See you next time!
We’re going to wrap up above the line here shortly, but you can, of course, continue the conversation in the comments. Thanks for joining us today for a debate that though dominated by Brexit did take in multiple angles – and veered off into talking about that bust as well as the breaking news issue of Gibraltar. Extra points to those of you who managed to introduce multiple relevant topics into single comments.
If you want to get in touch with any feedback or suggestions for things to talk about you can do so in the comments, or by emailing matthew.holmes@theguardian.com or sarah.marsh@theguardian.com. We’ll look forward to hearing from you.
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Your comments from today's Brexit debate
Here are a few of your comments that have provoked the most recommends and replies below so far – do click on the timestamps to get involved in the discussion.
‘Brexit is declaration of war’
‘My job has gone to mainland Europe’
They trigger A50 on Wednesday and, end of play today, I'm unemployed. My job having gone to mainland Europe.
See. Are you happy now Brexiters?
(OK, to be fair, the fact that I'm getting paid about 10x what my replacement will be is probably a factor. Also, really looking forward to a couple of weeks off)
‘I feel for the British youth and all remainers, but I’m happy’
What I think about Brexit. A mercy for the EU.
A long time had UK blackmailed the EU with vetoes to keep their own interests and ignored the interests off all other countries. UK got the best deal ever, the most special opts and rebats. It was never enough, the latest try to blackmail the EU before the referendum was to held a referendum. Mission failed, it changed from blackmailing to reality.
I feel for the British youth and all remainers, but I'm happy that UK leave the EU, what is too much is too much.
And I hope the EU will give UK no deal, because Bojo said : "It will be perfect to leave without a deal".
‘We have found ourselves, as a nation, in an absurd position’
We have found ourselves, as a nation, in an absurd position. We respect the result of the vote, and feel duty bound to implement it, yet it is a greatest threat to the safety, economic security and cohesion that the UK has faced for many decades. Perhaps ever?
The irony is, that hostile nations don't need to invade or bomb other nations to (effectively) destroy and defeat them anymore. They just create the right conditions and let them destroy themselves. This is what Brexit is.
‘You were warned ... Happy now?’
You Brexiteers are hilarious. You were warned, don't vote for this, you'll give the EU control, you'll ruin the economy. But you did. And now you blame remainers and the EU.
You own the vote. You made the job losses. You made the horribly one-sided negotiations with the EU.
You are the quislings who caused the surrender of the UK.
Happy now?
What are the telltale signs that spring has arrived for you?
This week marks the beginning of both cricket and baseball season. For me, the annual return of these two most summery of sports marks the end of winter and the true beginning of spring. It’s time to spend hours sitting in the sun watching other people stand around; time for picnics and pints, for peanuts and Cracker Jack.
At this stage, with the season not yet under way, everything feels possible. The points table is a blank slate and every team is still harbouring the same dreams. It’s still conceivable that – if everything goes right – I’ll be celebrating championships for the Orioles and Warwickshire in autumn. It’s the easiest time of the year to be an optimist, and it makes it easier to feel hopeful about other aspects of life.
New sporting seasons aren’t the only signs of spring. One friend of mine marks it from the first floral dress he sees in the park; another from the first jacaranda blossom; another from the end of Paris fashion week. Some people consider that it starts in the northern hemisphere on 1 March, others from the vernal equinox around 20 March. In the US some people take their cue from a groundhog, while in some places it’s the melting of the last of the snow.
So what are the telltale signs that spring has arrived for you? What are the little things you notice that become loaded with meaning and seem to suggest a brighter future? Or, given that since last year’s Opening Day we’ve been given Brexit and Trump, am I just being naive?
The sun is coming out in London. How about where you are?
Here are a couple of your comments from the discussion on Gibraltar below.
The residents of Gibraltar are in this position entirely as a result of English brexit voters
They voted overwhelmingly 19 to 1 in favour of remain, their concerns along with the over sixteen million remain voters have been totally ignored.
We will now have nationalistic bollocks from the torykip government expressing their concerns.
It's shit it's their fault..
Listen carefully and you can hear the chickens coming home to roost.
It seems that all that is happening is that Gibraltar will not be offered a transitional deal when the UK is (if it is) unless Spain agrees to this (with conditions attached). The result, for Gibraltar, will be the hard Brexit that many UK politicians are wanting -- are demanding -- for the UK.
So here's a question you should be asking yourself is: If a hard Brexit is bad for Gibraltar, why would it be good for the UK?
Quite a few readers are beginning to discuss the issue of Gibraltar in the comments – here’s the Guardian’s main news story, which happens to be accompanied by an astonishing picture.
