Pentagon spokesman John Kirby listens to a question about Afghanistan at a briefing on Aug. 13, 2021. (Susan Walsh/AP)

U.S. allies complain that they were not fully consulted on a policy decision that potentially puts their own national security interests at risk — in contravention of President Biden’s promises to recommit to global engagement.

And many around the world are wondering whether they could rely on the United States to fulfill long-standing security commitments stretching from Europe to East Asia.

Whatever happened to ‘America is back’?” said Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defense Committee in the British Parliament, citing Biden’s foreign policy promise to rebuild alliances and restore U.S. prestige damaged during the Trump administration.

Hubris to humiliation: America’s warrior class struggles to make sense of what happened

“People are bewildered that after two decades of this big, high-tech power intervening, they are withdrawing and effectively handing the country back to the people we went in to defeat,” Ellwood said. “This is the irony. How can you say America is back when we’re being defeated by an insurgency armed with no more than [rocket-propelled grenades], land mines and AK-47s?”

As much as its military capabilities, the United States’ decades-old role as a defender of democracies and freedoms is again in jeopardy, said Rory Stewart, who was Britain’s minister for international development in the Conservative government of Theresa May. “The Western democracy that seemed to be the inspiration for the world, the beacon for the world, is turning its back,” Stewart said.

Britain has voiced some of the bluntest criticisms of the pullout, which is unusual for a country that regards itself as the United States’ closest ally. Britain made the biggest contribution to the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and suffered the highest number of casualties after the United States.

In comments Friday, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace predicted civil war and the return of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization whose attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, prompted the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan.

“I feel this was not the right time or decision to make,” he told Sky News. “Of course al-Qaeda will probably come back, and certainly it would like that kind of breeding ground.”

“Strategically, it causes a lot of problems, and as an international community, it’s very difficult . . . what we’re seeing today,” he added.

Rivals of the United States also have expressed dismay. Among them is China, which fears that the ascent of an extremist Islamist government on its western border will foster unrest in the adjoining province of Xinjiang, where Beijing has waged sweeping crackdowns on the Uyghur population that have been denounced by the West.

The Taliban is already reimposing its rules

Washington “bears an unavoidable responsibility for the current situation in Afghanistan,” Col. Wu Qian, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said earlier this month. “It cannot leave and shed the burden on regional countries.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected criticisms that the withdrawal damages U.S. credibility. He said staying mired in a conflict that is not in the “national interest” would do far more damage.

“Most of our strategic competitors around the world would like nothing better than for us to remain in Afghanistan for another year, five years, 10 years, and have those resources dedicated to being in the midst of a civil war,” Blinken told CNN. “It’s simply not in our interest.”

But the manner and implementation of the withdrawal has left allies feeling betrayed, said Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations. Germany’s government, which withdrew its troops in June and is evacuating its embassy, has refrained from overt criticism of the U.S. withdrawal.

Nonetheless, some German officials and lawmakers are seething at Washington’s failure to consult coalition partners such as Berlin, Clüver Ashbrook said. Germany is particularly concerned about the potential for an exodus of Afghan refugees similar to the influx of 2015, when more than 1 million migrants, spurred largely by the war in Syria, surged into Europe, with many headed for Germany.

“The Biden administration came to office promising an open exchange, a transparent exchange with its allies. They said the transatlantic relationship would be pivotal,” she said. “As it is, they’re playing lip service to the transatlantic relationship and still believe European allies should fall into line with U.S. priorities.”

Europe’s deportations of Afghans grind to a halt as Taliban overruns country

“We’re back to the transatlantic relationship of old, where the Americans dictate everything. . . . ‘Yes we want to partner with you, but in reality, we want to be able to tell you what to do and when,’ ” she added.

The United States’ Arab allies, which have long counted on the U.S. military to come to their aid in the event of an attack by Iran, also have faced questions over whether they will be able to rely on the United States.

“What’s happening in Afghanistan is raising alarm bells everywhere,” said Riad Kahwaji, who heads the Inegma security consultancy in the United Arab Emirates, which hosts one of the biggest American military contingents in the Middle East.

“The U.S.’s credibility as an ally has been in question for a while,” he said. “We see Russia fighting all the way to protect the Assad regime [in Syria], and now the Americans are pulling out and leaving a big chaos in Afghanistan.”

