‘It’s almost as if “project fear” was in fact reality’
Emergency budget. Supply chains disrupted. Jobs leaving. Currency tanking. It’s almost as if “project fear” was in fact project reality, and the lying leavers have been talking out of their arses for three years (in addition to 40 years of whining without a plan).
Well done Brexiters. You “won”. Now you get to watch as the brain drain starts, jobs head overseas and public services are decimated, just so you could give the foreigners and the “undemocratic” EU a kicking. bristolmedica
‘That is a drop in the bucket of what’s been spent already’
The problem with the new money (now totaling what, £7bn?) is not the amount itself, that is a drop in the bucket of what’s been spent already, it’s that it tells the financial community that your lame duck government is deeply unserious and unreliable when it comes to its monetary policy. If I was the Bank of England, I’d be apoplectic.
The UK risks becoming the new Greece or the new Argentina, and that is (or should be) a very scary thought. I wonder how long it’ll be before the IMF comes to sort you out. Lupin813
‘Funny how the old “magic money tree” can cough up some dosh if required’
Funny how the old magic money tree can cough up some dosh if required. But of course there is no chance of money for social provision. Instead we can be proud that we are a society with food banks where Tory MPs can take selfies.
In the distant pre-unicorn days I remember when George Osborne talked about an emergency budget necessitated by Brexit it was lambasted as project fear. But now it’s “planning”. pipini
‘A sticking plaster over a gaping wound’
2016: “sunlit uplands; 350 million a week for the NHS; easiest deal in history; they need us more than we need them.” 2019: “Protect and Survive” – £2.1bn emergency funding to stockpile food and medicine, to keep manufacturers and producers in business and to avert gridlock chaos at Dover. A sticking plaster over a gaping wound. Call that “taking back control”. mavric1
‘This Brexiteer cabal’s goal is not just Brexit’
A no-deal Brexit is going to cost a lot more than £2.1bn. It will cost a lot more than a once off £39bn, and it will cost a lot more than an ongoing £350m a week over the next few years. The £2.1bn is just the first down payment. If you are outside the UK’s 1% then the next couple of decades are going to be grim. This Brexiteer cabal’s goal is not just Brexit, their goal is to remake the UK to their liking – a gig economy with low (no?) tax for the 1%. The outcome will be a Britain with its own oligarchs, not just the current Russian imports. Basilides
‘It’ll be the young who will pay the price for this idiocy’
Another £2.1bn added to the Brexit bill - the magic money tree is bearing rich fruit. Who knew Britain was so loaded with cash, considering the necessity of ‘tightening the belt’ in the last 10 years (and almost doubling the national debt - some ‘austerity’...)? It’ll be the young who will pay the price for this idiocy, not just the economic price. blutgraetsche
‘Johnson thinks this standoff is between equals’
Johnson’s idea, if you can call it that, is that this stand-off he’s trying to execute is one between equals. In fact what he is attempting is the threat to demolish your house over your head (not his) hoping that your neighbour will give in to his demands because of the dust that may blow towards your neighbour’s property.
In the meantime cough up another £2.1bn of your money just to keep this idiocy going. tomsixty1
What do you think the Government’s attitude would be if Scotland voted for independence; and after a period decided that the negotiations weren’t going fast enough and it would just become independent without working out all the complications of the new relationship? RClayton
‘Curious how none of this money has been allocated to “alternative arrangements”’
It’s curious how none of this £2.1bn has been allocated to setting up the so-called “alternative arrangements” for the Irish border, as Johnson has insisted that it’s all ready to go.
If it worked, we could then sell on the system to every other country on the planet (outside of the EU’s internal market), who would also, no doubt, like to benefit from the “frictionless trade” that it promises and we would recoup the financial outlay in no time. Win, Win! But then again, they could just by lying about the validity of the “alternative arrangements” – what do you think? Irascible