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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019.Johnson threatens election ahead of Brexit battle in parliament
By Guy Faulconbridge, Kylie MacLellan and William James LONDON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
73 Comments
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wtfjapan
respect the referendumg and resort to endless scheming to keep the UK within the EU cleptocracy. Shameful.
No they just want a Deal Brexit not a no deal which will be disastrous for the UK economy.
Why is it that many Brexiteers think that bluffing the EU with a no deal Brexit will suddenly make them change their minds and give them the deal they want, just isnt going to happen
Strangerland
Yeah because it makes more sense to follow a non-binding referendum result outdated by three years, than to find out if it’s still what the people want now that they’ve had three years more information.
The sound of my facepalm is still echoing around the world.
WilliB
I am really disgusted by the remainers who are simply unwilling to respect the referendumg and resort to endless scheming to keep the UK within the EU cleptocracy. Shameful.
Simon Foston
Toasted HereticSep. 3 07:11 pm JST
Indeed. But now the majority of MPs elected from Northern Ireland are unionists, indicating that for good or ill the majority of voters there see it as legitimate.
Scotland has had a less than harmonious relationship with England but there's not a whole lot that can be done about it now. There's no justification I can think of for setting up a referendum so that their views are marginalised, especially since it will have a bigger impact on them than it does on anyone in the Republic.
kurisupisu
@Tangerine2000
There will be Northern Irish citizens identifying with various identities.
One or the other or both.
If a Catholic and a Protestant were to meet in NI, they might not be able to be acquainted beyond a very superficial relationship.
On the mainland they could have a social relationship and be seen together.
I suggest a visit there to see and hear for yourself.
@zichi
The English didn’t do much at all for the people of Ireland.
Due to the Irish potato crop failing, the English government imported Indian corn that was pretty much inedible.
And as you well know, this led, in part, to Irish mass emigration.
Tangerine2000
Oh dear, oh dear.
What you said wasn't correct, was it?
Non-catholics living in Northern Ireland can have Irish nationality. Therefore, Northern Irish people can be as Irish as people in R.o.I.
Please don't bother writing a response. I've had enough of your non-relevant waffle and anti-English bigotry.
Luddite
This is brutal, he is being mauled.
Johnson is all over the place. Imagine spending your life wheedling, conniving, glad handing and back stabbing your way into a job you thought you were born to do, and then when you get it realise you are rubbish at it.
Tangerine2000
Wrong I'm afraid. ALL Northern Irish people are entitled to dual nationality. Not just Catholic Irish.
Luddite
One Tory after another is tearing into Johnson. He has little backing or support from his back benches.
Luddite
You should have seen Johnson's face as he was blustering away, totally at sea, as he watched Lee walk across and sit on the Opposition benches.
Luddite
Johnson has just lost his one seat majority. Phillip Lee just crossed the floor to join the LibDems while Johnson was speaking.
rcch
October 31... how appropriate...
Tangerine2000
So as you say:
And:
So why say this:
If all of the people in Northern Ireland can be Irish, then Northern Ireland already is Irish.
So, they are Northern Irish (British)? If yes, then they are just as Irish as Irish people living in the R.o.I.
Luddite
Johnson can't call a General Election, why are people acting as if he can. The UK has fixed term parliaments, unless two thirds of parliament votes to have a GE before the fixed term is up, it won't happen.
Tangerine2000
So, if there are many such people in Northern Ireland, it is unlikely that re-unification will happen any time soon.
If the British people living in Northern Ireland are not English, and they are not Irish, then what are they?
Tangerine2000
Not at all. I am very happy for Ireland to belong totally to the Irish. Do you think the people of Northern Ireland are not Irish?
Tangerine2000
Why is it "The English"? Why numerous times? Why don't you differentiate between the British Government and the English people?
Tangerine2000
@Lucas Simms
Yes! Good link.
Lucas Simms
Does this help?
