Brexit deadlock

Let’s be honest here – does anyone really know that happened with Brexit this past week? Or what might happen next week?

Okay, deep breaths everyone, let’s start at the beginning.

On Monday of this past week the Cabinet met to discuss a way forward on Brexit, as well as the fate of Theresa May as Prime Minister. This resulted in MPs voting to seize control of the legislative timetable to hold indicative votes on what way out of the Brexit deadlock can gain a majority in parliament. The motion, known as the Letwin amendment, was passed 329-302, with three government ministers quitting their posts in order to back it.

Speaker John Bercow was presented with 16 amendments to choose to put before the House to vote on this past Wednesday evening, choosing eight that focused on both outcomes, and the means of getting to that outcome. Among these options were leaving without a deal, a Canada-style free-trade agreement, a customs union plan, a second referendum and a ‘softer’ Brexit. The plan was to see which ideas got the most support, then hold another day of votes next week to find an agreement on a proposal.

Note that I said that was the plan, but things didn’t exactly work out that way.

This is because none of the series of the nonbinding votes on options for Britain’s future gained a majority. The closest one that came to winning a majority was an option to negotiate a “permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU”. This was voted down by 271 votes to 265.

As MPs were holding these votes, Theresa May also told Tory MPs that she would step down as Prime Minister if they backed her Brexit deal. She told backbench Tories this past Wednesday: “I know there is a desire for a new approach, and new leadership, in the second phase of the Brexit negotiations, and I won’t stand in the way of that.” In a statement released after May’s announcement, DUP leader Arlene Foster said that the “necessary changes” she wanted to see to the backstop clause in the withdrawal agreement had still not been secured, as her party continued to refuse to back the Prime Minister’s deal. However several past critics of the deal, including Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, stated that they would support the Prime Minister’s deal in another vote – although Mogg added the condition that he would only do this if it had the backing of the DUP. Meanwhile it is being reported that at least 10 cabinet ministers are eyeing up Theresa May’s job.

And so, this past Friday, MPs once again had an opportunity to vote for the withdrawal agreement – although only part of it this time. This vote was the only legally binding agreement that sets the terms of Britain’s department from the EU. Once again parliament voted against it, by 344 votes to 286. This vote was held on the day that Britain was initially meant ot leave the EU, the 29th of March, and now means that the UK has missed the EU deadline to delay Brexit to 22 May and leave with a deal. Following the deal’s rejection, President of the European Council Donald Tusk tweeted stating that he has decided to call a European Council on 10 April – just two days before the UK’s new deadline to leave the EU. The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said: “It is up to the UK to indicate how it plans to proceed in order to avoid a no-deal scenario. The European council has agreed unanimously that the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened.”

Meanwhile, outside Parliament, thousands of Leave supporters protested against the delay on Brexit. A separate Make Brexit Happen rally, organised by UKIP, was also held, on what was meant to be the UK’s ‘Independence Day’. Supporters of the English Defence League founder turned UKIP adviser Tommy Robinson clashed with police, who have confirmed that five arrests were made at the protest. A former UKIP candidate has also reportedly organised an online petition calling for the de-selection of MP and former Attorney General Dominc Grieve, who has been a prominent campaigner for another Brexit referendum. Grieve lost a vote of confidence among local Conservatives in his Beaconsfield constituency,  Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis said the vote had no standing under party rules.

And so we come to that critical question once again – what happens next with Brexit? Well, rumour has it that Theresa May and her cabinet are looking for a fourth attempt at winning the MPs’ backing for her deal. However it seems unlikely that the agreement will pass on a fourth attempt, especially since Nigel Dodds, the deputy leader of the DUP, has stated that he would rather see the UK stay in the EU than back May’s withdrawal agreement. However, despite Dodds’ comments, the Daily Telegraph reported that some of the DUP’s MPs were considering switching to support her deal.

One thing we do know is that a lot of people are tired of Brexit – from politcians to commentators to journalists. In this past week Yasmeen Serhan wrote in The Atlantic about the difficulties of writing about Brexit for a foreign audience (full discloure: Yasmeen is a mutual friend, but I would read her writing regardless because she is really great at what she does), and The New York Times is reporting that ‘The Man Trying to Make Sense of Brexit Is Tired and Would Like to Stop Now’. One silver lining from this past week is that Newsnight’s Political Editor gave one of the best summarising quotes from a Cabinet Minister on what’s happening with Brexit, live on the BBC:

 

LGBT education

Following an historic vote by MPs in the House of Commons, LGBT education lessons are to be taught in schools in England. 538 MPs backed the proposal while 21 opposed. Seven members of the DUP were among those who opposed the proposal. The final guidance is set to come into force in September 2020.

