The EU is finally realising that the British won’t just do what they’re told
The EU might, finally, be getting the message. Reuters reports that it is considering shifting its position on fisheries, which currently amounts to: “So long, but we’re keeping all the fish.” More broadly, Michel Barnier seems to have understood that the UK isn’t going to surrender to Brussels’ imperialist demand that we follow all of its rules without any say in return for the privilege of being able to buy billions of European goods.
In civil servant parlance, the EU will have to “evolve” its position to make progress. It is heartening to see the British Government standing up for itself, even if an Irish Sea border was the heavy price paid to do it.
If EU negotiators really want to comprehend the British mindset, I suggest they hold a screening of the 2013 sci-fi comedy, The World’s End. The co-writer and lead actor Simon Pegg may have expressed his “embarrassment” at Brexit, but the film is an almost perfect metaphor for a freedom-loving, disobedient nation refusing to join a lofty, supposedly harmonious community.
It follows the tragic hero, Gary King, on a desperate quest to re-enact a pub crawl from his teens only to discover his hometown has been taken over by robots full of (EU flag) blue goo.
The robots are in fact part of “The Network”, an alien race trying to perfect mankind so they can be responsible members of galactic society. Their coercive offer is rejected in drunken slurs: “Face it, we’re the human race and we don’t like being told what to do!” That’s really what it boils down to.
The Twittering classes were up in arms over Boris Johnson’s attempt to shield his medical and scientific advisers from
In civil servant parlance, the EU will have to ‘evolve’ its position
being dragged into the Dominic Cummings row at the No10 press conference on Thursday.
The Prime Minister said he thought it unhelpful to make civil servants, who are already a little busy with the pandemic, answer awkward questions about his aide. He was accused of “gagging” them until, under further questioning, they explained that they were relieved to be gagged on the topic. This was a surprise to no one except the faux-outraged.