Clüver Ashbrook said Biden’s plan to build an alliance of democracies to counter the influence of China and Russia is also in doubt, now that the West will no longer maintain a significant presence in Central Asia.

For China and Russia, there is opportunity as well as concern in the departure of U.S. troops. Both Moscow and Beijing have hosted Taliban delegations in recent weeks in an attempt to pave the way for a post-American future in the region.

The humiliating conclusion of the two-decade U.S. venture into Afghanistan will aid their efforts to persuade many governments to seek out relationships elsewhere, analysts say.

In a commentary directed at Hong Kong, China’s state-run Global Times cited Afghanistan in a signal to democracy activists not to heed repeated American promises to “stand by” Hong Kong.

“It has been proven repeatedly that whomever U.S. politicians claim to stand with will face bad luck, plunge into social unrest and suffer severe consequences,” the commentary said.

Russia has been struck by the speed of the unraveling of the U.S.-installed government in Kabul, said Fyodor Lukyanov, the chairman of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and editor in chief of the magazine Russia in Global Affairs.

The decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which ended in 1989, is widely remembered as a failure, one that leaves Russia in no mood to reengage too closely with Afghanistan, he said.

But at least, Lukyanov noted, the government left behind by the Soviets survived for three years after the withdrawal of Red Army forces.

“We believe our failure was big, but it seems the Americans achieved an even bigger failure,” he said.

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John Hudson in Washington contributed to this report.

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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghanistan-chaos-blame-us/2021/08/14/0d4e5ab2-fd3e-11eb-911c-524bc8b68f17_story.html

[Disclaimer]

The post Afghanistan’s collapse leaves allies questioning U.S. resolve on other fronts first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

PRIME Minister Boris Johnson and health secretary Matt Hancock have both tested positive for coronavirus.

Mr Johnson announced on social media he had mild symptoms and is now self-isolating.

He said: “Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus.

“I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus.

“Together we will beat this. #StayHomeSaveLives”

The Prime Minister was tested in Number 10 after experiencing mild symptoms on Thursday.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “After experiencing mild symptoms yesterday, the Prime Minister was tested for coronavirus on the personal advice of England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty.

“The test was carried out in No 10 by NHS staff and the result of the test was positive.

“In keeping with the guidance, the Prime Minister is self-isolating in Downing Street.

“He is continuing to lead the government’s response to coronavirus.”

Later it was confirmed health secretary Mr. Hancock has also tested positive.

Mr. Hancock tweeted: “Following medical advice, I was advised to test for #Coronavirus. I’ve tested positive.

“Thankfully my symptoms are mild and I’m working from home and self-isolating. Vital we follow the advice to protect our NHS & save lives.”

After Mr. Johnson posted a Twitter video explaining that he had suffered “mild symptoms”, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn led messages from across the political divide.

He tweeted: “I wish the Prime Minister a speedy recovery and hope his family is safe and healthy.

“Coronavirus can and does affect anyone. Everyone be safe. Our own health depends on everybody else.”

Source: https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/18339536.prime-minister-boris-johnson-says-tested-positive-coronavirus/

The post Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock both test positive for coronavirus first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Prince Charles, who is first in line to the British throne, has tested positive for coronavirus after displaying mild symptoms, his office has announced.

“The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus. He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual,” the Clarence House said to Fox News in a statement Wednesday morning.

The statement confirmed that the 71-year-old British royal’s wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, 72, tested negative. They are currently at their home, Burnham on the Balmoral Estate, in Scotland “self-isolating,” the statement confirmed.

IDRIS ELBA TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

The Prince of Wales, 71, has otherwise been displaying good health and is working from home.<br data-cke-eol=”1″> (Getty Images)

“The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing.”

While Clarence House said it is “not possible to ascertain” whom Prince Charles may have caught the virus from, the office made note of a “high number of engagements” he carried out in recent weeks.

The news comes on the heels of Prince Albert of Monaco revealing his positive diagnosis of COVID-19. According to multiple reports, Prince Charles sat across from Prince Albert at a WaterAid charity event in London days before testing positive.

Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla had already canceled their upcoming eight-day royal tour, which was set to begin on March 17 and conclude on March 25, with stops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Cyprus and Jordan.

