Badly battered Prime Minister Theresa May
whose image suffers daily media blows is finding herself out-manoeuvred at
European Union negotiation tables in Brussels by the regional constituents of
the United Kingdom. The leaders of Scotland and Wales have been quick to gang
up against Mrs May who is increasingly being seen as a leader of England only. Northren
Ireland, the other constituent, of course, has managed to have the first bite
of the cherry by extracting the one billion pound bung for its support to the government.
The First
Minsters of Scotland and Wales have revealed their hand by issuing a joint
declaration on the “European Union Withdrawal Bill” – the official title of the
Brexit or Repeal Bill -- that their
governments “ cannot recommend that
legislative consent is given to the bill as it stands.” The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
and the Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones have both questioned London government’s authority in Brussels
talks and dubbed the bill as a “naked power grab.” Edinburgh and Cardiff governments want to
dictate their own terms to safeguard their regional interests.
Labour
leader Jeremy Corbyn was equally swift to pre-empt any deal by Mrs May’s
government when he flew to Brussels to hold talks with Michel Barnier, the EU’s
chief negotiator. At his flamboyant best, Corbyn presented his football club
Arsenal shirt and a copy of Labour election manifesto to Barnier. Corbyn’s
150-minute meeting with Barnier is said to have indicated Labour’s
search for a potential compromise on the UK’s access to the EU single market
after Brexit. Of course, both Corbyn and Barnier denied that their talks
amounted to any parallel negotiations or undermined formal government talks
which will continue over the next weeks and months.
The Liberals
like Sir Vince Cable, the probable next
party leader who has family connections with India, are asking for a second
referendum to reverse the entire Brexit project. “ I’m beginning to think
Brexit may never happen,” he told a BBC TV show. The whole question of EU membership would once again arise if
living standards suffered and
unemployment rose, he said. But after
the battering the party received at the June elections its voice doesn’t carry
much weight.
Meanwhile,
former Prime Minister Tony Blair has jumped into the fray by suggesting a
compromise with EU. Himself a pro-European, he believes that Brexit need not be
too hard and claims that EU can be persuaded to offer some leeway or concession
to Britain over the right of free movement of workers (EU migrants). At the
same time Blair has paid a left-handed
compliment to Corbyn for boosting the labour party at the general election
while warning that an “unchanged Corbyn programme” would prove disastrous for
the country.
“I pay
tribute to Jeremy Corbyn’s temperament in the (election) campaign... and to the
enthusiasm it generated.” But his supporters “shouldn’t exaggerate it,” and “
his critics, including me, shouldn’t understate it.” Blair is known for
his opposition to Brexit, which he has
previously urged his supporters to overturn.
However,
overturning Brexit doesn’t seem to be anywhere on the horizon; the die has been
cast and Britain must grapple with making the best of the choice of its own making. And a long haul
it looks to be.
The
confusion is being further confounded by differing voices within the ruling
Tory party. Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said the other day that the
EU could “go whistle” if it demanded too high a price for withdrawing from the
bloc. There is talk about the divorce bill costing as high as one hundred billion
euro. Johnson’s remarks drew an
immediate retort from Brussels boss Barnier who said, without mentioning any
figures, that he was “not hearing any whistling, just a clock ticking.”
Elaborating
the EU stand, Barnier said: “People have used words like ransom... It’s not an
exit bill, it’s not a punishment, it’s not revenge, it’s simply settling
accounts.”
EU officials
have made it clear that failure to acknowledge the principle of continuing
budget obligations would prevent talks from proceeding at all and could stop
discussions on issues like a free trade deal. “The three priorities for the
first phase are indivisible,” declared Barnier. He was referring to the divorce
bill, EU citizens’ rights in the UK and issues like the Northern Ireland
border.
The British Chancellor, Philip Hammond, who
was being reviled in the Tory press before the election, has suddenly regained
listeners in the party for his soft stance on Brexit to retain London’s place as
a financial centre and to stop the exodus of
banking sector jobs to Europe. Trade and industry organisations have
already voiced their support to the Chancellor’s strategy. Another sector which has warned
against any hasty decisions relates to Euratom treaty on the movement of
European scientists and materials. Leaving Euratom in haste could see the loss
of as many as 5,ooo highly skilled jobs. Other issues, including security and the
role of European Court of Justice, are grave cause for concern.
It’s just
the start of divorce talks, how it unravels is anybody’s guess.
Private Eye, Britain’s leading satirical
magazine which has delighted, informed and alerted its readers for more than 50
years, in its irreverent take on ‘Britain’s Brexit Strategy’ carries in its latest issue a mock-up of two
people with food in their hands, one under the sub-heading ‘THEN’ showing ‘Cake
and eat it’ and the other under tag line ‘NOW’ telling ‘Eat humble pie.’
Tail-piece: Britain’s dress-down
spree, which started with the House of Commons Speaker making tie an optional
that can be dispensed with, has moved to broader fields. London Transport’s
Tube or metro rail has dropped its centuries old greeting phrase ‘Ladies and
Gentlemen.’ From now on it is “Good morning everyone,” in deference to the gender-neutral campaign
of LGBT groups, supported by Mayor Sadiq
Khan.
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