Brexit.

[Milltown Row2]

Apparently not according to seafoid, with the demise of the uk trade that will surely mean a rise in the trade and export of Ireland? [/qupte]

A lot of Ireland's trade goes to the UK!!

Who's sneering? Seafoid quoted the affluent Newtownards earlier... he obviously has never set foot in it or know anything about it... but hey he's the man who knows everything

Don't worry, I will not be saying anything good about Newtownards.

I think that trade will still continue via the border!!  I think Seafoid can answer for himself, goes missing at times but I'm glad you're hear to speak on his behalf

[omagh_gael]

Tories have just defeated an amendment that means the principles of the Good Friday agreement are protected from Brexit. This could have serious repercussions in the North.

[screenexile]

Apparently not according to seafoid, with the demise of the uk trade that will surely mean a rise in the trade and export of Ireland? [/qupte]

A lot of Ireland's trade goes to the UK!!

Who's sneering? Seafoid quoted the affluent Newtownards earlier... he obviously has never set foot in it or know anything about it... but hey he's the man who knows everything

Don't worry, I will not be saying anything good about Newtownards.

I think that trade will still continue via the border!!  I think Seafoid can answer for himself, goes missing at times but I'm glad you're hear to speak on his behalf

Border me hole!! Irish Exporters to the UK have had their bottom line drop by 17% since the referendum!!  As someone who works for an Irish exporter whose main market is the U.K. it's extremely difficult!

[Milltown Row2]

Apparently not according to seafoid, with the demise of the uk trade that will surely mean a rise in the trade and export of Ireland? [/qupte]

A lot of Ireland's trade goes to the UK!!

Who's sneering? Seafoid quoted the affluent Newtownards earlier... he obviously has never set foot in it or know anything about it... but hey he's the man who knows everything

Don't worry, I will not be saying anything good about Newtownards.

I think that trade will still continue via the border!!  I think Seafoid can answer for himself, goes missing at times but I'm glad you're hear to speak on his behalf

Border me hole!! Irish Exporters to the UK have had their bottom line drop by 17% since the referendum!!  As someone who works for an Irish exporter whose main market is the U.K. it's extremely difficult!

Well don't mention that on the United ireland thread

[yellowcard]

Tories have just defeated an amendment that means the principles of the Good Friday agreement are protected from Brexit. This could have serious repercussions in the North.

More evidence that middle England does not give 2 fcuks about stability in the north. This could have dire consequences in relation to free movement of goods/people. Enda Kenny needs to grow a set and forcibly reiterate that this simply cannot be allowed to happen.

[Rossfan]

So if Enda says it cannot be allowed that will be the end of it???
The English ruling class are so blinded by their English xenophobic Nationalism that they don't give a fcuks.
Our best hope is that the Scots will take their courage in their hands and vote for Independenice.
Then there will be no Great Britain or United Kingdom.
A whole new world will unfold......

[seafoid]

Tories have just defeated an amendment that means the principles of the Good Friday agreement are protected from Brexit. This could have serious repercussions in the North.

More evidence that middle England does not give 2 fcuks about stability in the north. This could have dire consequences in relation to free movement of goods/people. Enda Kenny needs to grow a set and forcibly reiterate that this simply cannot be allowed to happen.

Brexit is driven by the richest people in the UK who already own 50% of everything. The only way to grow that is to strip workers of rights and to drive down wages outside the EU so profits can be increased.

They do not give a f**k about anyone in the North

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtgfzzwoyK4

[Rossfan]

Those cnuts are so blinded by their race to break away from Europe that they couldn't care less what mayhem is left on their wake.
Of course the ultra British Unionists hope there will be a Trumpwall built along the border so they can pretend the rest of Ireland doesn't exist.
So we'll have the dissidents blowing up the wall and border posts,  1922-1969 Re established,  40,000 jobs gone in the 6 Cos, 80,000 in the 26 and something like 80,000 in Scotland. But sure what matter once there are no EU regulations in force.

[armaghniac]

This.  One of the amendments tabled to the Brexit Bill last night was to ensure that Brexit negotiations would not break any agreement already existing as a result of the GFA.  It was defeated.  Amongst those voting against it were the usual suspects in the DUP, plus Colum Eastwood's mates in the UUP and...James Brokenshire.  Honest broker my arse!

The UU are a disgrace. I see the idea of the SDLP pact, but I don't see how they can continue with it when the UU have effectively renounced the GFA.

[Avondhu star]

So if Enda says it cannot be allowed that will be the end of it???
The English ruling class are so blinded by their English xenophobic Nationalism that they don't give a fcuks.
Our best hope is that the Scots will take their courage in their hands and vote for Independenice.
Then there will be no Great Britain or United Kingdom.
A whole new world will unfold......

Dont be relying on the Scottish. They no more than many in both the Nationalist and Unionist camps will let their pockets dictate.
If Scotland declared independence in the morning could it rely on our old friends in the Black Watch regiment to stand by an independent Scotland?