‘GAME OF THRONES’ STAR KRISTOFER HIVJU TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Royal Founding Patron of the British Asian Trust poses with American musician Katy Perry as they arrive to attend a reception for supporters of the British Asian Trust on Feb. 4, 2020. (Getty)

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“Owing to the unfolding situation with the coronavirus pandemic, The British Government has asked Their Royal Highnesses to postpone their spring tour to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, and Jordan,” their office shared in a statement.

Prince Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, remains in a healthy condition despite her son testing positive, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told Fox News.

“Her Majesty The Queen remains in good health. The Queen last saw the Prince of Wales briefly after the investiture on the morning of the 12th of March and is following all the appropriate advice with regard to her welfare,” the spokesman said.

The British royal family announced on its official website last week that Queen Elizabeth would temporarily move to Windsor Castle amid the growing coronavirus pandemic one week earlier than planned.

In this March 5, 2019 file photo, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is joined by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and at rear, from left, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London to mark the 50th anniversary of the investiture of the Prince of Wales.  (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

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“As a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, a number of changes are being made to The Queen’s diary,” the statement said. “Audiences due to take place this week at Buckingham Palace will go ahead as planned. These include receiving the Prime Minister, the Commanding Officer of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and the Bishop of Hereford. Future Audiences will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the appropriate advice.”

The royal family’s statement also made it clear it is making steadfast decisions based on advice from the family’s “medical household” as well as government officials. This means events with “large numbers of people” that were due to be attended by the queen and other royal family members will be canceled or postponed “in the coming months.”

The family’s annual Maundy service at St. George’s Chapel on April 9 has already been canceled, and along with it, three garden parties scheduled to be hosted by the queen in May will also no longer be held, the statement confirmed.

MEL BROOKS, MAX BROOKS SHARE VIDEO TO COMBAT CORONAVIRUS: #DONTBEASPREADER

In this photo made available by World Economic Forum, Britain’s Prince Charles meets climate activist Greta Thunberg after he delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 22. (AP)

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In a statement on Thursday, the palace of Monaco shared Albert is being treated by doctors from the Princess Grace Hospital, named after his late mother. It revealed the royal is continuing to work from his home office in the palace and is in constant contact with the members of his government.

On March 17, it was revealed that Karl von Habsburg, the Archduke of Austria, also tested positive for the coronavirus.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The 59-year-old royal has been holed up since Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19 and called into the local TV channel, oe24 in Austria, to share his status.

“It’s annoying, but I’m fine. It’s not the Black Plague,” von Habsburg told the network.

As of Wednesday morning, the number of those infected with COVID-19 surpassed 400,000 globally.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/prince-charles-tests-positive-for-coronavirus

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June 13 (UPI) — British politician Boris Johnson took a big step toward succeeding Theresa May as prime minister, winning the first round of Conservative Party voting Thursday.

Johnson secured 114 votes in party balloting of 313 conservatives members of parliament. Jeremy Hunt finished second with 43, followed by Michael Gove with 37.

Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey dropped out of the race after failing to meet the 17-vote threshold. Others remaining in the race are Dominic Raab (27 votes), Sajid Javid (23), Matt Hancock (20), and Rory Stewart (19).

The Conservative Party will hold its next round Tuesday, when candidates with less than 33 votes will be eliminated. More votes will be held until two are left for an election among the 160,000 party membership. The winner will be announced on July 22.

“Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative and Unionist Party for your support,” Johnson said in a Twitter post. “I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go.”

The other candidates have not yet conceded. Gove, Britain’s environmental secretary, suggested he could make up ground in upcoming debates.

“This campaign is just getting started, and we’ve got a good base to build on,” he said. “I’m the change candidate who can be trusted to deliver Brexit by October, and has the vision and energy to take Britain forward.”

Johnson has promised to leave the European Union with or without a deal on the Oct. 31 deadline. May resigned as party leader earlier this month, and will depart as prime minister, after failing to sell lawmakers on an exit agreement.

Source: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/06/13/7901560435895/?sl=2

The post Boris Johnson takes lead in race for British prime minister first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Trump, who arrived in London on Monday for the start of a weeklong visit, launched another attack on CNN on Twitter.

