"Second referendum or no-deal Brexit become more likely" LONDON, April 2 -- Theresa May and her cabinet will meet for five hours of crisis talks today after MPs rejected all four alternatives to her withdrawal deal. The indicative votes had been billed as the moment when Parliament might finally compromise and move forward on Brexit but instead the entire process remains locked in confusion and stalemate. The Guardian says parliament is “mired in deadlock” and The i describes MPs as “April fools”. But The Times sees a positive for the prime minister at least, saying the evening’s outcome is a “boost for May” and it hands back to her the initiative. The four options voted on by MPs were a customs union, a Common Market 2.0, a confirmatory public vote and revoking Article 50. The customs union option was defeated by the narrowest margin, only three votes, but the second referendum option grabbed the most votes in favour - 280. The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a repeat of the debate on the four options, saying: “If it is good enough for the prime minister to have three chances at her deal then I suggest that possibly the House should have a chance to consider again the options that we had before us today.” In another day of drama, former minister Nick Boles, who proposed the Common Market 2.0 option, quit as a Tory MP. He plans to sit as “an Independent Progressive Conservative”. In an emotional address, Boles told MPs: “I have given everything to an attempt to find a compromise that can take this country out of the European Union while maintaining our economic strength and our political cohesion. “I accept I have failed. I have failed chiefly because my party refuses to compromise. I regret therefore to announce I can no longer sit for this party.” As he left the chamber amid applause from the opposition benches, one Tory MP shouted: “Don't go, Nick!” Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will tell the cabinet the government must compromise on the deal or admit the Commons has failed and hold a second referendum, The Times says. According to Sky News, speculation is mounting that May could bring back a vote on her deal to the Commons for a fourth time and link it with a confidence motion in the government. However, many MPs believe this would be a “kamikaze move”. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said the “only option” that remains is to find a way forward that allows the UK to leave the European Union with a deal - and the only deal available was the prime minister's. European Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt has tweeted that after the MPs rejected all the options, a “hard Brexit becomes nearly inevitable”.
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A handful of Labour MPs in Leave areas backed the agreement but too few to make a difference. Downing Street was taking advice on whether she could have a fourth attempt at getting her deal over the line. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Standard yesterday that the EU might be flexible for a vote next week.
LONDON, March 27 -- Prime Minister Theresa May has told fellow Tory MPs that she will quit once the Brexit deal has been delivered. MP James Cartlidge said as he left a meeting of the 1922 Committee in Westminster that Mrs May said she "would not remain in post for the next phase of the negotiations”. Number 10 believes that the promise of a Brexiteer PM leading the negotiations for a future deal with the EU, will help get the deal over the line. It came after the government indicated that they could bring back the meaningful vote a third time on Friday, reports the Mirror Online. However, it remains unclear whether the Speaker will allow that after he said the deal needs major changes before it can be put before MPs again. Earlier this month he would not accept another meaningful vote being brought forward without substantial changes, which he indicated should include a negotiated change with the EU. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay told MPs a motion to enable the Commons to sit on Friday is to be tabled by the Government as it bids to secure approval for the deal. Mr Barclay said: "In order to maximise our ability to secure that approval the Government will, later today, table a motion for the House to sit this Friday." Mr Bercow earlier told MPs: "I understand the Government may be thinking about bringing a third meaningful vote before the House either tomorrow or even on Friday, if the House opts to sit that day. "Therefore, in order there should be no misunderstanding, I wish to make clear that I do expect the Government to meet the test of change." They should not seek to circumvent my ruling by means of tabling either a notwithstanding or a paving motion - the tabling office has been instructed no such motion would be accepted." Responding to Mr Bercow's statement, a Government source said the Speaker was "making it up as he goes along". LONDON, March 27 -- The UK Government said in a statement it would not request the European Union to abort the procedure of the country’s withdrawal and would keep its work on Brexit. The statement came as a response to a petition, headlined "Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU" and signed by almost 5.8 million of UK residents. "This Government will not revoke Article 50. We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with Parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union," reads the statement, prepared by the Brexit ministry. "The Government acknowledges the considerable number of people who have signed this petition. However, close to three quarters of the electorate took part in the 2016 referendum, trusting that the result would be respected," the document continues. "This Government wrote to every household prior to the referendum, promising that the outcome of the referendum would be implemented. 