Oldjohnw wrote:Remind me, which constituency elected Lord Frost.
What! You mean he’s an unelected bureaucrat? I thought we’d dumped them.
I'm in favour of Ministers not being MPs. That would open up the talent pool, help us develop some genuine accountability to Parliament, and reduce the conflict of interests around career prospects and the payroll vote.
But only with that added accountability: without that this sort of appointment is even worse than usual.
Jonathan
But today we have publicly appointed officials running supposedly arms length bodies who also take the party whip in the Upper House. The Executive should not be part of the legislature.
I have no real problem with a small number of ministers being in the HoL where there is some scrutiny. But i was being a little sarcastic since Frost negotiated the deal whereby the UK left a so-called unelected bureaucracy.
Oldjohnw wrote:Remind me, which constituency elected Lord Frost.
What! You mean he’s an unelected bureaucrat? I thought we’d dumped them.
I'm in favour of Ministers not being MPs. That would open up the talent pool, help us develop some genuine accountability to Parliament, and reduce the conflict of interests around career prospects and the payroll vote.
But only with that added accountability: without that this sort of appointment is even worse than usual.
But today we have publicly appointed officials running supposedly arms length bodies who also take the party whip in the Upper House. The Executive should not be part of the legislature.
"The European Parliament declined on Thursday to set a date for its vote on the EU-UK trade deal in protest at what the European Union sees as Britain’s unilateral changes to Northern Irish Brexit arrangements." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-vote-idUSKBN2AW1NV
Jdsk wrote: ↑4 Mar 2021, 8:54am
And the Loyalist Communities Council joins in: "Loyalist paramilitary organisations have told British prime minister Boris Johnson they are withdrawing support for Northern Ireland’s historic peace agreement." https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland ... -1.4500982
Jdsk wrote:"Following the UK government's statement today, Vice-President Šefčovič has expressed the EU's strong concerns over the UK's unilateral action, as this amounts to a violation of the relevant substantive provisions of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and the good faith obligation under the Withdrawal Agreement. This is the second time that the UK government is set to breach international law." https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pressco ... NT_21_1018
and the UK's response, includes: "Lord Frost explained that the measures announced today, following official-level notification to the Commission earlier this week, were temporary technical steps, which largely continued measures already in place, to provide more time for businesses such as supermarkets and parcel operators to adapt to and implement the new requirements in the Protocol." https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lord ... march-2021
After UK/Westminster behaviour over the last few years would you agree/sign a treaty with the UK? The Westminster incumbents don't seem to understand that an agreement does not mean you just unilaterally do what you want whenever you want (and you can bet they'd be up in arms in no time at-all were e.g. the EU to do the equivalent).
The UK and Ireland should broker a bilateral deal to replace the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol, a former senior Irish diplomat has claimed, as he accused Dublin of being too close to the EU.
Ray Bassett, who previously served as Ireland's ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas said he believed the new post-Brexit trading arrangements were fuelling “such a disillusionment” among unionists and should be overhauled.
Mr Bassett, who also served as joint secretary to the British-Irish intergovernmental conference, told The Telegraph's Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, that the implementation of the protocol had been "very heavy handed" and appeared to have "destroyed" good will in Northern Ireland.
The UK and Ireland should broker a bilateral deal to replace the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol, a former senior Irish diplomat has claimed, as he accused Dublin of being too close to the EU.
Ray Bassett, who previously served as Ireland's ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas said he believed the new post-Brexit trading arrangements were fuelling “such a disillusionment” among unionists and should be overhauled.
Mr Bassett, who also served as joint secretary to the British-Irish intergovernmental conference, told The Telegraph's Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, that the implementation of the protocol had been "very heavy handed" and appeared to have "destroyed" good will in Northern Ireland.
Good analysis from Ray Bassett.
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