Brexit hokey pokey

As predicted the whole Brexit project is becoming a farce and our nation is becoming an international laughing stock.

Leave voters have been completely deceived and continue to be deceived. Brexit politicians continue to short the public by making more and more ridiculous assertions.

Everything is not going to be wonderful on the night. If we leave the EU without a deal then there will be severe commercial consequences.

Customs controls between the UK and the EU will have to be implemented and there is the potential for chaos at the borders.  There will be long queues. Holland and France have recruited hundreds more customs officers. What do Brexit politicians think they will be doing? Playing snap: no they will be inspecting lorries for contraband, compliance with EU customs rules and security.

The last time I passed through the border posts at the Eurotunnel it was easy to see a queue of cars building up to a kilometre long, even though it was a quiet day and most car checks were only taking two minutes. What will happen when thousands of lorries are subjected to customs checks which also include scanning for "illegal" migrants etc.

Hauliers will be reluctant to send lorries across the channel if they are stuck in queues wasting time and money whilst going and coming back.

The whole idea of a customs union and single market was to save lots of time and money; if you pull out of membership of both these institutions, then you lose the commercial benefits of being part of the biggest and most comprehensive free trade area ever invented. It's bonkers, we will be worse off for ever.

The Brexiters have not got anywhere near replacing the the free trade deals that we have with other nations as a result of being in the customs union. They have proposed joining the pacific free trade area which consists of Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. Hey presto, the EU customs union has already got agreements with Japan, Canada and Mexico and also South Korea thrown in. We shall lose all of the agreements if we leave without a deal and replacing them will take years. This is shooting yourself in the foot.

The Trade Secretary was boasting at Davos that the UK had signed a free trade deal with Israel  - in principle. And guess what, we already have a free trade trade by courtesy of the EU, so it's back to square one.  Why not put this on the side of a red bus.

The biggest and most colossal mistake of the negotiations to make our country worse off and weaker socially and diplomatically is the problem of the Northern Irish border with the EU. The Brexiters are treating the Northern Irish and the Irish with contempt. It is obvious to most rational people  that the Belfast Agreement has preserved the peace in both the UK and Ireland for many years. The Belfast Agreement is underpinned by membership of the EU with open borders and tariff and quota free trade, along with standardised phyto-sanitary standards for agriculture. If you put any of this in jeopardy then you could easily compromise the peace. You also jeopardise the living standards of both communities on either side of the border. Ireland as a whole deserves better than to be cheated on once again by the British.

The Brexiters were prepared to sell Northern Ireland down the river, in the initial negotiations, by conceding to the EU that there should be a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. When Northern Ireland politicians complained, the Brexiteers insisted that the only solution was for the UK, as a whole, to stay in the customs union as a temporary measure. This temporary measure -the backstop- would remain in place until both the EU and the UK agreed it would stop. The withdrawal agreement was signed only for the UK parliament not to ratify it. The UK government now wants to change the withdrawal agreement by annulling the back stop - a backstop which they insisted upon. It is no wonder that the EU says no - they simply do not trust the UK.

To add to the confusion it is clear that the UK will not be ready either commercially, legally or administratively to leave the EU without a deal on the 29th of March: the UK will probably ask for an extension of EU membership. The EU will extract more concessions from the UK to allow this. Spain could ask for Gibraltar back - Gibraltar voted 99% to stay in the EU and the UK.

The English nationalist Brexiters have also sold Scotland down the river. To encourage Scotland to vote, in their independence referendum, to stay in the UK they promised continued EU membership. Naturally, the Scots feel let down by Brexit and they will undoubtedly press for a further independence referendum.

One of the worst aspects of Brexit is the sell out of most of our youth who will be denied free movement even if we get a deal. The EU was one of the last regions of the world where young Britons were free to roam, work and love. Luckily, for them, the youth of Northern Ireland will be able to get Irish citizenship which will allow them to move freely in both the EU and the UK.This will give them an advantage over their now second class brothers from Manchester, Liverpool and London who might not have Irish connections. The DUP should beware, if you drive the youth of Northern Ireland to obtain Irish passports they will no doubt feel more Irish and will feel more inclined to vote for Irish unity.

Brexiters have sold Scotland, Ireland and Gibraltar down the river. They have also sold the UK down the river but worse of all they have sold their leave voters down the river. It is no wonder the UK is a divided, confused and unhappy state None of the Brexit promises will ever be kept. If we leave without a deal on the 29th of March 2019 it will be no use crying, demonstrating or complaining. It will be too late and it will take years to get back to the status quo, indeed if ever. The UK will be lost.

Political Abuse

It is unacceptable for anyone to be subjected to violence or abusive insults for expressing their political beliefs. Freedom of expression is enshrined in the constitution of some countries such as the US and France and it is enshrined in law in the UK.It must be defended at all costs.

It does not matter whether it is Nigel Farage sitting down for a pub lunch in Downe Kent, with his family. Whether it is Jacob Rees-Mogg being mobbed outside of his home or Anna Soubry outside of Parliament.

All MP's should be allowed to carry out their business without death threats. Political based murder is both completely cruel and unjustified. UK MP's are not evil people and they deserve respect.

It is not just MP's who are affected by thuggish behaviour: it is families, journalists and workers who are associated with them who are also victims.

When I was a youngster I was taught not to be abusive or violent towards women. Equality for women does not mean that they should be treated with contempt. The same applies to ethnic minority people or gay people. Men in general should also be treated with equal respect.

Shouting down journalists because they happen to be women is cowardly. Every journalist is entitled to equal respect.

If we are not careful Britain will sink into a morass of abuse and insults and perhaps, even worse, more political violence.

It is time for the abuse and insults to stop we can all do better than this.