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April 2, 2019 - Sargon of Akkad - Carl Benjamin
12:14
#Brexit： Kick them in the Ballot
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So you might be wondering what the hell is going on with Brexit and you would not be the only one.
A lot of people are thinking that too.
So let me give you a very brief recap of the absolute clusterfuck that Parliament is making of Brexit right now.
On March the 26th, 2019, the MPs decided that Theresa May wasn't doing a good job of Brexit herself.
Who could have guessed?
And so they voted to take control of the parliamentary timetable.
And that would be the last thing that Parliament could actually decide on.
And everyone was like, well, okay, then, Theresa May is making an absolute pig's ear of it.
Maybe Parliament can vote to do something.
So they had a series of eight votes and voted no on every single one.
No deal, common market, EFTA and EEA, customs union, Labour's alternative plan, revocation to avoid no deal, confirmatory public vote and contingent preferential arrangements all no.
What a pointless exercise that was.
So the next day in the Conservatives 1922 committee meeting, Theresa May announced that she would resign if Parliament would vote for her deal.
Now, I'm sure I don't have to explain to you just how bad an idea Theresa May's deal is, so I'll just summarize it with, why don't we stay in the European Union and relinquish any decision-making power that Britain had in the European Union?
It's a state worse than actually remaining.
And that's what Theresa May is holding over everyone's heads with the promise that if we vote for this absolute and total surrender to the European Union, that she would resign.
Now, I would like to see Theresa May gone as much as anyone, but I would rather see Britain not be the slave of the European Union and Theresa May still remain in power.
Call me crazy.
This is what ex-Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had to say about it.
Theresa May.
First, she triggers Article 50 on the basis of red lines that boxed her into an impossibility.
And secondly, and that is a crime against logic, she failed to recognize that Michel Barnier, when he announced the two-phase negotiation process, was issuing a declaration of hostilities against the government.
She never even saw this coming.
Because if I come to you and say, listen, let's have a little negotiation between us.
First, you are going to give me everything I want.
Secondly, we will discuss that which you want.
Now, you're a sensible young man.
Clearly, you will say, no, mate, I'm not going to have a good negotiation with you along those lines.
Theresa May started that negotiation, and the result was effectively a deal, which I disagree with my fellow panelists here.
Whether you are a Brexiteer or a remainer, this is a deal that a nation signs only after having been defeated at war.
This is not a deal which is fit for purpose for any sovereign country.
Which is what I and every other Brexiteer have been arguing since she proposed her deal.
It is not acceptable.
And at least Parliament can actually see that.
And so has voted her deal down three times now.
And so at a complete loss of what to do, Theresa May just sits there and says, well, maybe we should have a fourth vote on my deal.
Because for some reason, she hasn't got the goddamn message yet.
Her deal is not acceptable.
So the MPs decided, well, we'll have another vote.
And on the 2nd of April, they decided to vote no on absolutely everything that was proposed.
Because there is no way out of this process because they are ruling out no deal.
As Yanis Varoufakis has already pointed out, this is our only option if we want to salvage something from this process.
Something, anything.
We have to take back some measure of self-determination and say, if you will not deal with us fairly, we will just leave.
But our parliament is too weak to lose.
And so now they are sat in a position where they just don't know what to do.
They are not strong enough to take any kind of fight to the European Union.
And as far as the European Union is concerned, those negotiations are over.
You've even got Macron and the rest of the cronies saying, well, you know what?
We're ready for no deal.
We're ready to take it.
We're the ones operating from a position of strength here, which is ridiculous.
Because if you remember back to the beginning of the Brexit process, they were absolutely terrified of the idea of no deal.
So much so, Jeremy Corbyn wanted to act in their interest and make sure that no deal was taken off the table.
What I would say is that the threat of no deal is something that has deeply exercised people throughout the European Union.
They're very worried about the consequences of it.
And that was conveyed to us in no uncertain terms during the meeting.
That's why we're determined to get no deal taken off the table.
Brexiteers are furious with the whole process.
And in particular, the Speaker of the House, John Burko, who has been remarkably pro-Remain the whole time.
There are many, many, many, many pieces of media that are just lambasting Burko for refusing to put the no deal option, the pro-Brexit option, on the table because he gets to decide what amendments are even going to be voted on.
And in his own defense, he says, well, hey, hang on, I'm biased in favour of Parliament.
Well, that's all well and good.
But Parliament is biased in favour 3 to 1 for Remain, which means you are biased in favour of Remain, Mr. Burko.
But either way, it doesn't matter because literally, nothing is going to happen.
They are not capable of actually coming to a decision on this.
