THE Government has claimed repeatedly the need to have “No Deal” available as a threat to get a good deal for the country. This untruth really needs to be exposed once and for all, not least for the absurdity of their logic behind it.
A negotiation is a two-way process. The EU could equally well threaten the UK with a No Deal too, a situation which will have a much bigger economic impact on the UK than the individual states of the EU. So why does the EU not behave this way and “threaten” to use No Deal as a bargaining chip? The EU is simply a bit more grown-up and responsible politically in recognising that No Deal is not compatible with the Good Friday agreement in relation to a border within Ireland.
Therefore the EU position reflects the legal responsibilities of a member state within the EU on avoiding a hard border within Ireland, and does not descend to playing silly political games for domestic consumption.
Remain and Leave campaigns were largely led by Tories in 2016. The leading Tory lights of both campaigns did not bother to think of anything beyond their Little England bubble, least of all noticing that No Deal was incompatible with the Good Friday agreement. Therefore a majority “leave” vote could mean many a thing within a negotiated deal, but the two things it couldn’t mean were demonstrably “remain” and “No Deal”.
The 52:48 referendum vote in favour of Leave is now being hijacked by a Tory lurch to the right to mean one of the two things it could not be. It always had to be a negotiated deal for Leave prevailing.
It is not about “Parliament vs the people” war either. It’s about the Tory party (and others, latterly) being less than transparent with the electorate throughout the process of what “leave” means. On account of not being able to compromise and bereft of ideas, the Tories are now blatantly promoting a populist, ugly rhetoric to turn it into a mob vs Parliament fight to cover their tracks.
Dr Glenn Thomson, Battlefield, Glasgow
WHERE on earth is all this going to end?
Boris Johnson is going ahead with his cynical promise to prorogue Parliament. The Speaker, John Bercow, is to step down by the end of October. Labour is shying away from a general election it seems to have longed for until now. The One-Nation Tories - the decent ones - are suddenly out of the party. What an increasingly absurd situation!
D Masterton, Glasgow
AS he plumbs the depths for chicanery, conceit and disloyalty, and demeans Parliament, Boris Johnson shares one thing in common with the elusive Nessie: some people still want to believe in him despite no evidence of substance. (‘PM: I’d back Loch Ness Monster but not extension’, The Herald, September 7).
R Russell Smith, Kilbirnie
WHY do I sense an abundance of ditch-diggers seeking to acquire a tender?
James Robertson, Edinburgh
OBVIOUSLY Marianne Taylor does not have high hopes for David Cameron and his publishers for the success of his memoirs [‘Bargain bin awaits for Cameron’s “candid” memoir’, The Herald, September 9) with, she believes, the remainder boxes beckoning after publication.
I find it difficult to understand that the publishers have paid £800,000 in advance for the book. Clearly being a tyro author is better remunerated than being Prime Minister.
It is reported that he ‘will talk candidly’ in its pages.
Well, that is a promising start for a politician. For example, we look forward to hearing about all the exploits of the Bullingdon Club when he was a member. Given his performance while resident at Number 10 Downing Street in bringing about the EU Referendum, and contributing to the chaos that is now Libya, might I suggest a title - ‘Mea Culpa’?
Perhaps, though, that might be a step too far for his lack of awareness of his own fallibility.
Ian W Thomson,
Lenzie
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