Polling in Northern Ireland indicates that support for remaining in the U.K. hinges on how Brexit is resolved.
A united Ireland has majority support in the case of a no-deal Brexit. But remaining in the U.K. is more popular if Brexit does not go ahead. The two sides are neck and neck if the U.K. parliament finally approves the Brexit deal negotiated by the U.K. government, according to polling by LucidTalk.
https://www.politico.eu/article/election-two-thirds-of-irish-would-vote-for-united-ireland/
Tangerine2000
@toasted
Proceeds to provide a link to a single poll conducted only in R.o.I.
Where is the consistent polling for R.o.I. AND N.I.?
itsonlyrocknroll
Boris Johnson has been left with little choice, lose the a standing order 24 vote and a General Election is inevitable.
If Johnson is successful, on a clean break, Toasted Heretic, the EU commission will insist that the Republic of Ireland erect and enforces a hard boarder, how do you feel about that. the costs are eye watering.?
Toasted Heretic
Only if one sees the statelet as legitimate, though. Ireland was partitioned against the will of the majority, which created serious schisms, not to mention serious sectarianism.
Scotland didn't have plantations akin to what happened in Ireland.
Same here.
Simon Foston
Toasted HereticToday 06:19 pm JST
I think there should be a referendum on the issue but as it's Northern Ireland that will effectively cease to exist and the loyalists in the north are far outnumbered by the nationalists all over the whole of Ireland it should be held in Northern Ireland only. Otherwise the people in Northern Ireland will end up like the Scots, who mostly voted to remain in the EU but are going to get dragged into Brexit anyway because of all the English who voted to leave. If a majority of people in Northern Ireland do vote to leave the UK though, I'm all for it.
Toasted Heretic
Of course -
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/majority-would-now-back-a-united-ireland-with-support-highest-in-the-border-region-says-poll-38014834.html
So you keep saying. To be honest, the UK has no right to dictate as to what direction the island of Ireland takes.
Pretty much like the EU has no right to dictate to the UK, yes?
Tangerine2000
Can you show some polls which have a consistent majority (over 50%) of people in the Republic of Ireland wishing reunification? AND can you show the same for Northern Ireland.
Even if a majority in the R.o.I. want it, unless a majoirty in N.I. also do, it's not going to happen.
Toasted Heretic
The majority of people in the UK want to leave the EU. I don't personally think it's the right thing to do, but I accept the "will of the people". And I think that referendum on the 23rd of June should be respected.
The majority of the people of the island of Ireland want Irish unification. Will anyone accept and respect their wishes?
Toasted Heretic
There's more colonisation than just that period.
Which is what the Irish will do, eventually.
Are you referring to just one particular community? Because they're not the only ones. Or, nationwide, believe it or not, there's Protestants in the south who support unification as well.
Pointing out the horrors visited upon the Irish doesn't mean he hates the English. I think you know that.
Toasted Heretic
Of course not - as I said, the situation can change in a matter of years or even months. Another poster gave a result from a poll 46 years ago - as if that had any bearing on today.
Johnson, Rees Mogg et al are living in an imperialist past. More fool them for doing so.
The UK is changing, rapidly. And as such, that will impact its nearest neighbour. For better, or worse, depending on one's stance.
Tangerine2000
If you bothered to look, you will see there is a whole section on the 20 years of polling coducted by
"the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey". So, no, it's not Wiki.
I'm talking about the land onwers who colonised Ireland in 1606/1609 onwards.
You keep getting it wrong, toasted. I'm not in support of partition. I am in support of the native people choosing their own destiny. No matter how you dress it up, the Northern Irish people of today who live there now, are the native people.
Still would like to know why Zichi hates English people, though.
Toasted Heretic
Wiki, eh?
Let's do Politico, so
https://www.politico.eu/article/election-two-thirds-of-irish-would-vote-for-united-ireland/
Are you talking about the Plantations or land owned by British in general?
What is it with your support for partition, forced upon the Irish people?
