If there is anything that makes me believe that the UK can’t be back in the EU for a generation or more it’s this sort of Britsplaining extrawurst bullshit. “We will consent to rejoin if you fundamentally remake your whole Union according to our preferences”.
The Observer from Tortoise Media behaving just like a Tortoise. Just as you pick it up (to put it atop a fence post) it shits all over you. These eejits have a funny way of trying to sell newspapers. It hasn't worked for me. No thanks.
Why is the Observer publishing a letter by Clegg of all people? Dude left politics ages ago, found his lack of morals was a much better fit at Facebook.
Statement of intent from the new owners…
That fits. *sigh* This country.
Sometimes you can't listen to the leavers. A lot of leavers fell down a rabbit hole of lies and bullshit. Why would an opinion formed around misinformation be considered in any way valid? The rudder steers the ship. Not the waves.
I completely agree with the Observer that many people will want to shoot Nick Clegg after reading this. Also, before reading it, or without having to read it at all.
www.zdnet.com/article/how-...
“Britsplaining” - great word!
Over here, in Ireland, where pre-independence British forces were called the "Black and Tans", we call it "Tansplaining". 😘👌
“We’ve left the EU, let us explain to you what’s wrong with the EU like getting unsolicited dating “advice” from your Ex
Exactly that. And from the Observer?!?! Nuts
Ah, this must be the "British humour" we've heard so much about. I don't care for it. In all seriousness, it's shocking to see British politicians still assume the EU is heartbroken about Brexit against all available evidence.
The USA is going to be the same way in five years when it realizes that Amexit wasn't so great after all. Instead of accommodating the international community, it's going to demand that everyone else accommodates it so that it can return.
“We asked a man who is universally regarded with contempt to write a fantastical piece about why England, er, the UK is a magical place which should be indulged by every other country in the world.”
Stop slandering Extrawurst. Love, Austria.
Oh God. I've bought @theobserveruk.bsky.social today but not got that far yet. If they're echoing @theguardian.com's 2010 election endorsement that's not a good sign.
1/ We are back to “cake” again. Back to the belief that the EU 'should' give us a special deal. And anger that they won't. And yes that all comes back to Brexit, or rather to the failure to be honest about the choices for years after the vote,
2/ the constant suggestion we could have whatever we wanted and the solution to any problem would be for the EU & the rest of the world to reorganize themselves to suit Britain’s convenience. After all these years that still hasn’t gone away.
It's like 2019 again. They have learnt absolutely nothing because their small-minded nationalism blinds them.
'If the FIFA allowed players to pick up the ball with their hands, we'll consider joining football', says the rugbyplayer
if they come back, we shouldn't even let them keep the pound
Accompanying Clegg piece seems to suggest EU should massively reduce regulation. How? There can be over-reach, but generally, EU regulates so M.States don't have to (someone has to, or rogues would prosper and consumers + environment lose) and so goods, services, capital and people can move freely.
arethebritsatitagain.org
The only thing more tiring than American exceptionalism is British (er scrap that)... English exceptionalism. The public schools of England have created a generation of confident idiots .
Colonisers gonna colonise - Britain’s greatest export.
Robbed of the colonies, the Brits are now misruling themselves.
Now that you bring it up. Previous generations probably would have shipped Boris Johnson etc off to run something in Africa or India wouldn't they?
So tiring. To be fair to Americans, though, the gap between real and imagined capabilities is smaller in the US' case. But it's also growing.
I would suggesting not assuming Nick Clegg speaks for the country as a whole.
My company worked in the UK prior to Brexit. Our customers were British ports and we employed a British sales team. This is not an isolated incident 😁
Eh?
No, but sadly he speaks for a very widespread culture in the British political class.
I highly doubt that Clegg‘s opinion - that the EU needs fundamental reform to make accession palatable - is wide-spread amongst those who favour accession.
Maybe not but I suspect Clegg’s opinion - that free movement is a bad thing and they expect the EU to drop it if the UK is to get closer - is widely held amongst British elites.
Indeed. Free movement and the euro are seen by British political elites, even the pro-Rejoin ones, as terrible things that the UK will need some concessions to be able to accept. A reflection of how the EU debate has moved on since 2016, while the British debate has remained frozen in time.
And no one is going to agree coproduction unless they can be assured that the cross border staffing can be executed without having to wait on the Home Office.
Oi! Juan! I ain't eating this muck, Do. You. Have. Chips. Chips mate. Havay voo Chiips - The Observer
Yeah, we’re grand mate, we like our own lessons. Is this Sonia Sodha writing?
Does it mention toilets?
Ah! The solution to everything!
Nick Clegg can fuck all the way off. And this bullshit just confirms my decision to not buy the Tortoise Observer.
The Clegg article itself was thought provoking stuff.
those were always the terms. that should have been made clear in 1972. the EU will never agree to it, so UK has to stay out.
The truth is Britain's political class is more of an obstacle to our reintegration than the British electorate
Clegg of all people should be wary about this approach to institutions given his experience since 2010
All newspapers are dross.
Is this the new ownership or have the editorials been this shitbirdery for a while?
I haven’t read it in a while.
It’s the new owners. Entirely unsurprising from a former Murdoch editor.
Well, they're welcome to jump aboard the mighty Clegg juggernaut.
What utter crap, emanating from a newspaper that has long since lost its intellectual credibility and a self-absorbed establishment opportunist with a penchant for enriching himself via the tech plutocracy
#RejoinEU #RejoinNow #FuckClegg #FuckLeavers #FuckEuroscepticism #FuckFarage
it's a bit out there but it's not far from what a lot of Rejoin ppl with the EU flag in their profiles believe
We tried Brexit and it didn't work for us. It's time for the to to meet us halfway.
🤣🤣
"sensible solutions are surely they key" *wd reach for my revolver if I had one*
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-...
I love your response 😁 Brexit (and Amexit from the global economy) are doing wonders for European unity.
Where is this from? It’s also got a basic inaccuracy because you can join the customs union without free movement but the U.K. seemingly isn’t asking for customs union; it’s asking for a sort of “customs union plus”, cherrypicking the upsides of what each of Turkey & Switzerland have.
If Nick Clegg is going to be a regular contributor to The Observer, I’m not going to be a regular reader. The less we see of him the better in my view. I do not want the EU to be an extension of England - England is rotten and needs wide ranging reform of many areas.
Given that one of their first acts was to get rid of the investigative journalism of the wonderful @carolecadwalla.bsky.social, I made that decision several weeks ago.
Yes, I can’t fathom that. I read that it was because she campaigned for The Observer not to be sold. I didn’t agree with the sale to Tortoise and believe it’s left The Guardian pointless on a Sunday and The Observer a shadow of its former self after key members of staff have left.
Sorry should have added alt text to my quick post: "Britain's offer should involve signing up to the customs union but not free movement. The UK is not the only home to Eurosceptics; if the EU wants to sell a future to its citizens, it should show it has listened to the arguments made by British
leavers. Today we're publishing - at length - an argument by Nick Clegg for a fundamental overhaul of the EU. He makes the case for the rapid admission of Ukraine as a member and Brussels remade around defence, energy and innovation. There will be people who don't like the message, and those who
want to shoot the messenger. ... But we believe in breaking taboos and making evidenced argument. Mr Clegg does that."
Clegg lost all credibility when he started "troubleshooting for Meta's carelessness" 🙄 "Carelessness" being a charming euphemism for grifting.