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Among the many reactions to actor Rishi Kapoors cremation Thursday, one caught my attention. Ritu Rathaur, whocalls herself a Himachali Thakurian and Civilizational Hindu, criticised Ranbir Kapoor for wearing torn jeans to his fathers cremation.

Two things stand out. One is the obvious poor taste of the tweet and how it ignores that the Kapoor familywas asked by the authoritiesto go straight from the hospital to the crematorium in view of the lockdown, so obviously Ranbir couldnt change his clothes, even in the unlikely event that clothes were uppermost on his mind on the day his father died. The second is the word deracination.

Deracination means a removal or separation from ones native environment or culture, especially in terms of racial or ethnic identity, but the way it is used in India, it is less about race and far more about religion, language andclothes.

In India, if you dont engage with religion and religious customs (and particularly the majoritarian ones), you are called deracinated, because you obviously dont understand your culture and roots.

The use of the word in India assumes that anyone who is liberal, who speaks and thinks in English, who dresses in Western clothes and isnt concerned with a narrow and surface-level concept of Indianness, is deracinated. Anyone who talks about global issues and human rights instead of muscular nationalism is not in touch with real India. Never mind that there are many Indias, each of them equally real and valid the English-educated liberal elites Indianness doesnt get invalidated because of their privilege, and the white kurta-wearing funeral attendee isnt more desi than someone who wears jeans, ripped or not.

Also read: Loverboy, brat, troubled star, outspoken patriarch Rishi Kapoor was all of these and more

It is also a lazy pejorative because, as sociologist Shiv Visvanathan told ThePrint, When we in India talk about deracination, we are talking of a very superficial way of looking at a persons Indianness. Its a failure of our use of language, we didnt look at the root of the word before using it to describe someone who is just more cosmopolitan.

It is the same narrow logic that compelled many people, in June 2015, to make snarky comments aboutwhy Indians were celebratingwhen the US Supreme Court legalised gay marriage, and the same argument that is dredged up every four years when someone questions on social media why Indians care who becomes the US president. Because, you know, real Indians should only be concerned with what happens in our country.

It is also the same narrow logic behind Prime Minister Narendra Modis use of the term Khan Market gang to describe the capitals elite class, epitomised by the Nehru-Gandhi family, whose ideas of secularism and diversity, and cosmopolitan, outward-lookingways are at odds with the Rights obsession with the glories of our (Hindu) past.

In a 2017 article, the BJPs National General Secretary, Ram Madhav (who also, in 2019, criticised the pseudo-secular/liberal cartels of Khan Market), wrote that Indias native genius is rooted in its religio-social institutions like state, family, caste, guru and festival, adding that at the time of Independence, conflict arose between a colonised Nehru and a Gandhi more attached to native wisdom. Nehru sought to take the country in the direction of the ideas he had inherited from the colonial masters and from his personal experience in Europe. The crucial formative years after independence were thus dominated by a western liberal discourse that had very little Indian content, Madhav wrote.

Incidentally, after the BJPs victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Madhav took party workers out for a celebration to Khan Market.

R. Jagannathan, editorial director of Swarajya magazine, says a deracinated Indian is someone whose mind is almost entirely driven by the English language. He told ThePrint, When you think and express yourself in a regional language, you are far more rooted. Not that one can paint everyone with the same brush, but yes, someone who is mentally colonised by the English language is broadly what I would call deracinated. Of course, English is an Indian language, but it should be used only for looking outward. Forcing it as the language with which to look inwards, at regional issues, is problematic.

Also read: Time Modi & Amit Shah stop abusing Lutyens Delhi. They are the new power elite in Capital

In his book,The Road to Somewhere: The Populist Revolt and The Future of Politics, British writer and social commentator David Goodhart divides people into Somewheres (those who are deeply rooted in a certain ethnic, linguistic, religious, geographical community and geography, typically conservative, often not well-educated, and wedded to homogeneity) and Anywheres (urban, well-educated, well-travelled, at home anywhere in the world).

Goodhart uses these terms to explain, and justify, the demand for Brexit in the UK, citing the sense of threat to their identity that the Somewheres feel due to immigrants, despite the fact that they are in a majority over the Anywheres.

The terms can easily be transplanted to India, with the whole Hindu khatre mein hai narrative of the BJP. In India, the Anywheres are also in a minority, but they do hold some sway over public thought, be it in the media, in cinema, literature, big business or the civil services. And yes, they do need to confront the fact that there is a disenchantment with them that has led to Narendra Modis consecutive landslide electoral victories.

It is not enough to just call all the Somewheres bigots and cocoon oneself in a bubble. It is also not enough to call all the Anywheres deracinated and out of touch with reality and cocoon oneself in that bubble.

Also read: Why does the Right-wing want to occupy Delhis liberal hotspot Khan Market?

It is similar to the fear that the institutions of marriage and family are breaking down but why is every change seen as bad? Marriage as it stood, as a patriarchal construct,wasin need of a breakdown and overhaul to accommodate a changed gender dynamic. Familywasa very narrow idea, and the nuclear unit, and now live-in partners, are changing that and its a good thing. These upheavals are not threats. These are signs that something that needed to change is finally changing.

To go back to the attack on Ranbir Kapoors clothes, Visvanathan says that theKapoor family actually carries the tradition of the deracinated Indian, what with bringing to India the idea of Charlie Chaplin, the proletariat and clown, as the hero. Rishi Kapoor also always carried himself with ease, didnt take himself too seriously, and its the same with Ranbir. The Kapoors did not adhere to standard nationalist models,they brokestereotypes.

