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theresa may
Leaked US Trade Talks Show How Trump Is Dictating Johnson's Approach to a Hard Brexit
Far from taking back control, Britain has clearly entered into a relationship where we hold none of the cards.
Nov 26, 2019
The cat is out of the bag: Boris Johnson is dancing to Donald Trump's tune, regardless of the damage this might cause to Britain. His promises to maintain Britain's 'high standards' after Brexit are not worth the paper they're written on.
That's the only conclusion that can be drawn from a set of leaked papers detailing trade talks between US and UK officials over the last 3 years. The minutes, redacted versions of which Jeremy Corbyn held up at last Tuesday's leaders debate, were posted by an anonymous source on the discussion website, Reddit. They show how the US administration has already successfully bullied Britain into taking a harder Brexit position, which is good for Trump's geopolitical games and US big business, but bad for Britain's economy and British welfare.
The papers show US officials pushing Britain to an ever harder Brexit position, clear that they don't want Britain to be a 'satellite of the EU' in the way Switzerland is. They even threaten that if the UK continued to push certain EU positions in international forums--something the UK is still bound to do--it could undermine negotiations on a US trade deal.
Papers from the time of Theresa May's 'Chequers plan' are illuminating because the administration is clearly furious at May's promise of long-term alignment with EU standards which would prevent the dilution of British food regulations which US agribusiness hopes to benefit from. US negotiators saw this as a "worst case scenario" and threatened to raise it with Trump ahead of his UK visit.
One of the most significant changes which Johnson made to May's Brexit deal was a weakening of the alignment to EU standards, suggesting US bullying worked. But it's particularly worrying that economic modelling seen by the trade officials showed this was likely to be good for the US, but much less so for "UK welfare and GDP gains."
We already suspected that the US was pushing lower food standards in Britain post-Brexit. That's because US food standards are far more favourable to big business than EU standards, and the only way to help US business increase its penetration into British markers is to undermine current regulation.
We already suspected that the US was pushing lower food standards in Britain post-Brexit. That's because US food standards are far more favourable to big business than EU standards, and the only way to help US business increase its penetration into British markers is to undermine current regulation. US officials explicitly mention the infamous chlorine-washed chickens, promising to help the British government sell the concept to a sceptical British public. They attack attempts to reduce sugar in food, the protection of regional products (like Stilton cheese and Cornish pasties) and even nutritional labelling, which they say is more harmful than it is useful.
While US officials are eager to give US experts and multinational corporations better "participation" in standard-setting in Britain post Brexit, they are deeply critical of Parliament sticking its nose into such issues. They call the European Parliament's decision to temporarily ban the Monsanto-owned chemical glyphosate "unhelpful".
Although the trade deal could exacerbate the drivers of climate change, US officials report they're "banned" from mentioning greenhouse gas emissions reductions. In fact, the US seems interested in introducing a 'corporate court system' in a US-UK deal, formally known as 'investor state dispute settlement' or ISDS, a mechanism regularly used in other trade deals to make government action on climate change more difficult. ISDS would allow thousands of US multinationals access to secretive tribunals, for the first time, where they can sue the British government for treating them 'unfairly'. Unfairness, in this context, could mean phasing out coal-fired power or banning fracking.
The papers show both sides are deeply interested in a so-called e-commerce chapter, which is aimed at creating new rules for the digital economy. The problem is that these rules would lock in the power of internet giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon, making it harder for governments to tax and regulate these corporations, and making Labour's proposals for a public broadband service all but impossible.
Across all service sectors, the US wants sweeping liberalisation, based on a so-called 'negative list'--unless you specifically list it, assume it will be opened up to US corporate penetration. This could mean parts of the NHS being further opened up (the US expresses an interest in nursing) and would make bringing formerly public services like mail or rail companies back into public ownership that much harder.
