[Seeker8]

The Brexit crowd seem to love Jacob Rees Mogg and Boris Johnstone, not Corbyn.

Even with the most useless, incompetent Tory election campaign ever run, England still voted Tory. Socialism has no chance there, I just hope Scotland can get out soon.

[Atlantis]

The Brexit crowd seem to love Jacob Rees Mogg and Boris Johnstone, not Corbyn.

Even with the most useless, incompetent Tory election campaign ever run, England still voted Tory. Socialism has no chance there, I just hope Scotland can get out soon.

The Tories lost their majority, though. And since the Brexit mess can only get worse, Corbyn has a very good chance of winning the next elections. The only good thing about Brexit may be that the Tories will be totally devastated.

As the news continues to trickle out, we start to see what Brexit really means: sweatshop for the workers and casino for the wealthy:

Official document raises prospect of tampering with workers' rights to boost economy

Exclusive: Government paper sets out how protections for employees is an area in which ministers can 'maximise opportunities' after withdrawal

Government officials have raised the prospect that hard-won workers’ rights could be reviewed by the Government after Brexit to boost Britain’s economy.

A Whitehall impact assessment singles out workers’ protections – such as preventing people from being forced to work too many hours – as an area that might be used for “maximising regulatory opportunities” after withdrawal.

MPs who have seen the document claimed it shows ministers are considering weakening employment rights post-Brexit – with one branding the paper an “absolute disgrace”.

Theresa May has consistently said she will not weaken worker rights after the UK quits the EU, and has even vowed to strengthen them, but she has failed to commit to maintaining specific protections to do with working hours.

MPs told The Independent the document refers to a review of the potential impact of amending or removing existing employment regulations.
The Government has faced intense questions over the Brexit assessment paper, which MPs can now view under strict conditions.

It has already been reported that the paper suggests the UK will be worse off after Brexit, even if the country secures free trade deals with the EU and other countries.

But MPs who have read it now claim that a part of the document in which officials explore areas for boosting the UK’s economy also contains a lengthy section on “maximising regulatory opportunities”.

The section specifically mentions the EU’s Working Time Directive as one of the regulations which could present an opportunity. The directive limits the hours someone can work in a week to 48 for most employees, makes annual leave compulsory and states that staff must be allowed at least 11 hours rest a day.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who sites on the Brexit Select Committee and spent “several hours” reading the document, told The Independent: “I think it’s an absolute disgrace that the Government is even looking at eroding workers’ rights.

“They’ve told us repeatedly that Brexit is about enhancing rights, environmental standards and consumer protections.

“When you look at it and the mask slips, it’s clear they want to turn the UK into a version of the Cayman Islands.”

The Liberal Democrats’ Brexit spokesman, Tom Brake, who has also seen the analysis, said he was “perplexed” as to why the Government had included workers’ rights in their analysis, given previous ministerial claims they will not be eroded.

“If the Government was completely committed to maintaining existing rights, then officials would have been told not to include them in the analysis,” he said.

“I am very suspicious as to why this reference is there.”

Other MPs told The Independent they feared the reference to “regulatory opportunities” was code for scrapping employee protections, though they admitted other parts of the paper included mention of a desire to “maintain standards”.

One member said they were particularly shocked by the reference to the Working Time Directive.

The MP said: “It leapt out at me immediately because it was so out of keeping with the Government has been saying publicly.

Another added: “It surprised me how much emphasis there was on diverging from existing regulations.”

The Government had refused to publish the paper or give any details about it until last week, when a House of Commons vote forced ministers to release the document to MPs.

Members were given access on Wednesday via a reading room in government offices at 100 Parliament Street, opposite the Palace of Westminster.

But those viewing it had to sign a set of rules and were forced to hand over their mobile phones and tablets in order to stop them taking photographs.

A spokesperson at the Department for Exiting the EU said it was “categorically untrue” and “a clear misrepresentation” to suggest there are plans in place to scrap workers’ rights.

“We have firmly committed not to roll back workers’ rights, and the Government has shown its commitment to extending those rights when this is the right choice for the UK,” the spokesperson added.

“This will continue to be the case as we leave the European Union.”

When officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy were asked if they had been tasked to conduct work looking at potential economic opportunities from amending employment rights after Brexit law, they declined to comment.

The EU’s working time directive makes annual leave a legal requirement, states that most employees cannot be made to work more than 48 hours per week and gives them the right to at least 11 hours’ rest per day.

While Ms May has committed to “maintaining and enhancing workers’ rights” in general, she has refused to rule out the possibility that protections in the EU working time directive could be altered.

Other reports have suggested that Brexiteers Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Liam Fox see changing the regulations as a way to boost economic growth.

Under the Government’s EU (Withdrawal) Bill, all European law, including those enshrining workers’ rights, will be brought across on to the UK statute book on the day after Brexit.

Ministers will then be granted “Henry VIII” powers to alter parts of regulation without requiring full parliamentary approval.

The Government has faced criticism, including from the Tory benches, over the Henry VIII powers, with many fearing they may be unduly used to swiftly scrap pieces of law.

More recently Ms May has faced pressure over the impact assessment, which predicted that regardless of whether the UK remains in the single market, leaves with a free trade agreement or trades with the EU on WTO rules, it will be worse off than it would be if it stayed an EU member.

It also predicted the North-east will be hit hardest by Brexit, with a potential 16 per cent fall in the size of its economy in a no-deal scenario.

