British government realises Brexit is a mistake, Irish official says
21 replies, posted
[URL="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/british-government-realises-brexit-is-a-mistake-official-says-1.3048046?mode=amp"]https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/british-government-realises-brexit-is-a-mistake-official-says-1.3048046?mode=amp[/URL]
[QUOTE]The British government is slowly realising Brexit is “an act of great self-harm” and that upcoming EU-UK negotiations must seek to limit the damage, the State’s top Brexit official has said.
The official, John Callinan, said on Thursday: “I see signs in the contacts that we’re having, both at EU level and with the UK, of a gradual realisation that Brexit in many ways is an act of great self-harm, and that the focus now is on minimising that self-harm.”
The remarks by Mr Callinan, the second secretary-general at the Department of the Taoiseach, were delivered at a Brexit seminar organised by the trade unions Impact and Siptu.
Mr Callinan also highlighted the existence of internal divisions on the British side just weeks out from the start of formal withdrawal negotiations with the EU, saying it was clear there was “no single, settled position” on Brexit in London.
“Even within the British government, there are very different views,” he said.
Mr Callinan, along with other Irish officials and Ministers, has been in regular contact with his British counterparts since the UK’s referendum on EU membership last June, in an effort to push key Dublin concerns to the top of the Brexit agenda.
The issues discussed include the future of the Border, the peace process and the Common Travel Area.
Having previously argued that Brexit must mean an end to the free movement of EU citizens into the UK, the UK’s contributions to the EU budget and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, British prime minister Theresa May last week acknowledged that some of these arrangements may continue for some time after Brexit.
Mr Callinan, who heads a team of officials from the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs charged with co-ordinating the Government’s Brexit response, said Ms May had to navigate “a delicate home situation” in which “oversimplistic views of what Brexit is and what it will do to Britain” were “front and centre” of public debate.
He compared the scale of the Brexit challenge facing the Government to “running an EU presidency for six months while dealing with an issue perhaps on the scale of the bailout”.
Outlining diplomatic efforts so far, he said there had been more than 400 engagements with EU counterparts on Brexit since last June’s referendum result.[/QUOTE]
Too little too late.
And nobody was fucking surprised
I really hope that we at least keep freedom of movement or EEA membership.
Not that I can see that happening
[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;52103477]“oversimplistic views of what Brexit is and what it will do to Britain”[/QUOTE]
Of which Theresa May had plenty of opportunities to explain and rectify, but chose not to. The British public voted for a decision without knowing the full extent of the consequences. Politicians are now committed to Brexit, knowing it would cause nothing but harm to the UK, because of a voter base ignorant of the ramifications that would lash out once they realise they've been manipulated.
[QUOTE=Big Bang;52103560]Of which Theresa May had plenty of opportunities to explain and rectify, but chose not to. The British public voted for a decision without knowing the full extent of the consequences. Politicians are now committed to Brexit, knowing it would cause nothing but harm to the UK, because of a voter base ignorant of the ramifications that would lash out once they realise they've been manipulated.[/QUOTE]
My favourite headline was in the The Sun or Daily Fail in the past two weeks, expressing shock and anger that we might need visas to visit European countries after Brexit.
Well, yes, that was one of the benefits of the Freedom of Movement you so desperately want to close down.
Fucking idiots man.
[QUOTE=Craigewan;52103831]My favourite headline was in the The Sun or Daily Fail in the past two weeks, expressing shock and anger that we might need visas to visit European countries after Brexit.
Well, yes, that was one of the benefits of the Freedom of Movement you so desperately want to close down.
Fucking idiots man.[/QUOTE]
And the Daily Mail was the THESE JUDGES ARE ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE rag, too. It's ridiculous that those magazines still have subscribers.
[QUOTE=Luni;52103897]And the Daily Mail was the THESE JUDGES ARE ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE rag, too. Hah.
How those magazines still have subscribers is beyond me.[/QUOTE]
People who are desperate to hold on to their position will go with what lies to them the sweetest. Propaganda is not only a useful tool but a lucrative business once you get the right base built up...
I like to imagine on June 25th as the results came in, that there was just a silent meeting room somewhere in No 10. where David Cameron stood in front of a TV and just said "oh no".
I think all the British population can ask for now is another vote on the outcome deal with the EU with an option to just not go through with it. But I doubt that will happen.
[QUOTE=icemaz;52103906]I like to imagine on June 25th as the results came in, that there was just a silent meeting room somewhere in No 10. where David Cameron stood in front of a TV and just said "oh no".
I think all the British population can ask for now is another vote on the outcome deal with the EU with an option to just not go through with it. But I doubt that will happen.[/QUOTE]
Not a chance it's going to happen, Theresa Mayhem and her cronies tripled down on Brexit and will go ahead with it no matter how damaging it might be. They would rather knowingly embark onto a disastrous venture than backpedal now, because that would just make sure to completely erode any support they still have left, leading to their subsequent political irrelevance.