Views are personal.

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Theres something common in reactions to Ranbir Kapoors jeans, Brexit and Khan Market gang - ThePrint

There are few concepts in Ireland that evoke an emotional response from a population known for their propensity to be easy going, but one thats sure to get some kind of reaction is the notion of a United Ireland.

When it comes to the issue of a united Ireland, everyone and their dog seems to have an opinion or three.

These opinions vary depending on who youre talking to, how old they are, what part of the country theyre from and very often what family they come from.

The very question of whether there should be a 32 county Ireland has resulted in fighting, death, political movements, political careers and is often the deciding factor on how people vote on this island, north and south and south of the border, although more so in the North.

Its undeniable that since Britain voted to leave the European Union almost four years ago, this issue has made its way into the public political discussion in a way it hadnt been in a long time.

This can partly be attributed to the fact that Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. Its clear Brexit has thrown gasoline on the quenched fire that was the idea of a United Ireland.

Id argue that immediately before the Brexit referendum Northern Irelands place in the United Kingdom was as safe and secure as ever.

In the 2015 British general election, the combined Unionist vote (DUP, UUP & TUV) held up at 44% which was nearly the exact same as what they collectively achieved in the previous election in 2010.

Crucially, once you include the Eurosceptic UKIP party and Northern Irish Conservative party who both actively support Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom, this number jumps to 47.9%.

On the opposite end of the spectrum the combined Nationalist Vote (Sinn Fin & SDLP) performed poorly, only achieving a 38.4% vote share. This was a decrease of 3.6% from 2010.

The gap between the combined Unionist vote and combined Nationalist vote stood at nearly 10%. In addition to this, out of the 18 Northern Irish Westminster seats 11 of those were filled by Unionists while only 7 were filled by Nationalists.

To make matters worse for Nationalists, the Fermanagh South Tyrone seat held by Sinn Fin was lost to the Ulster Unionist Party.

What was even more worrying for Nationalism in 2015 was Sinn Fins performance in the Nationalist heartland of West Belfast.

Although Sinn Fins Paul Maskey was comfortably returned as MP, the Sinn Fin vote share in the constituency was reduced from 70.6% in the 2011 by-election to 54.2%. This was a reduction of nearly 17% of the Sinn Fin vote share.

The 2015 Westminster election was undoubtedly a high point for Unionism.

This was profoundly illustrated during a Prime Time Special that year entitled Irelands Call. During the show, it was revealed that merely 13% of people in Northern Ireland wanted a United Ireland.

A greater number of people (24%) favoured direct rule from the British Government.

The findings came as a result of a cross border survey conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes over a period of two weeks in October 2015.

Mere months before the Brexit Referendum Northern Ireland went to the polls again for the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly elections. This was yet another poor performance for Nationalism.

The Unionist vote once again held up. The combined first preference Unionist vote share was 46.1%. The addition of the Northern Ireland conservatives and UKIP brought this vote share to 48% which is nearly the exact vote percentage Unionism obtained in 2015.

Nationalism continued its downward spiral in this election as the combined vote share amounted to 36% which was down over 2%.

To make matters worse the SDLP returned 2 less seats to the assembly and Sinn Fin returned one less seat while both the UUP and DUP managed to return the exact same amount of seats they had obtained five years previously.

The combined number of Unionist seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly amounted to 55 seats compared to 40 seats held by Nationalists.

The difference between the combined Nationalist and Unionist vote now stood at 12%.

The infamous West Belfast constituency once again acted as a portrait showing Nationalisms struggles.

The reliable nationalist epicentre voted in droves for People Before Profits Gerry Carroll who topped the poll with an impressive 8,299 votes.

The socialist People Before Profit party obtained 22.9% of the first preference vote share.

The last party to obtain this vote share in West Belfast apart from Sinn Fin was the SDLP in 1998.

Although People Before Profit does not designate itself as a Nationalist party its vote primarily comes from traditional Nationalist areas.

What their growth seemed to show us was that there was a change in priority for a substantial proportion of traditional Nationalist voters.

Although Sinn Fin was still by far the biggest party in West Belfast with a 54.5% vote share, it was a big decline of nearly 17% from the 2011 assembly election.

They had also gone from 5 MLAs in West Belfast to 4.

It was also very telling that the Foyle Constituency (Derry City) had returned one less Nationalist MLA as the SDLP lost out to People Before Profits Eamonn McCann.

The 2016 Assembly Election made it clear that the constitutional question of a United Ireland was starting to be put on the back burner as far as the Nationalist electorate were concerned.

The electorate was becoming increasingly more concerned with social issues such as health and housing.

The fact these issues were leading people to not vote on constitutional lines showed how a period of normalisation was beginning to take place.

There was very little immediate appetite for a United Ireland and the Nationalist turnout was lowering with each election.

The disappointing Nationalist result had come off the back of the centenary of the 1916 rising which was hoped to galvanise the nationalist electorate.

In contrast to this, it was the Unionist vote which had been holding up and increasing in certain areas which showed us the status quo was sailing smoothly in Northern Ireland.

In June 2016 a political tsunami took place which engulfed the status quo in Northern Ireland.

This was the UKs vote to leave the European Union.

Crucially, Northern Ireland had voted to remain in the EU by 55% to 44%.

A total of 11 of the Norths constituencies voted to remain while 7 voted to leave.

This provided the surge of adrenaline that Nationalism needed to get a United Ireland back on the agenda.

Suddenly, the idea of a United Ireland was now equipped with a strong economic argument.

