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Johnson accuses EU of plotting food 'blockade' against UK

38 Comments
By Jitendra JOSHI and Alex PIGMAN

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38 Comments
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Gaslighting mendacity.

7 ( +14 / -7 )

The EU is worried that post-Brexit Britain could undermine its own food standards, as well as rules on state aid for companies, and infiltrate its single market via Northern Ireland.

The EU should seek counseling for its mental state asap! The UK won’t accept being dictated to by unelected officialdom, unstable and doomed to failure.

-11 ( +12 / -23 )

Nothing that Johnson says surprises me, he is UK's version of Trump.

4 ( +18 / -14 )

Bojo and his blue meanies may feign ignorance of their treaty obligations but the Germans have spelled it out in plain Latin for the ears of the tone-deaf shoulda been schoolteacher Johnson: "Pacta sunt servanda".

0 ( +9 / -9 )

I think the Withdrawal Agreement is a brilliant deal, a wonderful deal, an oven-ready deal. I believe this because it's what Johnson said time and time again 12 months ago. He offered it to the British public and was re-elected on it in a landslide, so they must agree to it.

When polled in summer last year, most Conservative Party members said Brexit was more important than Scotland, Northern Ireland, significant damage to the UK economy, and even the Conservative Party itself being destroyed. That all sounds barmy to me, but that's what they said.

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/06/18/most-conservative-members-would-see-party-destroye

-1 ( +8 / -9 )

The food dispute centres on the EU's refusal so far to grant Britain "third country" status, which acknowledges that nations meet basic requirements to export their foodstuffs to Europe

For 50 years the UK and the EU has traded food stuff at requirements needed. Why would that suddenly change ?

Bull manure.

Once again the EU is making a show of what will happen to any other country that wants to leave the EU.

0 ( +9 / -9 )

Bunk.

My own opinion is that Brexit was a dumb idea marketed to dumb people on the proposition that nobody would be dumb enough to vote for it. They were “mistaken.”

So the EU negotiated in good faith and reached an imperfect agreement.

Now Bojo wants to unilaterally break the agreement (and violate international law) without suffering the consequences. Nope. That’s not going to happen.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

Good to see people downvoting PM Johnson's own words here.

YouGov is a Conservative-owned polling company. It is nothing to do with the UK government. This company only asked people if Brexit was worth Scotland and Northern Ireland because it was already well understood in 2019 that Brexit threatened the breakup of the UK.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Nobody's embargoing food. It's just that tariffs and inspections must be carried out as well as taxes levied, as they are on all non-EU trade. Did Johnson expect anything different?

11 ( +13 / -2 )

I would have thought that being on death's door would have taught him something. Apparently not.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

For 50 years the UK and the EU has traded food stuff at requirements needed. Why would that suddenly change ?

Could it be because Trump has an 'eat any bull manure I shovel your way' gimp suit for Boris?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Boris Johnson put pen to paper to get Theresa May/Olly Ribbons dreadful deal over the line. Force a general election and the rest is history. Clearly Johnson had other plans, essentially no intention of honouring the withdrawal aggrievement

However, a signed Treaty must be upheld under Internation Law. No hiding place there .

What a flipping mess.

As for sociopath Blair, well Tony Blair lied to take the UK into a destructive and unnecessary war at a cost of more than a hundred thousand innocent lives, entire families, women, children,

A war crime,

The most destructive devastating loss of life, and evidence enough to label Blair a war criminal.

I support Johnson Government on holding firm, through gritted teeth.

Never the less, Johnson is a hapless fool and fools don't proposer.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Once again the EU is making a show of what will happen to any other country that wants to leave the EU.

It's almost as if leaving the EU was never going to be the painless, total victory the Brexiteers promised it would be. Huh. Imagine that.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

I support Johnson Government on holding firm, through gritted teeth.

Holding firm, that's comical. Lying Johnson is floating illegally reneging on his own Withdrawl Agreement as a desperate ploy to whip up anti-EU feeling to deflect from the catastrophic failure of his govt to deal with corona virus and the imminent collapse of the UK economy.

Just look at the massive PR surge on that supposed "bumper trade deal" with Japan last week. Smoke and mirrors, no substance. Backbench Tories and the entire British legal system are in uproar - this is what happens when third-rate, ideologically-driven chancers are given a free hand.

As for sociopath Blair, well Tony Blair lied to take the UK into a destructive and unnecessary war at a cost of more than a hundred thousand innocent lives, entire families, women, children

Bush and Blair should be in jail for crimes against humanity, no arguement there, but he and Major are right about this. Nancy Pelosi has already said no favourable US trade deal for the UK if they break the GFA. The Tories are brutal when it comes to protecting their own interests, so Johnson had better watch his back.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Yes Alfie, I agree, even more the hypocrite, when I huff and puff at the South Korean Government for ignoring Treaty Law.