17.4 million people then voted to leave the European Union, providing the biggest democratic mandate for any course of action ever directed at UK Government." According to the statement, revoking Article 50 would break the promises made to the British people, disrespect the clear instruction from a democratic vote, and in turn, reduce confidence in democracy. According to the Petitions Committee at the House of Commons, the document had the highest volume of sign-ups on record. It was registered on February 20 and gathered 10,000 signatures by March 18, 100,000 signatures by March 20, but then went viral, with the number of signatures topping 2 million on the following day. Under the UK procedures, any petition that has collected more than 10,000 signatures, requires an official response of the government, and should be considered in the parliament after reaching the benchmark of 100,000. The heads of 27 states and governments unanimously agreed last Thursday to delay Brexit. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU will be postponed either until May 22 if the British parliament endorses by the end of March a Brexit deal with Brussels, or until April 12 in case the deal is not backed. The deal on Brexit conditions had been earlier twice rejected by the UK parliament on January 15 and March 12. So far, eurosceptics in the Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland that supports May’s government in the parliament, said their stance was unchanged and they would not vote on the deal with the EU in its current form. So, the chances that the House of Commons will approve the deal next week are very slim. The vote is also in question since earlier this week John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, warned that he would not let the government initiate it for the third time until significant changes were introduced. “We are a Remain country now with 60% wanting to stop the Brexit mess." LONDON, March 23 -- Hundreds of thousands of people have poured into the capital to take part in the Put it to the People march. Sadiq Khan tweeted a video of the countdown launching the Put it to the People march, with the London mayor holding up a banner at the front of demonstrators. He wrote: “And we’re off! “Here in London, thousands of people from across our city and country have come together with @peoplesvote_uk to send a clear message: Enough is enough - it’s time to give the British public the final say on Brexit.” The day’s activities were kicked off by the unfurling of a large banner on Westminster Bridge that read “Love socialism, hate Brexit”. The stunt was organised by a group calling itself the “Left Bloc” which is supported by Labour MPs, including Clive Lewis and Kate Osamor, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, trade unions and grassroots campaigners. The march sees protesters process from Park Lane to Parliament Square, where a rally will be held. As many as a million people could flood the streets of London after estimates for a similar rally in October were as high as 700,000. In Parliament Square, Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson is expected to tell marchers the only way to resolve the Brexit impasse is “for people themselves to sign it off”. Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine and London mayor Sadiq Khan are also expected to take the stage. Other speakers will include former Conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening and ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve, former Tory turned independent MP Anna Soubry, Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford. Campaigners arrived in the capital from across the country, with one taking on a 715-mile journey on ferries, trains and buses from Orkney in Scotland. Student Sorcha Kirker, 27, will be joined by about 30 other students from the University of the Highlands and Islands. The demonstration follows EU leaders agreeing to delay Brexit to give prime minister Theresa May a final chance to get her deal through Parliament. Leaders agreed to extend Brexit to May 22 if May can get MPs to back her deal in the Commons at the third time of asking. If the vote is not passed, the UK will have to set out an alternative way forward by April 12, which could mean a much longer delay - with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament - or leaving without a deal at all. An online petition demanding the government stops the Brexit process had topped four million signatures by this morning. It is now the most popular ever submitted to the Parliament website, moving ahead of a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum. Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Vince Cable has tweeted his support for a second referendum after launching the march. Alongside two photos of him with demonstrators, he wrote: “Great to kick off the #PeoplesVoteMarch just now. “There is a huge turnout of people here from all walks of life, of all ages and from all over the country. MPs are expected to vote for a third time on the Brexit withdrawal deal next week, despite speaker John Bercow saying what is put forward must be substantially different to be voted on. Last night’s agreement also reduces the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit on 29 March – but the UK could still leave without a deal if Mrs May’s deal is not approved by MPs by 12 April. A petition to Revoke Article 50 has been signed by almost three million people in the two days since Theresa May made her speech. Petition organiser Margaret Anne Georgiadou wrote: “The government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is ‘the will of the people’
“We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now for remaining in the EU. A People’s Vote may not happen – so vote now.” LONDON, March 20 -- Prime Minister Theresa May has requested a three-month delay to Brexit, postponing the UK’s departure from the European Union from March 29 to June 30. In a letter to European Council president Donald Tusk, Mrs May said that she did not believe it was in either the UK’s or the EU’s interests for Britain to take part in European Parliament elections in May. READ MORE: Theresa May seeks short Brexit delay amid Tory tensions. She told MPs that she intends to table the Withdrawal Agreement which she has negotiated with the EU for a third time in the Commons next week, in the hope of overturning the massive defeats inflicted on it in January and March. Brussels has made clear that any extension of the Article 50 negotiation process beyond the end of June would require the UK to elect MEPs to take their seats in the next European Parliament in July. Mrs May told PMQs: “The idea that three years after voting to leave the EU, the people of this country should be asked to elect a new set of MEPs is, I believe, unacceptable. “It would be a failure to deliver on the referendum decision this House said it would deliver. “I have therefore this morning written to President Tusk… informing him that the UK seeks an extension to the Article 50 period until June 30.” Mrs May will formally make her request to the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, where the unanimous approval of all 27 remaining member states is required for any extension. In her letter to Mr Tusk, Mrs May said that it remains the Government’s policy to take the UK out of the EU “in an orderly manner” on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration agreed in November and supplemented by documents agreed with Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker last week. The Agreement was rejected by 230 votes in January and 149 votes earlier this month. And Commons Speaker John Bercow this week said he would not allow the same motion to be brought again during this session of Parliament, unless it was substantially changed. But Mrs May told the Commons: “The Government intends to bring forward proposals for a third meaningful vote. “If that vote is passed, the extension will give the House time to consider the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. If not, the House will have to decide how to proceed. “But as Prime Minister, I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than June 30.” LONDON, March 14 -- MPs have voted overwhelmingly to request an extension of Article 50 in order to delay the official Brexit date until the end of June. Under current rules the UK is due to leave the bloc by 29 March, regardless of whether a deal is agreed. But following another resounding defeat of her Brexit deal, Theresa May brought a motion to the Commons that would authorise her to request an extension to allow for more time. She plans to hold another vote on her deal and, if it is approved, requesting what is known as a short “technical extension” to allow time for ratification of said agreement. Short extension But Mrs May warned that, if a deal is not agreed, the UK would likely have to request a longer extension from the EU. It was approved by MPs on Thursday, just two weeks before the scheduled leave date, by 412 to 202. The motion stated that, if the House of Commons has approved her Brexit deal by March 20, she will seek a “one-off extension” until June 30 to allow time for the necessary legislation to be passed. This suggests that the Prime Minister is hoping to have held another meaningful vote on the deal by 20 March – just nine days before the deadline. The motion added that, if the Prime Minister cannot win support for her deal by 20 March, it would be “highly likely” that the EU will require the UK to set out a “clear purpose” before granting any extension. UK needs ‘clear plan’ It also noted that any delay beyond the end of June would result in the UK taking in May’s elections to the European Parliament. Under Article 50 rules, the UK must request any extension and it has to be unanimously supported by EU states. The bloc has already stated that an any delay, other than for the purpose of passing legislation after a deal has been approved, must be justified with a clear plan from the British government. They are likely to agree to an extension as long as there was a prospect of a deal being reached – or a referendum or general election which could change the political landscape at Westminster. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that Brexit should be completed before the European elections which take place between May 23 and 26. “If the UK has not left the EU by then, it will be legally required to hold these elections,” he said. BRUSSELS, March 14 -- The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, has said he would accept a “long” delay to Brexit. Tusk is willing to give the UK a lot more time to rethink its relationship with the EU, and if indeed, want to leave at all. Tusk said: “During my consultations ahead of European Council, I will appeal to the EU27 to be open to a long extension if the UK finds it necessary to rethink its Brexit strategy and build consensus around it.” Last night the Government voted to take off a no-deal Brexit for good. Today they vote again over Brexit, this time to delay Brexit to June 30th. However, Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s chief negotiator yesterday questioned the point of an extension, saying: “Why would we extend these discussions? The discussion on Article 50, that is done and dusted. We have the withdrawal agreement, it is there. That is the question asked and we are waiting for the answer to that.” EU leaders are likely to reach a decision on any UK requests for an extension on their Brexit departure at their summit on March 21-22, if such a request is forthcoming following a vote in Parliament on today. Steve Baker, member of the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs said: “As a matter of practice, unless the law is changed, we leave on March 29. “There are some things that we could do to prevent the law going through in the time that is available.” LONDON, March 13 -- Theresa May has suffered a heavy defeat after her amended Brexit deal was rejected by MPs for the second time in three months. The humiliating loss is a huge blow for her personally and it means the UK enters unchartered political waters once again – with the date of Brexit just 17 days away. She lost by 149 votes with 391 MPs voting against the agreement, and 242 MPs voting for it. What happens next? Mrs May has promised MPs a vote on whether they support a no-deal Brexit following the defeat on her deal. This will take place tomorrow and Parliament is expected to reject no deal, having voiced its opposition to leaving without a deal in a previous vote. Mrs May said the no-deal vote will be a free vote for her party, meaning Tory MPs can vote whichever way they like without party guidance. If Parliament says no to no deal there will be a vote on delaying Brexit by extending Article 50, the legal mechanism by which a country leaves the EU. If this is approved the Prime Minister will seek a Brexit delay from the EU. Will Mrs May resign? Mrs May has previous refused to resign despite suffering record a series of crushing defeats and a vote on no-confidence in her leadership triggered by her own MPs. But in this case the EU has told Mrs May there is no more opportunity for negotiations, and there is a chance she could could finally accept she has reached the end of the line for her leadership. Ladbrokes is offering 2/5 of Mrs May to be gone before the end of the year, and she is 4/1 to be replaced in March, 8/1 in April and 12/1 in May, with the odds lengthening to 14/1 in June. Will Brexit be delayed? If MPs vote in favour of delaying Brexit this week Theresa May will officially ask the EU to push back the date of departure. All 27 member states would need to improve an extension. The EU has signalled it would be willing to extend Article 50 if there is a real chance doing so would break the deadlock. However this is far from guaranteed, and any extension is unlikely to reach past the European parliament elections in May. Will there be a general election? The Labour party is pushing for a General Election in an attempt to reach a Brexit breakthrough. In order for this to happen, Theresa May would need to decide to call an election – which is highly unlikely – or a vote of no confidence in the Government needs to be voted through. This would involve Conservative MPs voting to bring down their own Prime Minister. Will there be a second referendum? Odds on ANOTHER referendum have been slashed as the UK moves closer to the Brexit deadline without a deal in place. Theresa May has consistently voiced her opposition to another vote, but the Labour party has tentatively supporter the idea if they are unable to secure their own Brexit deal. Bookmakers are offering odds of 5/2 on another referendum before the end of 2019, and 5/1 on a referendum with voters choosing to remain. So what happens on March 29? Impossible to say at this stage. If a deal is somehow reached and legislated for then although the UK will formally leave the EU at 11pm, very little will change as a transition period will smooth progress to the UK’s new future. If there is a delay, the UK will still be in the European Union until the extension period expires. But if there is a no-deal Brexit, things are a lot more uncertain – the Government has been ramping up preparations to try to prevent shortages of food and medicine amid fears that increased bureaucracy will clog up key ports where goods arrive from the