A United Ireland could now be seen as the saviour Northern Ireland needs to remain in the European Union and retain economic stability.

If there were early signs of Nationalism beginning to flat line, Brexit was the defibrillator which revived it wholeheartedly.

Within a few hours of the result of the Brexit vote, Sinn Fin had already called for a border poll on Irish Unity.

The possibility of Brexit leading to a hard border on the island of Ireland between Northern Ireland and the Republic could be seen as a logical possibility.

This possibility would spook a large number of Nationalists who had seemed to become content with the status quo in Northern Ireland.

In March 2017 the voters in Northern Ireland went to the polls for the first time since the Brexit referendum.

This Assembly election occurred as a result of the Sinn Fin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigning in protest due to the RHI scandal accompanied by Arlene Fosters refusal to down stand pending a public inquiry.

This election was a massive success for Sinn Fin who nearly obtained an increase of 4% in their first preference vote share.

Furthermore Sinn Fin came within .2% of the DUP in terms of first preference votes.

Sinn Fins revival could be seen in its fortress of West Belfast where Orlaithi Flynn topped the poll followed by Alex Maskey, Fra McCann and Pat Sheehan respectively.

Sinn Fins first preference vote share increased by over 7%.

This was in contrast to People Before Profit whos vote share decreased by 8%.

There was a clear swing in preference from People Before Profit to the two main Nationlalist parties in the constituency.

The combined Nationalist vote share had increased to 40% (41% if you add People Before Profit) while the combined Unionist vote share shrunk to 44.8% which was a decrease of almost 4% from the previous year.

In what was a historic election the Unionists were no longer the majority in Stormont.

The number of Unionist seats in the assembly now stood at 39 while the number of Nationalist seats in the assembly also amounted to 39.

The Legislative Assembly which was once a bastion of the Unionist majority was now unrecognisable.

A few months later, the Norths electorate were back to the polls to vote in the 2017 Westminster General Election.

The snap election was called by Theresa May and the beneficiaries were Sinn Fin and the DUP.

The fact there was more movement to the staunchest elements of Nationalism and Unionism to an extent not seen before illustrated how the electorate was now thinking along constitutional lines now more than ever.

The DUP returned 10 seats which was an increase of 2 while Sinn Fin gained 3 seats returning 7 in total.

The combined Unionist vote share stood at 47.2% while the Combined Nationalist vote share was at nearly 42%.

Although the Unionist vote share was up from the Assembly election a few months prior, it was still down slightly from its 2016 high.

The combined Nationalist share of the vote had somewhat increased (41.1%) from the Assembly election (39.8%) while the Unionist Fermanagh South Tyrone Seat had returned to Sinn Fin.

In addition, Sinn Fin had knocked the SDLP off their perch in the Foyle constituency while also defeating them in South Down.

The decline of the moderate nationalist party in favour of Sinn Fin showed how much of a priority a United Ireland was becoming from an increasingly energised Nationalist electorate.

Nationalism had obtained its highest vote percentage since 2011 and finally had some momentum behind it.

In West Belfast Sinn Fin enjoyed a 12.5% increase in their vote share in the constituency while People Before Profits Gerry Carroll was hammered with a decrease in 9% of the vote share.

In December 2017 a poll by the Belfast based polling and market research company LucidTalk showed for the first time ever that a majority of people in Northern Ireland were in favour of a United Ireland (48% to 45% with 7% undecided).

It is critical to note that in this poll the respondents were asked about their preference for a United Ireland in the specific event of a hard brexit.

Unionism was dealt a devastating blow last December when the most recent Westminster Election returned more Nationalist than Unionist seats for the first time ever.

Nationalism obtained 9 seats while Unionism attained 8 seats.

Three out of four of the Belfast seats now belong to Nationalist parties.

North Belfast, which had been a safe Unionist since 1905 is now in the hands of Sinn Fin.

In addition, the combined Unionist vote share was a historic low of 43.1%.

It must be acknowledged that the combined Nationalist vote was lower at 38.9%.

Nationalism once again failed to break the glass ceiling and amass a higher vote percentage than Unionism.

Furthermore, to add to this complication Nationalisms vote percentage was down compared to 2017.

This can be attributed to the rise of the Alliance party.

The cross community party who is agnostic on the question of the Union reached a breakthrough in the 2019 local elections winning a substantial amount of seats.

This was followed up by Naomi Long winning a seat in the European Parliament at the expense of the Ulster Unionist Party.

The Alliance Party completed its run of good results with a stellar performance in the 2019 Westminster Election.

They managed to increase their first preference vote share by 8.8%.

This occurred while both the DUP and Sinn Fin parties simultaneously decreased in their vote share.

There are many possible explanations for this. One theory is that despite Brexit, there is a sizable increase in those not concerned about the constitutional question first and foremost.

It can be reasonably inferred that voters are more concerned with issues on the ground rather than whether the country is in the UK or not.

This could be good for Unionism in the long run as a sizeable proportion of people voting this way reinforces the status quo of the state of Northern Ireland.

The more people are voting on issues which pertain to Northern Ireland locally, the less transfixed they are on the question of a United Ireland.

A key thing to consider is the Alliance Party draws more of its votes from the Unionist Community than the Nationalist Community.

This can be seen at local council level where the vast majority of their seats come from the Unionist heartlands to the East of the Bann.

This could be good news for Nationalism if a higher proportion of Unionists are switching to Alliance.

It shows us that some Unionists may be getting more flexible to the idea of a United Ireland.

In a straight 50%+1 Referendum these margins may be crucial.