Here’s a quiz our colleagues on the sports desk put together after that Ronaldo statue was unveiled.
Some of these are most definitely more Cecilia Gimenez than Auguste Rodin ...
Wow.
Ronaldo has form when it comes to slightly dubious statues of him in Madeira, who can forget this one where it looks as though the creature from Alien is about to burst out of his crotch?
A poll!
Airport unveils simply the best bust of Cristiano Ronaldo
There it was, in our desperate hour of need. When the whole of the newsroom was concentrating on the weighty issues of Brexit and the mechanics of triggering article 50, suddenly a ray of sunshine broke through from Madeira. Not only had an airport been named Aeroporto Cristiano Ronaldo, but they had installed one of the worst pieces of art since that woman tried to restore that Spanish fresco.
I did a genuine guffaw in the office the first time I saw it. Just what is it about bad art that makes it so funny? I guess, in this case, it is also partly down to who the subject is.
I don’t want to take away from Ronaldo’s achievements. I’m never going to lead my nation to win the European Championship in anything, and I certainly won’t get an airport named after me. Ronaldo’s Twitter feed oozed with pride as it filled with photos of the event. But, in a way, that just made it even funnier.
Happy and honored to have my name given to the Madeira airport! ✈️👍 pic.twitter.com/6SxibYtxje
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) March 29, 2017
Ronaldo has clearly made the most of his talent, and is a driven man, with a carefully projected image. This is a man so controlling of his media persona that his Twitter biography simply reads: “This Privacy Policy addresses the collection and use of personal information - http://www.cristianoronaldo.com/terms”.
To see him up there next to that bust was astonishing.
Of course social media had a field day with it. I think my favourite is Ronaldo being Photoshopped to look more like the bust.
To the makers of the sculpture - #YouHadOneJob #RonaldoBust pic.twitter.com/oooRxDuI4t
— Fahad Shahud (@fahadism) March 30, 2017
So thank you Cristiano. Thank you Emanuel Santos, for your incredible creation. And for defending your design with this brilliant quote: “It is impossible to please the Greeks and Trojans. Neither did Jesus please everyone.”
Although, of course, somebody had to spoil the fun by finding a depressing parody account Brexit angle to bring us all back down to earth again with a bump.
The Brexit deal you've sold your voters vs the Brexit deal you'll be getting from the Chancellor. pic.twitter.com/tuz8Z2IUWv
— Angela Merkel (@Queen_Europe) March 30, 2017
Relief from Brexit chat for those of you who are demanding it in the comments it coming in 3... 2...
Video of the week – the three Brexiteers
Our video of the week involves the three Brexiteers (AKA cabinet ministers David Davis, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson). Their cavalier approach to us leaving the EU is captured by their hilarious turns of phrases – including describing the withdrawal process as “simple” but at the same time “more complex than a game of chess”. Check it out.
We’re going to move on to talk about some of the other things that have been happening this week shortly.
You can continue the conversation on Brexit below of course – but we’d also like to hear from you if there’s a topic you’d like to see us highlight up here. Just let us know by making a suggestion or two in the comments.
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After article 50 has been triggered, a myriad 'what ifs' lie ahead
A monumental day? Not quite, we are not out yet. Myriad “what ifs” lie ahead before the final shutter falls. What if the deal looks terrible, the pound plummets, prices rise, jobs get scarcer and lorry queues at Dover barriers hold up trade? Enough leavers might start to find the price too high.
What if EU elections fuel nationalism, causing a change to free movement? All who cheer along with the Mail’s “Freedom!” headline, may find they feel no freer, with no “taking back control” and no fewer foreigners in their midst. Yes, it’s unlikely. But it’s not impossible enough people find the Brexiters lied: remember, in democracies people can always change their mind.
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'The media is enjoying dividing the country for political gain'
Back to politics, and an interesting response to the photo essay our colleague Lydia Smears wrote about earlier.
Here it is:
What can you say about the photo essay? I didn't see anything there that I didn't relate to. It is a photo essay of ourselves, and I am a staunch remainer, living in London, reading the Guardian. A "metropolitan liberal elitist". The reality is that I grew up in South Wales. Went to a state school there and happened to end up where I am now. It's a good example of social mobility in many ways. Yet, I am now somehow considered "the other". I am no different to anyone else in the UK.
The sad thing is how the media is enjoying dividing the country for political gain. Many papers are feasting off this. You wouldn't see a photo essay article like this one in the Express/Mail/Telegraph/Times or Sun. And that is a shame. Many of us are trying to understand what is going on, whilst many of my fellow citizens, are placing too much faith in the politicians.
