Posts

I Love to Paint...

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Caneiros,, Portugal. Caneiros, Portugal Divi-Divi Tree. Aruba

23/1/2019

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Brexiety.

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I refuse to stand by and watch as an incompetent, divided, treacherous Conservative (haha) Party disassembles our nation in order to preserve themselves. This has got to stop. Revoke Article 50. Call a halt to this madness.

Brexiety.

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The process of unpicking and refashioning what Britain is, how its society and economy are organised, how it governs itself and the relations between its four nations, how it positions itself in relationship to the EU and the rest of the world will take decades. Of course we could revoke Article 50 and slam the lid on Pandora's Box, but we haven't got long.

Brexiety: The Border.

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An Irish cross-border trade involves a lot of agricultural produce, trade in Northern Ireland would face higher tariffs compared to estimates for the UK as a whole. Although a substantial fraction of products would face no tariff, the small percentage of products that would incur tariffs of over 35% make up a significant share of cross border trade. The natural co-operation and trade across the Irish border reflects its context: it is a rural, under-developed, close-knit region. There are complex supply chains in agri-food and myriad micro-traders. WTO rules will not preserve this situation but introduce a significant level of friction in a place where border controls represent a potentially dangerous step backwards in politics as well as economics. I fully expect a barrage of abuse from Brexiteers, but there you have it. Brexit, troops, Northern Ireland- how has it come to this?

Brexiety: The Self-Imposed Mental Health Problem.

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Obviously quite a lot of people 'imagined' that it would be easy to extricate ourselves from the EU. Wrong. Quite a lot of people also imagined that the UK could secure a deal better than the one we currently enjoy. Wrong again. Quite a lot of people imagine that it is possible to square a circle. (Irish border) Wrong again. It didn't take any imagination at all to realise that we were better off remaining in the EU. A seat at the table. A secure relationship. Medicines on the shelves. Planes in the sky and well over two years not wasted on this debacle. I imagine revoking Article 50 will save us from ourselves.

Brexiety..

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Those who voted to leave the EU, those who rejected the advice of their own government, most economic experts and international allies now find themselves adrift. By signalling the end to Britain's 43 year membership of the EU, Britain now finds itself in a new world of risk. What did the Leavers, mean by leave? The Remain vote was singular while the Leave vote was plural. The result was not a simple rejection of the EU but a howl of protest against the impact of globalisation and migration. The Leave campaign never specified whether it preferred a Norwegian, Canadian, Albanian or some other alternative model of relations with Britain's biggest trading partner. Each of these models and Mrs May's current plan will involve a dilution of the riches and resources we currently enjoy. Did it say anywhere on the ballot paper that the leave vote was for a 'soft' or 'hard' Brexit? How many Leave voters gave any consideration at all to the Irish Border, that unf