The proposal was put forward by Education Secretary Damian Hinds and will ensure children are taught about different types of relationships and family models, ranging from foster families to same-sex parents. This proposal has not been without its controversy, as it was voted on in the midst of several schools in Birmingham facing protests from parents over schools’ teaching of LGBT rights and LGBT- inclusive relationship guidance. The No Outsiders programme is said to have been created to prepare children “for modern life in Britain”, Andrew Moffatt – the assistant headteacher who created and piloted the scheme – stating that it is about “community cohesion, British values, it’s about people getting along and co-existing.”

Opponents have said the schools are “preaching not teaching”, and have engaged in protests outside the school for several weeks. In previous rallies, protesters had branded the lessons “toxic”, “aggressive indoctrination” and age-inappropriate. Some of these schools have now suspended teaching about LGBT rights following complaints, saying the lessons will resume when an agreement between the school and parents is reached.

The Department of Education has ensured that the new curriculum will adapt according to children’s age, with schools ensuring that their teaching is “sensitive and age-appropriate.” It is expected secondary schools will include LGBT content in their teaching, whereas at primary level there was no specific requirement to do so.

Controversy has also arisen over the BBC’s coverage of the issue following Question Time’s decision to debate the teaching of tolerance of LGBT relationships in primary schools. Critics argue that this issue should not be up to debate. An audience member posed the question “Is it morally right that five-year-old children learn about LGBTQ+ issues in school?” to a panel that included the Education Secretary Damian Hinds. Speaking on Question Time, Mr Hinds said: “I think it is right, and this is reflected in the new guidance, that during the course of a child’s schooling, they do learn about LGBT+ relationships as part of the diversity of our country”.

The situation in Venezuela

The political crisis in Venezuela – and years-long economic crisis – deepened in this past week when President Nicolas Maduro banned US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido from running for office.

In addition to attempting to bar Guaido from leaving the country, freezing his bank accounts and detaining his chief of staff, Maduro’s government is now barring Guaido, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, from public office for 15 years. In a statement made by an appointee of Maduro in this past week, Elvis Amoroso, Guaido was accused of accepting gifts from foreign governments and of having inconsistencies in his finances. It’s important to note that these issues were uncovered in an audit conducted by Venezuela’s state comptroller, Amoroso, an ally of Maduro. A spokesperson for Guaido has stated that such a ban could only be issued by the judiciary, adding that “all usurped authority is ineffective and its acts are nullified”. Guaido has often referred to Maduro as a usurper in reference to last year’s presidential elections, which he believes were illegitimate.

This is all happening against a backdrop of blackouts and anti-Maduro protests across Venezuela in the past few weeks. These power cuts have hit hospitals, public transport, water, and other services, worsening a national economic crisis. This past Tuesday Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, accused “imperial masters” in Washington for causing the major blackout. In a broadcast on this past Thursday, Maduro asked Venezuelans to pray for the country’s recovery from the blackout, claiming that the power cut had been caused by a sniper attack on a key part of the country’s energy infrastructure. Experts have cited years of underinvestment and corruption in the oil-rich but crisis-afflicted country as the true reasons for the outage.

During a rally in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, Guaido called for mobilization across the country in a final push to topple Maduro. Guaido is expected to spend the coming weeks and months touring Venezuela in preparation for such a demonstration.

While Guaido was speaking at this rally his wife, Fabiana Rosales, was in Washington DC speaking with US President Donald Trump about the situation in Venezuela. Guaido is recognised by the US and most Western countries (such as the UK and France, while Maduro is backed by Russia, China, and Turkey) as the leader of Venezuela, while Maduro dismisses Guaido as a Washington-backed effort to seize power in the oil-rich country. Meanwhile Russia’s presence in Venezuela in support of Maduro is growing, with two Russian air force planes carrying nearly 100 military personnel landing outside Caracas in this past week. The US has issued warnings against Russia and other countries backing Maduro over sending troops and military equipment, threating sanctions and stating that the US would view these actions as a “direct threat” to the region’s safety.

