The Telegraph reports Theresa May mulls amending Good Friday Agreement to get her Brexit deal past MPs.
The Prime Minister will on Monday update Parliament on her attempts to draw up a so-called “plan B” for Brexit following cross-party talks in Westminster – and discussions with other EU leaders.
One of the proposals under consideration is rewriting the 1998 accord to assure Ireland that the UK is committed to no hard border on the island after the UK leaves the European Union in March.
Ministers believe that adding some text into the agreement would serve as a way of avoiding having to commit the UK to the backstop.
The plan is likely to prove highly controversial and would require the consent of all the parties involved in Northern Ireland.
On Sunday night, Mrs May held a conference phone call with her Cabinet. One Cabinet minister said the outcome of the call was “essentially one more heave on the backstop”.
Mrs May is said to have told them her plan was to do “something” on the backstop. Asked if it was something specific or just “anything”, she is said to have told them “the latter”.
Cannot Possibly Work
The proposal cannot possibly work because the EU would have to agree with it. And they won’t.
You and I can agree that 2 + 2 = 5, but that will not make it so.
May has to know this. But She was required to come up with Plan B, so she will presents Plan A again because, as I stated yesterday, There is No Plan B: Theresa May to Resubmit Plan A on Monday.
Such silliness cannot possibly buy any time, all it can do is waste what time remains.
That is clearly her strategy, and curiously, it appears to be Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s strategy as well.
They both cannot be right.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
May is totally incompetent as I have written in the comments before.
Her deal is the worst negotiated boondoggle and chain around UK’s neck there has ever been negotiated.
Corbyn is also totally incompetent (praising Venezuela and hanging out with Israel hating terrorists should make Corbyn’s cluelessness apparent to everybody) and Corbyn is only interested in getting power UK be damned.
Corbyn’s negotiation tactic of taking NO-deal-Brexit off the table is just what May did so Corbyn negotiated deal would be as bad or even worse than what May came up with.
Also Macron and Merkel are both totally incompetent since both Germany and France would suffer in a no deal WTO-trade-Brexit and be required to pay extra 40 billion meaning they have to cut services to their own people by 40 billion so it would have been in their interests to give UK a good deal but apparently they wanted to make UK an example so nobody else would leave EU and they thought May was so incompetent that they would get the dodgy deal past her and she could force her party to support it in UK parliament.
Juncker is an annoying drunk and a liar (“When it is serious you have to lie”).
Tusk is a small-minded bully (“here is some cake Mrs. May but sorry there is no cherry on top” tweet)
EU is a collection of incompetents and all EU countries leaders use EU as a place to hide behind when they make stupid decisions. (The “EU made me do it”- syndrome).
Hello, Leicester,
This is not at all about democracy. It is all about creating and maintaining multinational agreements the erode erode national sovereignty. The EU, Paris Accords, TPP, etc. are all designed to do just that. Thank goodness the Orange One scuttled Paris and TPP for the US! And heaven forbid that the UK do the same with the EU. What a horrific example to the rest of the world!
The appearance of democracy is at stake.
Those behind the EU care little for democracy, but they care about the pretence of it.
We were told when we voted in the referendum that this was the only referendum and our votes would count. They didnt expect the result and are trying to find a way to undo it.
The only card us leavers have to play, is that if they go for a second referendum, the pretence of a democracy evaporates when they declare a need for a second referendum. When they do declare this, we will know that they will rig it, no chance they will let the result go against them for a second time. Even if it did go the right way, why would they honour the second vote if they didnt feel the need to do so with the first one?
Contrary to the view in these parts that a new referendum is NOT on the table, that is precisely what is being angled for …
Mish, I wanted to say thanks for you detailed coverage regarding this topic. MSM is telling us fairy tales when it comes to Brexit. There simply is no Plan B and bureaucrats in Brussels should be fired.
Someone said early on in this process that the UK would be able to measure its power in the world precisely. For the first time in 800 years the Irish have the whip hand. Mrs May could not find her way out of a paper bag yet it is Euro bureaucrats fault. Dear God.