All in all, although Nationalism has made some strides in the last few years on the back of Brexit there are still ailments affecting the movement for a United Ireland.

Among these is the fact that despite changes in demographics, Nationalism has never obtained a higher vote share than Unionism.

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Crunching the numbers, could Brexit really lead to a United Ireland? - Galway Daily

PUBLISHED: 12:32 30 April 2020 | UPDATED: 12:46 30 April 2020

Matt Withers

Fiona Bruce, presenter of the BBC's Question Time programme. Photograph: BBC.

Archant

Tonights audience-free virtual Question Time comes from the ether, with the show having apparently abandoned its pandemic practice of sourcing video questions from a particular town. But whos on the panel? Heres your complete guide

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Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only continue to grow with your support.

Grant Shapps

Who? Transport secretary

Brought back into frontline politics by Boris Johnson after being humiliatingly demoted from the cabinet by David Cameron in 2015, Shapps is best known for living a double life as an internet marketing salesman called Michael Green while he was an MP, something he described as a joke or normal, which it is most definitely is, obviously. As Johnsons transport secretary he was expected to be tasked with kicking issues like HS2 and Heathrow expansion, two things which seemed relatively important until about six weeks ago, down the road for the next decade. Has instead been spending this week organising a flypast for Captain Tom Moores 100th birthday and urging people to hold off booking a foreign holiday this summer, advice which, in the statements of the bleeding obvious rankings, stands aside not putting pressure on the NHS by deliberately and repeatedly slamming ones own thumb in the car door.

Anneliese Dodds

Who? Shadow chancellor of the exchequer

Elected to Parliament in 2017, Dodds served 25 days on the backbenches before being promoted to Jeremy Corbyns shadow team and is now Kier Starmers shadow chancellor, being widely seen as an uncontroversial, non-factional pick. Said on Any Questions last year: Well I guess Im anti-Brexit. Well no, not guess, I am anti-Brexit. Expect more fiery rhetoric like that tonight. Anneliese Dodds fact #1: she has used the word bricolage - the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available - twice in parliamentary debates, making her the only MP to use the word in the past 219 years. Anneliese Dodds fact #2: despite being one of the most senior figures in British politics, she has a Wikipedia entry made up of 352 words, 75 fewer than little-remembered 1980s comedy band The Grumbleweeds.

Jeane Freeman

Who? Scottish Government health secretary

SNP health secretary, the inclusion of whom will infuriate nationalist tweeters forced to find something else to get blood-pressure-threateningly angry about tonight, Freeman has held the role since June 2018, having previously been responsible for social security. The former Communist has been considerably more open than her English counterpart in admitting were going to be sat in our pants watching Seinfeld for a very long time, saying we are in uncharted territory and returning to what we regard as a normal life will not be possible in the near future. Dont have nightmares!

Paul Nurse

Who? Geneticist and cell biologist

The latest beneficiary of Question Times recent innovation of booking guests who might actually know what theyre talking about, Nurse won a Nobel Prize in 2001 which, while not shielding him from people online with names like AlbionOverlord accusing him of being a shill/traitor, means hes probably worth a listen. Director of the Francis Crick Institute, he has said of the prime minister: Its galling when people who have denounced experts then come on the stage and start talking about experts. Was then attacked by claret-nosed Daily Mail columnist Nigel Lawson who accused him of sneering from the sidelines, somehow made it all about the euro and anyway, he had been speaking to a friend who knew better. Nurses full title is Sir Paul Maxime Nurse FRS FMedSci HonFREng HonFBA MAE, which must make filling in online forms an irksome task.

George Osborne

Who? Editor of the Evening Standard

In an alternative universe, in which David Cameron did not call an unnecessary and devastating referendum because he was worried about political and intellectual heavyweights like Mark Francois and Andrew Rosindell defecting to the UK Independence Party, Osborne would now be almost a year into his first full term as prime minister, leading the medical and economic fight against coronavirus. But Cameron did, meaning Osborne is now the editor of the capitals evening newspaper, a turn which the former prime minister has revealed his chancellor has expressed to him his frustration by saying: I told you not to do that f***ing referendum. Meanwhile, there is still no word as to whether Osborne has got his shorthand.

Question Time is on BBC One at 10.45pm tonight.

Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press with your support. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.

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Who is on the BBC's Question Time tonight? | Latest Brexit news and top stories - The New European

Warrenpoint Harbour

The UKs stubbornly negative approach to future relations within the EU reminds me of the newborn Free States attitude to Britain after the trauma of independence. They cant wait to be rid of even the symbols as well as the substance of the former power even to the extent of trying to deny the facts of mutual interdependence particularly over the economy. Granted there are vital differences. No blood has been spilled over Brexit and I was going to write that the EU is no imperial power; but that isnt how Brexiteers see it. We have regained our independence and all that.

Today saw the first meeting of an elaborate piece of bureaucracy which will be responsible for shaping quite a bit of Northern Irelands future destiny, the Joint Committee in which NI is represented by a senior civil servant. Its role and potential is explained here by the QUB experts on the EU Katy Hayward and David Phinnemore.

At the meeting the UK reps stuck to their guns. No need to bid for an extension for negotiations and no hurry- or no need? to set up customs at GB ports to check which goods are destined for NI only and which for onward to the RoI /EU.