Meanwhile, on Friday of this past week the International Red Cross announced that it has brokered a deal with Maduro’s representatives and Guaido to allow crucial aid into the country. Guaido has stated that the Maduro government’s decision to allow the Red Cross to help, having previously used the army to block US-backed aid convoys, is a “[recognition of] its failure by accepting the existence of a complex humanitarian emergency”. The first shipment of aid for about 650,000 vulnerable people is expected to reach Venezuela in two weeks.

 

Brunei’s anti-LGBT laws

From next week, the south-east Asian kingdom of Brunei will impose death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex and adultery.

This change in the law was first announced in 2013 as the country moved to implement Islamic Sharia law, however it has been on hold for years due to heavy criticism from around the world. Homosexuality is already illegal in Brunei, but it will soon become a capital offence. Brunei officials have said that there will be a high burden of proof required to sentence suspects to harsher punishments, with someone only being convicted of adultery or having gay sex only if there are multiple Muslim witnesses. In 2014, Brunei became the first East Asian country to adopt Islamic Sharia law despite widespread condemnation. The tiny, oil-rich monarchy has long been known for conservative policies such as banning the public sale of liquor, and the punishment of fines or jail time for offenses such as pregnancy out of wedlock or failing to pray on a Friday.

In this past week Amnesty International released a statement calling the implementation of these Islamic criminal laws under Brunei’s Sharia Penal Code, which would also apply to children, “vicious”.

Among politicians and activist groups, the actor George Clooney has become the latest figure on the world stage to speak out against Brunei’s plan to impose these harsh new anti-LGBT laws. Clooney has urged a boycott of nine luxury hotels linked to Brunei, asking the world if customers are “really going to help pay for these human rights violations?”

Brunei is a sultanate of about 430,000 people on the island of Borneo which is rich in oil and gas imports. It has been ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah since 1967. The country has had the death penalty since it was a British protectorate – it gained independence in 1984, when an Islamic sultanate was proclaimed – but in practice executions are rarely carried out under the existing British-based legal system. In recent years the Sultan has advocated for a conservative vision of Islam that critics have claimed clashes with the royal family’s luxurious lifestyle, which includes a 1,788-room palace and wealth amounting to billions of dollars. Critics have also stated that this new penal code will give authorities expanded powers to stifle dissent at a time when Sultanate officials are concerned about dwindling energy reserves.

Sultan Bolkiah has stated that he considers the law to be a form of “special guidance” from God as  religious conservatism deepens in the region, taking root in parts of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia. The new laws are due to be implemented on Wednesday, April 3.

Algerian protests continue

A breakaway faction of Algeria’s ruling party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has backed the army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah’s call to declare President Abdelaziz Boutefilka as unfit to lead the country. However, several opposition parties and protestors have denounced the general’s remarks as an attempt to stifle their movement against the government and the current power structures in the country.

Lieutenant General Salah called for the application of a provision in the Algerian constitution, article 102, that would remove the president on account of his failing health. Salah has stated that the article should be involved as “the only guarantee of preserving a stable political situation” in Algeria. Salah’s announcement came two days after FLN withdrew its support for a ‘national dialogue conference’ to be held to take the country out of political deadlock.

This call has come after six consecutive weeks of rallying against the North African country’s ailing leader, which began when the 82-year-old Bouteflika declared that he would stand for another term. Within this announcement there was no suggestion that the president intends to step down before a rescheduled election. The Algerian politician has led the country for 20 years, but has rarely been seen in public after suffering from a debilitating stroke in 2013. After weeks of demonstrations against his candidacy, Bouteflika reversed his decision by announcing that he will not seek a fifth term in office and that the planned elections for April will be postponed. However, the protestors are still angry. They believe that Boutefilka’s health has recently declined to such a state that he was being used as a front by ‘le pouvoir’ (‘the power’), a group of prominent businessmen, politicians and military officials), who now do not want to give up their power. Protestors now view the concessions made by Bouteflika as a ruse to avoid real reform.

Estimates say that crowds in the capital, Algiers, reached a million at the most recent anti-government protest that took place in this past week, signalling a clear rejection of Salah’s compromise offer. What happens next is unclear. Opposition leaders say that it is up to the government to make another offer, while crowds on the streets are calling for the removal of ‘the system’ – anything and everyone associated with Bouteflika’s time in government. So far the government has shown no sign of conceding to any of these commands.