Brexit.

[Rossfan]

Has underGONE!!!!

[Rois]

Protestant Farmers to a man voted leave. They hate the "red tape" that the EU enforces in return for subsidies. They think leaving the EU will remove this. Boy are they in for a shock.

BBC NI journalist Conor MacAuley reporting on twitter that the Ulster Farmers Union has cautiously welcomed the deal, saying it would like further clarification but believes the document now on the table "would secure NI's existing agricultural trading relationships". 
Doesn't stack up with the view above.

UFU asked for a remain vote. Don't get the point. Are you suggesting that farmers would follow what the UFU campaigned for? Protestant farmers overwhelmingly voted leave.

You said Protestant Farmers to a man voted leave. Isn't the UFU a largely Protestant organisation (certainly the farmers in my family are not in it due to its historical makeup). So I'm thinking at least a few are Protestant, especially at the top. But you know better how everyone voted 

[Minder]

May certainly is determined

[armaghniac]

Protestant Farmers to a man voted leave. They hate the "red tape" that the EU enforces in return for subsidies. They think leaving the EU will remove this. Boy are they in for a shock.

BBC NI journalist Conor MacAuley reporting on twitter that the Ulster Farmers Union has cautiously welcomed the deal, saying it would like further clarification but believes the document now on the table "would secure NI's existing agricultural trading relationships". 
Doesn't stack up with the view above.

UFU asked for a remain vote. Don't get the point. Are you suggesting that farmers would follow what the UFU campaigned for? Protestant farmers overwhelmingly voted leave.

You said Protestant Farmers to a man voted leave. Isn't the UFU a largely Protestant organisation (certainly the farmers in my family are not in it due to its historical makeup). So I'm thinking at least a few are Protestant, especially at the top. But you know better how everyone voted 

You can't how everyone voted. But the voting figures make clear that a lot of people in rural areas, many of them surely the family of farmers, voted Leave in the referendum. This was largely motivated by prejudice rather than a rational analysis of the decision. I think the impression was that UFU did not campaign effectively for Remain.

[BennyCake]

May certainly is determined

Well, she can't back down now, even if the whole place is going to hell in a handcart.

[Farrandeelin]

Primetime any good? I assume Brexit was on the agenda. Ironically enough, I have BBC but not RTÉ. Wee Jeffrey on The View at the moment.

[GJL]

Primetime any good? I assume Brexit was on the agenda. Ironically enough, I have BBC but not RTÉ. Wee Jeffrey on The View at the moment.

Mark destroyed wee Jeff. Interestingly an ex president of the UFU says the DUP are out of line with farmers needs and opinions.

[RedHand88]

Primetime any good? I assume Brexit was on the agenda. Ironically enough, I have BBC but not RTÉ. Wee Jeffrey on The View at the moment.

Mark destroyed wee Jeff. Interestingly an ex president of the UFU says the DUP are out of line with farmers needs and opinions.

Carruthers is a savage. He smells spin a mile off and goes straight for the jugular. Add jeffrey to his list of casulties.

[Applesisapples]

If there is a Westminster GE can SF and SDLP please put aside their differences and not run against each other in South and North Belfast?

I think electoral pacts don't help.
Anyway, SF have their tails up from their last electoral success and they've spent years registering voters so unlikely to agree a pact.

Trailer not being divisive but their vote fell in the general elections and the dup moved to 10 seats,
The shinners need to assist Hermin in north down because she is a clear remainer ( if I recall she was originally a lecturer in European law in Queens in the late 80s)
South Belfast went to little, Robinson did long , north Belfast remained with Dodds,
If the 3 remainer  parties stepped out for 3 neutral candidates it would be seen as doing a great service to their community .

I totally agree. And trust me I am no fan of SF, but I can't see SF stepping aside for and SDLP candidate or Alliance.

SF don't care about seats, they play the long game its about building a base and it works.

[Rois]

My OH was at the NI Food & Drink Assoc dinner tonight and was introduced to wee Jeffrey who was there before The View on BBC. He was introduced by Pat Catney, SDLP MLA, whom Jeffrey admonished in a humorous way for giving him abuse on Twitter - wee Jeff was laughing at it.  Apparently he turned down a glass of wine during the drinks reception because he was on the programme later. Jeff was directly petitioned by a leading business person from the stage (Brian Irwin from Irwin Bakery) to accept the deal. And still went on to tv to patronise the poor stupid misled people he had been sitting with less than an hr earlier.

