Monthly Archives: January 2020

Brexit, Green, Labour, Politics

Government denies Parliament scrutiny over the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill

Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas, wrote earlier in January in the Independent. She said: “Boris Johnson’s new Withdrawal Agreement Bill not only drives the hardest Brexit of all, it also excludes MPs from decisions over our future relationship with the EU.  The House of Commons will have no oversight on the Government’s negotiating objectives, no right to be kept updated on progress and no vote on the final deal.

“The right of Parliament to scrutinise Government policies and actions is being undermined on one of the most important issues facing our country.  Democratic oversight matters.  Trade deals have the potential to lower public standards, destroy jobs and restrict the ability to address social and environmental issues.”

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion

“Democracy dies in darkness, and Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill starts to turn off the lights.  He is using Brexit as an executive power-grab, side-lining MPs and evading parliamentary scrutiny.”

Boris Johnson’s government brought the Withdrawal Agreement Bill back to Parliament after the general election and gave the House of Commons only three days to scrutinise the bill in order to fulfil the pledge to “get Brexit done.”

According to the Guardian,  certain key accountability provisions have been removed from the Bill passed since the general election:

  • the clause giving MPs the right to approve an extension to the transition period has been removed.
  • The clause 31 requirement for parliamentary approval for negotiations on the future relationship in the October bill has gone.
  • In the new bill clauses pledging alignment with the EU on workers’ rights has been removed.
  • Legal protections for refugee children reunited with family members in the UK have been watered down. The bill removes, via clause 37, obligations in regard to unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the EU with an obligation to make a statement within two months of passing the act.
  • The government no longer promises that its’ position on negotiating the future relationship will be in line with the political declaration that accompanied the withdrawal agreement when it was first drafted.

Mrs Lucas tabled an amendment to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in Parliament on 8th January which would have given MPs a vote on a future UK-EU deal as well as increasing transparency and scrutiny. It had the support of MPs from the SNP, Plaid, Labour, the SDLP and Alliance parties, although no Conservatives who hold a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons.

The amendment was therefore defeated and the Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed its second reading with a majority of 124 votes to the government. Mrs Lucas’ amendment was voted down by 347 votes to 251, effectively vetoing any vote for MPs on the final Brexit deal.

Hove MP, Peter Kyle, supported the Green Party amendment. He said: “I’m fully supporting this amendment – we cannot allow the Tory government to ride roughshod over Parliament and MPs who were elected to be a voice for our communities.”

From the Commons the bill went to the House of Lords where the Dubs Amendment about child refugees was defeated among other amendments. On 23 January the Withdrawal Agreement Bill received royal assent and became UK law and on 29 January the European Union gave their consent for the UK to leave the EU and ratified the British bill.

The EU Parliament sang Auld Lang Syne on Tuesday as a mark of respect for the significant role that Britain has played in the European Union since it joined the European Economic Community (EEC) which preceded the EU in 1973.

Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove and Portslade

When asked what kind of trade deal Mr Kyle wanted post Brexit and with whom, Mr Kyle said: “We now need to ensure we get the very best for the country. I believe as a trading bloc we had that deal with Europe, but now we must work hard to minimise disruption and increased food prices and loss of business.”

In an effort to maximise Parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit negotiations, Mr Kyle said: “I am hoping to be elected on to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. As an active member on this committee I will have the opportunity to hold the government – and business – to account on the major issues of the environment, the Green Economy and business.”

I asked Mr Kyle if the Labour Party is succeeding in holding the government to account, are they working in coalition with anyone and if Labour does not feel it is succeeding because of the size of Boris’ majority, what can be done?

Mr Kyle said: “The 2019 election was a disaster for Labour and we are now rebuilding. Once the new leader is in place, in April, we will be much clearer as to how we proceed going forward.

“I’m hoping that we can begin to start talking to the public once more and to understand what they want and what their concerns are. We will then also have a new front bench team to challenge Boris Johnson.”

Wish Councillor Robert Nemeth who was the Conservative candidate at the last general election was approached and declined to comment.

Brexit, Politics

A hard Brexit may beckon

Brexit and a no deal

Ollie Sykes, Green Candidate for Hove and Portslade Constituency said: “I think Johnson’s deal is worse than Theresa May’s because it has watered down social and environmental protections. It’s a trap door. We will revert to no deal by 2020 if the free trade withdrawal agreement is not agreed. Bringing the possibility of a hard Brexit closer.

“A border down the Irish Sea shows the duplicity and untrustworthiness of the Johnson administration, it shows how quickly they will ditch their partners, the DUP. It’s a step in the direction of breaking up the union.

“The Conservatives made a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP to form a government and then tried to push a border down the Irish Sea through Parliament.”

