Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Brexit: DUP politician indicates massive U-turn on the ‘backstop’ agreement
The canary ^ | 12 September 2019 | Peadar O Cearnaigh

Posted on 09/11/2019 10:27:39 PM PDT by Cronos

The DUP’s Jim Wells has revealed a possible shift in his party’s position on a “Northern Ireland-only backstop” agreement. Should it become official DUP policy, Wells’s revelation would mean the DUP has effectively accepted the backstop agreement. This is something it said it would never do.

His revelation came in a pre-recording of Stephen Nolan’s Top Table that goes out on BBC1 this evening, and in response to a statement from the host that “we would be living to EU rules, Jim”.

Shocking This is particularly shocking as the DUP has consistently opposed the backstop and “’special status’ for Northern Ireland” in Brexit negotiations. Yet even more shocking is that the DUP publicly and recently confirmed this opposition after meeting Boris Johnson on 10 September:

Its statement includes the line:

not one single Unionist MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly supports it

But Jim Wells is a Unionist MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly. And his statement is in keeping with the apparent softening of the DUP/Tory position, as reported by The Canary.

Hard-line loyalism can’t believe it This led to reaction from hard-line loyalism. And it showed the utter shock waves Wells’s statement sent through the loyalist heartland:


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: boriswin; brexit; bullshiite; cronoseutroll; cronosiscorrect; eussrtroll; euwins; fakenews; ireland; ni; tweety; ukcaved; wigs; zot
If this happens it will be the big breakthrough that will enable Boris to deliver Brexit and stay true to the 1997 Good Friday agreement that the UK swore to uphold.

A victory for Boris!

1 posted on 09/11/2019 10:27:39 PM PDT by Cronos
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Cronos

BTTT.


2 posted on 09/11/2019 10:32:01 PM PDT by OddLane
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

Yellow Hammered


3 posted on 09/11/2019 10:35:02 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

Oh good, thank you for interpreting that, I was really confused.


4 posted on 09/11/2019 10:37:23 PM PDT by McGavin999
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

IF this is true, it looks like the DUP decided that a Brexit that involves only a partial Brexit for Northern Ireland is better than no Brexit at all. They’re likely thinking, “Get the rest of the UK out of the EU and we’ll figure out how to follow later.” It’s not ideal, but might actually work... eventually.


5 posted on 09/11/2019 11:15:01 PM PDT by irishjuggler
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: irishjuggler

I don’t think NI will follow rUK out of the EU - not now and definitely not later.

What the DUP may be thinking is that it’s better to be part of the EU customs union while still part of the UK rather than risk a referendum that may end up reuniting Ireland


6 posted on 09/12/2019 12:07:05 AM PDT by Cronos (Re-elect President Trump 2020!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

Intersting that the EU would support terrorism in Northern Ireland to shoot Brexit down...


7 posted on 09/12/2019 4:18:51 AM PDT by lavaroise
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: lavaroise

Neither side is supporting terrorism.

The UK side wants out of the customs union.

The Irish side wants the UK to live up to its promise of the open borders in the Good Friday agreement.


8 posted on 09/12/2019 4:21:53 AM PDT by Cronos (Re-elect President Trump 2020!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Cronos
Neither side is supporting terrorism.

Then explain INSTEX.

9 posted on 09/12/2019 4:34:50 AM PDT by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

So Belfast resident will need to show a passport to travel to London within the UK but not when travelling abroad to Dublin?


10 posted on 09/12/2019 4:40:32 AM PDT by oincobx (Soybean receipts in 2019 are expected to decrease ($5.7 billion or 14.3 percent), reflecting anticip)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: oincobx

from what I read about it, yes, that’s how it seems.


11 posted on 09/12/2019 4:45:54 AM PDT by Cronos (Re-elect President Trump 2020!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: mewzilla

Instex is used by the UK as well as Ireland. Though I think the question was about terrorism in the Emerald Isle


12 posted on 09/12/2019 4:47:22 AM PDT by Cronos (Re-elect President Trump 2020!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

Frankly I think the ultimate outcome will be that Ulster leaves the UK and Ireland reunites as one island, one country.

Now that Ireland is no longer a Catholic country, offering free abortions for everyone, why would the North resist that?


13 posted on 09/12/2019 6:00:08 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog

The North has more restrictions on abortion than the republic has now. And you’re right - the RoI is far less Catholic.

Though I argue that the Irish troubles were less about religion and more about ethnicity - considering that the first President of Ireland was Protestant as were many of the leading lights of the movement. But they felt Irish (even if they were Anglo-Irish or Norman-Irish). Remember that Rees-Mogg is Catholic for instance, but seems the quintessential Englishman. The Ulster folks, about 30% feel British but they feel that “Britain” is leaving them, so might as well join the republic.

Oh and the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly have a rugby team. the world is mixed up!


14 posted on 09/12/2019 6:45:19 AM PDT by Cronos (Re-elect President Trump 2020!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

I think what happens here is the rest of the UK exits the EU leaving Northern Ireland effectively still in the EU. Massive numbers of unassimilated immigrants and refugees relocate to Northern Ireland along with large numbers of young people who want to stay Euro cool and leftist professors, politicians, High Society Elites, and BBC personnel who all prefer cocktail parties and Marxism. Then. Insular UK. Grant’s Northern Ireland mandatory Independence.

God Save the Queen.

Then Scotland asks for the same No Deal UKexit.


15 posted on 09/12/2019 7:25:32 AM PDT by epluribus_2 (He, had the best mom - ever. my)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: epluribus_2

Not really. NI would still be in the UK’s jurisdiction and under British laws.

immigrants and refugees would not be able to move to northern Ireland without getting papers and passing through the republic.

And they would then be subject to British laws, not EU or any other.

As to the other folks you mention - Belfast has few jobs, people aren’t going to relocate


16 posted on 09/12/2019 7:39:33 AM PDT by Cronos (Re-elect President Trump 2020!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

A little help here, for those not familiar with British politics:

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland favouring British identity. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years.


17 posted on 09/12/2019 7:42:34 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (The media is after us. Trump's just in the way.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cronos

The population of the Republic of Ireland is increasingly made up of Poles and Nigerians. So that ethnic argument is out the window too.


18 posted on 09/12/2019 8:18:10 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Buckeye McFrog

as per the 2016 census, in the republic there are 4 million Irish, 150K Poles, 100K Britons, 36K Lithuanians, 30K Romanians, 10K Americans and about 12K Nigerians


19 posted on 09/12/2019 8:42:33 AM PDT by Cronos (Re-elect President Trump 2020!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson