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Brexit: UK Quits EU at 23:00 GMT, as Prime Minister Promises 'New Dawn'

posted by martyb on Friday January 31 2020, @11:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the Brexit-Means-Brexit dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

UK set for Brexit, as PM promises 'new dawn'

The UK [officially left] the European Union at 23:00 GMT, ending 47 years of membership.

[...] Pro and anti-Brexit demonstrations and marches are being held across the country, as the UK flag is taken down from EU institutions in Brussels.

Little will change immediately, as the UK begins a "transition period".

Most EU laws will continue to be in force - including the free movement of people - until the end of December, by which time the UK aims to have reached a permanent free trade agreement with the EU.

[...] The prime minister held a cabinet meeting at the National Glass Centre, a museum and arts centre in Sunderland, the city that was the first to back Brexit when results were announced after the referendum.

The meeting was held amid tight security.

[...] Mr Johnson told the Cabinet it was time to start a "new chapter in the United Kingdom's story" and end the division of the past three and a half years, according to a Downing Street spokesman.

The Cabinet discussed future trade deals, including seeking a a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU, and Mr Johnson thanked Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay for the work of his department, which is being wound up.

The PM told ministers the government aimed to have 80% of the UK's trade with other nations covered by free trade agreements within three years.

[...] "This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act. It is a moment of real national renewal and change."

[...] A new commemorative 50p coin will also come into circulation to mark the UK's withdrawal.

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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by pTamok on Saturday February 01 2020, @10:22AM

    by pTamok (3042) on Saturday February 01 2020, @10:22AM (#952287)

    After the death of Boadicea, and the later invasions by the Angles, and the Danes, and Normans, no one has successfully invaded the British Isles. Spanish Armada? Fail. Did get the Dark Irish out of the deal. The Blitz, yeah, right, until Normandy (pay back for William). So once by sea, once by air, I predict the next one will be by land, specifically, invasion by Chunnel. One might think it would be a single point of failure, easy to shutdown, but that is just the problem, you would have to shut it down. Fortunately, the IMPOTUS of the United States has announced that war crimes involving land mines and blowing the legs off of children is now kosher. So, yeah, Brexit is gonna end well, with the French Conquest of England, finally. Once again, Monty Python is prophetic.

    There have been plenty of invasions of England since 1066 [wikipedia.org], only one of which was successful in that it triggered a change of power in England. You haven't heard of it because history was written by the victors and it is portrayed as a 'Glorious Revolution' [wikipedia.org], in much the same style as Chinese propaganda portraying successful takeovers of bordering countries as 'unifications' if the Central Kingdom.

    As Wikipedia describes the 'Glorious Revolution':

    The Glorious Revolution, or Revolution of 1688 (Irish: An Réabhlóid Ghlórmhar, Scottish Gaelic: Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor or Welsh: Chwyldro Gogoneddus), was the November 1688 deposition and subsequent replacement of James II and VII as ruler of England, Scotland and Ireland by his daughter Mary II and his Dutch nephew and Mary's husband, William III of Orange.
    ...

    With political support from allies in England, Scotland and Europe, a fleet of 463 ships landed William and 14,000 men in Torbay on 5 November. As he advanced on London, desertions reduced the 30,000 strong Royal Army to 4,000; James ordered these remnants disbanded and went into exile in December.[5] A Convention Parliament met in April 1689, making William and Mary joint monarchs of England; a separate but similar Scottish settlement was made in June.

    So, it was the successful replacement of a Catholic king with a Protestant monarch, which still has political consequences now. The invasion was so successful, it was basically unopposed.

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