The problem is I don’t think there is an alternative to a border in the Irish Sea. Boris should simply give Northern Ireland a choice at the end of the transition period about whether to remain in the United Kingdom or join the Republic of Ireland and Europe. I suspect Northern Ireland will opt to remain in the union and then Ireland will be divided once again. (Roz Scott)

There may need to be a referendum in Northern Ireland, particularly if Stormont is still not sitting. We can only hope Stormont will be governing Northern Ireland again by the end of 2020 which is the default end of the transition period if no further arrangements are made. There may be a deal in sight with Sinn Fein to put Gaelic on a par with English. (Roz Scott)

Job losses and economic impact if we Brexit

Mr Sykes said: ‘The government rejected the impact on GDP of Brexit which is between 6.3% to nine percent. It’s slightly less with Boris Johnson’s deal,’ the Guardian predicts 4% by 2020.

He said there are projections for a no deal and a deal. There is a no deal impact study and that shows a decline in GDP. Mr Sykes said: “There will clearly be an increase in inequality if the Conservatives get in with any sort of majority government.”

Mr Sykes pointed to research carried out by Dr Serwicka and Alan L Winters at the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO.) It has calculated that workers in both East and West Sussex will lose 10,000 jobs meaning total job losses amount to 20,000 with a further 23,000 in Hampshire.

The report said the impact will be felt most strongly in the South East because the region is the most heavily engaged in cross-border trade exporting £45.3bn worth of goods last year (and £39.2bn worth of services in 2016) with nearly a half of these exports destined for the EU.”

Dr Serwicka said cross-border trade and high exposure to trade with the EU, means that a ‘no deal’ Brexit could be particularly disruptive to the South East’s economy.

She actually said: “This research makes very clear that both soft and hard forms of Brexit, but in particular, a ‘no deal’ Brexit, are likely to have a negative impact on the lives of many residents in Hampshire and Sussex.

“Of course, we cannot say for certain that this number of job losses will definitely happen, as employers may choose to reduce number of hours and wages rather than cut workforce numbers.

“But this analysis gives some indication of which places in our region may be most vulnerable to Brexit.

Government misinformation about their statistics

However, Mr Sykes is also concerned about the Conservative misinformation contained in their statistics. Misinformation stretches beyond the Prime Minister and his NHS claims on the Leave campaign bus.

For example, Nicky Morgan when she was cross-examined about 50,000 district nurses in the Conservative manifesto pledge, admitted 18,500 were existing nurses or those returning to nursing. Sajid David claimed rough sleeping had gone down under the Conservatives.

Mr Sykes said: “There’s no accountability. It’s sad and quite frightening that these lies, for example Boris and his Leave campaign bus during the EU referendum. The problems with the NHS, Nicky Morgan didn’t know the district nurse numbers. Sajid David said homelessness and rough sleeping declined under the Conservatives. It’s simply not true.”

Conservatives and the media

Mr Sykes said: “The responsibility partly lies with the media. One of our proposals in our Green manifesto, is that media ownership needs to be restricted.”

This means no media company can own more than 20% of a broadcasting channel. What I’m scared of in respect of the media is that there is no obligation of impartiality.” Mr Sykes gave the example of Fox News based in America.

I asked Mr Sykes what he thought of reporting on the BBC and he said he thinks the BBC feels under pressure. He said: “It has already been threatened by the Government with removal of the TV licence.” Boris refused to give an interview to Andrew Neil.

He criticised the Prime Minister for his lack of accountability, saying Andrew Neil did a three minute piece, outlining the challenges he wanted to put to Boris Johnson. Boris chose to give Andrew Marr the interview instead.

Mr Sykes said: “It’s the overt and covert threats that are the problem. The Conservatives pull in their horns to protect their public integrity.”

Green verdict on Boris Johnson’s government: “dishonesty, entitlement and impunity.”

Ollie Sykes, the Green Party Candidate for Hove and Portslade Constituency said: “When I think of Boris Johnson, three words come into my head: dishonesty, entitlement and impunity. This guy lied to the Queen as was verified by the Supreme Court Judgement and frankly I can’t believe a word that he says. And you know, the platform of Boris Johnson at the moment is: “We are the party that is best placed to sort out the mess that we created.” Frankly if you believe that, you’ll believe anything.” (Who you gonna vote for? Hove and Portslade 2019, The Vote, Latest TV, 29 November 2019)

I interviewed him about his position on Boris Johnson after he gave his verdict about the Prime Minister on Latest TV towards the end of last year.

Mr Sykes said: “I don’t trust Boris to do anything at all.” I asked him what the problem is with Mr Johnson and he said to me: “Impunity, entitlement and dishonesty.” By impunity, Mr Sykes means the Prime Minister’s apparent perception that whatever the Government does, they’ll get away with it including shutting down Parliament.

Finally, he spoke with deep regret about attacks on women MPs and the continuing downward trend of women leaving Parliament because it’s not a safe place to work. He gave examples of attacks on Hastings MP Amber Rudd and Labour’s Stoke Newington MP Dianne Abbott.

I approached Conservative Head Quarters and Councillor Robert Nemeth who is the Hove PPC (Prospective Parliamentary Candidate) for the Conservative Party to give them the right to reply and both declined to comment.