[Eamonnca1]

My OH was at the NI Food & Drink Assoc dinner tonight and was introduced to wee Jeffrey who was there before The View on BBC. He was introduced by Pat Catney, SDLP MLA, whom Jeffrey admonished in a humorous way for giving him abuse on Twitter - wee Jeff was laughing at it.  Apparently he turned down a glass of wine during the drinks reception because he was on the programme later. Jeff was directly petitioned by a leading business person from the stage (Brian Irwin from Irwin Bakery) to accept the deal. And still went on to tv to patronise the poor stupid misled people he had been sitting with less than an hr earlier.

Used to work for them myself. They seem to be thriving, which is nice to see in a local company. I wonder what Brian's view of Brexit would be. He'd be from the unionist tradition but business people tend to be less doctrinaire and more pragmatic. Irwin's does a lot of cross-border business, I know they used to own McCaldin's bakery in Monaghan and they worked closely with Neville's bakery in Dublin to deliver to Dunnes in the north.

[Eamonnca1]

Draft Brexit deal better than no deal, say NI business leaders
Ulster Farmers' Union cautiously behind agreement

The UK's draft EU withdrawal agreement "may not be perfect" but it is "vastly preferable" to a "no deal" Brexit, according to the chairman of one of the North's largest business organisations.

Brian Irwin, the chair of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA), said the organisation welcomed the UK agreement because it was a "positive development" in the ongoing Brexit negotiations. The group's members directly employ 22,000 people.

"We would be hopeful that this will enable more substantive talks around our future trading relationship with the EU," said Mr Irwin who is also the chairman of Portadown-based Irwin's Bakery which employs 400 people.

Brexit was the main topic of conversation at the NIFDA's annual dinner on Thursday night in Belfast.

Mr Irwin said that no one in the organisation was in any doubt that "a no deal outcome would be disastrous for Northern Ireland, particularly the agri-food sector".

Mr Irwin said: "We simply could not absorb increased customs, tariffs and regulatory costs on trade between Northern Ireland and the EU.

"Whilst this agreement may not be perfect, and further clarification on certain aspects will be required, it is vastly preferable to a no deal scenario and offers us an effective insurance policy in the interim period until a new trading relationship is agreed. A UK-wide solution that avoids a hard border and allows Northern Irish firms frictionless access to markets in Britain, Republic of Ireland, and the European Union offers our members the best chance of surviving in a post-Brexit world."

Farmers
Meanwhile the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) said it also "cautiously" welcomes the UK's draft agreement but it believes overall it is "not ideal". The UFU position will be viewed as significant because the group has traditionally been close to the unionist communities.

The president of the UFU, Ivor Ferguson said, "The situation remains very fluid and we are reviewing the document in detail. Ultimately, we would like a UK-wide solution - full stop. However, this agreement does provide an insurance policy to prevent a no deal outcome, which would be disastrous for farm businesses and the economy in Northern Ireland."

Mr Ferguson said the UFU has always believed that any deal "must allow the agriculture industry free and frictionless trade with the EU".

"Agri-food is the cornerstone of the Northern Ireland economy and any significant barriers to trade between NI and EU member states, NI and the Republic of Ireland, or NI and Great Britain would have a major impact," he added.

Meanwhile the Newsletter editorial is against the deal (and true to Brexiteer form they have no proposal for what to put in its place). Apparently the fact that a junior NIO minister called Shailesh Vara has Indian roots means that being pro-Brexit is now a respectable and non-racism-based position.

[seafoid]

For some reason the DUP want to leave the EU AND they don't want a hard border.
Imagine Mickey Harte pre AIF saying he wanted to win the All Ireland plus 5 marquee forwards.
Everyone would be laughing at him.
How did the DUP get away with its nonsense?

[HiMucker]

For some reason the DUP want to leave the EU AND they don't want a hard border.
Imagine Mickey Harte pre AIF saying he wanted to win the All Ireland plus 5 marquee forwards.
Everyone would be laughing at him.
How did the DUP get away with its nonsense?

Seafoid make no mistake. The DUP absolutely do want a hard border.

[seafoid]

For some reason the DUP want to leave the EU AND they don't want a hard border.
Imagine Mickey Harte pre AIF saying he wanted to win the All Ireland plus 5 marquee forwards.
Everyone would be laughing at him.
How did the DUP get away with its nonsense?

Seafoid make no mistake. The DUP absolutely do want a hard border.

The DUP are insane
Any party that puts wee Sammy ahead as a spokesman has to be