One might not know this from general discussion of the issue. Debate on immigration has become part of what is sometimes called the "culture wars" of modern life in the western world. As is so often the case when a matter becomes important to culture warriors, sane people who want a quiet life tend to avoid the subject. The downside of this is that debate on immigration - on social media in particular - is left largely to the paranoid, who see it as bringing doom and who often seem to believe that Ireland is being overrun by foreigners, and the virtue-signallers, who frame immigration as akin to motherhood and apple pie and dismiss any questioning of it as racist. The past week has seen a familiar pattern of reaction emerging following the call for a debate on immigration by an embryonic political party. There has been lots of heat and much less light. Let's have a look at some facts. In Ireland, there are three very different and distinct parts of the immigration picture. A big … [Read more...] about Dan O’Brien: ‘Facts get buried when we leave the immigration debate to the paranoid and the virtue-signallers’
Why should we leave the eu
Brexit is unlikely to happen if the Tories lose office before the UK leaves the EU
There is more talk of a general election, although of course that does not mean it will happen. In that context, I frequently hear people say that an election would do nothing to get the country out of the huge Brexit hole it has dug itself. I strongly disagree. If there is an election before we leave the EU, and if Labour forms the next government, I think it would make a huge difference. Unless Labour win so many seats that they have a huge parliamentary majority, I think the chances are that Brexit would not happen at all. Let us suppose that Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer manage to negotiate some form of soft Brexit with the EU. The crucial question would then be the attitude of the Conservative opposition. As a result of losing the election (if not before) they will have a new leader and, given the attitude of most Conservative members, that leader is likely to be a Brexiteer. As the Brexiteers in the current party find it hard to accept the hard Brexit proposed by … [Read more...] about Brexit is unlikely to happen if the Tories lose office before the UK leaves the EU
Brian Monteith: UK must leave the EU on 12 April or Tories are finished
0 Have your say Tories now face an existential threat – the UK must leave the EU on 12 April or the party is finished. The state of British politics could hardly be more fittingly ridiculous, more crazily bizarre and more aptly comic for this year’s April Fool’s Day. Such is the laughable behaviour of all parties at Westminster that legal action has now been instigated against the government claiming the process followed by the Prime Minister to extend the UK’s membership of the EU beyond 29 March is illegal. If the government carries on ignoring the result of the referendum it will not be the last visit to the courts for redress, with a judicial review a genuine possibility. READ MORE: Lesley Riddoch: Why are bungling Brexit elites escaping public wrath?We were promised by the Prime Minister over a hundred times, including her personal “guarantee”, that we would leave the European Union last Friday. Yet here we are on 1 … [Read more...] about Brian Monteith: UK must leave the EU on 12 April or Tories are finished
On the day we were supposed to leave the EU, here are 5 reasons why you should still love Brexit
Today is the day it was promised the country would leave the EU. It should be the day are celebrating taking back control. But here we are and British politicians are still gridlocked and can't agree on a way forward. Now we face delays and more unknowns. But it's not all doom and gloom. There's much to look forward to when Brexit finally happens, including pay rises for the lowest paid. Watch the video to find out the five reasons why Britain has a brighter future outside of the European Union. To continue reading this article Start your free trial of Premium Access all Premium articles Subscriber-only events Cancel any time Free for 30 days then only £2 per week Try Premium Access one Premium article per week Register for free Register for free to continue reading this article Register Or unlock all Premium articles, free for 30 days Start trial … [Read more...] about On the day we were supposed to leave the EU, here are 5 reasons why you should still love Brexit
Brian Monteith: Changing PM settles nothing unless we leave the EU
0 Have your say Are we there yet? It is a question we have all heard, parents or not. Have we left the European Union – as promised? Has the Prime Minister fallen or been pushed on her sword by her cabinet colleagues? All the while the clock keeps ticking – but whose clock? Ours in Greenwich or the one in Brussels? Let me start today’s column by revealing a few facts that are unsurprisingly being lost in the need to make headlines and draw people to read news reports.The first is, and this particular detail is important, that in response to a request by Theresa May to have an extension to Article 50 the EU has said that there will be a new time limit of the 22 May if the UK Parliament agrees to the Withdrawal Agreement that the EU has already signed of as its final offer. If Westminster does not agree then the new date of departure will be the 12 April rather than the 29 March.Before we go on, this is interesting. It had been generally accepted … [Read more...] about Brian Monteith: Changing PM settles nothing unless we leave the EU