The Brexit cliffhanger in Britain continues

Things are heating up in Britain. Britain was supposed to leave the EU today, but during the recent days it has become more and more likely that there will be a delay – just how long, it is unclear. The chaotic cliffhanger continues. Prime Minister May promised to resign, if her Brexit deal is accepted. Her promise predictably started a fervorous leadership competition within the Conservative Party. (1) The hard-line Brexiteers lead by Nigel Farage will congregate on the Parliament Square around 4 p.m. GMT today. Farage tweeted yesterday:

“Westminster has betrayed the greatest democratic vote in the history of our country, and we won’t let them get away with it.” (2)

The far-right UKIP Party has been advertising their own Make Brexit Happen Rally which is sponsored by notorious far-right figure Tommy Robinson and his TR News service (3). Leader of UKIP Gerard Batten tweeted yesterday:

“There are reports that water cannon may be deployed tomorrow in London, & that some of the police may try to aggregate and provoke Brexiteers. There is always the danger of provocateurs planted to cause trouble. I hope it is not true but I call on everyone present to be peaceful.” (4)

Several far-right extremists and groups are going to try to cause riots and other trouble. For example, members of the UK “yellow vests” threatened on social media:

“If you stop Brexit, we’ll make the Paris riots look like a f***ing tea party.” (5)

Counter-protesters, including anti-fascists and trade unions, are going to oppose the far-right rallies. The police are bracing for possible unrest and clashes between different demonstrators. (5)

References:

1) “At least 10 cabinet ministers considering prime ministerial bids” The Guardian 28.3.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/28/cabinet-ministers-considering-running-prime-minister-theresa-may-conservatives-tories

2) Nigel Farage on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nigel_farage

3) UKIP National News 25.3.2019

https://www.ukip.org/national-ukip-news-item.php?id=196

4) Gerard Batten on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/GerardBattenMEP/status/1111394659551584257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3AUKIP%7Ctwcon%5Etimelinechrome&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukip.org%2Fnational-ukip-news-item.php%3Fid%3D196

5) “Brexit protest: Police brace for disorder after far-right threaten to riot at London rallies” The Independent 29.3.2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-brexit-riot-violence-far-right-tommy-robinson-leave-ukip-eu-met-scotland-yard-a8844181.html

“Time for some structured anarchy” – British hard-line Brexiteers preparing to fight for Brexit

With less than three weeks to the official Brexit day, Prime Minister May is expected to face another defeat on Tuesday, when the parliament will vote on her Brexit deal proposal. The hard-line Brexiteers are getting ready to fight for Brexit. The hard-liners also seem to want to polish their image.

Boris Johnson wrote on The Telegraph on the 24th of February:

“…I am getting sick of the constant suggestion that anyone who sticks up for Brexit must have far Right tendencies. I can’t understand why people are suddenly claiming that anyone who wants to get out of the EU – and follow the instructions of the British people – is a zealot, or an extremist, or Ukip, or Blukip, or some kind of ultra-conservative bigot. Where is this stuff coming from?” (1)

Johnson himself has become infamous for his racist and Islamophobic remarks. Last year he caused an uproar by comparing veiled Muslim women to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers.” Bizarrely, Johnson was not considered to have breached the Conservative Party’s code of conduct. (2)

Last Tuesday, chairman of the European Research Group ERG Jacob Rees-Mogg once again accused May’s government and the Remainers of trying to block Brexit. He wrote in The Sun:

“…the extreme Remainers do not just want an extension — they want reversal (i.e. of Brexit referendum) and see this as a first step.

It is worth remembering that those who love the European Union prefer it to democracy and always have done.”

“…the Government must prove that it is committed to the referendum result, for that is the authoritative constitutional voice.

No responsible government ought to allow the constitution to be subverted because of its own weaknesses. The conventions are there for good reasons and, if ignored, confidence in the system that has served well for centuries will be damaged — with consequences that could include the rise of extremist parties. Failure to deliver Brexit would be a gift to Tommy Robinson.” (3)

Leave Means Leave campaigner Nigel Farage tweeted yesterday that “it’s time for some structured anarchy.” He also advertised March To Leave campaign and “historic rally of Brexiteers” on Parliament Square, London, on the 29th of March. (4)

References:

1) “Brexiteers are not far-Right zealots. Just ask the younger Tony Blair” The Telegraph 24.2.2019

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/24/brexiteers-not-far-right-zealots-just-ask-younger-tony-blair/

2) “Conservatives rule Boris Johnson comparing Muslim women in veils to letter boxes and bank robbers was ‘respectful'” The Independent 21.12.2018

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-cleared-burka-niqab-bank-robber-letterboxes-conservative-party-a8693761.html

3) “We the people have spoken on Brexit… let us now have have lift-off ” The Sun 5.3.2019

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8570432/jacob-ress-mogg-people-have-spoken-on-brexit/

4) Nigel Farage on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nigel_farage

The hardline Brexiteers and far right – more trouble

It has been quite unbelievable to read news about Brexit and the political situation in Britain, lately. I lived in Britain over 10 years, but Britain seems to have changed beyond recognition – and not in a good way.