[seafoid]

Tories have just defeated an amendment that means the principles of the Good Friday agreement are protected from Brexit. This could have serious repercussions in the North.

More evidence that middle England does not give 2 fcuks about stability in the north. This could have dire consequences in relation to free movement of goods/people. Enda Kenny needs to grow a set and forcibly reiterate that this simply cannot be allowed to happen.

Brexit is driven by the richest people in the UK who already own 50% of everything. The only way to grow that is to strip workers of rights and to drive down wages outside the EU so profits can be increased.

They do not give a f**k about anyone in the North

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtgfzzwoyK4

This.  One of the amendments tabled to the Brexit Bill last night was to ensure that Brexit negotiations would not break any agreement already existing as a result of the GFA.  It was defeated.  Amongst those voting against it were the usual suspects in the DUP, plus Colum Eastwood's mates in the UUP and...James Brokenshire.  Honest broker my arse!

That is appalling. Brexit is like the pied piper of Hamelin

[Harold Disgracey]

This from Stephen Bush in the New Statesman is worth a read.

Good morning. And we're out! The House of Commons voted to trigger Article 50 last night by 494 to 122. 52 Labour MPs joined the SNP, the SDLP, the Liberal Democrats and Caroline Lucas in voting against triggering, including Clive Lewis, who quit the shadow cabinet in order to do so.
The scale of the majority - and the strength of the government's majority in resisting every amendment put to the bill - makes it difficult for the House of Lords to put up much fight. But watch out for what they do on the rights of EU citizens. Harriet Harman's amendment guaranteeing the rights of people already living in the United Kingdom was defeated in the Commons, but is supported by 80% of the British public according to polling by British Future.
When the Lords goes head-to-head with the elected chamber, they tend to pick battles where they know they have the public behind them, and this has all of them.
Back to the elected chamber: the large majority for the government's original bill attests to the benefits of Theresa May's long strategy of wooing the DUP. Getting that party onside has been a major priority for May since she got the keys to Downing Street, hence their invitation to Conservative party conference and May's silence on the ongoing RHI scandal at Stormont. That's the difference between a fragile Tory majority of 16 to a healthy one of 32.
But that deal comes with one hell of a pricetag attached. One of the amendments defeated yesterday was the requirement that the principles lay down in the Good Friday Agreement be respected. The idea that the Westminster government is an honest broker between the two sides at Stormont, already pretty fragile, may have gone down with it.
Much of the focus today is on Labour and their difficulties reconciling their electoral coalition to Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn's cause hasn't been helped by an ill-judged tweet suggesting the "fight starts now", when, by most standards, the fight was either on 23 June 2016 or last night, and was lost, either 52% to 48% or by 494 to 122. Lewis has traded his seat in the shadow cabinet for the affections of the party's activists, and, more importantly, has blunted a Liberal Democrat revival in his own seat of Norwich South. 
There are many difficulties for anyone predicting the end of Jeremy Corbyn; not least that the 52 rebels are effectively a scale model of the PLP in all its ideological hues. That is not the basis for a successful leadership bid by anyone.

The reality is that the settled will of much of the PLP is that they had to vote for Article 50. Had the whip gone the other way, there would have been a considerably larger rebellion. In any case, what really matters - not just for yesterday but for our Brexit course in particular and the Northern Irish situation in general - is the de facto Conservative-DUP coalition in the House.
And that's going to have far bigger consequences than any number of tweets by the Labour leader.

[seafoid]

This should be a focus for the Assembly election. The DUP have chosen short term politicAl calculations over the long term needs of their voters. So have the Tories. .

[yellowcard]

I honestly don't think it will fully dawn on people the implications until they physically see the border posts and customs being erected and by then it will be too late. Tens of thousands of people travelling across an invisible border freely each day all of a sudden interrupted by the decisions taken by pro Brexit little Englanders. Enda Kenny needs to get his finger out and stop acting like the lame duck that he often is when engaging with foreign dignatories. The economic consequences for the country will plummet otherwise, and that's not to mention a renewed threat of terror as the island comes to terms with the fact that barriers are to be re-erected.   

[armaghniac]

I honestly don't think it will fully dawn on people the implications until they physically see the border posts and customs being erected and by then it will be too late. Tens of thousands of people travelling across an invisible border freely each day all of a sudden interrupted by the decisions taken by pro Brexit little Englanders. Enda Kenny needs to get his finger out and stop acting like the lame duck that he often is when engaging with foreign dignatories. The economic consequences for the country will plummet otherwise, and that's not to mention a renewed threat of terror as the island comes to terms with the fact that barriers are to be re-erected.   

In fairness to Enda Kenny I think he is alert to the danger and is certainly talking to people, he being off in Poland today. The question will the people of the 6 counties make any effort to save the GFA, will they get off their arses and vote for a pro GFA party in the election for instance? Will they demonstrate? George Mitchel is in QUB shortly, why is he not addressing 100,000 people?