“Just arrived in the United Kingdom. The only problem is that @CNN is the primary source of news available from the U.S. After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesn’t owner @ATT do something?” he tweeted.

“I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldn’t they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad!”

TRUMP BEGINS UK VISIT MEETING QUEEN, SPARRING WITH LONDON MAYOR

The anti-CNN tweets capped off a busy social media morning for the president, who had earlier taken aim at London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

“.@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly “nasty” to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me……,” Trump tweeted.

The post Trump attacks CNN moments after arriving in London for state visit first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Days before, Parliament had held several “indicative,” nonbinding votes designed to find an alternative to May’s deal. All eight proposals failed to find a majority. The deadline is now April 12 to find a new plan or leave the bloc without a deal.

But if you think this all sounds convoluted, hold on to your hats: It could get even more confusing still. One possible scenario is that the E.U. grants Britain a longer extension to work out a new deal — and that may mean that three years after voting to leave the E.U., Britain would be expected to field candidates in European elections.

This is not an unlikely scenario. It may be as likely as anything else in Brexit’s ongoing chaos.

The extension “is almost certain to involve the United Kingdom being required to hold European Parliament elections,” May told Britain’s House of Commons on Friday after her vote failed.

The vote in the European Parliament, the only directly elected legislative body of the E.U., is slated to take place May 23 to 26. These elections are held every five years to select new members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, with every E.U. citizen over 18 able to vote.

Before Brexit, there had been 751 MEPs in the European Parliament, with votes apportioned under Article 14 of the Treaty of Lisbon, similar to the electoral college in the United States. Before Britain voted to leave the E.U., in June 2016, it had 73 seats, giving it the third-largest representation in the bloc after Germany and France and on par with Italy.

After the country voted to leave, there was widespread discussion over what should happen to those seats. Last year, the European Parliament agreed to reduce the number of elective representatives to 705, with 27 of the former British seats distributed among 14 countries that were underrepresented.

[Frexit? Italeave? After watching Brexit, other European countries say no thanks.]

Alas, Britain’s ongoing Brexit drama now threatens to mess up the new system. It’s not exactly clear how Britain would participate in the European parliamentary election.

But if it did, it could get ugly — and certainly farcical.

Some fear that angry Brexiteers, bitter at not yet being out of the E.U., would attempt sabotage by voting for anti-E.U. politicians who would have even less to lose than usual. There’s certainly some history here: Nigel Farage, the relentless Brexit campaigner, has been an MEP since 1999. (He has tried, and failed, seven times to get a seat in Britain’s Parliament).

But the inverse — that pro-European groups would use the elections to express their dismay at Brexit — may also be true. On Friday, a group of independent politicians in Britain’s Parliament who oppose Brexit said they had registered a party that could compete in the European elections.

It’s unclear which of those wings would gain more from Britain’s chaotic attitude toward Europe at the moment. A poll conducted for Politico Europe in January found that traditional parties such as Labour and the Conservatives would still dominate the vote, with the anti-Europe U.K. Independence Party likely to lose seats.

But many European politicians have no desire to put the idea to the test. Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt told reporters March 21 that his colleagues thought it would be “impossible to have an extension beyond May 23,” as a delay that ran into the vote would “create an enormous problem.”

Ironically, the vote may end up becoming one of the most closely watched European Parliament votes in Britain in years. British turnout was just 35.6 percent in 2014, compared with 72.2 percent in the referendum on whether to leave the E.U.

Brexit could finally make Britain care about European Parliament elections.

Read more:

What on Earth is going on with Brexit now? Britain’s ongoing drama, explained.

The 400-year-old legal precedent that might break Brexit

Mr. Brexit? Trump, a critic of the E.U., keeps undermining Theresa May’s plan to leave it.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/03/29/brexits-latest-twist-britain-may-end-up-european-election-if-it-doesnt-leave-soon/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dc48c98e204f

The post Britain was supposed to be on its way out of the E.U. Instead, it may have to hold European elections. first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The UK parliament on Tuesday voted to reject an agreement on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, in the biggest ever defeat of a modern government in the House of Commons. It was a major blow to Prime Minister Theresa May and her Brexit plans.

