Light starts to dawn

Brexiteers are always accused of not thinking out the implications of their actions, so it was interesting to see the GUardian item on how the Irish Republic suddenly seems to have realized some implications of its own posturing and strutting. The Irish Foreign Minister was still insisting last night on C4 News that it would not help gain any concessions from the EC that the deal was the deal and all that EC stuff. Reality seems to have struck today:

Irish government says security, travel and trade will suffer if UK crashes out of EU

Security in Ireland would be “seriously impacted” by a no-deal Brexit because of sudden changes to arrangements with the UK over crime, the Irish government has warned....It also said Ireland would “suffer considerably” from the “adverse economic and social impact” a no-deal Brexit would have on the UK...Ireland would also be affected by “exceptional swings” in the value of sterling, which would have difficult consequences for trade, the finance minister said....The Contingency Action Plan warns of disruption to aviation and road haulage, as well as delays on ferries and problems for exporters to Britain.''The government is also concerned about EU citizens moving between Ireland, Northern Ireland and mainland Britain...“There would also be significant issues for citizens’ rights, free movement of people, labour and skills shortages, and provision of cross-border public services that would have to be tackled by all the relevant parties,” it said...Ireland is also worried about the UK dropping out of the European arrest warrant (EAW) system, which would mean criminals could enter the Republic, commit a crime and escape to Northern Ireland...There would be particular pressure on sectors such as agri-food, fisheries, aviation and road transport, pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery, retail and wholesale businesses,

There is also a neglected tale buried in this section:

In the event of no deal, all animals coming into Ireland from the UK will have to undergo checks. Livestock leaving Ireland and going through the UK and on to the EU will also be subject to checks in Calais and other ports.  

This is a problem because the UK Government has apparently found that 80% of Republic trade for the EU comes through the UK first.

Meanwhile, the Times offers a welcome if delayed insight into the politics of immigration (on the launch of the UK Government's new proposals post-Brexit):

There is a reason why immigration splits the nation (Philip Aldrick writes). It benefits well-off Britons while those on lower incomes struggle to see any gains. Studies show that high-skilled migrants, with whom the wealthy are more likely to interact, improve productivity and raise wages at the top end of the income spectrum.
It’s a different story in low-skilled industries, where migrant labour has been shown to reduce wages and take jobs, albeit on a small scale. Again, companies and the well-off benefit, through lower prices in shops and, as the economics Nobel laureate Sir Angus Deaton has said, cheaper home help. Immigration works for the progressive social elites, not for those on low incomes.

Public services across the UK as a whole may have benefited from the net tax contribution from migrants but were stretched in particular regions. Migration makes Britain richer, but a focus on skilled immigrants would provide clearer benefits while more funding for integration in areas where numbers have exploded would ensure those vital gains are captured.

Alas for the Guradian and juvenile lefty Owen Jones. No class analysis for him. Although dead right to insist that blaming immigrants for economic decline is wrong, he still says that

Theresa May – whose only genuine political passion seems to be migrant-bashing – has built on those ruinous foundations with an immigration white paper that would more truthfully be titled “Keep Them Out”.

He pursues the old liberal schtick:

The left’s argument for immigration should target the emotions. We should speak from experience: the midwife who brought our child into the world, the nurse who tended to our dying grandmother.

I suppose any rational engagement with white 'racists' might expose the rational core at the bottom of their worries? Owen also expresses some of the wobbles that are keeping PV advocates awake:

the remain campaign would win nothing meaningful from the EU [on immigration]. The referendum would be framed on the terms of the Tory Brexiteers, who would be able to say that remain concedes the problem without offering a compelling answer. The leave campaign would always be able to outbid them with promises to end freedom of movement.

So, on with the need to win hearts and minds -- now that is, not before, and not with argument but with tear-jerking stories. How fortunate the working classes are so dim and easily taken in!

Whatever happens, the left must renew its defence of migrants...John McDonnell, is a veteran of anti-deportation campaigns and began his leadership at a pro-refugee rally, while his key ally Diane Abbott is passionately pro-immigration...There are also some on the left who argue that there is nothing progressive about freedom of movement because it excludes non-Europeans. This is excruciatingly naive: do they really believe a vindication of the argument that there are too many European migrants strengths the case for more from beyond the continent? [The Tory argument is that  skill levels should decide --just as dodgy, of course but not entirely irrational] Opposition to immigration has led Britain to national disaster [Really? Not the 2008 Crash? Does he mean Brexit again?] Labour, and the left as a whole, must be far more resolute in its defence of migrants – and confront a Tory project that offers nothing but insecurity and bigotry.