Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus
“Columnist Brian Feeney tells it as it is—about Brexit, Boris Johnson and his key fanatical Brexiteers.
Boris’ key adviser—he of the very Irish and Catholic name of Dominic Cummings— says: ‘I don’t care if Northern Ireland falls into the f***ing sea.’ … And this is what the DUP supports!
Brexit clearly exposes the gerrymander and anti-democratic nature and consequence of England’s violently imposed 1920 artificial Border. It not only contradicts Ireland’s fundamental right to national self-determination, but also common sense and decency. The Border never did make democratic sense, and never can.”
—Fr. Sean McManus
There will be no deal because Boris Johnson doesn’t want one
‘I don’t care if
Northern Ireland falls into the f***ing sea.’( Dominic Cummings, Boris’
key adviser).
Brian Feeney. Irish News. Belfast. Wednesday, October 2, 2019
You read here a few weeks ago that the only way to make sense of the chaos
in Westminster is to turn every statement of the British government
on its head.
That still applies now, only more so. In the words of Joris Luyendijk,
author, foreign correspondent and Guardian banking blogger, the ‘Tory
party has elected the most callous, ruthless, mendacious and superficial
politician in living memory as leader.’
We’re told, they’re working ‘incredibly hard’ to get a deal before October
31. They’re not. Not only are they not negotiating, they haven’t even
made a proposal. Occasionally the truth slips out, as when
the provocatively indiscreet Dominic Cummings said a fortnight ago,
the so-called negotiations are ‘a sham’. Their first proposals are
expected in the next few days. There’s no chance of a deal before
Halloween. An extension for serious negotiations is necessary. MPs don’t
believe Johnson; that’s why they’ve passed the Benn Act to force
Johnson to ask for an extension.
Johnson will leave the EU on October 31 without a deal. If he’s forced
into an extension until January he will still leave without a deal,
but after a general election. He will leave without a deal because he
doesn’t want a deal. You apply the usual test. He says he wants a deal
and is working to get one, so that means he doesn’t want a deal and isn’t
working to get one. Simple.
Look:even if negotiations were taking place, it’s too late now to complete
a deal to present to the European Council on October 17-19. Some
innocents think Johnson and his cronies envisage Theresa May’s deal minus
the Irish Protocol and some other aspects they don’t like. Their plan
is nothing like that. Johnson explained his aims in his infamous letter to
Donald Tusk on August 19. There he laid out his ‘final destination’
as he called it.
He will leave the Single Market and Customs Union; no surprise
there. However, unlike May who wanted to remain as close as possible
to the EU’s arrangements, an inherently contradictory objective,
Johnson doesn’t. He wrote, ‘Although we will remain committed to
world-class environment, product and labour standards, the laws and
regulations to deliver them will potentially diverge from those of
the EU.’ Then, in a key sentence he said, “That is the point of our exit
and our ability to enable this is central to our future democracy.’
He added, ‘The “Backstop” is inconsistent with this ambition’, which
is true. He said staying aligned with EU rules is ‘unacceptable’ to the UK
government.
What are the consequences of this position? Very straightforward. There
will be no deal. Johnson doesn’t want one at this stage. Instead, he
plans to negotiate a free trade deal after leaving. There will be
a British/EU customs border in Ireland. There has to be, because
the British are going to diverge from EU standards to try to gain
trade advantage. All the notions the British have suggested in
their ‘confidential, technical non-papers’ have already been rejected
months ago by the EU.
In broader terms, it means there will have to be direct rule to
enable emergency measures to be brought in here; plans to introduce
it are already in train at Westminster. Unless and until DUP leverage on
a British government ends, the northern Assembly and Executive
are dead. Johnson and his accomplices don’t care about a Border in Ireland
or the fate of agriculture and manufacturing here. Indeed, according
to the Sun, Dominic Cummings helpfully explained to a Conservative
minister, ‘I don’t care if Northern Ireland falls into the f***ing sea.’
Unlike Theresa May, Johnson’s people know that you can’t leave the Single
Market and Customs Union and maintain the status quo in Ireland. To
maintain it here has to be the “Backstop,” but not if you don’t
care about a Border or the Good Friday Agreement which neither the
DUP nor Johnson does.
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