Lawmakers in the parliament’s lower House of Commons voted by 432 to 202 to reject the withdrawal agreement. The loss by 230 votes far exceeds the previous record for a defeat which was held by the Labour government of Ramsay Macdonald, crushed by 166 votes in 1924.

May speaking to a crowded House of Commons

“The house has spoken and the government will listen,” May said, immediately after the vote.

“It is clear that the house does not support this deal but tonight’s vote tells us nothing about what it does support,” May added.

What will happen next

• May has three days to outline her response to the rejected withdrawal agreement.
• Her government will face a no confidence vote on Wednesday after opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn submitted the motion following the failed vote.
• The EU will intensify preparations for a Brexit in March without a withdrawal agreement.

May to hold cross-party talks

The immediate prospect for May is a cabinet meeting with her ministers on Wednesday morning when she may be encouraged to resign due to the magnitude of the defeat in the House of Commons.

If she is encouraged to stay on as premier, she will face a vote of confidence after Prime Minister’s Question Time in parliament at midday.

If May survives that, her office has said her ministers will contact her own Conservative back-bench MPs and senior members of opposition parties to find some basis for support, using her defeated deal as a starting point.

Pro- and anti-Brexit demonstrators were outside parliament during the vote

EU to escalate Brexit preparations

The European Union will intensify its preparations for a scenario in which Britain leaves the bloc without a withdrawal agreement, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday.

“The risk of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom has increased with this evening’s vote,” Juncker said in a statement following the British parliament’s rejection of a Brexit deal with the EU.

“While we do not want this to happen, the European Commission will continue its contingency work to help ensure the EU is fully prepared,” Juncker said.

Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Twitter his country was also stepping up its planning for a Brexit no-deal.

The calls for another vote on Brexit have increased

EU Council President Donald Tusk said the only positive solution after the British parliament decisively rejected May’s Brexit agreement is for Britain to stay in the EU.

“If a deal is impossible, and no one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?” Tusk tweeted after the vote.

law/jm (AP, Reuters)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/brexit-what-happens-next/a-47096780

The post Brexit: What happens next? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday suffered a humiliating defeat over her plan to withdraw Britain from the European Union, thrusting the country further into political chaos with only 10 weeks to go until it is scheduled to leave the bloc.

The 432-202 vote to reject her plan was one of the biggest defeats in the House of Commons for a prime minister in recent British history, and it underscores how under May, the prime minister’s office has lost ground in shaping important policy. Now factions in Parliament will seek to seize the initiative, an unpredictable new stage in the process of withdrawing from Europe, known as Brexit.

Before the vote, lawmakers in both the Conservative and Labour parties were being urged to put country before party to resolve the stalemate. Yet the problem remains that, even if they did, there is no clear path forward that can command a majority in the Commons.

In her final appeal in Parliament, May impressed on the lawmakers the importance of the vote facing them. “The responsibility on each and every one of us at this moment is profound,” she said, “for this is a historic decision that will set the future of our country for generations.”

Like most others, though, the prime minister has no easy answers about the way forward. She has signaled that she will appeal to the European Union in Brussels for concessions and try again to win parliamentary approval, but the bloc is unlikely to grant her any.

Some Cabinet members are pressing for a different course, calling for nonbinding “indicative votes,” in which members of Parliament can freely express their preferences for the various Brexit plans being bandied about.

The hope is that May’s plan might emerge from that process with the highest level of support.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, is widely expected to table a vote of no confidence, which if successful could trigger a general election. But few analysts believe that he can muster the numbers to win.

Negotiating the withdrawal from the European Union has been May’s singular focus since she became prime minister, displacing social problems like housing and health care.

But her failure to build consensus behind a single vision of Britain’s future outside the 28-nation bloc has allowed painful divides in the country to deepen.

With no consensus behind any one pathway, and a vanishing window for further negotiation, more radical solutions are rising to the fore.

One group of lawmakers is campaigning for a repeat referendum, which could overturn the mandate to leave, and another favors leaving the European Union on March 29 without a withdrawal agreement, a move that experts warn could lead to shortages of some foods and an economic downturn.

“This is probably the most important piece of legislation for decades, and the executive can’t get it through,” said Tim Stanley, a columnist for The Daily Telegraph. “It’s a very dramatic moment.”

