Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

I guess I’ll have to read some kind Brit papers.

These days in Parliament should be recorded for posterity

I heard that some MPs are sacrificing their ability to stand for the next election due to a Johnson threat.

Weimar warns us about what happens when politicians give up on their own parliaments—as one of our most distinguished historians argues in this exclusive essay

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Brexit negotiator David Frost is not expected to offer new ideas to replace the Irish backstop when he arrives in Brussels for talks with the European Union on Wednesday, British and European diplomats and officials said.

The question of whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a new plan to reach a deal with the EU or is bluffing to run out the clock before an abrupt exit goes to the heart of the political crisis in London, where opponents of an exit with no deal have seized control of parliamentary business to stop it.

British and EU sources both said there might be nothing of substance on offer during Frost’s visit, but gave different reasons for why this would be the case.

A British official said London was unwilling to put anything on the table for fear it would be swiftly shot down. Europeans, for their part, said they were skeptical whether Britain had any new proposals to offer at all.

Johnson demands the EU ditch the “backstop” provision of a deal reached with his predecessor Theresa May, which would require Britain to obey some EU rules until another mechanism can be found to keep the border on the island of Ireland open.

The House of Commons defeated him on Tuesday in a bid to prevent him taking Britain out of the EU without a divorce agreement on Oct.31. Johnson responded by announcing he would push for a snap election.

Johnson says he wants a deal but needs a credible threat of a no-deal exit to force the Europeans to compromise at the last minute, during a summit in mid-October.

The bloc says the backstop could be abandoned only if an alternative is found that would achieve the same ends, be legally sound and practically applicable straight away. It has put the onus on Johnson’s cabinet to come up with alternatives.

The British official said London was expecting creativity and a joint endeavor from the bloc’s side.

The EU’s executive Commission - which is negotiating Brexit for the 27 other member states - complained on Tuesday that Britain was procrastinating.

“That is because these semi-negotiations is a bluff. The British don’t have alternative arrangements, they are playing for time,” said one EU diplomat present at the Commission’s closed-door briefing.

A senior EU diplomat added: “The British position is strange. They have put precisely zero proposals on the table so how can they have any grounds for fearing they will be shot down other than the British themselves knowing that their likely proposals are inadequate.”

The Commission will also present on Wednesday its updated contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit, which would include making a natural disaster fund available to people, businesses and countries weighing under ensuing disruptions.

Has this ever happened before?

Are there demonstrations in London?

The MEP delegations of Labour, Greens, Liberal Democrats, Alliance, Plaid Cymru, and the SNP will formally cooperate

Remain-supporting British MEPs have formed a new cross-party alliance and pledged to work together in the face of Brexit and Boris Johnson's suspension of parliament.

The pact, named the Brussels Declaration, unites the EU delegations of Labour, Greens, Liberal Democrats, Alliance, Plaid Cymru, and the SNP - with the aim of "keeping the door open" to EU membership.

The declaration puts down in writing the informal alliance that has formed among pro-EU British MEPs since the referendum - where cross-party working has been the norm in efforts to oppose the British government.

"The proroguing, or shutting down the UK Parliament in order to limit scrutiny of the implications of a potential no deal Brexit is completely unacceptable. Limiting the opportunity for MPs to debate, vote and crucially, to legislate, cannot be the response to a referendum in which Leave campaigned for the UK Parliament to 'take back control'," the MEPs' declaration says.

"In the continuation of the spirit that UK MEPs have worked in since the 2016 Referendum we commit ourselves to continue to work across party lines and declare that it is vital that MPs do likewise. We were all elected just four months ago with clear mandates. We are working together. We call upon our European friends and colleagues to assist domestic efforts in keeping the door open to us."

The loose declaration could be a model for pro-EU opposition parties hoping to cooperate back in Westminster. Efforts to build a "remain alliance" in UK national elections have floundered so far - with pro-referendum parties even unable to agree a single candidate for the recent Peterborough by-election.
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Are there demonstrations in London? 

The House of Lords has voted in favour of getting the Benn bill ruling out a no-deal Brexit through all stages of parliament before it is suspended by Boris Johnson.

Around 1.30am on Thursday following late-night debate, peers passed a business motion and were told the bill – which has been passed by rebel Tories and opposition MPs in the Commons – would be returned to the lower house by 5pm on Friday, ruling out the prospect of attempts at a filibuster.

It could then be voted on again by MPs on Monday and presented for royal assent, the Lords heard. Peers are set to debate the Benn bill itself and amendments on Thursday.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government abandoned attempts in the upper house of parliament to block a law aimed at stopping the country from leaving the European Union without a deal.

The move paved the way for Johnson being required to ask the EU for a three-month extension to the Brexit deadline, if he fails to reach a renegotiated transition deal with the bloc by the middle of October.

Johnson has said he is opposed to an extension and that he is prepared to take Britain out of the EU without a deal if necessary.

Conservative Party members of the upper house of parliament had tabled a series of amendments in an attempt to run down the clock on the delay bill and prevent it being passed before parliament is suspended on Monday.

But in the early hours of Thursday, the government in the upper house, known as the House of Lords, announced it was dropping its opposition to the legislation.

Richard Newby, an opposition member of the Lords, who had taken his duvet to parliament in preparation to spend the night discussing the law, said the government dropped its opposition after suffering heavy defeats on some of the proposed amendments.

“There was a realization by those on the other side that this was more than usually stupid, and they were looking stupid, and we needed to find a way forward,” he told BBC Radio.