Opinion

Odds of UK getting what it wants from Brexit are next to nothing

There will almost certainly be a hard border with a no-deal outcome and with Boris Johnson around, the odds of that are excellent. If Mr Johnson does not get the deal he wants, he is going to crash out without a deal. The new prime minister knows if he looks for a further extension he will have to leave office – of that there can be little doubt. There would be sheer hypocrisy to push Theresa May out and then end up in the same situation as her in October.


However, this could well happen. “Let’s get it done” was the repeated chant of Theresa May after the referendum result, but she did not get it done, despite an extension. The odds of the UK coming out of the Brexit process and getting exactly what it wants are next to nothing and probably non-existent. The withdrawal agreement which incorporates the backstop is, according to the EU, the only game in town and will not be renegotiated. Then there is the further problem of parliamentary approval for any agreement, which may not happen either. What makes Mr Johnson think he will be more successful than his predecessor? It is all very simple to him at the moment. Just get out and deal with the details later. This attitude could plunge the UK into total chaos with a class-clown of a prime minister. He is blinded by his pro-Brexit rhetoric, and this myopia could land the UK in serious trouble. The UK is not in the driving seat at the moment and has an inflated opinion of itself and its ability. The EU is now a powerful federal machine for almost 30 states. The UK is just one concern, with many member states complaining that EU issues other than Brexit are not getting enough attention. The new prime minister also has the job of keeping the UK together in a torturous process with Scotland just hanging on and Northern Ireland floating into the abyss with no executive to act as a rudder in treacherous waters. The new prime minister’s relationship with the DUP will be crucial in his relationship with Northern Ireland, as the border issue gives him cold shower after cold shower in wanting to get out. He is sure to have his smiles, quipsand jokes turn to tears after he learns how difficult the border could be, with time fast running out.


The pro-Brexiteers have played king of the castle and knocked off those they see as failing to deliver, but will they turn out to be hypocrites and fail to deliver themselves? Can flamboyant Boris really walk the talk or be a very short-lived prime minister if he fails to deliver by October? The new prime minister will be the only one crashing out by October if he fails to deliver, and that’s for sure.

MAURICE FITZGERALD


Shanbally, Co Cork

We can all do without Mary Lou grinding out antiquated rhetoric

We Northern Irelanders are made of sterner stuff than to be berated by Mary Lou McDonald. Agitation is the sum total of Sinn Féin’s contribution toward community friendship falling below sub-zero and minus freezing.


We can all do without Mary Lou grinding out her antiquated rhetoric deliberately designed to launch Sinn Féin into the political showcase. Her calls for a border poll, aligned in a twin act with the taoiseach, insisting on a border backstop are insulting to unionists. Not to forget how hilarious it is to see the gurus of independence falling over themselves to surrender their autonomous freedom to be ruled from Brussels in an European empire.

The 80-odd thousand unionists who voted remain in the UK referendum recoil from the anti-British brigade hijacking their vote and using it as a stick to beat fellow Brexit unionists with. Mary Lou should be careful what she agitates for by way of polls. Run the referendum again and unionists will ensure that the ‘Leave’ vote will wipe the smile from her face. Few, if any, will allow republicans any quarter in thinking that they want any part of the Sinn Féin agenda on Brexit, the Union or the pernicious backstop.

We deserve better than to be dragged into the clutches of Mary Lou. No longer are the northern Irish prepared to tolerate being set apart along Catholic and Protestant lines. Of course there is still some way to go before a divided people finally commit to endorsing Northern Ireland PLC. But what infuriates Mary Lou is that progress in that direction does not suit her agenda of stoking the fire. From my unionist perspective the more Mary Lou voices her opinions the greater is the stiffening of the unionist family resolve to reject wholesale Sinn Féin’s anti-British, anti-unionist and anti-everything except what Mary Lou wants.


Keep going Mary Lou, you are doing unionism a favour. We don’t need to say anything, only let others listen to you.

DAVID McNARRY


Strangford, Co Down

Bring back our staples

We live in a time of upheaval, change and uncertainty. These days you just can’t predict what new ‘that’ll never happen’ event will, in fact, rock our world by becoming fact.

In June 2016, I joked with one of my daughters: “Cheer up. By the end of the year we could have Brexit and Trump.”

It took us until quite recently to get our heads round these catastrophic turns of event, when boom, bang, here’s Boris.

In the face of all these crises and anxieties, I find myself relying more and more on life’s certainties. Those unchanging, reliable wee comforts of daily living that go towards making life worth while.

My daily Irish News is one such reliable comfort, and now I get to the nub of my concern.

Has austerity hit the publishing business so hard  that you’ve had to cut back on the basics, or is there such anxiety about the future that items such as staples are in short supply? I thought I’d had my day of wrestling with escapee pages of newsprint, but apparently not.

Please tell us that the ‘staple-the-pages-together’ machine is undergoing some kind of refit and that we are not to be forever stapleless.

BRENDA COYLE


Derry City

Victims’ pension needed now

With calls for victims commissioner Judith Thompson to resign it must be noted that a victims’ pension is needed now. Alan McBride has called the debate toxic, a point that I would disagree with. The debate is about the opinions of victims and the general public on the repulsive idea that terrorists should benefit from their murderous acts.

This debate should not stop, as Alan says. Certainly all innocent victims have their own individual opinions and they need to be heard and acted on. Making the debate disappear won’t make it go away. Very little has been heard from our political parties on this controversial issue. For me personally, anyone who suggests or is willing to accept a terrorist receiving a financial benefit due to him or her carrying out acts of terrorism/violence cannot hold any position, especially a paid position that deals with victims and survivors.

RAYMOND McCORD


North Belfast

Cancer Focus NI says thanks

Cancer Focus Northern Ireland would like to thank the people of Belfast for their support during the recent collection in their area. The collection took place on Saturday June 29 raising a total of £546.31 for the charity.

LOUISE GREER


Cancer Focus NI