Naturally, Jeremy Corbyn is just sat waiting in the wings, rubbing his hands together at the prospect of taking power and, quote, rebuilding Britain, which is a bloody ominous thing for any socialist to say about a country.
But instead of repudiating him and actually doing something from a position of strength, putting a foot forward and telling people how it's going to be, Theres May instead said that, oh no, I'm actually very happy to meet Jeremy Corbyn because I literally have no fucking ideas of my own.
And I am essentially a Labour lackey in a conservative uniform.
And so now we're at the point where Brexit, what happens now?
Well, this is a handy guide from the BBC that we can have a look at to see exactly how they're going to screw us.
These are the possible next steps.
Tomorrow, April the 3rd, they're going to debate and vote on the new law to compel the PM to request a longer extension, as if if she doesn't already want that.
Now, if they fail, there'll be another fourth possible vote on May's deal.
And if that fails, which it likely will, the Prime Minister can request an extension, which puts us once again in the clutches of the European Union, giving them complete and total decision-making power over the future of our country.
And why should they agree?
There's no particular reason they should.
But then the options are another vote on May's deal, as if that's useful, a renegotiation which they've already refused, a referendum which the public has already refused, and Theresa May herself has already refused, and a general election, which is honestly the best alternative out of these that I can think of, because then at least we would have the opportunity to vote in pro-Brexit MPs or cancel Brexit.
Now, the alternative is the House of Lords will agree to this.
They'll vote on an extension with the date chosen by the PM.
This will pass and the PM will request a longer extension.
And if the EU refuses, we either have a no-deal Brexit, which is what I want, or we cancel Brexit, which will lead to unbelievable chaos.
And so finally, Theresa May decided to take the initiative by going to ask the European Union for a further extension on the fucking Article 50 process.
Why?
Why?
Why can't you just show some goddamn spine, Teresa?
It has come to the point where there is no other option.
Parliament can't decide anything.
The European Union is not prepared to budge any further.
And all they're going to do is say, well, yes, you can pay us a billion euros a month for the privilege of getting no resolution to your problem.
There is only one thing we can do.
And that is leave.
So really, the only question is, just how bad will it be?
Well, here's a nice little graphic from Metro to let us know by region how bad a no-deal Brexit will be.
Somewhere between 10% and 6%.
Okay.
That will be just the gross drop in GDP, between 6 and 10% of GDP.
Okay.
All right.
We accept it.
We voted to leave.
We accept the consequences, even if that is a 10% drop to our net income.
That's fine.
We accept it.
We understand it.
We accept that we will be in a slightly poorer position, up to 10% poorer after we leave.
We accept this.
We understood it.
It is a worthy price to pay for the sovereignty of our country.
How is it that Parliament can't see this?
And all you get are unbelievably insufferable remainers.
Like, oh, I don't know.
How about Owen Jones?
Going on TV and then claiming, well, hang on, I'm the defender of the working man.
Now, I know that most of England voted to leave.
And I know that the north of England are especially Brexiteer areas.
But did you know they're going to lose some money and therefore we shouldn't Brexit?
For those who quite flippantly come on national television shows to flippantly call for no deal and then concede there will be disruption.
A euphemism if ever I've heard one.
Neither me nor my opponent here, my debating partner, will suffer the consequences of a no deal.
We will still no doubt appear in your company, Kay, on national television to discuss the mounting chaos in our country in a no-deal situation.
We'll be writing our columns about it and newspapers will not close.
It is the people out there, often not least in working class communities, many of whom who voted for leave, who will suffer.
They're the ones whose jobs are at risk.
They're the ones who'll have to pay more.
They're the ones whose living standards have already been squeezed for the longest period since the Napoleonic War.
It is never the elites who suffer from crisis.
They always protect themselves.
It will always be ordinary people who suffer.
And as I've said, we will have to go back to the EU cap in hand because from having a long-term relationship with our nearest trading bloc to ensuring the continuation of the Northern Ireland peace process, which ended a conflict which killed thousands of people and named countless others, all of those things would have to be resolved.
There is no such, a no-deal situation would make this country look like even more of a laughing stock than it currently is, a banana republic at best.
It would damage us economically and internationally.
And for people who will not suffer the consequences of any of those things to just flippantly call for it on national television, I find a little bit wearing.
Owen, shut up.
Your opinion on this is worthless.
Jeremy Corbyn's opinion on this is worthless.
And hell, so's Theresa Mays.
Don't think I'm being partisan about this.
You're all awful.
And here's a quick update since I recorded this video because this is all happening very, very quickly.
Apparently, a lot of people are now deciding to cut up their Conservative Party membership on the grounds that they are not prepared to ally with communists.
And I don't blame them.
Why on earth would you still be a member of the Conservative Party?
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