Laurence Dollimore
FORMER UK prime minister David Cameron has urged Theresa May to soften her Brexit approach.
The Conservative heavyweight has advised May to ‘consult more widely’ with other parties, saying there will be ‘pressure for a softer Brexit.’
Former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke backed Cameron’s remarks, saying new trade barriers ‘between us and our most important market in the world’ should be avoided at all costs.
It comes as current Chancellor Philip Hammond is reportedly leading a Cabinet push for May to abandon plans to pull out of the EU’s customs union.
Leaving the customs union would impose tariffs on British exporters, plus the huge red tape of filling in forms and putting goods through customs checks.
Former Tory PM John Major said yesterday that May’s stance was ‘unsustainable’.
“A hard Brexit was not endorsed by the electorate,” he said.
Theresa May has to date ignored the calls, forging ahead, at least publicly, with her hard Brexit strategy.
Meanwhile, an announcement on her much-needed pact with the DUP has been delayed yet again following a devastating fire in an apartment block in West London which has left at least six dead.
Speaking in Paris yesterday, alongside French president Emmanuel Macron, she claimed: “The timetable for the Brexit negotiations remains on course and will begin next week.”
Cameron’s remarks came during a conference in Poland, where he warned the dramatic election results have made May’s approach ‘difficult’.
It’s very simple, a hard Brexit will crash the UK economy meaning no money for public services and God knows how many job losses but the swivel eyed diehards still won’t budge even though they know a hard Brexit is economic suicide.
Brexit is a weapon of mass destruction for the UK and the only winners will be a tiny minority of financiers in the UK and of course the EU27 who will benefit from the mass business relocations and the associated jobs/tax revenue.
A wise person changes their mind so time to have a rethink and perhaps another EU referendum now that people actually know what they are up against? You would think so, but the bloody minded May and her ultras (who actually want a ‘no deal’ scenario) are still pressing on regardless driving the country towards the cliff edge.
I appreciate that you are a die hard remainer but I would be interested where you are getting your facts from that there will be no public services when the UK leaves. I know as many remainers that wished they had voted leave as leavers that wish they had voted remain so I am not sure why you feel that we need to rethink what we did.
Have you ever wondered why the EU want to make it so difficult for the UK to leave, could it be that they are scared because of the power of the UK and the massive loss of money from the UK.
We spend far more money because of the EU than has been touted in the press and the net benefit would be huge. Now what those savings are spent on is anybody’s guess whether it be hospital, roads or other ways that only the government at the time will decide.
Jane, hasn’t the whole ‘swivel-eyed loons’ rhetoric got just a little bit tired now? If you insist on banging the EU drum, please think of a new insult. After reading your little rant I have come to the realisation that you must be an accomplished economist, to know exactly what horrors lie in wait for the UK after Brexit.
For my part, I don’t see the logic of turning our backs on a 168 country, 6.3BN people market in favour of a sclerotic, pre-Islamic EU. I understand you have your life in Spain now, but guess what?! No one in the UK gives a damn about your wishes. You have chosen your own life in Spain and don’t really count anymore..
Hard Brexit is a comin’. Get used to the idea. Your whining isn’t going to change a thing.
Temper, temper, I have obviously rattled your cage but you are right to feel threatened, it’s not looking good for hard Brexit, it seems to have gone decidedly soft of late.
What is your connection with Spain? If you live in the UK then by your own admission, you should not be commenting on an English language newspaper in Spain and equally if you live in Spain (as you told me I do) then Brexit is none of your business either – it cuts both ways Sunshine.
Hard Brexit is economically unviable and of course you are fully aware of that, why else would you waste your time responding to my post. More and more business leaders are pushing for a soft Brexit and that is the direction of travel.
If you voted to Leave the EU then you are responsible for subjecting people to years of uncertainty and you own the current mess. The onus is on you to come up with the goods – good luck with that. I voted to Remain in the EU so I don’t have to prove anything.
I can’t imagine anyone gives a damn about your views either but it is useful for our friends from other EU member states to read comments from people like you who they find somewhat baffling. You are a great advert for remaining in the EU so thanks for that.
Might I suggest you stick to a newspaper more in line with your views – judging by your post, I would put you somewhere between the Daily Mail and the Daily Express.
Enjoy Brexitland, I’m sure it will be great fun.
Well said, he sounds like one of those old ???? angry old white van men ????????????????????????
George lovely to see you trolling again, with your inane bigoted comments which are typical of the rubbish being spouted by narrow minded people. We might have moved to another EU country after giving all our working lives to it, but it doesn’t mean we don’t care about our birth country or its citizens, many of us still have family living in the UK and it saddens us that their futures are being ruined.
George, may I correct you on a couple of points. Firstly, Jane G happens to live in Britain. Secondly she has a flat on the Costa Del Sol, Fuengirola I believe, and tends to retire to Spain possible at retirement age, so naturally she is concerned of what a hard Brexit may mean to her.