Tangerine2000
You do know that the majority of land owners in Ireland were Scottish, don't you?
What is it with your rabid hatred of English people?
Tangerine2000
I don't think the English people had much say on the matter, Zichi.
Tangerine2000
Using a single poll doesn't provide evidence of a long term trend.
Looking at the Irish Unification poll that has been carried out every year for the last 20 years in Northern Ireland by the same polling company, you can see a clear picture.
Support for unification has always been around 20-25%. Even after the Brexit vote in 2016, support for unification in Northern Ireland was 22% in 2018.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Ireland
Toasted Heretic
In the 2016 EU referendum, 58% of voters in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. This result, and the continuing uncertainty over the impact of Brexit on the Irish border, has led to calls to revisit the constitutional future of Northern Ireland.
That's the 2016 referendum. A lot can change in a few years. Just look at the 1973 poll:
The first border poll took place in Northern Ireland in 1973, when voters were asked whether they wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK or be joined with the Republic of Ireland. 99% voted in favour of remaining in the UK. However, the poll was boycotted by most of the nationalist community; turnout was only 59%.
Johnson and his merry band of brexiteers may accelerate full Irish independence. Acknowledging that doesn't mean automatic membership of the 'RA.
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/irish-reunification
Toasted Heretic
42% polled say they want to be in a united Ireland.
https://www.thejournal.ie/united-ireland-poll-3-4059433-Jun2018/
I think you're back to the DUP, who have held your kingdom in ransom since May invited them on board.
As can the opinions of those who believe aspiring to a united Ireland means one is a terrorist.
Toasted Heretic
Let me rephrase that. The occupied 6 counties are part of the UK, through partition, which is still deemed as illegitimate today.
If the UK can leave the EU, surely the 6 counties can leave the UK?
And how does that relate to the GFA, specifically?
Silvafan
It is simple Great Britain! Follow the rules of the contract that you signed! You want to leave then fine. Pay the penalty that you agreed to in the legally binding contract that you signed to join the EU.
Hard Brexit, Hard borders and Hard luck! LOL!
Silvafan
@Wakarimasen
Your name is fitting. You sign a legal binding contract with another party then you are bound by the rules of that contract. The EU is the only professional in these negotiations. Their stance hasn't changed. They are following the rules of the contract that everyone signed. It's Great Britain that wants to break the rules. If they want to break the contract then they must pay the penalties under the rules of the contract. Great Britain wants to get of scott-free!
Great Britain just wants its cake and eat it too! Sorry, buddy! Only professionals in the EU! LOL!
Silvafan
@Allistair Carnell
Don't forget.....and Putin! LOL!
Fox Sora Winters
Huh. I've been able to follow Boris Johnson up until now, but this one seems like a strange manoeuvre. For him to be so confident that he'd win an election would suggest that he has something up his sleeve that he's waiting to play. I hope that's the case anyway, and that it doesn't back fire. We've been going through a heck of a lot of turmoil these past 3 years, it's time for that to end.
Wrong. There are a lot of people who support a No Deal under Boris who also recognise that Trump is a monster and one of the worst human beings to ever stain our species. Myself included. Don't resort to slandering everyone who disagrees with you. That's what Trump does, isn't it? Respect people's opinions rather than painting them as Nazis or whatever.
The UK isn't in Ireland. Ireland is it's own independent country, apart from the UK and a member of the EU. Aside from tourists, the UK isn't in Ireland.
Perhaps those people need to be reminded that Britain only ever joined the Common Market (in 1973) and voted to remain in that two years later. Our relationship with the EU had always been intended as a purely financial one, not a political one. They should be reminded that it was the EU who used underhanded methods to sneak their way into our political dealings via the economic agreements we'd set up, and used those channels to then dictate policies, restrict trade negotiations, force regulations upon us and generally strangle our economy. They should be reminded that in 1984, despite us being the 3rd poorest member at the time, they tried to make us one of the chief contributors until Margeret Thatcher appealed against it and earned us a rebate. They should be reminded that the EU are the ones who pushed us to vote on whether or not to stay as a member, whether to hold onto a membership we never wanted in the first place but had thrust upon us.
goldorak
Who cares what the whole world thinks? The only opinions that truly matter are those of Brits, Irish and euros. Others are just observers (and most of them know very little about Europe, Britain & the EU.)