The EU believes IT systems and databases for customs checks and controls need to be in place in Northern Ireland by June 1 in order for the Irish Protocol to be properly implemented, according to a nine-page note circulated to member states, reports RTEs excellent Europe editor Tony Connelly. After the meeting the EU put out an anodyne statement and the British said nothing. But behind the scenes the EU firmly rejected the UKs almost casual, light touch approach, as Connelly reports:

UK sources say EU customs and veterinary officials could enter and leave NI in the same way the EU agriculture officials periodically carry out CAP audits in member states. EU sources reject this, saying there is no comparison with the Protocol, which involves the EU is implementing its single market and customs rules in an entire chunk of a country which is no longer a member of the EU. The EU appears determined not to let the matter rest. UK sources suggest the second rejection letter means the issue is all but dead. However, I expect there will be more to come on this.

Then there is the neuralgic issue of a new EU office in Belfast to monitor compliance and the operations of the single market in the province. The British attitude to this reminds me of the slow removal from the Viceregal Lodge, of the British residual presence of the Governor General from 1933 and the offices replacement by the President in the renamed Aras an Uachtarain.

Just a few months ago the EU Commission had a full presence in Belfast as the capital of an EU region. The standoff over a new office is explained in characteristic style by Newton Emerson. The EU and the Republic have both upped the ante to open the new EU office in Belfast. Connellys report again.

discussions on an EU office in Belfast need to be advanced as a matter of urgency. This is despite the UK rejecting for a 2nd time this week the EUs request for a physical presence in NI to allow EU officials to support the implementation of the Protocol. While the meeting was regarded as constructive, with the UK putting forward more concrete proposals than they have to date, both sides are still poles apart on the EU office issue, and on how goods at risk of entering the single market (over the landborder) should be handled. Dublin also flatly rejected the idea that such an office would undermine the Good Friday Agreement. In her letter to Michel Barnier and the EUs Helga Schmidt, (the UK cabinet minister Paymaster General) Penny Mordaunt said an EU presence wd be divisive in political and community terms

And of course the DUP and Sinn Fein have fallen for it and over north-south cooperation over Covid, but perhaps not too far to be unable to get out of the hole. The DUP must see the benefit of cooperation and that imitation English nationalism will get them nowhere. But theyve yet to find the language to express it without losing face. The SDLP and Alliance would do well to keep targeting their fire on the Johnson administration while nudging their awkward Executive partners towards the goal of the common good.

Meanwhile Aodhn Connolly, director of the NI Retail Consortium was making the real pitch for our interests to the Commons ironically entitled Committee on Unfettered access. From his twitter notes.

The Joint Committee There is a difference in Perception. EU thinks that it is about the implementation of the laws that are explicit within the Withdrawal Agreement & UK think it is about negotiation & mitigation. That means friction from day one The first iteration of the NI Protocol had very little friction between NI and GB and vice versa. Now there are new regulatory, jurisdictional and enforcement issues to the free flow of goods including different customs arrangement and remember friction = cost.

Joint Comm has to talk to biz it & give an evidentiary threshold of how it will judge what is it and whats not at risk. It needs to make decisions on 100ks products. All guidance/procedures need to be issued the biz & business needs time to implement. Time we dont have!

Retail and consumers in NI dont have room to absorb higher costs if there is friction. Retail is a high vol low profit margin industry c2% for some major retailers so no wiggle room. NI households have half of the discretionary income of GB so they cant absorb rises.. Unless goods can show that they are not at risk then there will be the presumption that they are at risk. The EU priority will be to protect the customs Union and the single market. For them this is not just about Brexit & the UK but every other border they have too.

Theres been talk of possible waivers & facilitations and of a Special 3rd country status. . But that wont happen. There is no Hail Mary pass or gentlemens agreement. This all has to be pinned down in legislation and treaty. We need an FTA & agreements. A legal framework

Its not for business to interpret the legislation. Needs to be clear and unequivocal guidance from the UK govt & Northern Ireland Exec. We also NEED to see a UK draft plan on the custom checks between NI & GB to allow us to prepare properly.

Some talk about fixing 1 part and think the whole of the friction is fixed. Thats not right. This is a jigsaw of friction pieces that need sorted, SPS, customs, VAT, security & Safety, transit, all need sorted if we are to give the NI public the same choice and affordability.

From UK we need: Reconstitution of the Alter Arguments Working Group to look at NI-GB-NI trade. Biz needs access to Joint Comm to explain challenges & support needed An economic impact assessment UKG on the effects of the protocol on NI business & NI households.

Added to the pressure of leaving the EU on 1 Jan we also have the Corona virus to deal with which is already having a devastating effect. It has proved that Just In Time Supply chains when they work are great but delays or problems can have huge knock on effects.

Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London

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Boris Johnson's perversity on the Brexit cliff edge reminds me of the Free State's rejection of all things British - Slugger O'Toole

Maria Fletcher says the UK Government must do the right thing and extend the Brexit transition period

30th April 2020 by TFN Guest

Having claimed to have got Brexit done on 31 January 2020, the Johnson Government was adamant that the post-Brexit transition period would end on 31 December 2020. As of today, it remains adamant of this but given the intervening and ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it is under increasing pressure to ask for a prolongation of the transition period for up to two years. The deadline for a joint EU-UK agreed extension is 30 June 2020.

In normal times, completing negotiations on the UKs future relationship with the EU - including UKs border, internal security, immigration, organisational infrastructure - in the 11 months set by the UK Government was a tall order. However, the enormity of the task became even clearer as negotiating approaches were published in February 2020 and the gulf between the UK and the EU positions on key issues (such as the so-called level playing field), fisheries and security cooperation became clear.