They are letting politicians speak for them to us, instead of letting us talk to each other directly. If we did that more, we'd realise we've all been had. I fear for the future of the UK.
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Readers' pictures of the week
It was lovely to publish a gallery of really diverse images readers shared on the theme of “empowerment” this week, and even better to be able to share photography tips and feedback from picture desk editors here.
Looking again I think this one from Jenny Downing was one of my favourites – and I agree with Karin Andreasson, features picture editor, who said: “the serious expressions and dancing make for a thought-provoking contrast.”
This one of protest signs at an anti-Trump rally, by Jason Jackson, also had an abstract quality I enjoyed. “The flash,” said Andreasson, “catches the backs of the placards and the rain and removes moved almost all context from the moment to make this feel youthful and atmospheric.”
Here’s the full gallery
And you can contribute to this week’s assignment – we’re looking for images on the theme of diversity – by clicking the blue GuardianWitness buttons on this article, or by going here.
Away from politics briefly, we’re going to post a few words on some of the other ways you can get involved with various reader-led projects here at the Guardian. Firstly, one for keen photographers – which we’ll explain in our next post.
And here’s a piece we published earlier in the week with the views of readers who told us how they were feeling now, in the context of how they voted – leave or remain – in the EU referendum 281 days ago.
Readers below the line are wondering whether Ukip are “finished” after watching the latest edition of Question Time on the BBC.
Paul Nuttall's performance on Question Time last night showed that UKIP are finished. Well at least one good thing has come from Brexit.
Why is a party with no MPs on Question Time each week. Dimbleby was Frankenstein to Farage's monster. He gave him the electricty of publicity to allow the beast to shuffle off the table and out of the green room.
Here’s a clip from the programme’s Brexit special earlier in the week.
Brexit heartlands: pro-leave Havering
Who needs magnetic poles when you have Brexit? As Theresa May triggered article 50 this week, Britain remains bitterly divided.
I suppose that’s what drew me to this photo essay on the Brexit heartlands. Shot in Havering, it looks at the politics of the people who returned one of the biggest leave votes in June last year – and has been very popular with our readers. As someone who feels devastated about Brexit, I have plenty of anger and frustration at the decision to take us out of the EU. But I found these photos disarming. The snapshots of people experiencing moments of euphoria, excitement, sadness and vulnerability reminded me that the “leave side” isn’t a cartoon villain, or an abstract concept. It consists of millions of real and complex people, with a whole host of worries, concerns – and complicated feelings as the interviews highlight.
Do photos like these encourage us to empathise with people who have different points of view? Or do they also provide a focus for resentment and prejudice? It could be that when we look at photos of other people, we also look for ourselves; that we’re not merely capable of empathy, but that we want and need it. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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What did you think of this moment?
My moment of the week wasn't article 50. That was just depressing. The best bit was when Alistair Campbell out shouted Nigel Farage and he put Farage in his place, and even Piers Morgan couldn't control it. Priceless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep2PuXu8fcY&t
Conversation points are starting to develop below the line
Why don't May and Davis just get on with settling the bill and guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens, then there will be time left to discuss trade. A good trade deal benefits everyone so they could be pushing at an open door.
The EU have already softened their stance to now consider trade talks before March 2019. They may even be able to discuss the Irish border problem in parallel as there is a trade and customs dimension.
It seems to me that the EU is already holding out an olive branch, and our posturing and sabre rattling is just embarrassing.
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If you are reading this from a European country other than the UK and have an opinion on Brexit, we’d like to hear from you. Here’s a callout with some questions – do take a look.
Brexit: 'It feels like any divorce: only the lawyers win'
This week Britain said goodbye to the European Union with a letter of divorce, which upset our continental friends with unsubtle demands that they open their markets up for trade or we take our troops home leaving them to the mercies of the Russians. The prime minister, used to buying off domestic critics with Daily Mail headlines, must be been taken aback by the claims of “blackmail”.
This was not the Europeans only disagreement: they rejected Britain’s idea that discussions about the break up and about the outline of a future relationship would have to take place in parallel. The central sentence of article 50, the instrument by which Britain triggers its departure, is unambiguous: leaving the EU must take into account the framework for a future relationship. Yet Europe is digging in. It feels like any divorce: only the lawyers win.
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Welcome to our social
Hey all, welcome to the Guardian’s weekly social. It’s been a big week, with much focused on the triggering of article 50. We will start by talking about that, but we have lots of other stuff lined up.
I have very little interest in free trade deals which seem to have become very sexy to lots of people recently. For me the EU is about friendship, togetherness and peace.
Brexit is declaration of war.