Today’s perhaps most stunning news was about hardline Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who reportedly suggested that PM May “should close parliament temporarily if necessary to stop MPs passing a bill blocking a no-deal Brexit.” (1)

Another worrying news was about the threat posed by far right. Britain’s counter-terrorism chief Neil Basu said that “the far right will exploit Brexit tensions with their propaganda triggering rises in hate crime and creating an atmosphere that terrorists can exploit.” Mr Basu continued:

“My concern is the polarisation, and I fear the far-right politicking and rhetoric leads to a rise in hate crime and a rise in disorder.” (2)

References:

1) “May should close parliament if necessary to stop bill blocking no deal Brexit, says Rees-Mogg – Politics live” The Guardian 23.1.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/jan/23/brexit-latest-news-developments-pmqs-may-corbyn-wont-be-able-to-use-vote-next-week-to-stop-no-deal-liam-fox-claims-politics-live?page=with:block-5c487636e4b024f0efeaccd2#block-5c487636e4b024f0efeaccd2

2) “Far right may exploit Brexit tensions, says UK counter-terror chief” The Guardian 23.1.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/23/no-deal-brexit-incredibly-damaging-security-says-uk-counter-terror-head-neil-basu

What British hardline Brexiteers say about Brexit

The Brexit chaos continues and Britain seems more divided than ever. The British hardline Brexiteers have defended Brexit enthusiastically, sometimes even aggressively. Here are some comments made by them:

Jacob Rees-Mogg, chair of the hardline European Research Group ERG, hosted a champagne party after PM May suffered the historical defeat in parliament on Tuesday (1). Rees-Mogg, as many other supporters of No Deal, wants UK to leave on WTO terms:

On Twitter 15.1.2019: “The law is in place for us to leave on WTO terms. The Government ought to go back to Brussels and say: if we can’t agree anything in the interim that is what will happen.” (2)

Rees-Mogg was interviewed by Professor Anand Menon on Wednesday evening. Rees-Mogg believes that Theresa May’s cabinet is “the most pro-European part of the Conservative Party” and that 70 per cent of the people who are voting Conservatives seem to be Eurosceptic. Rees-Mogg said that No Deal would be better alternative than the deal offered by PM May or no Brexit at all (3).

One of the architects of the original Brexit campaign in 2016, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been criticizing PM Theresa May and the EU and he has also been promoting Leave Means Leave campaign on his Twitter page (4):

15.1.2019: “Parliament has voted down Theresa May’s terrible Brexit deal. Join us on Thursday in Westminster as Leave Means Leave pushes for a WTO Brexit!”

16.1.2019: “If the betrayal becomes complete and we are forced into a second referendum then some will be in for a shock, the British people will be even more defiant than they were before.”

16.1 2019: “Mrs May’s cross-party talks are all with Remainers and weaken Brexit. She cares about Parliament and not the people. This is betrayal, sadly we must prepare to fight again.”

UKIP leader Gerard Batten has attacked PM May, the British political establishment and the EU:

14.1.2019: “Mrs May’s so-called deal would turn Britain into a vassal state of the EU prepared to go back in in a few short years. What we are witnessing is the political establishment fighting over their preferred method of stopping Brexit – should it be through Mrs May’s surrender document, a General Election or another referendum? In their arrogance and contempt for the will of the 17.4 million who voted to leave the European Union, the political establishment have embarrassed the nation in the eyes of the world. At this point, it is clear that the only way Britain will leave the EU is if the people choose to remove the political establishment through the ballot box.” (5)

16.1.2019: “The British Parliament has the opportunity to redeem itself. If it betrays the result of the referendum then it will destroy what remaining belief or faith there is in our democratic system, which isn’t very high to start with. But they can turn things around if they want to. They can take the initiative, they can stop asking you (i.e. European Union) how we can leave and they can start telling you how we are going to leave, and I can tell you that the British people will never surrender!” (6)

British poster-girl for far-right Katie Hopkins is an ardent admirer of President Trump and she has supported No Deal Brexit. However, she had some kind words for PM May:

“In many ways, I look to America as kind of hope, like inspiration. You’ve got someone tough in the White House that’s determined to get things done. You’ve got a whole group of people who believe they’ve been forgotten which to me is the Brexiteers. It’s the same, it’s the rest of the UK, it’s the rest of America that isn’t California or isn’t New York, and the rest of America got their voice heard and that really speaks to the Brexiteer in me.” (7)

On Twitter 12.7.2018: “No deal Brexit looks exactly like the Brexit I voted for.” (8)

On Twitter 16.1.2019: “Come on @theresa_may You may have really p*ssed on my chips over Brexit. But you are one tough, tenacious bird. And I completely admire you for enduring and withstanding it all. You go girlfriend. Grip that lectern like a sausage in a roll. And Sock it to them.” (8)