On bad faith

The UK constitution, for what its worth, is a series of conventions, mostly relying on the "good chap" theory, that if something happens, then a good chap will do this or that Because that's what good chaps do.

And for pretty much hundreds of years, this has helped the UK constitution work, or function.

Covention also states, that the UK Government should consult with the devolved institutions in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland if national legislation affects any of them.

Which meant that the WA NIP and TCA should have all been sent to the three institutions for approval.

No such approval was ever sought by Johnson.

Even worse than that, Welsh voters did narrowly vote for Brexit, but voters on Scotland and Northern Ireland voted against it. So, both countries have been taken out of the EU aganst the will of their people and of their Governments, and in contravention of the convention.

On top of this, Johnson suggested the changes to the WA and created the NIP and then the TCA from May's deal, thus creating a regulatory border in the Irish Sea. He campaigned to be elected to "get Brexit done" by implementing this very deal, on which platofrm he won an 80 seat majority.

We are used, of course, to election promises not being kept, but this was really the Government's only policy in November 2019, and although it said in the manifesto that this was the policy, in private, and in talks with the DUP, the real policy was always to break the NIP because of the policital costs of that pesky border.

This shows not just contempt for the EU, but contempt for the devolved institutions and contermpt for the UK electorate that voted for a policy the UK GOvernment had no intention of following.

We can now be pretty sure this is the case, but up to now there was that possibility, and the other that Johnson and Frost didn't understand what it was they signed up to, the details.

Although you might argue that the two sources, Ian Paisley Jr of the DUP and the walking brain, Dominic Cummings, are not reliable, Cummings confirmed in a Tweet, while Paisley Jr confirmed in an interview with the BBC.

Cummings Tweeted:

"good faith blah. listen to babble of student politics from sw1 insiders infantilised by EU membership. it was international diplomacy vs *people trying to cut our balls off*. of course there wasn't 'good faith' you 🤡. NEWSFLASH: cheating foreigners is a core part of the job"

Cheating foreigners is part of the job. Ahem.

Lying was done to cheat the electorate and deliver Brexit, not caring what Brexit was or would do to the UK.

Now that bad faith is out there for all to see, all can see it Including the two hundred or so other countries around the world the UK wants to trade with and needs to sign new deals to replace the rollovers that Liz Truss negotiated as a temporary fix, will see bad faith by the United Kingdom in an international treaty and will be alarmed, and if they have any sense will include stricter enforcement rules than just expecting the UK to keep its word.

This all might be a negotiating tactic, or it might e Frost wanting to sart a trade war with the EU. He seemed still not to have learned the lesson from his Brexit negotiations that the EU27 negotiate and decide as a bloc and yet there he is trying to suggest this is inflexible and the UK want to deal with each member state.

That Frost was once in charge of the Scottish Whisky Federation, when with this level of stupidity he shouldn't be in charge of a school tuck shop. And yet, in 2015 he was a remainer, speaking on behalf of that organisation of the benefits of EU membership.

We can either, as a country, grow up, or continue and get ever poorer and more a failed state.