Another weekend, another hysterical, breathless screeching Brexit bromide begging to be fisked. This week it is arch brexiteer Kate Hoey, in the pompously self-important “Brexit Central”.
So, a fisking we shall go.
Hypocrisy, the practice of claiming to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case, is a pernicious trait.
It is Kate. As, we shall see, is threathening, misleading and so on.
Sinn Fein is a party that used to be anti-EU and whose members campaigned for a No vote in Ireland’s Lisbon Treaty referendum of 2009.
Yes indeed. And isn’t it great that they have, along with ditching the military overtones, come further to the mainstream? Unlike, say, the British Labour Party
Gerry Adams, stepping down after 34 years as Leader of Sinn Fein, claims Republicanism is advancing when clearly it is not. If we look at the combined Nationalist/Republican vote at the 2017 UK General Election, it was 41.1% compared to the combined Sinn Fein-SDLP performance at elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2011 when it was also 41.1%
Think the Shinners take an All-Ireland approach. They got 220k in the 2011 election in Ireland and 295k in 2016. They got 238k in the UK 2017 election and 172k in 2010 UK. So, a fair rise.
So, in six years, a total advancement of exactly zero.
Or, something of the order of 100k. One or the other
Adams lost his vicious sectarian war and no matter what he says he can be seen as a failure.
Well. Not sure anyone WON the war. Plus, to say it was “his” is rather a stretch. I dimly recall loyalist, unionist, and British forces being involved also? And, while absolutely no fan of GA, he has taken his party from a maoist faction to (nominally) power in NI and to the brink of power in Ireland. Not a bad failure
We can expect hypocrisy from the de facto leader of the IRA,
We should note he has of course always denied being in the IRA. Anyhow…
but to come from the leader of the Republic of Ireland is another matter altogether. Yet we now have Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, effectively demanding that Northern Ireland remain subject to the rules and regulations of the Single Market and the Customs Union after the UK has left the European Union.
Yes. And that is hypocritical how?
It is not surprising that the Taoiseach is increasing his demands of the UK Government. He possibly faces an election next year and wants to appeal to those who might be thinking of voting Sinn Fein who have at the top of their wish list a united Ireland, and who see the decision of the UK people to vote to Leave the EU as their opportunity to advance this cause.
Oh dear, Kate. SF and FG share as many voters as you do with FG. That is to say, none. I know this may be a shock but ALL mainstream Irish political thought is pro a united Ireland. FG might not wish to be outflanked by FF, and they have usually been critiqued for being too close to the British position. Yes, that’s right. Leo is as good as it gets.
The Republicans are being helped by Leo Varadkar, who seems to have very quickly forgotten his liberal views.
Leo is a liberal? Who knew? He’s living breathing proof a gay son of an immigrant can be just as right wing as anyone. Which is great, because he is above all a human being. FG is as liberal as the soft wing of the Tory party and Leo is to the right of FG.
The hypocrisy of all shades of Nationalism who “fought” the British Empire and now so cringingly want to be part of an enlarged, anti-democratic EU empire is astounding.
Is it? Maybe to you. But you see, there was this “small nations” thing, back in the 1919 period. Remember? Also, if the EU is an empire, a) who is the emperor and b) where does one apply for membership of one of its orders. I guess the UK political system is predisposed to see monarchical undertones in everything…
The idea that Northern Ireland should stay in the Customs Union and the internal market while the rest of the UK leaves is a total non-starter
Grand. Would solve a lot of problems but, fine. Off you pop
and I am glad that David Davis ruled this out so immediately and strongly.
ALTHOUGH…yesterday No. 10 was saying different. That was in the morning. By the afternoon they had , seemingly, resiled. The chaotic nature of uk politics makes it hard to know from hour to hour who is in charge or saying what.
What upsets most people in Northern Ireland, even if they voted to Remain, is seeing the EU Commission use the Belfast Agreement as a tool for their demands in the negotiations.
Any polling on that?
Even more shockingly, the unelected Commissioners use the ‘threat to the peace process’ as another attempt at blackmailing the UK.
Noting the existence of a fact is something the brexiteers seem to hate. There is a rump of violent people in NI – some will take any hint of a hard border as a chance to ramp up. Now, that’s wrong and sad, but it is a fact. This sort of hysterical screaming is like saying someone saying if you jump off a building and fall you are threatening gravity.
The threat to the peace process won’t come from those people in the UK (including in Northern Ireland) who voted Leave last June. They haven’t got weapons and material to make bombs;
Hmm. Didn’t Nige threaten violence?
they aren’t the ones trying to divide people.
No?
The EU bureaucrats pontificate piously about the border as if they know what they are talking about.
I guess they might have Irish diplomats telling them the facts?
Let me remind them of the terror and ethnic cleansing that was inflicted on Protestant farmers and the brave Catholic and Protestant soldiers, policemen and women who were slaughtered in their hundreds along the border. What do they really know of the Troubles? How dare they lecture us.
Well, stating a fact exists isn’t lecturing.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into the land border.
A border commission. Well done. Mind you the 1922 one is still to implement its full recommendations so let us not hold our breath.
A recurrent theme of practically everyone we see, especially from other non-EU countries which have borders with EU countries, is that – if there is political will to make it work – cross-border trade can be seamless.
No, Kate. It cant. Literally every expert has said the opposite. Either you haven’t been listening or you have and choose to state black is white.
Leo Varadkar would be much better remembering that Ireland has more trade with Northern Ireland and Great Britain than any other EU country and that most exports to outside the UK go through English ports.
Sigh. 12% exports to the UK. Most exports are services, Kate. They go by electrowires. Here. Educate yourself.
Indeed, his country is totally dependent on UK trade, so he should be careful what he wishes for.
Nope. We aren’t. Again, go educate yourself. Your ignorance is an embarrassment
He needs to remember that there has been a Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland long before we joined the Common Market.
Sigh. Again, some learning is required.
He needs to remember that Irish citizens in the UK have always had special status (they could even vote in the 2016 Referendum) and will continue to enjoy this unique privilege.
So? It cuts both ways.
He should remember too that the UK bailed the Republic out with £7 billion during the credit crisis.
Except, it didn’t. It was 3.8b euro. Still, compared to the earlier 0 =100b error your almost bang on
So let’s be blunt: no more hypocrisy, Leo. You need to face reality, recognise who the true friends of the Republic are and stop doing the bidding of the EU in their increasingly desperate attempts to play hard ball with us.
Yes, England has always been a friend to Ireland. Eastasia has always been at war with Oceania.
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