Re: "PM has 'nothing to do' with ballot row", (BP, Dec 12).
The Election Commission created quite a stir when it said it is mulling whether the ballot cards should be without party logos and party names, allowing only names of the candidates.
Let me ask a hypothetical question. Suppose you want to open a new hamburger franchise, would you want a law that prohibits all the franchises from displaying logos, mascots, theme colours, allowing only franchise names displayed in standardised black fonts on white background? It is obvious who would stand to gain advantage and disadvantage from the law. For the EC to hem and haw and digress to overseas voting is just a smokescreen.
I wonder, after all the rule changing, bending, twisting and contorting, why not just print one name on the ballot and get it over with. (Hey, EC, I was only joking, OK?)
Somsak Pola
Brexit should be simple
John Lloyd in his Dec 10 article, "Another Brexit vote is a bad idea", seems to suggest a Brexit class divide as indeed do others. Also as elsewhere, he suggests a potential powder keg of violence if another referendum is held regardless of the outcome. There was no rioting or disturbances by Remainers after the Brexit vote.
What it would certainly appear to suggest is that an element of Brexiteers are aggressive and childish enough to riot if they don't get their way. What does that say about some Brexiteers? As a keen Remainer, I reluctantly accept the vote.
However, I fail to understand why leaving is so complex! Surely an agreement can be made that the clocks are turned back to before the UK joined the EU. Import/export tariffs, border controls can be reinstated. Yes, things have changed, but further negotiations can be made later. What is about politicians that make them muddy the waters so much?
Moto Guzzi Bob
Keep free trade alive
It is evident the European Union's red line that no trade deal can be entered into until after the the UK has left in March next year, plus the necessity to settle a "withdrawal agreement" before leaving is mandatory, according to the EU position, is the major sticking point. Maybe both of these requirements should now be put to the European Court of Justice since Article 50 has been redetermined by them this week as to rescinding it unilaterally.
The main dispute is about the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland border. This is entirely dependent on a trade deal, something the EU will not contemplate prior to the UK leaving. The "temporary" backstop on the Irish boarder in the withdrawal agreement is untenable without any free trade deal agreement in place. Reassurances from the EU will not be sufficient to get it passed in parliament, hence the deferred vote.
If -- a very big if -- PM Theresa May on her mission to meet EU leaders this week can get an MoI (memorandum of intent) signed she could make a breakthrough. A legally binding MoI between the UK and EU that a free trade area will continue to exist until it is replaced by a new trade deal (without the strings of EU membership), it might get the ball rolling again. In the interests of moving forward the UK should agree to re-join the European Free Trade Association during the 21-month transition period when the priority should be a free trade deal. Both sides need it, and it's to the EU's advantage since the UK buys more than vice versa.
The UK has stated its willingness to pay for certain access to the single market, but not the customs union as it stands, and in my view all these points are key to getting a amicable settlement the British parliament would be more likely to pass. Of course this would look far too enticing to the other "member state" countries in the EU that have already been denied the right to leave after a democratic referendum mandate, meaning there is a fight still to be contested because this is the last thing the EU wants. What the EU fears is that any sign of weakness could reinvigorate the chance for independence for those "member states" that still desire to leave, or at least force major changes in the EU structure.
Fireman Sam
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