A chara, – The Brexit endgame is here but it should be made clear that the actions of Boris Johnson and the Conservatives are designed not to save Britain from the treacherous EU but to save their own political skins. They are postponing parliament to push no deal through solely to prevent Conservative electoral collapse under the threat of the Brexit Party, which has candidates prepared for almost all constituencies. Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party completely opposes the Withdrawal Agreement, even without the backstop, and demands complete renegotiation with the EU.
The implications are clear. Mr Farage is now dictating policy. A no-deal Brexit will happen on October 31st with blame then apportioned to the EU and Ireland. The EU should not waste any more time with the British government, and all efforts should be made to prepare for this no-deal scenario, with appropriate EU support for the whole of Ireland. – Is mise,
DAMIEN BENNETT,
Belfast.
Sir, – Boris Johnson’s “suspension of Westminster” is to be appreciated and welcomed for a number of reasons.
Jeremy Corbyn and his colleagues are now seriously challenged as to whether they wish to continue reneging on an opposition’s responsibility and role in upholding the principle of democracy. Despite their squeals of outrage about parliamentary time being stolen from them, the reality is that they have already wasted three years in trying to engineer personal and party gain from Brexit.
Mr Johnson’s flouting democracy only underlines the more treacherous aspects of his narcissism and further subverts his worth and stature as a bona fide agent with whom to negotiate, which should reassure the EU and our own Government in their strategy of remaining united and resolute and to avoid any involvement whatever in the evolving fiasco of Westminster.
Mr Johnson’s decision, instead of exercising his other options such as calling an election, discloses a real insecurity in what he is about and casts considerable doubt as to the timing of a crash-out Brexit, and even as to whether it will happen at all. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GANNON,
Kilkenny.
Sir, – The decision of the British prime minister to seek a prorogation of parliament is an attack upon the concept of parliamentary democracy that many Brexiteers championed at the time of the referendum.
Rather than seek an electoral mandate, Boris Johnson is seeking to stifle political dissent in an attempt to pursue a policy intended to appease those on the right who seek the ideological “purity” of a hard Brexit.
The economic damage to Ireland from a no-deal Brexit will be significant but it is important that the EU stands firm against the brinksmanship of the UK government. The pain of a no-deal Brexit can at least be shared by the remaining 27 EU nations. The UK will, however, have to take the “full hit”. If the consequential suffering of the British population eventually leads to the electoral defeat and the political demise of those on the right of the Conservative Party, it might just be a price worth paying. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN WALSH,
Manchester, UK.
Sir, – These latest antics must be a source of great embarrassment for all those pundits who in recent times have been attempting to pressurise our Government into sitting down with Boris Johnson and “compromise” on the backstop. Who in their right mind would enter into an agreement with that charlatan? – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.
Sir, – I see that Minister of State Michael D’Arcy has compared British prime minister Boris Johnson to Oliver Cromwell. I would have thought that Charles I would be more appropriate. – Yours, etc,
FRANK BANNISTER,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Parliament’s duty is to give effect to the will of the British nation –in this instance, to exit the European Union.
There has already been interminable discussion by parliament of every aspect of what – and this much, at least, is common ground – is an intolerable Withdrawal Agreement
It is clear that the intent of the Labour Party and others, is nothing less than to reject the will of the British nation, by opposing a “no-deal” exit when they know, right well, that the EU has no intention, at present, of amending an asymmetric and one-sided “deal”.
They weave a disingenuous logical fallacy to trap the UK into permanent dependence on the governance of the EU. The Irish Government’s role in this sorry saga is shameful.
The matter rests, even now, with the EU to respect the spirit of Article 50 and the territorial integrity of the UK. – Yours, etc,
Prof RAY KINSELLA,
Wicklow.
Sir, – Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue parliament in what is essentially a merciless assault on democracy certainly carries a lot of ironic potency for someone so doggedly determined to paint the backstop as undemocratic. – Yours, etc,
NORA DOORLEY,
Brussels.
Sir, – It is tempting to think that prescient Alfred Tennyson might have had in mind the two faces of Boris Johnson when he wrote: “His honour rooted in dishonour stood/And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true”. – Yours, etc,
LEWIS CLOHESSY,
Manor Kilbride,
Blessington,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – It must be considered a perversion of democracy that a government official not chosen as a result of a general election is able to block the legitimate operation of a parliament that was chosen as a result of a general election. – Yours, etc,
DAN DONOVAN,
Dungarvan,
Co Waterford.
A chara, – No-one in Ireland should be surprised at the anti-democratic coup by the Tory Brexiteers. The British parliament is due to be prorogued on or about September 10th – exactly 100 years since the British government formally ordered the suppression of the democratic assembly of the Irish people, the first Dáil Éireann. – Yours, etc,
MÍCHEÁL Mac DONNCHA,
Baile Átha Cliath 5.
Sir, – Methinks the fountainhead of democracy needs descaling. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN MORAN,
The Ward,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – What else would one expect of a person who visits another’s home and puts his shoes on the furniture? – Yours, etc,
DENIS CREMINS,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – It should be noted that not everything with Brexit is negative. After all, the majority of us have learned a new verb, to prorogue. I’m not sure how often we will use it in future, but who knows, proroguing may become fashionable. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN CULLEN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – Whether you are for a deal, no deal or Remain, it occurs to me that we should be grateful to Boris for granting the people of the UK, Ireland and EU fewer days of waffle, procrastination and fence-sitting by the mostly self-serving MPs in Westminster. Like bold children, they have been rightly grounded and sent to their rooms until they agree to behave better. – Yours, etc,
DECLAN O’DONOGHUE,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.
Sir, – British “subjects” are now experiencing what their government and its ruling classes have been doing to other countries under its imperial ambitions for centuries. Their ignorance of Ireland and betrayal of the Belfast Agreement expose this. Karma at long last! – Yours, etc,
KEITH NOLAN,
Caldragh,
Carrick-on-Shannon,
Co Leitrim.
Sir, – An evening of fruitcakes on the Great British Bake-off followed the next morning by the announcement of a prorogued parliament. You could not make this up. – Yours, etc,
ULTAN Ó BROIN,
Florence, Italy.
Sir, – They sauntered off on holidays, in the midst of their biggest constitutional crisis, from July 25th to September 3rd. But only now, when they have been given another four weeks off, they yell “constitutional crisis”! – Yours, etc,
LIAM McMULLIN,
Donamon,
Co Roscommon.