Maybe this will become a proper post later.
CPI inflation
Just have a look just after we joined the EU:
Our EU debt
“The UK could walk away from the European Union in 2019 without paying a penny, the House of Lords has said, in a report bound to raise tensions with Brussels in the run-up to Brexit talks.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/04/uk-could-quit-eu-without-paying-a-penny-say-lords
WTO Article 24
Article 24 says if a free trade area or customs union is created, duties and other trade barriers should be reduced or removed on substantially all sectors of trade in the group. Non-members should not find trade with the group any more restrictive than before the group was set up.
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/understanding_text_e.pdf
Canada Model
“EU-Canada trade deal is only model that fits Britain’s terms – EU’s Barnier”
VISA non-requirement for EU
Listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, as regards the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2014_2019/plmrep/COMMITTEES/LIBE/AM/2019/01-29/1174204EN.pdf
British:
Ireland
Irish Border and WTO
WTO says its rules would not force EU or UK to erect hard Irish border
Vienna Convention
Article 70 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties says that terminating a treaty does not affect obligations incurred under the treaty “unless the treaty otherwise provides or the parties otherwise agree”.
The Treaty of the European Union arguably does provide otherwise in the form of Article 50, which Britain triggered to leave the bloc. Article 50 says nothing about financial obligations and lawyers could argue it trumps the Vienna Convention anyway.
No Deal Concessions
UK clearing houses approved to continue EU business under no deal Brexit
European Commission reiterates flights will go ahead post Brexit
Broken Promises
Lots of good quotes in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPcmebRH904
What should be fixed post-Brexit
- MP’s changing party or becoming independent should trigger a by-election
- House of lords should be fully elected maybe on proportional basis to counter first past the post in parliament
- Special Order SO24 should be abolished. Only government should be allowed to put forward legislation. Opposition can only put forward non-binding motions
- Fixed term parliament should be abolished. If opposition is unhappy with legislation put forward they must table a motion of no confidence to become government
- Postal voting should be limited to special cases only. Luton by-election is a good example of how bad it can get
- The speaker should be elected by each government as this position now cannot be assumed to be neutral going forward
- Supreme court to be abolished. The last decision to completely overrule the high court is highly dubious and indicates political influence
- We need a written constitution. Maybe copy/paste from Australia or similar
- Parliamentary practice should be set in law. Erskine May book of practice is open for interpretation and uncontrolled changes as John Bercow has shown
- License fee should be abolished. BBC has clearly shown during Brexit that it is not impartial and should therefore compete equally with other media outlets
The Withdrawal Agreement
Papers are here
Analysis will be in separate posts.
Two things that are interesting to look at:
- The transition: When will the UK actually leave the EU? The transition period ends 2020. Could we leave without a deal then? Transition can be extended to 2022 but if no trade deal has been agreed upon can this period be further extended or will the discussion about leaving without a deal start all over again?
- The trade deal: The political declaration may be the most important as this may tie the UK forever once agreed upon. So what subjects are up for grabs by the EU?
ECHR – European Court of Human Rights
The ECHR is part of the EU treaty therefore the as long we are in the EU with must comply with the Human Rights Act.
The EU became a signatory to the ECHR via the Lisbon treaty: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/5/the-treaty-of-lisbon
The Policy Exchange paper implores the next government to amend and limit the Human Rights Act and refuse to comply with judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
This is said in connection with “the UK military is being undermined by the over-reach of human rights laws and soldiers being unfairly pursued for alleged wrongdoing on the battlefield”.
Only issue is that the Political Declaration in the Withdrawal Act says:
7. The future relationship should incorporate the United Kingdom’s continued commitment to respect the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), while the Union and its Member States will remain bound by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which reaffirms the rights as they result in particular from the ECHR.