[Atlantis]

Nearly 2 years after the Brexit vote the British government still hasn't got a Brexit plan. Last year, David Davis said that the government would decide in December, but following several acrimonious cabinet meetings in the "war room", we still don't know what they want to fight, except each other.

This takes a rather optimistic view of No. 10's planning efforts so far:

[Atlantis]

Maybe May should have aborted after all. But who could be so cruel as to deprive her of the experience of maternal bond.



Here are some more of this year's carneval's floats in Germany.

Karneval: Rosenmontag in Köln, Düsseldorf und Mainz

[Seeker8]

Looks like the tories are going to ditch the Good Friday Agreement in N.Ireland. The DUP wouldn't accept the sea border.

Didn't they already make an agreement with Ireland and the EU NOT to do that?, so what will happen now?

[JohnRawls]

Looks like the tories are going to ditch the Good Friday Agreement in N.Ireland. The DUP wouldn't accept the sea border.

Didn't they already make an agreement with Ireland and the EU NOT to do that?, so what will happen now?

Armed resistance. Resurgance of the IRA.

[Seeker8]

Yea i think that too, but i meant with the UK-EU negotiations. Are the EU just going to refuse any deal if the UK governement don't honour the GFA?

The Tory party really are such fuck-ups, how anyone can vote for them i don't know.

[JohnRawls]

Yea i think that too, but i meant with the UK-EU negotiations. Are the EU just going to refuse any deal if the UK governement don't honour the GFA?

The Tory party really are such fuck-ups, how anyone can vote for them i don't know.

What do you think? Ofcourse EU will decline the deal totally. You are breaking the 3 pre-required rules to even start them. (Unless there is no other alternative that you can propose)

[Seeker8]

So that mean's the UK will go to WTO rules. I just find it hard to believe we can do something so stupid.

[Potemkin]

So that mean's the UK will go to WTO rules. I just find it hard to believe we can do something so stupid.

You clearly aren't very familiar with the British ruling elite, Seeker8.

[JohnRawls]

So that mean's the UK will go to WTO rules. I just find it hard to believe we can do something so stupid.

Leaders who use political opportunism to achieve greatness for their country are remembered forever.
Leaders who use political opportunism and fuck their country up are scorned and hated forever.

You just happen to have a severely incompetent leadership at this point of time

[Seeker8]

You clearly aren't very familiar with the British ruling elite, Seeker8.

There has to be some line you think they wont cross. What's next, we become a U.S state?

[ingliz]

UK will go to WTO rules.

The UK Government appears to think not given that it has not invested in the necessary infrastructure to manage borders and tariffs.

[Potemkin]

There has to be some line you think they wont cross. What's next, we become a U.S state?

A line they won't cross? Are you kidding me?

Make the UK a US state? If they thought the British people would stand for it, they would do it in a heartbeat. The UK has been America's bitch since the Suez Crisis in the 1950s. Why not make it official? Lol.

[Seeker8]

Leaders who use political opportunism to achieve greatness for their country are remembered forever.
Leaders who use political opportunism and fuck their country up are scorned and hated forever.

You just happen to have a severely incompetent leadership at this point of time

I blame Cameron for having the referendum when most people didn't care about it, losing it, then fucking off to France. Pretty sure he said he was going to stay if he lost the referendum.

[JohnRawls]

I blame Cameron for having the referendum when most people didn't care about it, losing it, then fucking off to France. Pretty sure he said he was going to stay if he lost the referendum.

It is hard to blame Cameron for Brexit. He fought for European Membership till the last breath. It is the others that actually failed him. The issue could not be ignored any more. Also he had the balls to quit which is respectable.

May on the other hand, is a political opportunist who jumped ship after the referendum.

I can't understand why would you blame Cameron if he is one of the few UK politicians that fought for Europe and against Brexit seriously.

[Decky]

Good times are coming, British factories open again, no cheap low quality European goods flooding our markets, we had an industrial revolution when the French were still living in mud huts and wondering what running water was, we will flourish, North Korea has the right idea, fuck the rest of the world and go it alone. Everyone will follow Corbyn's example and farm an allotment and one day British children will be shocked when they learn in schools that we ever imported Dutch peppers.

[Atlantis]

Yea i think that too, but i meant with the UK-EU negotiations. Are the EU just going to refuse any deal if the UK governement don't honour the GFA?

The EU will insist that there won't be a hard border between the North and the South. How that is going to be achieved is up to the Brexshitters. They could stay in the Customs Union, they could introduce a customs border between the NI and the UK, they could go whistling ...

"quote]UK will go to WTO rules."

The UK Government appears to think not given that it has not invested in the necessary infrastructure to manage

They are as bad at bluffing as Syriza when it talked about leaving the euro.

As Tsipras found out, the EU isn't bluffing.

It is hard to blame Cameron for Brexit. He fought for European Membership till the last breath. ...

Nobody really fought for European membership. That's why Remain lost. Cameron fought to win the election, even if it meant sacrificing the nation.

Blair, Cameron, May are all the same breed of traitors. If the Brits had any sense they would be lined up in front of a firing squat.

[Potemkin]

Blair, Cameron, May are all the same breed of traitors. If the Brits had any sense they would be lined up in front of a firing squat.

You know, I'm starting to warm to you, Atlantis. For a continental type, you actually have some sound ideas, old chap.

[Decky]

Almost all of the politicians supported remain. You people live on another planet.