Since then, the outbreak and deadly spread of the coronavirus has ushered in extraordinary times. This led first, to the disruption and halting of negotiations. Then on 15 April to the agreed resumption of negotiations with three weekly rounds starting on 20 April, 11 May and 1 June. The negotiations are by now, inevitably, considerably behind the agreed schedule, and made much harder by the lack of in person contact. After the first round of resumed negotiations last week, it was clear that the sides remained far apart.

It may seem odd to be worrying about Brexit at this time of a pandemic but the two are connected.

A growing number of voices at home and abroad are putting pressure on the UK Government to secure an extension to avoid compounding the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic with a hugely disruptive and disorderly Brexit. As is looking increasingly likely, if a future EU-UK deal cannot be agreed by the end of the year, this puts another feared no-deal/cliff-edge scenario back on the table. And with the best will in the world, no other world leaders are in a position to negotiate a trade deal with the UK before the end of the year. As civil society battles to limit the huge crisis posed to the wellbeing of vulnerable groups by Covid-19, the potential harmful impacts of Brexit (loss of rights, legal remedies, connectivity, funding) post no-deal transition loom even larger for the sector and the individuals and groups they serve.

Maria Fletcher

An additional, unnecessary economic shock (and potential security crisis), causing further uncertainty, pain and worry for businesses, civil society and individuals is surely not the choice of a prudent or decent government. Yes, the UK Government may lose some face amongst some of its party-faithful. Yes, additional payments will need to be paid to the EU should an extension be secured - but that would still be a small price to pay given the probable alternative. The UK Governments outcomes are simply not attainable in the current extraordinary circumstances. A policy U-turn would be the sign of a strong, not weak, government.

The legal and procedural hurdles to an extension of the post-Brexit transition period are numerous indeed, but not insurmountable; the key will be having the requisite political will, and soon. As odd and disappointing as it might immediately seem to certain factions of the British press, Conservative Party and the wider electorate, it would be the act of a responsible and caring Government to seek an extension to the transition period.

Maria Fletcher is a senior law lecturer at the University of Glasgow and SULNE. She was writing on behalf of The Civil Society Brexit Project, find out more at http://www.civilsocietybrexit.scot

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Extending the Brexit transition period - Third Force News

PUBLISHED: 21:49 29 April 2020 | UPDATED: 21:49 29 April 2020

Charlie Connelly

An aerial image of Kronborg Castle, Helsingr (Photo by Blom UK via Getty Images)

2010 Blom UK

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Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only continue to grow with your support.

We all have little jobs around the house that weve planning to get around to for years in some cases. One of mine was going through a big box of old DVDs that needed sorting out and last week it took a global pandemic for me to finally sit cross-legged on the floor and get thoroughly stuck in at last.

In the middle of matching loose discs to their correct cases I came across one orphan with no identifying marks. Slipping it into the player I closed the drawer and pressed play, at which the television screen, from which I was sitting no more than four feet, was suddenly filled completely by my own stupid face. I reeled backwards and let out a yelp that brought my wife running in from the other room.

When this understandable alarm had diminished to manageable proportions I realised to my disappointment this wasnt some kind of time-travelling message from a future me assuring us of a post-virus world of greater European unity and a government with a philosophy based on kindness and tolerance. Instead it was a film Id presented for the BBC about 15 years ago on the subject of literary Denmark.

A prime-time series that profiled nice places to go seems even further off now than it ever did, but there it was on the screen so that kind of thing definitely happened in the olden days, a prelapsarian era when people didnt only leave their homes at will but went to places that werent the supermarket. Good times.

We sat and watched, taunted by the younger me driving around Zealand babbling about Hans Christian Andersen then parking my behind on Karen Blixens writing chair as if driving around, babbling and sitting on other peoples chairs was the most natural thing in the world.

One part of the film in particular invoked a particularly profound sense of yearning, especially this week marking the anniversary of Shakespeares birth and death. Kronborg Castle sits on a nipple of land on the eastern coast of Zealand, looking out across the resund strait towards the Swedish town of Helsingborg thats so close you can see traffic moving along the opposite shore. Its a perfect castle location at the narrowest point of the strait, and at the height of Danish military power in the late 16th century Frederick II had turned it into a formidable fortress that exacted lucrative tolls on all shipping going in and out of the Baltic Sea. Its a combination of beautiful Renaissance architectural flourishes turrets in three corners with ornate copper roofs that have gone bright green with age and a forbidding military structure of considerable size that from the water must look absolutely impregnable.

The reason I was there and babbling on screen was that Kronborg is also the setting for Hamlet. Helsingr, the Danish town that huddles behind its military protector, is the Elsinore of the play, estimated to have been written by the Bard at the dawn of the 17th century.

Watching myself wandering around the castle led me to a thought process free of social isolation to some of the Shakespeare locations Ive visited over the years. Theres the house in Stratford-upon-Avon in which he was born, of course, and visiting his grave inside the parish church was an experience I found more moving than I expected. Ordinarily both these sites of literary pilgrimage would be absolutely packed this week, but possibly for the first time since the Shakespeare revival started in earnest during the late 18th century they will be padlocked and deserted, empty like the painting of a sorrow, a face without a heart described by Claudius to Laertes in Hamlet.

I thought too of some the productions Ive seen, from a magical rendering of A Midsummer Nights Dream in the perfect setting of Regents Park Open Air Theatre to an RSC production of The Merry Wives of Windsor at Stratford-upon-Avon a couple of years ago that contained enough anti-Brexit asides to recruit the Bard firmly to the Remain cause.