Euros are as divided re the EU as you guys are over brexit. I just feel genuinely sorry for the good ppl on both sides who love both their country and Europe (perhaps not this EU) and are being taken for a ride( by their pollies.)
Wakarimasen
I thought "No Deal is better than a Bad Deal". I thought the vote was to Leave. The concern around economic disruption is real, but that essentially means that no country can ever really leave the EU unless the EU agrees AND the EU is able to completely dictate the terms on which that country leaves.
The EU may have done some good but it is not an unqualified success (ask the Greeks and the Italians as well as huge swathes of the under 25's across the continent) and the Brits are entirely justified in voting as they did and in wanting to leave on their own terms if the EU is not prepared to properly compromise. Sad that the last 3 years were so wasted on trying to find that compromise.
Tangerine2000
I was wrong.
Never expected the Government to sack its own MPs in order to lose its majority to force an election.
But please bear in mind that even if the date is said to be Oct 14, Johnson could your his royal prerogative powers to change the date to after Oct 31.
Simon Foston
BungleToday 10:40 am JST
True, it appears from the referendum result that they represent a minority, some 16 million or so British citizens. Going by the result of the party leadership election Boris Johnson represents less than a hundred thousand Conservative Party members. Until 1832 Members of Parliament from constituencies with no one living in them could claim to be "legitimately" elected as well. Legitimacy isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Toasted Heretic
Does the UK have any legitimacy being in Ireland?
For some, the EU is a religion.
For some, the EU is a guarantee of livelyhood, not to mention keeping the GFA intact.
Toasted Heretic
Unlikely, the man is a liar and a coward.
His own ambition comes before everything.
Alfie Noakes
The Brexiteers on this site tell us many things, most of which are quickly deleted....
Here's Johnson fluffing his lines and sinking into waffle/bluster mode:
https://skwawkbox.org/2019/09/02/video-rattled-johnson-completely-fluffs-big-speech-leaving-establishment-scrambling-to-cover-for-him/
CrazyJoe
The party has been taken over by morons.
Hmmmm, purging those who dissent. Doesn't sound like democracy to me.
This will not end well for the UK and its citizens.
Alistair Carnell
At this stage, the only people who think a no deal Brexit under Boris, is a a good thing, are the same people that think that Trump is a ‘great guy’ ... go figure.
Kestrel
8T,
Exactly.
Silvafan
LOL!
Boris Johnson appeared 'rattled' by booing crowd chanting 'stop the coup' during speech
https://news.yahoo.com/boris-johnson-appeared-to-rattled-by-booing-crowd-chanting-stop-the-coup-during-speech-191350795.html
starpunk
Go ahead, Bozo. Call for it! I hope the Brits dump your fanny out of Buckingham Palace.
Jimizo
We were told by Brexiteers on this site and elsewhere that an election before October 31st was completely impossible.
Interesting.
TrevorPeace
@Brian Wheway, this Canadian is not laughing at you. And I don't think the world is. I think the world is looking to see whether you have the backbone our mutual ancestors had. Mine are Scottish and English, with some French thrown in. Get out of the EU. Make me proud enough to come back for a lengthy visit and some deep discussion.
8T
We are not laughing, we are hoping the U.K. finally has the guts to leave the European Union. Hopefully Johnson has the courage and stamina to make it happen.
tooheysnew
How about holding another referendum instead !?
Brian Wheway
Can the whole world stop laughing at us here in the UK please? I know that we must be the laughing stock of the world at the moment.