Boris has gone - but not struggles with the EU

For a while there was hope that Boris's defenestration would end proper Brexit because he was seen as the majopr impetus behind it (not Little Englandism or racism after all). That went with the return of the sly creeping 'wisdom' that all along everyone really knew that hard Brexit was an impossible dream and now we would just have to get on and negotiate a more sensible arrangement with the EU -- Norway, say, or even Rejoin.Poor old K Starmer had announced the abandonment of Labour commitments to either just the day before Boris mounted the windowsill.

There might be a slight setbck with that after the election contest for a new leader, which let the Brexiteers flex their muscles, since there seems to be renewed determination to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol, not good news for the sly realists:

Truss vows to scrap remaining EU laws by end of 2023 risking ‘bonfire of rights’

Hundreds of laws covering employment and environmental protections could disappear overnight if Liz Truss becomes prime minister after she promised to scrap all remaining EU regulations by the end of 2023....Her Brexit plan would mean each remaining EU law and regulation would be “evaluated on the basis of whether it supports UK growth or boosts investment”, with those deemed not to do so replaced. Any EU laws not replaced would simply disappear at the end of 2023, just 15 months after Truss potentially takes power in September.

[Even] Sunak has previously said he will appoint a new Brexit minister to go through the remaining EU laws, with instructions for the first set of changes coming within 100 days of him becoming prime minister.

Opposition seems quite justified in some ways -- trade unionists fear it will be an excuse to further scrap rights, civil servants say it will be impossible in the time, or a massive distraction, given the huge number of laws still tor review. Responses naturally  include EU reaction.

EU launches four more legal cases against UK over Northern Ireland protocol

On Wednesday, the Northern Ireland protocol bill cleared the House of Commons at its third reading – the final stage in the Commons – by 267 votes to 195, and will arrive at the Lords in the autumn....

The EU court has the power to impose multimillion-euro daily fines on the UK and its judgments could be the first step towards the bloc taking punitive action through mechanisms within the Brexit deals.

Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s Brexit commissioner, has not ruled out tariffs being imposed on British goods sold into the EU, describing the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol bill as “illegal”.

Said a Brit spokeserson: 

“It is disappointing to see that the EU has chosen to bring forward further legal action, particularly on goods leaving Northern Ireland for Great Britain which self-evidently present no risk to the EU single market,” the spokesman said.

“A legal dispute is in nobody’s interest and will not fix the problems facing the people and businesses of Northern Ireland. The EU is left no worse off as a result of the proposals we have made in the Northern Ireland protocol bill.

“We will review the EU’s arguments and respond in due course.”