[QUOTE=icemaz;52103906]
I think all the British population can ask for now is another vote on the outcome deal with the EU with an option to just not go through with it. But I doubt that will happen.[/QUOTE]
It can't happen really, now that Article 50 has been triggered. They'd have to reapply again, else they won't be able to vote on things that affect themselves.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;52103914]Not a chance it's going to happen, Theresa Mayhem and her cronies tripled down on Brexit and will go ahead with it no matter how damaging it might be. They would rather knowingly embark onto a disastrous venture than backpedal now, because that would just make sure to completely erode any support they still have left, leading to their subsequent political irrelevance.[/QUOTE]
Hooray for ego being king in politics.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;52103914]Not a chance it's going to happen, Theresa Mayhem and her cronies tripled down on Brexit and will go ahead with it no matter how damaging it might be. They would rather knowingly embark onto a disastrous venture than backpedal now, because that would just make sure to completely erode any support they still have left, leading to their subsequent political irrelevance.[/QUOTE]
Isn't it so weird that there is a culture in politics where we support peoples ego and careers over the entire nations betterment? Why should the ordinary person care whether the Tory, Labour or Lib Dem party has any support?
I remember after the Brexit vote, and Nigel Farage resigned people lauded him for "achieving his political goals". But in reality who gives a fuck about a few hundred politicians and their jobs when millions of lives are being changed based on misinformation and scaremongering.
[QUOTE=Craigewan;52103831]My favourite headline was in the The Sun or Daily Fail in the past two weeks, expressing shock and anger that we might need visas to visit European countries after Brexit.
Well, yes, that was one of the benefits of the Freedom of Movement you so desperately want to close down.
Fucking idiots man.[/QUOTE]
That's the equivalent of a toddler throwing a tantrum, flipping his soup over and then throwing a tantrum because his soup is flipped over.
[QUOTE=icemaz;52103906]I like to imagine on June 25th as the results came in, that there was just a silent meeting room somewhere in No 10. where David Cameron stood in front of a TV and just said "oh no".
I think all the British population can ask for now is another vote on the outcome deal with the EU with an option to just not go through with it. But I doubt that will happen.[/QUOTE]
[url]https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/25/cameron-brexit-bet-drama-night-ripped-britain-apart-ukip-eu-referendum[/url]
[url]http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-cameron-first-words-lost-eu-referendum-brexit-anthony-seldon-all-political-lives-end-failure-a7115276.html[/url]
[QUOTE]“All political lives end in failure.” These were the words of David Cameron when he realised he had lost the EU referendum in the early hours of 24 June, according to his biographer Anthony Seldon.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Craigewan;52103831]My favourite headline was in the The Sun or Daily Fail in the past two weeks, expressing shock and anger that we might need visas to visit European countries after Brexit.
Well, yes, that was one of the benefits of the Freedom of Movement you so desperately want to close down.
Fucking idiots man.[/QUOTE]
I find it upsetting that tabloids still have a reader-base here, they're basically a testament of stupidity. I'm happy that print is dying.
This is what people voted for, no way to go back now unless the people realise it was a mistake.
[QUOTE=Amakir;52105001]This is what people voted for, no way to go back now unless the people realise it was a mistake.[/QUOTE]
-The people do
-The Government do
-The world does
what else will it take?
[QUOTE=Amakir;52105001]This is what people voted for, no way to go back now unless the people realise it was a mistake.[/QUOTE]
And once again we enter the real of "hurrr hur hur this was DEMOCRACY IN ACTION", despite the referendum being non-binding, and therefore not something the government has to actually act on.
The referendum should have been the start of proper discussions by the houses of commons and lords, not an excuse for Haunted Wax Figure Museum Owner, Theresa May, to fuck the entire country up because "it wat u wanti".
This is not surprising in the slightest. Hell, I'm pretty sure they knew from the onset of starting all this about how bad this would actually be for the country, they just didn't care because they wanted to stay in power and the best way to do that was to follow "the democratic will of the people" since that's how they'd get re-elected. Even from the beginning of this whole charade, Brexitteers such as Borish Johnson and Nigel Farage didn't even actually want this to happen, they just wanted to use the expected failure of the Brexit vote to leapfrog themselves into power. Why else do you think they were all so depressed after and many of them resigned from their original positions? They realized what the hell Brexit meant and didn't want to participate in the government of a country that stupid enough to actually go through with it...
[QUOTE=Amakir;52105001]This is what people voted for, no way to go back now unless the people realise it was a mistake.[/QUOTE]
Well, unfortunately, we won't know if people think it is a mistake unless we have another referendum.
[editline]14th April 2017[/editline]
[QUOTE=hexpunK;52105365]And once again we enter the real of "hurrr hur hur this was DEMOCRACY IN ACTION", despite the referendum being non-binding, and therefore not something the government has to actually act on.
The referendum should have been the start of proper discussions by the houses of commons and lords, not an excuse for Haunted Wax Figure Museum Owner, Theresa May, to fuck the entire country up because "it wat u wanti".[/QUOTE]
It is the scummiest piece of politics I've seen, using a non-binding referendum as a mandate to overrule our normal political processes.
Democracy is fucking worthless if people aren't educated in the relevant matters.
I feel like the government are punishing us for being bad children or something.
Too late. Besides, the EU will get a lot more done without the obstructionist element that is the UK.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.