Brexit is in tatters as Stormont rejects Johnson deal and a million UK jobs come under threat

Boris Johnson


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The last week has seen a warning by chancellor Sajid Javid that there will be no alignment with EU regulations once the Brexit transition period is over. This could mean many industries, especially in vehicle manufacturing and construction, will lose contracts or go bust, potentially leaving around one million workers jobless.

Another far-reaching announcement was issued by the Assembly in the north of Ireland, basically rejecting Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. The implications of this are enormous, as it could affect the US-UK trade deal that Johnson is relying on.

A million jobs affected

Javid has warned business leaders that there will be no alignment with the EU regulations once the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020. More precisely:

There will not be alignment, we will not be a ruletaker, we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union — and we will do this by the end of the year.

According to one Twitter user, around 860,000 jobs could be affected just in the automotive industry:

 

Javid is an opportunist

It seems Javid’s memory is faulty. In May 2016, he himself raised some of the many problems that Brexit could bring about:

Poignantly, Javid said:

Do businesses want the benefits and security of continued access to the Single Market, or the instability and uncertainty of a lost decade?

Meanwhile, another Twitter user accused Javid of incompetence (perhaps that should be gross incompetence?):

Wider implications

While jobs may well be affected by the Johnson Gang’s approach to Brexit, there are other costs to the UK economy:

Indeed, Bloomberg Economics estimates that costs of £130 billion can be attributed to Brexit so far, with that figure rising to £200 billion by the end of 2020.

But it gets worse, as, according to one report, secret talks have been revived to plan for a No Deal Brexit.

Meanwhile in Stormont

In another Brexit development, Stormont announced it has rejected Johnson’s Brexit deal. The decision by the assembly was unanimous and amounts to a serious blow to Brexit as it now stands.

The main concerns were over border checks that are expected to take place once the transition period is over.

Threats

The likelihood of border controls and checks have already seen statements issued by the paramilitary New IRA, which is prepared to escalate violence should a border of any description between north and south be re-imposed:

A New IRA spokesperson told Channel 4 News:

any installation or aspects of British occupation within Six Counties – be it at the border or elsewhere – any infrastructure would be a legitimate target for attack and armed actions against those infrastructures and against the people who are manning them.

He added:

The EU, the British and the 26 county administration constantly speak about the border as if it’s only been there two minutes, and it’s only an issue with Brexit. There’s been a border there since 1921. It’s been resisted. It’s being resisted. And it will be resisted regardless of any deal formed around it

US to block trade deal

Nor should we forget that the US Congress has made it clear that if the border question in Ireland is not fully resolved, there can be no post-Brexit trade deal between the US and the UK.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stated:

While Britain is a unique and valued ally of our nation, as the Democratic Leader of the United States Senate, which would consider prospective new bilateral trade agreements, I write to express my inveterate opposition to any prospective trade deal with the UK that either undermines the landmark Good Friday Agreement or facilitates a return to a hard border.

Brexit imploding?

Unless Johnson softens his Brexit approach on the matter of the border in Ireland, the much-vaunted US-UK trade deal may be cancelled. Never mind the likelihood that violence could escalate in the north of Ireland.

And the likely economic crash from either a No Deal or hard Brexit (as it now stands) could see at least hundreds of thousands of workers lose their jobs as industries collapse.

The time to give in to these ideological charlatans is over. It’s now time to get angry.

Featured image via YouTube – Guardian News

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  • Show Comments

    2. The author of this article is clearly unaware that there will be NO border between north & south, maybe he also wasn’t aware that the exit deal is negotiated between the UK & EU & not Stormont & the EU?

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    3. Whatever view one might express over desirability of changed relationships with the EU and USA, one thing is clear: from the very beginning Brexit has been a shambles.

      Cameron’s referendum was an ill-posed question. It allowed no subtlety beyond ‘in and out’. No provision was made for either required electoral turnout or for size of majority necessary to justify what, in effect, is major constitutional change. The pre-referendum ‘debate’ lacked plausibly authoritative account of matters to be decided after Brexit: the electorate was taken to a cliff edge, blindfolded, and asked to decide between status quo and jumping.

      Key players, notably Johnson who once vehemently objected to Brexit, opportunistically drifted with the political wind rather than stake out principle. Indeed, Johnson’s behaviour, consider his attempt to shut down parliament, portrays his predecessors as beacons of rectitude.

      This sickening drama was played out before an audience of the gullible such as crude representative democracy depends upon.

      Johnson and his chums are under immense pressure to deliver deals acceptable to the people who voted his party into office. Lingering in the background is half the population not persuaded by events in this fiasco. Northern Ireland and Scotland are foci for dissent. Moreover, influential, these presumably knowledgeable, people in industry and finance have expressed deep concern over the palpable uncertainties; also bear in mind that reaching a trade deal with the USA, one other than capitulation to all US demands, could take up to a decade. Meanwhile new deals with Commonwealth nations and others remain speculative in terms of benefits accruing. Economists are divided over the long term outcome for the UK. Also, it should not be forgotten that beneficial features of EU membership (or even Norwegian type affiliation) may be lost regarding cultural collaboration and exchange, and liberties may be at risk if the UK abandons the EU approach to ‘human rights’; consider that even with the best intentions in this matter, lack of a written constitution means no underlying consistency and we have seen how our ‘make it up as you go along’ ersatz constitution is vulnerable to unscrupulous manipulation of royal prerogatives.