Continent. LONDON, March 12 -- Prime Minister Theresa May was heading for defeat on Tuesday on her plans to leave the European Union as sceptical members of her own party appeared ready to defy her warning that Britain might not leave the EU at all if they voted against her. Hours before a 1900 GMT vote on the deal in parliament, May had failed to win over the main Brexit faction in her own party, while Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her minority government, said it would vote “no”. Nonetheless, a hoarse prime minister defended her plan as a good deal compared to a series of unattractive alternatives. The main pro-Brexit faction in May’s party, the European Research Group, said it did not recommend voting for her deal. Former foreign minister Boris Johnson, one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign, said May’s deal was dead and Britain should now leave the EU without an agreement to cushion the effects. “This deal has now reached the end of the road. If it is rejected tonight, I hope that it will be put to bed,” he told parliament. The main sticking point is the so-called Irish border backstop, an insurance policy aimed at avoiding controls on the border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland after Brexit. Brexit-supporting lawmakers expressed suspicion at the haste of May’s last-minute assurances and suggested a delay to allow sufficient analysis of them and Cox’s advice. Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s parliamentary leader, said the assurances would still trap the United Kingdom in the EU’s orbit. For its part, the EU fears that if there is no backstop, an open border between the United Kingdom and Ireland will amount to an open door into the EU’s single market. If lawmakers vote down May’s deal again, they will be given a vote on Wednesday on leaving without a deal, for which there is little support in parliament. If they turn down that option they will vote on Thursday on delaying Brexit. May said there was no guarantee the EU would agree to a delay. LONDON. March 12 -- The British attorney general Geoffrey Cox says the risk of the UK being tied to European Union rules after Brexit "remains unchanged". But Cox also says the new agreements reinforce the legal rights available to the UK. Not everyone is impressed. “It doesn’t change the substantive problem with the Withdrawal Agreement,” says Robert Oulds, director of the Thatcherite think-tank Bruges Group. “It doesn’t mean that we are not going to be paying the European Union 39 billion pounds, perhaps even more. “It doesn’t actually stop the problem of the European Court of Justice continuing to have a say in affairs within the UK, even when we are technically outside the EU,” he says. Referring to May’s new agreements, Oulds says they are mere “meaningless pieces of paper. It doesn’t actually change a very, very bad deal, which has been overwhelmingly rejected by the British House of Commons.” Expecting the vote on Tuesday 12 March to reject May’s adjusted Withdrawal Deal, he doesn’t see postponing the Brexit deadline beyond 29 March as a viable option. Robert Oulds is not scared of the chaos that some observers predict will erupt at airports and harbours serving Europe. “Actually we know exactly what will happen when we leave the EU which is still set for 29 March, because in case the Withdrawal Agreement isn’t passed, the EU is offering other deals. “It is offering unlimited access in terms of haulage, it is saying the flights will continue, it has signed up to the Transport Convention. The ports of Calais and Boulogne are ready for the withdrawal agreement to be voted out." Meanwhile, European Council President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a joint press conference with Theresa May on Monday that if the latest adjustments are not accepted by the UK House of Commons, there may be “no Brexit at all”. According to Robert Oulds, “the fact remains that we have legislation in the UK in force to leave the EU on 29 March. Brexit is happening. And even the EU wants it to happen, because they know that if we are in the EU beyond the 23 May, we have to partake in the European elections. They do not want Britain in the EU returning Eurosceptics to the European Parliament.” STRASBOURG, March 12 -- Jean-Claude Juncker has issued a stark warning to MPs threatening to reject Theresa May’s “improved” Brexit deal, saying there will be “no third chance”. The European Commission President’s remarks came after the Prime Minister said she had secured “legally binding” changes to the agreement ahead of the Commons vote tonight. Changes to Mrs May’s deal, which were revealed on Monday night, have been slammed by MPs and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn who urged Parliament to reject the updated plans. But Mr Juncker warned Britain’s MPs that no further assurances will be given, telling the press conference which followed his and Mrs May’s talks in Strasbourg: "Let us be crystal clear about the choice - it is this deal or Brexit might not happen at all." He said: "There will be no new negotiations. It is this. In politics, sometimes you get a second chance. It is what we do with the second chance that counts. Because there will be no third chance. "There will be no further interpretation of the interpretations and no further assurances on the