Lets be honest Unions (EU), of this nature are never by design to be equal.

Either politically or economically. That is my beef.

What about the people, the citizens?

It is a question of being able to fully realise the intricacies of ruthless campaigning and organizational capabilities of the lobby fraternity.

The European Union is a mixture of appointees, and has no future whilst insisting on a total refusal to reform.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

How can there be food issues with an "oven ready" deal?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

So BoJo's clown car speeds towards a No Deal crash, viagra for the vulture capitalists who bankrolled Brexit.

1/3 of UK food is from the EU. Come January, expect Pas-de-Calais and Dún Laoghaire to become lorry parks, pushing up wage and fuel costs, as loads wait (some perishing) for customs clearance at €100 per declaration (one per product type). Add WTO tariffs, and watch as shelves simply empty of more affordable food items. As food is already zero-rated for the UK's Value Added Tax, there's little leeway for government intervention.

☆ This is entirely the UK's fault, as it had 4 years to get its act together and protect its people.

Before Covid, as many as 8.4M Britons were estimated to be in food poverty. Heaven knows what that figure is now, or how the food banks will cope come the New Year.

Those with a penchant for flags might try spreading HP Sauce (now made in the Netherlands) on theirs.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Now Bojo wants to unilaterally break the agreement (and violate international law) without suffering the consequences. Nope. That’s not going to happen.

the UK though they could have their cake and eat it as well. Just have to come to terms with the fact that the UK wont be getting favorable trade status like other EU members, if you want that you should have status in the EU. And No WTO rules wont make it any better for the UK

4 ( +5 / -1 )

W

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The EU should seek counseling for its mental state asap! The UK won’t accept being dictated to by unelected officialdom, unstable and doomed to failure.

I think youll find its the UK that needs the counseling, the UK thought that leaving the EU would be more advantageous than staying, the EU is clearly showing that its the opposite

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Well Boris, if you refuse to even discuss a trade deal they can do what they like. You are doing this, you and your cronies who will personally benefit for the utter chaos and misery you will cause.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Yes, the EU wants to starve GB into submission.  Why exactly is not clear, but......

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Is this adequate proof that Covid-19 has severe negative neuro-psychiatric effects?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

EU wants to starve GB into submission

Evidence?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The EU crooks try everything to punish anyone who leaves. This misguided project can not end too soon.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Great plan that only a clever fool would expect to work; UK gets out of EU, relieve itself from any obligation and trade compliance towards EU but trough the North Ireland keeps all the membership advantages as if it never left EU.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Great plan that only a clever fool would expect to work; UK gets out of EU, relieve itself from any obligation and trade compliance towards EU but trough the North Ireland keeps all the membership advantages as if it never left EU.

Not quite. There have been distinct phytosanitary rules for the island of Ireland for years, with checks on vehicles and foot passengers coming from Britain. This exists partly thanks to the late Ian Paisley Sr., who incredibly declared during a Foot & Mouth outbreak, "our people may be British, but our beef is Irish!" The merits of a continuance of this regime (such as not being exposed to bland breakfast sausages) and demerits (not getting Cumberland sausages, for example; the jury's out on Melton Mowbray pork pies) are for NI only.

Played right, this could have proved quite a boon for Northern Irish businesses and brass plates of all hues, but Boris needed a "Squirrel!" distraction from his utter... Borisness, and here we are. Britain's reputation looks set to be totally Borised in a very specific but not so limited way.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If in doubt whine like a little victim.

Yep, Donald Trump playbook ©

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Mickelicious, you know and have quite rightly called out Johnsons failure to honor treaty obligation.

However, the name calling, BoJo’s clown car speeds towards a No Deal crash, viagra for the vulture capitalists who bankrolled Brexit.

Pretty please we need to a tad more objective. Yes

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Coal in the stockings in Britain this Christmas.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Coal in the stockings in Britain this Christmas.

It's getting boring now.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This is EU bullying. Of course soft borders are possible, e.g. the border between Sweden (EU) and Norway (non EU).

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Pretty please we need to a tad more objective. Yes

itsonlyrocknroll, the car crash analogy is substantiated in the rest of the post.

I'll just leave this here:

You don’t have to read too many profiles of Boris Johnson before you notice a particular epithet recur. People have many and varied opinions about the odds-on favourite to be Britain’s next prime minister. But almost everyone, it appears, thinks he is a clown.

https://www.ft.com/content/1934b77c-a94e-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is EU bullying. Of course soft borders are possible, e.g. the border between Sweden (EU) and Norway (non EU).

How is Norway able to achieve this?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How is Norway able to achieve this?

You can start with a non-contentious border that hasn't been heavily militarised in recent memory, and therefore no issues with the border infrastructure that exists there.

Here's an outline of the 'Norway model' from the BBC:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46024649

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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