As for Sue Wilson, well, she is more or less in the same boat as Jane G, both die hard remainders except Sue actually had the courage to move to Spain. I don’t suppose they realize that the position of all EU and UK citizens rights are being discussed at the moment and if the outcome leads to a hard Brexit an agreement would be a separate issue regarding the rights of all citizens. People make a choices in life the same as the people in the UK made a choice through a Referendum. What I would like to hear from them is what would happen when the EU collapses, even Frau Merkel has admitted that there is a possibility of five other countries wishing to leave the dreaded EU, France being one of them, had they even thought of that. Let’s face it gal’s, Europe is not a La-La Land for everyone and all these other millions of people in Europe wishing to have a referendum can’t all be wrong.
George, may I correct you on a couple of points. Firstly, Jane G happens to live in Britain. Secondly she has a flat on the Costa Del Sol, Fuengirola, and tends to retire to Spain possible at retirement age, so naturally she is concerned of what a hard Brexit may mean to her.
As for Sue Wilson, well, she is more or less in the same boat as Jane G, both die hard remainders except Sue actually had the courage to move to Spain. I don’t suppose they realize that the position of all EU and UK citizens rights are being discussed at the moment and if the outcome leads to a hard Brexit an agreement would be a separate issue regarding the rights of all citizens. People make a choices in life the same as the people in the UK made a choice through a Referendum. What I would like to hear from them is what would happen when the EU collapses, even Frau Merkel has admitted that there is a possibility of five other countries wishing to leave the dreaded EU, France being one of them, had they even thought of that. Let’s face it gal’s, Europe is not a La-La Land for everyone and all these other millions of people in Europe wishing to have a referendum can’t all be wrong.
I bet you are one of those old angry white men who have had their lives and don’t give a rat’s arse about young people. Selfish old git that’s what you are
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George – how can you dismiss another Brit by saying they don’t count anymore just because they moved to Spain? Would you say the same about someone who moved to Scotland or Wales, or to a different part of the UK, for that matter? Just because you can’t appreciate the benefits that we can enjoy as members of the EU, why shouldn’t others?
I also live in Spain, but that doesn’t make me any less British, or make me care any less about what happens to the UK. I paid into the British system for 40 years, so I think I’ve paid for my healthcare & pension, & I’m one of the lucky ones that can still vote. I suspect I have far more involvement with my own MP, & with government in the UK in general than you do, & I’m not about to butt out now.
Thank you for resisting saying get over it, but I’m sorry to have to tell you, that it’ll be you & the other Express/Sun/Daily Mail readers that will have to learn to get over it, as Brexit is not going to happen. I don’t just mean hard Brexit, I mean any Brexit. It’s too damaging, expensive, difficult, & bonkers to go ahead, & the public are getting cold feet in droves. May has no power, the “will of the people” will mean something very different 6 months from now, & parliament will be able to do what they have wanted all along, & stop this nonsense.
Hello Sue, your comments seem to make you sound very conflicted. You go on about being British and that you care for the UK and then in the next breath make out hat the UK can not manage without the EU telling it what to do. Now that stance is fine if it were a trading agreement but it is now a political agreement and you can not agree with both sides.
You either support the capabilities of the UK to run it’s own country or you support that the EU runs the UK.
Mind you I suppose the third option is that you support the one that lets you get healthcare and a pension and you do not really care which one it is as long as you are OK.
Healthcare and a pension are vital if you want to be able to retire. Like many others I have paid UK tax all my working life and don’t see why my retirement in Spain should be put in jeopardy. We have as much right to demand we are protected as any other Brit, no matter where we choose to live.
Brexit has already reduced everyone’s standard of living due to the pound crashing, things will only get worse if May pursues her right-wing hard Brexit suicide leap.
I think you will find that retired pensioners do receive their money in Spain, or paid into their bank account in the UK, what makes you think it will stop!. T.May has said it will continue.
Oh boy! T. May has spoken, so that’s alright then. We can of course rely on every word this bumbling woman has to say. How on earth can anyone think this person will be around long enough to accomplish anything? Dead woman walking, to be replaced by what? Another useless Tory toe-rag, because that’s all they have.
Move over you useless mob and let a true caring person such as Jeremy Corbyn have a go.
Well Stef let’s hope T. May is right for your sake or the life you have been occasioned to will possibly come to an abrupt end. As for Corbyn it would appear you would prefer the UK to go down the drain under his leadership so that you can continue the life of Riley. Had you even thought, or considered, taking up Spanish Nationality or are you too much of a coward to give up your British Nationality. I voted to leave but if the remainders had won I would have accepted the democratic decision, so get over it, Brexit will happen and Peoples of you ilk Britain could do without.
