Search Results for 'Theresa May'

FROM 'MAYA'S Soliloquy to Pablo [Picasso]’, the striking opening of the first poem of White Horses, it is clear Northern Irish poet Jo Burns is in control of what she is doing with her poetry in a way most debut collection poets simply are not.

Back in May 2018, the London Times ran a revealing story from Brussels with the following headline: “Fear of Jeremy Corbyn-led government prompts tough EU-line on Brexit”.

As I am compiling this column, it is just before the Westminster vote on Brexit. All observers feel the vote will be defeated, and some say very heavily. Be that as it may, the real question now is, what does Theresa May do next? She has to come back next Monday with a further plan of where she will go and what she will do. More and more it appears that the extension of time, which could be looked for at the end of March, is what is in sight, but we are in the dark and do not have any certainty about the outcome. I am sorry that this is so and apologise to the readers, but there is nothing that I or even the most renowned of columnists in the UK or Ireland can do – we cannot see the way forward as yet.

We are truly fully back when the old problems continue to assert themselves. Brexit has assumed a central role again on the political stage, with the usual chaos and parliamentary pantomime evident at Westminster. And yet no one has come up with an alternative to Theresa May’s Brexit plan. There will be a vote next week in the UK parliament, and as the Prime Minister herself has said, who knows what will happen next? It’s really unsettling all round and very difficult for government departments, agencies and so on to make any plans as they are facing into the unknown.

Now I know last week in the aftermath of Christmas I wished you all a Happy New Year. But I am compiling this on January 1, 2019, so I think it is only appropriate that I would repeat my New Year message to each and every one of my readers. I also have to say thanks to you all, because every day I go out I meet someone who has read my previous column and has a comment or two to make. So thank you for that.

I will begin this column by noting and paying respect to the late US president George Bush who died recently. I have not any particular memories about him but I have always felt that he was a most honourable person, and that seems to be the general opinion now upon his passing. I noted at his funeral home that his faithful dog who he has had for years was keeping watch on the rug outside, and I thought well, the late president must have had very admirable human traits. May he rest in peace.

Well it’s been a busy week again, but to begin this column this week I’m going to start on a gentler note.

For Insider, like many people, November 22 will always be associated with events at Dealey Plaza, Dallas, in 1963 on America’s day of infamy. Insider could not help but note that anniversary when considering the latest Brexit drama of the past week which, like the Kennedy assassination, is transfixing people here and has the potential to leave an indelible mark on our country.

As I am compiling this weekly column for the Advertiser, people in the US are voting in the mid-term elections for both the House of Representatives and the Senate. So by the time my column appears the results will be fully out. I hope that the polls which are forecasting Democratic wins in the House of Representatives are correct, but of course our belief in polls has run low. President Trump has put a huge effort into shoring up the Republican seats in both the Congress and the Senate, and he has campaigned tirelessly for the last 10 days hoping to consolidate the Republican vote. It seems that the US is viewing these mid-term elections as a referendum on President Trump and his handling of the US. So it will be very intriguing to see the results and to see whether the Democrats will come back in charge of the House of Representatives.

Now I know that all of us are becoming absolutely bored and worn out with all of the Brexit talk, and yet it is so important to each and every citizen in this country. If satisfactorily concluded, it will enable us all to continue on a decent economic path. If it is not satisfactorily concluded, well then everything goes awry in the business world and with that then goes the living standards of this country, north and south. It is extremely important.