And a Remainer he would certainly have been. Like every jobbing actor and playwright of the period worth their salt, Shakespeare worked with one eye permanently on the rest of Europe. The companies of the day earned as much of their corn touring abroad as they did treading the boards at home. There are frustratingly large gaps in what we know of Shakespeares life, long periods in which we have no idea where he was or what he was doing. Its likely that, certainly in his younger days, he spent chunks of that time trundling around the continent with a bunch of other actors in a cart loaded with props, costumes and bits of scenery.

English performers were hugely popular on the continent in Shakespeares day. Indeed the first theatre ever built in Poland, in Danzig around 1600, was designed specifically to accommodate English touring companies. It became part of a well-trodden circuit that encompassed what are now Czech and German lands, the Baltics and Scandinavia including Kronborg.

Well never know if Shakespeare actually showed up at Kronborg but the references in Hamlet have just enough detail to suggest detailed knowledge of the place, even if it wasnt the man himself who was able to provide it.

On the day I visited I was able to walk the outer ramparts where in the opening scene of Hamlet the ghost of the princes murdered father Claudius spooks the guards and sets in train the events of the play. I stood beneath the windows of the apartments constructed for the use of the royal family, where Claudius would have lingered and died. I poked my head into the chapel where Claudius prayed before confronting his queen and Hamlets mother Gertrude.

I strolled through the banqueting hall in which ancient tapestries hung, one of which could well have been the arras behind which Ophelias father Polonius met his end (watching the DVD confirmed that the poor old Polonius, eh? Stabbed in the arras line I introduced to the script was cut for the broadcast even though I delivered it perfectly after jumping out from behind what might have been the actual arras). And I walked through the courtyard with Karen, the woman then in charge of the annual performances of Hamlet that take place right there, in the open air, on the very spot Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote the play more than 400 years ago. Ghosts of some of the greatest actors in the world flit around here, soliloquising and dilly-dallying, making everything in the courtyard feel like a play within a play.

If we dont know whether Shakespeare actually visited Kronborg we can be sure that three people he knew very well definitely did. In 1586 the castle had just been extensively modernised by Frederick II and that year three English actors arrived, engaged for the summer to mark the fortresss rebirth at the request of the Danish ambassador to London. They were Will Kempe, George Bryan and Thomas Pope, known associates of Shakespeare, when all four were part of the Lord Chamberlains Men troupe, to the extent that the Bard even wrote roles with Kempe specifically in mind. Hence when he came to write Hamlet, modernising an ancient tale just after the castle itself had been modernised, and set it at Kronborg, Shakespeare had expert location knowledge to call on even if he hadnt seen the place for himself.

The annual performances at the castle have attracted some of the biggest names in the acting profession. Hamlet is a role to which every actor aspires, but the chance to play the prince in the intended setting of the play has proved intoxicating to leading men from many different countries. The first performance took place in 1816. It was two years after Britain and Denmark had signed a peace treaty towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars and happened also to be the bicentenary of the playwrights death.

Danish soldiers garrisoned at Kronborg staged the play, with a young lieutenant named Nicolai Peter Nielsen in the title role who would go on to be one of Denmarks finest actors after he left the army. This was no knockabout version either: a special prologue was written for the occasion by the poet Adam Oehlenschlger that concluded, Here Hamlet is played; outside on the terrace path the spirit itself walks by.

The current tradition began in 1937, when the Old Vic company came over from London, a production directed by Tyrone Guthrie with Laurence Olivier as Hamlet and Viven Leigh as Ophelia (and an up and coming 23-year-old called Alec Guinness as Osric). The first night was washed out by rain and transferred to a nearby ballroom but the following evening the sun shone and 2,500 people witnessed a performance from Olivier that had the man from the Times declaring, When Hamlet came out it was indeed as if time had for the moment got out of step with reality.

The following year saw a German production starring the great German actor Gustaf Grndgens in a performance attended by Hermann Gring, who happened to be holidaying nearby on his yacht. But in 1939, as the shadow of war loomed over Europe, John Gielgud arrived to a fusillade of cannon and a brass band playing Its a Long Way to Tipperary with Fay Compton leaving her sick bed in London to play Ophelia.

Karen Blixen was in the audience. Between the acts, I went backstage on the Bastion and smoked a cigarette with Hamlet in his long cape, she wrote afterwards. The evening was so clear and full of stars I might have really entered Shakespeares world.

Since then a succession of household names have played the Dane at Elsinore including Richard Burton, Derek Jacobi, Kenneth Branagh, Simon Russell Beale and Jude Law. A BBC production was filmed there in 1964 to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeares birth, directed by Philip Saville with Christopher Plummer as Hamlet and Michael Caine as Horatio.

Companies from across Europe and beyond have staged Hamlet at Kronborg, above the dreadful summit of the cliff that beetles oer his base into the sea which is not, in truth, that dreadful a summit but hey, Shakespeare wasnt writing a documentary. The roster of Hamlets reminds us of better times, of European integration and the ability we take for granted to wander across continents. What better time to appreciate them than in the week marking the beginning and the end of the life of Shakespeare, the European?

They should still have left my arras joke in, though. Philistines.

Almost four years after its creation The New European goes from strength to strength across print and online, offering a pro-European perspective on Brexit and reporting on the political response to the coronavirus outbreak, climate change and international politics. But we can only rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press with your support. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.

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How Kronborg Castle helped to inspire Shakespeare | Latest Brexit news and top stories - The New European

Negotiating sources on both sides of the English Channel have admitted that UK-EU trade talks could collapse in June over fishing and regulations.

The British government revealed in February that if sufficient progress is not made on a trade deal with the EU by June, then Londons negotiators would pull out of talks and the government would spend the rest of the transition period preparing to move the UK onto World Trade Organization (WTO) terms with the bloc.