In what way do you feel that the EU runs the UK. What a load of baloney. Before that ridiculous referendum I didn’t know anybody who thought they were subjugated by the EU. The UK was a big cheese in the EU and we had democratically voted MEPs in Brussels who if they bothered to turn up (Fartage being one who hardly ever turned up but still took the money) should have been looking after our interests. Having lived in the UK prior to being in the UK, I can only see that being a member has brought nothing but good things. The UK was the sick man of Europe with filthy beaches, run down town centres, strikes, raging inflation and a generally miserable place to live. I fear the UK is returning to that narrow inward looking island and the young will not thank you and they are the ones who will be running the country very soon!!!
Hello John Lightfoot you have misconstrued what Sue Wilson has said. She is a proud European as am I. Being part of the EU has enriched my life by giving me freedom of movement which allowed me to live and work in other countries and learn about their cultures and the way they live their lives. I find Europeans to be very family-orientated and the majority do not have to rely on state benefits to look after elderly relatives because they do it themselves as a matter of course and as previous generations have done. It is not conflicted to be a proud European and to care about the UK too because the UK is still very much a part of the EU. The EU does not tell the UK what to do because as long as it is a member of the EU it takes part in all decision-making processes and protection of workers and their rights is all due to EU legislation, being just one of the benefits. Sue is far more informed regarding politics and the UK being a member of the EU than you will ever be. She is extremely concerned about the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU if brexit were to happen as am I. However, we both take action to support our beliefs and work extremely hard in doing so which I doubt you do to support the Leave campaign. There are many pro-remain groups who will ensure, by their actions, that brexit never happens, it is just a nightmare we will all wake up from.
What would be interesting to know is when the EU finally collapses what happens then. Will there be a rush for the Financial sector to scurry back to the UK. What happens to the massive debt the EU have, so far 200 billion. Will claims be made to individual EU countries by the ECB or the IMF or will once again the taxpayers foot the bill. What happens to all the properties the EU have. The list is endless. One can see the panic by the EU due Britain leaving the bloc. Do you think the UK had foreseen the problem by getting out quickly. Needs thinking of especially as Frau Merkel has now admitted that at least 5 countries could follow Brexit, France being one of them. What will happen to all EU and British citizens scattered around this continent. Is this the end of the EU.
The Domino effect is just starting with Britain which some European countries call “little Englander” leading the way. The problem is that the EU has been led by unelected big wigs that were PM of small countries and have tried to copy countries in 45 years which had taken the said countries hundreds of years to achieve. Finally I would like to know, what has happened to the concept of the common market which the UK are once again trying to achieve. The listings are too long in detail.
END-OF-THE-EU-Germany-France-Austria-Hungary-Finland-Netherlands-Europe-Brexit
Carlos – did you just cut & paste all that from the Daily Express? It is a nonsense to say that the EU will crumble – it had become stronger than ever since Brexit, & Merkel said no such thing about France, or any other country wanting to leave. Germany is very pro EU, & France too, which is why they elected a new very pro-EU head of state, Macron. The EU economy is growing & the UK economy is not, & if you think that the new global little England will have any chance of replacing the lost EU business with the likes of Australia, India, Saudi Arabia, then you really have no idea what you are talking about, or what the cost would be to human rights, workers rights, the environment etc. Not only that, any deal with other countries, will require us to take more immigrants, which I’m sure is not what you had in mind. Get your facts straight, & stop this get over it nonsense – Brexit will not happen & I will happily tell you to get over when the time comes.
Sue, I get my information from reading info from many news outlets as you most probably do and the DE is no different. Look things up before you make replies. Can you therefore explain why all these threats are being made towards the UK. If the EU is as great as they make YOU and your likes to believe it would be just a case of accepting the resignation of Britain like any person wishing to leave a club without all the continued threats. The problem is Sue you wish to remain in the EU but the majority of the British people had voted to leave. It’s called democracy. My info was as follows which has not been disputed by Merkel. Have you read the latest from Mr. Juncker. I believe it’s finally dawned on him also due to his response. If there was no problem within the EU why would Mr. Juncker make a statement. Lets wait and see the reaction of the EU when Mr. Trump attends the G20. France will leave once Le Penn is in office and other countries currently wish to have a referendum call. What do you think that means. Surely the many millions of European that wish to have a referendum can’t all be wrong. I suggest you keep up with other news also instead of believing what the EU pours out. Did you know that the EU is 200 billion in debit, if not you are reading the wrong news outlets. Remember also the EU trades more with the UK then visa-versa which would be a great lose to them. Brexit will occur, get over it. BTW have you kept up with the latest news. Trump is not afraid of the EU and has just given a warning. “DONALD Trump is threatening to slap tariffs on dozens of European products as German Chancellor Angela Merkel sends her top economic advisor to Washington to avert the crisis”. Britain starts trade talks with the USA next month. If there is a deal your life in Spain will continue, if not keep dreaming.
Sue, does the CETA agreement include the free movements of people. Looking forward to your reply.