Cyprus-Forum.com

[Robin Hood]

I seem to recall that the expression ‘NO DEAL’ was dreamed up by Teresa May to spread fear, mainly by the connotations of that expression, to force HER deal on the people through our Parliament. The so called ‘NO DEAL’ has always been to leave on WTO terms as far as trade was concerned and the EU rules and regulations would then be dismantled over time. That would be the most logical even if an uninformed opinion!

Is it really a case of at 23:59 on the 31st Oct we are playing on EU rules and at 00:01 on the 1st Nov .......... EVERY THING CHANGES?

Erolz66:

......the constituency of Esher and Walton, that Raab represents, 58.4% of them voted to remain in the 2016 referendum,

So we have an MP here, now minister, who is a blatantly lying to try and get what he wants and that he knows is not what the majority of those who voted him in to power want.

It matters not a jot what his constituents voted ...... the overall UK vote was to leave. ALL MP’s should now be working towards that end to ensure as little disruption in dealings with the EU as possible from 1st Nov. until after a period to transition from being an EU Member to being outside the EU........... like some other 180+ countries are.

IMO: Much of what is going to happen will be down to the vindictiveness of the EU Bureaucrat’s , especially the 5 EU Presidents, for the UK having the audacity to want to leave their ‘Club’!

If the EU or the member states want to be awkward .......... then two can play at that game!

[Londonrake]

DT article today (paywalled):

"British taxpayers are forking out millions of pounds so that MEPs can drink from sparkling water fountains, be driven around by chauffeur and sit in £220 memory foam chairs, the Telegraph can reveal.

Quaestor's Quarterly, a newsletter written by the European parliament's administrative officers, offers an intriguing glimpse into the gilded lifestyle of MEPs, who also benefit from a notoriously secretive expenses package and an airport fast lane.

One issue of Quaestor's Quarterly seen by the Telegraph tells MEPs that a special VIP line has been set up at the airport in Strasbourg, the home of the second European parliament after Brussels, so they don't have to queue up with the masses.

The service, named "Passengers with assistance," allows MEPs to be "accompanied by specially assigned airport staff to this fast lane, where Members will be given priority."

Another entry, from the Spring 2017 newsletter, announces the creation of an internal drivers' service, illustrated with a cartoon of a grinning chauffeur.

"As Parliament officials, a high quality, polite and professional service is henceforth central in the job description," it reads. "In addition to their basic salary, they will receive an additional allowance in compensation for irregular hours and thus Members should no longer tip the drivers."

It adds that 110 drivers were being recruited by the European parliament to ferry around MEPs, with the scheme costing 10.7m euro (£9.7m) per year.

The Winter 2018 newsletter told MEPs they would soon enjoy the comfort of memory foam-cushioned chairs in meeting rooms and the European parliament's plenary, with "trials due to start in 2019."

The new design, which costs 250 euro (£220) per chair, was commissioned after European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker complained that the old chairs were too uncomfortable.

Embarrassingly, one newsletter alludes to "inappropriate mail" being circulated in MEPs' pigeonholes, which turned out to be editions of the escort service magazine "Brussels Midnight" according to minutes from one Quaestor's meeting.

Another set of minutes revealed that MEPs would soon be able to drink from sparkling water fountains, as well as still water, in part of its drive to reduce plastic bottle consumption.

The name Quaestor originates from Ancient Rome and describes low-level officials who carried out audits and supervised the treasury.

The Brexit Party has responded with fury to the disclosure. "These details reinforce everything that I've smelled since I became an MEP. In summary; far too many snouts in a gold-plated trough," said Richard Tice, the party's chairman.

However Catherine Bearder, a British Liberal Democrat MEP, has defended the benefits, stressing that they were cost-effective and helped MEPs cope with stressful and sometimes exhausting jobs.

"We have to keep up [improvements] otherwise the European parliament would end up like the House of Commons, where everything is falling apart," she said.

She added that the European parliament's chairs were as hard as "park benches," and that MEPs would have to sit on them for many hours.

The newsletters were brought to light by Dr Lee Rotherham, the head of the eurosceptic think tank The Red Cell, following a Freedom of Information request. "

Renumeration package:

Post tax MEP pay - €6611 per month.

Expenses:

Office costs - €4513 per month

Staff costs - max €24943 - per month

Daily attendance allowance - €320

Travel allowance - mainly the regular trudge between Strasbourg/Brussels plus "incidentals". "These additional payments can still be surprisingly high" Jean Lambert MEP. Extra payments for attending EU business outside of the above.

Personal travel allowance - €4454 per year.

Recent claim to fame. Voted to accept the Franco/German shoe-in next President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. She was the only name on the ballot. EU democracy in action. Worth every cent.

[Kikapu]

Whomever wants to be the next PM after BJ, will need to promise to hold another referendum to re-enter the EU or not after the UK officially leaves the EU. A deal can be made with the EU to retain everything as is now for the UK if the new PM makes the new re-enter referendum first order of the day. This will put an end to the everlasting go around of Brexit while retaining the integrity of the British Democracy intact.

