trevor432990
Established Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2007
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 38
- Points
- 72
I have a few foreign friends who when I see them always ask me how Brexit is going? I then have to try and explain our screwed up political system to them and how we got into the Brexit mess we now find ourselves.
I recount to them the sequence of events and the traumas we have suffered since as follows :-
I recount to them the sequence of events and the traumas we have suffered since as follows :-
- Seeking to stem the case for Scottish and EU independence put forward by the SNP and UKIP David Cameron made manifesto pledges to settle the arguments using referendums
- We had an EU referendum in 2016 with two simple options to choose from Leave or Remain in the EU. The option chosen turned out to have the largest number of votes in UK history
- The result a 52% vs 48% vote in favour of Leave. A majority of nearly 1.3 million people and at constituency level 410 seats for Leave and 240 seats for Remain
- MPs on the other hand voted 490 for Remain whilst only 160 voted Leave showing a clear divergence between the People and their Parliamentary representatives
- Our PM at the time David Cameron (Tory) who had promised to personally carry out the people's decision, whatever it was, promptly resigned
- In the leadership contest which followed Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom three stalwarts of the Leave campaign managed to bottle their own chances
- So Theresa May became PM by default and proceeded to promise (over 108 times) the UK would Leave the EU on March 31,2019 ‘deal or no deal’
- February 1st 2017 Article 50 was passed by MPs by 498 votes to 114 binding the EU withdrawal procedure into UK law
- Thinking she was on a roll May called a snap General Election but instead she lost 13 seats and with it the Tory majority forcing her to form an alliance with the DUP
- The UK negotiation team headed by David Davis> Dominic Raab > Stephen Barclay and civil servants such as Olly Robbins created May’s deal
- May’s deal contained an ‘Irish Backstop’ section which according to the Attorney General could lock the UK into the EU forever so it was rejected by MPs three times
- In May 2019 Nigel Farage led a brand new Brexit Party to victory winning 29 MEP seats the largest group of any party within the EU parliament
- After three years as prime minister Theresa May decided to resign in June 2019
- Tory MPs shortlisted two PM candidates but local associations had the final vote on who would lead the party and become PM. Boris Johnson was chosen
- Ousted former ministers and party grandees rebelled and the Speaker of the House John Bercow was accused of biased behaviour which favoured the rebels and remain supporters
- The 21 rebels backed an opposition motion to delay Brexit until Jan’2020 and the Tories were defeated at which time Johnson sacked the 21 rebels from the party
- The government wanted to call a General Election but a new law introduced in the Cameron era prevents elections being called quickly in succession
- Whilst this was all going on the Labour party were having their own rebellions and challenges as a result of lack of a clear Brexit strategy and anti-semitism claims
- With no majority but an opposition who don’t want a general election, as polls show they have lost public support, the UK has been left with a ‘Zombie’ government
- Following the MP's 2019 summer recess with party conference season looming Boris Johnson decided to Pro-rogue Parliament until 17th October in order to prepare a Queens speech
- This decision was bitterly fought through the English, Scottish and Supreme courts until a landmark ruling by the Supreme court that this pro-roguing had been unlawful
- With no written constitution the UK judiciary are now being used by wealthy individuals to challenge government policy and with this SC precedent it is likely to increase even further
- A new deal emerges removing the NI Backstop but restricts how UK can operate in terms of setting Foreign, Military and Fisheries policies in future so is labelled Brexit in name only
- The Benn Act (aka Surrender Act) and Letwin bill are introduced to force PM to send letter to EU requesting an extension till Jan'2020 before a meaningful vote happens
- An extraordinary Saturday session with the main purpose of having a ‘meaningful vote’ on the PM’s new deal is hijacked by the Letwin bill passing by 16 votes and the Tory benches emptied
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