabinet committee meeting on Thursday.

Number 10 played down the significance of the meeting, insisting it was a routine update. “There are a regular series of meetings on not just this trade deal but the deals we have been working on throughout,” Johnson’s official spokesman said.

But in what appeared to be a hint that Johnson had swung behind Truss, Downing Street said the prime minister was keen to “maximise the massive opportunities presented by post-Brexit trade deals”. Discussions are likely to continue in the coming days.

Mujtaba Rahman, of political consultancy Eurasia Group, said, “I think Johnson instinctively and substantively is aligned with Truss, because I think he wants to champion the benefits of Brexit at every possible moment.”

He added that a liberal deal on agriculture would also signal to the EU that the UK is resolute in its determination to avoiding aligning with EU food rules, despite the challenges created by the Northern Ireland protocol.

The tussle underlines the competing interests the government will have to juggle, as it negotiates new post-Brexit trading relationships. National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Minette Batters has warned there is a risk of “irreversible damage” to the farming sector.

Any changes could be phased in over a decade or more, however, to limit the disruption to farmers.

Truss sees a free trade agreement with Australia as the first step towards securing UK entry to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade pact between 11 countries, including Japan, Canada and Mexico.

“We’re seeing 66% of the world’s middle classes are going to be in Asia by 2030, growing demand for products like beef and lamb. So both Australian access and CPTTP access I think is positive for British farming,” Truss told MPs this week.

The Australian agreement could also form the template for future negotiations on an agreement with the much larger economy of the United States, which would be likely to press for similarly generous access to the UK’s agriculture markets.

Truss told MPs on Wednesday the deal would be good news for farmers. “I’ve been very clear with them [farmers] that of course I’m always looking to make sure, as I have committed to, that British farmers will not be undercut by unfair practices from elsewhere. We will make sure in all the deals we do that British farming thrives and I’m absolutely confident that will be achieved through the Australia deal.”

Australia’s trade minister Dan Tehan has singled out agriculture as one area where Canberra would like to see the UK dismantle barriers to trade.

In a Telegraph article last month he pointed to tariffs and quotas on imports of Australian beef and lamb to the UK, saying, “British consumers are missing out on choosing high quality, well-priced Australian products. What’s more, you’re missing out on eating the best lamb chops and porterhouse steak in the world.”

Tehan also highlighted Australia’s desire to make it easier for services professionals to operate across the two countries, and for young Australians to come and work in the UK.

Truss’s Department for International Trade has estimated that exports from the UK to Australia could increase by £900m as a result of a free trade deal. Exports to the EU were £11.6bn in February alone.

The international trade secretary, a committed free trader, is the most popular senior minister among Conservative members, according to the most recent poll by the Tory website Conservative Home. Boris Johnson came nineteenth, just above his chief whip, Mark Spencer.

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UK didn’t get deal it wanted for NI, Frost admits as Britain ‘desperate’ over trade talks

The UK did not secure the Brexit deal it wanted for Northern Ireland, the former chief negotiatior David Frost has admitted.

Speaking toThe Spectator, the minister blamed the pressure the government faced in late 2019 for the disappointing result.

His words paint a different picture from Boris Johnson’s assurances in November 2019 that Northern Ireland had “a great deal”.

In other Brexit-related news, an expert has accused the government of appearing “desperate” in its attempts to strike free trade deals.

David Henig, the co-founder of the UK Trade Forum, told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a deal with Australia will set a precedent for future ones with other major agricultural exporters like New Zealand and the US.

He suggested it was not “the smartest of moves” for the UK to strive for a deal by the G7 Summit on 11 June, as this gives Australia a stronger bargaining position.

“We are desperate to get those deals - that’s the modus operandi of this government. We need to hope they are going to be the right deals and balance all the different interests,” Mr Henig said.

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Op woensdag 26 mei 2021 10:48 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Worden?

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Op woensdag 26 mei 2021 12:21 schreef Szura het volgende:
Kijkt iemand naar de verklaringen van Cummings?

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Op woensdag 26 mei 2021 12:35 schreef Tijger_m het volgende:

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Ik lees het een beetje mee, ik moet er enorm om lachen, eigenlijk. Iemand die zelf keihard loog over zijn uitstapje terwijl hij covid had die een minister beschuldigd van liegen? Tja, nou, het zal wel.

De man die met de NHS slogan kwam bij Brexit vind dat Hancock teveel liegt? Ik bedoel, wat valt daar nog serieus aan te nemen?
Ik twijfel er geen moment aan dat Cummings de waarheid,. zoals hij die ziet, spreekt, overigens, het is alleen ironisch gegeven zijn eigen historie.

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Op woensdag 26 mei 2021 12:49 schreef Szura het volgende:

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Als het niet zo’n ernstig onderwerp was, is het vooral vermakelijk ja, die persoonlijke vendetta’s. Het was een hele domme actie van Johnson/het anti-Cummings kamp in Nr 10 om Cummings voor de bus te gooien mbt lekken.

[ twitter ]

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The figures indicated that between £2.5bn and £3.5bn of British exports faced a tariff in the first three months of 2021.

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Hoe serieus is dat verhaal van Global Britain dan? Het VK is als middelgrote macht niet alleen lid van de G7 en G20 maar ook permanent lid van de VN-Veiligheidsraad en hoe dan ook een kernwapenstaat. De Britse krijgsmacht telt nog steeds mee en Britse spionage geniet wereldfaam. De Britse economie heeft sterke kanten – denk financiële dienstverlening in Londen – en onderwijs en wetenschap hebben een goede reputatie.

Er zijn ook minpunten. Handel met de EU is lastiger geworden en nieuwe handelsakkoorden met anderen moet Downing Street eerst nog afsluiten, al zijn onderhandelingen met Australië ver gevorderd. De krijgsmacht is nog maar een fractie van wat ze was ten tijde van de Falklandoorlog. Het budget voor ontwikkelingssamenwerking, lang een Britse trots, heeft Johnson met 4 miljard pond gekort.

Elk kind ziet dat het VK niet past in het rijtje global players: VS, China, Rusland – dat is een andere divisie. Het VK speelt in de divisie van Frankrijk, met één groot verschil: Parijs kan de samengebalde macht van de EU mobiliseren, het VK niet meer.

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Lord Barwell (Mrs May's senior advisor from 2017 until 2019) ... added that, in his view, Mr Johnson's government had intended "to wriggle out of" the protocol later.

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Journalists pointed out that internal government documents spelled out the dire customs scenarios

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They knew since 2019 !!! Now they act surprised as if EU came up with this in December!

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Shadow Trade Secretary Emily Thornberry said the government was unable to take “the most basic and simple steps” to ensure that boats were built in Britain.

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LONDON — EU officials and diplomats are discussing an emergency plan to solve the impasse over the Brexit settlement in Northern Ireland by restricting Ireland’s access to the bloc’s single market for goods.

The idea, which is causing extreme anxiety in Dublin where officials see it as unfair punishment for its neighbor’s decision to Brexit, is meant as a backup plan to solve the conundrum of where to carry out vital checks on goods. These are designed to protect EU countries from food and plant diseases.

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Op woensdag 9 juni 2021 12:20 schreef bedachtzaam het volgende:

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Bron: politico

Zoals in de laatste alinea staat, dit zou een mooi cadeau zijn voor het VK.

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Op woensdag 9 juni 2021 12:31 schreef Perrin het volgende:

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Ierland wordt nu toch door de EU onder de bus gegooid?