[Londonrake]

Whomever wants to be the next PM after BJ, will need to promise to hold another referendum to re-enter the EU or not after the UK officially leaves the EU. A deal can be made with the EU to retain everything as is now for the UK if the new PM makes the new re-enter referendum first order of the day. This will put an end to the everlasting go around of Brexit while retaining the integrity of the British Democracy intact.

Good luck with that one.

[Kikapu]

Whomever wants to be the next PM after BJ, will need to promise to hold another referendum to re-enter the EU or not after the UK officially leaves the EU. A deal can be made with the EU to retain everything as is now for the UK if the new PM makes the new re-enter referendum first order of the day. This will put an end to the everlasting go around of Brexit while retaining the integrity of the British Democracy intact.

Good luck with that one.

What would be the objections in having another referendum soon after leaving the EU?

[Londonrake]

Whomever wants to be the next PM after BJ, will need to promise to hold another referendum to re-enter the EU or not after the UK officially leaves the EU. A deal can be made with the EU to retain everything as is now for the UK if the new PM makes the new re-enter referendum first order of the day. This will put an end to the everlasting go around of Brexit while retaining the integrity of the British Democracy intact.

Good luck with that one.

What would be the objections in having another referendum soon after leaving the EU?

None at all. That is and always has been the correct way of going about things. Implement the result of the first referendum then campaign for re-joining the EU, for those who would be that way inclined.

I just think that after 3 years (so far) of civil war you'd have trouble getting many takers. Purely my opinion of course.

I also think you might be surprised just how many people voted to stay in the EU simply because they didn't want the hassle of leaving. Status quo.

Another factor is that once we'd left, the Brexit Party wouldn't have a reason to exist of course. Their voters will tend to go home.

[erolz66]

DT article today (paywalled):

"[i]British taxpayers are forking out millions of pounds so that MEPs can ....

For me whenever I see articles such as these and consider them in the context of the brexit debate , of if we should be ruled just by national government or by national government in part and a central EU one in others, the question I ask in my head , the one that I have to ask, is to what degree do these happen in central EU government compared to UK national government. Any time I see them presented within the context of 'should we stay in the EU or leave' where they are presented with intent outside of any such comparison I see such as not an attempt to use 'reason' as the basis to make such a decision but 'emotion'. That they are just a form of propaganda from one side of the debate and designed to be such with an intent for them to be such (but not to appear so at first glance). Designed to encourage us to make our decision based on emotion and not reason.

So I ask my self things like 'Do British tax payers for out millions so that government officials can drive around in chauffeur driven cars' and if they do then the question becomes , do they pay more for these kinds of things as a cost of National government than they do for federal EU government. For me that is the only fair way to asses if such things are an argument for if we should stay or leave. Also understanding that these costs when compared represent the cost for governing 60 million or the cost for governing 500 million, if I want to make fair compassion.

Do MP's live a 'gilded lifestyle' ? Do MP's have a 'notoriously secretive expenses system' ? Have Mp's been found with embarrassing content on their HoC computers ? DO MP's have access to 'private Bars' where the cost of beer is subsidised by tax payers who have no right use such Bars. And on and on.

[Paphitis]

Whomever wants to be the next PM after BJ, will need to promise to hold another referendum to re-enter the EU or not after the UK officially leaves the EU. A deal can be made with the EU to retain everything as is now for the UK if the new PM makes the new re-enter referendum first order of the day. This will put an end to the everlasting go around of Brexit while retaining the integrity of the British Democracy intact.

Good luck with that one.

What would be the objections in having another referendum soon after leaving the EU?

If you lose that referendum too and chances are the insufferable remainers will lose it, then that's it for the EU!

You would be better off having a referendum in 10 or 20 years time.

The objection would be that people would become very cynical. it's like having another election because you don't like the result of the first one.

When we had the Republic referendum we accepted the result. the next time we get a crack at it will be in a generation or 2. But the way things are going, maybe in 50 years when William dies.

[Lordo]

well there you have it. philliplLee, the mp for bracknell has decided to consider his position during the summer recess and come september he may jin the liberal party. so there goes bojo's majority and the election will be called the next day i suspect.

[erolz66]

It matters not a jot what his constituents voted ...... the overall UK vote was to leave. ALL MP’s should now be working towards that end to ensure as little disruption in dealings with the EU as possible from 1st Nov. until after a period to transition from being an EU Member to being outside the EU........... like some other 180+ countries are.

Is that not just an argument that when a majority decision is made all those in a minority (or who's job it is is to represent the views of those who voted them in to power) should shut up and not have any representation on that issue going forward ? Have you never seen anyone argue that because a a given MP's constituency voted in majority to leave that MP should also do so, whatever their personal views ?

IMO: Much of what is going to happen will be down to the vindictiveness of the EU Bureaucrat’s , especially the 5 EU Presidents, for the UK having the audacity to want to leave their ‘Club’!

Do you think any of what is going to happen could be linked to the pursuit of objectives that are in fact just unrealistic ?

If the EU or the member states want to be awkward .......... then two can play at that game!

As I keep trying to point out, our ability to play that game and be effective in doing so was massively reduced by our own choice to trigger article 50 in such a 'rush'. Yes that is crying over spilt milk but why can I not seem to find anyone who supports leave, who is willing to concede this ?