      The hasty manner of ill-conceived Brexit, this presided over by people of worryingly little ability and hardly any sign of probity, beckons disaster.

      During months to come, Johnson shall be plagued by problems, these both anticipated and unanticipated (other than by people less facile than he) and some shall impact upon ordinary people (e.g. increasing food prices and inconveniences in travel to EU nations) who will take note. Perhaps many arising problems can be dealt with satisfactorily over periods of months. Yet, public perception is of the ‘here and now’. Grievances drawn from many sections of the community and from enterprises shall accumulate. Johnson risks being backed against a wall and running out of options. Ironically, it would be a wall with writing on it demanding Johnson’s head. Perhaps, he and his co-conspirators ought immediately retreat to their bunker under Whitehall?

      Setting aside the matter of how this political and potentially social disaster came into being leaves consideration of a deeper concern over governance. Johnson is trying to lead a major exercise in ‘change-management’. This can be successful only if enough key people together with low level operatives are persuaded into building up momentum. It becomes impossible when insufficient numbers of people are convinced into enthusiasm. Lackadaisical compliance is bad enough but when anger is aroused spanners might be chucked into the works.

      It may be a cliché but change-management on a scale of this magnitude depends upon winning hearts and minds. It cannot be effected merely by issuance of orders down a chain of command. Johnson and most of his cronies lack experience of much beyond the black arts of politics. Those in ministerial positions pass instruction to civil servants most of whom themselves live in a position of quasi-stability rather than hectic change. With aid of ‘spin doctors’ Johnson and his like can temporarily patch up deficiencies of leadership. For instance, the general election may have been won in part by Johnson’s insistence that he was a macho man of action who would get things done. Perhaps in matters carnal that is so. Yet, when steering the ship of state deliberately into choppy waters it does not suffice for long to offer only inchoate confidence and optimism in reaching the intended destination.

      We all shall suffer from the narcissist Johnson’s arrogance and hubris in taking on a task well beyond his competence to direct. Let it be hoped he suffers the most.

      —–

      Released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 international license.

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    4. Smyth Mogg, as usual, a hell of a lot of common sense and knowledge. I think, and I am in not saying I am right, that the Trade Deal with the USA has already been done, dusted and signed and, as you say, it will be a complete capitulation by our Government to all the USA demands. Earlier this week a USA Government Official said that the Trade Deal would enforce the UK’s compliance and support for USA Foreign Policy. Not only that, it also emerged that Trump threated France, UK and Germany with a 25% tariff on car imports if they did not blame Iran for the current crisis. All three duly obliged. I know it is generally a Government’s duty to protect its country and its citizens (except our Tory Government of course who see their duty as protecting themselves, their billionaires and their businesses) but surely the time has now come that these countries should just say to Trump o.k. then and stand alone together. After all, the EU is the largest Trading Bloc in the world they can survive these sanctions and its about time they started to impose some on the USA that will bite the USA economy and throw their armed force bases out of Europe.

      Johnson doesn’t have a clue about Government his only interest is in power, pure, unadulterated power (a doctrine very close to Cummings’ heart and who is spearheading this). He doesn’t give a damn about the loss of a million jobs and counting; he doesn’t give a damn about the imminent collapse of the UK economy, the steep rise in Homelessness (all due to Universal Credit), the lack of affordable Housing or the ever declining number of jobs available. I read the speech by the Chief Economist of the Bank of England last week, he was spot on about Low Paid Low Worth jobs, wage stagnation and other economic disasters. Johnson? Let them eat cake attitude. The poor and the vulnerable are worthless citizens to him. Fascists are by nature, what they are, Totalitarian, aggressive and demeaning to those that are not deemed to be part of the elite ‘Race’, the dependence on propaganda rather than truth (the MSM and the BBC – President Kim in North Korea must be very envious) and aggressive zenophobia and psychopathy – i.e. power must end in world domination. Is Trump the first Fascist Dictator in the USA and the World?

      The only thing I am glad about and I am sorry that I am glad about it because not only close to 1m jobs are about to be lost in manufacturing thanks to this bunch of Fascist idiots we call our Government but !m more will be lost as a result of the Trade Deal with the USA.

      I’m seriously considering moving to the Republic of Ireland

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    7. I am not glad about the dire news, economic and otherwise, but I get where you are coming from. The thing is that the Government doesn’t care a jot what most people think, they are in fact engaged in a long running plot to destroy this nation for their own financial gain, and for the power it will give them when their plans are completed.

      Anyone who wants to get a better idea of what is going on in the World, should read Naomi Klien’s ‘The Shock Doctrine’. I know there are plenty of other notable writers, but this book really identifies the true reasons for things like Austerity, and shows why people like Johnson, May, Cameron and others have fought so dishonestly to not just hang on to power, but to prevent proper life-affirming changes or people from breaking their grubby and nasty grasp on it.

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