Following the two parties recommencing negotiations since the coronavirus, one British source told The Times:If they [the EU] continue to insist on their position on a so-called level playing field and on continuing the common fisheries policy, for example, we are never going to accept that.

The level playing field relates to the European Commissions position that the UK must continue to abide by regulations on the environment, taxation, and government subsidies so that Brexit Britain does not represent a competitive risk to the EU.

The EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said last week that the UK could not both refuse to extend the transition period and refuse to surrender on regulatory alignment and fishing. The EU demands that France and other member-states have continued access to Britains lucrative fishing waters.

Sources speaking to The Telegraph have said that the EU wants the existing conditions set out by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) maintained. EU fishermen currently have rights to access more than 60 per cent of all landings by weight in British waters. By fish, the quota varies, however, with the French getting 84 per cent of English Channel cod compared to the UKs paltry nine per cent.

The UKs source told the newspaper that unless the EU shifted on fishing demands, negotiations would be over by the summer.

There are some fundamentals that were not going to change, nor going to move on. Because they are not so much negotiating positions as theyre sort of what an independent state does, the source told The Telegraph.

An independent state has independent control over coastal waters what we are wanting now is an EU understanding that we are not going to subordinate our laws to them in any areas, they added.

The source said that if the EU does not submit to the UK sovereign rights, then preparing for a WTO relationship will become the primary focus of effort.

However, one of the governments senior ministers admitted that the UK is not working on any contingency arrangements for a WTO relationship, weakening the UKs negotiating hand in revealing that the government is not serious in preparing the country to be a fully independent nation.

Michael Gove had said on Monday:We dont have any plans to stand up operation Yellowhammer [government no-deal planning] again because we are confident we will secure an agreement.

Brussels interpretation of Mr Goves remarks was unsurprising, with one diplomat confident that the UK will blink first.

The diplomatic source told The Guardian:If No 10 doesnt change its negotiating approach, we will very likely be looking at a no-deal scenario. So we take this statement [on the positive chances of a deal by Michael Gove] as a welcome sign that the UK will change its negotiating stance.

Continued here:

Brexit: EU Trade Talks Could Collapse in June over Fishing, Regulations - Breitbart

NewsPoliticsBrexitSources say lack of informal talks during negotiations has become a major downside

Thursday, 30th April 2020, 3:45 pm

Trade discussions between Westminster and Brussels have been continuing despite the social distancing restrictions using the video conferencing platform Zoom.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise

The latest round of negotiations took place last week, ending in a fresh impasse, with both sides demanding compromise or risk the talks collapsing entirely.

Brexit quarantinis?

One UK source close to the talks said part of the problem was the inability of either party to go for informal coffees or drinks at the side of the negotiating table, to try and forge a way forward.

The insider stated there were pros and cons to having to conduct the negotiations over Zoom, with one major advantage that there was no need to have large numbers of people hanging around waiting to be involved in their specific area.

But the source added the downside is you cant take people off for a coffee and have those informal discussions alongside the formal talks.

"We will have to be tolerant of each other, what is more difficult is replicating the atmospherics," the source said.

Socialising via video conference has become a common pastime for people across the globe during the pandemic crisis, with some even arranging virtual pub quizzes.

Asked whether both sides could try to replicate informal talks by having "virtual drinks after work" to ease the tension in the negotiations, the senior UK source said: "We havent planned anything like that yet to have informal discussions. I dont see any reason why we shouldnt do it, we are all inventing new ways of doing it."

Concentrate minds

The source quipped: I am always willing to have a drink with anybody.

Much of Boris Johnsons success in securing a Brexit divorce deal last October has been attributed to his decision to hold informal discussions with the Taosieach Leo Varadkar on the Wirral.

Earlier this week, Michael Gove suggested to MPs that the Covid-19 outbreak could increase the chances of the UK sealing a trade agreement with Brussels, claiming it may concentrate the minds of EU negotiators.

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Coronavirus lockdown: Brexit talks could be eased with informal Zoom drinks over video conference - inews

Extending the Brexit transition period would provide much needed reassurance to the economy, say leading tax and advisory firmBlickRothenberg.

David Hough, a business advisory partner at the firm said: It is disappointing that the Government are refusing to countenance extending the deadline for a trade deal beyond the current deadline of 31 December.

He added: Both the UK and the EU have more pressing concerns at this time and extending the Transition period,ideallyfor at least a year, would provide some much-needed reassurance to the economy, and just as importantly allow Government to focus on matters currently at hand.

The Government may well ultimately secure a good trade deal but now is not the time for grandstanding.Business needsreassurance now as it contemplates how to come out of the lock down.

Hough said: For the last few weeks business owners have been working out how to address the immediate challenges they were facing of generating short term cash flow and finding the best way to look after as many employees as they can.

He added: The risk of a second peak later in the year should not be discounted and the ability, and means, to negotiate a trade deal would be significantly impacted by this if the UK has allowed 1 July 2020, the date an extension has to be legislated, to pass.

Allowing for the time required for approvals by the UK and EU States that means that an extension needs to be agreed in principle by probably no later than the end of May.

Hough said: The reassurance that an extension would bring is important because certainty improves the quality of forecasting which makes lenders and investors more willing to part with their money, giving businesses the platform to trade with confidence rather than simply trading to survive.

This will be crucial in re-igniting the economy and to reduce the reliance on Government grants.

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Government should stop grandstanding over Brexit | London Business News - London Loves Business