Moreover, US officials repeat Trump's concerns that countries like Britain aren't paying enough for our medicines, with a special concern about cutting edge biological medicines used in the treatment of many cancers. Introducing a US-style pricing regime would make such drugs unaffordable to the NHS. Incredibly, trade negotiators received special lobbying from pharmaceutical corporations as part of the trade talks.
Both the British and American sides agree that these talks should be secret--exempt from freedom of information rules--and it's clear to see why. The papers reveal the British government being subject to bullying by the biggest country on earth. Far from taking back control, Britain has clearly entered into a relationship where we hold none of the cards.
They make a mockery of Boris Johnson's manifesto pledge to protect British public services and standards--that would be absolutely impossible under the type of trade deal being discussed here. And they justify Labour's focus on the US trade deal at this election. This deal is at the centre of the divergent views the two biggest parties have about what sort of country they want to build after 12 December. On the one side, we could have a government which tries to fight inequality and climate change by constraining corporate power through tax, regulation and decent public services. On the other, one that will ignore the interests of their own electorate to kowtow to the biggest corporations in the world.
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Twitter Users Ridicule First Daughter With #UnwantedIvanka Hashtag After Ivanka Caught on Video 'Boxing Way Above Her Weight'
"Being someone's daughter actually isn't a career qualification."
Jul 01, 2019
Social media users inserted images of Ivanka Trump into pictures of historical events to show how nepotism doesn't always translate into acceptance after a viral video of the First Daughter and senior White House advisor awkwardly interrupting a group of world leaders at the G20 summit went viral over the weekend.
The video, which was posted to Instagram by the office of French President Emmanuel Macron, shows Ivanka jumping into a conversation between Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde. Ivanka was at the conference with her father, President Donald Trump.
According toThe New York Times:
In the clip, Ms. Trump seemed to be looking to find a place to jump into this diplomatic game of double Dutch. First Mrs. May spoke: "As soon as you charge them with that economic aspect of it, a lot of people start listening who otherwise wouldn't listen."
And then Ms. Trump jumped in: "And the same with the defense side of it, in terms of the whole business that's been, sort of, male-dominated."
Ms. Lagarde, who was standing next to the president's daughter, swiveled her head and blinked several times as she listened.
The video went viral over the weekend, with observers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) pointing out that "being someone's daughter actually isn't a career qualification."
\u201cIvanka Trump appears to be trying to get involved in a talk among Macron, May, Trudeau and Lagarde (IMF head). \nThe video is released by French Presidential palace.\u201d— Parham Ghobadi (@Parham Ghobadi) 1561842039
The hashtag #UnwantedIvanka was started by Crooked Media's Erin Gloria Ryan, who asked her followers on Twitter to "please photoshop Ivanka the unwelcome interloper boxing way above her weight" in historical pictures.
"And hashtag it #unwantedivanka because these are delightful and deserve to be seen," tweeted Ryan.
Twitter users jumped at the opportunity, placing Ivanka at Lyndon Johnson's swearing in after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy....
Lincoln's assassination...
And the Yalta conference.
\u201c@morninggloria Yalta\u201d— Helen Kennedy \ud83c\udf3b (@Helen Kennedy \ud83c\udf3b) 1561921090
Of course, as lawyer Darren Kaplan noted, "you don't need photoshop" to show Ivanka inserting herself where she's unwanted.
"Here's an actual photo of Ivanka posing with an Olympic medal that someone else trained and sacrificed their entire life to earn," said Kaplan.
\u201c@morninggloria You don't need photoshop. Here's an actual photo of Ivanka posing with an Olympic medal that someone else trained and sacrificed their entire life to earn.\u201d— Darren Kaplan (@Darren Kaplan) 1561930167
Ivanka and her father returned to the U.S. on Sunday.
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Leaving 'One Hell of a Mess Behind,' British PM Theresa May Admits Brexit Defeat and Resigns
"Theresa May is right to resign," said Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn in response. "She's now accepted what the country's known for months: she can't govern, and nor can her divided and disintegrating party."