May expected to lose the vote, having lost the support of many of her own lawmakers. But her surrogates scrambled, as late as Tuesday, to rally lawmakers to her side, in hopes of keeping the margin narrow enough to try again for parliamentary approval.

Earlier in the day, the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, raked his eyes over the back benches of the House of Commons and rebuked Parliament, in a booming voice, for contemplating a sudden and unregulated end to 45 years of integration with Europe.

Beseeching his fellow Tories to get behind May’s plan, Cox asked: “What are you playing at? What are you doing? You are not children in the playground. You are legislators, and it is your job. We are playing with people’s lives.”

He continued, rolling his Rs in theatrical fashion, “Do we opt for order? Or do we choose chaos?” The environment secretary, Michael Gove, was equally dramatic in a morning radio interview, warning lawmakers that “if we don’t vote for this deal tonight, in the words of Jon Snow, winter is coming,” a reference to “Game of Thrones.”

But critics of the deal were equally adamant, saying that May had emerged from two years of negotiations with an agreement that satisfied no one. Dominic Raab, who stepped down as May’s Brexit secretary in November, described her agreement as “wracked with self-doubt, defeatism and fear.”

“This deal before us can’t end the grinding process — it can only prolong it,” Raab said. “It would torment us and our European neighbors for the foreseeable future.”

Under normal circumstances, a British prime minister would be expected to resign after losing a vote on their flagship policy, but the Brexit process has so unsettled political conventions that May could survive to make revisions and pitch her deal again.

In December, May survived a leadership challenge from within her own Conservative Party and, under its rules, is safe from another until the end of the year.

“We have been in extraordinary circumstances,” said Nikki da Costa, a former director of legal affairs at 10 Downing Street. “Things that in normal times would not be considered survivable have become normalized. What the government would be looking for is a pathway through this.”

Da Costa predicted that “we will be doing this again in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Nevertheless, Tuesday’s vote represented a clear rejection of May’s handling of Brexit and a failure of her gamble that Parliament would ultimately accept her deal for fear of something worse.

Philip Cowley, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said he was struggling to identify a comparable defeat in the history of British politics.

“When you ask me for a historical benchmark, I can’t find any example. I don’t think anything like it has come along,” Cowley said. “It’s an issue which has caused the parties to have split on an almost theological level.”

May will now face pressure to allow Parliament to vote on options other than her Brexit plan, a fuzzy middle way that keeps different economic possibilities open for the future but also restores the power to control immigration within the European Union.

Alternatives include proposals to adhere more closely to the European Union’s economic rule book, by remaining in a customs union with the bloc, or going further and staying within its single market. But that would involve obeying more European rules, abandoning the idea of conducting an independent trade policy, and possibly allowing the free movement of European workers.

Most members of Parliament oppose the prospect of leaving the union without a deal on March 29, a disorderly and chaotic rupture that would do significant economic damage, so they may press for an extension of the negotiating period. European officials will be reluctant to grant that without any clear new strategy from the government, but they, too, want to avoid a “no deal” Brexit.

Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2019/01/15/teresa-may-loses-brexit-vote-landslide-faces-confidence-vote/j5S8RoLnvOBFXpIW6lxJkJ/story.html

The post Theresa May loses Brexit vote in landslide first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

MPs backed an amendment demanding the Government return within three sitting days with a new plan if it is defeated in next week’s crunch vote on the British Prime Minister’s Brexit deal.

The House voted by 308 to 297 in favour of the amendment tabled by the pro-Remain Tory MP Dominic Grieve with the support of other Conservative rebels.

Earlier there were furious scenes in the chamber as other Tory MPs angrily accused Speaker John Bercow of flouting Commons rules in allowing the vote to go ahead.

A series of MPs rose to complain that the Government motion should not have been amendable.

But Mr Bercow defended his decision saying: “My understanding is the motion is amendable, I’m clear in my mind about that.”

Amid jeers and heckles from the Tory benches, he said: “I’m trying to do the right thing and make the right judgments.

“That is what I have tried to do and what I will go on doing.”

The vote came hard on the heels of Tuesday night’s Commons defeat for the Government on a motion intended to limit its powers to change taxes in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

– Press Association

Source: https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/may-suffers-another-commons-brexit-defeat-896563.html

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