reassurances.” Mrs May insisted she has secured "legally binding" changes to the Brexit deal which ensure the Irish backstop cannot be permanent. Following last-ditch talks ahead of a crunch Commons vote later today, Mrs May said she has now delivered what Parliament asked her to do. The PM said she "passionately believed" her Brexit deal addressed concerns raised by MPs who feared the backstop would keep the UK in a customs arrangement with the EU indefinitely. At a joint press conference with Mr Juncker, Mrs May said the three new documents agreed provided the legal assurances critics of her stance had called for. She said: "What we have secured is very clearly that the backstop cannot be indefinite. Cannot become permanent. It is only temporary. If it is the case that we were ever to get into the backstop. "The legal instrument that we have agreed is an addition to the Withdrawal Agreement. It has the same legal status as the Withdrawal Agreement. It is legally binding. "That is what Parliament asked us to secure and that is what we have secured." Mrs May added: "MPs were clear that legal changes were needed to the backstop. Today we have secured legal changes. "Now is the time to come together to back this improved Brexit deal and to deliver on the instruction of the British people." The legal view of the changes taken by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox will be an important factor in the lead-up to the Commons vote. Mrs May said: "The Attorney General is independent. He will come to his decision. He will publish his legal opinion." ROTTERDAM, March 11 -- Only a fool would cheer the banning of Tommy Robinson by Facebook and Instagram. It doesn’t matter if you like or loathe him. It doesn’t matter if you think he’s a searing critic of the divisive logic in the politics of diversity or Luton’s very own Oswald Mosley in Jack Wills clobber. The point is that his expulsion from social media confirms that corporate censorship is out of control. It speaks to a new kind of tyranny: the tyranny of unaccountable capitalist oligarchs in Silicon Valley getting to decide who is allowed to speak in the new public square that is the internet. Robinson, having already been thrown off Twitter and Patreon, was unceremoniously cast out from Facebook and Instagram yesterday. He had one million followers. So we are not talking about some bedroom-bound imbecile who says mad things to 27 fellow losers on Twitter, but about a public figure, someone who commands an audience and enjoys political influence. His crime, in the eyes of Facebook’s and Instagram’s community-standards cops, was to nurture ‘organised hate’ towards Muslims. He used ‘dehumanising language’ and made ‘calls for violence’, the social-media giants decreed. And therefore he had to go. There are many disturbing things about this latest act of Silicon Valley silencing of an awkward public voice. The first is the apparent involvement of Mohammed Shafiq, CEO of the Ramadhan Foundation. Yesterday Shafiq boasted about having met with Facebook representatives to encourage them to ban Robinson over his ‘brainwashing’ of his followers into feeling ‘racism’ towards Muslims. This is the same Mohammed Shafiq who once attended an event with Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman, a Pakistani cleric who praised the murder in 2011 of the governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, by a radical Islamist who despised Taseer for his opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and his calls for the Christian ‘blasphemer’, Asia Bibi, to be released from jail. Shafiq also called for the anti-extremist campaigner Maajid Nawaz to be dumped as a parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats after Nawaz committed the speechcrime of tweeting a cartoon of Jesus & Mo. All of which raises a question: why is Facebook reportedly taking advice from someone like that? Does it also meet with campaigning Christians and jot down which critics of Christ they would like to see removed from its website? The other disturbing thing is the growing power of internet corporations to police public speech. Not content with banning the likes of Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos, and feminists like Meghan Murphy who criticise the politics of transgenderism, and various white nationalists, now the social-media giants are going after right-wing political activists whose views they don’t like. Alongside Robinson it has been reported that some leading UKIP activists have had their Facebook accounts suspended. This has a very strong whiff of political censorship. It is perverse and dispiriting to see ostensible leftists and progressives whoop with delight as corporate tech giants suspend or censor political undesirables. First because since when was the left in favour of the exercise of property rights against people’s rights? In their applauding of Silicon Valley’s censorious rampage these left-wing anti-fascists sound an awful lot like right-wing libertarians. They are effectively saying, ‘Hey, these are private companies, so they can ban whoever they want to’. Suddenly their traditional concern with reining in the unaccountable power of big business goes out the window and they find themselves standing with the bosses against the individual. |
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