May 24, 2019
Characterized by critics and political observers as an ignominous end of her three years as leader of the Tory Party and captain of the right-wing ship trying to steer the country toward Brexit, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced her official resignation on Friday morning as she finally admitted defeat.
Though she said in a speech outside 10 Downing Street that she had "done everything" she could "to convince MPs to back" her Brexit deal, "Sadly, I have not been able to do so."
May said she will serve until June 7 and then step aside.
\u201cU.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's voice breaks as she announced she is stepping down https://t.co/GdOZZUZGlo\u201d— Bloomberg (@Bloomberg) 1558689739
Unmoved by the remarks, and noting her disastrous record as prime minister, The New Statesman's Stephen Bush commented that May "bowed out with the rampant shamelessness that has typified her public statements, and leaves one hell of a mess behind her."
As CNNreports:
May was forced into making Friday's announcement after losing the support of her Cabinet, many of whom were fed up with the ongoing turmoil over Brexit.
The last straw for Cabinet ministers appears to have been the latest version of May's Brexit plan, which she unveiled on Tuesday. In an attempt to win over opposition lawmakers, May offered the House of Commons the chance to vote on a second referendum--a concession that was bitterly opposed by some senior members of her government.
Her fate was sealed by the leadership of the 1922 Committee--which represents the interests of rank-and-file lawmakers in May's Conservative Party--who threatened to change party rules to allow a vote of no-confidence. May survived an earlier confidence vote in December last year, and under current rules was immune to challenge for another year.
One minister, who spoke with The Daily Beast's Jamie Ross, characterized her troubled three-year run as prime minister and ultimate failures this way: "She fucked up, then she fucked off."
According to Ross:
May will leave no lasting legacy. The sole purpose of her leadership was to win domestic support for a deal with the European Union that would allow Britain to leave the bloc in a relatively painless manner. The deal was resoundingly rejected three times and her only answer was to try to get lawmakers to vote on it yet again, with minor tweaks. Her most important supporters, finally sick of living in Groundhog Day, decided enough was enough.
In response to May's resignation, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn--who earlier this week said in Parliament that May's time "was over" as he called for a new general election--issued a statement on Friday saying, "Theresa May is right to resign. She's now accepted what the country's known for months: she can't govern, and nor can her divided and disintegrating party."
"The burning injustices she promised to tackle three years ago are even starker today," Corbyn added. "The Conservative party has utterly failed the country over Brexit and is unable to improve people's lives or deal with their most pressing needs."
\u201cTheresa May's legacy:\n\n- Windrush\n- Grenfell\n- 14m in poverty\n- 130k homeless children\n- 1m foodbank parcels\n- 1m disability benefit sanctions\n- NHS privatisation\n- Brexit shambles\n- Hostile environment\n\nA new Tory leader won't make things better. We need a general election now.\u201d— Momentum \ud83c\udf39 (@Momentum \ud83c\udf39) 1558689892
Political activist Nikhil Goyal said that "May has been one of the worst PMs in British history. She lives behind a shameful racist and anti-worker legacy."
With speculation that Boris Johnson, the former right-wing mayor of London, stands the best chance at succeeding May as the Tory's leader, Corbyn said that whoever the party selects "must let the people decide our country's future, through an immediate General Election."
The Labour Party itself backed that call shortly later:
\u201cWe need a General Election now to bring the country together and build a fairer society for the many, not the few.\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1558691880
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a member of the Labour Party, said that while he didn't "agree with Theresa May on much," he had "some sympathy" for her given that hard-line "Brexit extremists" had made negotiating a deal impossible.
"It is totally unacceptable for Britain's future to be decided by these same people," Khan said in a statement. "The British people, particularly the next generation, deserve far better than this."
MP Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the left-wing Green Party, agreed May's task to deliver a Brexit deal was an impossible one that no prime minister could likely deliver and argued her resignation only clarified the need for a second national referendum on Brexit.
"While May was almost uniquely ill-equipped to be negotiator we needed, truth is she was given impossible job," Lucas said in a tweet. "Case for #PeoplesVote stronger than ever."
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